You Are In Our Thoughts
As many of you know, Colorado has had a weekend of heart-break and sadness. There are no words that can be used to descried how senseless the Aurora theater shooting was. There are many people who are heartbroken, traumatized, and injured because of what happened last Friday in theater nine. There is no way to understand why or how something like this can happen and it is hard to move on knowing the pain people are dealing with today. My family and I live in the beautiful state of Colorado and today we would like to offer our condolences to all those affected by this horrific event. Our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are with the victims of this tragedy.
Reminds Me
The rain this weekend was welcomed with open arms here in Colorado! It was nice to enjoy a cool down and watch as the mountains found their green again!
As I listened to the rain in the evening on Saturday it took me back to when I was a little girl. In the summer we spent many days with our grandma. Without fail, as the afternoon turned into evening, the clouds would roll in. The clouds had rain in them every time and before we knew it, there was a downpour outside. This sparked chaos in the house! Grandma would grab the tea kettle for hot water on the stove and my sister and I would get out three coffee cups and pour coco mix in. We waited for the whistle to sound from the kettle, it seemed like it took ages to blow but finally there it went! Grandma quickly poured the water
English: The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains is visible behind rain clouds in this aerial photograph shot over metropolitan Denver, Colorado, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
into the three waiting cups and my sister and I would stir in the mix and add a few marshmallows to each cup.
All three of us would take our cups outside onto the covered patio. The rain was so loud! I remember the smell of the rain on the grass, mixed with hot chocolate in my cup! I remember the cool concrete on my legs as I sat cross-legged.
It was my favorite part of the day, my sister, me, and Grandma sitting on the patio, talking, giggling, and loving the summer rain!
Ideal Wedding Seating
If you’re looking for fresh ideas for your mountain wedding, you’ve come to the right place. At Pine Country Feed we are loaded with great mountain wedding ideas. If you’re getting married in the mountains – you’ve made a great choice. The Colorado Rockies are known for tying knots that last. The best reason for getting married in the mountains during the warm weather is that it is warm, not hot. You can seat your guests outdoors under the rustling Aspen, or in an open field and not worry about them fainting dead away in the heat, but the sun can be piercing. At issue is the seating itself. You’re outside, absorbing the better part of nature, and somehow plastic chairs don’t seem suitable. New hay bales, firmly packed, covered in white linen with nosegays tied on the corners make a wonderful seating presentation. Add white umbrellas spiked into each bale you won’t have to worry about Aunt Fran getting sunburned. Set the bales around the edges of a portable wood platform and you can dance the night away under the stars. After the wedding you can donate the bales to a local horse rescue. Romance and recycling in one fell swoop.
Bulldogging Baby
Baby Doll Combs, owned by steer wrestler and Rodeo Champion Willard Combs is thought to be the best Steer Wrestling horse, or “bulldogger” that ever rode the circuit. During her seven peak years of rodeo competition from 1953 to when she died in 1960 she earned over $400,000 in prize money, which in today’s dollars would amount to around $2,965,000. In 1957 Willard Combs won the Championship Steer Wrestling title on Baby Doll, and that year, the cowboys who took second, third, fourth and fifth in the standings were also riding Baby Doll. Famous Rodeo Cowboy, Bill Linderman said that Baby Doll knew bulldogging better than some of the cowboys who were riding her. When she died at a Kansas Rodeo in 1960 from a ruptured spleen, Willard Combs had her shipped back to his ranch in Oklahoma to be buried. Standing at the graveside, when she was laid to rest were many of the cowboys who had ridden her. Baby Doll was inducted into the PRCAHall of Fame in 1979 with their very first class of inductees and is remembered as one of the greatest Rodeo horses of all times.
Beat the Buzzer
Father’s Day weekend is legendary in Evergreen, Colorado; the weekend everything comes to a halt and residents become remnants of a bygone day, when there was nothing better than a night under the lights at the rodeo. Sit in the front row where you can feel the breath of the champion horses as they race past, carrying cowboys and cowgirls in their best show time regalia. We love the thrill of the ride, hoping the eight second clock will buzz before our cowboy flies into the air, wanting just one more bull rider to challenge the timer and beat the beast at his own game. It is the fun that reminds us we are Americans and we live in the west, where everything is a little wilder and a little more challenging and a lot more of what we love. Saddle up and wave your flag, you are about to enjoy a great chunk of Americana.
