Easy Come, Easy Go and One Woke up!

Well...I had a new customer....then I didn't!
Had a call last week from a woman. She and her husband moved here from Idaho, about the same time I did. they are only about 15 minutes east of here. That would make them GREAT customers geographically!

She had found my contact information online and was very excited when she called and I told her that, yes indeed I was taking new clients ;)!! We had an appointment all set up.....and then....
she called the night before.

It seems that her husband has a cousin here who "specializes in barefoot"...apparently the hubby didn't even know the cousin (or didn't know what the cousin does) but the family grapevine let him know! The woman called and profusely apologizing told me they felt they had to "give the cousin a chance." Well...okie dokey!

The bright spot is....remember the gal who was waiting for "good weather" to have me out to trim her two mares? Recall I said that I hoped she didn't intend to wait until spring??!
Well her horse's feet had other ideas and they seriously needed a trim. That woke her up and she called. Fortunately, the weather here has been downright balmy for the bast few weeks....MUCH better than
you guys in Georgia have had ....

So, its creeping along....sloooooowly....but at least the weather is great!

Hope all is well down there in the Southland!


Oh and...bitty kittie has discovered the indoor whirlpool...LOL!

Snow? Where?!

Snow last week.....

 in GEORGIA!

Same week in MONTANA!!

No, I did not mix up the pictures...!

Well I guess when you all get sick of the snow, c'mon  up to Montana!! LOL!

Itty Bitty Kitty Update

Well, Itty Bitty Kitty is doing great! Nose cooties seem to be pretty much conquered. She's full of energy, likes nothing better than to rearrange the location of every loose object in sight! She has a particular attraction to pens. When I worked in the medical profession, it was always a battle to hang onto pens, someone was always swiping someone else's pen...you guarded really good pens with your life and snarled at anyone who even looked at it!  Now, I have to chase a kitten down for my pen...LOL! She uses her front paws like hands and actually picks things up between them, then stands up on her hind legs holding her prize in the air. Talent!!

The only problem I've noticed since all her infections seem to have cleared is that she cannot "meow" ...she tries to "talk" to me often, asking to be rubbed, scritched, petted or held, but an only manage a raspy little hissing sound. The extent of her early illness may have damaged her vocal chords. I hope it will improve in time. Its kind of sad, but does add to her "Awwwwww" factor!

She stays close to her "big brother" Jackpot...just the cutest little thing!

 

Awwwwww! ;)

She doesn't have a real name yet....I'm open to suggestions!

New Year!!

Just a short entry to let you all know I'm still here...still kickin'!!!

Christmas went by all weird as it was the first one ever away from my kids....THAT isn't going to happen again!! Not fun at all! The New Year rolled in with barely a notice out here in the boonies with no TV .......no one gets in a big fizz about New Years here...no fireworks anywhere nearby. Probably a few folks upside down on bar stools, but since I don't frequent the saloons .

The weather hasn't been much worse here than in Georgia! Actually, I don't think we've had much more snow that down there...it just hangs around longer here. Looks like you guys are due for some more soon? Aren't you all happy that I'm nice enough to share all that Montana snow with you guys??? LOL!!

The critters are doing fine...Doodles breath still smells like road kill...the cats are well adjusted...Itty Bitty Kittie is doing very well. Not growing, but the sweetest little thing!! Jackpot is still her "dude"....looks out fro her and she adores him, goes everywhere he goes.

I'll get back to more regular posing...just wanted to touch base..!

Hope all is well with everyone! Stay safe, stay warm!

Here's to hopes for a prosperous new year! Cheers!

Ups and Downs

Monday, I was talking with a friend about the differences in "local culture" here versus in Georgia. I commented on my observations and experiences thus far in meeting Montanans and my struggles in "reading" them. My goal being to learn their "ways" and adapt as much as I can without losing who I am. The ideal outcome, in my mind, would be to learn to navigate with minimal missteps how they operate and interface with people and with life in general as much as possible, on their terms.

