Wyoming Wildlife Photography

One of my favorite activities in summer is to watch, and when I can, photograph, Wyoming wildlife.

Sometimes we take for granted what most only see on TV or in the movies.

In Wyoming, our wildlife is part of our everyday life.

Not sure I will ever take it for granted.

On today’s post are a few of the photos I have shot in the past month.

Nothing beats a chance to see nature up close.

On a side note, a big thank you to everyone who is purchasing my books the past few weeks – they are selling well, in fact, better than ever. – if you want to take a look click this link.

Wyoming Christmas Stories

Under Western Skies, now .99 Cents

Great Christmas Reading – all set in the west

Give yourself a Christmas Present and for less than a buck. That’s right for five days, my book of 14 Western Christmas stories – Under Western Skies - is only .99 cents.

14 stories and 144 pages, plus a bonus chapter at the end from my western novel Commitment, 160+ pages in all and that’s a lot of reading for less than a dollar.

If you like Christmas and you like westerns, this is the book for you. 

If you would rather have the soft cover book you can get it here. And only $9.99

A Month of Writing

I knew it would happen sooner or later and today is the day. I posted on the wrong site. This post was meant for my writing site but is live here now. I will be posting my normal Wyoming blog post here soon. 

Another month has passed, fall is here, and the colors are terrific.

Writing totals for the Month

I had hoped September would see an uptick in my writing, but instead, I wrote a bit less than last month. This month totaled 17 blog posts and 11,291 words on all of my projects. This brings my total for the year to just under 167,000. I need to pick it up to reach my goal of a quarter of a million words, right now it looks like I will come in around 200,000. My original goal was 350,000 then lowered to 250,000. I am not sure if I set my goals too high, or if I have become lazy. This year is the first that I have kept exact totals so maybe next year will tell the tale of how many words I write each day, month or year.

Sales are up

Although my word total was lacking, my book sales were and still are up. I have three new books nearly ready to go and hope to update my Christmas book to a second edition and get it out before Thanksgiving.  If I do all of that, I should have a good writing month in October.

Saw these little guys in the park yesterday

What a September

Not much writing in September but it was a great month for everything else. We went back to southeast Nebraska for our 50-year high school class reunion – Class of 1966. I also spend some time in the Laramie Range, visited the old Iron mining town of Sunrise, spent a day at the world famous Spanish Diggings and half a day at one of my favorite places, Fort Laramie. My wife and I also, with the cooler temperatures, started our fall hiking at Guernsey State Park.

Sitting on rocks quarried thousands of years ago at the Spanish Diggings

Garden Book 

Oh, and the garden is looking good. Which reminds me, I have not mentioned that one of my works in progress is a gardening book. Tips for beginning gardeners at altitude, and a collection of short murder mysteries that take place in – you guessed it - the garden. It will be a short book, coming in at around 100 pages, but so far I like it. The others will be my second Blade Holms western mystery and the third in my series of children’s books.

No frost yet - but it is October, and coming soon

My two latest published projects, a book and short story, along with my other four books can be found here.

Thanks for keeping, Ghost of the Fawn, and Interview with a Gunfighter, consistently in the top 200 the past month, it is appreciated more than I can ever say.

Under Western Skies - What a Book

Not sure this will ever happen again, but here it is. My book just ahead of Louis L’Amour on Amazon.

If you like Christmas stories and you love the west, this is the one for you. 14 Christmas stories, give it a look right here.  Only $1.99 for the eBook or $9.99 for the 170-page book, and hey, that would make a great gift for western lovers. 

Sign the Pledge - Carry the Mail

Sign the Pledge - Carry the Mail

In today’s world, the idea of making a pledge has been nearly lost. Although in my little part of the world kids still say the Pledge of Allegiance at school. But in the days of old it was quite a different story. Pledges were part of signing on to many jobs and a part of all or most all government jobs, regardless of what level of government the position might be.

Before hauling their first bag of mail for the Pony Express each rider read, or had read to him, the following pledge.

“I do hereby swear before the great and living God that during my engagement with Russell, Majors, and Waddell, I will under no circumstances use profane language; that I will drink no intoxicating liquors; that I will not quarrel or fight with the other employees of the firm; and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful in my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers. So help me God.”

After signing the pledge each rider was given a Bible with a handshake and sent on their way.

The Pony Express lasted but 19 months, but hundreds of books, (Amazon lists 2,350), movies, and television shows featured the Pony Express mail delivery. 

The Pony Express gathered up the best horses they could find. But no Mares as shown in the photo

Jim Bridger and his Uncle the President

So much about Jim Bridger remains a mystery. He was orphaned at age 13 and apprenticed by a relative to a blacksmith. Early historians often noted the relative as a well-meaning one. More recently some believe that there was some money coming to the well-meaning, relative and that may have been what made him so well-meaning.
Not much is known of Bridger’s parents other than their dying young and the fact that throughout his life Bridger insisted his mother was President Tyler’s sister. He went on to say that she was disowned after marrying his uneducated father.

Bridger hated the labor in the blacksmith shop but worked hard at it anyway. He had enjoyed his previous job working with riverboats on the wharf. Of course, that gave him a chance to jaw with river men and trappers. Those were the rugged men he liked and were all about what he would become.

A man we think we know so much about, but maybe we really only know but what he wanted us to know.

Afraid I don't look much like a Mountain Man - trapper, but my friends look good

What a Shape We're In

When one looks at the shape of the various states, Wyoming certainly does not stand out. Along with Colorado, our neighbor to the south, we are rectangular, nearly square. How did that happen?

Wyoming is the only state that is made up of territory taken from all four of the United States major acquisitions. Five different countries have claimed parts of Wyoming. After that, and 30 different boundary changes, and Wyoming ended up a rectangle. Weird!

It took a few years but at last, the lands acquired from, Spain, France, England, Mexico and the Republic of Texas became Wyoming.

Why we love Wyoming

-Today’s trivia questions-

1. What are the names of the two waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone? Don’t think two hard on this one.

2. How did Ned Buntline help make Wyoming famous?

3. Harry Longbaugh’s nickname is one of the great wester names. What was it?

See answers at the bottom of the page

My, oh, by the way, for today – I’m feeling great, my two kid’s chapter books are both in the top 10% of all books being sold on Amazon. See both of them plus my westerns and my nonfiction CCC book here.

Now the answers. 

1. Upper Falls, Lower Falls

2. He wrote dime novels many featuring Wyoming people. His books made Buffalo Bill a legend, hero and mythical figure in Wyoming.

3. The Sundance Kid

Wyoming high country

1.             

150 Years Ago - Texas not Wyoming

150 years ago today the Civil War ended. Yes, I know, General Lee signed the papers of surrender at Appomattox Court House a month earlier. But the war, in isolated pockets, carried on until May 13, 150 years ago. The two-day Battle of Palmito Ranch, with the final casualty of the war, took place east of Brownsville, Texas ended the fighting of that terrible war. There were a few other tiny battles after this date but no more casualties, thus leaving the Battle of Palmito Ranch listed by historians as the official last battle of the war.


To end today, we need a bit of Wyoming stuff here. How about a couple of Wyoming photos I took today.