MONTANA

I went home in September and stayed a month.  There is really nothing like Montana.  I love Eastern Montana--this is where I grew up and it will always be home.  The population is sparse, spaces seem to go on forever.  The towns are few and far between, and the people are the best.

  Meanwhile, out at the ranch the cat is taking a nap, and the snap of the camera caused a brief interruption in his snooze.

I love to go for long walks, and look at the grass, animals, snakes or whatever is out there.  Amy likes to go along for short walks, even though she is getting up in years and her little bones hurt. I don't know how many more winters she will make.

Here comes Cash!  Looking for a handout.  He and all the other horses love cotton seed cake.

 I was empty handed this time.  Next time I will remember to stick a goody or two in my pocket.

Cash is waiting expectantly, and I feel so bad about letting him down.

I love to feel horses noses, especially right behind their nostrils.  The texture reminds me of that washed silk fabric that was so popular back in the 90s, or was it the 80s?

Cash and Amy are friends.  She is so good with other animals, and she likes baby animals.

Amy, the sweetheart.

This old relic was supposed to become a hay stacker or something, but Dad didn't get that project done.

The horse shoe bend in the Big Dry where I spent a lot of time wading in the water.

The water is pretty murky this year because of the drouth, and sure wouldn't be good for wading.

This old tree is so bent and gnarled now, that you would never guess it was a favorite climbing tree about fifty years ago.

These cotton woods are out in the buck pasture.

Cowboy and I roamed all over this little pasture.  We had to amuse ourselves because there was no TV, cell phones, or telephones for quite a while.  We certainly did not have an obesity problem, and I am so thankful to have grown up out here in the open spaces.  There was a spot out here in this little buck pasture where a homesteader had their house and I still have some treasures they left behind.

I remember running down through this crossing toward the corrals, and telling my brother that I thought I could hear a mountain lion (just to scare him).  It wasn't long before I was just as scared as he was, and I could swear I could feel the lion's hot breath on my neck.

  
Here they come.  They are also looking for a handout, and I really don't have anything for them and the young pup who is with me  is trying to bite their heels.  I will just get her and head for the house.