Raising a 4-H Lamb

 Desert Boy decided to raise a lamb for 4-H again this year. At the conclusion of the fair last year, he was decidedly against it, but he changed his mind. The second year was definitely easier, as we knew some of what to expect. Sheep are social animals, so we bought two so they could keep each other company. One of our big changes from last year was a different feed. Last year we started them on the feed the buyer recommended, but then we couldn't find it again within a three-hour drive, and the sheep didn't like the substitute feed and didn't eat for awhile. This year we just started them off with IFA Show Lamb feed, and they liked it fine (except for the cottonseed part, that was always the last part they ate). We were able to get IFA Show Lamb feed at both the Delta and Ely IFA stores, which made it very convenient.

The lambs grew quickly. We've learned it's best not to give them names, so we just called them 141 and 144, the numbers on their ear tags.

We let them do a lot of browsing in the yard. They loved that.

The kids walked them every day to try and get them tamer. They walked well on a halter, but did not mind well when the kids held onto their heads.

I did a quick first shear, which was a lot harder than I thought, than my husband did a second shear. That helped them keep cooler in the summer.


They always look quite a bit different without their big coats on!

Here the kids are washing the sheep. What do you wash a sheep with? Why, Woolite, of course!

We had a sheep showmanship clinic in our yard with some of the other 4-H participants. It was great to get all the sheep together.

Gwendy had them go around in a circle.

And then line up for "judging." All the sheep looked good.

We still had the final shear to go. It turned out to be rainy, so we had to go into the shop. Desert Boy sheared most of his sheep.

It's hard work, so it was nice to have a bunch of helping hands.

Then we headed to the fair. Desert Girl didn't really enjoy the showmanship clinic there. She's still too young to show her sheep for 4-H as a market animal, but she could show the alternate in Cloverbud Showmanship and as an open class animal.

Melanie's an expert and had her sheep in tip-top shape.

Then it was time for the competition. First came the market class competition. Desert Boy's sheep weighed in at 140 pounds, the maximum allowed for the competition. Last year his was 101 pounds, so we did a much better job this year at feeding!

It took a while to get the sheep judged.

But Desert Boy and Larissa both got blue ribbons! (In the carcass competition, Desert Boy got fifth and Larissa got grand champion, showing that their lambs were excellent for eating.)

Next came showmanship, and unfortunately Desert Boy's sheep didn't cooperate. Neither did Desert Girl's. She was in tears. We took a break, went and ate, got a quick swim in at the nearby hotel pool, then returned.

She was in time for showing her lamb in open class and got Reserve Grand Champion. That made all the tears go away and a big smile come out!

The next morning was the sale. Desert Boy had a great smile on to show his sheep.

Until it threw him to the ground. Sheep look friendly, but this one weighed about double his weight and was a bit feisty.

It was a little extra excitement for the spectators.

Thanks so much to Gary Perea and the Border Inn for buying Desert Boy's sheep. And thanks to Sahara Motors, Simplot, and Suburban Propane for the add-ons. The money Desert Boy raised will go into his college account.

Later in the day, Desert Boy loaded his sheep onto the trailer to go to the butcher. He wasn't really sad this year because the lamb hadn't been particularly nice to him.

Desert Girl's lamb came home with us for a couple more weeks and hung out with the dog as much as she could. Then it was time for her to go to the butcher.

4-H has been a great way for the kids (and me) to learn more about raising market animals. Some of it's easy, but there are definitely tricks to getting the best market animal out of the group. If you ever want to buy some great animals, I highly recommend going to a 4-H auction. Those animals are so well taken care of, and the money goes to individuals instead of big faceless corporations.

Dramatic Fall Lighting

I was coming back from a Parent and Teachers Association meeting when I realized that the distant lighting was amazing and would be fun to photograph. After checking in with my husband and saying good night to the kids, I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed out to the Baker Archeological Site. I  took multiple 30-second long photos. It seemed like the lightning always came between the photos! I persisted, and finally got some okay shots. It seemed like the lightning had slowed down from what I had seen earlier.  But then a different area of the storm became more active. I moved over, set up again, and started having more success. But the thunder was getting louder. I decided I didn't have much more time. I pressed the shutter release for another 30-second exposure and got some great lightning right away. And then some more just at the end, nearly in the same spot. The thunder boomed, and I ran to the car. Rain drops started pelting me before I got to the end of the road. But the resulting photo was great, a Lightning Woman, striding across the valley.

