My thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved in the Conifer fire:

Welcome Double J!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the newest member of the family...The Double J Ranch!  You can find us at dbljdotorg (soon) and dbljdotorg.blogspot.com (NOW!).

Please excuse this interruption to your regulary scheduled post:

 Meridian Trail

Good Morning Rebels!!!  I'm oh so busy getting ready for a garage sale; yes you read that correctly folks a garage sale in October!  We still have beautiful leaves, warm weather expected for the weekend and I have a ton of things that need to get cleaned out of this ranch house.  Garage sales are a great way of recycling and I am saving up for my tires so it is fun to have a goal in mind.  I also have a neighbor who would like to share the work; even better-a multi-family garage sale.

So, if you are a local, and you are going to be around this weekend...pop on by.  We are going to have all sorts of fun with my neighbors crafty stuff, the llamas and turkeys of course, baked goods at my daughter's lemonade stand, the garage sale....and as they say on the facebook page...The Royal Ranch driveway is the funnest driveway around!!!! 

Llamas and sheep and turkeys, oh my!!!

Photo courtesy of Kevin, our renter.

It seems that my last few posts have continually been of me sort of apologizing for not being here for one reason or another...I realize that is because my life has really been in an upheaval of sorts lately.  My sons moved on to college, my youngest started middle school, and I found out that my back "issue" is a permanent disability all at once; which led me to start making huge changes here at the ranch.

Well, this last week has really been a whopper if I do say so myself.  It started last Saturday when we place three llamas; and I must say that those boys really moved up in the world!  They now reside on 160 acres in a spectacular valley about an hour drive away; so I will be able to visit them often.  The transfer of the boys went flawlessly thanks to my fellow llama wrangler and partner in life and all things crazy, my hubby.

The very next day we headed off to the sister in law's house; as she works at a livestock auction.  I was going to take Paco, my ram, whom I was so positive would go as a fantastic breeding animal.  We loaded him and Esther, my ewe up (just for company for Paco) and headed out for eastern Colorado.  Monday was the big livestock auction, and when I say big, you must take that with a grain of salt because this really is a small town auction, but that is what I wanted for Paco and us since this was our first experience ever.

When we backed the trailer in there was commotion about our beautiful sheep and so I put Esther in the auction too; with a minimum.  They both sold at a premium price for what sheep are going for these days; I got what I purchased them for two years ago!  So, anyway, Annie (SIL), didn't have any help that day, so Tom and I pitched in and helped "load out".  Meaning that we got to load out all of the animals that were purchased at auction that day.  Some of them just a day old.  It was quite a learning experience for Tom, Isabella, Nathan and myself; but it was really cool because I was able to tell some of the new owners "hey, this one has a cough" or "this goat needs to be milked right away" or whatever.  I am hoping that maybe some of the new owners got instructions that they might not have gotten otherwise.

Esther had been one of the first to go.  I was sad to see her go, and I am pretty sure that she went to a great home.  And I say pretty sure because as the day wore on and I got more tired I saw some pretty crazy stuff.  Like a guy stuffing 16 goats and a giant pig in a trailer on top of a load of lumber that he had purchased; but we got them in!!!  All day I waited and wondered when Paco's new owner would come....and then a semi pulled up to the loading dock and my stomach sank.  That's right Rebels; my beautiful ram was headed to PA to a packing plant.

And that is also why they don't let crazy chicks like me carry guns; because when I went to say goodbye to him I literally thought that if I had had a gun I might just shoot him dead right there to avoid him having to travel half way across the country to get the old hammer head.  But I am a big girl, and I had made a big girl decision and I had to abide by it...  Think what you want of me but that is truly the way I felt.

Tom didn't think I looked to good after that little shock and working so hard all day so he took us all to Carl's Jr. after the auction; and that is when he calmly reminded me that he needed to take Tia with him the next day; she was to have knee surgery.  A dear friend was paying for her surgery and was going to care for her during her rehab so we were supposed to lose her for at least a couple of months; while she recuperated (I didn't think I was capable with my back).  I lost it!  I started choking on my all time favorite guacamole burger and was literally making a scene.  I had forgotten that the days were so close together and just didn't want to talk about one more loss at the time.

So Tuesday dawns and I have to say goodbye to Tia.  I get through that and take my son to the orthodontist and finally get his braces on.  Now this is a really big deal.  This kid has been waiting 18 years for these braces; he has a cleft pallet that has never been properly fixed and the clock was really ticking on this thing; if we didn't start now, there was no fixing it at all.  Big emotions there (this is my adopted son).  And then he's gone...back to college.  Another goodbye.

I'm not ashamed to say, Tuesday when I was driving home, I have never been so tired in my life.  I had said goodbye to my kids multiple times by now.  My back was killing me from working the auction the day before, I couldn't get the fact that my spectacular ram was on that semi headed east towards a hammer that I don't even believe in and now I was contributing too out of my head.... And my beloved Tia was gone for months!  At least, maybe more.  I got the kids off the bus and went to bed.

Well, it's amazing what a nap will accomplish; because when I woke up there was a message.  There had been a mix-up and Tia had to come home for a night....which led us to find out she really didn't need any lifting....she could still walk on three legs just like she did before the surgery!  And  do you know the most amazing thing Rebels????  My dear friend (actually Tia's breeder) still paid for her surgery!  And sent us all sorts of meds for the dear patient, like stuff for her arthritis which she is sure to get, and pain meds that oh thank the Lord that she has had because this has been one very painful surgery for the girl.

Tia and I have had a very busy week, what with all the pain and biting at her knee; we didn't even realize it was getting so close to Saturday....Turkey Day!  You know, I wasn't sure how to feel about Turkey Day, I was dreading it and looking forward to it all at once.  You Rebels know how much I loved those turkeys.  They were my pride and joy; they followed me all over the ranch, even to get the mail and when I laughed they gobbled.  But due to human intervention, if we had not harvested these turkeys, they would have gone down on their legs (their breasts are too large, the legs can't support them), or they would have died of a heart attack.

Photo courtesy of Teri, our friend/neighbor/customer!

Of course I had done a ton of research and was all ready for the big turkey harvesting and we turned it into a big party.  Check out some of the pictures on the facebook page if you want, still don't have a camera, thinking about putting on a donation button for that!  The pics were taken by a friend/neighbor/customer.  We were blessed that morning by our first visit by a big bull moose so I knew things were going to go well that day.  (I may do a post on turkey harvesting for my own records and for those that are agriculture readers, so  those that aren't beware!)