I mentioned that I find many folks here hard to read in that they are not facially expressive in the same ways I am accustomed to in the South. There is none of the exuberant "gentility" for which the South is known. A number of the local folks I have met, particularly native, generational Montanans seem at first glance, quiet, reserved, watchful and somewhat suspicious. That is not to say they are not friendly, to the contrary, they are...but its harder to "see" it in their faces and body language. Conversely, the general interactions in the South are akin to a happy puppy, bubbling with greeting and welcome. Even if they are suspicious of you, they don't show it as much. Here's its pretty obvious...;)

Now before you all jump on that, let me apply a caveat...there are indeed certain elements that retain the "clannishness" that is an attribute of old Appalachia, or any rural area for that matter. I certainly witnessed that for years in my North GA community. What I am talking about is a "feel" in a very generalized way of the different between "Old South" social interactions and those of the "Old West." I was told that while my observation is true, and many Montanans are slow to warm...once they do, they would do anything, go to any lengths to be there for you. So it is also with the folks in the South in my experience, they are just a little easier to read (because its what I'm used to) and often a little faster to jump in with you. So...not so different after all once its all said and done!

The Up

Yesterday, I went to a new barn, that is now a new customer. Awesome gal with four rescued horses and four goats. I was met at the gate by a very large Nubian goat named Panda. He was all about saying "hello", "pet me pet me", "whatcha doin'?" "Where ya goin'?"....rubbing up against me, going everywhere I went, often in front of me forcing me to stop and pet him before I could continue. The other goats were friendly as well, but in a more 'Hi, okay see ya, bye" sort of way.While I was working on the horses, Panda would stick his head through under the horse's belly ..."Whatcha doin'?" or come around and nibble on my hair or chaps. What a hoot! I have worked around many goats over the years, a number of them quite friendly, but Panda was by far the most "in your business" and happy goat I have met thus far. 

Anyway, the owner is awesome and totally blew out the conversation I just had about the learning curve I have in reading folks here....she was warm, engaged, talkative and expressive, right off the bat. I left with a sense of ..."That felt like home." ;)  Between her and the gals I met early on at the Helena barn, so far I'm making some nice connections.

So - good news that I had a new barn this week...and had an appointment with the first barn up in Helena for today. Yay! Back to back work!! Two days in a row...whoo hooo!!! 

Uh...not so fast!

The Down

Enter a predicted snow storm. Well, I was all gung ho to "face the beast" no matter what...got up, got ready to head out. We had agreed to touch base this morning to compare conditions here versus there....the weather can be vastly different from valley to valley here. Here, it was doing nothing, so knowing already that half of all weather predictions here don't happen, or happen when not predicted. Its just nearly impossible to nail down Montana weather. Got a phone call from one of the owners who has lived here for 9 years. In Helena it was well under way... high winds, snow blowing horizontal and accumulating fast. Snow isn't the problem...its ice patches plus a strong crosswind....off the road you go!! LOL! Plus, she pointed out to me that my truck is white...she has a white Ford Explorer and know first hand about the "white issue"....when its snowing so hard you can barely see past your hood...snow plows can't see you either...ESPECIALLY if you are white! Hmmmm...hadn't considered that. Although I have witnessed the plows in action here...holy smokes! They FLY down the roads....throwing snow up and off the roads in 15-20 foot archs! I can't imagine going at that speed...but they do. Apparently they are known for tossing vehicles off the road from time to time if they can't see them! YIKES!

So...I deferred to her experience, and her suggestion to reschedule....dang! But my mom would be proud!! LOL!!

So the good...got a new barn, the bad...gotta wait another while to get to the other barn. SIGH!

Hope you are all safe and warm!

Miss you!

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee

Most of you know that I am a magnet for needy animals....they seem to always know where to find me and I seem to be completely incapable of turning them away...;)  No Matter Where I go, There they are....!!

Meet "Itty Bitty Kittie"...or "Little Bit"....

She is about 6-7 months old, but is the runt and sickly...she is half the size of her litter mates and not growing.

She had weepy and goopy eyes that would get stuck closed every day and a respiratory infection resulting in a runny nose that would also get crusted over and sometimes blocked.  She was very thin and would not have survived in the cold...probably wouldn't have survived long enough for it to GET cold....sooooo, what could I do?

