FIESTA DE LOS VAQUEROS

The Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo is in town this week. Tucson has hosted this rodeo for the last 80+ years. Part of the rodeo events is the Mike Cervi Memorial Team Roping which took place yesterday. We went to check it out. The weather was sunny and in the high 80s!

And I met an absolute LEGEND in the sport of team roping, Jake Barnes. He was just sitting there next to a trailer as we went to get something cold to drink. And I just "happened" to have my camera, so we asked for a pic. He was super nice and very gracious (especially considering he was up to rope in just a short bit). I have to say, I was a little star-struck.. this guy is a 7 time world champion! It really made my day and was a real treat to meet him.

Gerty Update

Gerty is much improved this week. Her wounds are healing and she is getting up and down better and even trotting over to her feeder in the mornings. (In case you missed the post about what happened, you can read about it here)

You can see the areas on her side where they shaved her...the worst of the wounds is on her rear end where they stitched her up. Poor girl! We have to give her twice daily shots of penicillen for another week. She has decided she is not very fond of them and so now we have a twice daily rodeo... Lee holds her against the fence while she tries to drag him around the pen and I take aim with the needle and hope we get it done in 8 seconds. Ha! Seriously though, she is starting to run when she sees me, so I've been bribing her before and after with sweet feed.

"What is that you have behind your back????"

We did find the owner of at least one of the dogs. We made a report with Animal Control and they are supposed to be handling it from here. Hopefully that owner will be held responsible for our vet bill. They should be, but sometimes things just don't work out like they should... I am just glad that Gerty is healing up and that she is still with us! It could have turned out much worse...

Silent Sunday

Courtyard -- Just About Done!

All of the pillars and metal panels are done! I am going to spray them with vinegar to speed up the rusting process. Right now they don't have quite the right patina (actually, they have no patina), so you have to imagine how they will look. I'll take another pic and post it when they have aged just right. We still haven't decided what type of doors we want for the front, metal or wood, so that will have to come later. In this pic you can see our barbeque. There will also be a metal door on the front so you don't see the area underneath where we store the mesquite wood for the grill.

I picked up some metal quail for the panel to the left of the front gate. And at the back gate is a roadrunner and prickly pear (forgot to get a pic of that)....Here's our little corner where we can sit in the evenings with a fire in the chiminea...

Thanks to Angel for giving us the grand tour!!

New Creations

The Tucson Gem Show was in town last week, so I headed on over for some new goodies. Wow, there are so many vendors with everything you can imagine. I wanted to find some really nice turquoise and I wasn't disappointed. I found a vendor that only sold turquoise -- Kingman mine, Sleeping Beauty mine and some from the Campo Frio mine in Mexico. I left there with quite a stash, but now I wish I had bought more!

I also found a local artist selling her handmade copper pendants, charms and other findings. I really fell in love with the style of these, so I scooped up a whole variety of things. Combining the copper with the turquoise was a no-brainer. Check out some of my creations from my new "Copper Collection":

I love this one! A copper heart, turquoise and leather...what more could a cowgirl want?
And some sweet little copper heart earrings to match...

Every cowgirl has a loyal dog at her side. How about a bracelet with copper dog bones and a little copper heart mixed with turquoise?This square copper star pendant reminds me of a concho. I mixed Swarovski pearls in with the turquoise...
The turquoise in these earrings is from the Kingman mine in northern Arizona. These earrings would be great for a night out on the town!

I'm working on some other pieces for this collection with stones other than turquoise. I hope to have them done this weekend. All of the jewelry shown here can be found (and purchased!) in my Etsy shop.

Have a great weekend!

Gerty

We had a bad scare Tuesday night. Gerty, our sweet nubian goat, was attacked by 2 stray dogs in her pen around 11pm. Apparently they squeezed under the very bottom of the panels. Valentine, her goat buddy, jumped out of the pen and went in with the horses and wasn't hurt. Lee ran out and chased the dogs out and then came in and woke me up to help him. Poor Gerty, she is doing fairly well now, but her whole left side and rear end are pretty ripped up. We immediately put her in the trailer and headed off to the vet and didn't get home until 3am. This is Gerty, sharing hay with Sassy... And again, with Valentine, sharing hay with Bandit...

