Celebrate the Night

I’ve been sorting through paperwork most of the day. After dinner I stepped outside with a bit of cinnamon whiskey and watched and listened to the night come in.

 Wonderful time of day. Not a breath of wind this evening just a wonderful dusk darkening into night.

 The mastiffs came out with me and romped around the yard going on guard as they heard one neighbor’s dog then another go on barking guard. The first dog sounded about a mile from me… the second about a half mile. Whatever night predator set them on alert was moving through not sticking around those places.

A cow was lowing, calling out, not in terror, more like calling a calf. I leaned on my fence listening to two owls call back and forth.

The night is coming alive.

Life  is a journey, savor the moments

Mary E. Robbins
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Beautiful Calm Morning

Good Morning Peeps… Beautiful Calm Morning. No wind at all.

The sun is shining melting the ice from the freeze last night. Ran the house Pominators out before the sun was up… they are back inside sleeping again now. The mastiffs are out in the house yard.

I hear Captain (Yellow Lab) doing his morning bark routine. Must be a ranch cat in the midyard bugging him. Or he is barking just to be barking as he seems to like to do. He is in a solo run next to Bully (lab cross)and Jazzy (pit lab cross). All three came in at the same time the summer of 2003. They were dog/human aggressive and were to be put down, so here they are 9 years later. Jazzy is getting a bit gray around the muzzle, she is a shiny black spayed female.

My right knee is screaming this morning. I put some Blue Emu on it… let that absorb then some Unkers. Still hurts but it’s holding . Have my kelso earth shoes on they seem to make a significant positive difference with my knees so I’ll just see how the day goes. The bugger is grinding pretty good this morning. The worst thing I could do is not use it… so tough on the grinding I’m taking the trash out to the burn bin.

I made a pen out of sheet metal steel posts and grates across the top to cut down on fire hazard. After this bin fills up with ashes, I’ll break it down and move it to another spot in the chicken yard. The chickens and other birds us the ashes to dust in. No mites on my feathered friends… lol…

Heard pheasant call again this morning. That sound always makes me smile.

Life is a journey... appreciate the moments.
Mary E. Robbins
307.788.0202
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Shared Breakfast and Early Morning Birdsong.

The hubs and I just finished breakfast…grapefruit, basted eggs, golden potatoes sautéed in olive oil, grilled pepper bacon, and fresh strong black coffee.

I stepped outside to breathe in the wonderful moist air and to listen to the birds celebrating the morning. I love the sound of them, their voices all individual in their song, yet in wonderful harmony. The aged juniper tree in the front yard is full of sheltering birds chirping and singing welcome to the new day.

There is a wind advisory for today, but it is still wonderfully calm, and a warm 31 degrees F (-1 C). It is nearly 7 A.M. and the sky is a study in shades of gray as the artistry of the clouds shift overhead.

It rained a bit last night and there is a skiff of snow across the yards and pastures.


It was good to have breakfast together. This is something we have not done much of in the 20 years we have been married. David, the hubs, was gone on the railroad most of the time. Now that he has retired we are adjusting to being in the same place most of the time. Lol. This has been an interesting process. Each of us trying to sort out what our territories are. Frustrating at times, and actually rather funny if you allow yourself to see the humor in the situation.

Now I am at my computer and he is watching Dances With Wolves on the big screen. I like to listen to the dialogue. It’s like being read a story and gives my mind the chance to fill in the pictures.

I gargled with peroxide and mouthwash mixed a couple times last night, and once this morning and my throat is feeling a bit better. I’m going to continue this routine through the weekend and see if it heals up. It’s been rather nasty, feverish, and swollen. I should have started the peroxide earlier, but I wasn’t sure if it was an infection in my throat again, or soreness from whiplash. It seems it was both. I found some salve, Unkers, that has been helping with the muscle pain. It seems to be helping the muscles to actually heal as well.

There is a marked change in the tenderness where my jaw and neck meet in those glands this morning. Yesterday they were swollen and tender enough to make me wince in pain if I turned my head or touched that area. I’m going to give it a couple more days, treating it with the peroxide (ick nasty taste). If it hasn’t markedly improved by then I’ll call the doctor.

