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Tag Archives: cows

Tuesday was our second anniversary! Two years already! Can you believe it? This one was kind of bittersweet because our old dog, Sam died on Monday. It’s hard to celebrate when you are missing one of your best friends. The weather didn’t help. We were scheduled to have a hot air balloon ride however it wasn’t to be. Curt, from Morning Glory Balloons said ‘it’s better to be on the ground wishing to be in the air rather than in the air wishing to be on the ground’.

Mid-morning we set out to walk to our wedding spot. The forecast promised rain; there was no doubt of it. The overcast skies said that too. It’s a short hike and the wildflowers are still beautiful up there. We started out enjoying the colorful displays and the greens that were enhanced by the light and rainfall. The birds sang their songs of spring and showed off their colorful plumages too.

After we crossed the first gate on the wildlife area, that all changed. Cows were already pastured up there. Their looming dark square bodies were everywhere with small calves following them around. The spring scents were replaced with the acrid stenches of fresh manure and urine all along the trail. Green grasses and wildflowers were trampled. Their loud mooing covered the bird song. We kept Luna on a leash in order to prevent any cow/dog incidents that might arise. She probably felt safer close to us. The cows had not reached the knoll where we were married so we enjoyed a few minutes and relished the happiness we have shared for two (well more like eight) years now and tried not to think about the cows and Sam too. Then we retraced our steps and went to town for lunchtime pizza at the bakery.

 

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What causes this red on maple leaves?

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They only reluctantly got off the trail to let us pass.

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The view from the wedding spot. Moccasin Lake with Patterson Mountain in the background.

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Early buckwheat flowers

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Pensive

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Happy

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Lupine

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I could not pick a favorite

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Ken reads an anniversary poem to me

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Two!

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We walked to the same place a year ago. You can images from that day here.

 

Every year cows need to be moved from the valley bottom where they winter and have their calves to the public lands on the state wildlife area where they spend the summer. Some ranchers find the easiest way to do this is to have an old-fashioned cattle drive right down the county road, through town and up the state highway on a Sunday morning. Yesterday was cool and clear – good for moving cows and making pictures. Lots of people knew about this ahead of time and were parked in good vantage points to see the cows pass through Twisp. Evidently this is a slow time of year for entertainment around here.

 

 

The excitement builds as the cows approach town

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They start across the first bridge

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It was a chilly morning

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This is a typical Twisp traffic jam……

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Keep ’em movin’

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One happy cowgirl

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This is what you see from behind

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An image in search of a caption

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The little white one stands out in a crowd

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I think Twisp needs some more work on its sign ordinance

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I wonder if TwispWorks was looking to get their lawn fertilized

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Good thing cows can’t read

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Move along

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Welcome to Twisp

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Hey – no one said you could get something to eat in Twisp

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My horse would like a mocha please

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Thanks!

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As they head out of town

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Mom – where are we going?

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Holding up traffic on highway 20

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Passing through someone’s driveway

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Who is going to clean up that mess?

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All clear over here for the moment

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Yup

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