Day to Remember
Memorial Day Commemoration 2008 (Photo credit: davidyuweb)
We call this day Memorial Day because we are meant to remember the people in our lives who have been lost to death. We deem remembering so important, in fact, that we have set aside a whole day, for thinking of the people in our lives who have crossed the threshold into eternity. The day seems to be spent, often with family and friends, cooking outdoors, sharing some pre-summer sun, perhaps working in the yard. All of those things are worth doing and we wish everyone safety and fun in their endeavors, but we wish everyone something else. If on this day you have a lost someone you are thinking of, we hope that your thoughts will be filled with joy, with memories of all they meant to you, with laughter for all the funny times that life throws our way, with tears for the days you wish you could talk to them just one more time, with contentment for knowing that you have loved someone enough to carry them in your heart always. Pine Country Feed wishes you a happy and memorable Memorial Day!
Then there is This
Warm weather is the call of the day – the time when faces turn to the sun and hearts to the carefree days of late spring. Coffee on the porch in the early morning, a mid afternoon venture through the back pasture astride the mare that always knows just how you feel, the first taste of quiet, breezy evenings when the sun seems reluctant to sink behind the hills. We are determined this year to experience the moments instead of the seasons, to relish the whispers and cling to the reminders that life is a fleeting fancy that should be treasured for its possibilities. We are blessed with the wealth of family and friends and the joy of today and we wish all of you the wonder and warmth of the late, sweet spring.
Chick Days
CHICK DAYS ARE HERE! Starting today and going through the weekend you can fill your coop with some of the fluffy stuff, and the amazing thing is – they all grow into egg laying hens! Choose from Araucaunas, California Whites, Buff Orphingtons, Rhode Island Reds & Plymouth Barred Rock, and we’ll even have a few ducks. This is a favorite time of year at Pine Country Feed, so stop in for the party!
Definition of a Hero
Today we are reminded that we live amongst people who sacrifice every day for our good. The Volunteer Firefighters of Elk Creek, Indian Hills, Inter Canyon, Platte Canyon and Evergreen have all joined the Volunteers from the North Fork Fire District in an effort to fight a bigger than average foe. Wild fire has come to Colorado and our mountain area volunteers will put in many exhausting hours in the days and nights ahead to do what they can stop the burn. Two people have lost their lives and thousands have been evacuated or are on evacuation alert from their homes and at this point there is no containment. We are praying today for the safety and comfort of these families, and the protection of our Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services. We are indebted to them and thank them for their sacrifice. Heroes are people who do what they can whenever they’re needed regardless of the possible outcome.
Posterity
It isn’t that it gets great mileage, because it doesn’t, or that you’ve got some kind of hang up about the wheels you get around in. It’s that when you’re behind the wheel of the midnight blue, 1951 Ford Pick-up you feel like you belong, like the direction you’re going might actually lead to something. There is a comfort in knowing that your truck has been around longer than you have, and it still turns heads as it drives Main Street. Parked on the springy leather bench seat, windows down, stick shift waiting for your next command, makes it all seem real, like the things we commit ourselves to every day make a difference in the long run. Having a thing that has lasted through decades of change and the evolution of the truck into a monolith on wheels is reassuring, and it’s right to cherish something that has given over three hundred thousand miles and still purrs on idle. So turn on the radio and move on down the road. You and the Ford are going places today, and you may never come back.
Pine Country Christmas Joy
It is Christmas at Pine Country Feed and that means we are wrapped in the spirit of the holiday. Our shelves are stocked with the things you won’t find elsewhere to give to that person who has stolen your heart. Being in love at Christmas just triples the joy of the season and you can make the happiness last with a cowboy hat or duster or both for your favorite buckaroo. There a belts and hats and jackets and scarves and “to die for” jewelry for your cowgirl sweetheart, and don’t leave without checking out the saddles. Stop in and browse and remember why you love this time of year at Pine Country Feed, where it’s a little more festive and a lot warmer than the mall. Pine Country Feed hopes your days leading up to Christmas are filled with delight and a reminder of how much we all have to be thankful for.
Horse of My Heart
Horses are often called upon for a variety of therapeutic reasons, and one of the most inspiring is the Excelsior Youth Center in Aurora, Colorado that uses Equine therapy for girls who have suffered great rejection and abuse in their young lives. It hasn’t been defined scientifically, but there seems to be something in the horse that makes them know when they are dealing with a fragile damaged being who needs their gentle assurance. The horses develop relationships with their riders, making the girls feel worthwhile and yes, even loved. As the director puts it, having this great beast waiting for you, happy to have you back, acknowledging that they know you, gives these girls whose young lives have offered little security a chance to trust again. The teachers and counselors at the center are continually amazed at the healing that the work with the horses encourages in the girls, and the girls make it clear they have found a place with their four legged friend where they are safe. The Excelsior Youth Center houses and educates over 100 girls currently and their equine program is in jeopardy for lack of funds. There are those who can help. If you are one, we invite you to visit http://www.excelsioryc.org/ and invest in something that counts.
