February in Wyoming.

February is a month of love. Valentine's Day, candy, hearts, and roses. But on the ranch, February is much different. It means long nights of checking heifers, pulling calves, wading through thawing snow, and bottle-feeding bum calves.

It is also the middle of the long Wyoming winter - blizzards and high winds and ice. We have been having crazy high winds the past few days, 75+ mph. It blows over semi-trucks, and blows shingles off houses and blows over anything not weighed down. If the windmill blades aren't locked down, they will blow right off!

We have been dealing with some sickness,  (not too bad) and it got the baby. One day he was feeling so poorly, that I took him for a drive - just to lull him to sleep. I don't remember ever doing that before - taking a baby for a drive to make it sleep. But by baby #7, you tend to relax on some things. 😉 Plus, with Cliff sleeping during the day, I couldn't have him screaming in the house. Anyways, he did go to sleep, and I moseyed around the ranch, stopping to snap a few pictures from the window.

The snow has mostly melted, for the first time since Thanksgiving. We had giant snow piles along the lane for months. But I don't relax too much, because March - May are normally our snowiest months! 🙂 I expect several more big storms before we see real spring.

I am busy with our foster baby - he is a good baby, but still... babies require a lot of time. I almost forget how often they like to eat! 😀 He's getting chubsy and smiley and oh! so fun. We are all falling in love with him.

Note: I can't say much about him, due to confidentiality laws. But I'll address the most asked questions --
No, I can't tell you why he is in foster care,
No, we are not planning to adopt (we always work to reunify kids with their families), and
No, we have no idea how long we will have him. 🙂 

So that is why my blogging suffers, right now. I'm busy making bottles, changing diapers, and rocking a cute little boy. 🙂

Today it is really warm outside, and the first calm day for a long time. So the kids ran outside as soon as they finished morning chores - determined to not waste this lovely day! I was happy to see them go. The older ones promised to watch their littlest sister carefully - which made me glad. Teens are the coolest! (lots of tractors/trucks/horses/bulls make the ranch yard not terribly safe for a tiny human)

Yesterday we had a recertification meeting with the foster care co-ordinator. I was nervous, (which was unnecessary,) but as always, she was calm and helpful. I hear so many horror stories of caseworkers and foster care workers, but I guess we are just really blessed. Ours are the best! I mean sure, some are more strict than others, and some are naturally more cheerful, or whatever, but I haven't had a bad experience with any, so far. Really kind and helpful.

Ok, I'm starting to ramble. I better go throw a load of laundry in the washer.
I hope your day is pleasant and you find a bit of nature to relax in. 🙂