buttered popcorn

Last night as I strolled down to feed my a bees a little extra sugar water I was stunned to catch a strong whiff of buttered popcorn.  Never having smelled the distinct smell of buttered popcorn in the open outdoors my mind was racing. 

Is the smell the scent of a fall weed? Are my bees sick, infested?

Unsure of the exact source of the buttered popcorn smell I moved forward with my head tilted back, nostrils in the air, and flailing.  I inhaled the flowering weeds.

Aha-Choo! Nope, not coming from the weeds. 
It's the beehive, I KNOW it's the beehive!

For your enjoyment I will tell you at this point my nose is touching the beehive. No lie! I'm being embarrassingly honest here. My beak is smashed right up to the backside of the wooden high rise.

THE BEEHIVE smells like buttered popcorn....What in the World??
CRAP-O-LA!! 
Here I've been worried about aiding their survival through the winter. It's nearly fall! And, it's my STRONG hive, the honey producers, the gals who NEEDED the high rise!

Determined to save my bees and conquer this buttered popcorn smell I sat down at the computer ready to research.  I jumped on my favorite bee websites, blogs, and was filled with relief to discover that the buttered popcorn smell was the scent of a fall honey flow.  Hallelujah!!  Specifically it is the smell of honey produced from fall flowers like Goldenrod and Aster.  I have yet to peek in at their hard work. I'm super excited to do so. I'm hoping for a golden surprise. Maybe enough capped honey for one last extraction?

mutton bustin

This summer Dawson found a new event to enter at many of the rodeos we attended.  He never feared when mounting up on a wild, woolly, often times stinky, sheep.  He couldn't wait to settle down onto the middle of  their back and for the gate to fly open...those bleating sheep feared him. Or  so HE thought. For 8 short seconds he felt tough, indestructible, and like every young cowboys hero, Lane Frost.

He gives the "outside boys" and the chute gate flies open.

The woolly gives him "the ride of his life".  He stays centered, fingers dug in, and holds on tight.

He makes the 8 second whistle, his dismount isn't pretty, but my little cowpoke is cowboy tough. He jumps up and high tails his Wrangler butt out of the arena.  

IRCA Finals

This past weekend middleman spent his weekend competing in his first Iowa Rodeo Cowboys Association Finals.  He was the youngest cowboy, at 10 years old, competing at the 3 day rodeo.  In his event, Breakaway Calf Roping, he was the only guy 2 catch all 3 calves.  His consistency in the arena earned him the average win for the weekend, and a brand new shiny trophy buckle. 

 Below is a photo of Jax roping his first calf in 3.9 seconds   

random summer photos

 Jax and Dewey burning off some stink after a few too many hours in the truck on the rodeo trail.

The dog is a Wire Hair Fox Terrier for those of you wondering....

What kind of a dog is THAT?

No, he aint crossed with no poodle! That there is a fighting question and if you look away he's liable to pee on your leg just for thinking such a thing.

Sharing of the chair with not 1 or 2 but 3  rodeo friends.  It's cute now, but oh how it will make my tummy churn in a few more years.   Notice, boy, girl, boy, girl.  I'm NOT ready for the dating years.   

 

Outlaw, Bronc and Cowboy are ready to hoot and holler for their calf roping dads. Just in case you are wondering we, cowboy lovin' mama's, didn't name are kids Outlaw, Bronc and Cowboy...but the nick names fit.  

 

This summer the boys have spent many hours on Snowballs back.  Dex took this picture one day while in the saddle. I love it and wanted to share.

D cross country

They are off.

Last week D competed in his first cross country meet. It was a smoldering 96* were they pounded the  pavement for 1.8 miles. He finished 10th in the middle school boys division with 5 or 6 schools competeing. It was awesome!      

GO D!

5 Question Friday

1. Shoes in the house - yay or nay?

Preferably nay.  Only because you never know what the cowpoke have stomped through. 

2. What do you call them- flip flops, slippers, thongs, etc?

I call them flip flops...but growing up my dad always called them go-aheads. Why? Have you ever tried to walk/run backwards in them? DONT! 

3. What song are you almost embarrassed to admit you know all the lyrics to? 
Oh geez, REALLY? Funky Cold Madina, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Raspberry Beret. I only had to list 1. Do those songs scream 80's?

4. What is the best quality to have in a friend?
honest, loyal, positive, fun!  I'm blessed to have some quality sistahs!  

5. Do you know what you want for Christmas?
EEK. A Christmas question.  Please peoples!!  It's 95* here in the desert midwest. haha...I know the midwest is not a desert state.  As the cowpoke have grown older it has become more important for me to remind them what CHRISTmas is about not what's under the tree.   But I do love watching their faces Christmas morning:)