Spearfish Drive

No trip to the Black Hills is complete without a drive through Spearfish Canyon. The highway meanders next to a stream and makes for a lovely summer drive. We did not visit Mount Rushmore this trip, maybe on the next one.

The Hills are alive...with motorcycles for the Sturgis Rally. It is time to leave. And we do tomorrow.

Bull Riding from Deadwood

Okay, the promised bull riding pictures. The more I am using my new camera, the better I am getting at some of the bells and whistles. I am pleased with these shots. I did not realize there was so much dust 'til I looked at these pictures. The bulls really stirred up the dirt in their attempt to throw the guy on their back. If I remember right this round was about 50/50-half of the cowboys won and half the time the bulls won.

Comments from the bulls follow...

You're done!

You're hangin' in there.

There he goes-side exit.

You wanna fight?

One more twisty-turn and he'll be gone.

I should have wiped better.

Another one bites the dust.

Who you callin' bully?

Rodeo Pictures

Curt attended the Days of '76 Rodeo during his college years. That was when it was legal to drink on the streets of Deadwood and the three or four days of rodeo were three or four days of party. Now many of the grandstand attendees are "Q-Tips": white hair and white shoes. Lots of western hats can be seen in the crowd. It is no longer legal to drink on the streets of Deadwood. There may still be lots of "partying" going on during the Days of '76, but it is being done after the rodeo and in the bars.


Bare Back bucking bronc event

Those horses weren't so mild mannered once the straps and cowboys were added! This cowboy is in the correct position for the start of his ride. He needs to stay on the back of the horse for 8 seconds, keeping one hand wrapped around a rope and the other in the air, away from the horse's body all while spurring the horse as it turns and bucks and spins and bucks. The judges score the horse and the rider from 1 to 50. The scores are added together. If the cowboy's score is in the 80s, he has had a good ride.

Steer wrestling. There's just something about a man with a small bum in a tight pair of jeans.

In this event a steer is released from a pen and a cowboy on his horse, after giving the calf a head start, must slide off his horse, grab the horns of the steer, twist the steer around, bringing it to the ground and forcing its four legs off the ground. (Another cowboy is riding on the other side of the steer, keeping it in a straight line allowing the cowboy to judge when to get off and "hug" the steer.) A cowboy who wrestled his steer in 3.7 seconds won the event at this rodeo. That is fast. Sometimes the steer wins by slipping away or when the cowboy misjudges his slide and hug.

Saddle Bronc event. Another one bites the dust...

My favorite event is bull riding. Those pictures will be next.

Deadwood Days of '76

Thursday and Saturday of last week we attended three rodeo performances of the Days of '76 Rodeo in Deadwood, SD. Here are some pre-rodeo pictures.

Deadwood is located next to and on the mountainside. This was the scenery to our backs at the rodeo grounds.

This scene in front of us is a reminder of the fragile forest. There was a forest fire on this mountain which threatened to burn and destroy the town of Deadwood some years past. The forest floor is green showing the promise of regrowth. It is a stark reminder of the damage caused by man and nature.

Horse trailers, large semis, campers and motor homes surrounded the arena in the back parking lot. Cowboys and cowgirls came from all over the mid-west and southern states. One cowboy traveled from Australia. Two competitors were from Watertown.


These horses are calmly waiting for the saddle bronc and bareback bronc events. They look pretty mellow.

These Brahmas look quite harmless as they rest in the afternoon sun,

but they proved their size and worth later when the cowboys attempted to prove their skills.

Amber Waves of Grain...

Driving through the central part of SD on the way to the Black Hills made me think about the line "amber waves of grain". Grain harvest was in fun swing in the Pierre area. Some of it may be winter wheat, but the spring wheat was not far behind.

Girls' Day at the Butterfly House

Last Monday I spent the day with my daughter-in-law. She planned several activities new to both of us. One was a visit to the Butterfly House. The large tropical room was home to many different kinds of butterflies. Crystal did a great job trying to capture the unique colors and designs of some of them. (I did not bring my camera that day.) So enjoy her photos.

Clay in the Garden

I have wanted for several years to take a ceramic class called Clay in the Garden where I could make decor suitable for the outdoors. The class is only offered in May through our summer rec program. In 2007 I broke my ankle and lived at the hospital or nursing home during the time of the class. In 2008 I lived at the Wisconsin Dells for the summer. So the first item on my agenda when I returned home this spring was to register for Laura's class.




