Happy Birthday Wyoming!

Happy 122 birthday to my wonderful homestate of Wyoming today!

We were the first state to allow women to vote and elected the first woman governor, the homeplace of JCPenney, where the first national park was created (Yellowstone), and where the nation's oldest national moment resides (Devil's Tower).

Today we have the world's largest coal mine in the U.S.  (Black Thunder Mine near Wright), are a leading producer of sheep and wool in the country, and host the "Daddy of 'em All" Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo each July in Cheyenne. Agriculture, energy and tourism top our revenue list each year, and we are a conservative, republican based state.

Our just over 560,000 residents are significantly outnumbered by cattle (we like it that way), and there are still a lot of wide open spaces across this great state. I've been fortunate enough to travel much of it via main highways, backgrounds, and trails - in cars, on horses and even occasional in a plane. Grab your atlas and take a look around my beautiful state with me!

 (Black Hills, northeast Wyoming)

 (northern Niobrara County, eastern Wyoming)

 (Bighorn Mountains, near Buffalo)

 (Goshen County, southeast Wyoming)

 (Powder River, near Kaycee)

 (Outside Lander)

 (Southwest Wyoming)

 (Johnson County, near Sussex)

 (On top of the Bighorn Mountains)

 (Pathfinder Reservoir running over in 2010, near Alcova, central Wyoming)

 (Between Gillette and Buffalo)

 (near Dubois)

 (northern Fremont County)

 (near TenSleep)

 (Rocky Point, northern Wyoming)

 (Yellowstone Park)

(Yellowstone Park)

(near Wheatland)

 (Laramie, 10 months out of the year)

Harvesting Crops

In case you're a new follower (welcome!), or haven't read much about where I'm from, it's a semi-arid region of the west, which means arid most years. Consequently, we are stictly a ranching operation, and I have never farmed anything in my life.

Last week I got the chance to see a little wheat and barley harvsesting firsthand, and made sure to snap a few photos. There would be more, but the wind came up and they stopped because the plants were so short the wind was blowing more of the grain onto the ground than the combines were picking up.

What I do know about farming is that it and ranching are very dependant on one another, and it's looking like a rough year for much of the country that does farm, which will impact feed prices on the cattle side. The crops in western South Dakota are short and dry, with bushels per acre expected to be low compared to average. To a rancher this means grain prices will likely be high a a results of a supply shortage this fall, and it will cost us more to feed our livestock.

Here's what I saw:



I was also informed that green is king when it comes to equipment.  I'm trusting this is true as the person who educated me has black cattle - a true indication they know their stuff, lol.

Professional Photography: Family photos

 Among my recent photography work was photographing a local couple and their two boys. They surprised mom with a giftcard for Mother's Day, which I thought was a great idea!
We had a fun time despite the hot day, and I was thrilled that they were game for some of the more fun posing ideas I had in mind. It melted my heart when the youngest boy jumped out of the pickup first thing asking if he got to, "say cheese?!" Wonderful family! Mom also likes western/aged/brown tinged photos, which meant I got to have fun editing.
Here are a few images from the shoot. To check out the entire album, you can go to the Double H Facebook page.



Fire in the West

Please keep the west in your prayers as we deal with numerous fires that are causing loss of land, homes and lives. These photos were taken today in Weston County, Wyoming, and is burning the land of people I know personally. It is also headed in the general direction of my uncle's ranch. Countless people are in this same situation, and the weather isn't looking to give us any favors in the near future.