I made this statement in last Sunday’s post, “So, it’s been an incredibly busy week and the next week does not appear to be shaping up any differently!” I failed to mention it had been an expensive week–those new excavator tracks were ridiculously expensive. This week started out with our beloved skidsteer developing a hydraulic leak and as you can see it took the Cowboy a bit of exploring in order to find that leak. I would look out the windows of the house and all I could see was the Cowboy’s rear end–he had to kneel in the front of the skidsteer and lean way over into it to get to the leaky cylinder. We purchased the stupidly expensive (as in four figures stupidly expensive) part and the skidsteer is now back in business!
Hot and windy Monday, 93 degrees, summer has arrived complete with smoke from a fire on the Montana/Idaho border. But the smoke was gone Tuesday morning and the wind must have brought a “cold” front as our temps were much more moderate. We’ve enjoyed a pleasant summer so far, we hate to see the smoke arriving but it was just a matter of time!
Wednesday was a Billings day. I had a doctors appointment and an appointment for a mammogram. Had to cancel the mammogram, the doctor I was seeing was a bit over scheduled shall I say! The Cowboy picked up his new boots and that dang expensive skidsteer part. We enjoyed a great lunch, made a quick Costco stop and headed home to the Emmi girl.
Home we quickly unloaded and packed up again. We were joining Lonn, Katie, Mike and the munchkins up the Boulder for a picnic. We eat well when we have a picnic–filet mignon and shrimp on the grill. Brooks and Millie made s’mores on the campfire, the adults had apple buns from Costco. Emmi went along and had a ball exploring and avoiding the kids.
On the spur of the moment Sarge called and asked if we wanted to go up into the Crazy Mountains outside of Big Timber on Friday for a bit of ATV exploring–even though the Cowboy’s to do list is a mile long we said “sure, let’s go!” It was a beautiful day, warm at the lower starting elevation but cool and breezy at 8500 feet. The wildflowers were stunning, blue sky and rolling white clouds, creeks, a picnic and friends–what more could one ask! We even saw an abundance of bitterroot flowers–the state flower of Montana.
Anyone know the name of these flowers?
Bugs seem to be following us this summer–if it isn’t mosquitoes, it’s horseflies and biting little flies. No bites from the horseflies but the little biting flies nailed me a couple times!
Still mowing the grass, the peonies have gone but my backyard flower bed is thriving. Most of the colorful birds have found better food elsewhere but the hummingbirds love our feeder. Summer in Montana–it’s been a good one so far!
And today these arrived–the pasture munching red Angus cattle belonging to a young man outside Big Timber. These cows will eat the grass and the Cowboy is relieved of his hay making duties. The cows seem happy so far, fat and happy!
Life is good!
Restoration Cowboy Style 
Bitterroot flowers, now I know!
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So pretty and growing in the hardest of places–in a pile of rocks! We usually see bitterroot on the wild horse range but didn’t this year.
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Love those beautiful bitterroot flowers! And what a great idea to have the ‘guest’ cattle grazing the pasture to cut down on the chore list. I’ve often thought it would be wonderful if we could get some visiting goats to take care of our jungle in Florida, LOL. But they would probably eat everything. So glad you’re having a beautiful almost smoke-free summer!
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We need some goats too–parts of our ranch are so steep the cattle won’t graze on those slopes but our fences are not goat proof! Hope you are enjoying your trip!
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Orange Hawkweed or a Red Dandelion?
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Ox Eye is what our friend Sarah thought it was. I go with orange dandelion!
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chores will wait! Glad you enjoyed your unplanned adventure. Angus weed eaters – perfect! Be careful what you wish for…goats are a real pain in the………
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Have no fears–Mike would never have goats!! It’s kind of fun having cattle again–without all that work that goes with cattle!
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Missing your pictures….not coming thru!!
Sent from my iPad
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Not sure why that’s happening–sometimes a slow internet connection will cause that??
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Just think how much the skidster fix would have cost had the cowboy not the knowledge and skill to repair.
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We think that exact thought all the time–or how much our AZ house would have cost if we had hired someone to help remodel!
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I love seeing the bitterroot flowers. Something I remember well from the high mountains in northern Idaho, although they were rare there. The pink one is a mallow of some sort, probably Malva alcea, and pretty sure the orange one is hawkweed. Pilosella aurantiaca. It isn’t always easy to id a plant from a photo for sure because you can’t see the leaves or anything clearly. Our expensive stuff continued for another couple of weeks, I hope yours quit. Ours has finally slowed down, I hope. And ours weren’t fixable by either of us! Mo’s laptop and the five year old LG fridge. But more on that in the next post. The cows looks wonderful out on the property. Mo asked if you have fences and I remembered the Cowboy doing fence work in the years past. Enjoy the rest of your gorgeous Montana summer…hoping it stays that way.
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Thanks for the flower ID–our friend John agrees with you about the orange one being Hawkweed. Yep, we have fences and thanks to our have horses on the property last winter and now cows, the Cowboy has fixed most of our fences quite well. There is another fence which needs fixing that drops off into a majorly steep draw–ugh!
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Boys and their toys sure seem to get the job done. Totally agree with Sue…chores can wait. Exploring with friends is way more fun. Love the photos, especially the wildflowers. I love cows…they have such beautiful eyes. What a treat to feed and enjoy them without any of the work/expense. Life is good Janna!
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I’m loving having the cows–they seem to be quite docile. Chores can always wait!
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If only equipment would work forever without repairs and replacements! Hope the smoke from the Oakwood fire stays away from you, you’ve had such a lovely summer so far. Dang bugs, but what fun to get out for picnics and trail rides. Those red cattle are beautiful. What a treat to have them doing the work and getting paid in full tummies!
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Something always needs repair it seems–I’m grateful Mike can do most repairs!! Yes, we have had a lovely summer so far! And I hear we had one heck of a rain/hail storm in Pearce yesterday.
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yup, parts have gone way up in price, but new is even worse. I never look forward to doing the books for repairs. uff dah!
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It seems as if everything has gone up in price–it is frightening!
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Love the sights, sounds and yes, even the smell of cattle grazing the pastures. We missed them entirely on our property this year but it is nice to know they kept the grass down a little bit.
Shrimp and filet? Now that’s my kind of picnic!
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Not sure I can agree with you on the “smell” of the cattle :)–but it’s OK for a couple months!
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The Jack of all Trades is at it again. The man can handle any problem thrown at him. Glad it’s fix but sorry it was costly. I love you new lawn mowers!! Lucky they have such lush fields. Hope the smoke stays away and the temps stay down. I’ve never hear do of the bitterroot flowers. They are adorable Good to see you out enjoying some fun:)
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Yep, it’s been one expensive month in this household!
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