Sage Creek Ranch - Wildlife Record

Hot Days in June

2011-06-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

We're already at the hot part of summer - it seems like just a few weeks ago we were complaining about how cold it was here still. Ah well, each season moves forward.

This past week, as we've been wandering SCR, we've seen a snake skin (below); caught flowers in their last bloom; found a new reptile that we haven't seen before; and simply enjoyed the beauty of the earth.

We were happy to see the little painted bunting below enjoying himself at our feeder.

Enjoy life.

My lilies on the patio finally bloomed!

Kinda hard to see, but this is the shed snake skin Tim found

Anyone know what kind of lizard this is?

Beauty of the Day

2011-05-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

We were out for a stroll across Sage Creek Ranch the other day. These are some of the sites we regularly see on our journey.

First we saw this little creature walking right next to our path. We think he and his family (and cousins and their families) live in our ponds.

Tried to catch his head before he pulled it all the way back in

Then we came across this beautiful butterfly. His colors are so striking.

The little bee was a great bonus.

We've planted more thistle (in addition to what grows naturally) as it attracts all kinds of creatures to our property.

Some of the fields of thistle

We honor our fallen servicemen and women today and give thanks for their sacrifice for our freedom. Enjoy your freedom today!

Song Birds

2011-05-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year - Songbird time! We do a number of things inside our wildlife certification to attract and retain songbirds on our property. Here are some of the cardinals and goldfinches we are seeing recently.

Sage Creek Ranch is truly lovely at this time of year. It is delightful and so nurturing to have land that takes care of us like this. We are completely grateful for the opportunity to steward this space.

It cactus blooming time!

2011-05-06T13:24:00.001-05:00

The puppy's - pink ones and white ones - are blooming

2011-05-06T13:22:00.000-05:00

A new oak grows to replace those we lost last week

2011-05-06T13:21:00.000-05:00

We wanted to have a photo of all the green grass

2011-05-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

So that when it's gone in a month or so, we'll remember.

2011-04-23T11:37:00.000-05:00

The first tulips are blooming!!

Ranch Updates

2011-04-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day at Sage Creek Ranch. We're in that time of year when things are blooming, the temps are fabulous, the birds are singing and all is well.

These are the promised before/after pics of the tree clearing we did to promote and encourage our wildlife.

Before:

After:

The photo above is of the big pile of trees and debris from the clearing.

This photo (below) is before Tim planted the grasses.

This next photo is of the grasses coming in after the seeding:

Unfortunately, we discovered that some daisies that Tim had bought at Home Depot came home with Carpet Beetles. After reading up on these critters, I wasn't happy with Home Depot. If these things get in the house, they are very difficult to remove and they eat every kind of fabric (and well as a host of other things). I got the 4 plants out of the garden asap and Tim sprayed (although spray isn't supposed to really help much, I thought it would be better than doing nothing).

However, even with the pests, it IS spring and the Indian Paintbrushes are beginning to bloom.

Yesterday's Garden

2011-04-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Beautiful roses. Until today and we discovered both mealy bugs and carpet beetles. Ugh. It's too early in the season to begin our skirmishes with the mealy bugs.

Oh happy day

2011-04-02T21:20:00.000-05:00

Feedin' the catfish at pond 1 (gonna have to create a better name than that).

Feeding the deer

2011-04-02T21:19:00.001-05:00

Tim has some regular spots where he leaves some delish corn kernels for the deer. It's always gone when he comes back...

Feeding the catfish in the far pond

2011-04-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

There aren't many of the catfish left in the ponds right now - the water is so low. And when we had all the rain last fall, we think the bigs ones made a run back to the big lake on the overflow water.

Oh Happy Day

2011-04-02T21:15:00.002-05:00

Oh Happy Day

2011-04-02T21:15:00.001-05:00

(I'm trying uploading to our blog from my phone - haven't done this before!)

We did some work around the ranch today for our Wildlife Certification.

The weather was perfect and the day was glorious!

A long time gone

2011-03-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone -I've been gone from our blog for a long time now. A lot has happened in that time here on Sage Creek Ranch.

Tim has done some major work on the land. One of the changes was to clear quite a bit - a few acres. This change has modified the landscape to allow different birds and animals nesting (and hiding) space. In these areas, it's now like walking in a park rather than the woods. It's really lovely.

Lots of trees have been cut and/or cut down entirely to create the space. We have a huge pile of tree debris that I'll post later.

Although much of the land still looks similar. For example, no changes have been made to the pond at this time. Just behind the pond is the picnic area with tables and a fire pit. It's also a nice camping spot. We had some friends here for a bachelor party just last weekend.

And, one other new feature is the spa tub. Tim and I gave this to ourselves for the holidays last year. We use it almost daily. We love our tub in the woods and under the stars.

Sightings!

2010-09-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

We've had some fun over the past week or so. We saw two does and their fawns last weekend in the field eating. And then yesterday, we had two hawks circling over our heads as we sat on our patio having a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me, so we have no photos of those events.

However, a couple of months ago we went walking through all 55 acres. The butterflies were out; the clover was blooming; the Allium was blooming and life was good. Here is what we saw:

The cart trail to the guest house and barn

The field on the 25 acre parcel. This is where we'll disk and prepare to throw down bird seed. This is where we saw the deer.

This woods is between the field and our little house.

The original stock pond. View from where we thought we'd build a house, but where we'll now focus our wildlife feeding and viewing efforts.

Our boys and the neighbor dogs out for a romp in the wildflowers.

The pond is about 3ft lower than this right now - it's August in Texas and the water disappears fast.

And the butterflies were out in full force during this particular walk...

Wildlife

2010-08-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

One of the activities we do to encourage wildlife is to purposely build possible habitats for the wild creatures we share the land with. So, instead of our woods looking park-like - no messy underbrush for example - we need to strategically place the underbrush (or overbrush or beside-the-brush) so that animals have safe spaces to hide from their predators. We've got several now in the yard by the house. These are some of them.

It may be difficult to see, but I've trimmed all the trees in the yard so that we can enjoy the beauty of the woods as well.

As Time Goes By

2010-08-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

Yes - it's been a long time. I haven't been home much in the past several months and the pictures I've taken of the ranch have been languishing in a digital folder somewhere, forgotten. Until today.

On Saturday morning I took Evee for a walk. It was hot. About 108F. Amazing there is anything alive in the yard at those temps - but these flowers look fresh and beautiful. There isn't much else blooming (Or growing for that matter).

The sumacs are doing their thing, even in the heat.

Evee and I took a walk with the boys. This is the summer driveway both "up" and "down".

I love our driveway... always have

Photos upload slowly from the hotel.. so more in a few days.

Gone Fishin'

2010-05-05T23:05:00.000-05:00

Jay, Jeff, Tim, me and Lily did a little fishin' last Sunday on our pond and on our neighbor's pond. Okay, I didn't do any fishing this time and neither did Lily, but we were busy entertaining each other.

The fields are blooming with paintbrush right now and are just beautiful. We haven't had as many other wildflowers blooming this spring as we usually do and I miss them.

Jeff and Jason did the bulk of the fishing. Jeff hated fishing when he was a kid. When I asked what changed his view, he said that no one ever told him fishing was just an excuse to sit in a chair and drink beer. Once he found that out, he was hooked.

We've had lots of bees this year - and we're glad to see them.

Lily's feet hurt in her boots, so she took them off (well, she fussed until one of us took them off for her, but it's all the same, right?)

This fishing set-up, below. Shermie was protecting everyone from attackers that might get us while we were facing the pond.

This is the first keeper fish of the day - but he's a big one. Catfish. Given the drought a couple of years ago, we didn't think any of what we'd stocked in our pond was still there. But the catfish were definitely there.

Jay practices "catch & release" on this little guy.

We went to the neighbor's pond to haul out some of their big ole' catfish. They have some grandaddys in there.

By this time, Lily was getting kinda tired.

She sat in the chair and just played with a little bag.

These were some of the big guys caught.

All-in-all, the catch that day was probably about 15 - 20 pounds of fillets.

All done. On our way back to the house.

It is amazing to have our own pond to fish in. And going home with pounds and pounds of fresh, farm-raised catfish to eat is a great feeling.

Around the Ranch

2010-05-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

Ms. Gray decided to have her kittens this past Wednesday. She had 4 little babies that look pretty much exactly like her, but they seem to have a little bit of a stripe. There are a couple of boys and a couple of girls. Very sweet. She had them on the deck in the back of a somewhat broken ceramic vase/pot. It's perfect place for them. More pictures as they grow each week. We'll keep at least two of them, but the other two are available for adoption to a loving home.

