just some thoughts

It's nearing Christmas....

I'm loooking forward to it, but it still doesn't seem real....only twelve days til Christmas!

Wasn't it just last week that I was gasping in the heat of summer? Surely yesterday I went barefoot outside.

But no. The years have begun to fly. It's strange, I remember when I was little, the weeks seemed to go by so slow! Now they fly past at the speed of light, it seems.

What is it that makes time fly? Busyness? Preoccupation? That is certainly abundant.

Not to say I don't like Christmas. I love it! It just doesn't feel like it's time yet. (Part of that might be we haven't got out Christmas tree up yet..... you never know.)

Well, I hope all you have a wonderful twelve days til Christmas!

the crossroads

I was up before the sun today. I didn't want to be, but we all had to get up early, because we eat breakfast together. The sunrise was pretty.

Sometimes I don't know what I want to do. (Actually, a lot of times.) I am a very undecided person. When I have a choice to make, and only I can make it, it's usually very hard. I can think of both pros and cons, and they are equal. So it's just what I want. And it's terribly hard to decide.

Do I want to go somewhere, for instance. Am I going alone? But it will be really fun to do that. But you have never gone on an airplane by yourself, or been in a totally different state alone. If I go though, it will impact the rest of my life, possibly. I really want to go. I really don't want to make the trip. (That's an example)

Crossroads are hard things. You will be impacted by the choice you make, for good or bad. You don't know which will turn out better, unless you see the future. Which will you choose?

the flag is there

As I told you last time, a mysterious fort has shown up in our trees. (That's about what the river bottom is--trees). Well, in the afternoons, Dave, Kirsten, Michelle, Jack, and I have been investigating it.

Last time we were there, a new thing had been added. A flag. The top half was green and the bottom half was blue, and it had a yellow star right in the middle. It was on a makeshift flag pole that was made out of a fallen tree.

We can't figure it out! I mean, there's no other ranch very close to this one spot on the river bank. So unless one of us is sneaking out and doing it, we have a mysterious visitor. If any of us are doing it, I would suspect Leon and Matt, and maybe Jeanne, but I doubt it.

We'll just have to watch and see.

A Stunner

And that is a fact about me...


What? You want to know it?


Really?


Are you sure?


I know, if you haven't read ahead this is driving you crazy.


But I'm  just happily driving you a little more crazy.


Maybe I'll do a picture. Just to make it harder to read ahead.

And you have no idea if this picture has anything to do with it or not.


well, actually, it does.


but not the way you think probably.


crazy yet?


Oh

Okay


If I want you to read any further, I need to get to the point.


Right?


So. I will.


I don't like riding.


Yes. That's right.


I am a ranch girl.


I don't even particularly like horses.


That's odd for a girl.


At least, a LOT of girls I know really like horses.


But I know horses.


I have to ride them to do cows.


And it's hard work.



Think this is long enough?



I know, I don't usually post twice in a row..but..

I had this really awesome story to tell you guys.

Dave, Michelle, Kirsten, and I were exploring in the river bottom next to our house, where there is tons of trees. We had been finding all sorts of neat places, trees, and holes, and that sort of thing, when all of a sudden Michelle pointed ahead!
     "Hey, what's that?" she asked. I followed her pointing finger and then I saw it. Dave saw it just as I did and he let out a whoop!
     "A FORT!!!!" he yelled! "AWESOME!!!" and he took off running for it.
      Kirsten and I exchanged puzzled looks. We explore the river bottoms a lot. And I had never seen it before. And it looked really new. Evidently Kirsten hadn't seen it before either. I followed, almost as eager as Michelle and Dave, who were now halfway to the fort.
      It was underneath a great big tree, and there was a swing made out of baling twine hanging from one of the branches of the tree. Sticks had been arranged in a palisade around the base of the tree and several feet out. Flat rocks were laid in a path from the palisade opening to the tree trunk, where a makeshift roof had been built. The whole thing was a bit strange, although really really neat!
     A shadow fell across us as we were investigating the fort. I shivered, and wrapped my arms around me. Even with my coat on, it was getting really cold. And the sun was going down. So supper would probably be on the stove soon.
   So we went home, but we are definitely going to be on the lookout for anything strange happening!

I have had a birthday!!!

yes that is true....

it was on Thanksgiving....

I am now....

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah.

IT IS SO AWESOME!!!!


I am going in to get my learner's permit to drive tomorrow. I think I will be able to get it , so I have been studying up!

My cousins arrived here yesterday. There's four of them.

Dave: He is fourteen and is really fun. He is totally sincere and he is a great storyteller. Watch out for adventures with him around!!

Michelle: She is thirteen, just Kirsten's age, and they are best friends. Michelle is verrrry tomboyish, and she loves horses. Greatly.

Jeanne: Little, 11, sweet thing. But she is tougher than she looks!

Leon: Verrry loud for a nine-year-old. But he is fun, even though a little bit on the bragging side.

We are going to have some adventures!!!