The storm brought some snow to the higher peaks.

 It's migration time, and we are seeing loads of birds down on the ranch. They fatten up on the leftover corn before they head further south.

 One morning while eating breakfast I peeked out the window and saw an amazing sunrise. I had the kids come out with me to witness the vibrant colors.

I was doing a happy little dance as I took photos. We live in such a beautiful world! There's nothing like a terrific sunrise or sunset to renew us.

Here's hoping you find some beauty in your day!

Fantastic Fall Colors

 The fall colors in Great Basin National Park have been amazing this fall. The temperatures have stayed mostly above freezing, and we haven't had rain in 45 days. Thus the colorful leaves have held on longer than normal.

I took the kids up one day, and we had fun wandering around the campground. When it became a game ("get up in the trees and don't let your feet touch the ground"), their smiles came easily.

I wanted to hike, though, so I went up early one morning, arriving at the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead before sunrise. The array of colors made my heart beat a little faster.

The sun rose as I was nearing a big aspen patch, and the yellow glow was amazing.

I came out to a clearing where some red aspens looked like they were on fire.

I wandered off trail for a bit, not sure what I would find. I saw beauty all around me.

Then I found the old Wheeler Peak trail, which I had seen a few times from above. It was still in remarkably good shape (the newer trail is much easier!). The colors were great here too.

My goal was to get above Stella Lake and get it in a photo with some fall colors. That part wasn't too hard. But getting down from there was so steep! I had some crawling moments.

Back on the trail to the car, I had to stop again to enjoy the beautiful aspen canopy. Sigh. I could have just stayed here all day, but alas, I had to go to work.

I didn't think I would be up there again very soon, but it turned out we had a backcountry carryout the next day, and the helicopter landed in the meadow at Wheeler Peak Campground. The yellow aspen made for an especially scenic backdrop.

I just had to go see the colors about a week later. The highest leaves had fallen off, but colors were still good just a little lower on the mountain. And we got to watch a most marvelous sunset.

We're expecting rain for about a week, with snow at the end of it, so lots of leaves will be coming down soon. We've been blessed with such a colorful display this year.

Going Home from Montana

After so many great adventures on our summer vacation (see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4), it was finally time to go home. But first we took a detour over to Bozeman, Montana, where my friend Mimi Matsuda was set up an art festival. It was so great to see her and her sister Erika and take home some fantastic art (check out her website for her whimsical wildlife art).

Also in Bozeman is the Museum of the Rockies, and I wanted to take a look. The kids almost got eaten up before we even entered.

There were plenty of opportunities to get eaten (maybe my imagination gets a little carried away).

I enjoyed seeing the paleontological exhibits.

We also spent a little time in the guitar exhibit.

But the kids seemed to like the kids' section best, with geyser simulations and a place to "fish" in the Yellowstone River.

And then we went to Yellowstone. I worked there years ago so didn't feel a huge need to go. But when I asked Desert Girl if she remembered what a geyser was and she wasn't sure, I knew we had to go. We went in at West Yellowstone, where to my surprise, there was no line at 3 p.m.  Our first destination was the Firehole River, where we saw a bison sharing the road with us.

I had really enjoyed swimming in the Firehole River when I worked at Yellowstone, and since we had swum (or at least touched water) in most other national parks we had visited on this vacation, this seemed to be a good bet. We went to a spot that was much calmer than the section in the photo below and floated through a narrow canyon section a couple of times. It was a lot of fun (even if I lost my sunglasses!).

Next up was Grand Prismatic Spring. It was so crazy busy.

But the amazing colors really are worth seeing.

We checked out the new visitor center at Old Faithful. I was impressed that they had an exhibit on insects and spiders.

We wandered around a bit, admiring hot springs.

And then Old Faithful blew! It wasn't much an eruption, but at least the kids got to see a geyser go off.

I was really enjoying the area, and it was hard for me to leave. But we were hungry, so we got some food.

And then we headed south. I had to hit the brakes when this elk crossed the road.

And then we had to stop again to avoid these young moose. Their mom soon followed them across the road. This was the Grassy Lake Road, a road I had never taken before that cuts between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. We drove quite a ways and then found a place to camp.

The next day we got up and drove the rest of the way home. It was a fun trip. And now Desert Girl says she won't complain about driving to Las Vegas---it's way shorter than driving to Montana!