I had fun with some creative edits on the above two shots using Topaz Simplify and textures.
The one below is probably my favorite edit. I used both Topaz Simplify and Impression, as well as textures. I desaturated the bright blue sky to create a monochromatic look, which is more pleasing to my eye.
And here is an edit of my sheep image from last Thursday’s post with a similar edit.
melinda anderson photography 
I love the sheep’s breath!!!!!
Re: Ram facing camera: Another MASTERPIECE Melinda! Perhaps I was too busy with other distractions to comment on this image. But now I feel the need to praise it. I really like the treatment you’ve given it, which seems to simplify a high desert landscape (which can be fussily filled with details. I know: I’ve lived there). The attitude of the ram: head lowered, facing the camera, gives him power; a hind leg cocked tells us that that power is ready to explode any time he chooses. The fringe of crystalline grass around him contrasts with all that, and a single dormant winter shrub in the foreground of desert stones, tells us more about the landscape he dominates. LOVE it!!! ❤
The lower image is stunning too! We know that winter skies can be so intensely cobalt-blue, but your de-saturation moves your image from naturalism into imagination and dream-like. He's beautifully vignetted in the high-desert landscape with enough contrast between dun colors and bright snow to make the image appealing. Last thing to say, "Monarch of the Glen, meet Lord of the High Desert."