A Hint of Opportunity

Today I went to a Montana business with a nearby location called Wheat Montana,

you can check them out via the link. They have a nice deli which is a gathering place of sorts for locals and a draw for folks traveling through on I-90. I met a few of the gals who work there, all of whom have horses and were interested in my services. I talked with them a bit and gave each them my card. We'll see if that bears fruit. But its step by step...go out, meet and greet and eventually connections and business will grow.

A little fun yesterday...an Angus cow...a HUGE Angus cow came wandering down the neighborhood street, helping with lawn mowing duties. I went out into the street to watch her and Doddle dog followed me. I didn't think anything of it at first...he is a Dachshund, after all. He stared at her, then walked over and peed on a tire acting uninterested. All of a sudden, I heard him growl and he launched himself from under the car and ran barking and growling straight at this massive cow and nipped her on a back leg. She didn't move, picked up the leg slightly and slowly swung her head around to look at him as if to say, "What is that little pesky thing?" She was totally unflapped and uninterested and went right back to lawn mowing. Thank GOD she didn't kick...that would have been the end of Doodle dog, who came trotting back to me all proud of himself, as if he had accomplished something!

Soon, the couple who are caretakers for the ranch this cow broke out of came riding up on a 4-wheeler looking for her. Miss cow decided it was time to leave and ran to the railroad tracks just down the street and went trotting along side them. One of the folks said something about how common it is for cows to get hit by trains...no sooner was it said, I heard the train whistle in the distance. The caretakers headed to the tracks to see where the cow had gone, but did not go after her. The best approach is to hope and pray...chasing her might put her right on the tracks! Fortunately, she stayed well off the the side and the train passed without incident. Whew!!

Today...I looked out into the street around noon and...there she was again., escaped again and back for more lawn mowing. I wonder who hired her?? LOL!! I kept Doodle inside until she left - no sense in tempting fate! If she returns tomorrow, I'll try to get a picture!

Most people don't get in a big fizz about loose cows. They roam at liberty all over out here. There are even cattle guards across the on and off ramps of the interstate! Ya gotta love the West!

Critter Sitting - First "Job"

I spent most of last week taking care of three dogs and eight horses & mules for a neighbor couple. I mentioned them in an earlier post. Great folks, and great critters!

I took some pictures of the critters and the house - which is WAY cool - to share with you.

This is Harley...the old dog. He is very sweet. He is weak in the back end so needs help getting into and out of the truck, but he sure tries and wants to be with you all the time. As you can see he is a Pointer and its hilarious to watch him as he starts down the drive to meet me, but every few feet he spies something and his DNA kicks in...so its running toward me, stop, freeze, point....running toward me, stop freeze, point...it takes him a long time to go a short distance...LOL!

This is Ace. Like Harley, he is a German Pointer, but he is the Wirehaired version, whereas Harley is the Shorthaired version. Ace is young and still learning. He had to be put on a chain or in the house when I had Harley out because the two boys get together, run off and get themselves into trouble! Ace is very high energy and also very sweet.

THIS is Scarlett O'Hairy. She is a Healer and is so much like my Kayah who died earlier this year that I almost lost it when I met her. Same personality, same obsession with sticks. I spent a lot of time playing with her, throwing sticks for her. She responded the same way to the same things I would say to Kayah. "Go get a stick!" and she was off to find one...then she would run to me and practically throw it at me, if I didn't pick it up right away, she would yip, pick it up and drop it closer and closer until I got it and threw it for her.

Here is my Doodle dog checking out Scarlett..."Hey, pretty girl!"

Here's another shot of the horses and mules, belly deep in prairie grass. These horses have approximately 60 acres to roam.

Their house in still in progress and has a great story, although I can't remember the details, except that the logs/timbers in the construction are from a Civil War era log house several hundred miles from here that they took apart and hauled the timbers here to incorporate into this home. The part I can't remember is the story about the original house. I'll have to ask again for the back story. Anyway.... he is retired Army and is building this home himself - he has never done anything like this before. If you like rustic log cabin type houses, this one is pretty cool!

The back of the house is adobe and the front is the log part.

Inside the house is impressive and far more finished than the outside. I love their rustic, rugged, no frufru style...very "western."

This is a table made of elk antler with a tree section for the top...I had to throw picture of this in. Love it!

More soon! Hope all is well with everyone!

Morning In Montana

Some pictures I took early in the morning...the moon was HUGE...



the fog from the Jefferson River rolled out like a soft blanket...



Sunrise is spectacular ....

Deer are EVERYWHERE, you really have to watch for them coming into the road!

Here's a picture of the mules and horses I am taking care of this week. You can't see them all, but there are eight all together. All the pictures above were taken on the short drive over the take care of these guys...all that beauty in less than half a mile!!

Enjoy!

Spring Round Up - Wanna Come?

I thought you horsey folks would like to know about this...in case you are already planning your trip (escape?) to Montana ;) It happens toward the end of April. As soon as I know the dates for 2011, I'll post them here! I can't wait and hopefully will have my big honkin' Danny Doo Doo Head up here by then and can join in...can you imagine??!

Montana Horses Annual Horse Roundup and Drive

Each year, Montana Horses hosts a Spring Roundup that's right out of the Old West, with a horse drive from the hills around Willow Creek back to the home ranch on the Missouri River. Participants (limited to 20 guests) help roundup several hundred head of horses from their winter range, then trail them thirty miles back to their summer home -- right through Three Forks! Some riding experience is required. The better you ride, the more fun you'll have chasing the cagey horses through the sagebrush.

In the afternoon of Day 2 in the three-day event, the horses run down Main Street, Three Forks to their holding pasture for the night.

Surrounding the event, join the activities throughout the day, including a cowboy poetry and western music show at the Ruby Theatre, featuring the Gallatin Valley Junior Fiddlers and Kail Mantle. Then, dance the night away to old fashion cowboy swing.

The Mantle family has been in the horse business for generations. Since the 1800s, Mantles have been running horses in the Rocky Mountain States. All counted, the Mantle family runs several thousand head of horses in Montana. Montana Horses leases its good string of gentle horses to guest ranches, trail ride outfits, kids camps, outfitters, hunters, and vacationers throughout the northwestern states.

Each fall the herd runs free in the hills around their Missouri River home just as wild horses have run for hundreds of years. In the spring these horses are healthy and rested and ready to go back to work.

Every year they are joined by the best cowboys in the country as they bring in the bunch. You are invited to join in their tradition. The drive lasts for 3 days.

Local Images

Hey everyone!
I took some pictures of the nearby landscape for your viewing pleasure. Caution!! It might make you want to come here! LOL!

These are two pictures from a drive through a forested area. The waterfall was right alongside the roadway.

This meadow was a big surprise! I pulled into a heavily wooded campsite to walk Doodle dog and as I headed down a path, it suddenly opened up into this stunning little meadow complete with a small lake. It was totally hidden and completely surrounded by forested hills. What a treasure!

These are some pictures less than a mile from me.

The four below are shots of local farmland.

The mountain in the center is called "Hollow Top"(10,513 alt.).
You can see the bowl of snow in peak, or what was the peak.
This is an old volcano that "blew its top" at some time in the remote past.

Some local views of the Jefferson River.

Roadway view

Cool trestle bridge on the dirt road into town.
I took this picture because as I looked through the bridge,
it looked like an awesome "frame" for the view out of the other side.

End of Week One

The people here are friendly and open to new residents. There is thus far no sense of the "us versus them" dynamic that is present back in Georgia from the generational residents toward the "outsiders" (flat land furriners, Floridiots, etc. as they are called by locals) who move in.

Out here in the "boonies", there is a clear current of rugged individualism among those folks I have met. They are not that far removed from the more frontier mindset that calls for getting up early and getting on with the work of the day. This place seems to be a magnet for the artisan and seems to draw such folks. You would be amazed at the variety and assortment of craftsman and skills. I don't know if that is unique to this area of if it is Montana in general; I suspect the latter.

Many do not have television, but do have internet.

Out here, there is no cable or DSL service. TV and internet must be obtained via satellite. One would think that satellite service would be the bomb-diggity compared to other delivery systems...uh, no.

Satellite TV is the same as there, either Dish or Direct TV. For internet service, it is slower than DSL and has limits on download and upload volume. It is more expensive for basic service and, like cell phone packages, if you exceed your limits, it can quickly break the bank! So, no more streaming video, large file downloads, online radio or anything else beyond basic email with constant attention to file size. YIKES!

The nearest WalMart is a 40 minute drive....since the one near me in Georgia was 2 minutes away, that's an adjustment. Should save lots of money that way, though...LOL!!

Met a gal down the road who has a friend with 5 horses...says they are in dire need of trimming (everyone standing around when she told me that nodded vigorously in agreement..that doesn't sound good!) and she wants to take me out to meet her friend soon. So today I pulled out all my gear and set up my rig for working again. It will be good to get back under a horse!

All in all its been a good week. The scenery never ceases to inspire, the people are hardy and friendly, the weather can't be beat (I know...wait until winter...LOL!). I really miss all you guys...it still feels a bit like I'm on vacation and will be coming" home."

Love to all...can't wait to get settled somewhere and see some of you when you come up to visit. For all you horse lovers...I am not far from the Pryor Mountain range. I will be going there as soon as I can to see if I can observe the Pryor Mustangs...!! Whoo Hoo!!!
Stay tuned,
Love to all!

Settling In

Currently, I am about 30 miles west of Bozeman, MT in the Gallatin Valley. Here's a bit about the county. Lots of cool history here!

A nearby town is Three Forks. The three forks of the Missouri River were discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1805, located at the historically significant site where the Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson rivers converge to form the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark were unable to decide which river was the Missouri, so they named the three rivers. The first fork was named for Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury; the second for James Madison, Secretary of State, and the third for Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States.

