cowboys are in town

Here we are, already at the end of December and I have yet to click Publish on this post. I better do so before next year rolls around! Here we go...click!

For many months, I continue/d following my PT's advice to avoid hiking elevation until my knees improve. That meant skipping our treasured traditional Fall hiking trip. As the days passed, the thought of not getting away for even a small break started gnawing away at me. Our Fall get-a-way the past few years have been to outdoorsy places. We both enjoy the solitude of the north woods, but I realized we tend to do/see things I like best.

This year it was Brads long overdue turn to plan a year-end vacation of his choosing. Not exactly Fall, but it counts. He made all the arrangements (yay!) for us to attend the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas!! All I had to do was nod in agreement. Seeing the Finals in person has been on Brads bucket list for a long time. Have you seen it or watch it on TV?

I know, I know vacationing in Vegas...is loud. In more than one way. There are just as many Vegas haters as there are lovers. I am happy to say this trip made me/us love Vegas! Older age has taught us the virtue of how to enjoy it the right way. Or at least our way.

This was our third Vegas trip together. Brad has been their more often for work. The annual World of Concrete is held their.

Our first Vegas trip was shortly after 1993 when the Luxor was built. Pretty sure I got asked 100X if we were getting married. Nope. Never even crossed our minds. If you are not familiar with Luxor, it is the Egyptian themed pyramid building. The elevators are glass, and go up/down the pyramid sideways. Anywho, I recall we had a nice time except for the street hookers approaching Brad. All men were scouted on the street. It didn't matter that I was right next to him. It left a bad impression on me. Do what you want with your own time, just don't get pushy.

Our second trip to Vegas was during the 2015 World of Concrete show. A group of 6-ish co-workers and spouses were invited to experience the yearly extravaganza. The concrete show is gigantic and was so impressive! No one approached us for ulterior motives. I learned Vegas streets are cleaned up every X amount of years. We stayed at Caesar's Palace and it turns out I like Vegas. 2015 was a great trip! 

us in 2015

Fast (or not so fast, ha!) forward to this Vegas trip. It was the best. Travel preparations went on for weeks. I tried in vain to add some style to my well worn wardrobe. No luck. At least we both found cowboy boots locally that fit well. Our boots were worn out/no longer fit. In the end, we both packed what we already owned. Totally okay. Fashionista's we are not. 

As the trip approached, the unthinkable happened. Fed Ex. had lost our Rodeo tickets. Poof! Gone. Brad spent days working that conundrum out. The folks handling rodeo tickets were so awesome! We were promptly offered other tickets. Much better tickets than we had purchased, at no additional cost. They arrived overnight. Brad guarded the replacement tickets with his life. Once everything was worked out, Fed Ex became their problem. 

If you are a Rodeo/Western loving person and have been wishing to go, take the trip! You will be glad you did. NFR is something to be experienced. Words cannot describe. I keep trying. I cannot really capture the essence. It includes a city that attracts similar minded people from all over the world, and transforms itself.

MGM lobby

"The Cowboys are in Town" was heard on repeat. It made me smile. We met so many nice respectful people on our trip! Your eyeballs will fall out of I share all the stories. There are too many to count and this post is already extra long. It made my heart swell and reminded me, there are good people left in the world. Many of them were in Vegas in the middle of December.

I still cannot get the whole NFR trip experience out of my mind!! 

I won't lie, it is always very hard for me to leave home. "What if..." goes on replay in my head. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. Our two younger kids took care of our animals and homestead while we were gone. Mostly Harmony's mom. Did I mention we flew out on the tail end of a snowstorm? We survived.

What can say about Finals Rodeo? Two word's "amazing talent"!! Both human and animal. I have seen my fair share of rodeo's over the years. Mostly the PRCA here and some rodeo's in Colorado. Watching the best of the best doesn't compare. It really was jaw dropping.

the pusher

We had recently watched an interesting interview at home about "the Pusher". Seen above sitting on the shoot, in black. I won't get into his important job. Sitting close to the roping shoots made us smile. This was the only rodeo photo I took.

