Two Months Is a Long Time Between Posts

"Listen up, Missy. It's time you got back to blogging."

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Friday Fun

"Now where did I leave my gloves?"

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Rural Thursday - What a Difference a Day Makes

So yesterday it's 80 degrees outside and a deer is on our front porch munching on the lilac bush. Which is okay, because there will be no lilac flowers this year. All the buds died in the frost we had a couple of weeks ago. Somebody ought to get some enjoyment out of that bush and it might as well be "Bud". (Notice the ring on the deer's topnotch that looks like a washer? That's how he got his name. . .that little ring is where his antler will "bud".)

"Bud" caught in the act.

Anyway, so that was yesterday. And this is the mountains in May. And we need moisture. And we got it. And my husband is now doing "the happy dance" because it's snowing. 

I am not amused.

(Blessings,)

Nancy

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Spring on the Homestead

The day I took this photo (last week) 

the daytime temperature was in the high 70's. 

The next morning it snowed. 

Such is the month of May in the Rockies.

Hope your day is full of sunshine.

Blessings,

Nancy

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River Walk

This fence runs along the River Walk in Estes Park, Colorado. Our new shop A Joyful Cottage is in the building to the right, just a few steps away. 

When I arrive at the shop and get out of my car in the morning, I hear the rushing water 
and smell the clean, fresh air. 

Not Heaven, but close.

(For photos of our shop, skip over to A Joyful Cottage 

and scroll down.)

Blessings,

Nancy

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Play Time

Earlier last week I watched our neighbor's horses frolick around the corral in a light sprinkling of snow. By the time I retrieved my camera they had stopped. I was disappointed, but then they began nuzzling and nibbling each other and 

I ended up with this playful shot. 

Blessings,

Nancy

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Rural Thursday

Friday's Fences
Camera Critters
Your Sunday Best
Weekly Top Shot

Rural Thursday - No Lawn Mower Required

Suddenly the landscape is green again. The temperature has been in the 70's and yesterday we receive a little rain.

During the night I actually heard thunder 

and saw flashes of lightning. 

The elk have returned to our homestead to graze.

Soon the wildflowers will show up.

Ahhh spring, when a young man's fancy turns to love and the elk mow the grass for us.

It doesn't get any better than this.

What's going on in your rural world?

Blessings,

Nancy

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Rural Thursday - First Week in April on the Homestead

The lilacs are budding, the lilacs are budding!

We got some moisture. (Answer to prayers.)

The snow melted and we discovered a big mound in our yard. Dennis thinks it could be a badger burrow. Last night I dreamed in Disney animation about a badger, a bunny, a bear and a skunk. They stood on a little knoll 
and talked to each other in Brooklyn accents.
I'm worried.

Here's hoping all your dreams are happy ones.

Nancy


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Rural Thursday - Grooming Time on the Homestead

Sometimes I feel a little like a voyeur when it comes to photographing the deer that visit our homestead.

Honestly, they can't even groom in private.

"Oh, no. There she is with her camera again."

"Oh yeah? Well, let's see her shoot this."

"Could you get that itchy place right behind my right ear, please?"

"Oh yeah, yeah. That's it. Oooh, that makes the fur on my back stand up."


Hope you're having a fun rural Thursday, too.

Blessings,

Nancy

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Cross on the Mountain

We've had beautiful weather this week. Lot of sunshine, few clouds. Temperature in the high 50's - 60's.

This was the view driving into our neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. I stopped and took the photo about 1/4 mile from our homestead. Shooting from this distance gives the best view of Prospect Mountain, which overshadows us, but you can't see our place from here. 

It's another 1/8 mile up the street on the right.

If you look closely you'll see a cross at the top center of the mountain. Seeing the cross every day brings me comfort.

Blessings,

Nancy

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Rural Thursday - Bird House Love

Birdhouses draw me like a magnet.

Lyons Farmette, Lyons, CO

Meadow Mountain Cafe, Allenspark, CO

Adobe Inn, Ridgway, CO

Fawnbrook Inn, Allenspark, CO

Meadow Mountain Cafe, Allenspark, CO

Estes Park, CO

“How is the birdhouse coming along, Charlie Brown?" 

"Well, I'm a lousy carpenter, I can't nail straight, I can't saw straight and I always split the wood... I'm nervous, I lack confidence, I'm stupid, I have poor taste and absolutely no sense of design... So, all things considered, it's coming along okay!”

--Charles M. Schulz, The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 5: 1959-1960

Blessings,

Nancy

Joining Rural Thursday. Flap your wings and fly to the site for more rural fun.

Rural Thursday - Rustic Charm

It's been a very busy day at the homestead, 

but things have finally slowed down 
and the cabin is quiet now. 

