This was first posted September 3, 2009.
My collection of OOPE photos continues to grow. I’ve always just stuck the camera in my pocket (hence the Out Of Pocket Experience title!)…but when it is 90 degrees outside…a coat or sweatshirt with pockets just doesn’t cut it!
For those of you new to the OOPE photos… see the sidebar for more… and this one for an explanation of what it is and how OOPE came about…
Today I was creative… digging out a fanny pack from the depths of my closet… and cutting a hole for the lens of my small digital camera! With a little padding to hold it in place, I can leave the top zipper undone just a bit… and reach in and push the button! It worked slick actually… even, or I should say, *especially* on horseback.
No longer do I fear the camera will fall out of a pocket should I have to chase a calf, or run up a hill, or bend sideways to dodge a branch.
So now you get to come along and see what I see… and I don’t get in trouble for not working! BUT! You get crooked photos and strange compositions… because I don’t look out of the viewfinder… I just push the button!
Panama welcomes you to our mountain pasture… with our infamous fossil butte in the background. We actually had 3 head up on top of it today… turns out they were the neighbor’s cows… I’ve never seen any of our cattle up there, EVER!
I brought the girls today… I thought of only bringing Dally… she could use some “alone” work without the support of her mom… but since they are still in heat it is just easier to bring them both, then I don’t worry that something unplanned is going on back at the ranch! They were busy… chasing cattle off of the Bar C hillside.
The back of the Bar C is forested… making it trickier to see and move the cows through the trees. We’ve had it logged due to pine beetle infestation… but many more trees are continuing to die. Look at the height of the grass… with all this rain this summer… grass is as high as I’ve ever seen it!
We’re blessed with multiple springs in this pasture… some developed, some not. This one is our favorite! You MUST drink from Mahoney Spring every time you ride by it… this water is COLD and SWEET and much better than anything I’ve ever tasted anywhere! Please note: you don’t drink out of the tank with the floaties in it… BIG EEEEWWW!!!! You drink from the pipe!
I usually pick a Fave OOPE photo (see sidebar… again!) from the day’s collection. This one really grabbed my eye because of the luck in this photo! That sage chicken is perfectly caught with upward wings though just about out of the shot! How amazing is that???
But overall… this one has to be my Fave of the Day. The cows are gathered and held in the small horse pasture for tomorrow’s big day of preg testing and pouring and vaccinating… They are content in deep grass and a pond of spring water. Today’s work is done… the sky’s intense blue is reflected back to it… It’s time to load the horses in the trailer and go home to finish cooking and organizing everything we’ll need tomorrow… But right here in this moment… this world is at ease.
Find me here!
