Little Cowgirl Book Club: COWBOY

There's almost no need to review a DK Eyewitness book -- I have yet to see one I didn't think was fantastic and this one is no exception. Tons and tons of great photos showing every aspect of cowboy/cowgirl life, from historical to modern. The text  is actually more extensive than you'd think in a photo-heavy book -- it would be a good reference even without so many photos. Everything from the origins of cowboy techniques to 20th century cowboy culture. And the photos! Every bit and bob of gear is shown and labelled. I think the Little Cowgirl was partial to the horse descriptions; I loved the fully equipped antique chuck wagon. A must-read.

Check it out on Amazon; or find it at your local library!

Little Cowgirl Book Club: I Wonder Why Horses Wear Shoes

This book is from the great Kingfisher I Wonder Why series (we've got tons of them) - basically they're a sort of kid's FAQ picture book; each book collects 30 or so interesting questions on a subject and answers them. This book covers all sorts of horse questions, including "Which horses do cowhands ride?"; "When did people first tame horses?"; "and of course, "Why do horses wear shoes?"
The Little Cowgirl loves these books, so this one was a shoe-in.  (Har-har.) Highly recommended!

Check it out on Amazon; or find it at your local library!

Howdy and Happy Valentine's Day!!

Let's all hope 2013 is a lot easier for me to wrangle than 2012 was; frankly, 2012 was one of the worst bronco rides of my life and I consider myself lucky to have made it to the end, bruises and all. See you soon!

best biscuits ever

And who doesn't love biscuits? In honor of Earl Scruggs, who passed away yesterday, I've written up the way I make his famous biscuit recipe. And I make it just about every week, that's how good it is. See?

Get the instructions right here.

Little Cowgirl Bookclub: Hannah Mae O'Hannigan's Wild West Show

How can you not love a book subtitled, Featuring Her Trusty Cow Pony 'Sassafras'?? Even without that subtitle this book would be in our top ten picture book list. Hannah herself is a character many parents know -- that kid who fancies themselves in a lifestyle that's not a great fit for where they live. In this case, it's a wanna-be cowgirl who lives in the city, a situation I know well!

Hannah's first gift as a baby is a cowboy hat and from there her path in life is set. Instead of trying to rein in their little cowgirl, her parents try to find ways to let her practice cowgirl skills (ponies in central park! wrangling a herd of hamsters!) and when she's ready, they send her off to help out on her Uncle Coot's ranch (Coot is the source of the cowboy hat that started it all). Hannah works hard on the ranch and ends up saving the day with some quick thinking and skills she learned in all that cowgirl training. And yes, not only does she save the day, she goes on to start the wild west show of the title and becomes the "best cowgirl in the world".

The art is cartoony and sweet, with a soft, slightly sepia-tinted palette in the colors. (And, there is no sign of the dreaded over-used Giddy-Up font anywhere - bonus points!) And the story is fun and engaging -- a must-read for any aspiring cowhand and honestly, I think any kid would really enjoy it.

Check it out on Amazon; or find it at your local library!

this western town can be yours!

Seriously....this guy in Hoyt, Kansas built a little western town street in his back yard and he's ready to sell it (no more room and he wants to build new stuff!). Those buildings are fully functional and even an adult can go inside them -- the bank alone has an 11 foot tall facade and is 7' 6" x 6' 2"x 7' tall inside. The barn is wired for electricity and is being used as a chicken coop at the moment. And the saloon is actually a covered porch with balcony that will hold people (although how they get up there I cannot guess).

I love this! And it can be yours if you act fast (and you have $20,000 and can pick the whole thing up from them). What a cool idea for backyard structures. Listing here .

Happy Valentine's Day!

Things are looking up! 2011 is over and gone, and we're slowly getting back up to speed. Hope to be back in the saddle soon! Happy Valentines Day!