What purpose could this creature possibly serve???

So, I consider myself a pretty tough cookie. I grew up in the country. Growing up I was a true-blue tom-boy. Still am. To this day, I'll catch the occassional small lizard or other assorted creepy crawlies with my bare hands and carefully re-locate them OUT of my house to avoid killin' em. Ive had to do some of the most disgusting, ooey-gooey things to my horses due to various illnesses or injuries over the years and never flinched ...or threw up. I've literally thrown rocks and sticks at water moccassins to scare them off as they swam close to my perfect spot on the river bank while I was fishing. (I was getting a bite at the time and I wasnt about to let a little old snake scare off that potentially "biggest fish of my life".) FYI...it wasnt my biggest fish but I didnt know for sure at the time! I think spiders and snakes are facinating.

 So - riddle me this:

WHAT can make a true-blue country girl, cowgirl, tom-boy Texas gal suddenly lose her mind and begin running blindly into the night, swatting at her head as if it were on fire, screaming un-repeatable profanities like a banshee on crack? What can make this "tough" girl's skin crawl? Give her nightmares for weeks? This. This can. This absolutely vile creature that serves no purpose whatsoever on this earth. (much like fire ants, mosquitos and roaches - but none of which are as freakishly scary as this thing.)

The dreaded June Bug! Their spindly spiny sticky legs get caught in my hair. They crunch. They buzz. They need to die... I have to go now. I have to pick the june bug body parts out of what WAS my freshly washed hair.

"When I'm an Old Horsewoman"

Every once and awhile I run across something that strikes a cord in my soul. Such was the case when I happened onto the poem below.  As I was reading along it was as if it was written just for me. Only a horse person would get it. To my knowledge the author is unknown but one thing is for sure...she was a true Horsewoman! I was inspired to save it so I created a digital scrap page using the poem as the inspiration. So for all my fellow true, hard-core cowgirl/horsewomen friends...ENJOY this little ditty. And dont even pretend like you dont see yourself in future... ;-) Happy nickers and neighs! Rhonda 

Givin' props to some GREAT new music - check out The Bird Dogs

So, last week I get an email from my old boss and good friend, Clay Powers. (from the good old days at Showco/Vari-Lite .)  He says he needs my mailing address. He's got somethin' he wants to share with me. My mind reels...what could Clay be sending me? What would be either so cool...or so suspect, that he would actually take the time to get an envelope out, stick a label on it, address it, post it and actually mail it? (you'd have to know Clay to know why this is big deal)  A couple of days later I get this package in the mail. Return address label says Charley's Guitar Shop.  Its the package from Clay.

Crap...Im almost scared to open it. ( again -.you'd have to know Clay to understand.) But finally I do and inside is a CD.  No note. No clue. No nuthin' - typical Clay ;-) Just a CD with this really cool cover. Its called "OUR HOPE" by The Bird Dogs.  Wow...let me just say that if you love and appreciate true Country/Americana music, if you are an avid fan of the Randy Rogers Band, Neil Young, etc.- you will love this!  CDBaby describes it as "Texas music meets Jerry Garcia and Neil Young. A unique country sound with steel, fiddle , three part harmony and wailing guitar." Oh yeah...what was the connection between this album and Clay??? He's one of the musicians. He plays quite few instruments but for this little jewel - he is this master of the Pedal Steel.  Awesome job! (By all the guys)  All the songs were written and sung by George Dunham. This album is special. Its comfortable. Its real.  Its the core of what this type of music is all about. Its my new favorite. Please- check this little gem out. You'll be glad you did. Trust me. 

 So Clay...if you're reading this: First, thank you for thinking of me and sending me this cd. I truly love it. Second, can you send me a few more copies? :-) and Third...when you guys are big famous recording artists I expect backstage passes! Congrats to all of you guys, sincerely. This cd is the real deal. And just because I KNOW how much you love to be in the spot light...Love you man!

 

"Thank you and Good Night!"

Rhonda

Mom-arazzi captures snow!

The beautiful snow we had inspired my mom to bundle up and venture out with her camera as well. Her place made for the perfect snow-covered scenic setting. Here are just a few of the wonderful pics she took. Enjoy -
Great job MOM! Love you! Rhonda

Look at this GORGEOUS CARDINAL! 

Beautiful old old old pine tree.

This is a magnificent old oak tree in our pasture. Its spectacular in the summer too.

Notice the really bright red berries!

Very cool, artsy night shot of Dan's shop.

Scenic shot of the horse pasture. Winter wonderland!

Another artsy night shot of the Century Plant in mom's front yard and the up-lit American flag.

So, it was too much work to BUILD a snowman...so she just stuck this one out there and called'er good!

Sally testing the snow..."O.k., Im done...can we go in now???"

Snow? What snow?