This weekend was "deadheading" weekend. Meaning the roses had to be deadheaded. This is before their trim. There were massive blooms everywhere - the scent as we walked out the front door was heavenly. This is our third year with the rose garden and it's looking great. Because of the mealy-bug infestation last year (although they didn't get the roses), we've been putting Neem on everything in the garden since the first green shoots starting growing.

I had a huge wheelbarrow full of rose petals that had been trimmed. Because of the spiders (I saw a couple of Black Widows while I was trimming) and because of the Neem, I decided not to keep the petals for sachets. Also - there were so many I would have had pillow cases full of petals, not pretty little sachet packets.

Post trim. What's left are the roses that have just bloomed and the buds that haven't yet opened. I didn't take any off this time for cut flowers as I won't be home to enjoy them. I figured Tim would enjoy them more in the garden than in the kitchen.

And we started to have our first crop of Strawberries!!! Yum!!! Right now we get a bowl full this size each day. By the end of the season, we're going to have to be making strawberry pies and preserves to use them all!

Roses Galore!

2010-04-21T23:56:00.000-05:00

The roses are about to burst forth with so much energy - there are probably a hundred buds ready to pop open!

I'm missing my rose garden this week while I'm in Calgary.

This rose bush has my favorite colored roses on it. Although the color seems to change each season. They were originally a two-toned orange. Sometimes they come in looking pink now.

This is one of the two-toned that looks pink (below)

What delights have you discovered lately?

The Orchids

2010-04-14T23:07:00.000-05:00

All three of my indoor orchids are blooming! They are gorgeous right now. I love the Orchid Shop in Richardson where I bought two of these plants.

I've transplanted two of them - Gunter at the shop in Richardson told me that they should be transplanted every year. I lost one last year - not sure if it was due to the transplant or some other issue, so I've been reluctant to transplant the third one.

I often think about buying Orchids when I see them at the grocery or Costco. But then I remember the love and care I saw Gunter give them and the hundreds of orchids flourishing at his shop and I think

"no - I'll wait until Gunter has his annual Orchid show and buy them from him".

What's one of your passions?

It's allergy season!

2010-04-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

I loved the texture of these leaves budding...

Well, it's that time of year again. We have had some might weird weather this year... we went right from snow to allergy season. Only a day or two in between.

However, we are loving the temps even though our eyes are watering and we are sneezing...

Tim is thinking that these bushes are called "Redbuds" - anybody know?

I took these shots a few days ago, and these little pods are already in full-leaf bloom.

I love using the macro lens.

Enjoy the day!

Spring is Blooming

2010-03-30T13:49:00.000-05:00

The weather is finally getting gorgeous here.

Everything (almost) is starting to bloom. There are a few things not quite blooming yet, and I'm a little concerned that some of our plants (like the lime tree) might have perished over our very odd winter.

This is from one of the thousands of Oaks on the property. Couldn't believe how velvety the tiny little petals were.

Can never remember the name of this bush - but it just looks pink and red

all over from a distance. It is a surprise when you walk up to

one and see these delicate, precious flowers that make

up the overall showiness of the bush.

This looked like a "flora" butterfly to me. About ready to fly away. The sturdiness of the buds impressed me. They are hardy, ready to burst into their next stage.

And, for some strange reason, they looked very happy.

(There's probably some scientific study that proves that when I'm happy, everything around me seems happier - or maybe IS happier - as well)

Of course, I can't leave out the dogwoods.

Wow - what a fragrance!

They are blooming all over the property right now.

I want to move some around and see if we can get even more of a springtime show from them.

And, now that this posting is up, I'll go do some springtime weeding and bed cleaning.

Enjoy however spring is showing herself in your neighborhood!

The Finches are Back!

2010-03-17T18:56:00.001-05:00

The Goldfinches are back! I haven't seen the Purple Finches yet... but I'm hoping it'll be soon. They aren't really purple, but a beautiful, deep red.

They've been out there all day - mostly three and four at a time. They love this particular food - it's just something inexpensive from the feed store, but they are happy with it anyway.

I had fun shooting with the telephoto lens. Although these are shot through a window. They birds don't tend to come if I sit on the deck nearest the feeder.

I loved this fellow's downy appearing feathers - and their color!

We've also had quite a few Cardinals. The Cardinals are here all winter, but in the winter we don't see as many females. I noticed yesterday that the females are back in full force.

Caught this guy with food on his face!

Look at the outstanding coloring on his back feathers!

Spring is beginning

2010-03-09T12:51:00.000-06:00

The great affair, the love affair with life,
is to live as variously as possible,
to groom one's curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred,
climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sun-struck hills every day.

Where there is no risk, the emotional terrain is flat and unyielding,
and, despite all its dimensions, valleys, pinnacles, and detours,
life will seem to have none of its magnificent geography, only a length.

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery,
but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

~ Diane Ackerman ~

("found poetry" from A Natural History of the Senses)

Skunked!

2010-02-27T17:23:00.000-06:00

We must have a family of skunks (or maybe a few families of skunks) living in the yard, because this is the second time this week Humphrey and Sherman have had a new odor to them. The first time was just a slight whiff, a slight fragrance - almost laughable really.

But on Thursday evening, it was no longer laughable. Humphrey must have been sprayed within maybe about 20 feet - the good news was that he wasn't sprayed directly (we went camping with friends one time in Minnesota. Their dog went skunk chasing and was sprayed up close and personal. That was unbearable. Humphrey was nothing like that). However, Shermie must have not been too far away, because he had that same bitter, nose-pinching scent in his hair.

If you've met Humphrey and Shermie, you know that their hair is several inches long and is very thick. Ugh. Baths are a real pain in the... but Tim was up to the task today and at least the weather cooperated.

Humphrey gets his bath in the big tub Tim got from an auction from a school or hospital that used them for people - we've also used this tub ourselves when in need of a big bathtub.

Although now, I'm not so sure I'll want to do that again.

Tim used a combination of Hydrogen Peroxide, Dishsoap and Baking Soda.

Sherman must be... er... ah... secured while he waits for his bath. He doesn't mind the bath once we catch him...

And since it was such a nice day, Morty got to spend some time in his outside condo. It's really his summer home, but we let him open it up for the season a little early. He's been having cabin fever lately.

Weather... the final installment for now

2010-02-21T21:52:00.000-06:00

I was uploading these photos yesterday when the electricity went out... lost all the work. ugh. Hate it when that happens...

I thought we were over our snow here in Dallas - it is mid-Feb after all. This is the time when a number of our plants start to bud. But I hear we're supposed to have more snow day after tomorrow... I hope that's not right.

Here're some of the shots of Sage Creek Ranch in our record snow fall.

The poor roses were completely covered...

The trees bent over double with the weight...

The patio looked like an ice skating rink....

One of my favorite shots - just looking up into the trees in the backyard...

The clothesline hasn't gotten a lot of use recently...

Our front yard...and the pavilion looks like a Minnesota cabin...

Not a lot of golfing gettin' done here.

Goin' down the driveway...

Weather...Weather...Weather, next installment

2010-02-16T11:25:00.000-06:00

After the rain came the freeze... (although there was some sunshine...)

This was the little bit of sun.

But then I noticed that the standing water was frozen...

Leaves and such stuck in the frozen water in the potholes of the driveway...

I liked this one...

and then it snowed.

Weather...Weather...Weather, in the beginning

2010-02-14T22:34:00.000-06:00

Each day brings such dramatic changes, I haven't been able to keep up! So here's what's it's been looking like around here lately...

So, in the beginning it rained. And it rained. And it rained. And it was cold.

There were puddles everywhere. The driveway potholes got bigger. Ponds formed where there were none.

Water settled in every non-flat space.

Fortunately, the garden is (mostly) dormant, so the flooding didn't take out any blooming or growing plants.

There was mud and muck on everything. The dogs aren't white any more, they are a parchment yellowy color (and it isn't pretty).

The next chapter in the book on the weather in Tioga, Texas is due out shortly. Stay tuned.

A rolling stone gathers no...

2010-01-30T11:47:00.000-06:00

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss (I think), so we must not have any rolling stones here at Sage Creek Ranch. Today's post is about moss, lichen and fungi.

Before I talk about the photos, a little riff on what it took to upload them. I am using a new version (the beta) for Adobe LightRoom 3 to catalog and play with my photos. Two issues - the first is that I had never used LR2 - so I didn't know what I was doing or how to really utilize the program. The second is that for some reason, it takes an inordinate amount of time to process even one photo. Sigh. These photos were taken yesterday morning (before the snow fell), but it's taken me until today to figure out the presets, how to save, where to find them once I have, how to get them uploaded to the blog (because the program put them in a different format than the one the blog likes). All that said however, I really like LR3 beta. It does a gorgeous job.

