Part I - Animals and their Tracks - Drawing

Yes, I'm holding my very first Easy Living the Hard Way blog contest - giveaway -drawing or whatever you want to call it. What I'm asking you to do is match the animal to its tracks in the snow. No you don't have to figure them all out to enter. Just do your best and match at least two animals to their tracks. Even if your wrong your entered anyway because in this drawing effort counts.

You live in Florida you say and don't know about snow, well, think of the shape of the animals, paw, hoof, or feet and then do your best. I don't think it will be too hard. Okay, if it is and this Wyoming native doesn't have clue then just make a wild guess on two different animals and their tracks and comment, "Holly you have no idea." and I'll be sure and put your name in for the drawing. You don't have to be correct to enter and you have two opportunities to put your name into the drawing doubling your chances of winning. Enter once anytime this week from today's post February 30th, and then again next week from the March 2nd 30th post. That day will have a whole new set of animals and tracks. I've been planning this for weeks, waiting for the book to arrive and photographing every time there is a skiff of snow. More snow than that and the tracks are distorted. Oh yeah, I forgot, the prize is one of my favorite gardening books. I'll have my husband draw the winner and I'll post who it is on Tuesday March 6th.

So be sure and enter twice so you'll have your name on two different slips of paper for the drawing and make sure and check back in two weeks and I'll announce the winners. Your comments will come to my e-mail account and then I'll post them or if you wish, you can simply e-mail me at hollyrexroat@gmail.com. I'll contact each of you by hitting the reply button and telling you that I got your entry.

Feel free to enlist the assistance of your family and friends at figuring out the answers or better yet get your grown children, extended relatives, or friends to enter and promise to give you the book. Spread the word and if you know of anyone that might enjoy my blog, let them know about Easy Living the Hard Way. I'd love for them to join us. The more readers, the larger the pool of people that can comment and then we can spread our wisdom and experiences around. We've all have things to teach one another. I learned from Jenny last week that not only can you can make angel food cake in a bread loaf pan but muffin tins work great also. Just think, the cake is already made up in individual serving sizes. So the more the merrier, spread the word.

By now you might be wondering what the animals and their tracks have to do with a gardening book. Well, I haven't the foggiest notion but it was all I could think of to give as a prize. I'm new to this thing you know. Get your pencil and paper and get ready, get set, go...

1. Rabbit This is our first volunteer. Well, not this exact rabbit for you can see the green foliage underneath it and you know since its winter that I photographed him or is it a her, last summer. At the speed in which these critters populate the tracks are sure to be from one of this rabbit's relatives.

2. Beef This is the second volunteer. His name is Pedro and he likes to untie your shoe laces and groom you with his slimy wet tongue. I've yet to convince him that I take a shower regularly and don't need his assistance. Not to mention that at fifty I've tied a few shoe laces in my time and don't need more practice. Okay, I admit it, my shoes never stay tied. Just ask my family who have come up with every way they can think of to keep them tied. No matter which way their done they come undone by the time I walk the 3/4 miles to the corrals or long before that. They certainly don't need the help of Pedro or the goat's in untying them.

3. Horse Bess here is very shy and the minute you pick up the camera to take her picture she runs off. I've been trying all year to get more than this one good shot.

4. Chicken You guessed it, this is Mildred, our Cochin. I've built her a new home out of small square hay bales and put a lovely soft nest of hay inside. The round bales are all gone and I can't tuck her in at night anymore but so far I've only seen her perched on her new home, not in it. I've made design adjustments but no change.

5. Mouse The last animal or rodent shall I say, wasn't exactly a volunteer but had to be conscripted for the contest by Bibbs. Yup, this photo was also taken last summer.

A. Never mind the little track to the left and the drag mark is just a sign of laziness - too lazy to pick up her foot. I'm referring to the track on the right. Who made this?

A. Having trouble guessing? This one is may be a bit easier to tell. The neighbor's critter of the same species came over and left this print along with a big chunk out of a hay bale.

B. This one is a bit fuzzy. Sorry, it was taken with the old camera but I think you can still tell by the elongated print who left this print in the snow.

C. Having trouble guessing?

C. He, I can't tell you who, insisted that I give you this shot also so that you city folk could have a fighting chance at guessing his hoof print. He is always so kind.

D. Look carefully. The tracks are tiny and that is almost a give away as to who made them.

E. This one should be easy.

Now that wasn't as hard as you thought, was it? Put the numbers which belong each animal and put them next to the corresponding letters that denotes their tracks, send it to me, and I'll enter you into the drawing, contest, thing-a-magig. You'll have made your first entry into the contest for the gardening book prize. Next Tuesday I'll have a whole new set of critters to match with their tracks. Meanwhile, check in tomorrow I'll be talking about chicken feed or maybe it will be the post on goat-a-pause. You heard me, goat-a-pause. It's a new word my husband came up with for the problems we are having with Leta and Pudge.

Don't forget, spread the word Easy Living the Hard Way is having its first give a way.