July Summary All At Once

This is an insert using most of what was posted at Wunderground in my Day By Day in NW Montana blog. From time to time, I'll modify this summary to add or correct information.

07/31/2008 - Clear sky again today as I am almost ready to log out another month of Daily Notes and Ramblings. The temperature this morning was indeed as indicated (with some slight editing) by my PWS. Almost touching the freezing mark to end out this month.

Logs Ready to Make the Trip to the Splitter


07/30/2008 - Clouds stayed overnight and the temperatures did not drop as low as usual. Wind and clouds moved through during the morning. The breezes continued until early evening with partly cloudy afternoon sky losing the clouds entirely by sunset.

Sunburst Through Clouds Soon After Sunrise



Clouds Over the Horses in a Morning View Southeast



07/29/2008 - Clear and dry repeating again today, with cool overnight temperatures. (Not as cool as my PWS indicates. Something is amiss in the temperature sensor lately). It was a good afternoon for a trail ride around the ranch.

Morning Sun Across the Pastures in a View to the East From the Deck


Trail Riding Around the Ranch


View From Upper Trail During Ride


07/28/2008 - Clear and once again drying conditions all day in NW Montana.

Socks and Stuff Drying during a Mostly Clear Day


07/27/2008 - Clear and dry again this morning. Some clouds with a warm front moved through late yesterday evening and kept temperatures a little warmer overnight. By morning, the clouds had moved through and sunny sky conditions allowed for another warm day. As part of the daily chores, Patti and her mom drove around on the ATV to pickup after the horses.

Daily Chores Around the Ranch


Daily Chores ... Fun For Children of All Ages


07/26/2008 - Sunny and dry days continue. Just a little mix of clouds this afternoon. But no precipitation is likely. Today, we took a little trip to see the Event at Rebecca Farm, a World Class Horse Eventing weekend that takes place each year near Kalispell.

Morning View Across Outer Pasture


Views Around the Grounds at Rebecca Farm Horse Event


Patti, her mom, and Titan at the Event At Rebecca Farm


07/25/2008 - Mostly sunny and dry. The deer have been sometimes seen at the automatic watering bowls. This fellow was just walking through one of the green areas near the arena.

Buck Moving Through the Shadows


07/24/2008 - There were some morning clouds much like those of yesterday evening. The sky cleared for an hour or so but was followed with additional morning clouds. More sun than clouds arrived during the early afternoon and by evening clear conditions became the rule.

Repeating Deck View to the East During Mostly Clear Morning


The Boys Go to Pasture One ... Now that all Grass is Cut and Baled



07/23/2008 - Some lingering fog this morning with the clouds hanging around until mid-day. The afternoon is giving decreasing clouds and warming temperatures again. (Weather station note: It looks like my station temperature sensor needs a check-up since the automatic readings are showing unrealistic fluctuations.) The evening sky was alive with clouds and light changes that make a person sing.

Evening Clouds


Lingering Morning Fog Over North Hills


07/22/2008 - Overnight clouds kept the temperature from falling too low overnight. Mostly cloudy conditions are continuing through the mid-day period. The forecast calls for an increasing chance of precipitation later today. ... Later ... The forecast was correct, during the late evening a good rainfall took place dropping just over a quarter of an inch. Nice to have the dust settled for a day or so.

Clouds Around Sunrise


07/21/2008 - Clear and continued dry. With apologies to the original author: 'make that bale, lift that bale, store that bale, eat that bale'.

Tree Frames Bales and Bale Eating Horses in the Far Distance (almost not visible in the image, in fact)


07/20/2008 - The sun shined. I baled hay.

Baling Hay ... Again (thanks to a neighbor for the use of his baler for the day)




07/19/2008 - This was another of those regular days at the ranch today. Where, mostly you just relax. I did a few things as needed and it was a good day with sunny conditions, just a bit of a breeze and temperatures that were comfortable.

Orpheus, Just Relaxing (like me) This Evening


07/18/2008 - Some lines of high alto-stratus and alto-cu moved through this morning. The forecast continues to call for dry conditions so I decided to swath the remaining pastures. Now I just need to get the baler to work over the next couple of days so I can bale on Sunday or Monday.

Swathed Rows Back Behind the Swather


Swathed Rows in Completed Pasture One


07/17/2008 - Clear and cool again overnight. A traditional set of images of the morning view from the deck was taken. Today saw me doing various and assorted ranch chores as my wife and a couple of horses head to a dressage show in Spokane. After the day of tasks, it seemed like the dog days of summer may be upon us already. Later in the evening, the deck view changed as the near full moon was rising.

Slide Show of Views From the Deck Morning and Evening


Dog Day Evening Around the Fire Ring


07/16/2008 - Partly cloudy start to the day after mostly clear conditions overnight. Temperatures dropped to the mid-40's again as a result of the cleared sky that allowed the heat from yesterday to escape. My station history has a missing section due to a loss of the Internet DSL connection from about 6 PM yesterday evening through 11 AM today. After a little work on the baler, it was time for a bit of fun with a late afternoon trail ride. Life is good at the ranch!

