Sally & Jane join The Smith Ranch

Sally and Jane are two jennies (female donkeys) that recently joined The Smith Ranch. Sally is the white spotted donkey and Jane is the furry brown/gray donkey. Their family-to-be were very excited to receive them.  Their welcome was very lively and made for a fun photo session.  I have included my favorites for your viewing pleasure.  To view the whole adventure from start to finish, click here.

Bugs for dinner, yuck!!!

The circle whole in the front of the birdhouse is too small for birds, so a wren created a nest inside by entering in the sides of this birdhouse. This mother wren is leaving the birdhouse to get some bugs for her babies.

 I watched her from my kitchen window as she flew back and forth feeding her babies.

 Not sure but I think she has a baby wren in her mouth as she did not have it before she entered the next.  Then she flew off.

 You suppose she noticed me taking her picture?

 Got on our tractor and went touring in the pasture to get some wildflowers shots but ended up with a shot of our neighbor's horse, Reese.

Bugs, bird, and wildflowers

I was several feet away to get most of these shots.  I'm horrified when a bug touches me so I am comfortable at a distance!  On the last shot, I didn't notice the spider in the wildflower until I viewed the shot on my computer.  I could photograph nature all day long if the weather permitted and the chiggers would LEAVE ME ALONE!!!  Anyways, hope you enjoy these creatures and wildflowers God gave us to enjoy...

A wren and pretty wildflowers

The bird landed on the porch right outside our bedroom window.  The shot was taken with our Canon 70-200 lens and through our sliding glass door.  This is probably the closest that I have ever been to a live bird.  I think his arms are so cute in the second photo!  The wildflowers were taken over a period of a few days.  Been busy with graduation portraits and found some time to share these with you for your viewing pleasure.... :)

Friday Night at The Smith Ranch

It was nice to enjoy sunny blue skies after several rainy days (that were very much needed)!  I couldn't let it pass without going out and capturing some moments on the ranch.  I have included some comments with each photo taken below....

Here are our cattle taking a stroll down our driveway! :)  Seriously, I am on the bed of a pickup truck with a bucket of range cubes bribing them to get back into the pasture.

 Ol' Red is the shyest of the bunch.  He's the only one we aren't able to feed from our hands.

 I don't know why I enjoy taking photos of backsides but I think this one is kinda cute!

 Mr. Steer is having a "hay day" munching on some brohm hay.

 You wonder what is going on in these two steers' heads.... :)

In the morning and late evening are the best times to get reflections from the water.  It was pretty dark when this was taken and the colors weren't so great so I converted to sepia.

I saved this shot for last for those that might get creeped out!  This spider was my first shot of the day.  I was trying to get a backlist shot of this spider on my living room window while my husband was keeping it still.  

Queen Java

Meet Queen Java!  She is sitting on her royal throne and her majesty doesn't like getting her portraits done.  So to get her to pose with my new pet crown, I dangled lunchmeat near the camera.   I have included my favorite shot from her majesty's portrait session.  Enjoy! :)

Nine Fuzzy Babies

Nine fuzzy baby steers recently joined The Smith Ranch.  The average weight for the nine angus steers was 327 pounds.  This is our third year for getting cattle and these are the smallest ones we have gotten so far. It's so neat to watch how our horses and donkeys reacted to their new family members. I thought you would enjoy seeing them interact so I have included some of my favorites from their photo session!  :D