First it was a white Christmas. Then...we get hit with an all time record breaking snowfall for Texas...EVER.
As you all know I live in Grapevine, right near DFW airport and we recd. 12 and 1/2 inches! Unreal. I did manage to get out and take a few pics of the gorgeous white stuff before it all too soon began to melt and run away. As I mentioned before, I LOVE to play in Photoshop/PSE. So some of the pics will have before and afters. Snow pictures are especially fun to work with. You can use a cool blending modes like gausian blurrs, hard light overlays, special PSE Actions, etc.  Here are a few examples. Enjoy!

The pool area has a beautiful patio, lots of trees and some cool lamp posts.
I used several different photoshop actions to get this nice warm diffused glow.

We have quite a bit of wildlife around here. I was fortunate enough to have my camera with me when I heard a commotion in some trees nearby. I looked up just in time to see this beautiful Sharp Shinned Hawk swoop out of the tree with his dinner in his claws. Poor little bird...but such is the circle of life, eh?

I used a combination of actions on this photo too but the main one was a hard light overlay that I learned from the the Pioneer Woman's tutotorial on this process. 

Next, here is a before and after show-n-tell. The first picture is a from a pretty good distance and as it is, not a great shot. but....

add in a little photoshop magic and tah-dah!

much better. Added a little pse soft glow, some overlay/blending etc. and this photos turns into a really nice panoramic shot with a nice ethereal burn. Looks really great when blown to full size.

Next...another cool shot of the snow and lamp posts. First, the original photo as taken, no-retouch:

Its pretty, but - add a little creativity and BAM!

You're in Narnia! (as in "The Chronicles of...")

Following are just some more fun, pretty shots. Hope you enjoy them and that you enjoyed the snow...as short- lived as it was.  I chose not to shoot the post-melt scenes. I just couldn't take the pain. All those poor little snow-man carcasses scattered everywhere, their sad little stick arms laying limply, detached from their melting little round bodies, eyes, falling off, heads rolling...but I digress.

Here are some more pretty photos before the carnage. ;-)

Heres a good example of shallow-depth-of-field focus.

 

I like this next one because you can actually see the snow-flakes suspended in mid-air.

Great color variation on this one. No re-touching either.

Just snow...simple and pretty. Looks like a fairy-land!

Warm glow and taken with no flash. Just wide open app.

Here's that hawk again...flying off with his to-go Happy-Meal...though I doubt the little bird is very "happy"!

This next photo is a great example of "bokeh'

I like this one because the way I shot it, the snow flakes that are falling look like little

shooting streams of light.

Well, thanks for taking the time to look. Please feel free to leave a comment or visit my photo site at Barbed Heart Photography.

 Stay warm and dry out there!

Rhonda

Read much??? Go on a "Shelfari!" (...ugh..bad humor...)

I do love to read. Not on the computer, not on a Kindle or some other such gadget. I love the feel and smell of a good old fashioned, paper, hard-bound book. It brings me comfort. It is tangible. I just set up my very own Shelfari book shelf. If you dont know about  Shelfari, (scroll down a bit to see my shelf) I suggest you check it out. If you read as much as I do, you may, like I do...find it difficult to remember what you've read, what you've bought, what you liked, etc. With Shelfari you can keep up with the details, get reviews from others, share what you've read, liked, hated...you get the idea. So give it a look see. Its free, its easy and kinda cool.
Ive also finaly ventured out to the world of FACEBOOK. Ive found so many old friends from high school, my old job at Showco and Vari-Lite, all over the place.  What a concept...I wish I'd thought of it!

Adios!
Rhonda

Look...Ive been busy - Ok? Sorry!

I know! I know! Im the worlds worst blogger. But Im trying!  Here's a summary of the last couple of months.

-Went to the NFR with my buddy Dara. HAD TOO MUCH FUN! We're going back next year. It was starched Wranglers and black Stetsons as far as the eye could see! Yee Haw!

I gambled in Vegas...Vegas kicked my #@&! Dara gambled and she kicked Vegas pretty good!

The NFR is amazing. You have to go. Here are few shots but they dont do it justice. You have to be there!

- Christmas came and went. I love Christmas...there is no other time of the year quite like it. And this year...we had a White Christmas! When was the last time we Texans in this part of the state could say that!?

I had to get some shots of the "kids" out in the snow. So photogenic!

Jack - "Just chillin' man."

Gypsy - "I know Im pretty pretty girl! Now just take the picture already!!

Such impatience...you would think she'd be more mellow at 14...NOT!

-Now, Im prepping for our company's big annual conference, the Hotsos Symposium.  WhaHoo!  8 years and still going strong! Check ya' later.