Cows and a lot about a Sunrise....

I did cow work today...yep...I know it's the day before Thanksgiving. SO WHY WAS I DOING COW WORK????????

To be simple, because we needed to bring our cows home. Usually we do it long before this, but this year, we had them stay because there was more grass for them to eat there.

I watched the sunrise. It was amazing.

The sky was midnight blue when the first hint of red peeked over the hilltops. A dull red-orange, like a far-off fire, lit up the sky. Dark blue clouds lined the top of it, and hills were silhouetted black against the red.

As I rode toward the east, the red turned gradually to a brilliant hot pink and neon orange. It was incredible. The sky lightened to a deep blue color. High, wispy clouds were bright pink. The orange glow covered the land, casting a orange-pink tinge over the draws and hills.

The sun peeked over the hilltops, turning the orange a brilliant gold color and the pink hot orange. The high clouds turned a wispy pink and blue, like cotton candy. As the fiery ball of the sun rose, the clouds in front of it were either bright gold or navy blue.

I rode with my back to the sunrise for a little while as the colors waned, and then I saw an amazing sight, looking toward the west.

I saw the back end of the sunrise. The clouds over the eastern hills were a soft pink, and I knew that that was where the sunrise was now.

The cow work went well.

Since she STOLE my idea.....

Yeah, Piano Bookworm stole my idea. About snipes, I mean. So I am going to beat her and tell you about them before she lets on any more!

Like she said, snipes are mysterious creatures. As far as I know, they dwell only in the wilds of Wyoming, but (stinker) she said that also. ANYWAY, now I'm going to tell you something about them that she hasn't told you yet.

Hunting snipes is very exciting, fun, and slightly dangerous. Strangely enough, snipes are more likely to be found when an inexperienced person is hunting them. So experienced hunters always make sure to take a novice with them when they go hunting. To hunt a snipe, you first have to find its den. Then you set one person to keep an eye on the den and go back to collect the novice hunter. (Also strange, you can't find a snipe den when a novice is with you. I SAID they were mysterious.)

Kirsten, Jack, and I went snipe hunting yesterday, with one of our friends from town. I sent Kirsten and Jack out to find the snipe den. Nicole, (that's our friend), had never hunted a snipe before. So I stayed with her, telling her about snipes and how to hunt them.

Kirsten came back , grinning ear to ear. She had found a snipe den and had left Jack to guard it. So Nicole, Kirsten and I started out for the den. Nicole seemed a bit nervous...

"Um snipe hunting isn't too extremely dangerous, is it?" she kept asking, and I and Kirsten kept reassuring her.

"No, it's not. Snipes are really smart, and they leave if they can't tell someone new is coming." I replied.

"But you're new," Kirsten said, "So it won't run away until they realize we're hunting it, which hopefully won't be until it's in the sack." (Alright, I forgot to tell you that. You hunt snipes with sticks and old burlap sacks so you can put the snipe into the sack)

We got closer to the location of the snipe den and couldn't see Jack anywhere. I bit my lip. "I hope he didn't go chasing the snipe, if he saw it. We don't want him getting lost chasing it..or even having it turn on him."

Nicole's eyes grew wide. "Turn on him? Could a snipe do anything to him?"

Kirsten shrugged. "Well, snipes aren't usually dangerous, but you never can tell."

Just then Jack ran up, panting. "The snipe's in the den, I saw it!" he exclaimed. "I couldn't see it until Nicole got close, but I saw it in the den just a minute ago. Come on!" and he ran off back toward the snipe den.

All of a sudden, Matt appeared in front of us, yelling. Nicole almost jumped out of her skin, but then she saw that it was Matt.

He came in front of us. "Hey, hurry, the snipe's running away!" he cried. We started to run, but we were too late. The snipe was gone. =P

Hey, I just learned that pretty soon, we're going to have our cousins visiting us! I bet we have TONS of adventures then!

asldkfjas;ldkf

Hey everyone from the US, Mexico, Italy, Croatia, Germany, and Malaysia! Fun to see you all out there! You guys are awesome!

How's that for random ramblings? Anyway, I was thinking, if you are one of those from somewhere besides the US, it would be really neat if you would comment. I would like to see what you want on this blog!

Snipes. Snipes are mysterious creatures, you know. So far I've only heard of them living in the wilds of Wyoming. You'll be hearing a lot about snipes and snipe hunting in the days to come.

Maya Mitchell!!!!

Piano Bookworm asked me to do this, and I was like "sure! why not?" So now I am writing to you. Firstly, my name is Maya Mitchell. But I suppose you already know that. (At least PB said she had told you guys that I was coming. If she didn't.... it doesn't really matter. I'm going to tell you anyway.)

I am fourteen years old, and I have strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. I think that's because I'm Irish on my mom's side. She's an O'Christy. I'm not sure what Dad is, because I don't know what country or language "Mitchell" is from. Oops. Now I'm rambling. Piano warned me about this. She said: "Maya, if you do this, you probably will start rambling. That's the name of the blog!" Erggg, I hate it when she's right about stuff like that. well, back to me.