I can't believe all the changes we have made around here.  Three llamas, two sheep, two turkeys...  And we are not done yet.  But I think that is enough for right now.  My heart and head are still reeling from the loss of all the critters and kids.  And I would like to say another thing, I always say that things happen for a reason and I firmly believe that.  Like one of my turkeys getting killed by a neighbors dog and us not having one of that type to harvest for our family this year; well maybe our family is meant to have a heritage turkey (meaning not human intervened) for our first bird; who knows?  And we were invited over for the turkey dinner at our friend's house...there sure is plenty to go around!  Things always turn out the way they are supposed to...now wait to hear what I have up my sleeve!  Please, stay tuned in!!!  I have a music clue cued up for tomorrow as to what The Royal Ranch may be up to next....

Home of the FREE becasuse of the BRAVE....

 Photo courtesy of tattoodesign.me

A day to reflect, remember and appreciate all that we have, the freedoms we take for granted and those we hold dear.

Royal Ranch Royalty: Shades of Change

 Shade

Well it is time to sit down in front of my computer and try to heal my broken heart with words.  See, I have been telling you Rebels about changes here at The Royal Ranch and they have all really started to hit me these last few weeks; thus my absence from this blog.  

We lost our beloved cat Shade a few weeks back and I knew it would be very symbolic of the times ahead.  Shade was our nurse and one of my best friends here at the ranch.  If any one was not feeling well, Shade was the first to let me know by laying by that animal or person and meowing insistently!  It was uncanny his ability to know that a spirit was not well before they actually showed symptoms outwardly.  I guess it was from his time living at the vet clinic for so many years; Shade had been a blood donor cat before he came to live at the Royal Ranch.

Which is how he became a character in my childrens book, Llucky Llama.  His name in the book is no other than Cuddly Cat of course.  Cuddly Cat is buried right next to Dedicated Dog; my first Great Pyrenees that was one of the greatest dogs I have ever owned in my entire life.  As a matter of fact, that spot has not been used since Marilyn (Dedicated Dog) passed.  Tom tried to bury another dog there one time and about got his head bit off by me-ha!  Sometimes there are just animals that are extraordinarily special in our lives and Shade and Marilyn were those type of animals.

As I said, I knew the winds of change were blowing; I just didn't know how hard.  That week I had gotten the news about my back.  I had gone back in because my back just isn't making progress.  It will be a year in October since my surgery and I have tried everything except chiropractic care.  And I do mean everything.  Walking, Pilates, stretching, yoga, acupuncture, etc., although it is all very good stuff it does not completely take away my pain.  I saw multiple docs in one week, one of them a specialist on the field who then sent me to another ultra-specialist who all agree; this is a lifelong issue.

The good news is is that the last specialist I saw did give me a shot in the spine that sent me into a horrific tizzy for about a week; and boy was it a painful tizzy, but I am better now.  So Rebels, please keep your fingers crossed that I can get these shots every three months for a little bit of pain relief!!!!  The timing was perfect because my back was feeling better just in time for me to deal with my next big change....

Which is losing my sons.  And to be perfectly honest, I suck at letting go.  I know that they are going to college and that they are doing the best thing for them, and that this is what is supposed to happen, but it still really hurts my heart.  I miss them sooo much it physically hurts sometimes.  And I know I'm not the only one out there; maybe I am the only willing to admit it, I don't know.

We took them to Gunnison, Co; the home of Western State College on Friday.  They will share a dorm room and will start classes on Monday.  Thomas already got a job and Austin has an interview today; so their lives are just going wonderfully!  My heart bursts with pride each and every time I get a text or a call or an email from one of them.  I really can't believe that my 2 sons are at college; to be honest I wasn't sure it could really happen.

These are two boys that come from homes that are not made of money.  As a matter of fact they are the first of both their families to ever have gone to college.  Thankfully, due to Austins legal circumstances (our adopting him) his schooling is entirely paid for with grants and loans (mostly grants-yeah!); but it really came down to the wire with our Bubby.  We have been selling things (anyone need a plow truck? ha!) and creative budgeting like no one's business.  I even swapped for some of his text books (review of book swapping sites to come in the following days, there are definite differences!).

Speaking of Austin's other home, that has been a constant source of stress this week also.  Since we have been a part of his life I have been very careful to include his other family and try to make one big happy family so that the boy does not feel as if he has to choose between the two.  I know that he loves his dad and his sisters and needs to keep contact with them; it is very important.  But this last week has just about killed me.  His Dad has let him down one too many times in my book.  As have the step mom and the sisters and the rest of them....I just couldn't take the hurt expression on my sons face any longer.  On the way up to Gunnison, I kept asking Tom what I could do to make up for the terrible week he had had, and all he kept saying is "Hon, you've got to let it go, you are already doing the best you can.  Just be who you are.  He knows how much WE love him."

I was telling my sister that I was so upset that Thursday, the last day I had with the boys had been such a stressful day because we had been running to Austins last dental appointments and needed to get their toiletries, etc.  And that at first I was wishing we had spent it differently, but when I looked back on it, I had been able to sneak in the fact that I had asked the dentist about cleft pallets and they are not related to fetal alcohol or drug abuse; a fact which Austin had grown up thinking and blaming his Mother for.  And when his Dad told him he wasn't coming home to say goodbye to his own son before he left for college; well I was there to buffer the blow and explain to Austin that it was because he just couldn't handle saying goodbye.

So, sometimes even a harried, stressful day can turn into one that is very meaningful to those we love.  That night when we got home, hours later than we had planned, our neighbors were waiting for us.  They were here gathered to say goodbye to our beloved boys.  They are the ones who truly love and respect these kids.  It's not always blood that makes a family.  We had my daughter's best friend and her Mom and sister.  The boys' best friend who is one year younger (poor kid getting left behind) and his family, who have truly become our dearest friends; and our beloved neighbors Dan and Judy over.  It was so perfect.

In the midst of all of this; I have been eluding to changes here at The Royal Ranch.  They have been a long time in the making I suppose, but it sort of came as a shock to me.  The biggest being that I have realized that I am probably not going to be doing pack jobs anymore.  There are times when my back is bad that I can't even make it up the stairs so it is a bit concerning to make a reservation for a pack trip up a mountain that is six miles one way.