I did not pack my camera and was SO entertained the entire trip that I completely forgot to take but a few phone photos. Whoopsee doodle! 

quick selfie waiting for the monorail

The NFR Cowboy Christmas is part of the experience. Day One was overwhelming. Day Two we enjoyed the shopping.

The Thomas-Mack Convention Center (same place that hosts the World of Concrete) was filled to the brim with two levels of vendors for a Cowboy Christmas shopping extravaganza like no other. I am not a shopper, but it was an experience I will never forget. We enjoyed several memorable vendor experiences. A pair of Christmas stockings, and a new cowboy hat came home with us. Shopping is much harder when flying.

If you've been to Vegas, then you know the popular city offers the best variety of culinary food! We stayed at MGM, and enjoyed special meals at Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak and Emeril's New Orleans Fish House. Both highly recommended. Outstanding food and service was impeccable. We also revisited a fav breakfast place, the Hash House. We highly recommend all.

Vegas is also known for entertainment shows. Our trip wasn't just about the Rodeo, Shopping or Food. It was also very much about Music. A big reason I agreed to go, was experiencing this guy in concert:

If you have never heard of Zach, he just won the CMA 2025 New Artist of the Year award. A very talented young singer-songwriter, known for his 90's Country style & Blue Grass music. MGM venue left something to be desired, but his concert was a-mazing!! 

12.12.25

He brought some incredible talent. The crowd went wild every time the fiddle player took front stage. A reminder that different music/talent is played in other regions.

I am happy to say my knee's survived the trip. Thanks to the Monorail and the many Escalators scattered throughout the city and airports. Walking/sitting that much was not easy. Brad was super patient and supportive. A sign of true love. I thank my lucky stars every.single.day for my old school gentleman, cowboy at heart guy. 

We did not gamble, and only walked the streets once for a short time. Not my cup of tea. This trip it was I who got approached, by a women who said "you me and a sailboat". We kept walking past as I replied "NO thanks"!! 

Brad told me "don't say I never took you to Paris"

The weather on our trip was gorgeous! A refreshing change. Las Vegas set record highs while we were there. Days warmed up fast to a sunny 74F. We wore short sleeves and never used our light jackets. It was a bit of a shock to come back to Wisconsin's single F digits.

In conclusion, we both loved this unforgettable trip. We learned. We experienced. We look forward to going back. It opened our eyes. We plan to travel a bit more. Nothing extravagant, but we definitely learned we need to just take the trip!!

Thanks for reading to the end. Now we can bring on 2026!

raising a teenager & a special gift

You can guess who the teenager part of this post is about, Hope. Our two year old continues growing into her own. Testing boundaries with other horses, and humans. As every young horse does. Among other horsey communication methods, Ms. Hope flattens her ears to show dissatisfaction. 

For example, she prefers being led on the right side. Right side is easier access into the stall, and it just feels...well, right. When leading two horses inside, the horse on the left typically is asked to stand and wait while the other horse is put into the stall and un-haltered. Waiting, the horror of it all! 

It didn't take long to progress past the side preference, altho Hope still tries to position herself on the right side of the gate. Typically the first horse haltered is closest to the gate handle. She continues testing Harmony for that "me first" gate position. Even if sometimes the first haltered horse goes inside last. Mixing it up is key.

Hope is entitled to her ear opinion, as long as she doesn't act on it toward humans. Which brings me to my next teenager testing example. Being particular about humans being in her stall. Especially when humans are carrying a fork and making off with her poopy piles. How dare we refresh her stall?!! She is not food aggressive at all and has always left her food in favor of attention. The complete opposite of Koda. He loves food best.

I don't care much for excessive ear pinning. I know mares that ride/show with ears pinned. Not super flat. Perhaps just listening, but flat enough that it appears to be dislike. I have no idea if this is typically a mare thing or not, but ear pinned horses looked pissed off to me. Even when they are not. Obviously there are different levels of ear pinning/signals. 