The bird bath in the back yard needed replacing. But I wasn't brave enough to try to create a base, so instead built a bowl to replace the cracked one for this base. I had a mold of sorts, but added the texture and ruffled ridge. Finally, last week I was able to glaze the bowl and bring it home Monday morning.


The base will get some matching paint or at least a similar color from a spray can.

These are the green ware pieces for the water fountain I built. The plan was to have 3 layers of "flowers" which when filled with water would dribble to the next lower level and finally to the "bowl base." I bought 2 water pumps, not knowing the final height of my fountain, and several possible bases for water containers.

Laura helped me design the "spout" where the water would flow out onto the flower levels. In the past no one had attempted what I wanted to do. We weren't sure if it would work. That is the small flower with the dome on the top. I built I another top flower for a back up plan.

I brought the glazed pieces home on Monday and in the afternoon assembled the fountain. To my delight, it works! The water bubbles out of the flower center and dribbles down each level of flowers to the base.


I have a plan for my next fountain, next year!

MN Twins Game

My Mom is a very faithful fan of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Last weekend she attended her first ballgame at the MetroDome in Minneapolis to see her beloved Twins.

Although Justin Morneau did get on base, a couple of times, he was unable to play the type of game we all were hoping to see. He is one of our favorite players. Instead, he saved his good game for Sunday afternoon when we weren't there.

The Twins had a rally in the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough.

The White Sox won 8 to 5. The Twins did beat them on Sunday afternoon.

It was a beautiful night for a baseball game at the Dome.

The Twins will be moving to an outdoor stadium next year. I used to watch them play at the outdoor stadium. I prefer the Dome. I know, I'm a wimp and a fair weather fan. But, you always know what the temp will be in the Dome and they always get to play their game, no matter the weather.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

On Wednesday, July 8, 2009, something incredibly unique will take place. Now this isn't something that most people will care about, or even know about, but I still think it's worth sharing. At five minutes and six seconds after 4:00 a.m. on July 8 the time and date will be (drum roll, please): 04:05:06 07/08/09! OK, maybe it's no big deal...except, according to the experts, not only will this never happen again in our lifetimes, it will never happen again...period! Pretty Cool!

My Summer Flowers

This is a candy corn vine. My friend told me she found it in town a couple of springs ago but since I haven't been plant shopping in greenhouses for a couple of years, I had not seen it before. I love how its orange flowers have just a touch of yellow on the outer edge.


The flowers are so dainty and hide among the leaves of the vine.


I found this perennial on one of the greenhouse trips I enjoyed this spring. I don't remember its name, but the feathery flowers caught my eye, and because it was a perennial, it had to be part of my flower bed.


I fell in love with the dark purple ivy geranium (named midnight, I think) when I first saw it several years ago. I was really happy to find it once again, as it is one of my favorite flower colors. The lavender miniature petunia-like flowers (can't remember its name either) really enhance the purple color theme in this pot.

This evening primrose has so many blooms, it is stunning. I planted this flower when I created the perennial flower bed four or five years ago. It faithfully survives the SD winters and the summers of non-care. I counted more than 30 buds on the plant. There should be blooms for quite a while.

You may have noticed I don't care so much about the name of the plant. It's color, uniqueness, and eye appeal that gets my attention and a place in the perennial flower bed and outdoor flower pots!

Did You Know...

I got this info in an email from my cousin Kathie, her words not mine. Because I am a lover of books and reading, especially for pleasure, it seemed appropriate to pass this along to "my friends". So did you know...

It was on this day in 1731 that Ben Franklin founded the first circulating library, a forerunner to the now ubiquitous free public library. He started it as a way to help settle intellectual arguments among his group of Philadelphia friends, the Junto, a group of civic-minded individuals gathered together to discuss the important issues of their day.

Each of the 50 charter members bought an initial share into the company (40 shillings), which helped fund the buying of books, and then paid a smaller yearly fee (10 shillings) that went to buying more books and maintaining the library. In exchange, the members could borrow any of the books. Donations of books were gladly accepted.

They called their charter the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the next year, Franklin hired America's first librarian, Louis Timothee. At first, the books were stored at the librarian's house, but by the end of the decade, they were moved to the Pennsylvania State House, which is now known as Independence Hall.