Which really means that I have way too many llamas than I need.  And on top of it, I am losing my Great Pyr, Tia.  She has a cruciate tear that needs surgery that we cannot afford nor take care of after the surgery.  I am very blessed that the person who gave her to me is willing to take her back and pay for the surgery that I have arranged through a dear friend of mine and then care for her during her recovery stage....We will take it one day at a time after that.  The problem with caring for a dog that weighs more than I do, is that she will need to be physically moved, etc after her surgery.

So, I am slowly but surely placing my llamas, Tia will leave around the 13th of September, Paco my ram is going to Auction where he should pull a pretty good price and will not get eaten because Rams are yucky to eat and so I can finally feel comfortable taking an animal to auction and seeing how it all works.  I may replace the ram; the main reason he is going is because I would like to breed his daughter this year.  But the whole ghist of the ranch is changing a bit...

As a matter of fact, I had decided that I was going to do poultry.  That was until the neighbors dog killed one of my prize turkeys last week.  Yes, in the middle of my crazy week; I was in filling out paperwork with the boys which is how it happened because normally when the turks are out I have my eye on them at all times.  But this day, we were busy doing last minute stuff for the college, and I heard a ruckus and went out to find the dog eating my turkey.

Although they have offered to compensate me financially, it was very hard for me to determine a price on the first turkey.  First of all, the turkey was not harvested properly so I was unable to save the feathers which on these types of turkeys is a good portion of their value.  We, of course, were unable to save the meat after a dog had been eating it.  But what really bothered me the most was the waste of the whole thing.  I think you as Rebels know that I do not waste anything.

Let alone the amount of hard work and time and love that we all had put into these turkeys.  We knew that the turkeys were going to die; as a matter of fact we all were quite proud of the fact that these three were going to be the first animals that we actually planned on raising from the get go and eating.  Now we will not even be tasting our own hard work as the remaining two have already been sold to friends who have driven in our driveway, taken one look at those beautiful turkeys and asked if they were for sale.

So, my future business plans are as follows:  I am going to continue my writing; I think I may even finally have time to take that second childrens book out of my head and put it onto paper!  The ranch will continue to size down a bit, literally.  The llamas will find the right homes as they come along, and I will slowly grow my poultry/feather business as I feel it is safe.  The loss of my sons I guess I will get used to(?!?), but the loss of Shade....well, that was an indicator of times a changin' I'm afraid.

I would really love to hear from you Rebels.  Have you dealt with losing your children to college and if so what helped?  What about other losses and changes in your lives.....???

Royal Ranch Royalty

Well, what a wonderful way to welcome us all back from my little break....A new lamb!!!  It is a female and it has been quite an adventure for this little girl and her mommy; and their Shepherd now that I think about it.  Tom says that I am a real rancher now that I have had my hands inside of an animal, but that is beside the point.  I was unable to save her twin...but I did save Mama and as far as I'm concerned that is almost all I could ask for.

This little girl was born Friday afternoon, after a very long morning of laboring for my ewe, Esther.  Although I knew that Esther typically has multiple births, we watched and waited; and waited and watched until I was frozen in position.  No more babies and no more signs of labor.  I checked with the vet and they said that not always do they have multiples and they couldn't obviously diagnose her over the phone, but that things sounded okay.

That was until I got up early to check on them yesterday morning and found her straining and pushing!  A whole day later...which is not a good thing.  We ran back to the house only to find that the vet had a morning already filled with patients...it was do or die time.  My handy dandy vet kit, a bucket of clean water and the daughter, husband and I were off!

Husband held Esther, daughter held baby right where Mama could see her and I went in!  Baby #2 was lodged in a breach position and was stuck in her pelvis, I had a heck of a time getting him out, but I did it!  I cried and mourned when I got back home, like any good Shepherd would, but I am still very grateful I have so far been able to save my Esther Girl, and we were all thankful that this guy was not in position #1.

Now, I have learned a few things from this experience.  First and foremost...call your trusted friends and neighbors in times like these.  I called a neighbor about getting the new baby some raw milk in case we need to supplement her and she had a great pointer for me.  When a female still has a baby in her belly, their tummies are still hard and when they are done with birthing, it goes soft; I sure wish I had this bit of info the day before.  There is a simple way to test for this, by wrapping your arms around the female and sort of hugging her in a downward motion as you straddle her.  This is something not even the vet had mentioned.

The other is to always trust your instincts when it comes to your critters, or anything for that matter (more on that and why I have been absent in future posts...), but especially when working with animals.  They have no way of telling you when they are in distress, and believe me, I spent hours on Friday looking for signs of labor or distress and saw none.  They are absolute masters at disguising any weakness.  My gut told me that I should have gone in sooner, but who wants to stick their arm in a sheep unnecessarily?  Not me.

Not only because of the obvious reasons, but for Esther's sake mostly.  I didn't want to infect her unless I absolutely had to.  I am also a newbie (second year) at Shepherding, even though it was my maiden name, and so I don't know if all sheep who usually have multiple births always have multiple births, you know?  I wasn't sure I would even know what I was feeling for.

Lastly I would like to say that the internet was no help at all (about things like how far apart lambs should be born, etc.).  Either people that have sheep spend a ton of money and really depend on their vets (they must not be hands on or in in my case-ha!), or just don't get online much.  But, after talking with my neighbor, I did find a very informative website about goats that will help me with these endeavors in the future.  Goats and sheep are very similar and so I will be able to take what I need and adjust and apply it where I see fit.

I say it time and again folks, trust your instincts, make a list of mentors and friends to help guide you through the emergency times, and then most importantly remember to use it!  Oh, and don't forget to let everyone in on the fun, even Avalanche the rooster had to be a part of lambing season at The Royal Ranch!

On a much lighter note...

 Flash

(rescued 2006)

I never like to leave you all on a negative note, which I know my last post was, but it needed to be said.  Anyway, as I have been busily preparing for my new arrivals from Montana, my faith in mankind has been restored!  First and foremost, I have had multiple offers of help from neighbors and friends, but my family has really stepped up to the plate as well.  One of the cutest calls I got was from my father, who had to deal with my rebellious butt for the first portion of my life and knew there was no stopping me if I was needed in Montana; and he just quietly offered to go along for the ride!  None of the men in my life (Husband, sons or Dad) were too happy about me headed across the country by myself in the middle of winter~to say the least.

