Wild Tumbleweeds - A Brush with Death!

I was viciously attacked, or the car was, just as I crossed the railroad tracks to go out to the house to let the animals outside. It was a rogue wild tumbleweed. I did not realize how much damage was done until I saw the front of my car. There were 2 chunks of tumbleweed stuck in my grill. The darn thing grabbed my grill and vaulted itself over my hood, smacked my windshield (no damage there) and then slid across the hood before I got away. I did not take pictures because I don't think I will bother submitting a claim to the insurance company. I was not hurt in the incident but it sure made my heart skip a beat or two not knowing if that thing was going to come in through my windshield. Please don't worry about me, I managed to keep the car on the road and my heart rate returned to normal very quickly. That is the second time I have been attacked by a wild tumbleweed near the railroad tracks. They must have a den nearby!

Sunrise after a dust storm

On March 31, 2014 we had a dust storm that ravaged the area.  The photo above was later in the day when things were starting to calm down.  However, this is a good glimpse of what it looked like. 

The silver lining of a dust storm is the sunrise the next morning.  I have been told that the dust particles left in the air are what caused the awesome pinks and purples I was able to capture.

Sometimes it is just a blessing to get up in the morning to see the sunrise or walk outside in the evening just in time to catch the sunset.  Those are the days I love the most. 

Sunrise, Sunset

I have been taking some amazing pictures of sunrises and sunsets.  Sunsets are easier because I am awake for those.  Sunrises are getting harder for me to get because I just don't get up that early.  So I have all these amazing pictures and started to think, how cool would it be to get a book published with these pictures in them.  The problem is how to do that, where to do that, etc.  I can make a photo book on shutterfly.com or snapfish.com but I cannot mass produce it on those sites for sale at a reasonable rate.

So I am reaching out to my audience to help me figure out how I can do this.  I am thinking people would buy a book of sunrises and sunsets for $9.99.  Surely such an item would make a great gift!  If anyone is at my house you will be able to see the sunrise from January 12, 2014 on the wall in my living room.

Book title:  Sunrises and Sunsets on the Kansas Prairie

I will be posting some of the pictures here very soon and have already shared some on past posts.

Winter BLAHS

I had not realized how long it has been since my last post.  So much is going on and then really nothing is going on.  Such is life in NW Kansas in February and March.  Pretty much we are waiting for spring to arrive and for things to start growing.

On the drive to town today I noticed that more and more wheat fields were starting to green up.  We had a few days last week of upper 70s and that tends to wake those little plants up, shake them to their roots and get them out of their long winter slumber.

Late winter and early spring also means it is time for me to start doing my spring cleaning of the yard which entails trimming back all the Russian Sage plants, cutting back the dried pampas grass, cleaning out the flower beds and making sure the gardens are ready for rototilling.  I actually started this process this past weekend with the burning of one pumpkin patch and burning of all the debris in the burn tank.  I am hoping to get to the asparagus patch next, won't burn that one but do need to do some dirt work there with adding of some salt to the ground.  At least that is what the old timers have told me to do.  If it is not windy, I will likely work on filling the burn tank back up with the rest of the Russian Sage trimmings and pampas grass cuttings so I can burn them down as well.

We had some excitement the other day on the farm.  Dad had purchased all the quarry stone available at the Menards in North Platte and had it delivered on Tuesday.  At 20 cents a piece, it was considerably cheaper than the patio blocks we had planned on using for our next project.  In fact, it was so cheap we got enough that I can line the firewood corral and have a most stable base to walk on and stack on and clean up.  How exciting.  Another project for me.  Pictures will be forthcoming.

Trust in the Grand Plan as it pertains to you

Things happen in their own time for a reason and sometimes that reason is not very clear to us and we just have to trust that God has a plan and he never gives us more than he believes we are able to handle. 

When my grandmother passed on Christmas eve and my 3rd husband asked me for a divorce the day after the funeral I came to the realization that God must know that I am stronger than I ever thought myself to be because He sent me a whole lot to deal with all at one time.  But at the same time, He gave me angels to help me and then He sent me some more angels to help me find happiness again from people who I had never met and knew nothing of my history.  I know to trust in the gifts given to me in new found friendships and am very slowly beginning to believe that maybe I can be loved in the way of the fairy tales and the love songs and that just maybe I have never really been in love before, that has yet to come to me.

This was the realization or epiphany that came to me this morning as I was writing to a friend about loving his late wife who was taken from him way to early.  It applies to me, it applies to all of us.  The key is accepting that somethings are beyond our control and that we must trust that there are reasons for the events in our lives as they shape and mold us into the people we have yet to become.  In my case, I have realized that I am very lumpy and no where near molded into the person I am meant to be.  Obviously this is visible by the naked human eye and also visible within the eyes of God who continues to work on me as he does everyone else.  I am a work in progress, I accept that.  Time to get this lump moving and help Him out a little with the exterior part!

Thank you angels in my life who are helping me - Annette, Vanessa, Jill, and some who will remain anonymous!