Hunting

Now is the time for hunting. Out here, this is a big deal. Every since my husband was invited to a hunt a couple of years ago after he became disabled, it has been a hobby of his. This means I don't see much of him, but that is ok. He needs to feel useful and enjoy himself when he can.

Celebrations

Yesterday, Pop (the grand leader of the Cottle clan) celebrated his 81st birthday. As I was thinking of his celebration I rejoiced that the Lord brought him into my life. Not only is he a good father, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather he is also a great in law!

It is very seldom in this life that you find people outside of your own family that you feel so close to that you consider them your own blood. Even greater is when the feeling is reciprocated. There are many times that you don't feel close to some of your own blood family, so when you find this unique relationship, it is exceptionally special. With Pop, I feel this way. I know in my heart that I am more than just a granddaughter in law, I am his granddaughter. I know this because of the way he treats me. There isn't just the civil pleasantries that most of us share. It is much deeper. When he hugs me, he hugs me as if he doesn't want to let go. It is as if he is trying to tell me just how much he loves me. When he tells me he loves me, I can see in his eyes that he means it. There is no hidden agenda, no malice, no basic tolerance-just true affection. I can honestly say that this feeling is mutual and I am grateful to have this special relationship where we talk, share and are open with each other knowing that whatever the outcome we have each other.

And so, as I prepare for our dinner out for a private celebration, I rejoice that I have Pop in my life! I an thankful that just as the Lord painted this wonderfully unique sky, he blessed this unique relationship. Happy Birthday Pop, I love you!

Cuash

Cuash-(k oo a sh) A cross pollination of cucumbers and squash.

These are from our very own garden, which is finally starting to die down. We are currently only growing squash, cuash, cucumbers, okra, c antelope, watermelons and finally some jalapeño peppers! I am very excited about the peppers, but am sad that our zucchini isn't still growing and we finished the last of our corn tonight too. We did get some pumpkins in the ground though that might make for some tasty holiday treats!

Well, we are grateful for any and all food that the Lord blessed us with in our garden this year. I forsee many many years of gardening ahead of us.

Pickles

Our Gardens are overflowing! We are so thankful for the blessing of raising our own food. Not only does it help with the groceries but it also has been great for our summer science botany studies with the boys. For those new to the blog, we home school our kiddos. With the baby and moving in this last fall, we failed to get history and science lessons done so they are doing them this summer. As it turns out we are studying botany this year and the gardens have really helped with that. Or maybe the lessons helped with the garden? Who knows, who cares-it's all good!

So, we have come to the point that we have cucumbers out our ears and even after cutting them back we are still picking a 5 gal bucket every few days. Well, obviously we cannot eat that many so we have decided to allow the boys to start a veggie cart in town where they can sell the excess to raise money for a go cart they want. Even still, I think it is time to learn how to make pickles. Did you know it takes 3 weeks to turn a cucumber into a pickle? Pickles anyone?

Erosion

So the rains came down, and the floods came up-literally! Here you see the back side of our largest tank at the ranch. I was unable to get all of the wash in one photo so I have taken a series of photos to show just how massive the rains have been lately.

Last night we received 5 in., Yesterday 2 in. and I am unsure how much before.
I am sure of what we saw this morning as we rode around checking it out.

First up, we see our large tank. Last summer this tank's size was increased in both diameter and depth to collect more water due to the drought of the last 5+years. The first photo shows the backside of the dam built.

As you can see it is significantly more full than it was before the spring rains.





These photos show the backflow tank designed for the large tank.











You can see how quickly the water was still flowing 5 hrs after the rains halted.













The big tank wasn't the only one running over. The little tank next to our house has not only filled, but has backed up to our yard.
The water came very close to flooding our workshop. With more rain in the forcast this is a distinct possiblility. We are bracing for the worst, yet all the while rejoicing in the abundant rain.

Finally, I wanted to show one of the roads.
Today we find ourselves water bound to a stretch of about 2 miles as we have a creek on either side of us that have both washed out the roads.





On one side of the road you can see how the creek has overtaken the fields. This is the high side of the same road.







This is the low side . The water was deep and fast. So you can see that our blessed rain has allowed for some fun exploration and a great excuse to take photos.

Sustenance

With the abundance of rain filling our tanks, we decided it was time to plant a garden.
Well, we started one and found that it quickly became much too small. So, we ended up planting a second one of the same size.

Among the foods we planted are: Cucumbers, Carrots, lettuce, corn, okra, beans, tomatoes, watermelon, squash, Jalapenos,and zucchini. To spice up our lives we also planted onions, lavender, rosemary, and thyme. We are looking forward to our upcoming grub, but at the moment we only have tomatoes blooming.