How cool is that?

I met some great folks nearby. They have horses and mules (shod though)...He is retired Army, she is an artisan who makes "rustic" furniture, very high end stuff and beautiful! They have a log home that they built themselves...it is just stunning! I will be pet sitting their dogs and horses/mules next week while they are gone...my first "job." The best part was being able to hug and smell a horse...I'm in horse withdrawal and needed a "fix!" LOL!
They had their horses barefoot, apparently and a friend of theirs is a barefoot trimmer. I don't yet know what sent them back to shoes, but I think they do "get it" in general terms. We'll see what happens there. An interesting note is that the gal who does the trimming is wanting to get out of it. Hmmmmm! Might be able to just pick up her client base! Prayers and fingers crossed!

I still have some unpacking to do....but won't unpack everything as I don't know when a opportunity will take me in another direction.

I do miss everyone, especially my family and my little Budda Man (my grandson). I hope to keep up with this blog and with all of you, so feel free to comment or email (my email is still the same for now).

TheTrip From Georgia

After months of preparation and packing and planning, I pulled out of GA on September 7th, 2010 headed for a new life in Montana.

Traveling with me was my Dachshund, Doddle, and my two cats; Jackpot and Spencer. Having never traveled before, I had no way to know how well the animals would handle the trip. I was amazed to find that they all handled it like veterans! No stress, no freak outs, just taking it all in stride.

The trip took four days (which is longer than it should or could have) because I had to stop along the way at motels to let the animals out to stretch their legs and relax. I was pleased to find that nearly all Days Inns happily accept pets and the pet fee was never more than $10...only $5 at one place.

Up until I entered Wyoming, there was nothing much to see, but the landscape quickly began to change from flat, treeless farmland to hills and painted buttes. I traveled through the Shoshone Reservation and through a town called Dubois. The road began to climb and before I knew it I was driving up a mountain pass to an elevation exceeding 10,000 feet. It was SNOWING and it was sticking pretty thick on a patch of road coming down ....WOW!

Since I was already fairly close, and have never been there, I continued on a route that would take me to the Grand Tetons and then through Yellowstone National Park.

The day became overcast by the time I reached the Tetons, but their stark and

stunning majesty was powerfully present none-the-less!

This picture below barely captures the total coolness of what looked like two "spotlights" coming through the clouds. Awesome!

After leaving the Grand Tetons, I entered into Yellowstone National Park. Here's where my libertarian streak really began to kick in! Keep in mind that the road going into the park is a U.S. Highway. I came to a gate where I had to pay $25 for the privilege of driving on a public highway, paid for by taxes and into a park that is also funded by annual appropriations of tax payer money. The woman at the entrance collecting money as only dimly aware of her own existence and told me she had only worked there for a year and didn't know anything about the fee thing. They walk among us!!

As I drove into the park from the east side, heading to the West entrance, I was driving through common forest, the WHOLE way. The only thing of possible interest was Old Faithful (which is no longer faithful, by the way...they never know when it will go off anymore) and even that was nothing much...unless you've never seen a geyser, I suppose. It was a long drive with no views, no nothing but common trees along both sides of the road. I could have been in N. Georgia for all I could tell. Maybe other areas are more ...of something?? The one bright spot was when a park police car ahead of me suddenly turned on his blue lights (it was getting pretty dark at this point) and pulled across the road, went back and forth obviously trying to move something. When he finally let me by, I saw that it was a HUGE and VERY old bull Bison ambling nonchalantly down the pavement. The cop was trying to herd him off the road, the old bull was ignoring him totally but did move over enough to let cars by, He was uninterested in any of us. I felt bad for him, (the bull), he looked worn out and in failing health. But I imagine he had a long and good life living there.

As I entered the end of the drive through Yellowstone, I almost missed my turn because I was looking for a numbered road sign. Something I would expect to see on a U.S. HIGHWAY!! What a concept! All that was there to indicate the way out was a wooden trail type sign common in forest service parks and all it said was "West Entrance" along with names of other locations with arrows pointing in their respective directions. It was dark brown, and unlit. I actually drove past it, and had to go back because I hadn't been able to read it, barely could see it. If I had not done that, and continued on looking for an actual road sign, I could have driven all over what amounts to a big rat maze of roads where there are no buildings and no cell signal until I ran out of gas! I wonder how many folks that has happened to before?? Your tax dollars at work with the usual stellar efficiency of government! What I want to know is...where does the money go??

They receive millions in tax appropriations of our money each year, they get $25 a car at the gate (and there is a LOT of traffic during peak season), there is a long list of individuals and foundations that donate funding each year and donation boxes throughout the park that nets tens of thousands each year, and they can't manage to put up a road sign on a PUBLIC US HIGHWAY? Good grief!

Anyway...after I exited Yellowstone, it was only a couple hours to my destination in Montana.
All in all it was a pleasant trip, all went well and I am thrilled to be here!