I have five siblings, and I'm the oldest. Then there's Kirsten, who's thirteen, Jack, who's eleven, Matt, who's nine, Leigh, who's seven, Lynn, who's five, and Tim, who's three. Yeah, I know. I'm the only one who is an even number of years old. Well, that's because I haven't had my birthday yet this year. It's coming soon, AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! I'll be fifteen, and then I'll be able to get a learner's permit to DRIVE!!!

I live on a ranch fifty miles outside of Casper, which is about our biggest town here in Wyoming. It's not big, compared to other cities.

It is really really cold here this time of year. Kirsten, my sister, helps Dad milk the cow early in the morning, and she gets up at five most of the time. I sleep in and get up at five-thirty. That is true. In summer, sleeping in is seven, but in the winter, sleeping in is five-thirty. =P Well, anyway, when I get up it has been quite a bit below freezing in the morning. Yesterday it got up to about fifty degrees in the middle of the day though. That was nice.

Well, I can't think of anything interesting right now, but next time I write, I'll have an adventure to tell you about! We're going snipe hunting sometime soon!

So I am entering a contest....

Storyteller has a header designing contest going on on her blog Rubberboot Girl. So I thought I would try my hand at designing and enter!

So here's the header!

I have a story called Brookflowing, you can click here to read it! =D

A mighty wave of....PICTURES!!!!

A mysterious mountain waterfall, hidden in the depths of en enchanted forest....

 

Waterfalls streaming off of craggy heights....

 

A mighty castle....

 

Greykeep...(If you have no idea what I'm talking about read the tab 'Brookflowing')

 

The mysterious abode of evil.....

 

The innocent forest, where no suspicion lurks....

 

The fairy glade, where the fairies work to fight the evil...

 

The light at the end of the road.....

 

The wanderers sailed off by the light of the moon....

 

They journeyed through days...

 

and storms....

 

and fair weather...

 

And at last they reached their destination.

 

The knights disembarked and engaged the foe...

 

 

Hope you enjoyed!!!



Coming Soon!!

I am very excited to announce that Maya Mitchell* will be telling us her story on this blog! She will have posts every once in a while here, telling about her life. She lives on a ranch and is 14 years old. I think I'll let her tell you the rest about herself....;-D

Her posts will start in a few days.

*Maya Mitchell is a fictional character.

Question

Hey everyone! I am going to repeat my question from two days ago: Do you want me to do a continuing story on here? Please comment if you do. Name ideas would be welcome also.

Thanks!

So this is really random....

I was just thinking about this, and I would like your input. Would any of you like a story series on this blog? Seeing how this is my "ranch girl" blog, it would be a story based on some real life experience....

Tomorrow is a big day for our country. I know a lot of you aren't old enough to vote, but we really need to be praying about what happens in the election, and if we are old enough, VOTE!!!!

A new house is a grand adventure. Wouldn't you agree? You get to have a new room, a different amount of space to live in, new looks to get used to. You have different noises in your new house to listen to or not at night. Probably your new house smells different. No, I have never moved. No, I am not leaving my home now. Just in case you were wondering. This is just a random post.

I really like hymns. And old poems. And old books. I guess you could just say I'm sort of old-fashioned in my tastes. I also like reading better than watching movies. And I could probably count the number of real movies I have watched in my life on my hands and toes.

So yep, theis post is reeeallly random ramblings, wouldn't you agree?

Some Thoughts

Music

Flying, whirling

Fingers on keys

Emotions transferred to sound

Piano

 

Reading

Thinking, feeling

Laughing, sobbing, rejoicing

Imagination soaring through time

Book magic

 

Writing

Ideas flying

Thoughts to paper

Flowing from my pen

To you

 

Searching

Wandering, Journeying

Seeing grand sights

Over forests and plains

Expedition

 

All pictures from Google

A Day of Pictures

This is similar to the sunrise I saw today. Not just like it, but similar. Today's was prettier.

 

Ahhh, so amazing.

 

I have seen clouds that color. It is a wonderful and terrible sight, a storm approaching.

 

You will not believe it. I see this sort of thing soo much!

 

And this? Just an ordinary, amazing Wyoming sunset.

 

 

Yeah. Pictures! Beautiful, I think. Anyway, the second from the bottom looks a lot like places I see whenever we work cows.

 

All pictures from Google



Buttermilk Hill

Hey everyone! I really enjoy this song, and I made this video to go with it. The pictures are things you see out here in the country in Wyoming!

My First Randomness

Ok. So this is my first post on this blog. So everyone who's reading this, welcome! I am so glad you're here!

Speaking of rambling, I'm not really sure what that word means. You don't want to go rambling off in the wilderness all by yourself, but rambling thoughts are just confusing. I don't really know, though. Perhaps your thoughts go rambling off in the universe somewhere, and that's why they are so confusing. What do you think?