Made for Each Other
There is something about horses and kids that make for a great marriage. It is like the story of the gorilla who loved the kitten, the mammoth being, meekly deferring to the tiny one, the one that could be swept away with one aggressive snort. Yet they stand together, nose to nose, one in deference to the other, because the horse, in its four legged splendor seems to understand that this smaller than average two legged creature is precious in some way, a treasure of some kind, and their keeping is a tremendous responsibility. It is the gentle and wise heart of the horse and innocent nature of the child that makes the mixture ideal, even magical. See them together and you will feel a smile spread across your lips, a lift of happiness in your step. Their gift is the perfect combination of generosity and delight and they are meant to be together.
Pine Country Pleasure
When the days are as cold as they have suddenly turned the idea of running from store to store, getting in and out of your car, walking the 5.3 miles around the average mall, standing in lines at the big stores, can be daunting, painstaking, heart wrenching. The wonder of it all is that it doesn’t have to be that way. At Pine Country Feed you can find gifts, small and large, and in every price range. Pine Country has everything from spurs to sparkly jewelry and you can shop in the elegance and peace of a quiet country store where they’re happy you came in. You’ll love the selection of jeans that actually fit and boots that will allow you to really kick up your heels. And while you’re there pick up a set of “red neck wine goblets” for someone you’re especially fond of. At Pine Country Feed we love animals, horses and dogs, cats, hamsters, sheep and chickens and we love people, and at Christmas we love pulling them all together so you can not only enjoy giving the gifts, you can enjoy shopping for them.
Encircle Me With Christmas
The time has come for home adornment and nothing says Christmas any clearer than the wreath. They can be hung over the fireplace, on the front door, anywhere you want to add a touch of celebration. The wreath has long been a symbol of eternity since its shape has no beginning and no end, and when it is made of the traditional pine boughs it also represents life and survival. The evergreen branch has long been used in wreaths to represent the struggle for survival. In Roman times a natural wreath was given to warriors as they returned home from war, as recognition of their victory in the battle. At Christmas the pine wreath symbolizes eternal life, and celebrates the passage of the dark days of winter, and let’s be honest, it smells great! If you’re looking for something to hang from year to year, the choices are endless. At Pine Country Feed we have an array of all natural, dried wreaths as well as some blingy beaded choices that will get things started right. Wrap your home in Christmas this season with a wreath on every door and a hug in every heart.
Get Festive
Thanksgiving is past and we are staring Christmas in the face, the lights, the trees, the packages and all the excitement. There is nothing quite a like a mountain Christmas on the ranch with horse drawn carriages and dark pine forests. Don’t let the splendor stop at the front door, bring it in and settle it on the hearth, right next to the rocking chair draped in Grandma’s quilt. Pine Country Feed is addicted to Christmas and helping you make your home the joy center it is meant to be. Simple, chic, loaded with rustic outdoor charm, you’ll find just what your house needs to say Christmas done right. There are items for the tree, the table and something perfect to take you to those holiday parties in style. Start your Christmas with a trip to the place that puts you in the holiday spirit the minute you walk through the door – Christmas at Pine Country Feed!
Joyful Shopping
When you’re getting ready for the upcoming holidays don’t forget about the four-legged family members who give us so much joy throughout the year. Pine Country Feed, though known for their larger animal supplies, also cater to the house pets in your life. You’ll find favorite toys, bones for chewing, the best foods and treats, and Pine Country will help you put it all together in a snuggly bed for your furry friend. While you’re there be sure to take a trip upstairs to the cowgirl boutique where you’ll be delighted by the Christmas decorations and the myriad choices of gifts that you haven’t seen anywhere else. The great part is, you won’t have to go to the mall where you’ll look for parking and walk a good mile and a half to finally get to the store that carries your mom’s favorite hand cream. Be adventurous and skip the slippers for your sister. It’s time she had a blingy belt, or a turquoise encrusted pillow. The shopping you do at Pine Country Feed will leave you feeling refreshed instead of frazzled and the gifts you give will be one of a kind and from the heart!