Visitors

Last night as we opened our front door to let one of the dogs in, we found 3 baby mud robins who appeared dazed and unable to get to their nest. We decided that it was too late at night for these sweet things to stay outside without the safety of their nest, so we took them in and Jeremiah made a cage for them. They rested peacefully through the night.

The boys are so very excited, as our oldest son has wanted a pet bird for a long time. He is going to have to come to the realization that we must set them free. It is nice to have visitors, especially such unique ones. The great thing about visitors, though, is that they come and then they go. Just enough time is spent to enjoy each other and not enough to feel captive! So, we will be saying good-bye to our newly found friends and wish them all the best on their travels!

Red

So, I decided it is time for a new color.

Just as there was a lot of purple there is a lot of red around here.

Some is strangely unique and dangerous
while some border on exotic

The color to be found here is simply remarkable whether hidden in a crevice or boldly displayed.

Life

So tiny, so fragile are these little eggs

hidden so well in the grass.
Great care and love went into their nest
hoping that danger shall pass.

A symbol of life, of new beginnings
this solitary egg may be.
Yet to the mother bird, it is seen
as her precious baby.So she builds her nest wherever she finds
seclusion on this great earth.
She takes her time to ensure it's safe
for she knows her cargo's worth.

She lays her eggs with their thin shell
into her woven nest.
She keeps them warm till the time is near
and lets her body rest.She protects her eggs while she waits
Keeping an eye on prey.
Swooping on those who come too close
in an attempt to keep them at bay.

Finally, the eggs bring forth life
and a song the mother hears.
A sound so sweet she hopes to hear
for many, many years.

Sky

It is amazing what you can see out here at the ranch if you just look up. The sunsets seem to last for hours out here without the tall buildings to obstruct our view.

Tonights walk began about 8PM and the sun was still setting a half hour later looking something like this:















and a bit later like this.












And finally, we said good-night to our beloved flag and the sky.






The sky isn't just beautiful at night either. There is something new to see every day:

From large looming solo clouds...







to unusually compounded "egg-crate" shaped ones.





But, sadly, I have yet to get a photo of the sunrise. I have seen it though and it spectacular! One day I will not be on a baby's schedule again and can get up for my morning coffee with the sun rising as my tapestry to examine. But until then I will leave you with a different piece of art that is truly amazing not only for it's symbolism; but also it's rarity. Enjoy! One day I will also invest in a nice camera so that these photos are better.

Creatures

All God's Creatures Big and Small! Here are a few of the critters we find around the ranch these days. This is our "little horse" as we refer so lovingly to our red Dobe. He is quite majestic in appearance and his gait greatly resembles that of a horse. He is well loved!


The little dog is our "Lady" although she thinks she rules the roost, she appears to be "David" from the Biblical story, David and Goliath, when she runs next to our "little horse".




We also have the "big girls" which consist of a black and rust Dobe and a black lab mix. So, we definitely have the Canines covered out here.


As for other domestic animals, we have a four felines that are learning what life is like to be wildcats after living in the comfort of our previous home in San Antonio. They have adjusted well but it is rather difficult to get photos of them.
We have a dozen or so cattle with several babies and one old horse. It is a small herd, but they are thriving well. We have lost only one calf that was born prematurely this year and we only have one cow that hasn't dropped her calf yet. After changing bulls and having a dry spell, it is nice to see some babies again!

Now for the fun stuff!
Ok so maybe these aren't THAT fun! The ants are in full force. The rain has helped them travel and spread all over. We have so many fire ants that I hate being outside too much.








The red ants as seen to the right aren't so bad but they are definitely multiplying!

As we venture outdoors, there are many sites to be seen if you take the time to look close enough. Here are a few.



From the "shady leaf, or stalk" ...








to the great sky above, we find His creatures here below.









Some creatures are mildly dangerous...






while others are quite delicate.








Some are protected by a hard shell...




while others find protection in the trees. Or at least they hope to find it there, much to the chagrin of our dogs.

Water

Around here water is a treasured commodity, one which allows ranchers to do many things. The water we get comes in many forms.


Downpours as you can see here are fast and furious. This shows the water as it is coming off the corner of our house during a recent downpour. Now, these are good things since they cause running water that is filtered into the tanks to help the livestock.




We also get water in the form of hail. Hail also comes in many sizes.




As you can see in these pictures we have some very small, dime sized hail. But even our hail is sporadic and hard to forecast.






And then we get the nice steady rains that help the grass to grow and flowers to bloom. The kids get excited about it all!



Water is always welcome and vital to the way of life around here. From the morning dew to a downpour, water is on every one's minds and in many prayers around here.