This is some sort of mushroom. It is bright orange - especially against the rainy, dark sky. I've only seen it growing on dead wood.

I loved the stone below because of all the kinds of lichen and the variety of color... (the color is un-retouched in the photo).

All of these shots are within .5 miles of the house... with the rain and the damp, the beautiful lichen is everywhere! When we lived in Minnesota, I never pictured Texas as "green" - but there is a lot more green than I could have imagined here in the Cross Timbers region. We love it here.

Dead things are especially good for sprouting some lichen.

This is my favorite photo of the bunch - a little bouquet of lichen inside the lichen. And some of the lichen has died - but look at the beauty of the tree bark as well. The deep green lichen looks like little stars.

This moss always looks like hair to me.

This tree trunk has been growing lichen since we moved here in '06 - sometimes it's a little greener than at other times, but it always has some sort of moss on it.

I haven't taken any photos since the snow fell yesterday, but they'll be coming.

Oh - the bird feeders got filled the other day and the cardinals and chickadees have started coming back, so there'll be some new photos of our flocks shortly.

Find some awe-inspiring beauty to behold today.

iBird South

2010-01-19T23:17:00.000-06:00

Oh yes! Just purchased this to support our efforts to find and catalog the birds that we're attracting to share the land with us! Loving it! (This is an iPhone App).

Creating Habitats

2010-01-19T19:24:00.000-06:00

I know - it's been forever since I've posted. My daughter is threatening to take my blog off her posted "favorites" unless I post more often. I guess I could threaten to stop posting AT ALL... But it would help motivate me (you know, a little peer pressure ) if there were more 'followers' - so if you haven't clicked the "follow" box in the middle of the right hand column, just go ahead and do that now...

Really though, I just need to get out on the land more often. The truth is I just haven't wanted to go out and take pictures in what has been an unseasonably cold winter here. Really. Having mostly grown up in Minnesota, you'd think the cold here in Texas wouldn't be any issue at all. Nope. It's too darn cold here for me lately. I like 50's and 60's (well, 70's are the best, but I'll take 50's and 60's in the winter).

We've been at work on building our wildlife refuge here at Sage Creek Ranch. There are a number of things to do to create an attractive habitat for the animals here. The wildlife here consists of deer, turkey, squirrels, rabbits, quail, dove, songbirds, raptors, red and gray fox, coyote, bobcat, raccoon, wild hogs, opossum, armadillo, waterfowl and various rodent, reptile and amphibian species. And, the occasional mountain lion. We haven't seen any armadillos on the land, but we've either seen all the others or their evidence.

We're in the Cross Timbers and Prairie region of Texas. It's the closest thing to Minnesota terrain we could come by...

We're very excited - we found a flock of doves have moved into the roof of our loafing shed. Unfortunately, every time I get close enough to take a photo, I startle them and they fly away. The loafing shed is now fenced, rather than open. We fenced it to house visiting dogs, but the visiting dogs tend to get spoiled and do not have to spend any time in the loafing shed. The good news is that, without any dogs, the birds are free to nest mostly undisturbed there. There're somewhere around 6-8 birds living there.

Given our commitment to encourage wildlife here, we've planted all of our fruit and vegetable gardens in containers. That way, we minimize any runoff. Although we only use organic fertilizers and sprays, so we'd probably be okay without the containers if we wanted to. Tim just got another huge load of the tall, white containers that we like for our fruit plants.

"It should be noted that no less than 40% of any given habitat be made up of heavy brush cover for optimum wildlife production" (T. Haley - 1996). We have 10% open field; 35% partial clearing; 5% ponds/ tanks/ streams/ wetlands; 50% heavy cover.

However, it's important as we continue to clear some of the brush and the unwanted vegetation that we build up areas of ground cover for the rabbits, quail, turkey and small mammals. The photos below show some of the areas where we've intentionally put brush for the animals.

In this photo, you can see some of the cutting that's getting done. The cutting makes the area more park-like for the humans and gives more sunlight to the plants that will feed the animals we're looking to attract.

We need to pay attention to this particular area of ground cover. It's important to watch how much cover is easily combustible - so Tim frequently turns the branches; picks up the ones that would make good fire wood and adds new twigs and branches.

We are also working at attracting additional songbirds. This is one of the feeders we have placed around the ranch. As you can see, the birds have eaten every bit of the food!

Walking around, looking at the front garden, I noticed that we're having a bit of an early spring. Almost all of the plants have little blooms, like the yellow rose below.

Below is a view of the park-like area that the girls and I started cleaning out last fall (Betty's birthday party was a fabulous excuse to get out there and clean up the woods) and Tim has been continuing to clear it to fill our firewood needs.

You'll note though, that the baby swing is empty. It needs grandchildren.

Merry After-Christmas!

2009-12-28T10:48:00.009-06:00

What a lovely Christmas season it's been this year! We've had beautiful, white snow; we've had ice - we've had a winter here in north Texas!

Of course, I'm ready for it to be over now (that's why we live in Texas now rather than our former home state of Minnesota!).

We had a wonderful Christmas day - and my orchid chose that particular morning to send up its first bloom of the season.

I'm demo-ing a new set of plug-ins for my photo editing software (thanks OnOne!) So far, I really like them. I'll probably be trying some new things out in the photos I post here.

Yesterday the boys and I took a little tour with the camera to see what we could see in our cold and frozen yard. Humphrey tried to take a drink from their "watering dish" (yes, unfortunately, my fountain is the perfect height for a watering dish for the dogs). Too bad for him, it was frozen over.

The bench hasn't been sat in for quite a while now. Well, maybe the cats have been sitting in it.

I'm surprised at how much snow there is still. Usually the snow melts in no more than one day here. But not this time. This morning it was only 25 degrees. The pipes in our pavilion froze (okay, we don't really have pipes. We have a hose that's connected to the faucets in the pavilion and the outside of the house -- but still, it does provide running water) so we didn't have any running water out there on Christmas. Fortunately, the heating units worked wonderfully and even without water, we were toasty and roasty between the fireplace and the heaters.

It's time to get back out the book for wildlife management and see what there is to do to prepare for the coming year.

Humphrey, Louise and Sherman

Happy New Year!

reTreat Day for Women - Nov 8th

2009-11-11T10:50:00.007-06:00

Last Sunday, we hosted reTreat Day (for women) at Sage Creek Ranch. I've been thinking for a while that people needed more time in quiet solitude (or at least I know I need to take that time - and take it deliberately. The truth is that living out here, I get lots of quiet time. But I don't deliberately let it rejuvenate me or replenish me or nourish my soul frequently enough).

Tim and I were on a spiritual retreat about a month ago. The site the retreat was held at was near Brennan, TX. At one point Tim said to me - "You know the place we actually live is even prettier and more special than what we're enjoying here."

That got me to thinking that I could share the loveliness of our 55 acres with others for a day once in a while. Which led to inviting women to come join me on November 8th, 2009 for a day of reflection and silence.

Tim and I (mostly Tim) did some prep work for the event. Tim drew maps so people could find their way around the property and did some outside clean-up work. I enrolled Tiffany Bednar and Audra Whatley to come and offer massage and acupuncture treatments for those who wanted to enjoy body work as well as the outdoors.

The photos below are some that I captured on that day.

These stone steps led from the Pavilion to the patio. We put them in hurriedly before we hosted Betty's 75th bday party in September. I love stone.

I got these benches from my dear friend Carrie's furniture business.

The ladies relaxed both in the yard as well as in the Pavilion.

Sherman and Humphrey relaxed as well when they weren't out walking with our visitors. It was hard work to make them relax, but, as you can see here, it was achieved.

Reading, knitting, soaking up the energy of the space. Delicious

Any place makes a great spot for a nap.

Soaking in as well as sharing the sacred energy of earth.

I learned how delightful it is to share my space when I'm not having to entertain people. I didn't realize how much I 'ramp up' or generate a kind of "performing" energy when I have people to my home. People took care of themselves - had everything they needed - and I got to have community here at my home without using up all my psychic fuel doing so. This will definitely make a difference for me in any other entertaining we do here.

I've had a number of requests to include men, and so, on December 13th, reTreat day will be for People. After we do December 13th, I'll see if I want to continue an open day, go back to women only, alternate - or how I'll want to proceed.

We are entering into what is a stressful and busy season for many of us. Be sure to find time and space for silence and peace.

Dew-ly Noted

2009-11-01T16:20:00.006-06:00

Gorgeous this morning! And a happy November to you too!

I remembered my camera today. The dew was truly outstanding. It wasn't that early that the boys and I set out on our jaunt. I wouldn't have expected to see any dew since it was around 8am.

