Busy, busy, buzzyy!!

So I haven’t written in awhile….I’ve been whirling about like a tornado….hard for you all to imagine, I’m sure. Adrian: busy, crazy and excited about what’s happening next?? No, can’t be!! Haha Yeah right!

It’s been raining cats and dogs up here, which means when I go check heifers for my boss, I get soaking wet. Good thing my little bunk house has a fireplace! At least it’s not snow; I hear it’s pretty gnarly over in Ely…lots of wet white stuff there. And a friend camped in Tuscarora said that the wind is trying to blow his place into Idaho. Ahhh….the joys of springtime weather!

Oh look there, big thunderheads are creeping over the top of the mountain….looks like it’s gonna be another wet day. It’s ok though. I have lots of homework to do, I’ve been beading on a pair of moccasins and I’m learning some songs for a friend’s wedding this summer. I must run, I think I will make breakfast for dinner tonight. Biscuits and gravy anyone? Wish you all were here to eat with me; we would stuff ourselves and jam into the wee hours of the morning! Until we talk again, keep smiling!

EARLY MORNING RUN

I went for a run early this morning with my sister. It’s one of my favorite morning habits, not because I necessarily enjoy running when I first wake up but because I love our time together. The way the air smells as I jog along, the pig I saw heading to water, the way the yearlings next to the road switch between following us and spooking. Since we are girls we do manage to talk a little bit and in between gasping for air all manner of topics come up; like Nevada, shows, rawhide, our horses, guitars and maybe two certain buckaroos…but then again maybe not. J We decided that my new Crafter guitar is starting to sound better and better and that it’s actually painfully beautiful to behold! Did you know that when you have a new guitar it takes about a year for it to reach its optimum tone? The difference in the way my Gibson sounds today is hugely different the way it sounded last year at this time. It’s a much richer, fuller tone. So I’m really excited to see how the Crafter turns out.

April is just around the corner so that means The Californios is coming up. For those of you who haven’t heard yet, this reata roping that’s normally held in Red Bluff, CA has been moved to Reno, NV. Are you going? I don’t have a show that weekend so I’m going to try and make it…if you’re there holler at me and say hi!

I must scoot….there’s dogs and horses and music that need my attention, oh my!

xoxo A

Photo shoot with my Crafter

Of course I like the pink in the background :)

At a branding earlier this year

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Hello, hello! How is your week going so far? I hope that it’s gotten off to a grand ‘ole start and you aren’t moping around with the Monday blues. I am of course bouncing around like a rubber ball due to the amazing weather and all the great “work” that I have lined up right now. My dad has always told me that if you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life. I feel immensely blessed that I get to do what I love. Music adds color to my life and without it I’m pretty sure that the Adrian you know would cease to exist.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a booth at the Colusa Western Days April 9, 10 and 11 so I have been steadily working away at my jewelry stash. I got some great feedback from some talented gals and we all agree that turquoise is our fav rock. What style of necklaces do you prefer? Colors? Pendants? Let me know because I’d really like to have a diverse group of jewelry there and I love any input you guys have! I’m also really looking forward to heading to the Santa Margarita Ranch at the end of May for the Early California Rancho Days they’re putting on. Santa Margarita has to be one of my favorite places to perform in California and I can’t wait to watch the boys and girls show off their mad skills with horses and reatas.

So what do you have planned for this week? Riding, writing and ruling the world are basically the three “R’s” on my agenda….talk to me! I wanna know!

xoxo A

4th OF JULY IN MARCH

Did you all know that in a certain valley in Northern California it wasn’t March yesterday…it was actually the 4^th of July? It was hot enough for shorts and since all my family members were in one place at the same time we loaded up the truck with fishing poles, chairs and some snacks and headed to the little lake here for some fishing! We had to hike in part of the way since the pastures were pretty wet and once we got there I couldn’t believe how much rain we’ve had! There’s normally a big rock by the water that I like to sit on but yesterday it was completely submerged! I Couldn’t see it at all! I fished for awhile, and tramped around the woods for a bit and laughed until my sides ached. My dad actually caught a huge catfish and I’m not going to lie we were all pretty excited! Hopefully he is eating and getting bigger by the second RIGHT NOW!! Dark came and once a little bit of a chill had settled into our bones we packed up and headed home, to a show of the neighbors boys setting off every kind of firework known to man. It was beautiful. All that was missing was the watermelon…guess we’ll have to wait till the real July for that!

Just a short drive from the ranch

Fishing time!

Cowboys fish too!

Dad's 5 pound catfish!

What kind of works are going on around your home place? Here in the valley pairs and yearlings are being moved, fences are being fixed and new gates are being hung. It’s like spring cleaning for the outside!

Yesterday I helped our neighbor out for the morning and this California girl sure did enjoy working out in the hot sun. Good bye Winter Blues! Ha-ha! It’s not very far to the neighbor’s home place, just a two mile trot and I was there. We gathered some fields, sorted bulls, dry’s and yearlings and put skinny cows out in deep grass. It sounds like everyone else is starting to get busy as well. The YP (The YP ranch in Tuscarora, Nevada) will be turning their cows out next week and a friend of mine in Ely, Nevada receives 2500 head of yearlings over the next couple of days…the busyness has began!