I had enough relief last night that I actually slept pretty well. Felt good. Enough of neck pain and peroxide.

Got some happy news, I’d been rather frustrated with my glasses because I’d scratched them up something awful. I decided to call the eye clinic where we bought them to see if they could polish out the scratches. The person I talked to said no, they could not polish them out, but they would replace the lenses. They called me the other day and said the lenses had come in. Now to get into town and have them put into my frames. I did not expect them to replace the lenses, it was a nice surprise.

Today is day 27 of the 100 days challenge: and I am heading to the stationary bike to get my morning workout in. It feels really good to be following through with this.  Ok… I am off to peddle.

Life is a journey, Enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins.

Wood peckers, Frost, and Banana Bread

This morning as I was out gathering eggs I paused on the way into my chicken house. This little bird caught my eye, he was clinging to the stalk of a horse weed pecking away. I was wishing I had my camera, but alas I did not. He had a red mark on the back of his head, a white belly and black wings. It wasn’t until this evening that I sat down at the computer and did a search to see if I could identify what he was. As it turns out, it was a male Downy Woodpecker. I’d never seen one on a horse weed stalk before. I just stood and watched him for a bit. Then I went on inside the chicken house and gathered my treasure. The treasure would be fresh chicken eggs. Lol.

I love it that Wikipedia has the sounds of the birds. I didn’t realize it but I’ve heard them singing or calling whatever you want to call it. Them, referring to the Downy Woodpeckers; I truly enjoy the wild birds out here.

I heard that male pheasant calling again today, he was in the grass, or tree row, to the west of the house today. I didn’t see him, just heard him.

There was around an inch of snow on the ground this morning. It didn’t last long though by this afternoon it had melted into the earth. Good for the pastures. Good for me too, it helps to keep the dust down when the wind blows.

This morning it was calm, a breeze picked up as the day progressed. It is calm again this evening. I went back out to put the hairballs in for the night and my headlamp was exposing millions of brilliant diamonds in the frozen grasses I was walking over. Diamonds, or stars in the grass, actually it was frost sparkling in the light; strikingly beautiful.

There is a fair bit of moisture in the air this night. I wonder if there will be hoarfrost in the morning.

The night sky is clear with just a sliver of a moon showing. I love to get out away from the yard lights and just look up at the sky and stare at the beauty of it. For some reason they seem so much more brilliant on cold nights. It was 20 degrees F while I was out and about this evening.

Beautiful calm night, I am thankful the wind is not blowing. It can be rather wearing after a while. So much fine dust in the air and everywhere. It’s nice to have clear air to breathe for a bit.

Baked banana bread this afternoon while I was sorting my spices and moving them to their own cabinet. I really dislike having them all jumbled up. When they are like that I can look straight at what I’m seeking and not see it. Today I sorted and alphabetized the whole lot of them. Had multiples of quite a few. Now they are in their little cabinet all in rows alphabetized. If I can’t find what I’m looking for now, odds are it just is not there. Lol. The cabinet is on a shelf above my range. May not be the best place for it, but that’s where it is. Lots of climbing on my little step ladder this afternoon. Lol.

It’s good to be baking again. I love whipping up quick breads by hand, then enjoying the aroma as they bake, and pulling out that hot loaf all split across the top and browned.

Life’s simple pleasures, the sight of a wood pecker, sparkling frost, and banana bread.

Speaking of which, I think I’ll have a slice with my tea before a hot bath.



Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins
307.788.0202

Good Morning , Cuppa Tea?

I love the first blush of the morning, just before sunrise when you can just see the light coming up the eastern horizon. This morning it is so calm. A welcome relief after the winds of yesterday.

I got up put the kettle on for a bit of tea, put a load of laundry in the washer. Those compression pants I’d been wearing were in dire need of a good wash. Had a brief word with my husband, he’s more than likely going back to bed as he was up most of the night. Stepped outside to see what the morning felt like.

