Introducing Desert Girl

I've been a little irregular about posting lately for a very good reason: Desert Girl! She entered our world February 1. It won't be long until she is following Desert Boy around trying to imitate him. Our family is looking forward to more fun and adventures, and we thank you for visiting this blog to share them with us.

Shipping Hay

My husband was busy loading hay trucks for a couple days last week, with eighteen arriving. Usually hay trucks are flat bed trucks, but in this case, the trucks were the more common box trucks. That makes for some interesting challenges.

Here's the inside of an empty box truck. It's long, narrow, and only open on one side.

Here's my husband loading a couple bales of hay into it. They just barely fit width-wise.

Then he adds the third bale on top. That one's tricky to get in just right.

There's no space to spare, as you can see. The next step is to push the bales back enough so that some more can be loaded.

As the truck fills up, a second loader pushes the first loader to move the bales forward. They keep pushing until the loader wheels spin.

It's pretty amazing what can be done with heavy equipment.

Here are a couple trucks waiting their turn. Then they'll take their backhaul and be on the road. I wish I could get a glimpse of how they unload the box trucks--that seems tricky as well.

Like Father Like Son

Elk Crossing

I'm cleaning out my photos and found these that I took in December. We were on our way to Ely with a light snow falling when we spotted an elk crossing the road. He was joining some elk on the other side. (I feel like I should have some witty repartee about 'Why did the elk cross the road?' but my brain is functioning rather slowly today. If you can think of something, leave it in the comments!)

The highway department has recognized this area as a deer and elk crossing and even has it posted. If my photo came out better I would send it to them.

One of the most impressive things about elk is just how big they are. They are about double the size of mule deer, with elk cows (females) weighing around 500 pounds and mature elk bulls (males) weighing around 700 pounds. For more info about elk, click here.

Sleeping Prepared

I call myself Desert Survivor because sometimes it takes some extra, or at least different, skills to survive out in the rural desert, an hour from the nearest grocery store, over two hours from the nearest Wal-mart, and in a place where the population hasn't increased in several hundred years.

It's a great place to raise kids, where the whole world seems open to exploration. Manure piles, caves, tractors, and more await those who desire them. The air is clean, the views are spectacular, and the kids, cows, and dogs run free.

Well, it seems that Desert Boy has learned a few lessons about how to survive in the desert. We've been working hard at getting him to sleep all night long in his own bed. When I went in and checked on him the other night, I found that instead of cuddling with a stuffed animal or a special blanket, he had a bottle of water tucked under one arm and a flashlight under the other. I guess he's taking comfort to a different level.

I couldn't resist snapping a photo and sharing it with you.

Have a great day!