We take a walk most every morning. I like it. They like it. And Louise likes it. When I walk outside for the first time in the morning, Sherman starts dancing around. He loves "The Walk". Humphrey comes and presses his nose into my hand for his morning love. He matches his pace to mine so I'll keep petting him until he's full enough of love to walk on his own.

In the photo below, there are thousands of drops of dew that are glistening in the morning sun. It would have been easier to see if I'd had the macro lens, but unfortunately, I didn't.

The areas that look they have snow on them below are the areas still covered with the dew.

The areas most in the shade didn't have dew at all. These two shots were taken as I come out of the woods from the trail into the field. I was surprised to see the color change in the tall grasses from the pale, golden yellow they've been. In the sun they now look red. As we move into winter they'll turn gray.

Back at the house, I happened to look into the woods and realized the sun was perfectly lined up with our little rock pile of respect. We learned about these pilings when we were in Hawaii many years ago. There, they put up the stone piles as a sign of respect for their elders who've passed away.

We haven't had too many trees really turn colorful this fall. Of course, it IS Dallas area, so we shouldn't much expect that, right? However, this morning, I noticed this tree right there in the driveway - just shouting "I'VE COME OUT!".

If you live in the Dallas area, enjoy the weather today. It is completely and absolutely perfect.

Pigs Feet and iPhones

2009-10-31T14:27:00.004-05:00

I took the dogs (and the cat) for a walk this morning on the 50 acres. What a lovely morning to take a walk! It was a little chilly - only 45 F, but that's a nice temp for a brisk walk and the dogs love it at that temp. Or at least they are friskier when it's that temperature.

Ms. Louise, the grandmother cat, loves to go for a walk. It's just really odd. I've never had a cat that could tolerate doing what the dogs were doing - AND - actually seem to enjoy it. She tends to walk just off the path. I think she feels somewhat safer in the tall grass than on the exposed pathway. And, it keeps her from getting run over by the dogs. If she gets too far behind she'll meow to let me know that she's not with us and we should wait. However, I've discovered that if I stop and wait for her, she slows down her pace substantially. So, now, when I hear her meow, I tell her she needs to sprint. In the summer when it's hot, she will find a tree to sit in and just wait for us until we come back rather than sprint. But, this morning she was just like the dogs - frisky and happy to trot.

I had a thought as I was walking that I should have brought my camera with me. The mist rising from the pond was wonderful, the light was great and the colors are different than the last time we walked this path.

Then I realized I had my phone with me! I always try to carry my phone when I go for a walk. Considering all the potholes, the coyotes, the mountain lions and the hunters, it just seems prudent to carry it. And since I have a camera phone now, I realized I could take photos with that.

It does slay me to use the camera on the phone since it's nowhere near the quality of my camera, but when in a pinch, use whatcha got.

This is the front pond in the morning sun.

This is Louise determining how best to get around the water issue (without getting wet). The dogs just jumped right on through it.

Sherman was lead dog this morning and he's sitting on up on the hill waiting for us to catch up.

I was trying to capture the mist rising from the water this morning. I'm not sure the iPhone can adequately capture it.

The trail in the sunlight. The sun had just broken over the tops of the trees. Making everything glow. I sometimes forget to notice that glow - but it is truly Living Daylight.

And for the first half of our title today --- I saw fresh pig tracks. I was happy to have my iPhone with me. Considering the rain, these prints are most likely from last night or early this morning. They weren't huge, so these are probably one of the pigletts that is now growing up. But they weren't big enough for a sow, so they're most likely those of a "teenager".

In this shot, you can see them coming and going. They tend to like the trail as much as we do.

This shots shows them coming up from the lake onto our property.

This shot shows them going back into the woods and down to the lake area.

Check for pigs on your property. You never know when somethin's strange... in your neighborhood... and whooya gonna call? (In honor of Halloween today!)

Fall Color - Part I

2009-10-22T22:00:00.004-05:00

It hasn't been a beautiful day here in Tioga. It's been wet, cool and rainy. Not only are all the lakes full, but so are front yards, ditches, rain barrels and, in some cases, people's cars.

I took these photos a few days ago. The color of the flora was beautiful - although it doesn't compare with the richness of the leaves in Ottawa (where I was a couple of weeks ago), at least I didn't have to look too hard to see this colorful beauty.

Tim says the plant below is called "American Beauty". That always makes me think of that movie with Kevin Spacey that I didn't really like all that well... (okay - the acting was really good, I just didn't care for the story all that much).

I bought the rose bush below from Calloway's earlier in the season. It's a gorgeous hybrid and the color and design of the blooms was outstanding when I brought it home. Unfortunately, it didn't like its transplant (or the heat) and didn't bloom all summer. But, now it's back and just as lovely as when I bought it.

Tim thinks these are called "Pumpkin Mushrooms". They sure look like it, right? He put a quarter on the edge of this one so you could see what a monster it is. We found these on the path between the little house and the guest house.

More fall color to come - at least in my photos (and hopefully in the woods too!).

It's another rainy day...just a rainy, rainy day...

2009-10-14T14:19:00.005-05:00

A little love to Chicago for the title... and it is just another rainy day here in Tioga. And the warmth and the humidity combined make for a little supernatural beauty.

The photo below is the water that's clinging to the mite webs - mites are even smaller than most spiders, so we wouldn't even notice this web if the conditions of rain and warmth hadn't been just right. It was disconcerting though to see how many little webs were woven thru-out my garden and fruit bushes. No wonder the yield is so small this year.

I loved how the drops were standing up so perfectly at the top of the petals here.

How long do you suppose this drop can hang there, exactly like that?

I took this one because I love the color of this rose - and it hasn't bloomed in several months. I loved how the water droplets acted as a magnifying lens.

It looks like the mites have strung their Christmas lights already. Don't they know that they have to wait until AFTER Halloween?

I'm enjoying the rain and the humidity and life today.

2009-10-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

We took the boys for a walk a while ago - you can tell because these photos are sunny and we haven't had any of that for a bit now!

Sherman doesn't like getting into the water though. Humphrey on the other hand, was not happy we took off in the canoe without him, so he came with. Swimming. I wondered how far he'd actually swim to stay with us? I couldn't make myself find out, so we only canoed in a small circle.

This is Lake Ray Roberts - our one little finger of it. It's a man-made lake. It's just under 30 years old and so the trees that once grew there are still there as ghosts and reminders of the fields and woods the area once was. I like having it be a lake - even if it wasn't originally "natural" - the life that exists there now is fascinating to watch; touch and smell. And the dogs like it too.

Humphrey is the one in the water. Sherman sits there trying to decide how he's gonna play this.

We had a wonderful walk that day. We don't go down to the lake often enough. I really enjoy my husband's company, and that day was especially wonderful.

Death of a Refrigerator

2009-08-12T08:49:00.006-05:00

The seedy underbelly of the ranch...(let's digress for a couple of minutes here - what is a "seedy underbelly" anyway? All the underbellies of our animals are soft, clean, vulnerable, tender... what's an underbelly in nature that's nasty? And then, let's talk about seedy for a moment. What's bad about seedy? Does that mean nothing's growing yet? But if there are seeds, then there's possibility...so anyway, I'm not sure that using "seedy underbelly" really gets at what I meant....)

I've discovered that living on the ranch is very different than living in the city. I guess I thought living at the ranch would be similar to living in the city, except we'd have more land. It is not that at all. It is completely different out here. For one thing, the garbarge people are sorta regional - they don't belong to a particular city. No one collects recycling here. There's a bit a snigger when you ask about it. And another thing is that it's not just a simple matter of putting the garbage at the curb. Oh no - we have to figure out how to get it .5 miles away to the road. So, stuff can sit for quite a while. But even if we could get it to the curb, the garbage folks will only pick up black contractor garbage bags of stuff. Nothing else. So if we have anything else to get rid of, we have to make an appointment with the regional "dump", put it all on the flatbed of the pickup and drive it 25 miles.

It makes me think differently about what I'm willing to bring home.

Of course, we didn't know all this when we moved out here. We didn't realize that we were really moving into a different culture with all kinds of different norms, values and habits. So, we brought our city thinking (and garbage) with us. And now, we need to get all this stuff cleaned up and moved on.

Below is the death of the original, home-built Kegorator. We're sad to see 'er go. Although Tim thinks the refrigeration unit for the freezer still works, so he took that off and we'll reuse it to air condition one of the busses Jeff just bought. Now that's recycling.

This is window glass left over from building the new terminal at DFW airport. We got a great deal on it 3 years ago. Planned on using it to build a greenhouse and to replace the garage door (when we build out the garage into Tim's office). But, we haven't gotten around to doing those things yet and so the glass sits a bit forlorn. Looks like it's trying to return to the ground as sand...maybe in a few more years it'll have done that.