It is totally calm. No wind, no coyotes howling, no dogs barking, then I heard it. It would seem I startled a pheasant when I walked across the yard to the thermometer to check the reading. One startled call and then quiet. Well quiet from the pheasant that is. The kennels decided to say good morning.

It’s 30 degrees F (-1 C), amazing how that can feel so much warmer than over 40 degrees when the wind is blowing. Ran the mastiffs out to go potty, brought them back in and ran the house hairballs out. They were dancing and yipping to go after I let the big dogs out.

I don’t run these 2 groups out in the same yards at the same time, Sara’s head is bigger than the Happy Hairballs (Poms) bodies. She is a love but I keep her separated from them, mainly because she is serious about her yard guard duties. Well that and if she thinks I’m annoyed with anyone or anything, she steps up to “discipline” them. She is really good at reading my attitudes and body language. As well as being fiercely loyal.

The hairballs are zipping around the yards, kicking their feet out backwards and stretching. Yapping at the farm cats and doing their business. Gonna have to rake that yard again… pooper scooper anyone? Lol.

Put another log in the wood stove and damped it back down. I absolutely love that soapstone stove. We are using less than half the wood we used in the other stove we had. This one is that beautiful gray soapstone, with a glass view pane in the front. When it’s damped down the fire dances around in a deep orange swirl with bits of blue at the base. It is so beautiful.

Time for another hot cup of tea and raw honey. Feels good in my throat after that wind yesterday. Working out in the wind always gives me a raw throat, the dust of the straw didn’t help any. I am thankful for raw honey to help heal it up. Amazing what it does to reduce allergies as well. Before I started using local raw honey that straw would have had me taking allergy meds and on a nebulizer trying to breathe. By the way, do not put it in the microwave you will reduce it’s effectiveness, and it’s ok that it’s thick and kind of crystallized. That’s normal for raw honey. Oh and yes there is probably a bit of beeswax in it. That’s normal too, no worries, it will not hurt you to eat it.

The washing machine has finished that load. So I’ll draw to a close for now.


May you have a blessed day in every way.

Mary E. Robbins

Musings on a Rainy Day...

It’s a rainy foggy morning. When I first got up it was as if we were shrouded in a fuzzy gray wrap. It was not possible to see beyond the posts on the opposite side of the road. That was several hours ago. It is still raining, not flooding, just a slow gentle rain. The kind that makes the grasses in the pastures and the trees celebrate in an explosion of life. The Fog has cleared a bit, I can now see the shadowy outline of our nearest neighbor’s trees. They are about a half mile away.

I watched the storm come in late yesterday afternoon. I saw the rain on the ridges to the south of us. Dark gray clouds hugging the tops of the craggy hills. As I was watching the storm’s progress; the sun was shining here.

A slight wind picked up from the southeast. I knew the clouds were circling back to us when the wind graced us with it’s presence from the southeast. There was a dramatic shaft of rainbow wide and bright shooting up into the heavens over the far hills to the southeast. Brightly dramatic in it’s beauty. I thought of hurrying for my camera; and decided to savor the moment instead of trying to capture it. I’ve noticed over the years you can never really capture the moment; merely a shadow of the real thing no matter the beauty of the photograph.

So often when we try to hold too tight we lose the essence of the moment we have been blessed with. So this time I savored the essence so sweet it was in its fleeting existence.

The clouds continued their march and overtook the hills the rainbow had been shinning over. This has been a gentle storm. No threatening lightening, with it’s booming echoing thunder rolling through the shattered air as an angry dragon gone to war. No tornadoes twisting their angry way through the atmosphere capriciously touching down here and there as if it were a naughty child bent on having a tantrum on an epic scale.

No flash floods rushing down the hills; cutting through the soil leaving an open gash; and debris littered in their wake. This has been a gentle rain, a calm storm, wet to be sure, chilled over the baby animals-yes, but life renewing for the pastures exploding in growth. Grasses and wildflowers exploding in a dance of growth.

Life is a journey, each moment a precious gift to be savored.
Mary E. Robbins
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream In Wild Wonderful Wyoming
307.788.0202