It's been a bit since I wrote the last post.  There have been some upheavals, which is part of life, but they do tend to occupy our time and our thoughts.

 We did get our house on the market and since my real estate license is currently inactive, we had to look for one here.  We found a great one and she listened to us, looked at my market analysis that I did and we both came up with a price point that was almost the same.  So we felt good about the relationship beginning and are praying that God shows us the right place to be when it sells. Shout out to Lynn Yaklin with Coldwell Banker Pacesetter Steel for her professionalism and her willingness to work with us.

Unfortunately, on the 11th, my dad called about 9:30 that evening to tell us that Mom had fallen and probably had a broken hip.  So we quickly threw some things together and drove 4 1/2 hours to Katy where they took her to the ER.  We got in about 2:30 on Saturday morning and stayed until they finally got her into a room in SICU and determined what the course of action needed to be.  She did have surgery on Sunday morning and then was taken back to SICU.  She was released on Wednesday and taken to a rehabilitation unit at Kruse Village in Brenham.  She will probably be in the rehab unit for a month or so, depending on how she does.  The Alzheimer's definitely has a significant effect on how she responds.  There are several nurses, aides, and physical therapy personnel that were here last year when she was here after the cruise fiasco in February. 

So now the question is - what do I write about today?  I am going back to one of the topics I love - wildlife.  This is going to be a photographic post rather than words.  Pictures I have taken in the last few months that are of all different kinds of creatures.  Hope you enjoy.

                                            Whooping Crane at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

                                            Vermillion Flycatcher in our back yard.

                                            "Ribeye in the Sky" - Sandhill Crane at Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge

                                            Red Headed Woodpecker at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

                                            Long Billed Curlew in our front yard

                                            Javelina near Kingsville

                                            Hooded Oriole at Seminole Canyon State Park

                                            Green Jay in our back yard

                                            Green Jay in our back yard

                                            Golden Fronted Woodpecker on the dog's crate in our back yard

                                            Golden Fronted Woodpecker in our back yard

                                            Canyon Wren in Seminole Canyon State Park

                                            Aoudad Sheep (Barbary Sheep) and the windmill in front

                                            of the Sad Monkey Mercantile just outside Palo Duro Canyon

                                            State Park.

 

  

The Sandwich Generation

We had the opportunity to visit with my parents this past weekend for Father's Day.  When we moved to south Texas, they were part of the reason we accepted the position and made the move.  We are about 3 hours from them now, whereas, we were 10 hours away when we were in the Canyon/Amarillo area.  

My mom, though not officially diagnosed, has dementia or Alzheimer's.  She has absolutely no short term memory and has had significant personality changes in the past several years.  We had noticed it several years ago, but after their fiasco with the cruise they were on last February, it accelerated the progression.  My dad has macular degeneration so is unable to drive, thus making it a challenge for them to get to appointments or even just go to the grocery store.  Fortunately, my mom had the forethought to take out long term care insurance several years ago.  Now they are utilizing this to have in home care 6 days a week to help with light housekeeping, grocery shopping, and travel to doctor's appointments.  The ladies who come are very special and have a calling!  I do not handle it well and come away feeling so guilty because of my frustration and often times, impatience with her and the things she says.  My dad lives with it 24/7 and does just about everything for her.  He can see enough that he cooks or finds things for them to eat, can still help her up and down (her mobility is extremely limited and she is now on a walker), and gets her dressed every morning, helps her to bed every night, and does all their laundry. She is quite belligerent, has shown some aggression to him and to one of the ladies that comes each day, and says hateful and hurtful things to my dad all day long.  He gets impatient but still works hard to do whatever she may need.  And when he does get impatient, he feels very guilty about feeling that way.  They used to tease each other and pick at each other.  She could give it right back to him, when he did that.  Now she gets mad and accuses him of not caring about her at all!  I didn't realize how many things get lost when the brain loses so much of the personality of the person.  She has no concept of time - passage of time or even what time of day it is, no ability to cope with pain, and is not the woman who raised 4 children, worked all of her life, and moved frequently with us as my dad's job required.  She snacks all day long, thinking she hasn't eaten at all.  Funny but sad story - I brought Christmas cookies to them and she ate a dozen of them throughout the day, never realizing she had just had one.  As of now, she does still remember us most of the time.  The hardest conversation occurred this past week when my dad asked me to call.  When I did, he told me that Mom had asked for my sister's phone number and why hadn't she called him on Father's Day when they had heard from everyone else, he broke down.  Dad told her we lost Shari almost 4 years ago but she didn't believe him.  When we talked, I told her that Shari passed away in September of 2021, not too long after they had been at our home in Canyon in July.  She accepted it but said it didn't seem like it had been 4 years.  

