Hay you Say?

Gray, wet, nasty morning on the Snoqualmie Pass~

A week or so ago, Butch said;  "Call Everett & see if he has any hay left."  "What!" I say...  Why do we need more hay?  Well, it seems that three ton was not enough to hold our gold girl over the Winter!  Lucky for us, Everett had enough stockpiled & was willing to sell us another ton.

Kachees Lake

Grandson Ben was up for the trip, so this morning - in the rain we headed over.  I'm always amazed at the difference in the weather from our wet side, to the dry side of the state.  The sunshine was very welcome, but the wind was blowing something fierce.  I was a little surprised that the rivers didn't have more water flowing, since so much of the snow on the pass has melted.

Toward Ellensburg

I always enjoy the drive, at least when the weather is decent.  It wasn't that cold, but the howling wind sure made it feel colder than it was - the chill went right through me.

Butch, Ben & Everett~

Ben loves climbing up to the top of the hay barn - so he gets the job of pushing the bales down to Butch.  Everett handles the supervision & we catch up on the news of the day, while watching Butch & Ben work :-)  Always such fun to visit & head home with those nice bales of good hay!  Now, if our 1,080 lb. mare can mange to keep from eating it all until June, we'll be happy!

Westward Ho ~

Snoqualmie Pass- Day 1

Unexpected - life throws those events at us from time to time.  Colorado was again calling my name...  Flying is not my thing!  Crowds, confined space & stale air - since Butch didn't nix my plan to drive, the Bronco & I hit the road.  When I checked the pass report, it was to close for avalanche control at 9 a.m.  I took the back roads to North Bend, then headed up onto I-90.  Even with slow going I made it through with 30-min. to spare.

Near Spokane

By the time I was coming into Spokane - the day had turned stunning! 

Lolo Pass 3 p.m.

Once into Montana - the 80 mph. speed limit really helped our time.  I wanted to be to Missoula before dark & just made it by 5 p.m.  Tired didn't describe it, so made my calls & turned in early.  Of course I couldn't sleep...  Up early & back on the road.

Leaving Missoula - Sunrise, Day 2

It was still dark, but before long the sun was coming up & I love seeing sunrise in the west!  Montana is a big state & my audio book helped the miles click by.  By 1 p.m. I was in Billings - making the turn south toward Wyoming.  The goal for this day, my favorite Aunt & Uncle's home in Sheridan, WY!

Bronco covered with road grime!

Butch called & said that the Bronco wanted a little oil.  I got out my step, climbed up on the hood & with the phone on speaker - started the process.  Within a minute, I had three guys offering to help :-)   It's friendly in the West!  Driving along, I was surprised to see two women on horses with their dogs heading toward a small horse herd.  I beeped the horn as way of saying;  "Hi!" They waved & how I wished I was out there riding with them!

Big Horns in the distance~

Back on the road, the sun shining on the snow was brutal.  Even with my good sunglasses, my eyes were tired.  By 3 p.m. I was pulling into Sheridan!  First stop - the car wash!  The Very Best car wash I have ever used!  It blasted that road grime right off!  Visiting family that I seldom get to see - is always so wonderful!  Of course we never stopped talking & going to bed was hard!  Next morning when I went out to warm up the Bronco - it was frozen solid!  17 degrees felt darn cold!  :-)  It was sure fun motoring around on the snow covered streets.

Leaving Sheridan - Day 3

Another gorgeous sunrise in the West.  I would have loved to stop & take photos with the camera, but it would be another almost full day's drive.  Over the years, & the drives back & forth - Auntie has always sent me on my way with a packed lunch!  Chicken salad sandwich, chips, cookies - yum!   I don't think anyone would argue that Wyoming can be a bit dull out in the middle of the state.  I was looking forward to crossing the Colorado state line!   Traffic picked up the further south I drove.  Two-lanes each direction once on I-25 seemed small after being so used to I-5! By just after 2 p.m. I was at Mom's door!  So good to see her!

Over the Pass - Again

Light dusting of snow~

Another day trip to Ellensburg to pick up yet one more ton of hay.  Grandson Ben enjoys these excursions - he likes visiting with Everett & Carolyn too :-)  I picked him up on Fri., we stopped for Bar-be-Que to go at the Barbeque Bucket in Granite.  We were on the road again by 9 a.m. this morning & arrived before noon to a blowing, cool wind & sunshine!

Ben gets a ride!

We were taking the last of Everett's second cutting & some really nice hay it is!  It really didn't take long to load.

Butch manhandles the last bales!

Once we were done - we enjoyed a short visit to catch up on the east side news :-)  The biggest story of course, is the lack of snow pack & the worry over water - with allotments already cut 50%.

Ben hands the bales off to Butch

With all the bad hay now gone, one hay room full & the other cleaned out & full - we've got enough for the gold girl to last a while :-)  Her weight has stayed so consistent for two-years now - between 1,070 & 1,100 lbs.  She's on the trail year-round & that really seems to contribute to her health & vitality.

Our Very Best Helper!

By the end of the afternoon, it was time to take Ben home :-(  I sent him off with a big piece of pie that we'd picked up in Cle Elem!  He's always such a big help to us & we're always so happy to have him visit - whether it's a working weekend or not!  Thanks Ben!

No Snow~

Kachees Lake - But we do have water~

We'd planned to go for hay today.  Ben was with us to help out & we were looking forward to the road trip.  Forecast was for snow on the passes, but when I checked the pass report - it was for;  "Bare & wet."

Broken sunshine~

It was mid-40's cool, with fluffy clouds overhead & a light breeze.  It was smooth sailing all the way - we made good time & arrived before noon.

We've arrived!

We love going to visit with Everett & Carolyn, now good friends.  We'd been burned on the last load of hay we'd bought from the grower near Yakima.  The first load from him was wonderful, the last - over half of the bales were full of weeds, dust & the price had gone up.  It was too dusty to feed Farah, so we gave 20-bales to Linda's neighbor for his small herd of Jersey's. 

Bales coming down!  :-)

That ran us short & with Farah going through three-ton a year, we didn't want to run low.  We were lucky that Everett had second cutting left for us to pick up.  It always smells so good in the hay barn!  Now the growers are worried that with the water situation, they may only get one cutting this year...

Ben on top :-0

Ben got to climb on the bales & found a squished snake to scare me with :-)  It wasn't long until we were all loaded & on the road home.  We had to stop at our favorite restaurant in Cle Ellen for a late lunch/ early dinner!

Ben helped unload up at the barn, 100-lb bales are tough to fit into the space we have for them.  When Farah saw Ben run down the hill, she came running up from the pasture to greet him!   Finally - it was time to take Ben back home :-(  We'll all look forward to going back in a few weeks & Ben wants to go with us again!  What a Grandson!