She LOVES Jackpot...my big Polydactyl cat....he tolerates her and even plays and cuddles with her most of the time...but when she gets too rambunctious, and attacks him to much... he gives her a big "smack down!"

She sleeps on a pad with a sheepskin under a warm lamp....its like an Itty Bitty Kitty tanning bed.... !

Yeah, she's a total Diva! LOL!

I brought a lot of veterinary stuff and natural remedies with me...so she's getting treatment and is doing better. Her eyes are clear now and the drippy nose is much improved. She certainly has plenty of energy! (well that last picture doesn't look like it, but trust me....she can "git it" when she is awake!)

All Creatures Great and Small...the Lord God Made Them All...right? ;) So with prayers and a little human help...I think she's going to make it!

Blessing to everyone!

Chinook Wind, Hoar Frost and Southern Snow

Well, all of you folks down south are having a real "Montana winter" event it seems!  For the past couple of weeks, its been colder and snowier there than here. While you're "enjoying" the white Christmas down there in the southland...here's a little fun stuff from up north!

We had several inches of snow a few weeks ago and a couple of light dustings on top of it since. The last real snowfall was a week ago, only 3-4 inches and has stayed on the ground since...so our "white Christmas" was already in place. Christmas eve and Christmas day produced some amaxing "hoar frost" that coated the trees and other surfaces, so it "looked" like it had snowed again, even though it had not.

HOAR FROST

Radiation frost (also called hoar frost or hoarfrost or pruina) refers to the white ice crystals, loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when heat losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the surrounding air. A related effect is flood frost which occurs when air cooled by ground-level radiation losses travels downhill to form pockets of very cold air in depressions, valleys, and hollows. Hoar frost can form in these areas even when the air temperature a few feet above ground is well above freezing. Nonetheless the frost itself will be at or below the freezing temperature of water.

Here's what it looks like....beautiful "ice art"....

 Feather-like hoarfrost on a deck rail....

Yesterday, the wind picked up and this delicate frost began to blow off the trees and it fell so thick for so long it was like a snowfall...but the sun was out and the sky was clear. It put about an inch of "frost - snow" on the ground by this morning. Amazing!

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As mentioned above, the ground was covered this morning, from left over snowfall topped by falling Hoar Frost. Yet, a phenomenon called a "Chinook Wind" began to blow... in a matter of a couple of hours much of the ground and all of the trees were bare....

These areas were under 5-6 inches of white this morning....

CHINOOK WIND

The Chinook wind in southern Alberta and Montana is a well-known regional climatic phenomenon which amazes weather watchers and residents. It is a warm wind blowing off of the Rocky Mountains in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the state of Montana. First Nations people called it Snow Eater.

In the middle of winter, the air temperature might rise by 20 Farenheit degrees or more in the space of a day. It can be bitterly cold in the morning and balmy by afternoon. The snow can melt away leaving the ground dry in the space of a few hours.


The Chinook wind often moves at a high speed. It is most noticeable in winter, when its warm temperature contrasts so dramatically with the ambient cold air.


The Chinook is one of those winds from off the mountains, famous in legends around the world, but known by many names: Mistral, Foehn, Santa Ana wind are some of them. Not all of these winds are warm. The Mistral, for example, is a cold wind. However, like the Chinook it flows down off of the mountains.


A strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from -48°C (-56°F) to 9°C (49°F).

The Chinook Arch

The Chinook almost always is accompanied by a band of flat cloud up high in the sky. Locals call this the Chinook arch. It can be a terrible tease to farmers hoping for a little more moisture on the fields, because these clouds drop no rain and the Chinook wind itself sucks the moisture off the fields and out of the soil.

For photographers and others who love the beauty of nature, the Chinook arch can be a stunning sight, particularly at sunset when the clouds take on shades of yellow, orange and red.

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Now by contrast ....here's what it looks like back home in Georgia! Photos sent by family and friends...

Whoodathunkit???? ;)

If you all want to get away from the snow, c'mon up to Montana!!!! LOL!