They will have been married 67 years in September and while Dad is not perfect, he does continue to try to live out those vows they took that day back in 1958.  He had just turned 19 and was in the Navy and mom was not quite 18, when they married.  They moved to Norfolk, VA where he was stationed and lived there for a time before he moved mom back to Texas to be near his parents and her mom.  For their 66th anniversary, I wrote a poem for them.  I had asked them both to tell me how they met and how they courted, as I knew dad was already in the Navy when they met.  They told me a bit then Dad let me have the letters he had written to Mom, and that she has kept all these years.  I read each one and truly cherish the people I met in those letters! (Just FYI - my spouse and I "dated" by letter as he was at Texas A&M and I was at Texas Tech.  I have all the letters we wrote to each other so the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!)

I don't write all of this for sympathy or for pity.   The title is my way of explaining where many of us find ourselves now.  We are parents to children, who are grown and don't really need us, and grandparents to grands who are such a blessing and source of joy to us!  But now our parents needs us to be the "adults" for them and make decisions that are truly some of the hardest to make.  

A friend posted on Facebook that sometimes, even as adults, we still want to talk to or need our moms.  I have to say that though my mom is still here physically, she is no longer able to "be the mom" but is instead more like a child.  Dad does not want to leave their house but his ability to continue to care for her is definitely a drain on his mental state.  Physically, he is probably in better condition just because he has to get up and move more often helping Mom.  I can hear the depression in his voice every time I talk to him, as do my brothers.  They have both texted or called me asking if everything was okay with Mom and Dad after talking to him. 

The commandment God gave as one of the 10 commandments that includes a promise is "Honor your father and your mother, that you days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12.  That commandment is repeated several times throughout the Bible, either verbatim or in other verbiage but means the same thing.   I truly want to honor my parents.  They worked hard their entire lives and provided for our family to the best of their abilities.  Were they perfect? Of course not!  But, then, neither am I as a parent, wife, daughter, etc.  So below is my feeble attempt to honor them.

  

The Sailor and the Redhead

Les and Lou’s story

                                 He was home and in town on leave from the Navy.

In his sailor white uniform, looking pretty snazzy!

Hanging out at the local Dairy Mart with some of his friends

Enjoying the evening and being home again.

 

A car of high school beauties were cruising ‘round town,

Honking and waving to say Hi to all around!

Driving up and down the streets just having a good time,

The girls were dressed up and looking so fine.

 

The car pulled in to the Dairy Mart lot,

So the high school beauties could get a shake or a pop.

They saw him sitting there in that uniform of white,

They called for him to jump in and ride around for the night.

 

The car was full with no place for him to sit,

They tried to squeeze him in but he just wouldn’t fit;

Until one auburn-haired beauty offered her seat

Then sat on his lap and made his heart beat!

 

Of course, he agreed and they drove from Dairy Mart,

But the auburn-haired girl caught his eye and his heart,

They loved showing him off riding in their car!

As they drove, laughed and talked riding near and far!

 

But the young sailor was only home for a short time

He headed back to his ship with that girl on his mind.