I just spent half the morning securing the fence, but we are still concerned these dogs could come back. We have never had problems with dogs or even coyotes trying to get the goats. I'm pretty upset about the whole thing. Mainly, that whoever owns these dogs would just let them run loose. It's hard to blame the dogs. I hope we are able to find the owners. Gerty is probably the sweetest goat ever and for this to happen is just really sad. I'm just glad that she wasn't hurt worse than she was....

The rest of the package...

This is what else came in the package with the easel from my dad --

Actually, there were 2 of these bracelet stands. I can take out the lower bars on the other one for use as a necklace stand. Dad used tropical cocobola wood for the middle upright, oak and black walnut for the side bars and cherry wood for the base and used danish oil for the finish. A perfect display for my cowgirl cuffs! I intend to do a few shows this spring and these will look great in my booth.

Don't you love the heart base? Perfect!

Silent Sunday

Sneaking up on her prey?

The Cowgirl's Cookbook

I'm always on the lookout for anything cowgirl related. I love cowgirl quotes and vintage cowgirl pics. I think I might possibly have lived in the wild west days in my previous life. :)

I recently met fellow cowgirl, Jill Charlotte Stanford, who found me through my blog. She hails from Sisters, Oregon, and is the author of this very cool cookbook:

Not only is it chock full of great cowgirl cuisine, but it is has a heaping helpin' of great cowgirl pics and quotes. It was a really fun read and I found more than a few recipes that I am going to try (how about Kickin' Apple Pie Enchiladas? I'm going to try these soon!)

This from the back of the book: "Take a dash of western myth, a sprinkle of vintage photographs, and a dollop of tall tales, simmer with a delicious selection of western recipes and, voila - The Cowgirl's Cookbook. From Cow Punchers Punch to June's Ranch Beans, Cackleberries on Toast to Cowgirl Crude Salsa, Fit for a Queen Green Chili Soup to Texas Two-Step Blackberry Dumplings, these hearty fixins will feed a city girl's fantasy as well as a country boy's belly."

You can order the book through Amazon. I think this would be a great gift for anyone, or even a gift for yourself! Maybe as a birthday or housewarming gift - tucked inside a basket with a few of the fixins' for some of these great recipes.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Don't screw with me, fellas.
This ain't my first time
at the rodeo."
- Lulu Parr

A Little Gift for Me!

I recieived a package delivered to my door this afternoon from my dad in Michigan. (Thanks Dad, you rock! I'll let you ride my horse when you come out...) My dad is a very talented woodworker and has built much of the furniture in my house. This wasn't anything that big, but this little easel, made out of black walnut wood: I love it! Now, I bet you are wondering why exactly I wanted such a little bitty easel? Well, last week when I blogged about the Etsy Whoa Horse Artist Team, I told you I had found a few things for myself and I'd share with you later.... well, check out these cool little works of art from Danielle Barlow Art:

These are ACEOs (Art Card Editions and Originals) and are 2 and 1/2 by 3 and 1/2 inches.

Horses, goats and bunnies! I love Danielle's work. We worked out a trade. She wanted one of my cowgirl cuffs and I wanted some of her work...I put the easel next to my computer with all of the ACEOS on it. Each day I can rotate a new card to the front and have a different one to enjoy. I'm already looking at new ones to add to my collection!

Check out Danielle's shop when you have a minute. Besides ACEOs she offers other beautiful original artwork.

Oh, and there was more in the package from my dad, but I'll save that for another post. ;)

A Little Horse Humor

I received this in an e-mail. Anyone with a horse will be nodding their head (and laughing) when they read this!

THE HORSE'S DICTIONARY

Arena: Place where humans take the fun out of forward motion.
Bucking: Counterirritant.
Crossties: Gymnastic apparatus.
Dressage: Process by which some riders can eventually be taught to respect the bit.
Fence: Barrier that protects good grazing.
Hitching rail: Means by which to test one's strength.
Horse trailer: Mobile cave bear den.
Jump: An opportunity for self-expression.
Latch: Type of puzzle.
Longeing: Procedure for keeping a prospective rider at bay.
Owner: Human assigned responsibility for serving one's meals, aka "room service"
Rider: Owner who is overstepping her 'ownership' privileges.
Farrier: Disposable surrogate owner useful for acting out aggression without compromising food supply.
Trainer: Owner with mob connections.
Veterinarian: Flightless albino vulture.

Courtyard Wall Progress...and SNOW!

Last week we had 80 degree weather. It was like spring! This morning, we woke up to several inches of snow!

Progress is slow on the courtyard wall, but here are some of the pillars. Looking good...

