Cowgirl Finds for a Friday Morning

Check out all the cowgirl goodies in this way cool Etsy Treasury created by Runway Crochet (click here if you'd like to see a larger view and be able to click on each item):

My Bronze Spirit Horse bracelet is included in this collection of must-have cowgirl gear (3rd pic down on the left side).  What a nice surprise on a Friday.  And to show my appreciation (for Fridays, Etsy Treasuries and Cowgirls!) I'm offering this bracelet at 20% off the regular price through Sunday.  You can find the bracelet in my shop here.

(UPDATE:  This sold in record time this morning!  If you had your heart set on this bracelet, I'd be happy to custom make one for you at the sale price, just send me an e-mail.)  Oh, and I posted a new Friday Featured Item on my Facebook page...

Happy Friday and Happy Trails Cowgirls...

Mackinac Island

As promised, more on our trip to Mackinac Island.  This place is SO cool!  The day we were there we had perfect 70 degree weather, sunny.  It was beautiful.  The thing that makes the island so unique is that there are no cars allowed.  There are ferry services that take you the short 15 minute ride over from either Mackinac City (in the lower peninsula) or St. Ignace (in the upper peninsula).  The 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge connects the upper and lower peninsulas and is quite a sight to see itself.

Travel around the island is by horse, bike or walking.

We rented bikes and rode the 8 miles around the outside of the island.  My nephew had fun riding up ahead --- freedom!

And the big kids had fun, too...

The view of Arch Rock from the road:

One of the must-sees on the Island is The Grand Hotel.  It was built in the late 1800s. 

Just a friendly reminder... ha ha.

The grounds of the hotel are impeccably manicured and lush.  So much green grass and flowers!  A real treat for us coming from the desert.  If you look closely in the middle of this picture, just to the left of the clump of trees is a little bunny!  It was just stretched out, relaxing.  Life at The Grand is good for bunnies, too, apparently.

Love the full size horse and carriage topiary!

And no trip is complete without famous Mackinac Island FUDGE!  As you walk down the sidewalk of main street that is all you can smell.  Mmmmm. 

I wanted to take this entire slab home!  But I settled for a mere pound of it.

The next time we go back we have other things on our list to be sure to do, like going inside Fort Mackinac.  This time around we only took pictures from the outside.  Lots of history here.

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What a great trip we had. If you ever get a chance to visit here, I highly recommend it.

Bunny Sunday

We've been getting a lot of rain lately and it has been great for my garden.  A lot of the garden is dedicated to the "Bunny Salad Bar"... herbs and other fresh veggies to keep the bunnies happy.

I have a whole row of carrots for the bunnies (they even let me have a few every now and then).  This is what happens, though, when you don't thin out your carrots as they are starting to come up.

Luckily, the bunnies really don't care if the carrots come out deformed!  And they like the carrot tops as much, if not more, than the carrots themselves. 

Bellied up to the carrot breakfast buffet:

Digger: nom, nom, nom

Sandie making quick work of a carrot (bonus shot of Digger - boy, he makes that carrot top look good):

Turbo:  action shot!

Close up!

Happy Bunny Sunday.  See you next week!

Back from Vacation!

We finally took a vacation away from our little ranch ~ something we rarely do.  It's so hard to leave all the animals, but we left them in very capable hands and, of course, everyone was just fine when we returned home.  I'd like to say I didn't worry, but that would be a big lie! 

We left our desert retreat and headed for Michigan to the little town I grew up in.  It's been awhile since I've been back there and Lee has never been there with me.  We also brought along my 10 year old nephew who hasn't been there since he was 3, so it was a real treat for him!

Do you think this Arizona cowboy looks a little out of place? 

He did finally relinquish his hat and donned something more appropriate for a bike ride around the neighborhood....

We had a very small-town-summer visit.  There was the church festival happening all weekend, complete with polka band, chicken dinner (which we missed out on) and even a parade through downtown!  Next was our annual family reunion.  I saw lots of relatives that I hadn't seen in many years plus met cousins I didn't even know I had.  We even had front row seats to some pretty nice fireworks one night (courtesy of my dad's neighbor).

And no visit to Michigan is complete without a trip to the famous Mackinac Island.  We had perfect weather for our day trip there, sunny and mid 70s.  I wish we could have stayed on the island for several days.  (next time!)  It was so lush and green...and all that water! 