Can't remember where we got this chair. Tim is looking for someone who could weld it back together and then we'll paint it and keep it.

The construction crew for our neighbors addition were sloppy guys. There's still trash on our two properties from stuff that didn't make it into the garbage cans.

This is a special plexiglass that we used to fix the roof of the car wash when there was major hail damage. We thought we could use it out here. Haven't decided how yet though.

I'm graciously calling this the 'staging area'. This is the staging area for all of our projects - no matter how many millennia they are from happening.

Okay - now this thing was really a good idea. I liked having this sink. It was supposed to be for my future greenhouse (as you can see from above, I have a lot of stuff for my future stuff....). Unfortunately Tim accidentally hit it with the Kubota and the legs fell off. I'm thinking of turning it right-side up and filling it with flowers.

Mushrooms

2009-08-10T10:10:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update this morning... we saw evidence of the wild pigs (feral hogs) again down by the lake. We were hoping that they'd moved on, so that was disappointing. They are terrible for the environment. They dig up everything - all the flora down by the lake - so that it is completely destroyed. That then destroys the system of plants that prevent so much erosion and the the hill above where they've torn everything up starts sliding down into the lake. They also carry diseases which they can leave behind in the soil. Fortunately, we're not growing anything down by the lake (it's owned by the Corps of Army Engineers).

This morning it was a touch cooler than it has been - and there's a nice breeze, so we're thankful for a day that didn't start off with intense heat.

Because of the rain the other day, we've had a number of mushrooms popping up all over. It's surprising to see mushrooms at this time of year here, but there they are.

Mornings at Sage Creek Ranch

2009-08-07T10:56:00.011-05:00

Morning comes really quickly around Sage Creek Ranch - there's a moment where there's no sun and then the sun is fully, roundly, hotly there.

It peeks through the trees - and thank God for the trees or it'd be much hotter, much sooner.

It brushes the well house and gives the strawberries; Dew plant and Gerbera Daisy their first dusting of the light they need to keep blooming.

It lightly strikes the lichen - but just for a moment before it's too high to burn the delicate flora from the rocks to which they tenaciously cling. The lichen turns brown by August in Tioga, Texas. But this year, we've been blessed by sufficient rainfall to keep even northern Texas green.

There are places where the trees, bushes and tall grasses are so dense that only a fragment of yellow gets through at the first light of morning

On my way back from the mailbox, I can see that the sun is already moving quickly enough through the sky to light up the driveway.

I cross the road to the neighbor's stock pond. It is beautiful in the morning - still, pristine-looking and verdant.

Even the road looks quiet and still this morning. Devoid of traffic even during our "rush hour".

Driving the dogs and the golf cart home from the mailbox, each morning is a total immersion in nature. It never fails to delight me.

Each morning, I look through the trees at the neighbor's property to see if I can spot the horses and their donkey.

What are you glorying in today?

Butterfly Study

2009-07-31T19:24:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite sites on our property. I'm really loving the Purslane this year - it's always beautiful and colorful and seems virtually indestructible. Gotta love that. The front pot broke (I was rolling it across the driveway and one side just split off). I really love the pots and didn't want to just toss it, so I put a rock under the pot that didn't break and then leaned the pot that was broken up against the rock. Funny enough, the big rock is holding the broken pot together. And I love that the Purslane has found its way down into the crack in the pot and bloomed.

The sunflower (we have one lone plant that decided to grow and bloom next to the driveway) is approaching the end of it's life cycle I think - or else it's hunkered down against the heat...

Tim gave me a crape myrtle bush earlier this year. We couldn't remember what it was until it bloomed recently.

It's been one week since Abner was put down. We miss him. Even with severe cataracts, almost complete loss of hearing, a skin disorder and a bunch of other things, he was a very loving dog. He'd claimed Tim as his human and was unconditionally devoted to him. I can't tell if the other animals know he's gone, or what their relationship is to Abner not being here, but it seems like their pecking order changed a bit (although Abner was pretty near the bottom of the pecking order despite his age) and things have been much calmer around here.

I caught site of a butterfly in the garden the other day. He stayed long enough for me to catch several shots. He had part of one of his wings missing, although you mostly can't see that.

And this critter felt perfectly at home in the roses - including with a camera stuck in his face. Life is short grasshopper. Enjoy.

Peaches and Partnerships

2009-07-22T07:19:00.004-05:00

We've been eating peaches and eating peaches and eating peaches lately. We got a flat from Costco and can't stop! They are terrific right now. We're saving the seeds to plant our own little peach orchard. I've read that you can't count on the seeds to produce the same tasty peaches that they came from (but they never said you couldn't TRY!).

The articles did say that peaches are really prone to diseases though. Another fun fact: The US produces more peaches than any other country. Peachy-keen.

The babies have been very cute lately. Although yesterday, Ms Gray (the mom) brought a dead squirrel onto the deck for the babies to eat. I'm happy that the babies are learning to eat local...ah...produce....because I want them to catch the mice and the rats that we sometimes have around here. However, I'm not big on those kinds of meals served on our deck. It'd be one thing if they cleaned up after themselves (versus just cleaning themselves). Anyway, I had to put on rubber gloves and remove the remains of their meal myself.

And I just don't like doing that.

I think we'll end up keeping all three of them. 5 cats for our place isn't too many. But we will have to get them fixed. The average life span of a cat out here is about 2 years. So I'm not too sure it's a good idea to have them all fixed. If we'd had the first two cats fixed, we'd only have 1 cat right now and that's not enough for all the cat-work there is out here. We'll see. I have to think about it.

This guy is needs to go into modeling. He's a natural.

Sherman is learning to love the cats as well. He really doesn't mind them. Even shares his food dish with them. He usually lets them eat first. But if I give him any special treats in his dish, the cats better watch out. He's not so likely to share then! (These next couple of photos are taken through the door - that's why they're a bit foggy).

It's down to 87 degrees!

2009-07-18T13:26:00.004-05:00

Working in the garden this morning since it was "cool". Cool, such a relative term these days. It's 87 degrees at 1:40pm. And that's kinda amazing around here. Tim and I are out working away in the yard. I'm done for the day and now working on photos from last night (and these below).

I found this guy in my garden. I've only seen one like this once - when all of the sudden this bug just fell out of the sky - no trees overhead - just pure, blue sky - and this giant bug just careens through the air in a downward spiral and hits the driveway in front of my toes. It's about 3 inches long, so it's no small bug (reminds me of the time I went to the nature museum in San Jose, Costa Rica. They had dead rainforest insects pinned on bulletin boards. There was one beetle that was 8 inches across and at least 12 inches long. Unbelievable. I realized that science fiction and horror movies probably weren't that far from reality!)

This guy was alive and just sitting in the shade in the little garden we have at the base of one of the rain gutters. It's dark and holds a bit more moisture there than most anywhere else on the property. He seems too big for his body; he had a hard time moving (or at least it seemed to me). Does anyone know what this is?

Grandma Louise was just chillin' on the front sidewalk. Despite that she's a completely outdoor cat, she keeps herself looking pretty good, doesn't she?

The Wandering Jew Plants are blooming again. I gave my sister some to take back to Arizona with her last weekend and the slight pruning we did to get her clippings caused them to flourish and bloom all over again.

These are my echinacea coneflowers. I'm not sure what it is about these plants, but I really dig them. You can see the heat distress they are going through by looking at the burned tips on this one.

This is a different type of coneflower. I trimmed this one as it'd reached the end of its bloom. We're saving seeds from all of our flowers this year. I've got lots of containers and Tim's labeled all of them. Each time one of the flowers that contains seeds dies, we "harvest" it and put the seeds in the container. This one still looked so pretty that I grabbed a shot of it before the seeds go into their container.

It's Hotter than Hot

2009-07-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

It is hard to make myself get anything done this past week. It has just been too hot. We were at the Dallas Bridal Show (our Standing Ovations Events company had a booth there) and just loading and unloading the car was enough to give us heat exhaustion. One day, driving home, the car registered 113 degrees (probably from sitting in the sun all day) and when my forearm accidentally brushed the metal VW decor plate in the center of my steering wheel, I actually burned my arm!

I keep thinking I'll get up early and do some gardening before it gets too hot. But when I walk the dogs first thing, I'm sweating before I even get halfway down the driveway! And by the time I have walked them down to the mailbox (a half mile), I'm done with any outside activity until the next morning when I walk them again.

We took the boys for a walk tonight (which means that Tim and I rode on the golf cart and the dogs did the walking) and I took these photos. I've touched them up - but just to give you a feel of what the heat feels like - the touch-ups are my attempt to translate the feeling of the unrelenting heat into a visual.

