Rain Play and Recipes

What do you do on a rainy day in Texas after a drought??? Play and bake and eat, of course! 

Our Early Dad’s Day Celebration

Make Way for the Horns

Life Goes On

As we move from spring to summer, we've had several milestone happenings here as well as the company of many creatures from the lofty to the creepy kind - all good though!

Painted buntings are back in Central Texas!

Robert is back to serving behind the badge!

A mother and father barn swallow tag-team to care for their young.

Doodle bug apocalypse due to dryness outside - these things have "gills" and need moisture. Good luck, little guys.

Our oldest son, Landon, with our grandbabies, Chelsea and Grant, and a first annual picnic!

A toad on our dirt road. 

A toad at the dog kennels just minutes later - it's the creepy crawly season.

A cicada freshly emerged from its former carcass. 

A scoripon combing the walls at night surely looking for water like the invading doodle bugs. I sprayed it. 

Our youngest son, David, here with his good friend, Zach, before departing to Oregon to be a wild-land firefighter through October. Valla con Dios! 

Fresh Summer Buzz Cuts

All Decked Out Till the Cows Came Home

We have been busy here on the Star Ranch with many good things from rebuilding a deck to cattle care to, of course, family fun with good food and celebrations - Mother's Day, birthdays, and just plain hanging out and enjoying God's creation. I'm going to try to capture some of it here in pictures for posterity!

Cliches are cliches for a reason: cows coming home.

A sunrise at the Star Ranch

Robert strategizing

David working on a farm in Fegersheim, France

The beautiful star butterfly garden

A new perspective for me

A nonvenomous regular out here and an appreciated creature considering the alternatives

Texas nettle

The beauty here is regularly astounding but especially in the spring

Progress

Time to paint

Another perfect sunrise

One of several rainbows we witnessed here recently

Chelsea's prized basil plant - grown from seed

Our handsome Grant

Landon with the grandbabies on the pond - aka "tank"in these parts

Chelsea learning to serve Daddy lunch

Chelsea helping us with groundskeeping at the lodge

Chelsea hearing bullfrogs - She was so smitten with their voluminous calls and how she could not see a single one! 

Chelsea and Grandma (me) looking at the colors of the sunset. She actually saw more colors than me. Hmm. 

Grandpa, Grandma (behind the camera), Daddy, Chelsea, and Grant waving to the MS150 cyclists on their last 8 miles

A lone mockingbird - our state bird

Finally done

Yet another rainbow - why, yes, it is all rainbows and unicorns sometimes.

Robert's creation for our home with the scrap wood from the deck

Grant getting handy with a screwdriver

Grant hard at work at his new work bench

David's back from France!

Dandelion honey from David and France

Robert's video of something very much "National Geo-GRAPHICesque" - two rat snakes 

Every sunrise is good - even on a foggy morning

Josh, our official Star Ranch Photo Bomber

Again, Josh

Robert's side project - to build this

Again, Josh - and competing with the sprinkler at that - wow. 

Gifts from our four red sexton hen friends

This picture was taken on Mother's Day night and I could not help notice that this mother barn swallow is always closely guarded by this father barn swallow. 

A very fat quail running out from under David's shack - time for the comeback

Our family -xo David, Robert, Landon (top), MawMaw, Christie, PawPaw 

Belle - our sweet senior girl - ending the day the cool way

Chelsea riding her  birthday gift from Daddy - a new bike

Grant inherits Chelsea's old walking bike

Tom, our giant family feline -  so much fun

Is it just me or do these look like they are a captive audience? Astounding. 

The grandbabies color up the inside of a packing box from birthday girl's recent bedding delivery

Chelsea is officially moved in to this box. She kept asking us to close it. 

Precious moment with Grandpa

Grant talking up a storm with Grandpa

Lolita, our ratcha, does NOT like thunderstorms.

Old Josh is still at it! 

This is a season of many birthdays in our home - PawPaw, Landon, Chelsea, and David!