The dinner dishes are done, Dennis is off to a meeting 

and I'm catching up on my blogging.  

Remember the red barn outside of Lyons, Colorado
that I showed you on Tuesday? 

Well, I thought it would be fun to zoom out 

and let you see more of this charming ranch. There's a newer home that you can't see (it's to the left in this photo), but I couldn't get a clear shot from the road and, honestly, you're not missing much. The old buildings are more interesting.

Here's a close up of the old house. I couldn't tell if this beauty is occupied now, or not. It sort of looks deserted.

I'm not sure, but I think the old red sandstone structure on the right is a root cellar. On the other hand, it could be the original house on the homestead. I'm so curious to know the history of this place.

This is the south side of the house (on the right if you're looking at the front of the house). Notice there are two chimneys in the photo, which means there are at least three chimneys total on the house (remember, there were two in the previous photo). Maybe multiple fireplaces or potbellied stoves heat the house?

Here's another shot of the barn and the tool shed next to it. I love, love, love that fence. 
(Did I mention I love the fence?)

And a closer look of the barn and shed, where you catch a glimpse of the funky barbed wire fence.

On another note, Paula is the winner of our artwork giveaway at A Joyful Cottage. Congratulations Paula!

So that's the news from our homestead. 
What's going on in your rural world?

Nancy

Rural Thursday links up some of the best rural and simple living blogs on the net. Check it out.

And check out Friday's Fences, too!

Rural Thursday - Wagons Ho!

It's been another crazy busy week at the homestead. I'd love to share it all with you, but I have to get back to my crazy busy work. 

I decided that today would be a good day to post my 

never-before-published "old wagon" photos. 

So grab your bonnet or wide-brimmed hat, Pioneers, and let's head on out.

I took this photo last week while driving back from a friend's house. That wagon has been beckoning to me for months and I finally just pulled over and snapped it. I edited the photo to show off the wagon's rusticity and that wonderful barrel with the red poinsettias.

I call this photo "Deb's Wagon" because. . .well. . .it's my friend Deb's wagon. This beautiful wagon rests in her backyard. I'm sure her grandchildren love to play in it. What am I saying? I'D like to play in that wagon.

I spied this wagon a few weeks ago while we were driving home from shopping in Ft. Collins. Thankfully, we were on a country road and my dear husband was able to pull over quickly when I cried, 

"Stop! Stop! I need to photograph that wagon!"

There's something about the "brownness" of this scene that appeals to me. It's almost sepia-like.

Finally, my Taos Wagon photo. The style of this wagon is very much like the one in the previous photo. Did you notice the little tin pail and cup on the shelf? So charming.

I see old wagons and I imagine the people that once used them. Pioneers heading out to parts unknown. Becoming the hard-working, simple folk who lived close to the land and used these wagons for every day chores and errands. 

I'm glad there are people who have rescued these beautiful remnants of a by-gone era for our visual enjoyment.

"So Pa sold the little house. He sold the cow and calf. He made hickory bows and fastened them upright to the wagon box. Ma helped him stretch white canvas over them."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

"Now the LORD said to Abram,

         'Go forth from your country,

         And from your relatives

         And from your father’s house,

         To the land which I will show you;'"

Genesis 12:1

Be sure to enter my artwork giveaway at

A Joyful Cottage

Blessings, Nancy

Today I'm joining Rural Thursday. Visit this wonderful site for more rural fodder:

Thursday on the Homestead - Don't Judge a Day by Its Blog Hop

Holey moley, things are getting a little out of hand here on the Homestead. I'm honestly starting to track which day of the week it is by which blog hop I'm joining. And I spend my spare time (wait a minute! what spare time?) trying to figure out which blog hops go along with my planned post. And, oh yeah, do I have coordinating photographs? I mean, this is like putting a new outfit together. (Oh, I love that dress, but I have no shoes to go with it. And what about jewelry? Do I have the right style?)  And then there's this whole "word verification" thing that Google insists on supporting and which is making everybody crazy and. . .

I'm sorry, am I confusing you? Why don't I just shut up and we'll look at some photos and you can answer the question: "What do these images have in common?"

Front Yard Guests are the Best

Nothin' But Horseplay

Stock up with BYGO (I love it when my husband does the shopping).

Ok, so did you figure out the answer to the question?

Hey, I knew you'd get it. 

You're smart.

"One today is worth two tomorrows." 

Benjamin Franklin

Nancy
Today is Thursday (at least I think it is) and I'm joining:

and

Thursday Challenge

For more pretty photos by bloggers who won't confuse you like me, 

hop on over to those two sites.