The auburn-haired girl, though young and unworldly,

Promised to write letters that would make his hair curly!

 

They traded letters and oft had to wait

For a reply to the questions that made both hesitate.

The time seemed to drag as they were kept apart

By distance and time but true were their hearts.

 

He came home on leave to make her his bride,

And spend the rest of their lives with her by his side!

She said “Yes!” and had to start planning

For the day before God and man, they would be standing.

His blue eyes sparkled when she came into sight.

He was so handsome in his stark coat of white.

His grin was wide as she walked down the aisle;

Her lips were trembling until she saw his smile.

 

Auburn hair glowing in a dress of pure white,

Her brown eyes were focused with him in her sight.

Her beautiful gown was made of satin and lace,

Topped with a veil that framed her lovely face!

 

Their vows were spoken from the depths of their hearts,

For richer, for poorer, till death do us part!

And 66 years later, they prove every day,

Their love is still true to each other in every way!

 

Tribute to Mom and Dad on their 66^th Wedding Anniversary

September 11, 2024

 

                                                     Their wedding picture, September 11, 1958

 

                                          Taken at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in August of 2023. 

In a Different Place - AGAIN

 If you know us, you know that you always have to ask us - "Where are you now?"  It is kind of a running joke with family and friends.  We have moved often.  I used to say the military has nothing on us for moving around.  So here we are again - in a different place.

Let's go back about 18 months.  Chris had been semi-retired but wrote his poetry book with pencil drawings ("Dust In My Eyes") and we got it published.  In December, a recruiter reached out to him about a position.  He told her he really was not looking but she encouraged him to consider it.  After some discussion, we agreed that he should at least talk to the recruiter and the company.  The company was Santa Gertrudis Breeders International and the position was as Executive Director for the breed.  For those who do not know the history, the Santa Gertrudis was the first breed developed in America and was developed on the historic King Ranch in South Texas.  The breed is actually one of the smaller beef breeds but numbers do not mean less desirable or lesser quality beef!  Santas (as they are known in Australia) or Gerts (as they are known here) are tremendous animals with the ability to produce great quality meat that is tender and delicious, can survive in really difficult climates, are in many countries around the world, and can rival any other breed out there.

Back to the other part of the story.  He interviewed with the selection committee via a Zoom interview, then met with the full board in January.  He was offered the position and started January 17, 2024.  We lived in Canyon at the time, I had gotten my real estate business started again, and we were pretty sure another move was not in the cards for us.  Ha - I am sure God was laughing at that last statement!  Chris lived in the Holiday Inn Express in Kingsville for about 4 months, other than the time he was traveling to events for the breed.  We found a home and closed on it April 5.  Chris camped out in the house until May when I moved down.  Our poor dog, Jake thought we had moved him to satan's house as it was HOT!  The heat index when the moving guys unloaded the truck was between 115 and 120.  But move we did.  We got settled into the house, found a great church, and met so many wonderful people, both in Kingsville and in the breed.  Many of those producers have become lifelong friends.

We had the opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida for NCBA annual convention in February and got to meet and get to know some of the breeders there.  It was a great venue and an area we had not been to before.  There were a couple of highlights beyond the convention.  We got to meet and speak with Loretta Swit and Jamie Farr (Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan and Corporal Max Klinger) from the TV show, MASH.  They were staying at the same hotel we were and were both very kind.  We saw them in the restaurant of the hotel and tried to be discreet (no pictures) but wanted to let them know how much we enjoyed the show and their part in it.  I also got to have my picture taken with Chewbacca (or a close relative of his)!

Then we traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last April for the breed association's annual meeting.  It was a beautiful place and we got to meet a lot of the breeders.  It was a great trip and again, an opportunity to meet and get to know more of the breeders in the association.  