Coming in to the harbor:

Arch Rock:

Skipping stones into Lake Huron (Mackinac Bridge in the background):

I could do an entire post on Mackinac Island, so I think that is exactly what I'll do.  Check back tomorrow for more pics and history on this really cool place to visit.

Bunny Sunday

Finally I'm able to post a video!  You know, pics of the bunnies are great, but there's nothing like a video, up close and personal.

So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and relax and imagine you are sitting out in the bunny casa early in the morning (oh, and turn up the volume to get the full effect)...

There, now don't you feel relaxed?  It always works for me!

Have a great Bunny Sunday.

Nature Interrupted (and a happy ending)

I have been seeing lots of wildlife lately.  As our monsoon season starts to hit it seems all of the critters come out.  The other night we had a tarantula at the front door.  The day before yesterday, we saw a Gila Monster on the side of our road.  Yesterday I saw a horned toad in my garden.  And there have been TONS of lizards all over the place.  But this next sighting takes the cake....

I was sitting inside reading when I heard a loud squeaking noise in the front courtyard.  I finally got up to see what it was, thinking it was a bird that often comes by and makes all kinds of noise.  When I walked out the front door, the squeaking stopped.  There is an old milk can next to the front door and I noticed there was a snake wrapped around and behind it! ( NOTE:  I am not crazy about snakes.)  I did a quick check and saw no rattle on the tail, so went back inside to get a broom to shoo him off the patio and on his way.

When I went back outside as soon as I started to shoo the snake out from behind the milk can, the squeaking started again and LOUD.  That is when I noticed it had something in it's mouth and that was what was doing the squeaking.  This is where it gets surreal.  The "thing" in the snake's mouth was a BABY COTTONTAIL BUNNY.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing!  Being the bunny mama that I am, I sprang in to action and fought that snake for the bunny (picture hand-to-snake combat here).  OK, not really, I just beat the heck out of it with the broom until it dropped the bunny and slithered out of the courtyard.

I grabbed the bunny (who again started squeaking like crazy) and wrapped him in a towel.  This little guy was no bigger than a small hamster.  I checked him over and he had snake slobber on his sides, but didn't appear to be seriously injured.  He looked to be maybe a couple weeks old, not quite old enough to be out of the nest on his own.  And I had no idea where the nest might be, so I couldn't return him.  I put him in a box with some hay and brought him into the house.  Now, you KNOW I wanted to keep this little fluff ball.  But, I thought better of it.

So sweet!

Luckily, there is a wildlife rehabilitation center very close to us, so I called them up and they were more than happy to take the bunny in.  They will bottle feed this little guy and care for him until he is big enough to release back into the desert. 

See, I told you it had a happy ending.  :)

(By the way, NEVER try to bottle feed a wild bunny with kitten replacement milk, it will cause the bunny to bloat and they will die.  Also, do not give them anything like gatorade.  There is a particular bunny replacement milk that they must be fed until they are old enough for solid foods.)  

Bunny Sunday

Nutmeg and Patches got together and decided to bestow Angel with the title of "honorary bunny". 

She was their friend and they all learned to share the house peacefully...even when Nutmeg tried to take over the couch...

And Angel took over Patches' spot in the hallway.

It was always great to see them relaxing, side by side, not a care in the world.  We miss you Angel!

Cowgirl Wisdom

This is one of my favorite quotes.  Seems simple enough, right?

Sometimes we all need a little reminder though to JUST DO IT!

Bunny Sunday

Wishing everyone a lazy bunny kind of 4th of July...

Relax and enjoy!

Snuffy meets Stinky

Yesterday morning, I went outside early to feed everyone.  As soon as I walked out the front door, I smelled it.  A skunk.  We've had a few around here in the past and usually as long as we leave them alone, they eventually go find somewhere else to live.  As I walked out to the horses, it seemed like the smell was following me.  And that is when I turned around and saw Snuffy.  Following me.  Yep, he'd apparently had a run in with Mr. Skunk.  And lost.

So, I jumped online and found a recipe for removing skunk odor from dogs that haven't yet learned that skunks are not to be messed with.  A simple concoction of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap.

And guess what?  IT ACTUALLY WORKED!

Snuffy was very contrite.  "Sorry mom, I just couldn't help myself."  Poor guy.

If you ever need the recipe (which I really hope you don't), you can find it here.  There are a few warnings that come along with this (such as don't put the mixture in a spray bottle for fear of it exploding).  Just little stuff like that.  So, PLEASE heed the warnings!  I don't want to be responsible for making a bad situation worse.  :)