About a month ago, Hope more or less charged 'er came at me in her stall. She didn't do anything else and stopped before reaching me. I was not amused. Where did our sweet girl go? Feeling your safety threatened is never okay. For any reason. I chose not to (re)act on it. The look on that "I am sorry" girl's face peering between stall bars was priceless. All the other horses got refreshed stalls and loved on. 

Yes, I tattled on Hope to her trainer. All our horses are okay with us in their stalls at any time, including when eating grain. In time Hope will be too, she just needs to learn. It feels wrong to say I am happy Hope doesn't just pin her ears in her stall at me. I tend to think fill in the blank horse reaction is my inadvertent fault. Needless to say, we have been spending a lot of time in Hopes stall. While she eats grain, hay and yes even stealing her coveted (?) poop piles. Talking to her and giving scritchey scratches first, seems to help ease her dislike of human interruption in her domain 'er stall during intermittent room service. Hope is coming around.

Raising a teenager is easy. Said no one ever.

~~~~~

I received a special gift!! The gift of knowledge, with a bonus way to reflect. As some of you know I was the lucky Sacred Spaces book give-a-way winner, from Linda at Beautiful Mustang blog. She also sent me a surprise beautiful journal to accompany the book!

"There are silent, yet powerful, ingredients...invisible things equestrians do that make their interactions with horses seem effortless. These abilities already exist inside of each one of us, so we merely need to understand how to use them. But we also need to be willing to open our eyes and hearts..."

I am waiting until after the holiday's to sit with this book, and intend to journal my thoughts/observations. I want to give it my full attention. I am really looking forward to 2026. It is going to be a great year!

Thank you Linda!!! For all the inspiring reflection you share on your well written blog, and these treasured gifts to learn from and grow with. Our horses also say thank you. Especially Hope.

land of wonders ~ november

November's land of wonders began with our 5th annual grandkid halloween hunt! The theme this year was Clowns. The kiddo's search our woods each year for hidden letters. They figure out the theme and later on get a bag of goodies. Letters are hidden throughout various interactive spooky scenario's. 

11/1/25

A chalkboard sign read "Go up, go down. Teeter totter with the clown. You might find a letter."

I am the primary ghostly mind behind the hunt, but pulling it off is a team effort. Brad made the teeter totter base. He also helps set up, when crunch time makes me go cray-cray. 

Harmony's mom put together a dead finger pull, hidden underneath leaves. Two highlights for the kids this year. Our daughter also saved the hunt. I almost had to cancel. It was held the day after our 94 lb dog Tank insta-sat between my legs. Popping my "good knee out". It sent me back to square one with mobility issues. He did not mean to hurt me, and was seeking comfort.

Each year the hunt is set up differently. I decided this would be the year I made a chicken wire ghost for the cemetery scene. Have you heard of them? They are super cool. I found out the hard way they are challenging to make. Silly me. Don't believe You Tube video's that make chicken wire sculptures look simple. Shaping chicken wire is frustrating!

She (who needs a name) is life size, with folded hands for holding things. Currently waiting patiently up by our house, to be turned into an angel.

Our land provided many beautiful colorful November vista's:

11/2/25

Below my butterfly garden lays dormant, awaiting Spring renewal. We decided to go with plan C, the control burning route. It will be interesting to see if/how it flourishes. 

11/4/25

Nemo and Cierra



Tankee 11/5/25 

Click to enlarge one of our most breathtaking Fall evening skies, on a special date!

11/6/25 

Good Morning 11/10/25 

Tank still does puppy dog head tilts

Our neighbors were right, Aurora Borealis can be seen from our land. I didn't bother the first night. The over done hoopla took away the luster for me many years ago. The following night I briefly went outside to look from our driveway, and then promptly went to bed :)

11/12/25 

Possible Steve sighting facing West, above our house

Fall skies are simply the best, and November continued to delight!

11/13/25



close-up

Harmony & Hope 11/14/25