Through this past year, we have had so many opportunities to meet great people who are a part of the breed.  Some have been a part for a very long time and have great stories to tell about how the breed has grown and how some things about the animals have changed.  We have gotten to visit some of the operations and see how each one handles their animals.  Chris made it his objective to try to visit as many of the producers as possible.  I didn't go to all of them, but did get to visit some of them with him.  I love genetics, science, and getting to listen in to some of the discussions about the breed and what they can bring to a commercial operation has been awesome.  Some days I wanted to go back to school and get another degree!

I did get to try my hand at writing for a publication.  A woman here was trying to get a local magazine about the area started and advertised that she was looking for writers.  I reached out to her and we met at Starbucks and visited for about 3 hours that morning.  Now I am not the writer in the family - that would be Chris.  But I love seeing the things in the area and thought that maybe I could show the beauty through an outsider's eyes.  The magazine was called Kingsville Monthly.  The link will take you to the site where you can read previous issues but it is no longer a working publication.  I wrote for them under the heading "Kingsville Transplant" but never dreamed that our time here would be so short.  

March of this year, 2025, brought another challenge.  Chris resigned from SGBI and has now "retired".  But neither of us is ready to sit down and do nothing.  It actually drives both of us crazy!!!  So we are trying to be patient and see what and where God has for us to go and do.  Our lesson in Sunday School this past week was partially about waiting.  In the past, moves have always had a reason for the change.  But now, we don't have to be anywhere.  We can choose where we want to go and then find things to do to keep us occupied.  Just a side note - Do you know that there is NOWHERE in the Bible that talks about retiring?!  God has things for us to do, encounters that need to be made, and places for us to be to spread His Gospel and be His Light to a dark world!

 So this writing is part of trying to be patient and see where we go from here.  I am not a patient person and do not really want to pray for patience for fear of what that might bring - sort of!  But I do trust the One who created the world and all that is in it.  His plans are best and He knows what He wants us to do and where He wants us to be.  So we will wait. 

 

 

In a Different Place

 For those that used to follow this blog, it has been several years since I posted anything!  We have been through so many changes, it's hard to put into words all that has happened!  We no longer have any cows, calves, or bulls!  Which actually makes me sad as I still miss them! It's now been almost 3 years since we sold everything and moved back to the panhandle area of Texas.  The move was for the spouse's job as his company decided they wanted him to be in the company office.  We moved back to Canyon, which is where we lived before moving to east Texas in 2012 to start that new adventure known as ranching.

While in east Texas, I was able to get my real estate license and started on yet another new adventure.  It took a while to get things going but things had started picking up.  I was licensed in 2016 and was still working my full time job at Southwest Dairy Museum.  After a year, my spouse and I agreed that I could go into the real estate profession full time.  I worked hard to help my clients with their real estate needs and had some great opportunities to help!  All of that to say that in 2020, we made the decision to relocate back to the panhandle for my spouse's job.  So we found a place, got it purchased, and moved in January of 2021.

It was an interesting time as the weather was as unpredictable as ever!  Thunderstorms, tornadoes, then Mother Nature said "Watch this!!!".  Snow fall and temperatures came in that hadn't been seen all over the state of Texas in many years, and in some areas NEVER!  It was definitely historic!  But we made it through and began the process of settling in.  For those of you that have moved away from a place, then moved back - the phrase "You can never really go home" is true! Although we knew (and know) a lot of people from here, we were gone long enough that reconnecting does not come easy. Though we have renewed friendships with some, we still feel like newcomers to the area in some ways.  

I found a great real estate broker, who is also a friend.  Rebuilding a real estate business is definitely NOT for the faint of heart!  The market was saturated with real estate agents with no inventory when I started back here.  And though the market has stabilized some here, it is still highly saturated with agents and not enough business for all.  

One thing that I did get to begin is volunteering at Palo Duro Canyon State Park's Visitor's Center!  I love being out there, meeting the people who come through and introducing them to this beautiful part of our area!  The statement is almost always made - "I never knew this was here!" or "This is beautiful and SO unexpected for here!".  Plus - I get to meet people from everywhere in the world!  We've had Australians, New Zealanders, Germans, Scottish, Irish, Japanese, Swiss, English - just to name a few! It is always a fun time and I love being there!