The weather is supposed to warm back up tomorrow, so work can continue. I'll share more pics later.




This is the view from my work table where I do my creating...and blogging!


We only get snow here once or twice a year, so I always have to go out and get pics...

Angel had been eating snow right before I snapped this pic...

Piper and Sassy - Piper usually takes her mid-morning nap in the same spot. Today it was covered with snow. I saw she was napping standing up, but then finally couldn't take it anymore and had to lie down. I came in to get the camera but by the time I went out she was back up. Gerty and Valentine...The snow is steadily melting, although we still have quite a bit left on the ground. It will be gone by tomorrow. It's always pretty while it lasts....

Silent Sunday

Piper...

The gang's all here (almost)

I was looking through my pictures and found this montage my brother put together for me awhile back of all of our animals. Well, at the time it was all of them... we've acquired a few more since then (specifically, 1 little filly, one dog and 5 bunnies) Top left is my mare, Liberty. She is no longer with us (a gal in Phoenix bought her and loves her to pieces. I miss Libs)

Top middle is Gerty sporting her hat (I did mention previously that I'd dress up anything that would sit still long enough, didn't I???)

Top right is Sassy, Lee's horse. She's a little princess and don't get in the stall with her or she'll stalk you and make you pay! I have personal experience with this.

Middle left is Bandit. aka Bandito Brown, Bandy Boy. He's a sweet old guy who is just hanging out, enjoying his retirement these days.

In the very middle is Sandie. Sadly, she is no longer with us. I adopted her from the Humane Society when she was 8 weeks old and she lived to be nearly 16. Sure do miss that girl, too.

Middle right is Nutmeg. Boy, she was a little fatty in this pic. It was shortly after we rescued her from living in a hutch in someone's garage, all but forgotten by the kids who she was bought for. :( Apparently they fed her well, but that was about it.

Bottom left is Phoenix, the old guy, smiling for the camera.

On the middle left is Patches. She was little in this pic! She grew up to be 10 lbs! She's our gunga-galunga bunny. Otherwise known as Patches Monster or Biggie.

The middle right is Valentine. Our "porch goat"... (see previous post)

And lastly, the bottom right is Angel, our Rotten-weiler. I picked her up on the side of the freeway in a thunder storm almost 10 years ago. Her official job is to go out and check on the horses every morning and make sure everyone is behaving.

The others that are not pictured are Piper (my rescued PMU filly), 5 "baby" bunnies, who are now a year and a half old (oops bunnies from a bunny I rescued that ended up being pregnant. Surprise!) and Snuffy (Snuffaluffagus) the neighbor's black lab who decided he liked it at our house better than theirs and and has basically never gone home. Oh, and our four chickens, none of which really have names, other than the Rhode Island Red, who we call "Red"... original, I know.

So, there ya have it, the entire bunch. Never a dull moment around this place!

Ever get that feeling?

I was sitting on the sofa the other day reading a magazine when I got that weird feeling that I was being watched....



"Hi mom! How 'bout letting a goat in?"

I'm sure if I did, she'd go right for the sofa, too. Crazy goat!

Purpleicious Treasury

I'm in another treasury! Thanks to Erin of NatureVisions for including my Amethyst Horse Head Bracelet. (third down on the right hand column). She said she found me by searching through the Whoa Team items. Nice! Click on the pic to go to the treasury page so you can really see the beautiful shades of purple of these items. Reminds me of spring...

Whoa Horse Artists Group

I recently joined this Etsy team, also known as the Whoa Team. The goal of the team is to raise awareness of the wonderful unique Horse Art that can be purchased on Etsy and to network, share skills and help promote each other's shops. And let me tell you, there are some awesome artists in this group! I'm very excited to be a part of this team. You can find a list of member artists on the Whoa Team's profile page by clicking on the link above.

Here is a sampling of some of the great work you can find:

I love this adorable miniature watercolor by Artwolf

Or how about a miniature piece of art to wear around your neck? This Bay Mare necklace is by Gypsy Mare StudiosDanielle Barlow Art offers ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals), which are miniature collectible works of art, of her wonderful horse art (she also paints other animals, including BUNNIES!) Love this black and white paint...

There are so many talented artists in this team. Treat yourself and take some time to browse Etsy by searching for Whoa Team. You might just find something you can't live without! (I know I did -- I'll show you what it is in a later post!)

Oh, and almost forgot to mention, check out the Whoa Team blog...

Silent Sunday