There was a lot of extra focus this month on our families dogs. For reasons I have already shared. Grand dog Jameson has lived with us the lions share of his life. Remi is 9 and has come to Aurora's Doggie Daycare a minimum of two days a week her entire life, with occasional overnights. That girl is completely obsessed with me! The dogs live for walks in the woods. Me too.

Jameson 11/16/25

trio heading out 11/19/25

We change walking routes during opening deer hunting weekend. 

Jameson exploring the new pasture clearing

11/22/25


some dogs are stick obsessed



Jameson & Tank 11/25/25

Tank always checks on me

November 29th Winter arrived. Our weather flipped and it snowed most of the day/night.

11/30/25

By morning, we had around 9" of snow. Deeper in spots. Our land became a Winter Wonderland! The labs and I enjoyed our first snowshoe of the season!!

Tank in snow heaven 

our self entertaining snow dog

(Nemo in background)

see chunk of air born snow Tank popped up (look at pines)

yes, Tank does this the entire time
11/30/25

floating into Fall

We made it out onto the water to kayak one last time this season. It marks our fifth float this year. One less than last year. I normally don't track activities, but wanted to remind myself that we are indeed kayaking enough to have warrant purchasing. 

Kayaking is an activity we both enjoy. I am able to continue, thanks to my husband who does most of the heavy lifting and lends me a hand when needed. Kayaks are a much better water vessel choice for us than a Pontoon Boat. We seriously considered getting one more than once in our lifetime. The logistics do not make sense.

On a warm October 18th, we stopped the endless chore list to pause. As we headed out on the water at our favorite spot, it was easy to see the mirror part of Mirror Lake was back!

Ohhh how I love floating into fall!!

The reflections were stunning!

We shared the water heading out with one lone kayaking guy. He was far behind me, but I could hear his conversation clear as day. He kept his voice low and wasn't loud or obnoxious. Are you wondering who he was talking to? Me too. The water was so still you could hear a pine needle drop. Which means, I could hear his companion as well. He was taking to some women via Facetime/Zoom, or whatever video calling format. Ugh.

I wished for his phone battery to run out or connection to drop. It did and "hello, hello are you there?" could be heard. Thank goodness he came to his senses. I think perhaps he noticed he was missing the serenity. He said good-bye to chatty Kathy and stillness was restored.

I was so absorbed in the beauty of my surrounding that it was a while before I even noticed the lone kayaker had turned around and headed back.

color me happy

Early Fall is the best time to kayak. It is quieter and more colorful. Even with the occasional other 'yakers. They have just as much right as we do, to enjoy the water as they choose. 

The wind had picked up as we paddled out of the narrows and into the wide open. You may recall they were dredging this area on an earlier float. I spotted the parked barge at the public boat launch and paddled to take a closer look. 

hello barge-y

Wow, they really opened this area up! There was so much more open water to explore. 

They had moved dredging equipment to an area that had became impassable. We went to investigate. 

Some nesting area's remained

I noticed a black squiggly thing floating in the water. Eek!! It was a dredging line. Oops. I had no idea they left lines in the water. Needless to say we paddled outta there and headed back.

It was then I became overcome with emotion and stopped paddling. I didn't want to leave the peacefulness. Thoughts filtered through my mind, as the breeze slowly pushed my kayak along it's way. Swoosh. Swoosh. The calming swoosh of water was all I heard.

Brad had paddled waaay up ahead. He is the little tan spot next to the very last colorful left tree line above.

Further down I could hear wind chimes softly playing their tune. It was surreal. I wondered where the sound that matched the swaying water was coming from.

I found out near an older quaint cottage that was buttoned up for the Winter. They had pulled their dock. Water vessels were stored up by the cottage. Yet they left chimes by the shore. Softly playing their melody.

I was happy to see the crazy haired tortoise I spotted on the way out had not moved far. 

say cheese



colorful ferns

red & yellow glowing maples

My water lovin' heart was full. This tranquil float was the perfect way to close out season two.