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Notes From Clearview Ranch

Archives for July, 2012

Road-Trip Postcard: California

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Postcard from California

Hi folks!

If you’ve been around me long you will learn that I write painfully slow.  I don’t use a computer at all, instead I write everything down in what Lisa calls “block printing” on my yellow legal pad.  I scratch things out, rearrange with arrows, and my spelling is horrible. Then I give it to Lisa and she goes through it and types it up so it will make sense.  We have done it this way ever since she married me and brought one of those confounded computers with her.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I can run a fax machine and am learning to text (slowly) on my cell phone so I’m not a complete technology misfit!

But as slow as I write, letters are rare.  I prefer the postcard.  It has a pretty picture of where I am, a nice small box where I can print about 3 sentences if I’m lucky and then I address it, slap a stamp on it and away it goes!

So (with Lisa’s help) I figured I will try this on here and occasionally send you an electronic “postcard” when I don’t have time to write something longer but want to say “hi”.  This first one is from here in California where I’ve been working in the studio between gigs on my newest songs, Hell in a Helmet and Not For Sale.

So here it goes:

Postcard from California

 

Greetings! From sunny Southern Ca, where folks here dress like they drive: WIDE OPEN!

I had a great day in the studio and am working with some tremendously talented players including the most sought after drummer in history!  He even played on “Jackos” Thriller album.

Can’t wait for you to hear the new songs!

Adios for now. Your Amigo,

R.Dub

 

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Summer

Friday, July 6th, 2012


Ethan at the local pool

<Ethan at the local swimming pool>

I don’t know about any of you, but summer kind of snuck up on me this year.

One minute I was unpacking coats and gloves from a trip to the East coast in the spring and the next it was 104′ and I needed a pedicure in order to wear any of the 75 pairs flip-flops collecting dust in my closet. (You would have to have followed R.W.’s FaceBook page for the story behind the pedicure, or lack there-of.)

So here we are already deep into summer and between applying sunscreen I have been taking lots of pictures of R.W. and the boys but of course I haven’t found the time to share them… so before summer really gets busy here is a quick peek into the past few weeks!

best friends

<Ethan & his new best friend>

Ethan learning how to throw a baseball with big brother Denver

<Big brother Denver teaching Ethan how to throw a baseball.>

Calvin Danner taking aim

<Calvin Danner taking aim with his water gun.>

Ethan at his swim lessons...trying to look like Wall-E?

<Trying to look like Wall-E?>

Annie...enjoying the dog days of summer

<Annie...enjoying the dog days of summer.>

Giving one of the dogs a bath

<The boys attempt to give Mickey, aka Snookie, aka Shorty a bath...>

Waiting for Swim Lessons

<Waiting for Swim Lessons>

 

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America – It’s Independence Day!

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

So tomorrow is the Fourth of July, right? Well of course it is. But to me it’s more than that. It’s Independence Day! Isn’t it great that we are Americans and have such a great day to look back on in history.

A few years ago my wife, Lisa, and I wrote our first song together. I hadn’t done anything with it until one morning before the Fourth of July I asked her to film me singing it on our porch as a little Independence Day gift for my fans. Folks seemed to have liked “Not For Sale” and although it’s taken a lot longer to get it recorded than we have wanted, I’ve been in the studio working on it and hope to release it and another song “Hell in a Helmet” very soon.

 So as Americans around the world get ready to go celebrate our Independence Day, I find myself remembering back to when I wrote this song and thought I would share the little prch video again. So much has changed in the past few years, but the cost of freedom is still the same and the song seems to become more relevant with each passing year.

If you’ve watched this one before I thank you, if you like it I hope you will consider forwarding it along to share with your friends. And of course, I always love to hear what you think about the songs I write & sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXt_c0uOwg 

 

Happy Independence Day, America!

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Turning the Mares Out

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

Hank enjoying some green grass

Hank enjoying the green grass we have right now.

It’s no secret that I love photography.  The problem is that with these digital cameras now days, I take so many pictures I often forget to go back and look at what I’ve shot.

Today I had to go take a quick couple of pictures for our insurance agent (Hi Johnny!) of a horse trailer.  Seems like a simple enough request.

But as I went back towards the house the sun was so pretty that I found myself out in the pasture taking pictures of the horses.

Big Un, at 35 still enjoys a "fresh green salad"

Big Un, at 35 still enjoys a "fresh green salad"

Then, when I got back to the office and diligently went to upload my insurance pictures I ran across these.

They are from late in the spring when we turned a few mares out into the pasture with a stud to be bred.

The "mares"

These are "the mares", Molly, Lexi & Tink

R.W.’s job was pretty simple; drive the little bunch of ladies across one pasture and into another with Mr Studly and three other mares to make a little band.  Normally herding a few mares is not too bad of a job so R.W. chose to ride our son’s gelding that morning as he was in need of a “tune up” from Dad anyway.

Headed West

Headed West

You would think that the “girls” would go for this romantic relocation and pasture vacation.  But no!

Molly trying to duck out

Molly is trying to duck out on R.W. & Chester to o back to her beau.

Ms Molly the head mare decided that morning that she was in love with Ethan’s old gelding Big Un.  (For more about Big Un, what his job is on the ranch & how old he really is read my previous post “Babysitter“.)  

Free again and headed East.

Lexi & Tink are free again and headed East.

Big Un of course was across the fence encouraging her love with nickers and whinnys.

Sisters... could you tell?

Sisters... could you tell?

And so, R.W. set out on his quick job only to find out that once he got the mares almost to the gate across the pasture old Molly would split from the group and cut back on him back to Big Un.

Love is so blind.

Lined out once more...with the help of a little cowdog.

Lined out once more...with the help of a little cowdog.

R.W. did finally get his “girls” headed in one wad through the gate to meet their new suitor in the next pasture over and wouldn’t you know it, Molly forgot all about Ol’ Big Un the minute she met Mr. Studly and I’m pretty sure from the ensuing activity that we may have another cute colt next spring, maybe three if we are lucky.

Meeting this year's Mr Right.

Meeting this year's Mr Right.

Fickle women.

Gathering up his new harem.

First order of business: Gathering up his new harem.

 

Big Un who???

Big Un who?

Now, back to emailing those trailer pictures… I wonder where I saved them?

 

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