Halloween is Around the Edge of Tomorrow!

This last weekend of October was super busy--Not as busy as last year, but none the less, we got a lot done. Jon was able to work for and help out Larry again on Saturday. It was pretty dry and there was a lot of dust. Sitting in the open cab of the tractor, Jon ended up with a veneer of dirt. Actually, it was more than a veneer--I think they could have seeded him if they wanted to! He came home in time to help Steve put my bridge in place. (things are getting closer to done by the pond!)

Steve leveled it all up and placed bricks so the wooden bridge supports would not sit on the dirt and then Jon helped move it into place. (the bucket near the bridge is a water weed that appears to be thriving in a bucket-I am seriously thinking about putting it in the pond in a container) After settling the bridge, Jon walked across it and made sure it worked. I can't wait to plant stuff around it!
Doesn't it look wonderful? I have some tall purple iris, some tiny iris, some wild hyacinth, and a few things from Aunt Kathy's yard to put in around it and the stream. Not to mention my flamingos from Carrie and the lights mum sent.

The next day, Sunday, was the Halloween Concert by the Walla Walla Valley Band. And they were amazing! I got a couple of pictures of Athena people but all of the ones I took of Jon were fuzzy. Of course, as Steve said, Jon is naturally fuzzy, but still! I particularly liked the mitts on the lovely cat's paws. She had a sparkly shirt front on, too-

This sax quartet is close to totally amazing. Note, the Blue's Brothers on the end!
And finally, for all of us who never knew, Pop-Eye plays a sax, too!!! And he is really rather good! The next WWVB concert is in December. It is going to be lots of fun. Although, the costuming will be more traditional, the tunes will be just as fun!

Cats and Pumpkins-

Making beds is hard to do with a cat around-Max appears to like my very nice clean polar fleece jammies. I was very thankful when he eventually moved and let me finish the chores. The next morning, I found Moses sleeping peacefully on my side...Of course! I woke him up and he was not impressed. Silly cat!

Steve took his pumpkin carving seriously this year--actually, he was just trimming the stem. It had grown at an odd angle and he made a very bad cut with his multi-tool, so he had to fix it!

Moses and Kila were very interested in the carving proceedings this year. Moses was more annoyed with Kila helping and Kila was tasting the fruits of the labor.

This year our pumpkins were a bit different. Steve's Ford pumpkin has shapes from Ford and Jon's is just adorable. He was going for scary, but I don't think it worked at all!!!

Moses didn't think it was adorable either--or he was just disgusted with the whole idea of a photo shoot! My pumpkin is painted this year. I wanted at least ONE pumpkin for muffins!!
Jon did 'Extreme Carving' with his second pumpkin by doing something he has always wanted to do. He shot the face into this guy. It had grown crooked and he braced it with a stick. However, a shot hit the stick and totally mangled the face. Pretty bizarre, eh?

Kila has finally gotten to get outside for a bit. He ended up under the porch, but we convinced him to show up and stuck him back inside. He was none the worse for his experience and wants to do it again!

Hiking and Hunting-

The first thing they found on their last hike was a super ticked off snake. Jon saw it from the back of the truck and jumped out to grab it. I do wish he was more discriminatory in his snake grabbings, but there you go! This reptile entertained them for quite a while, but it was hunting season, so they finally let him go.
The colors are so beautiful in the fall. I love the different hues of reds and greens and yellows that God put in His world.

This tiny 'X' in the photo above is sort of funny. Jon took more pictures of the land and the foliage before they found another snake.

This one was also not impressed to be a toy, but suddenly Steve stopped and said, "There's a deer over there!" (by the 'X') They realised it was a buck and they were very fortunate the deer did not 'see' them playing with the snake! After a short bit, the shots were fired and God blessed us with dinner!!!

Steve was VERY happy!!! After they took care of it, they heard noises in the tall grass just a few feet from where they were and lo and behold, there were cows. Steve and Jon were thankful the shots did not wander into THAT herd!

Sunset in the hills is always beautiful, but when you are successful, it is even more impressive.

This one was a lot bigger than Jonathan's, even if Jon's did have the larger rack!

Another Hunting Hike

The weather has been dreary, but the colors and scenery are amazing. It appears Jon shot the only buck on all 300 acres--they have seen a lot of does and fawns, but nothing with antlers. They'll show up next weekend, after the season ends.

The upper pond and reflections of the trees.

I love this one- Jon is an amazing photographer!
Steve looking over the ranch. The hills remind us of the time during the flood in Genesis. You can just imagine the water receding from the tops--if you don't agree the flood could change so much so fast, I remind you to think of Mt St Helens. In just minutes valleys were formed and entire trees were washed into lakes where they took up residence on the bottom as if they grew there.

Another favorite photo.

They also saw huge flocks of birds migrating. It took a while, but am pretty sure they are Sand Hill cranes. (he took a few that were blurry, but had more definition in the shape of the silhouette.)

A hunting we will go....

October 1 was a VERY busy day! We started the day by going to a young man's Eagle Ceremony in Pendleton. It was incredibly special and I was so glad I insisted we needed to go. Later on, Steve and Jon went off to the mountains. It was a lovely day. The clouds were puffy, the sky was blue, and the colors of the world were amazing!

Jon took several photos of Steve (as usual) and then they finally got down to business.

Steve called me from the ranch--it was getting dark--and told me the end of their day of hiking was better than the first part. And then he told me Jon got his deer. It was not pretty, but he prevailed! Our one shot, clean kill kid sort of ran away this last year as a youth hunter. Yet, he did manage to bag Bambi's older brother!

I took several other photos after the guys maneuvered it into the shop and around the engine less Bronco. However, they are pretty grisly. Even for a mom who is used to hunting photos! Jon shot it a couple of times. One shot shattered his back leg and also hurt the corresponding leg. Another shot literally creased his belly fur and the final shot was from 10 or 15 yards away. It was definitely a lethal wound....At any rate, Jon's pretty happy. This antler set we are going to keep as horns only. We still haven't taken care of last year's head..which is in the freezer still! European mounts are so messy!!!!!!

Round Up part 2~

The first photo is setting up the ice cream booth the Sunday before Round Up--the next one is the Friday of Round Up...the favorite flavor is almost always the purple one you see. Huckleberry!


Jonathan got to actually see parts of the rodeo this year and took some FUN photos!




The four photos above are all of one horse and rider--as you can see, the horse objected to this particular rider who thankfully was not hurt in his brief ride and subsequent tumble.

This last photo was sort of funny. This bull was penned up and managed to climb over the pen and escape! It appears you just have to be on the right side of the fence if you are going to watch!