My husband too, has been a real gem.  He of course started this whole thing out stating that we could help as long as none of them ended up on his property...Well today he has promised to help me move his plow truck out of his barn and turn it into a temporary llama barn as they will be quarantined away from our boys for quite some time.  All of this without a word being said; I was really smart this time, I just kept forwarding the e-mails that I was getting from my coordinator, how could he resist?

But one of the biggest things was when I went to go pick up a nice load of hay for my new rescues.  I had called my regular hay guy the night before and explained what was going on and since I had become a legal foster home for Southwest Llama Rescue would he maybe want to give me a break on the hay for a tax deduction?  Thursday morning I headed down there, and start picking out the proper hay for starving llamas, not an easy task...when he informs me that the load is FREE, yes, 85 bales of beautiful hay was absolutely free!!!  When I started to cry, he just hugged me and said "Aaaw, don't make an old farm boy cry."

He insisted that he remain anonymous, he said he usually raises the price on his pain in the butt customers.  Trying to be an old tough guy.  I had his ticket.  So I drove up the mountain with my heart a little restored, and ready to take on the task of healing these boys.  I have a wonderful support system that is for sure.

Dear Santa,

Thank you so much for the Christmas card with the money in it!  Tom and I had decided to not buy each other gifts this year so that we could really make the kids' Christmas special.  So, when we got the stack of cards out of the mailbox on Christmas Day (sorry we were a little late, it had been a busy week, but I know you had been watching...) it was like our gift to each other; we split them up and each enjoyed the gifts they brought.

I noticed the North Pole postmark first, and thought it was kind of funny, and then opened up the card and out fell all of that money!!!!!  I'm very sorry, Sir, but you know how banks are, and they don't believe, so when Tom went to cash it...we found out that you bought it in Centennial, and have a bank in Grand Junction....So my dear Santa, we love you dearly, whoever you are....And please know, that we still believe!

Juggling...

 Cookie Day 2010

This has been a week of juggling for me.  I had decided that I really want to try to get back to living life as normally as I could, you know try to act as if I didn't just have back surgery.  It has been long enough it feels to me.  But in the process, my beloved blog has fallen a bit behind!

I have been juggling many emotions as well.  See, our community lost one of its teenagers last week; one that I used to teach when he was just a bitty boy at MOPS.  He was a runner and trained by running past our ranch practically daily and he and my dog Gigi had a game; she'd run straight at him barking like the monstrous pit bull she thinks she is, and he'd run straight back at her!  I always worried, and apologized, but he'd just smile as if he too had enjoyed the game.  My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends....

Yesterday was my daughter's Christmas party, and yes, that is what I still call it.  I was the room mother so I was crazy with preparations.  We played Heads Up 7-Up, Christmas Style (filled bags with goodies instead of touching thumbs) and had a great time.  But before the party, my daughter was awarded the SOAR award!  That stands for Scholarly, Organized, Accepting and Respectful because she is an exemplary example of an eagle is what her teacher said at the award ceremony; I almost lost it.  He said that all students should work to be like her because she shows those traits day in and out, no matter who is watching....

I have an old friend who is really going through a rough time right now, don't know if I can help or not.  Could put myself in a pot of you know what if I do, so that's not really an option.  I don't like feeling powerless....

Last weekend was Cookie Day!  Boy, were we productive, but it took me a day or so to recover.  Tom and Isabella delivered all of the beautiful plates to our neighbors on Sunday and lo and behold if we haven't been getting wonderful Christmas surprises left on our porch all week!  It has been so fun!!!!  One morning, I went to the mailbox, pulled out a fistfull of cards, one of which had a $25 gift card and a big package from an old friend.  That very same morning while I was in the shower another neighbor dropped wonderful homemade jams and stuff off for our eating pleasure!  Christmas spirit is alive and well in our neighborhood.....

So, as I said, it has been a week of many ups and downs, and every which ways.  But you all have been in my thoughts, just not on my keyboard.  I would love to hear about your juggling acts this time of season too, believe me, I know I'm not alone out there....'Tis the season!  Here is to hoping your Christmas is a wonderful one and that you spend it with someone you love. 

America's Foreclosure Epidemic

Yes, we have become a part of the horrific statistics.  Blessedly, we were able to pull our beloved ranch out of the horrific word...foreclosure...in twenty five days!  And it still cost us a bloody fortune.  But that is not what prompted me to write this post.  It is the two ladies that have told me of their impending foreclosures in the last week that have prompted me to write this post.  To be honest, I was just going to keep my mouth shut out of embarrassment, really.

But then I got to thinking how this whole thing went down.  And I delivered a load of hay back to a friends house in a sort of "poor" neighborhood in our area, and saw all of the empty houses.  And then my neighbor stopped by to pick up an antler set that she had once given me; she needed it back to decorate and try and sell because her house was being foreclosed upon.  The same house that she had cared for her dying mother in, and that she has about 15 animals in...All for $5,000.

Then I get a call on the RV that we have for sale, due to the foreclosure, of course...who ends up to be a gal that I used to work with at the food pantry.  Her house has already been done, they're out.  See ya.  Well, gee, she's hoping the judge will be real nice and see that she's got a family and twenty years of stuff and let them stay through the holidays.  Then they can go live in an RV somewhere nice, that'll be a great learning environment for three high school boys, I'm sure.

So, these are the reasons I write today.  If I sound a little pissed off, well I am.  I've got to tell you, we were funneled right into this system from the get go.  Those modifications that they offer, be careful (and believe me, I was)...they are almost designed to fail it seems.  I have heard that from almost every single person (including our attorney and the Colorado Foreclosure hotline, unofficially, of course) in the same boat.  And never, ever make partial payments, or payments once you have been put into any legal situation.  You will never see that money again, it goes into a suspension fund, luckily we learned this through friends and did not make that mistake.

I want to give you a quick example so you don't think that I wasn't paying attention like often happens.  A year or so ago when I knew we were getting behind, I did the stand up thing and got us on a modification.  We did all they said, went through the trial period, great... and then one day (perfectly legal, according to the hotline) before our first regular payment was due they told us it was $400 more.  Well, already times were tight, we started off on a bad foot, they add a ridiculous late fee, my back, blah, blah...the story goes down hill from there.

