Holding On For Dear Life

These 5 pictures are a true testament to 'holding on for dear life'!  This dam is in Italy - the Diga del Cingino dam. 

Can you see the dots on the dam wall?  You'll be surprised at what they are!

They are European Ibex and they like to eat the moss and lichen growing on the dam wall.  They are also licking the salt off of the stone.  Isn't it incredible that they can stand at that angle??
 

How do they get out to those points and find a resting spot?  What if they get thirsty or sneeze?

They are so cute - and AGILE!  I would call that some serious determination!

Shootin' It Up

 Well here are the owners of the ranch - Lauren's grandparents (and the pup!).

On Christmas Day, a group of her family members decided to go out onto the property and shoot guns - YES!  I knew I was going to like these people!

We piled into one of the pick-up trucks and headed out......

Here is Lauren's uncle getting the target set up and the guns ready......

Even Lauren's teenage sister was shooting!

When they say "everything's bigger in Texas," they really mean it.  The sky and ranch were so big and beautiful!

Here's the truck, the ranch, oil rigs and cactus - all in one picture.  LOVE IT.

And this is some of our weaponry.....hahaha

Another of Lauren's uncles shooting stuff up......

I am so glad I brought my ear protection - Lauren's sister was covering her ears because it was pretty loud.....

Here's the target and the wood structure that was holding it up.  We killed it!!

Some shotgun action......

 Loading the skeet shooting machine thingy.......

And this is how they dispose of their spent ammunition on the ranch - a bottle stopper!  hahaha

They even decorated the cattle guard that led up to the main house - so cute!

This is the 3-story ranch house - soooo beautiful!  I felt like I was in a movie!

I felt like I was in a movie about life in the south - look at this wrap-around porch!

I ended up staying on the 2nd floor on an air mattress in the office.  Look at the cowboy painting on the wall.....

And I was sleeping on a cow hide rug!

Gotta have a Texas flag in the office!  And this one was flown over the Alamo on the 4th of July in 2006.  SO COOL!  Also notice the stitched longhorn in the leather chair.

 This is the landing/hallway/stairwell on the 2nd floor - from where I was staying in the office.  I felt like J.R. Ewing was going to walk in at any moment......or I would see some ghosts of cattle barons past.  I loved it!

There was this winding staircase in the middle of the house - it went up to the 2nd and 3rd floors, which contained the office, a bunch of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.

Here is the gate to the ranch - their last name is Hitt.  They are members of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association!

Ranch-style Christmas

On Christmas Day this year, I hopped in the car and drove out to a ranch outside of Graham, TX (2 hours northwest of where I live - northwest of Fort Worth).  It is the family ranch of my friend, Lauren and I had never been out there before.  

Anyway, the picture above is a shot of the farm road that I turned onto - off of the paved road!

And across the road was a big cotton field with an oil rig in the middle of it.  How southern!

 Here is a road on the ranch property that leads up to the ranch house.  Lauren's grandparents live in Irving (where I work - in Dallas/Fort Worth) during the week and they built this ranch house about 12 years ago as their weekend home/retirement location.  You can see the house on the left  in this pic.......

Cactus everywhere!

 The views out there were magnificent and beautiful!  The cattle, oil rigs, cactus, mesquite trees, etc. - exactly what I thought a sprawling ranch would look like!

And if you've never seen one up close - here's an oil rig up close and personal!

Since I was taking a bunch of pictures, they drove me out to this partial truck on the property - filled with barbed wire.  SO FREAKING COOL!

A photographer's dream, really.....

 Another rig...they were everywhere on the property!

The cows are relaxing.......

And since they are pumping gas out of the ground, it has to be routed somewhere - so I saw a lot of these black pipes snaking through the ranch.....

 I loved this one of the barbed wire fence......

And how appropriate on Christmas - a bunch of mistletoe in the tree!

Mistletoe is actually a parasite plant - just blows through the air and latches on and grows on whatever will let it stay.

 Inside pics of the ranch tomorrow...............

Mooooooooooooo

For Christmas this year, I had the pleasure of joining my friend Lauren and her family at the family ranch just outside of Graham, Texas (about 2 hours northwest of where I live).  I had a blast!  The 3 posts about this trip to the ranch are kind of out of order, but oh well. 

This particular post is dedicated to the critters on the ranch - namely the cattle!  I thought they were adorable.

Here goes:


This guy stared for a LONG time......

I love love loved this one - very friendly and innocent face.

I bet this one is mischievous  - she looks sassy, and she drooled a lot.

There were all different varieties and colors to choose from - all very cute in their own way!

This guy looks very pissed that I'm staring at him.......

This one stood right at the cattle guard thing that was right by the house.  She wanted to break through and join us for dinner in the house!

What a sweet face and cool markings!

Ummmm.....this one looks like a sheep!

Are those horns supposed to be curling back into its head??

Spuds McKenzie??

The animals had a ton of open land to explore and snack on - absolutely beautiful property!

This was a field on my way out from Lauren's ranch when I returned home.  How Texas is it - an oil rig, cattle and a barbed wire fence all in the same picture?!

List Friday

Top 5 Things I Want To Learn In 2012

1.  Two-Stepping

2.  Quickbooks

3.  Get good enough with my target practice that I can pass the CHL test.

4. What God has to teach me, by taking time to pray every day.

5.  How to make grass grow under my big tree in the front yard!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for the fact that things can turn around in a second.  I know, kind of vague, but it's true.  What I'm referencing is about things turning around for the better, but I know all too well that they can turn south in a second as well.  But I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a good year - one full of adventure, learning, laughter, professional growth, travel, and hopefully love.  2011 was a tough year in a number of ways, but like I said earlier, things can turn around in a matter of seconds.

I was laid off this year, with an end date of 12/1.  Just in the nick of time, I landed a job that started up on 12/5 - WOW, perfect timing.  I am so very fortunate and blessed to have found the right job in the right location at exactly the right time.

I had also been toying with the idea of getting another dog in recent years and my friends had been encouraging me to do it as well.  Well, everything came together perfectly last year at Thanksgiving and I ended up adopting Owen on the spot at that first visit!  Usually they do a home visit, paperwork, etc.......but everything just felt right with the foster group, Owen's foster Mom feeling comfortable handing him off to me, Maggie getting along great with him during the visit, and the fact that he leaped in my lap and gave me a big puppy kiss!

And just recently, I met someone who maybe just might be someone I want to spend my life with.  It is very early on, but I have a good feeling about this.....and I trust my gut (read: GOD), so I'm going with it unless/until I hear otherwise.  I'm excited about the prospect of finding a man who makes me happy and who I can make just as happy.

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2012 for all!