We all know that behind a great cowboy is an even better cowgirl, and for all of the ladies out there, you might want to check out the awesome Pioneer Woman website. It has a ton of fantastic information including recipes (even some for “cowboy food”!), amazing photography, home and garden tips, plus a fun blog. The woman behind it all is Ree Drummond, and here’s a self description of her site:

Here, I write about my decade-long transition from spoiled city girl to domestic country wife. I post photos of cows, horses, and my four weird children, and frequently include shots of cowboys wearing chaps. In my Photography section, I include Photography and Photoshop tutorials. In my Cooking section, I post step-by-step photos of all the cowboy-friendly dishes I’ve taught myself to cook through the years, and in Home & Garden, I chronicle the start-to-finish remodeling project of an old guest house on our ranch.

If you love the cowboy lifestyle, the Pioneer Woman may be a great place for you to keep up with all things out on the ranch.

While galloping on the wide open internet range for all things cowboy cool I bumped into an Oklahoma country girl’s blog titled Cowgirl’s Country Life. Warning: Her blog will make you extremely hungry.

If you are interested in raising your own shrimp, canning, smoking and preserving your own meat, fishing or sitting around a good camp fire…..we might be related.

Cowgirl has documented tons of her meals and recipes. How does smoked beef ribs and bacon wrapped corn sound? Pretty damn good right?

Have you ever wanted to know how to make smoked venison shoulder, chipotle pork and pintos?

Not only is Cowgirl’s Country Life packed full of mouth watering recipes but Cowgirl has documented some of her amazing projects. She built a really nice homemade drum smoker that probably gets plenty of use with her culinary skills.

You can’t have great food without great libations so Cowgirl custom built an 8′x5′ weather resistant outdoor bar that has probably seen some great parties.

Mike, a commenter on her blog had this to say:

Geez girl, is there anything you can’t do? Well other than move that by yourself I guess. But you did figure out a way to get it done, so kudos to you!

After reading through her blog I doubt there is anything she can’t do. We salute you Cowgirl, for being a modern country renaissance woman.

This comes to us from friends in Austin, Texas who like to celebrate Christmas their own way…by decorating the neighborhood cacti. We’re never one to begrudge a good cactus decoration, so kudos to the residents of south Texas for becoming creative with the cacti in the area. Who needs a Christmas tree when you’ve got a cactus?

Tonight is Nashville’s biggest night, and usually the night you see the best western wear out there: the 42nd annual Country Music Association Awards. The CMA has built an interactive website where you can make and share your award picks, participate in polls, check out photos from rehearsals, check out award winners of the past, and see where else the CMA is participating on the web.

The reigning CMA Male and Female Vocalists of the Year, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, will unite to host “The 42nd Annual CMA Awards.” This is the first time that either artist will have hosted “Country Music’s Biggest NightTM.” “The 42nd Annual CMA Awards” airs live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 12 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“We are excited to have our reigning Male and Female Vocalist host the CMA Awards this year,” said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to their musical talent, Brad’s quick wit and Carrie’s gracefulness will serve them well in this role. CMA is happy to offer both of them their first opportunity to host a nationally televised network awards show. ”

In addition to their hosting duties, Paisley and Underwood will also perform on “The CMA Awards.” Previously announced performers include Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban, with more performers to be announced soon.

If you are a country music fan, be sure and tune in tonight. It promises to be very cowboy friendly.

While browsing the internet and looking for cool cowboy images I stumbled upon SASS. The Single Action Shooting Society is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Cowboy Action Shooting and competive shooting. They also seek to preserve the history of the Old West and Cowboy Culture. We here at Cacties respect and salute that cause.

SASS has some pretty strict rules to participate in their events.

One of the unique aspects of SASS approved Cowboy Action Shooting™ is the requirement placed on costuming. Each participant is required to adopt a shooting alias appropriate to a character or profession of the late 19th century, a Hollywood western star, or an appropriate character from fiction. Their costume is then developed accordingly. Many event participants gain more enjoyment from the costuming aspect of our sport than from the shooting competition, itself. Regardless of a SASS member’s individual area of interest, SASS events provide regular opportunities for fellowship and fun with like-minded folks and families.

Contestants are also required to use firearms typical of the old west and each individual event is based on legendary western incidents or scenes in western movies.

If you are interested in Old West shooting or cowboy culture they just might have a shooting club near you. Shooting events are held monthly, annually, statewide, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

3G Buckles, which stands for “Glamour, Glitz and Gals,” may not sound manly, but it’s sure to make a cowgirl momma happy if she were to receive a custom belt buckle from her cowboy. 3G stocks vintage buckles, buckles with freshwater pearls and even an animal friendly line of buckles. The Red Bird buckle is one of their best buckles, sure to please any cowgirl.

In the spirit of Mother’s Day, Cacties is pleased to award 3G as a Cowboy Friendly website. We dare say, getting your momma or little lady custom belt buckle certainly puts you in line for some fine threads from the Cacties western clothing store. After all, Father’s Day is just around the corner.

Do you love the Western lifestyle? Do you sleep with your spurs tied around your ankles and make more room for your hat at the table than your little lady? Do you prefer the early morning smell of cow dung over the smell of urban dust? Well, if you do, and you run a blog or western-themed website, you may be eligible to get the exclusive Cowboy Friendly badge from Cacties.

Only the finest website with true cowboy grit and knowhow gets the privilege of brandishing one of our Cowboy Friendly badges. If you see any of the badges below on your journey through the wild Web, you can be assured that you’ll have safe passage through their site. If you would like to have your website considered for the Cowboy Friendly badge, shoot us an email at mycacties@gmail.com, telling us why you think your site should be bestowed with this great honor.

Cowboy Friendly Badges and Code

<a href="http://mycacties.com/"><img src="http://mycacties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/boot.png" alt="Cowboy Friendly Badge" /></a>

<a href="http://mycacties.com/"><img src="http://mycacties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/wood.png" alt="Cowboy Friendly Badge" /></a>

<a href="http://mycacties.com/"><img src="http://mycacties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/tinybadge.gif" alt="Cowboy Friendly Badge" /></a>

<a href="http://mycacties.com/"><img src="http://mycacties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/sticker2.png" alt="Cowboy Friendly Badge" /></a>

<a href="http://mycacties.com/"><img src="http://mycacties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/sticker.png" alt="Cowboy Friendly Badge" /></a>