But again, this isn't about just us, what's really breaking my heart is watching my little community waste away, and feeling like there's not a damn thing we can do about it.  I actually caught myself saying to Tom last night "If we owned all of the houses, than the government couldn't."  And as crazy as it sounds, it was the first thing that has made sense to me in a long time.  What the hell does the government want with all of these piece of junk houses that only hold the love of one family, but the value to whom (or none for that matter)?

Is it all to make our trillion dollar debt look that much smaller on paper?  So that they can say they have those assets with a dollar amount that they determine the value of?  I mean it was all a big scam, the way we had to pay off the attorneys.  One day it was one amount, the next day...$520 more.  And Tom had to pay it through a glass box; I guess that is because so many people have gone nutso on the folks, they've learned they're lesson and put up choke proof barriers!

Now I know that we can't go giving everybody free rides...I'm not that much of a bleeding heart.  But most of these people are hard working honest people that have just come across hard times, mostly due to this economic hell hole we are in.  Which no one can really point their fingers at who's fault it is, and to be honest I really don't give a damn anymore; it's time to quit pointing fingers and getting our asses to work saving our neighborhoods.

And I don't really love the idea of the government owning all the homes in my hood, I don't know about you.  I like real estate to determine the value of real estate, not the government, especially since I own quite a bit of real estate in this hood.  But I do have a few thoughts rattling around in this head of mine to try and put a stop to this vicious cycle.  We can't just stand by and watch the neighborhood go to the wolves, so to speak.  At least I can't, or won't.

A bad Country/Western song....

Sometimes it feels like I'm livin' a bad Country/Western song...

Just tryin' to get by

livin just right,

daughter's been home sick,

oh yeah, and my boy too..

feeling quite ick.

Hurt my back,

and oh

tryin not to talk any smack.

Yeah we're tryin' to live just right,

and then one night

Rosie gets a terrible fright,

cause, well ...

The neighbor ran her over!

Yes, you read that right! My beloved Rosie, who has recently saved me from disaster, twice, got run over!  Blessedly, she is fine, feeling quite sore and has a terrible case of road rash to the cheek, but she will be just fine!  One of her friends (a dog that walks the road quite frequently) came to visit and Rosie forgot to look both ways, and our poor Veteran neighbor, who is a dear friend of ours, ran her right over.  Thank god she missed the tires entirely, and pretty much got rolled by the Jeep, or we would have lost her, because he told me he never even had time to hit the brakes.

So, this brings up a couple of points.  First and foremost, if you live near a road like I do, never get lax in your doggy rules.  Rosie is not normally outside without an adult just in case something like a visitor coming by should happen, but with my back recovery and her missing her outdoor play time, she was out with my son watering the other dogs in the pen, and well, obviously accidents happen.

Secondly, I thought I would share a few things about my "vet kit".  It is an old briefcase that I store all of my emergency animal supplies in, and have found myself  on more than one occasion very thankful to find in one handy dandy place; like yesterday.  There have been multiple times that I have simply hollered at the kids to grab my vet kit, and they know exactly what to get and hopefully where to get it from.

My supplies include:

~Betadine (one of my very best friends, I must say)

~vet wrap (like a sticky ace bandage made for animals, I have found it quite handy for kids too!)

~pro-biotic (the best that you can afford, it lasts a long time, and when you need it, you will be oh so thankful you have it!)

~pain meds for your specific breed (cat, dog, llama, horse, whatever...but have some on hand)

~Bufferin for dogs (specifically Buffered aspirin guys, dogs can die from other pain meds, careful, careful!)

~rubber gloves (have to admit...quite a few of these I have gotten from my doctors office over the years, believe me, that's the least they owe me!)

~antibiotics (now this is a tricky one, and I only have them for emergency purposes, do not use them unless your are sure.  I firmly believe the over-use of antibiotics is the root of resistant bacterias/viruses.)

~Acepromezine (doggy valium) I keep this on hand for things like clippings or severe thunderstorms or like last night when I was concerned about Rosie needing it for when I was caring for her wounds.  I ended up not using it, as I was concerned about internal injuries (didn't want her blood pressure to drop too low), but it is great to have on hand.  This is a prescription drug, so talk to your vet about this very safe medication next time you are there if you have a nervous type of dog; believe me, in a pinch you'll be glad you did!

~ syringes for measuring and dispensing medications

~hair clippers

~Last and certainly not least is some sort of wound ointment, I believe the one in my kit is NWZ.

Okay, so there you have it; if you own pets, you need to own an emergency pet kit.  Some folks may not feel comfortable going quite as far with emergency care as I do, but it has so far saved me a ton of money.  All of these supplies (except for prescriptions) can be found at your local feed store or even online and you sure don't need anything fancy to carry them in as you can see.  Make sure your family knows where the kit is located, and have somewhat of a plan in mind, and above all avoid panicking!  Then just have a panic attack that night when you go to bed like I did-ha!  Mostly kidding.

Royal Ranch Royalty

You Rebels might have guessed by now that I'm not a huge Hillary Clinton fan, but the whole "it takes a village" thing really has some merit.  My men are hunting this weekend, and the group that they are with are men that I am happy to say are men that are having impacts on my boys' lives in such a positive and influential manner.  Let alone the quality girl time that Bella and I are having.

So let's back up a minute here.  Some folks would argue that they don't believe in hunting, or that we are somehow being sexist in the acts that we have chosen to do with our kids, and that is fine.  Choose your own things to do with your kids, just do it, and involve other people that you respect.  Break your kids down into smaller groups, or even better yet, one on one, and have them interact with you and another group of adults, like a hunting party, just for example.  The point is for the child to see how all types of adults deal with all types of situations, while still in the protective environment of family.

Back to my men...last year my 14 year old came home talking about how he and Greg had gone out in the field at 4am and he had driven Greg's car at 40mph across the fields!  Now how many parents do you know would let their kid do that?  We wouldn't.  We would all be too wrapped up in insurance, and what not.  And as for my neighbor Dan, well, he is the hardest working man I have ever met besides my husband and father...I can't think of a better example to set for my teenage sons right now.  Another guy that they went with is a Chef (and also camp cook), something that I think Nathan may be interested in doing, that is if the cop thing doesn't pan out.  I could go on and on with the list of life experiences my boys get in just a few short days.

Us girls have been holding our own too, don't worry.  We got to go out to dinner on Friday night...to the Angry Llama, no less!  For those of you that are local, that is a kinda new diner in Conifer, and you really should try it if you haven't.  Good food at great prices, with an even cuter name, can't be beat!  Yesterday I took the girls roller skating, and I realized that I got to play the role of the "village".  

When Isabellas friends Mom dropped her off, she was so grateful because she had a paper to write, a house to clean, a wedding to plan for her oldest daughter, etc.  And with me taking this daughter, I emptied her house!  On top of the fun skating, we had the hour drive down the hill (and back) to contemplate life and it's problems.  Like the bully girl on the bus, and how they will both deal with her this year in a loving and tolerant manner, and how it is better to keep your "enemies" as friends and so on.  We also talked about why people bully, something that is really hitting home with me lately and you will probably be reading more of in coming days, just a heads up.

So today's Royalty is all of the people who put effort into helping raise my fantastic children.  You know who you are.  You are their educators, neighbors, friends and family.  We all have a little piece of these wondrous kids, some of you have given them small jobs to help teach them responsibility, and some of you have actually taught them from a textbook, but know that the gratitude comes from the very depths of my heart!

Kindness Day

Today is one of the worst anniversaries a person can have.  It is the anniversary of the Platte Canyon High School shooting, and you can read all about my memories of that day here.  But, something wonderful has come from that shooting, actually a lot of something wonderful has come from that tragic day.  Kindness Day being top on the list.

I've got to say, I was really disappointed when I heard that the school was changing things up a bit and making Kindness Day voluntary for the teachers to participate in.  If they want their class to be involved in a community event then they could plan one, and if not today will be a normal learning day.  That was until I talked to my friend Tiffany who was there that day, and found out that she hates (Sorry T if that is too strong of a word, but you all know what I mean) Kindness Day, it brings back too many memories.  As a matter of fact, she doesn't even watch any news because she doesn't want to relive it again and again.  And I realized that we as parents may want to take this is a lesson to our children, but we didn't have to be there, and live the horrific experiences that these people have taken years to try to forget.

It also gave me a great idea as to what activity to do today for Kindness Day.  The educators at Platte Canyon High School and Fitzsimmons Middle School are some of the hardest working people I have ever come across in my life, and whether they like to admit it or not, it is because of that terrible day.  There is a bond that ties this community that I do not think is matched anywhere else in the world, except for maybe another small town community that has shared an experience like that.  Our children are kinder than others and our teachers, well they just seem to love their students a fraction more than most.

So, today I will take my Environmental Action class (like how I call it my class when I only co-teach one day a week?) and honor the staff at those two schools.  I am working on a poem (better get my poop in a group, it is today you know!) that the kids will use as a thank you card, we will attach them to the firestarters that we already made (my poem is about the fire within, get it?) and make sure that every staff member has one or two; so each time they light a fire, it will remind them of the acts of kindness they do each and every day.

The elementary school has really gotten into it as well, and this year they have come up with a winner.  They filled a school bus with all sorts of games and books that the children have been gathering from home for weeks.  Games that the kids don't use anymore, so to me, the "green" freak, this is a fantastic way of cleaning out PSwhatever cupboards all over the district!  We were also able to add in books and puzzles, board games and anything else game oriented we thought the children at Children's Hospital would think was fun.  Today the Student Council (blessedly my daughter is on the SC, so I will get to hear first hand about this experience) will ride the bus down to the Children's Hospital and deliver the "gifts" in person.

My challenge to you, can we make this a Nationwide day of kindness?  Let's hear about those random acts of kindness today folks!  What have you done lately to help someone in need?  Let's see, I know that lfhpueblo recently took in a sick pup, that is a wonderful act of kindness.  My dad is in Iowa trying to help out with harvest, if only the rain would hold off.  Mom, well you being there for Aunt Jaris' birthday I heard that made her day, so thank you for that random act of kindness.  Keep 'em coming folks!

Green living through dentistry?

I just got done e-mailing my dentist.  We've been chatting back and forth all weekend.  Now, my situation is a little atypical, but the dedication of this woman is amazing!  She is a student at The University of Colorado Denver Dental School, and for Green Spot-On readers please catch up with this story here.  My journey with this school started clear back in February and has been a great one.
Now, what does all of this have to do with green living?  A lot.  I have found that this is a great way for me to do community service, save money and that the school is on the cutting edge of technology which includes green practices.  When I say community service, I really feel as if I am helping these kids when I go in there.  I have the attitude that I am forming the minds of the future dentists of the world and what better way than to be totally open and honest and give them feedback and to help them learn?
It was really interesting this last Wednesday when I was in there, the student had the instructor come over, and the teacher asked why my hygiene area was still blank.  My student said she had felt awkward about asking that, so that is one of the things her and I have been e-mailing back and forth about.  Brainstorming ways of finding out true tests of ones personal hygiene without embarrassing them.  I said maybe she could ask the patient to grade themselves and then she could ask why they gave themselves that grade.
My neighbor, Mr. P. has even gone after asking me about it, and calls and updates me each time.  He is so proud of all of the work that he has gotten done there, it is almost funny.  Most of his dental work was done many years ago in Germany and is now needing to be replaced.  He is proud to tell me that for the thousands of dollars that his regular dentist was going to charge him, his total is at about $330!
Now, as I said in my first post about the dental school, it has to be a proper fit.  Meaning you must be able to devote quite a bit of time to your student.  I don't think I've ever gotten out of there in under three hours.  Mind you, I have gotten a lot done in three hours, but when you include a 1.5 hour drive each way, you're talking all day for each appointment.  But for me, it is worth it.

Working with Nature

I must admit, I'm a tad bit jealous of our neighbors and their gorgeous ponds.  We sit up on the hill overlooking the valley and the neighbors with the gorgeous ponds, so don't get me wrong, I don't have too much to complain about, I just don't have waterfront property.

One of our neighbor's, we'll call them the J's, have spectacular fly fishing ponds that they have built up over the years.  They stock them every few years with prize winning trout and even make a little money through a local fly fishing association.  The P's on the other hand, have a smaller pond just to watch wildlife and such.  It is so cute, they are a retired couple and have a bench sitting over the dam, and all kinds of rocks and wildflowers, they really enjoy their yard.

