Play Day

Every soul needs a play day. We are celebrating ours with a first time to worship at a beautiful cathedral in Austin, to eat double portions at Iron Cactus and to be accompanied by a pigeon missing part of its left leg - as well as a clever grackle who has lost his manners. :) 

Post-Guest Chore Day 2

Our priceless helpers . . . 

Chore 1 - cushion cleaning and 

stacking and

storing and

draining and 

bird mess removing. 

Chore 2 - remove the quail that didn't make it and

reward our helpers so there is no waste.

Chore 3 - bag quali and

seal the juices with a folded paper towel and

vacuum seal all and

repeat until all 200 or so are 

freezer ready.

Clean the sinew, stray feathers, lungs and other undesirables 

from each quail, one pot full at a time while listening to good music and enjoying eachother's company.

Stack them to dry a bit before bagging. 

Chore 4 - Do 12-14 loads of love in between the other chores and thank God for such peaceful work that has immediate and visible results. :) Sleeping well tonight . . . 

Mission Successful

After a three day marathon of guiding hunts and a couple hundred cleaned quail quail later, it's a hallelujah and a high  five time for these guides. Good job, Robert and Landon! Thank you, Lord, for keeping all safe.

Game On

With the owners and several guests arriving at the ranch tomorrow to lodge, eat, and hunt here - it's time for preparations that can only be done the day before. This year both sons were here to help us on this epic day-before prep day, which helped much since we had our three usual surprise mishaps:

#1 the heaters in two cabins not working despite testing them for a month prior #2 the accelerator on the hunting truck suddenly not working #3 our maid being unavailable due to a family emergency.

The good news is that we have done this enough seasons now that we knew this was coming and were half way prepared. As anyone who lives long enough knows, trouble comes in threes - and as any seasoned caretakers know, it comes the day before the guests arrive. 

The solution? Divide and conquer. Robert took care of the heat and accelerator problems while our sons washed trucks, cleaned kennels, tended to dogs and quail, and completed other random chores. 

Meanwhile, I mopped decks, wiped outdoor furniture, cleaned the outdoor kitchen, and swept and mopped the pavillion floor. The senior ranch foreman and his wife will touch up the cabins in place of the maid. We truly are a family out here. 

Part of the joy is seeing the owners and their guests enjoy the ranch, secretly knowing the many behind-the-scenes efforts of our combined forces to make it possible. 

Titus 2:11-14

"For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men,

12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world,

13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." ~Titus 2:11-14

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Merry Christmas!

Grandpa's Lil Helper

Last week we had the pleasure of enjoying our first grandgirl, Chelsea, hanging out and helping on the ranch. Besides her natural joyful disposition, one of the neatest things about her is her love of nature and her lack of fear. She is our joy! 

Driving to feed the cows -

First, we feed our friend, a young bull that's been sick - got him in seclusion -

Next, we feed the pretty heifers in the pasture across the street -

Now, we have to park and walk to the creek to see if they've been crossing here  or not - still wet from the floods - 

Chelsea says, "Wait! Where's Grandma?!" :)

Now back across the street and to drive the back roads to feed the other herd - 

Now to fill feeders for our deer friends -

Chelsea likes the surprise sounds and sprays of the feeder shooting corn -

On to another feeder - darn pigs got to this one - Grandpa will have to come back to rebuild -

A perfect way to put our precious lil grandgirl to sleep for naptime -