So in the general spirit of seasonal productivity, tomorrow I’m going to power wash all my mud-crusted cinches and sweat stained saddle blankets, check over my saddle and maybe even go rope shopping. Yippie-kay-yay! What’s on your shopping list this year?

xoxo A

Hello mamas!

Blue sky and yellow flowers...gotta love it!

THE BLUEBELL

A fine and subtle spirit dwells
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
There is a silent eloquence
In every wild bluebell
That fills my softened heart with bliss
That words could never tell.

Excerpt from Anne Bronte’s poem, The Bluebell

After my post about springtime yesterday I decided to post some pictures of the general loveliness around here. Enjoy!

xoxo A

I like old corrals and green grass! :)

Run little piggy!

I stopped and picked some on the way home the other day

I'm not the only one who stops and takes pictures!

Beauty :)

AND SPRING AROSE…

I know the calendar says that it won’t officially be spring for another 5 days, but she got ahead of herself and came early to Bear Valley! Grass has been a vibrant green around here for a while now, it rains like crazy and last week the wildflowers started pushing their way up to meet the sunshine. And yesterday when I was in town for church I counted not three but four girls in summer dresses and flip flops, braving the chilly breeze. Spring has come to California. Here’s a list of things that automatically come to my mind when I hear the word spring…hope you are amused, enjoy it or add to it!! I always want to hear from you guys!

xoxo A

*The color yellow

*Blue rag rugs

*Exploring junk shops

*White pottery jugs

*Lambs

*Angel cake

*Brandings

*Patched Levis

*Slickers

*Red umbrellas

*Ballet slippers

*Muddy cowboy boots

*Tin cans of furniture polish

*Tortoiseshell sunglasses

*French cafes

*Greased reatas  

*Black baldy calves

PUPPY LOVE

They say that a dog is man’s best friend….it’s just one of those unarguable facts that’s been floating around the world for who knows how long. Well, in today’s instance, a dog is GURLS BEST FRIEND EVER!!! I bought my first dog myself when I was 8 years old, a pure bred border collie from Scotland.  She had so much energy and was slightly neurotic (ok, more than slightly!) but I loved her. A few years ago though I had to give Calla away because of my crazy schedule and she didn’t like to be a truck dog. Sad, sad days. L And for the last year I have wanted a dog again so badly I could almost not stand it! I’ll go ahead and admit that I’ve spent some time on the internet looking at pictures of corgis, German shepherds, blue heelers and pit bulls! I just couldn’t seem to stop torturing myself! Each picture of each new puppy had to be mine! Then last week a friend of mine heard that I was aching for a full time traveling partner and said he would bring me a pup to Winnemucca and if I liked her, she was mine!

As you can see from the pictures, it was love at first sight and now I have a traveling partner…just as soon as I can teach her to not chew the seatbelts. :)

xoxo A

Isn't she a cutie?

FYI...she's part pit, part Hanging Tree cow dog

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG

There’s just something about hitting the road for a rodeo that makes me wanna shout and dance! Windows down, music blaring as loudly as the speakers can handle it and laughing and talking with my best friend about the good times we’re sure to have! Boo-ya baby! The Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo was a blast and if you didn’t make it I really do feel sorry for you ‘cause you missed out on a lot! Jennifer Whitely had an amazing selection of the cinches she tied (if you go to the Californios Reata Roping in April, stop by her booth and check ‘em out!) Les Iverson was there with all his beautiful silver and the amount of chunky jewelry made me want to drool! There were a few guys walking around with some rawhide work on their arms, and the amount of Border Collie pups being led around was staggering. By Sunday I almost had sensory overload…not that I was complaining mind you! 30 teams in a rodeo makes for long days and some of the dance bands around made for long nights…’cause when the music starts up my feet can’t stay still! So now it’s back to the grind here at the ranch and my feet hurt, I’m exhausted and I’m somewhat poorer, but we had a fantastic time….just living the dream baby, just living the dream. :)

On the road!

Junior Kelly making a wild bronco ride

And Bridger showed up

Doctoring Time

Pretty, shiny bit that my hunny got for me! Thank you! :)

LET’S JUST GO!!!!

It turns out that I come from a long line of “Let’s just pick up and go!” kind of people! Last week my mums randomly decided between breakfast and lunch to leave the next day to go visit her dad down in So Cal, and it sparked a great conversation about some of my grandparents, who apparently had itchy feet as well! My great-grandma, who was a total babe by the way, would frequently go out for coffee and end up either in Big Sur to collect shells on the beach or Las Vegas to play the penny slots! What an awesome lady! I wish I could’ve met her. She’s the same women who would send her friends little letters written on the back of the menu from the diner she was eating at while on the road. I think that must be where I get it from…so many of my songs have been scribbled on menus, napkins and placemats. Come to think of it, my song “Elko” off of the Highway 80 album was written on my placemat in a Basque restaurant in Winnemucca! Funny, that. But in keeping with the family tradition, my sister and I decided to just GO to the Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo this weekend! The truck is out front idling and waiting, packed with luggage, dogs and snow chains in case we meet with inclement weather over the Donner Pass. And so all members of my family are blown to different directions…why? Because it’s a family tradition.

Gotta run…sis is yelling at me that it’s time to go…tell me though, do you ever get itchy feet and just feel the need to pack up and GO?! I’d love to hear about some of your adventures and maybe even get some inspiration from you!

xoxo A

The one who started it all!

Let's hit the road!!