So recently, I have been hearing about troubles with the ponds.  Actually, I caught Mr. P going after the geese, yelling and chasing them out of his pond (he doesn't want them taking over because then they will contaminate it).  Funny as could be!  Then, come to find out, the J's are having a problem with the Blue Heron damaging some of their beloved fish.  And I do mean beloved.  We have seen Mr. J (one of Tom's best friends) jump in the freezing cold winter water to revive a fish that has been caught and released, the rules of the pond, of course.

The main problem is that the fish are too big for the Heron in the first place!  So the fish is getting injured for nothing, and the Heron still gets no dinner, bummer.  The J's can't use a lot of regular detractants for the Heron because that would interfere with the fly fishermen.  They did buy a fake Blue Heron, but that mostly just scared the dog.

Well, I got to thinking (could be dangerous).  And watching that Heron's pattern, he seemed to like the P's pond just as much as the J's pond except he wasn't getting anything to eat there.  But when the Blue Heron was at the P's pond, the Geese were nowhere to be found.  They seemed to hang out in the beaver ponds up the valley just a bit where they belong.  Hmmm..., how about we stock the P's ponds with inexpensive (native, of course) brookies for the Heron to hunt so that he leaves the J's nice big fish alone?  This could solve everyone's problem.

I talked with Mr. J and he thinks the plan is brilliant (with just a tiny bit of prodding from me-ha!), and I will talk with the P's today.  I'll let you know how the plan works out, but it is always best to try and work with Mother Nature than against her!

The Royal Rambler

I don't know if being in the right place at the right time fits best, or "It was meant to be" or knowing the right person; or probably a combination of all three is what landed us such a great deal yesterday, but I'm sure happy we were there for the taking, er, buying.  I would not have guessed when I woke up in the morning that I was to go to bed the proud owner of a motor home, no sirree.  I probably would have blogged about it if I had known-ha!!!

Tom first mentioned it to me yesterday morning.  A friend of our neighbor, Dan was trying to sell it, and had been for months; the price had started at ten grand (I found out later), but after trouble with the city he had to sell quick (we all know how that can be, if you make 'em mad, they'll come and cut down your trees-ha!).  Turns out it had been his parents, they were the original owners and had taken fantastic care of it; it only has 60,000 miles on it!  Although it is older, a 1983, we decided to go check it out since the price was right and we did some quick research and thought that we could probably resell it and make some good money.  The guy was wanting $2,000 and we could sell it for around $5-7,000 we thought.  Then we found out it has a brand new generator and tires, hmmm.

As I mentioned, we were pleasantly surprised with it's condition.  The interior is in great shape as you can see by the pictures.  It is The Executive model, meaning it came with all of the bells and whistles that were available at the time.  I had to chuckle when I found the central vacuum, thinking this must be God's peek into heaven.  No phone, no bills, no e-mail, my family trapped in my teeny tiny nicely organized little home where the dirt just disappears down the tube-GONE!!!  (I'm assuming there is a container that will have to be emptied at some point in time, but in my little dream, the dirt just vanished into thin air, amazing!)

Well, back to earth Judy, now you have an extra project!  Tom has already started work on a few of the very minor mechanical things that need done and we are hoping to go camping next weekend for Nathan's birthday.  There is a lot to do to prepare for our maiden voyage, like 5 years worth of cleaning and some mouse poop removal, but it will be so worth it!  I had to laugh, because Tom was dying to get to work on it, and people kept stopping by, and I hate to say it, but they were green with envy when they heard about the deal!  We all agree that it was definitely meant to be here at The Royal Ranch. 

As for our plans to "flip" the motor home....we'll take it day by day, and enjoy it while we can, for now there are just to many ironic things happening to keep us wanting to "raemble on".  First and foremost, our son Thomas likes it, which is amazing, he's like Mikey, he doesn't like anything!  Secondly, I found a video from the previous owner that was labeled Royal Rambler, Royal sound at all familiar?  Lastly, the motor home was titled on my daughters birthday.  So as I said the last thing I would have expected to wake up to this morning is a huge gaudy motor home in my driveway, but I am ecstatic.  It is a reminder, and a really large one at that, that we must always keep our eyes open for those little, or not so little, gifts that are sent our way.  Here I am in a time in my life where I feel I am getting ready to lose my family and a tidy little unit that my family can inexpensively travel in together for our last few years, was literally dropped onto my ranch, unbelievable!
So, in honor of the little (4'11") old lady who could back this monster up with the boat on the back and just perfectly drop her (blind) husband in the boat into Blue Mesa Reservoir while all the old men had to use their front hitches to push their boats in, we will keep the name Royal Rambler...it's only fitting!

Working with the Commissioners

Tuesday was my big meeting with the Commissioners.  I was locked and loaded.  I even had handouts for all of the attendees, which there were ten of, including myself.  Two of my immediate neighbors had been calling almost as much as I had been, with not quite as much luck getting calls back, so I had told the Commissioner that I would be inviting them.  But, the news got out, and the group grew over the weekend, so I was getting a little nervous.  

That is when I knew I needed to be very prepared to take charge of the meeting and not let a lynch mob mentality take over the crowd.  Not only are these people mad about the trees, but years of neglect to our roads that have huge potholes (if you recall that is what prompted me to write a letter in the first place), and many residents have very bad drainage issues due to Road and Bridge problems as well.  So, I took some pictures and made my handout, attached pertinent e-mails, highlighted the most important info, etc.; mostly just to make sure to keep things on track.

 Thankfully, no one was lynched.  Obviously, it is too late for my trees, but I have stopped them for cutting anymore.  It was a mistake; at some point in time, who knows when, they are going to be coming through here to put in drainage ditches, so that if our road ever does get the potholes fixed properly, they will stay that way.  Yes, the trees were cut way too far off the road, and yes they are sorry, and yes they should have told us first, and yes they are changing it right now.  Hope that's not all because it's an election year....

Ironically, this picture is taken in front of my one remaining pine tree in the front of my house.  Look at the tiny little, lonely thing!

Catching Up

If you look closely, you will see that Fat Gary, Marcel, Iowa and Elway all decided to help with the gardening on Sunday.  Not included in the photo were Lily and Rosie who were oh so helpful in removing my rocks, not, and Hector who kept pushing me over because he was rubbing up against my legs as I was pulling weeds.  By the way, thanks Mom for the new pruning shears, they are fantastic and made my job easier this year than ever before.  Doesn't it look fantastic?!?