As Far as the Eye Can See
There is a place in your house where nearly every person who enters your home will at least see, and many of them will spend some time, and that is the bathroom. Don’t let your bathroom be an afterthought in relationship to the rest of the rooms by filling it with nothing but towels and toilet paper. Let the theme of your household décor carry over to this probably smallest, but most important of rooms. Tie in your rustic chic with a wiry beaded garland over the mirror with rusted iron stars intermingled amongst the twists and turns. Switch plates, soap dishes, towel racks and hooks for jackets or bath robes 
come in a variety of themed fashions that can dress your room in everything from wrought iron twigs to horseshoes. Why not stuff a basket with fluffy towels and a fringed leather pillow, and don’t forget the lighting. Shades trimmed out in leather laces, or embedded with malachite and jet will bring the flair to the room that you’re looking for. Tooled leather, pounded tin, rough hewn wood – all textures that can serve as art on the walls and Pine Country Feed has it all.
The Worthy Pumpkin
Pumpkin Puppy
With Thanksgiving in view we feel we must give another nod to pumpkin – the magical food of autumn. It is good for so many things, and comes conveniently unfettered, already pureed in cans from the grocery store, making it simple to use even on the busiest cooking day of the year. Of course pumpkin pie will be on the menu for much of America next week, as well as pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin bread. Some interesting dishes that we have come across are pumpkin squash lasagna, and spicy pumpkin ravioli with a touch of habanera pepper (go to Martha Stewart online). Pumpkin brings high nutritional value to your table being high in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and dietary fiber besides being low in calories, with only 83 in an entire cup. The biggest unexpected plus about pumpkin is what it does for your dog. If your four legged family member suffers from a sensitive tummy, causing picky eating or diarrhea, a tablespoon of pumpkin with their regular food can make a huge difference, and we speak from experience. Your dog will love the somewhat sweet taste and it is good for the coat, eyes and bones, not to mention, everyone’s disposition!
Perk, Drip, Press but Definitely Pour
If you don’t understand that many of life’s issues arise over want of a descent cup of coffee, it is time you learned. When you’re sipping a brew with just the right heady aroma, and that extra soul soothing richness that can be found only in superior blends of freshly roasted beans, it is impossible to be angry with the person sitting across from you, as long as they are sharing in the ritual cup. Sharing the luxury of artisan coffee, brewed to perfection puts things in perspective, makes a lot of pesky differences seem unimportant. Will our worry improve the economy by even the slightest measure? It will not. Will traffic decrease by as much as an automobile if we are angry about it? It will not. Will having a cup of exceptional coffee in the midst of a day that is over hectic and a world that is spinning out of control settle a mantle of peace over your soul and a sense of well-being in your heart? It will. At Pine Country Feed we believe in bringing an injection of positive into the everyday whenever possible. Look for your injection, arriving soon at Pine Country – coffee that will bring you joy!
Do it Right
The right pair of jeans is similar in importance to the right hair cut. They have to fit properly, and comfort is a must, and it is best if they have that little something extra that says “now that’s a pair of jeans”. Pine Country Feed gets the whole “jeans are my life” way of thinking and they carry a fabulous selection of just right, soft as butter denim duds that will put you on the cover of “got it goin’ on” magazine. There are only a few things in life that can actually turn your attitude around in an instant but slipping into that perfect fit, with just the right amount of flair is one of them. Pair your jeans with a perfectly feminine, astoundingly stylish cowgirl designer top and you will be ready to bring in the herd or go out on the town, or both. Get out to Pine Country and see if you don’t fall in love, over and over again.
Rope a Winner
So it’s your turn to host the clan for the Thanksgiving extravaganza and you’re trying to decide if there is a way to get the house in presentable “haven’t seen these people in a year” shape without tearing the whole place down and starting over. The key to your success is in the details. When you clean your house remove all of the current accent pieces, the ones you have had out since you moved into the house, and start fresh. Clear the pillows from the petrified sofa and the colorless vase from the mantle and begin your adventure into tasteful, always inviting, cowgirl chic. A pillow with leather fringe and a pounded metal, bling ridden receptacle for your mums will bring new life to the old walls, without the hours of work that you should spend making your pies. Dress your house for the holiday in a way that will have them stopping and smiling and thinking how truly clever you are. Pine Country Feed will set you up in a quick morning’s stop, and send you on your way with a treasure trove of wow!
Cowboy Stampede
Out on the range, when there’s nothing to answer but the call of the wild, and the only clock you have is shining overhead, things seem to make sense. The little things start to matter more and all the other stuff kind of gets lost in the dust.