Our apple trees are dying. Even with watering them, the heat is just too much.

Even though these things look really dry, they seem to be hanging on, no matter what the conditions.

There's not much moisture to keep the dust down on the road when the pickups drive by. This is at the back gate of our 26 acres.

Even the dry plants just don't seem to have the energy to fully unfurl and let their seeds go.

I took the next shots at dusk and allowed the flash to do its job. I thought it would be a tiny bit cooler at dusk. I was wrong.

And, back at the house, we are mystified as to why our Parasol tree is wilting. It gets the right amount of water - but is it just too hot for our special tree?

It's a bit embarrassing to show how our veggies are doing. We are doing the "upside-down" planting this year. Well, this red pepper shows what the heat can do to even the hardiest plants.

Isn't the yellow pepper below just about the saddest thing you've ever seen? I'm hoping we can salvage it and the red pepper above. We lost the tomato plant and probably the watermelon plant.

This is my ivy plant - which is green even in the darkest of winter. I'm not sure if I can revive it from this condition though.

The sunflowers are cycling - they bloom and then die fairly rapidly.

But, even with all the dryed up plants around, there are some that thrive no matter what.

And there you have my philosophy regarding the current conditions we are facing both nationally and globally. There are some that thrive no matter what because they can adapt to the reality of current conditions. I'm working on my adaptations to thriving in the current conditions we're facing as I write this.

Butterflies and Musings

2009-07-08T19:35:00.005-05:00

Well, I've turned 50 now. Somehow, that should make me a better writer! Wise, sage, knowing, woman. Yeah, well. I don't find that it has had that effect. Maybe I have to be 50 longer than a week? I've started a project to improve my writing (just in case you've read the blog and thought "Geez, could she be a bit more colorful? Could there be more of a story-line here than just 'here's what happened at the ranch today'?").

Well, the best I can say about that so far, is thank goodness we live in an age where people are caring less and less about proper grammar and punctuation!

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I have the time and I've had the complaint that I haven't gotten enough reading in for years now. So, I've been reading everything. Blogs that interest me. Online newspapers (NY Times). Posts on FB and links that get posted as well. Books that I've owned for some time now but either haven't started, or worse, haven't finished (hard to pick up where I've left off when I 'left off' more than two years ago!). Magazines - both hard copy and online.

And what I've found most fascinating recently is an article from EnlightenNext Magazine - "2012 A Time of Extraordinary Change" from the June - August 2009 issue. It's an interview with John Peterson, founder of Arlington Institute (a think tank of futurists that consults to the Pentagon, the White House and business). What he's got to say is truly about a time of extraordinary change in the next three years.

Now - how is that relevant to Sage Creek Ranch? I've been sensing for a while now that Sage Creek Ranch is about more than our living in the country; living with more peace and serenity - but is about building a future for the times that are coming. Exactly what those times are, I don't know. But it seems that owning this land is perfectly the right thing to do. And, even if I'm wrong about the times ahead, we'll still enjoy this place and invite others to do so with us.

This is the 'front yard' of the house. Morty's cage hangs prominently. Lately, it's been hanging very still in the very hot, wet air.

The front step. I love the way this looks.

I found a butterfly in the front garden and took these shots. He wouldn't sit still for very long, so most of the shots are of him flying.

We don't have as many butterflies in the gardens as we usually do at this time of year. Not sure why. The few we do have have splendid, royal-looking wings.

Where are you finding beauty today?

Happy Trails

2009-07-06T12:22:00.003-05:00

Not sure what the problem is today, but I've been trying to upload these photos literally all day...I finally gave up on a couple I wanted to load. I'll try again tomorrow with a different post.

The photos below are some of the trails at Sage Creek Ranch. The trails go around the edges of all the property. We walk them every few days and that's all it takes to keep them looking like trails. I never realized how little it takes to kill what's growing - just a few steps on it every couple of days and nothing will grow there.

The trail below is one of my favorites. It's on the back of the 26, right on the fence line for the Corps of Army Engineer's property and the lake. You can't tell from the photo, but it's an uphill walk. It was one of the first areas we walked on when we explored the property - and my instant affinity for it was one of the "signs" I got that we should buy this property.

The photo below is the front gate for our property and the neighbors. This shot was taken from inside the property looking out to the highway. We share the driveway with the neighbors. From our house to the gate is .5 miles.

These bushes are constantly changing - in any given day, different areas of the same bush will be in different stages of growth or decline.

One of the babies. Want a kitty?

Another Hot Day

2009-06-26T20:30:00.004-05:00

Yeah, it's about 107 degrees fahrenheit here.

That means it's really, really hot. We're not quite as dry as Phoenix, so the heat is a wee bit more intense here. We're coping by pretending not to notice the heat. Going about daily business the same as usual, but finding we're exhausted before bedtime.

These are some photos taken around the house the past few days. I'm very excited about our lime tree. Although, this is the only lime that's done any growing.

This wild sunflower just took off growing next to the driveway - it looks like there'll be some others as well. It's about 5 feet tall now.

I was watering the garden last night and just happened to see how beautiful all the flowers looked with the setting sun and the water together. I do love my roses.

We opted to grow our tomatoes upside down this year. So far, so good. They're just a little too far from the house to get enough water though.

And it's baby time! It's time for the babies to go to some new homes. If you're in the DFW area, and would like a female kitten, let us know. We'll probably keep one and adopt out the other two. See more pictures of them at: Andi-Tim's Smug.

This morning Hutson and I were using technology to giggle together - and these are a couple of photos of the two of us talking on Skype. You can see me in the lower left corners taking the photos. Such fun! And what a great way to stay in communication!

My (new) famous handmade, gluten-free peach pie. Never taken a photo of a pie before. Not easy to make it look good - hence it doesn't look like pie from a magazine. Took a lot of shots that I threw away (thanks goodness for digital!).

Today, what are you doing that you've never done before?

Walking the dogs

2009-06-20T11:25:00.007-05:00

Today I took the dogs for a walk on the 26. Abner decided to join us. He's 14 years old now, eyes full of cataracts and we think he's almost completely deaf (every once in a while he seems to hear us, which is why I say "almost" deaf).

Abner's been looking pretty mangy lately though. His hair has just gotten way too long. I didn't want to clip him while he had the cone on his head - just thought it would make him crazy. This is his 'before' shot:

And, this is his 'after' shot. I always think the clipping makes him look younger. I do the clipping myself with a scissors - although I should be using the clippers. When his hair is particularly snarly, the scissors work much better. Needless to say, I'd let his trimming go and his hair was very bad.

This is Sherman out walking in the fields on the 26. He's such a happy dog. (And a BIG dog - he's weighing a bit over a hundred pounds now. When he stands on his hind legs he's about 5.5 feet tall!)

This is Humphrey with Sherman in the far background - our two Great Pyr's. Humphrey is not too happy (but doesn't he look like he's smiling in this photo?). I've put him back into training. So he's got to be on the leash now whenever he's outside. He had gotten very righteous about what commands he will and will not obey - and in the meantime, gotten very skinny and is irritating his skin by scraping it under the barbed-wire fences and by not eating well. In addition, he'd started roughing up the cats when they came near the house - and keeping his brother, Sherman, away from the house when it was time to eat (not good because then Sherman would get hungry and go eat the neighbors carefully tended goose and duck eggs). So, it's back to the leash we go until he's better behaved.

It's dragonfly time again! I have several more excellent dragonfly shots in the gallery on smugmug that I uploaded from my photos today. You can see the other shots at: www.andi-tim.smugmug.com/Flowers/809938.

These boots are made for walkin'... these are my Fatbaby boots. A must-have for the spring ranch dudette fashion season. Can't walk amongst all the flowers and weeds and muddy ground without them. Must empty them out upon returning to the house as well (or I won't know what to expect to find in them the next day. Okay - that's true whether I empty them or not!)

Our property borders the Corps of Army Engineers' property. This is their fence - I always have found it funny that the sign says "no hunting" - and is full of holes from a BB gun (and not one of ours!).

Enjoy Father's Day tomorrow!

Death in the Garden

2009-06-19T11:45:00.006-05:00

Happy Friday!

Every day I examine the garden for new blooms, new growth, and new weeds or anything else obnoxious that's suddenly found it's way into the garden.

Today, I noticed how regularly things die in the garden. I mean, that's totally obvious, but I don't notice it that much - there's just so much else growing, so unless it's my prized ___ (whatever), I don't see it.

But there it is - death in the garden. And, normally, I don't like to look at the dead things in the garden. I don't like seeing the yellowed or dried leaves. I like them when they are at their lushest.