Rhonda B -

New art from Barbed Heart and a wish for a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I just wanted wish everyone a Happy and Blessed Holiday.  We all have so much to be thankful for. Even if we dont always realize. Just look around you and you'll see that however bad you may think you have it, someone standing next to you is in a far worse situation or facing more serious difficulties than you.  That doesnt mean that our own problems are insignificant. It just means we need to always be conscious of what is good in our life and not focus on the bad. Give Thanks. Always. Especially when times are hard. That is when we need to be the most aware of what we ARE Blessed with, not what we are without. 

On that note, I want send out a special thank you to our most awesome Lord above for the wonderful progress my good buddy Gary Goodman has made since his serious heart attack last week. He is out of the hospital but not home yet. I'll keep him in my prayers, and his dear family too. He's a tough old coot, so Im sure he'll be fine. O.K....he's not that old but I like to poke fun at him whenever I can!  If you know Gary and would like to get the whole story on his very dramatic incident while hunting in the wilds of Montana, just go to the site I set up for him at Support Circle. 

Next week, Im finally headin' off to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas with my fellow cowgirl pal, Dara. Look out Vegas!  I'll be taking pics so I hope to have some good ones to share. Speaking of pics, here are two of my latest works. They can be found on my Barbed Heart Photography SmugMug site and you can also purchase them at Anderson's Texas Trading right here in my home town of Grapevine, TX.

"Lone Longhorn" in twilight sepia

"Longhorn Through the Brush" in twilight sepia.

I love working in photoshop, playing with actions and textures. Oh the possibilities...my head...my brain...

So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be safe, be well, be thankful and be generous to others.

YUWAKAPE EL NIYE!  (Lakota Indian for Blessings to you!) - XOXO,  Rhonda

Viva Las Vegas! Its the National Finals Rodeo!

So...hmmm...what to do next...?

I KNOW! I think I'll head to Las Vegas for the NFR!

                                                                                                                                                              
Me and one of my best buddies, the lovely and talented Mrs Dara Hopkins, have decided that we need to take a girls trip so we're packing our bags this Dec. and heading to Sin City. Strictly for the rodeo of course! I personally have never been to the National Finals Rodeo and I am super excited. Ms. Dara has been a regular so I get to sit back and soak up the benefits of having her as my official tour guide. What a great year this has been. So many firsts, so many great experiences...  I will of course be taking pictures to share. Im sure there will be shopping involved. Plus this is the 25th anniversary of the Finals being held in Las Vegas. We will also be stopping by a barrel racing event hosted by the legendary Charmayne James, another one of my barrel racing heroes. Yee Haw!
But, no...there will not be much gambling (for me anyway) They have a nickname for people like me in Vegas...its "SUCKER"! I might as well take my cash and burn it 'cause the outcome and the feeling is about the same for me! I cant wait to take it all in.  I'll keep you posted.
Later!

"Life on Planet Cowgirl"

There were cowboy boots and hats, leather and turquoise, a former first lady and cowgirl icons from corner to corner. Last Friday, I was lucky enough to attend the 34th Annual Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon. As I mentioned in my August 14th post, my good buddy Mitzi made my year when she invited me to go along with her to this amazing event. I cant begin to tell you all how truly special this was for me. Nor do I have the time to describe everything about the event was made it so special. Suffice it to say that between sitting one table over from our beautiful, classic, unbelievably gracious former First Lady, Laura Bush and watching the new inductees each take their turn, striding proudly...nervously...happily across the stage to accept their individual honors - I was in heaven. So rather than try to cram everything I would LIKE to tell you about into a reasonably sized post...I will opt to simply post some of the MANY photos that I took that day. Pictures really are worth a thousand words and they will say all I want to say in one simple step. These are just a few of my favorites. Enjoy.  And if you're wondering about the title of this post, "Life on Planet Cowgirl", its the title song from the latest CD of one my favorite singer/song writers, Templeton Thompson.  Check out her site, her music and photos. If you love horses and the cowgirl way of life. You'll love Templeton.

Giddy up!

Me and Mitz...God Bless!

Good old Red Steagall M.C.'d and did a great job.

Our lovely Laura Bush.

Ms. Laura accepting the Gloria Lupton Tennison Award.

Our cool table.

Another cool table with a booth theme.

Fun, funky saddle by Gypsy Soul

Custom oil paintings of the inductees.

Western troubadours.

Gives me chills...

Kay Whittaker Young accepting her plaque.

After the luncheon, which was held at the Round Up room at Will Rogers, we walked across the street to the Cowgirl Museum. Many previous inductees were there and I was able to get some great shots but most importantly...I got to grab a photo of me with one of my long time barrel racing heros...Martha Josey. This lady has'nt changed in 30 years. Way to go Martha!

Old cowgirls and new.

The wall of honorees - past and present.

Hold on - Photo OP!!!

I'll post more pics later. Thanks and hope you enjoyed them.

Ride on Cowgirls!