Thanks for reading.  I would love to hear from you!  

God's Hand

God's Hand reaches down to me, His child
I'm here He says, soft and mild
Rest your head for a while; let the heartache and pain slip away
God's Hand holds me tight as I close my eyes.

I sometimes wonder if He knows or cares,
But what I don't see are the tears in the jar.
He collects them all,
He sees the pain, He knows the cause
He has plans for me even when I don't think I can go on.

But for His plans to work, I have to be willing~
Willing to let go of my will
Willing to let go of the anger
Willing to let go of the hurt
Willing to forgive
Willing to be used by Him for His glory

If I'm not willing to open my hands and heart and let go,
I don't have hands free to accept what He has to offer!
His plans are to make me Holy - not happy.
His plans are to give me peace - in the middle of the storm.
His plans are to heal my broken heart and bind up the bruises.
His plans are for me to forgive others, because He has forgiven me.
His plans are for me to show His Love and His Heart to others.

He has lavished such love upon me, forgiven me of every sin - however dark and hideous it might be, and taken my punishment upon His flesh through Jesus' life and death on earth when He had the right to be the King;

How can I say "No"?

God's Hand reaches down to me to lift me up;
I have to open my hand to reach out to Him.

Changes are Coming

It is so hard to believe how long it has been since this journey began!  The road is taking a turn here in the next few days and I have very mixed feelings now.  Excitement, trepidation, sadness, curiosity - all of these run through my mind constantly these days.  So let me explain ...

We have already been making plans to change the type of operation we have - going from a cow/calf to a stocker operation.  To some - this seems like insanity; to others - makes perfect sense and a good business decision.  We have been discussing what would need to be done in the next couple of months to get everything in place and ready to begin running stocker calves.

Last week, on Sunday morning, we gathered the cows to take them to a sale here for brangus cows on Monday.  Got them gathered (with a little excitement) and got them transported to the sale barn.  I had to leave early on Monday morning as I was scheduled to work at the State Fair of Texas all week and would be staying in Dallas (yep - the hospital with the Ebola was just a block or two from our hotel).  My spouse was going to the sale to see how things went and how the cows sold.  He went - they sold and we talked a little about getting calves worked this past weekend to get them finished with pre-conditioning requirements of the organization we sell through.  He was going to have a cousin and his son come help give final shots to the calves to have them ready for the Northeast Texas Beef Improvement Organization sale in November.

That's when everything - and I mean EVERYTHING changed! We got a text on Sunday while getting cows to the sale barn from a realtor with whom we had listed the land earlier in the year but we had not renewed the listing. We had decided to just stay where we were and work with what we had.  Apparently the listing had been left up on one site and someone saw it, came and looked and she felt they would make an offer.  Sure enough - I think it was on Tuesday - the realtor called my spouse and said there was an offer on the table for the land, the heifers, bulls, and calves!  We talked after spouse emailed the offer to me and came to an agreement about what we would accept or change.  

To make a long story short - we came to terms that both parties agreed on and will close on the sale today!  I know it's silly but it really makes me sad as this was the first step when we moved here to start our dreams.  The setup was perfect for us - water, barn, working pens, etc. and allowed us to raise 2 crops of calves - just didn't really have opportunity to expand as the property around us is owned by families who are not looking to sell.  I found out how very much I LOVE doing this - and my family would never have believed that I would!

I had to make one last trip out last night to walk the entire property one last time (while it was still ours).  It was a great starting place and God's timing was perfect in providing means and opportunity to start on this journey.  I guess I am just a sentimental fool!  Cried a little as I walked the property, took a few pics, talked to the girls a little, then headed home.

Work, Work, Work!

