Country Holiday

July 4, 2016

When faced with the reality of work undone and wheat harvest uncompleted, it's easy to suffer from a bad case of amnesia. But a trip to the Rattlesnake Pasture earlier this week gave me a little different perspective. It was just 4 years ago when a similar trip to check cattle yielded a much less beautiful picture.

August 2012

In August 2012, there was not a drop of water in the Rattlesnake Creek. So on this 4th of July, as we listened to the water flowing and Randy looked down from the eastern edge of our property line, it put the abundant rain in perspective.

Yes, the flowing water means that Randy & Ricky will be working on the fence tomorrow morning between our pasture and the neighbor's.

But the abundant rains are a blessing after several years of taking cattle out of the pasture early when a drought robbed the water supply and reduced the prairie grasses available to graze.

The overcast and cool morning was a wonderful way to celebrate Independence Day morning. There is definitely freedom from drought this year!

Our bulls, cows and calves have plenty of water and grass at their summertime "getaway."

They are looking sleek and well-fed this summer.

The wildflowers are proliferating.

The vibrant flowers were nestled into the prairie grasses.

They provided splashes of color as we drove by on the 4-wheeler.

I don't need to know all their names to appreciate them.

The U.S. Stream Gauging Station is getting more of a workout this year ...

July 4, 2016

... as compared to 2012.

August 2012

There was certainly no fishing back then. And while Randy didn't catch any fish, he could still appreciate the pretty morning, sitting along the banks of the Rattlesnake Creek.

That was especially true when thinking about the same scene, four years before.

I was glad to go along and read my book.

He didn't have any better luck catching fish from the top of the bridge. We saw the fish. They just weren't biting.

I "caught" my fair share of photos though!

After our pasture excursion, we went to the uncut wheat fields to look things over.

Then I went along for the ride as Randy played a round of golf at the Stafford course. I stayed under the shade of the golf cart canopy and read some more of my book.

We went to Sterling Lake for their fireworks show. Randy remembers going there as a child, but it was the first time in our married lives that we'd ever gone there for the holiday show.

Next time, we'll know a little better where to sit to avoid getting part of the show blocked by trees. But it was a beautiful way to end the day!

I don't know that my fireworks shots will ever rival my wildflower shots. And that's OK.