Filtered Sun Lights Up the Outer Pasture



Heading Back to the Ranch After the Trail Ride



07/15/2008 - Cloudy morning conditions for the first time in almost three weeks. It is beginning to get a little dry and some dust was blowing around in the dry lot paddocks this afternoon. I spent a good bit of the day cutting down some of the dead trees in the woods area. Since the days are beginning to get shorter, it is time again to think about creating the firewood pile!

Clouds in Daily Morning View from the Deck


Dust Blowing Through the Paddocks this Afternoon


07/14/2008 - More clear and dry conditions again today. Break day between the swath, rake, bale cycle as yesterday's work gets stored into the barn and shelters. Today I'll probably pull apart the baler to get ready for the replacement parts. In the mean-time, I'll just do some regular ranch chores.

Daily Morning View from the Deck


07/13/2008 - Clear, cool again with mid 30's overnight (hmmm, might be a low sensor error, that seems a bit low). Somewhat warmer than yesterday is forecast for today with continued clear and dry conditions. A neighbor let me use his baler and about three hours and 130 bales later, the task is done. Now we just need to load the bales and move them to a storage area.

Daniel Posing with Bales in the Pasture


07/12/2008 - Cool overnight with upper 30's. Nice day for baling hay -- but -- the baler broke down after just 3 bales and was out of service for the rest of the day. The horses didn't seem to care about that and just continued eating grass faster than I can bale it.

Wanita and Corrie Grazing in the Morning Sun


07/11/2008 - After the morning walk it was time to rake the windrows that had been cut yesterday together. Flipping the rows also allows the grass that had been in contact with the ground a chance to dry before the baling takes place. Since it is quite dry, I'll probably be able to bale tomorrow.

Taking a Morning Walk Through the Windrows


The Windrow Rake Ready to Spin Through the Grass


07/10/2008 - Another clear day at the ranch with more of a breeze blowing through the area. Most of today (at least 4 hours anyway) was spent swathing another pasture. Some smoke or dust is in the air again tonight as a string of dry days continues.

Swathing Session Number Two Happened Today




Daniel in Pasture Four After the Swathing was Completed


07/09/2008 - A day much like yesterday. I took another view from the deck photo this morning and I expect it will look very similar to the one taken yesterday. I'll wait as the day continues to see what other image might find its way into the camera get transferred through the computer to be displayed here.

Morning Sunlight on Fence ... Horses Grazing Further Out in the Pasture


07/08/2008 - Sunny day with a little more wind than yesterday. Dry conditions and just a bit of haze in the sky this afternoon and evening.

Morning View to the East ... Sunshine ... and Horses Waiting to go Out


07/07/2008 - Clear, cool, and calm this morning. The start of the week looks good for bringing in the next pastures of hay. I'll probably let the moisture of last week give the grass a final boost and cut later in the week. The area we finished last week was pretty wet on Saturday, after the flood boards were removed upstream, so, I won't be able to drive into it until the water goes down and things dry out a bit more.

Clear Morning View Across the Outer Pastures


07/06/2008 - There was a quick morning shower just after returning from a walk with the dogs. Clearing conditions moved in during the morning. Partly cloudy sky continued throughout the day. It was a good day for the second day of the dressage testing for Patti and Wanita.

Morning Shower and Sun Rays


Wanita and Patti after the Second Dressage Test


07/05/2008 - Mostly sunny with a bit of a breeze to start out the day. The day continued with a mix of cumulus clouds and a continuing breeze. Today was the first dressage riding show for Patti. It was a good event!

Horses Out in the Morning Sunlight


Wanita, Getting Ready for a Horse Show




First Dressage Riding Test at Rebecca Farm - Patti and Wanita


07/04/2008 - Hazy high cloud sky. Light winds. 4th of July at the ranch. A quick thunder shower went through during the mid afternoon. Mostly clear sky conditions finished the day.

(Link to Red Skelton's YouTube "Pledge of Allegiance" Video)
Ranch View and Flying the Flag ... Always



07/03/2008 - Sunny conditions with calm wind today at the ranch. There is some hazyness in the air again that is possibly from the fires in northern California. The grass and pastures have a renewed greeness after the rain.

Sunny Morning View from the Deck


07/02/2008 - Low cloud remnants of the overnight rain hung around throughout most of the morning today. Partly cloudy conditions dominated the mid-day and early afternoon. More sun than clouds appeared in the evening. It was a good day for horsing around in the pond and for stopping to look at the flowers.

Morning Clouds Hanging on After Yesterday's Rain


Horsing Around in the Pond


Flowers Growing in the Green Grass


07/01/2008 - Clouds started the day. A sun and cloud mix was around for the middle of it. During the evening, the dew point met up with the temperature and a bit of thunder along with showers finished the rest of the day.

Evening Clouds Before the Rain Began


The First Cutting Stacked Safely into the Old Barn


Left Over from June ... the NW Montana to NE Minnesota Trip in a Slideshow (Note: The show sometimes begins to repeat before going through all of the images. The entire show should recap the round-trip with Leaving Kalispell at the beginning, and Leaving the Twin Cities at the end. I'm not sure why the early repeat happens.)