Tomorrow is one of those days I really look forward to having.  We are hoping to get to spray for flies - UUUGGGHHH!  They are awful right now and I know it affects the performance of the cows and calves.  We are also planning to pull blood to test cows for pregnancy.  Using the blood pregnancy test helps us make decisions about our herd.  If a cow is "open" or not bred, we know she will need to be taken to the sale.  The bulls (see note about these guys!) have been with the cows since the first of May.  If a cow is not bred by now, she is using forage and water without being productive, meaning growing a calf.  If she's not productive, she does not stay.  For some that may seem harsh but this is a business and has to be run as a business.  With limited resources and a limited budget, those that do not produce do not stay.

I have said this before but I love this adventure!  It is by far the best of anything we have done and though the work may be hard sometimes and it always seems to be hot and humid, I would not trade it.  Through the ranch, our children and grandchildren are able to see an example of pulling together and working together (not always peacefully but hopefully always pulling in the same direction).  In this day of entitlement and the desire for the reward without the work, I think it is important they see the right way to live and work. 

Back to the cows - in working the cows we are hoping to evaluate calves and also get some pictures for marketing.  The calves this year are fairly uniform and are a great size.  Our Angus bulls came from Bradley 3 Ranch and they are awesome!!!  We have Brangus cows that were bred with our bulls and they produced great calves.  The cows had no trouble with delivery as the calves are not large at birth.  They do grow well though!  Many of the calves at 6 months are about 2/3 the height of the cows.  We could not be happier with the calves!  Our bulls - Hank and Drover have great genes.  Contact James or Mary Lou Henderson for information on their bulls.  You will be pleased with your results!

We are considering some different options for our operation as we move forward.  Stay tuned as I will be starting a brand new learning curve if we decide to take a different approach.  Never too old to learn something new! 

School Is In Session

I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in San Antonio for the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers convention earlier this year.  It was a great venue - who doesn't love San Antonio in the spring and the sessions offered were excellent!  The speakers had good information to pass on to the attendees and the staff at TSCRA did an awesome job at coordinating all the schedules!  They are a great group with which to be associated and always are looking for ways to get important news and information to their members and to the livestock industry.  For a novice like me, it was full of needed information to help me better understand how to operate effectively and efficiently.

There are a lot of ranchers that have been doing this work for many years - some multiple generations back, but there are also a lot of newcomers to the industry.  TSCRA staff work very hard to provide information that is needed by the "newbies" but is also relevant to the "old hands".  Two of the sessions were on strategic planning.  The focus was to help ranchers see the need for a strategic plan and to understand the difference between strategy and tactical plans.  There were some who knew but everyone in the session came away with a much better understanding of the difference.

Strategic planning may not generate excitement in your mind but the sessions provided excellent information and reasons for developing such a plan for every operation.  Strategic planning involves mapping out the "big picture" of where you want to go with your operation, like planning a vacation (which is what one of the session speakers used as the basis for his talk).  You have to decide where you're going first - then how are you going to get there as there are multiple avenues available, such as traveling by car or flying.  So you want to run cattle - it might mean looking at a cow-calf operation vs a stocker operation vs heifer replacement; commercial or pure bred; grass pasture vs. grain fed.  Once you have made that decision, then you have to determine what you are going to do when you get to your destination (again - vacation example).  Are you going sight seeing, relax at hotel pool, shopping in the antique district, play golf on the local course, hiking and exploring the parks and outlying areas?  Those are all part of the strategic plan so when we think about a cattle operation - you have to have resources - land, water, equipment, money.  Are you going to borrow, and if so, from whom and how much?  Some of these may actually fall under the technical plan as well but they are also needed to get you to where you want to go.

Strategic planning helps you to actually sit down and think through the steps needed for you to accomplish your dream. 

Of  course - there was some down time and the Riverwalk is such a nice venue to enjoy dinner and good times with friends, both old and new.

Poison Ivy, Chiggers, and Ticks - Oh My!