Lordy!  I can't believe it is already Monday and it has been so long since I have blogged, please accept my apologies!!!  I have been one busy lady.  I last left you all on Thursday, running out the door to work on the cover of my new book, Llucky Llama.  Well, I am proud to say the cover is done and it looks fantastic!  Today Vivian and I will be working on downloading the book to the printer-yeah!!!!  At some point in time I need to write about writing, this has really been a great project, and I think more people should learn about it; really.

After the work on my book, I did something that I have never done before; I went to look for a missing person.  Here in Colorado we have a missing 12 year old girl by the name of Kayleah Wilson.  She vanished from Greeley, CO two weeks ago on her way to a birthday party.  I'm not sure what is bothering me the most about this case; if it's the fact that she is so close to Bella's age, the small town thing, or what, but I can't get this one out of my head.  To be honest with you, this was more of a "psychic search" and I really wasn't sure what to expect.  I do feel that I was able to tell her energy what I wanted to, but I did not accomplish anything specific, so.... I guess the mission in itself was a failure.  For more information on the missing girl, please go to this link.

After the more than two hour drive back to Bailey, I had a meeting with the Destination Bailey group.  I am very excited about this committee.  Aside from one rude, cranky old guy, the group is made up of excited business owners like me who want to bring tourists into our cute little town.  Not just people who pass right on through on their way to someplace else, which is what happens now; Bailey is the definition of a highway town.  Destination Bailey is also very involved with the Park County Historical Society which is near and dear to our hearts for many reasons, not only do we love the history of the area, but the society loves us because we bring our llamas to their big event each year!

Friday was filled with playing with pre-schoolers.  Well, at least that is what we tried to convince them of; it was actually what our school district calls Child Find.  The day when all pre school aged children come and get their vision, hearing and any other thing the district can possibly think of to test, tested.  The cops are there to fingerprint, there is a cute little old lady to face paint, even a couple of home school groups were represented.  Me, of all people was doing vision testing.  No, I have no medical background, but at least I have two boys who have hit their heads more times than I would ever like to count and know how a pupil is supposed to react; one of the tests I was to perform-ha!!!!

Saturday, too, was a whole new experience, County Assembly, WOW!!!  You know, I have avoided talking politics on this blog, and I will continue to do so, for now.  But, I am going to come out of the closet, there is just no way around it... I am a registered Republican.  I often wonder if this will come as a surprise to my friends like Daisy and Tiffany, who are teachers and have strong political opinions.  But, I digress, back to Saturday.  Park County is allowed 125 delegates at the County Assembly, and for the first time in what anyone could remember (and there were some really old people there), we filled every one of them!  This is grass roots politics at it's very best people, that is the only way I can describe it.  

One thing you must keep in mind, is that our county is almost entirely Mountain Hillbilly, I mean, Republican so everyone who is anyone in the county was there.  The Sheriff, the commissioners, the clerk and recorder, etc. all the way down to the coroner race is all Republican pretty much.  That other party may have a name or two on the ballot, if they're lucky, LOL!  No, seriously, it was overwhelming the emotion that was in the room, and to have an impact on voting at such an early stage really made me feel like I was making a difference, and I was.  It was also a great way to meet my candidates in a different setting, many of whom I already know, but have not seen "campaign".

So, needless to say I needed a day to decompress and spend time with my family and animals.  The chickens have gotten into my compost bin and torn the darn thing apart and cleaned out every speck of food that was ever in it, which has prompted me to get to work on Spring projects; Thank you chickens!  The weather was beautiful yesterday so I raked out the perennial garden and lo and behold there was some green underneath!!!  Of course with us working outside in the beautiful weather we had neighbors popping by so I spread the word of the meeting I have with the Commissioner about the cut down trees for tomorrow.

I went to bed with a smile on my face because my son, Thomas had told me that he and his friends had been talking about my trip to Greeley.  He said he wasn't quite sure what to say, just that I was hoping that I could help, and that one of his friends had called me a hippie, and he said "yeah, Mom, you're like a modern hippie", which I took as a huge compliment.  It got me to thinking about these last few days, and how they all may seem kind of contradictory.  A searching psychic and Author one day, a volunteer the next, Gun Totin' Republican on Saturday and wrapping up my weekend composting and saving the planet with my family, now that's what I would call one hell of a week!  But, it's who I am, and what I believe in, so that's what I'll do.  Oh, and did I forget to mention I'm raising heck about the trees tomorrow?  (I remembered, I'm just making sure you caught that one-ha!)

Small Town Politics, Big Time Turnout

Well, once again I am putting off a post that I have started, I guess that is why they have a "drafts" area, right?  Tom and I went to the Caucus last night, and to be honest with you I am absolutely fried.  Yes, that sounds very melodramatic, but the brain is a goner.  Last night I learned more about politics than I have in the past few years combined; and I'm thinking the picture was the same no matter where your Caucus was.
First and foremost, I am proud to say that the ages of the participants in the room ranged from just newly eighteen to well over eighty, and this is a first for Park County.  Another amazing thing was that we had to literally draw names out of a hat to whittle down the number of people that wanted to become delegates to the county assembly to represent our district; usually we have a hard time filling those positions.  Thankfully I had thrown my name in as an alternate from the get go, which means I will get to go to the assembly no matter what, it will just depend on attendance whether I get to vote or not.  Actually, I am the only one who signed up as an alternate, because with this being my first year to go, I just wanted to be a fly on the wall so to speak.  But, it will be a great way for me to meet all of my candidates!
One of the things I learned was the depth of concern among my neighbors as to the direction that our country is taking.  The passion and the commitment that these "mountain hillbillies" as I lovingly call us, have for our country was truly touching.  Interestingly enough, one of the folks in my district is a man who will be running against our incumbent Sheriff, which is turning into a much more interesting "race" than I thought it would be.  It was quite interesting to see the wheels in action of a political machine at such an early stage in what could be a very pivotal election for our country whether we are voting in a new President or not.
I was hugely reminded of what a difference one person really can make.  Politics do start out in a tiny little community center in a tiny little town that is not even on a map.  People really do show up at seven o'clock on the dot to talk about what is going on in their county, state and national governments because it really matters!

Oops I told you I was tired, I forgot to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I just finished downloading the pictures from last night's dinner onto yesterday's post.  The Corned Beef and Cabbage was great and there was plenty left over for Tom to take to work today.  Although the kids love to eat it here at home, they will not take it to school, too stinky!  Hope you have a great one!