This Girl...

at the end of a dusty dirt road lives a farmer's daughter...

a rancher's wife...

and a mom to three wild prairie children...

that mom really is just a plain prairie girl...

a girl who dreams BIG...

a girl who believes calico is where it's at...

a girl who can't be without a good book...preferably an old british murder mystery...

a girl who loves the smell of fresh cut hay...

a girl who's soul is pulled by the whispers on the wind...

a girl who works the same land that has been in her family for 6 generations...

a girl who is really, extremely shy...

a girl who likes to cuddle with her kids...that is when they sit still long enough...

a girl who has a fear of frogs...ugh...oh, and worms...shudder...

a girl who is breaking out in hives thinking of having to put the flip flops away for the winter...

a girl who has found more kindred spirits through blogging than she could have ever dreamed...

a girl who's heart is troubled because her little family is reliving something we thought was taken care of three years ago...

a girl who reads this inspiring blog about a girl who has learned to give her worries over to God and to trust in him...

with Lissa's words of strength echoing in her mind this girl carries on...

Sweet Hour....

I leave this notice upon my door

For each accustomed visitor:

I've gone into the fields

To take what this sweet hour yields...

~Percy Bysshe Shelley

prairie hugs,

The Rodeo...

hello dear girls...

this prairie girl survived the weekend...

but just barely...

it might not have been possible if i hadn't consumed oodles of ribbon fries and my new found *love* deep fried strawberries with chocolate sauce and powder sugar...

sigh....{bliss} :0)

oh and a little bit of this...

and some more of this...

okay we all could do with a little more right?!?

really is there anything more satisfying than a weekend spent with strawberries and some good wrangler wearing cowboys?!? :0)

i think not....

soon i was questioning all those strawberries when my old soul son who is eight mind you informed me he would be participating in this rodeo...

no, not the little buckaroo rodeo...

the main rodeo, for grown wrangler wearing, tough, crazy, what in the world are they thinking men...

you see he decided it would be great fun for his dad to pull him in the hide race...

a race where a cowboy on horseback pulls an old tanned cowhide full speed behind a galloping horse...

i tried to capture it for you, but remember i'm not pioneer woman and my photography basically sucks when it comes to action shots but...

here is the husband with the cowhide racing down to the end of the arena where my wee, small, fragile, first born is waiting to grab hold...

and here he comes towards the finish line with a mouth full of dirt and you know what else...

grinning from ear to ear talking of pulling his little 5 year old brother next year...sigh...

bring on the strawberries...

World's Fair...

~bucks county frames photo~

our county fair has finally arrived...

tonight is our little buckaroo rodeo...

the husband and i are on the committee so we will be wrangling about 250 kids, greased pigs, chickens, throwing kids upon the backs of wild rams and having a good ole time...

then the rest of the week will be spent watching rodeos, demolition derby, parade, fireworks and of course downing all the ribbon fries and deep fried twinkies a girl can hold!

talk with you soon...that is if i don't bloat...you know you could seriously founder on fair food...it a good thing it only comes around once a year!

*to celebrate i've added some songs from one of my all time favorite rodeo cowboy and musician click on the playlist*

Gypsy Dreams...

~found~

"We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams."

~gypsy saying

Industrial Farm Vignettes...

one thing i've fallen in love with while decorating is tucking industrial farm pieces in among my more delicate, softer pieces...

oil cans mixed in with my white ironstone and copper pieces...

a touch of baby's breath softens a vintage sap bucket, galvanized gas can and a rescued license plate..

these amazing sap buckets came from my favorite online store...

barnhouse marketplace...

another farm vignette atop my fridge...

and a piece that speaks for itself and needs no embellishment on my part...

these farm pumps are always fun to find...

i would keep each and every one if i could...

the husband thinks two is enough...

sigh...

i've got to stop listening to that man!! :0)

hope your weekend went well...

we had more rain, i never knew our little prairie could be so green...

*loving* it and while i'm usually the first to long for the crisp autumn days i simply can't find the desire for summer to pass...

Vintage Effect Tutorial...

just a quick note...

found an absolutely fabulous tutorial over to kim's place...

she shows you step by step how to achieve a vintage effect on your photos...

without using an action!?!?

i know this prairie girl *loves* her actions...

but it sure was fun to see what i could do on my own...

hope your week is going well...

i've been taking things slower...

enjoying the last days of summer with my kids...

when did time start slipping by so fast?!?

Evening in the Meadows...

my heart belongs...

to evening in the meadows...

an engraved print from the 1890's...

with cows of course...

doesn't she look content?