Wyoming, Close Up

Last week I took a glorious trip to Wyoming. There, my friend and her husband own a horse ranch in a beautiful, flat valley rimmed by low mountains. Their house is filled with lovely things that reflect their interest in Nature and the American West. Looking around, I was struck by the many different textures that add interest to their belongings. Here are some close-up glimpses taken inside their home:

Elk horn and butcher-block wood

Table runner, chair seat, and woven rug

Butcher-block table, sheepskin, and woven rug

Leather, whole-branch furniture, and woven rug

Beaten metal, brick, and heart-shaped stone

Leather and brass studs

Beaten metal, brick, and stones (background)

Some sort of totally cool, cactus-y looking plant

Woven rug, stitched leather, and worn binoculars

Verdigris metal, milk glass, and stone

Black beans, pottery, and granite

Outside, there were some wonderful textures, too. My friend has 14 horses and teaches horsemanship, which means there are barns, hay bales, tack rooms, pastures, fences, practice arenas and--of course--horses.

More textures, taken from outside:

Dried hay, painted metal

Pea gravel, stitched leather, and denim

Yellow coneflower seed head, petals, and leaves

Stacked, split wood

Grasses, pines, and sky

Rope halters, leather tips, and painted wood

Worked leather, metal fittings, braided rope

Tooled-leather, two-color Western saddle

Plastic with mylar, untreated wood, pea gravel

Extruded-foam float toys, plastic beach balls, pea gravel

Mane and neck hair on a bay horse

PVC pipe, pea gravel, fabric flowers

Worn leather, denim, simulated-wood decking

Petunias and daisies

Thistle head, leaves, pea gravel

Eyelashes, facial hair, and mane on a bay horse

Dead tree and sky

Split-open log with beetle tracks

Apple core, old log, beetle tracks

Neck hair and mane on a strawberry roan horse

Autumn leaf

Berry or seed head

Dry grass, hoof, metal nails, horse hair

Aspen leaves

Skin, yellow and white gold, strawberry, concrete pavers

Petunias and bumblebee

Tomorrow, I'll post more photos of her fabulous horses--the heartbeat of the ranch. Until then, here's a Wyoming sunset for you: