Monday, January 16, 2012

and Down again

I have made it back to Dogpound South after a quick trip back to the Northern Ranges. The weather up there was pretty cooperative too as it didn’t drop below freezing until long after dark and the days were up in the high 30’s. Anytime you get above freezing in January in that country you gotta count your blessings. I managed to get around and see all of our grandchildren while I was up there and most of the kids, although Ved and Clayton had to work.

I was back home to give my Dad a hand getting around to some medical appointments and procedures and just for the record those all went fine and he is back home. Here is a picture we got with four generations of Brown Boys all together one day when we snuck out for brunch together with my son Paul and my grandson Lucas.

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All the pictures up to this point in this entry were taken with my phone camera so I am thinking of throwing out all the DSLR’s I have and just packing the phone..lol.

Dad was all done with the medico’s on Saturday at noon and I was quick to get on the plane south that afternoon. Seems that the fine weather I was enjoying was about to change. This time the weatherman wasn’t lying the bottom was dropping out of the thermometer about the time I landed at Sky Harbor in Phoenix. Rumour has it that it is –28C (-19F) back home as I write this.

Sunday Brenda and I had an engagement planned with the Southwest Ranch Roping Association. One of our local ladies had asked us to pop by and take some photos of the roping here in Maricopa. We had a great time and once we figured out the scoring system it all started to make a little sense too. Thanks for the tutoring Dick.

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Ranch roping is a lot different than some of the more mainstream types of roping events, a lot slower paced and much more like what happens on real ranches than some of the other events. Keeping the stock calm and minimizing the stress on the cattle is held at a premium at this event. I won’t try to explain the scoring system here, mostly because I am still trying to figure it out myself but I will hook you up to a link if you are curious.

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Brenda and I took about 700 pictures at this event so if you are really curious you can follow the links below to those pics.

Brenda’s shots – below is a great one she took.

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My shots

Today Brenda and I took the dogs along on a ride up Vekol Wash. The dogs enjoy getting out and there are only a limited number of cacti along the way.

8 comments:

  1. Wow, talk about a whirlwind trip. Glad you got out of there before you were frozen in!

    Great pix, nice to see the four generations together. :c)

    Got a belly laugh on Brenda's picture of the porta potty. What would have happened if the horse got spooked and backed up?

    We'd like to visit you in early Feb after our time at Quartzsite, if you wouldn't be embarrased to be seen in public with us.

    When you get a chance, shoot us an email if it's okay, the email address is all the way on the bottom of our blog. Thanks!

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  2. Loved the photos, especially Brenda's porta potty one. OK, I get the Canada trip, what about the Fort Worth trip or is that a secret???

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  3. You are having just too much fun. I on the other hand will be cleaning out the bays on the MH. This will have to be the highlight of my day!
    Miss you both

    Joe and Sherri

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  4. Wow looks like you excaped the frigid weather... Photos are excellent!!! Loved them!
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  5. You did escape Calgary before the frigid cold hit. Good timing, I say!

    Now that photo Brenda took would be printed in the major press organizations across Canada and the US. I sure laughed at the images conjured should that horse back up or take off in a hurry!

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  6. Love the picture of the porta potty!! You really cannot plan shots like this!

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