R.I.P. sweet Tia

R.I.P. Tia

     The ranch's canine matriarch of many a hunting dog ended her duty here yesterday. She was our sweet Tia, an English cocker spaniel born in Tawneyhill, England, who served many years here as a faithful mother and huntress. She was obedient, loyal, simple, and just plain super sweet. These are the most recent snapshots we have of her getting special treatment with an in-house bathroom grooming. We thank God for such a precious creation that we were blessed to have enjoyed. Good night, Tia.

Bravery at the Ranches

Peanut, our reclusive and longstanding Methuselah of the property, is seen here in a rare moment of bravery, risking possible human contact to eat the nearby cat food - everything loves cat food...

Here we have the Mouse Patrolmen keeping a lofty watch in full cammo - find them if you can...

Meanwhile, at the other ranch we have Robert's hunting party this morning - brave souls duck hunting in a place infested with black widows and cottonmouths - a gentleman's sport done Texan style...

The least is the greatest with this hero archetype - our best friend, the hearty hunting dog, who fearlessly leads the way and lives for this moment...

Happy Saturday, and on another note, we celebrate the historic visit of our Holy Father Pope Francis as he travels within our nation this weekend with messages of God's truth and love...

RIP Deputy Darren Goforth

Today we found out that we lost a comrad yesterday: Deputy Darren Goforth. It also happens to be my birthday. My birthday wish and prayer is for the Lord's mercy and justice on behalf of those slain in such brutal violence. We thank God for Deputy Goforth's service and pray for mercy and justice for all, knowing that he served God himself by way of upholding peace and justice daily. Thank you, Deputy Goforth, for being the hand of God among us. We will remember you.

Romans 13Psalm 35

Stud Muffin

My Stud Muffin ranch man made some studly muffins for Sunday Funday!

Work

"Work is love made visible." -Khalil Gibran 

Sometimes even smellable . . . 

Catbox Fail

This morning, after about 30 minutes of frantically searching for her, I finally found our ratcha, Lolita. Led by her shamedly small whimpers I discovered her to be stuck here - 

- cold busted and trapped in her snack den due to the fact that the litter box entry/escape hatch is apparently not engineered for canines to exit. Today's lesson? Be very careful not to succumb to temptation so as to get yourself into a bunch of deep mess from which you cannot escape . . . 

Nature Walk and Rattlesnakes

While looking for rattlesnakes today I did not find any, but I found several other surprises~

Hidden in an isolated patch of tall grass located on a small hill that drains well were these . . . 

TURKEY EGGS! Looks like Robert won't be shredding this field with the tractor for a while. :)

While stomping around in the fields, I also found this - 

. . . leaves of three, let it be - yep, POISON IVY. Thankfully, I am immuned to it, but Robert is not. It can be really nasty for him if he mows over a patch of it.

Lastly, I discovered this well-used animal home burrowed beneath a cactus:

A home to something furry or scaly? I'll be returning to this spot often in the hopes of finding my original prey - rattlesnakes. Why? I want to locate their closest den, often abandoned animal homes.

We have them everywhere here, so I figure it is a good idea to be aware of their hotspots so we can peacefully avoid them. Last week one came up to the main lodge here, so now I am curious, alert, and hunting.

 To be continued . . .