Good-bye to June

Looking out.

Looking in.

Mowing grass.

Multitask.

Sticky snacks.

Burger stacks.

Catching flags.

Catching wind.

Guitar strumming.

Widow sunning.

Reds

and greens

and purple too.

Good-bye June.  We've sure enjoyed you.

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Y'all Ready For This?

Getting it done in Nebraska!  Oh how I love a good rodeo!


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Gardening With Cats

We work hard, we really do.

And we don’t complain, much.

But what we are getting a little tired of is

how our cats never seem to be on the same page.

While we slave away in the garden,

they just get to “enjoy” the garden.

“Nyla, get off the carrots”.

"Nyla. Get. OFF".

“Nyla" 

  

"nevermind".

Linking up with Best Post Of The Week.  Check it out!

Luck Ran Out

This tree has had it in for my chicken coop ever since I built it.

The branch-less limb in the foreground fell last year,

just missing the coop.

The branched limb farther back fell a week or so ago,

again,  luckily not causing any damage.

Then came the 70 mph winds in Sunday evening's storm.

And we didn't get so lucky.

Since there is no man around here to "take care of this

 while I fix dinner",

I needed to figure out how to do it myself.

First I tried to pick it up.

Actually I was just looking for a good place to start.

The safety inspector was careful to supervise every step of the job.

Well, almost every step.



We are far from finished with this clean up and repair

but we will get there.



Now, about that dinner...

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Rodeo 101 - Tie-Down Roping

Tie-down roping, formerly known as calf roping is the classic old west ranch chore. 

It is now one of the most competitive of rodeo events. 

Tie-down ropers compete against each other and the clock for the prize money.

Like the steer wrestlers and team ropers, 

tie-down ropers start in the box ready to compete. 

The calf is released and the cowboy must rope it as quickly as possible.

As soon as a catch is made the cowboy dismounts, sprints to the calf and tosses it on its side, 

which is called flanking. 

With a small rope known as a pigging string, usually held in the cowboy's teeth, any three of the calf's legs are tied securely. Time stops when the cowboy throws up his hands.

After the tie, the roper remounts his horse, puts slack in his rope and waits 6 seconds for the calf to struggle free. If it does, the cowboy receives a no time and is effectively disqualified from the round. If the calf remains tied the cowboy receives his time. 

Tie-down roping requires timing, speed, agility, and strength. It also requires a highly trained horse. Horses in the tie-down roping play a major role in the success of the competitor. Horses are taught to know when to start walking backward thereby keeping the rope taught and allowing the cowboy to do their work on the other end. It is truly amazing to watch as cowboy and horse compete together in this modern sporting event. 

photos courtesy of Sprout 'n' Wings Farm  

information courtesy of About.com

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Rodeo 101 - Bronc Riding

My favorite events to watch at a rodeo are the bareback and saddle bronc riding.

Did you know, that bareback bronc riding is the most physically demanding of all rodeo events?

Cowboys ride these rough horses without the benefit of a saddle or rein.

They use a leather rigging that looks like a heavy piece of leather with a suit case handle.

The cowboys ride one handed and cannot touch themselves or the horse with their free hand. 

As with saddle bronc riding the mark out rule is in effect. The cowboys spur the horse from shoulder to rigging, in a frantic style trying make a qualified ride of 8 seconds. 

 Once the ride is completed, pick up men swoop in to 'pick up' the rider 

and set him safely on the ground.

 Cowboys are judged on their control and spurring technique,

and the horses are judged on their power, speed, and agility.

 A good score in the bareback riding is in the mid 80's.

Cowboys competing in bareback take a lot of punishment on their arm, neck, 

and back due to the power and quickness of the bareback horses

Here are some photos of saddle bronc riding.

Saddle Bronc saddles are lightweight 

and have no saddle horn. 

Along with the bronc saddle the cowboys use a long thick rein, 

known as a hack rein, attached to a halter on the horses head. 

In contrast to the bareback and bull riding, 

 saddle bronc riding relies less on strength 

and more on timing, finesse and skill. 

It's a very hard event to master. 

Here you see the rider reaching out for the pick up man,

and being placed safely down 

on the other side of the pick up man's horse. 

Then the pick up men have to remove the flank strap 

on the bronc.

As you can see, the pick up men have to be very

good at what they do also.  

Saddle bronc riding often appears effortless because of the enormous skill 

of the cowboys competing in the event.

Stay tuned for more Rodeo 101 posts.
And - Enjoy your Sunday!

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