But today, I said to myself - look for what you don't normally see in the garden. And what I saw was how much death is there. And how something, when looked at with fresh eyes, can seem quite beautiful - dried or yellowed leaves not withstanding.

Funny, I was thinking that not all of it is a "natural" death - that some of the death may be because I did something "unnatural" to the plant (overwatered it or put something on it that it didn't like) - but really, even the "unnatural" deaths are still natural.

I like looking at all of the garden. Including all the cycles each of the members of my garden community may be in.

But isn't it interesting that when we look at the photo below, all that's present is all the life?

Wildflower Fields

2009-06-13T14:15:00.004-05:00

Tim and I took the dogs over the our 26 acres this morning for a run. Yes. We did take the golf cart (and didn't walk). However - I have a really good excuse for doing that - Tim has hurt his knee and it's very swollen. So he can't do the walk right now. See - that's makes taking the cart completely okay, right?

Second thing is that cart is electric - so it's sorta green, right? But truth be told, we really have fun taking the cart. It's a bit like four-wheeling. Tim takes the corners hard and makes sure to hit all the rocks and potholes. I'm not sure the dogs like their leashes hooked to it when we're driving like maniacs, but oh well.

Yesterday I'd mentioned on FB how much I enjoyed walking the dogs through the field on our property. The fields are covered in wildflowers right now. The flowers are all manner of colors, sizes, textures and bouquets. Gorgeous.

I've posted a mini-album of all the wildflowers at: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/8543638_kA6kM/1/562617415_Lyrwk#P-1-12. It takes a long time to upload photos to the blog, so I'll be posting most of them now at smugmug.

This is the handcrafted fence Tim is building on the 26 acres. It's really cool.

Because of the heat already here in North Texas, I'll be doing most of my outside activities in the morning - the light's better then anway.

No matter what your weather, get outside today!

Wasps and Men

2009-06-12T17:46:00.009-05:00

Well, my daughter Teddi (http://teddiandjerryclayton.blogspot.com/) shamed me into posting today. “It’s been a week” she said. And I thought...well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.

Anyway, as I was pulling weeds in my garden today, I realized that golf isn’t the best metaphor for life or for growth and development. Despite all the books on that topic. Of course, my golfer friends probably wouldn’t agree with me. I think gardening is the best metaphor. It occurred to me today, while on my knees in the heat of the north Texas sun, and my arms stretched out to reach those pesky weeds that are right in the middle of the garden, that gardening is an act of community.

We aren’t out there by or for ourselves. The diversity in the garden (or at least in mine) is staggering. Because it isn’t just the flora, it’s also the fauna in the garden. So, gardening is about my relationship to ‘other’ (whatever ‘other’ may be). And all the ways I relate to ‘other’, and what I think about myself and who I am. (And getting laid-off from one’s job gives lots more room in one’s head for musings such as these).

I notice that I’m angry about the yellow leaf disease my roses just keep getting no matter what I do. And, I’m a little afraid to pick some of the weeds - what if they’re flowers and I’m just not recognizing them?...I’ve got to pay attention while I’m doing anything in the garden so I don’t get bit by something I didn’t see,

like a spider, a wasp, a red ant or even stung by a scorpion,

or poked by a plant with poking apparatus. And, each plant, each section of the garden needs something different. While they all need weeding, and most need their regular hair trims, some also need more talking to and more love than the others. Some need to have no debris at the base, while others thrive with the mess under them. Some need 6 hours of sun and others only want 2-3 hours. Which is just exactly like any community. So, while gardening, I got to examine my relationship to community - each aspect of it. Where I want to quit and where I want to play and where it occurs like hard work and which parts I’ll neglect...And, getting present to my love for nurturing community...

Which brings me to wasps and men. Well, not really, but I’m gonna segue anyway. Today, I realized that both are attracted to provocative clothing. Of course, provocative means different things to different creatures - but it is provocative nonetheless.

For wasps, the provocative clothing seems to be this brightly colored visor. I was constantly swatting away the unwanted attention of the giant yellow-jacket wasps when I was wearing it.

After an annoying amount of attention (although flattering at first, it does get old), I changed hats. This was my second pick. Absolutely not one wasp came near me after the switch. I’ve noticed this same behavior with men....

On another note, the kittens are getting so cute! They’re 5 weeks old now.

And finally, some gratuitous shots of two of the grandkids and their Grimpa Tim.

Black Widow Spiders

2009-06-01T12:34:00.010-05:00

Yep - first time I've seen her in my garden. Although I think I have the wasps that like to eat them. I have to say it...isn't she beautiful? I never thought I'd think BW Spiders were beautiful. Even when nature is at her most scary, I think she makes things gorgeous to look at.

I didn't see her eating anything...but I did see a beetle carrying away a dead bee. And - the other day we saw a very rare Texas Large Centipede - 27 sets of legs. Black with orange legs. They are agressive and nasty looking. Took some photos, but must have accidentally erased the ones of the centipede (probably Freudian). The centipedewas up on the deck and the dog was cautiously chasing it around. Apparently though, the bite is kinda painful (for dogs and humans). I didn't like it up on the deck. Good news was that we've been here for 3 years and that's the first time I've seen one around the house.

We're a bit concerned about our Tarantula spiders. We haven't seen any this year. They usually come out to mate sooner than this. We never see them for very long, but they are so elegant.

Saw this guy on my berry bushes this morning,

Trying to catch the inside of his wings, but the breeze shook branch and then he flew away. Interesting coloring. Probably a moth rather than a butterfly.

These flowers are new to our garden. The are green echinacea cone flowers. Pretty, eh? Don't see green flowers often.

These wasp catchers are fabulous! These came from Gardener Supply (http://www.gardeners.com/). My daughter also got some that are a little smaller from Kohls. I put a little bit of lemonade in the bottom of them. We broke the matching stopper, so what you see on top is a rock. Once the wasps get in (attracted by the lemonade), they can't figure out how to get back out. For the next round, I'm just going to put in some hummingbird food. I have some made up in the fridge, and given how many wasps are sitting on my hummingbird feeders right now, I figure they'll go for that food just as well as the lemonade.

Have a great day!

Memorial Day at the ranch

2009-05-25T20:55:00.024-05:00

Tim and Alex celebrated our Freedom - provided to us by the service people who have and continue to defend our country - by going fishing.

This is Lake Ray Roberts - just down the hill from our home. Tim and Alex just got their fishing licenses this past week. Today Tim caught a yellow bass - but since it was the only one, he put it back in the lake. Need enough to make lunch before we do the work of cleaning them.
Tim rebuilt the electric

motor for the canoe. Between that and the oars, they can go anywhere!

Alex and Tiffany brought Evee out last night to spend the night

and this is Evee napping

while Humphrey guards her.

She is a precious doll.

This is one of my favorite photos.

Tim made us a sumptuous brunch of french toast with strawberries and whipped cream, bacon and omlets! Yum.

Also having a grand day was Sherman. He is a great dog (when he's not at the neighbor's home!)

Haven't seen these bugs since last year - they only seem to be around in the spring.

And lastly, the requisite flower shots.

The Macro Lens Garden

2009-05-23T11:19:00.019-05:00

I don't do it often, but I like to get out the macro lens (a Nikkor 105mm). There are plenty of bugs out to shoot today, but none that wanted to stay put while I took their glamor shots! So - I shot photos of the flowers in the garden today.

These are wildflowers. Tim and I took the dogs this morning on a golf cart ride over to our 26 acres. There we found these flowers in the middle of some tall grasses. I also shot some budding cactus, but they were too blurry to post. Another day.

A few months ago, Tim stuck some bulbs in a pot. He didn't know what they were and neither did I. Now that they've bloomed, we still don't know. They look a bit like carnations, but have a very short stem - they bloom right next to the plant stalk. This one is white. The other one (in a post below is a hot pink). They are really pretty and seem to last a long time.

These are the baby limes on Tim's new lime tree. Only grown for the cocktails they can enhance later.

I shoot with a Nikon D-80. Love that camera. You can see the rest of our photos - traveling the world, the kids, Tim's art at our photo website - www.andi-tim.smugmug.com.

These just bloomed.

These are part of my Gerbera Daisy collection. Why do people call them "gerber" daisies?

Tim said, "why don't you get that wildflower behind the bench there"? This is that wildflower.

I think the marigolds are much prettier in macro.

Found this plant at Calloway's Nursery (love that place! Thanks Jeff and Lee for the Mother's Day gift certificate to Calloways!). It'll change colors and add more orange as it blooms.

These plants are gorgeous. The blooms don't last long, and when they die, they turn to a papery-sort of texture and just blow away.

Also found in the wild - these were crawling with insects. Not sure what's attractive about them to the bugs...

Petting the babies this morning...

