A Photo Tour of a Montana Ranch

I’ve been spending a lot of time at my parents’ house this summer, helping train horses and working on the ranch. I figured, since I spend so much time there, it would be fun to give you a quick photo tour of my childhood home.

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This crane’s name is Stanley. My mom bought him last summer before my wedding (which was held in their backyard). Since then, he’s been knocked down by the wind a million times, no matter how hard we try to tether him to the ground, but doesn’t seem any worse for wear. He’s a trooper!

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These bottles are wedding decorations that I just recently cut down from the trees in the backyard. They were hanging there for a year before we finally cut them down! My mom and I thought they were pretty, but after my dad came home from a job, he insisted they get taken down. He’s tall, and he kept hitting his head on them! RIP pretty bottles.

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I painted this plaque at a Pony Club summer camp when I was around eleven or twelve.

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My tortoise Pokey was enjoying her time out in the sun. We put her inside at night because it gets too cold out, but during the day when it’s warm she gets carried outside to eat some grass. Her favorite food is dandelions, and she loves to hide under anything she can find. Also, don’t let her name or looks fool you. This girl is fast!

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My mom was bringing hay into the backyard on the tractor so she could start feeding horses. I’m not sure she appreciated her candid shots! One in particular she told me I am not, under any circumstances, allowed to share. Oops!

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Pictured above is my horse Fred. His real name is Gavilan, but we’ve called him Fred since he was a baby. I took so long in picking out a name that my mom threatened she was just going to call him Fred for the rest of his life. He has a name now, but Fred stuck!

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My pony Sandy is a Welsh Andalusian cross. I’ve had him since I was little, and we’ve pretty much grown up together. He’s an old man now, but he still likes to pull all the same tricks. Ponies will be ponies, right? Regardless, I love him.

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My old bedroom has collected dust, but not much has changed. My Breyer horses are still lined up on a shelf about the room, my bookshelf is still crammed full, and my walls and tabletops are still lined with pictures and old trinkets.

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This is my wedding bouquet. I’m planning on grinding it up and making beads for a rosary out of the flower petals, but for now, since it dried so nicely, I’m just going to leave it be. I like looking at it. We took out several strands of ivy from the bouquet when it was still fresh and put them in water. They grew roots and are thriving in a pot in my mom’s kitchen now! I want to bring them home to Washington, but I have a poor record with keeping plants alive. I think I’ll leave them with my mom until my thumb is more green than black!

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Now that the summer is nearing its end, I won’t be traveling to Montana nearly as often. It was nice to be able to visit so many times these past few months, however. Hopefully I won’t have to stay away too long! I might be able to make it over the pass a few times during fall and winter if school doesn’t get too busy and the roads aren’t too bad. But you can bet, when the roads clear and springtime shows its shining face, I’ll be back.

 

 

 

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