If You Give a Moose a Muffin....

She's sure to want to eat it in the country!

Especially if it's homemade blueberry muffin!

During my very short reprieve between terms of grad school, I packed up my little Eva and headed north to the Nebraska- South Dakota border to visit one of my dearest friends.

She and her husband live on a very large ranch an hour away from the nearest town.  

And the nearest town is Cody; population 150. 

The nearest unincorrporated town is Eli; population 1. 

 It has a church.  Next time I'm taking pictures of it.

 Here is our country adventure out on Eli road documented in still photos.

The Niobrara river runs through their backyard!

And there's a lot of corn everywhere! 

Isn't it pretty?

So cool to wake up every morning and watch Animal Planet in Jami's backyard!

I got my first lesson in homemade pie crust while Eva took a nap one day.

You are looking at the best strawberry-rhubarb pie ever baked.

On the second day, Jami gave us a four-wheel drive tour of the ranch.

Eva LOVED riding in the backseat of the bumpy pickup truck!

This is the Simmon's herd of horses.

They're just snacking on some wild grass and chilling in their summer pasture.

This is Jose.

I rubbed his nose.

This is a bull.

Guess how you can tell?

Alfalfa.

Jami's hard-working husband spent nearly 12 hours a day haying his fields while we were there.

Happy cows.

I love baby cows calves.

Eva experienced mud down by the river!

Jami was a bit surprised Evelyn hadn't been muddied before...

This isn't city-sewage-dirty-MRSA mud.

This is organic country mud.

I swiped her hands off and let her have a snack after this discovery.

I loved the view out Miss. Jami's kitchen window.

And I loved visiting with my sweet friend.

Here is a list of 5 things I learned while hangin' on the ranch.

1. Never take your cell service for granted.

2. A homemade pie crust is well worth the effort.

3. Windows are good in houses, cars and cows.

4. Deer flies suck.

5. Only thing that's changed since Jami and I were roommates is

 the TV channel we like to watch and the company we keep.

And man can this girl cook!

This is bacon-bourbon chicken.

Mmmm...

This is (going to be) Baby Simmons!!

Eva was one very happy Country Cutie all week.

Until it was time to get back on the airplane and come home...