A few weeks back my spouse and I were working on fencing - actually were clearing brush, greenbriar, and weeds from an area that will eventually have a fence.  We worked on the entire path - though it had been cleared earlier by my son and him, as is true in this part of the world - already had regrowth of the "stuff" that had been cleared before.  We chopped, hoed, and pulled to get the path clear and ready for barbed wire to be run through for the fence.  I then got to work at the ending point to clear out brush, small trees and the ever present - greenbriar!  He was stringing the next strand for the fence while I worked on the end point.  It was not too hot so it was nice to be back out there working again.  Since I have gone back full time and my spouse is now working on his own, he does most of this type of work during the day when I'm at work and I don't get to participate nearly as much as I would like.  But it takes both to make it work, so we press on.  I pulled tree branches out that had fallen but gotten caught up in the brush, trimmed lower branches to clear areas for wire, and cut/howed weeds to clear the area so the fence could be built in a relatively clear area. 

I never thought about the different things that might be out there - other than the wood spiders we saw.  In re-clearing the path, we did see poison ivy but I made sure to use the clippers or at least my gloved hands to remove it.  However - I did not have on my work boots - but tennis shoes.  Big mistake!  I managed to get poison ivy all around my ankles.  I never thought about it when getting dressed to work that morning.  The itching started that night but I really thought it was probably chiggers - not poison ivy.  However - the blisters started developing the next day and oh the itching!!!  I have never had poison ivy and hope to never have it again.  No sleep from the constant itch and desperately trying not to scratch!  I finally wet handtowels with cool water and wrapped my ankles to try to get a couple of hours of sleep.

Then I discovered I did have chigger bites - just a few which I could handle.  But when I found the tick - UUUGGGHHH!  I absolutely hate ticks and finding one attached just about did it for me!  I found it on Monday morning and my spouse was getting ready to head out of town for the week to help his mother with some items that needed his attention.  I had to get him to help me get it off - tried everything but no budging from the little parasite!  Finally he pulled it off, left the head in so then had to start digging with a needle!

I worked out there all last summer and never had chigger bites, saw a tick and never had contact with poison ivy.  Then had all 3 in one day.

But those things are part of the "Great Outdoors" and if you're going to be in their area, you have to be aware of the potential.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!  Well - maybe the poison ivy - I have never had anything itch so constantly and hurt at the same time.

We are working on expanding and love the ranch more each day. 

Babies, Babies, Babies ...

For those that were around when I started this a little over a year ago, you might remember our calving season started the first of October and ended the last day of February - a looonnnnggg 5 months.  It created some interesting scenarios as we had calves of varying ages and weights.  When getting ready to wean calves and prepare for the sale, the desire is the group be fairly uniform.  Obviously - that was not really the case with ours, although when they went to sale, they were more uniform in weight than I thought they would be.

This year - our first calf was born on February 6 and we really were hoping for a 30-45 day calving.  We didn't quite make it as we still have a few calves yet to make their appearance.  We are much closer though.  The calves have all been born with little issue and are fairly uniform in size and appearance, although there are some color variations.  They are beautiful and seem to all be doing well, which is really nice as we lost several last year.  That makes a big impact on finances when the calf crop is a source of funds for growing the operation.

Unfortunately, this year, I have not been able to be there when they were born or spend as much time with them as I would like.  Somehow, that full time job keeps interfering with my time at the ranch.  It is good that my spouse has been able to be here this past month and has gotten to spend time out there (he missed a lot of it last year with business travel).  Saturday is really my only day to get to spend much time out there but didn't get to go out today.

Here are a few pictures of the babies this year.  Love getting to see them and several of them are so curious that they walk up to the truck when we drive through checking on them.

Someone on a facebook group I follow asked me to write about how we ended up here.  It will be a repeat for some, but I really never get tired of telling it.  Also - if it encourages one person to follow their dreams, no matter what age or stage of life, it is worth it!  More to come ...