On our golf

cart ride

this morning, both
Tim and I said how much we love living here in Tioga, Texas at Sage Creek Ranch. We love getting up and listening to the wind in the trees, the insects sawing, the birds singing and squawking - we can't hear any traffic, no air conditioners running...it's really idyllic.

I was taking the laundry off the line this morning and discovered this fellow clinging to a dinner napkin. (Cool side note - Tim and I were in Thailand a few years ago with our Executives for the Extrarodinary - Education for Everyone - E4E group. We had built a school in rural Thailand. On the final day, the parents of the schoolchildren and other villagers put on a celebration for us. They had hand woven large squares of fabric as a gesture of their thanks. They tied these bands of fabric around our waistsduring the school hand-off ceremony. There were probably 20 or 30 of these large fabric squares. I came across them the other day. They've been packed away for several years now. I didn't want to get rid of them, but also didn't know what to do with them. I've been committed to moving away from throw away stuff and paper napkins have been annoying to me for some time now, but when I have large groups of people over, I don't have enough cloth napkins to make it work. So, I asked my mom to cut and stitch the fabric into dinner napkins. So, now I have about 75 dinner napkins made of hand-spun fabric from Thailand that was given to us in thanks for building a school! I love the thought of the energy those napkins bring each person who comes to our home and has a meal with us!)

Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Quarrying our own stone

2009-05-21T21:53:00.014-05:00

The weather has been
gorgeous the past several days - good for us since Tim is laying the flagstone walkways. Not only is he laying the flagstone - he is a real man. He is splitting the stone on our property - hand-splitting stone! When he
used the Kubota this past week digging the trenches for the sprinkler systems and the running of electricity, he dug up tons (literally) of rock and stone. Some of that stone is thin enough to use for our flagstone pathways. The stone that isn't thin enough will be split by he-man Tim. It's fun (okay, and darn hard work!) to be able to use the natural elements, indigenous to our property, for our infrastructure. Once the pathway between the house and the pavilion is installed, he'll put in our the first of the patios we're installing on the property. This will also be done with a mix of flagstone and Sage Creek Ranch stone.

I saw all three of these birds on the feeder at the same time today. This doesn't happen very often. They don't like sharing. Farthest left in the photo is the Titmouse, then the Painted Bunting, and finally, the Chickadee. Very shortly, a Bluejay came by and chased all of them away.

This little Titmouse snagged

a tasty morsel of seed. BTW - all my bird photos on this page were taken through the window - explaining the slightly grainy texture of the pics.

Here's a closer shot of the Painted Bunting. Unfortunately, a little blurry.

Mr Cardinal came to visit today.

This little Chickadee was waiting his turn to eat.

An update on the babies - there are three healthy

little ones. And not only are they healthy, but they are absolutely cute.

Last note for today: I've set up the blog to accept Google Ads. When they accept my request, you'll start seeing ads on my blog.

Thanks for sharing our life at the ranch with us.

Sunday

2009-05-17T14:50:00.007-05:00

It's a beautiful day at Sage Creek Ranch (Tim's been calling it Sage Mud Ranch the past week as a more accurate description).

While we haven't been monitoring this, I have wondered how much waterboarding the local fauna have been undergoing against their will around here in the past couple of weeks...With this much water and rain, some things likely haven't survived. However, the insect population has absolutely soared. More photos over the next few days on that. Gotta get the macro lens out for the best shots.
It's flower and laundry day here at the ranch. I've been hanging out the laundry to dry. Love doing that versus using the electric dryer (and it saves us about US$40 per month). I love the way the clothes smell, the real scent of "freshness" that no artificial scent can quite capture. I have noticed though, that one must shake the clothes coming off the line thoroughly because some insects and spiders like the fresh scent as well and end up in the house or in the drawers with the clothes!

Enjoy the day!

It's still raining....

2009-05-16T09:59:00.010-05:00

The bird feeders are empty today....Tim promises to get them filled. In the meantime, I did catch this little guy on the hummingbirds' feeder. I think this is a dickcissel. It's a bit yellow for a lesser goldfinch.

Beautiful bird.

The fruit bushes are growing at a great rate. Although, those pesky spiders have set up shop in one of the blackberry bushes. Unfortunately, they don't think they have to pay any rent. We're pretty good landlord's though - we'll make sure the neighborhood doesn't go to the spiders.

I'd trimmed this rose bush back drastically a few weeks ago - I guess it loved it's new haircut.

The rain has perhaps given me the pool I've been wanting...I guess this is where the "be careful what you ask for" cliche applies?

Gotta get out with my boots on and find the deer and the wild turkeys. I saw a deer the other night in my headlights coming home (but can't drive and take photos at the same time).

It's thunder and light'nen...oh yeah

2009-05-14T13:47:00.006-05:00

It's been raining and raining and raining and raining here. Since we own two car wash businesses in addition to Sage Creek Ranch, that hasn't been so good for us. However, I am thankful for the rain (I'd rather have water/flooding than drought).

Tim rented a Kubota to get the flagstone paths put in and to put in a small patio area as you come into the drive way.

Ms. Gray moved her babies and we haven't found them yet...we'll keep looking though.

And speaking of babies, our daughter-in-law, Tiffany and our son, Alex had their first baby on Mother's Day - May 10th. Evee Angelee Bednar was born at 6:06p, weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and was 21 inches long. View photos of her at http://www.andi-tim.smugmug.com/ under the galleries titled "Grandchildren". She is beautiful.

Tim planted some blubs several months ago in one of the pots in the driveway. They started to grow - they're very tall (and look like weeds). This morning I noticed that one of them has bloomed - does anyone know what this plant is?

Have a miracle today!

The babies are here!

2009-05-08T08:52:00.008-05:00

While Grandma Louise paced the railing and Sherman followed her, Ms. Gray (who elected not to have her photo taken until after she's lost the pregnancy weight) had her first (and only) batch of kittens.

We were concerned about the delivery as it took Ms. Gray many hours to deliver the four babies. At one point labor stopped. I worried about the babies who weren't delivered yet and poor Ms. Gray's eyes had rolled back into her head. One of the first two babies was still-born. But the other one was healthy as could be (and actually a pretty large size, given how small Ms. Gray is). Finally, at some point during the dead of night, Ms. Gray delivered two more healthy babies.

She's quite the professional - delivering them in the office chair in the garage. She will have to move them though - the chair isn't very big and when they roam around looking for her they could easily fall off the chair. And that happened this morning. When I went to check on them, I discovered First Born mewling on the floor.

Life isn't easy out here for kittens. There are a lot of predators - coyotes, a mountain lion, raccoons, bobcats, feral cats, feral pigs...fortunately Humphrey (our other great pyr) is a very good guardian.

Here are the first pics:

Everything is blooming

2009-05-03T10:10:00.006-05:00

Everything is blooming and beautiful right now. I love all my roses. Many of them do not have much scent - I suppose it's because I bought hybrids and tea roses. But my climbing roses...ah, heaven scents.

We spent more time yesterday doing some planting. All that's left to plant now are two honeysuckle bushes. It rained yesterday in perfect timing for watering all the new flora that got put into pots or the ground.

The hummingbirds are creating quite the little community. You'd swear they'd all Twittered each other to "Tweet-Up" at our bird feeder around 6:30pm. We have ruby throated (both adults and immature males). And some others I haven't identified yet.

What's in a layout?

2009-05-01T18:01:00.009-05:00

I didn't realize how difficult it was going to be to lay out the photos on this site. But trust someone out there to be generous and post what it takes to make things move around. Thank you.

Anyhow - we see the red cardinals all the time. I really love the coloring on the females. This bird feeder seems to attract just about everything. It's situated off our second story deck. I can view it from my office window. All the bird shots I take from here though are taken with a telephoto lens through a window (does encourage me to keep the windows clean!).

We also saw a new bird today - at least new for this year. This is the Lesser Goldfinch. Who would want a name like "lesser" anything? What caught my ear was their song. Sounds a bit like a canary. And, the really great thing is that none of these birds leave any droppings on the deck. I suppose that's because of the cats...who sleep there much of the day. But, the cats don't really go after the birds. I want them to catch the mice, but they seem to like the flavor of lizards better. (Maybe we should try them?).

We spent several hours this morning planting. Tim got a load of good, black dirt from the City of Plano. He also had some tall plastic barrels. He cut those in half, so we would have about waist high containers, and then we filled them with dirt and berry bushes. Unfortunately, the DEER have eaten the bushes we planted on the 26 acres. I thought it would be interesting to watch these grow. The one on the left is an Ebony King Blackberry, next is a Latham Red Raspberry, then a Marionberry and finally a Seascape Strawberry.

And lastly today, I finally got a shot of the BlueJay. While they aren't really unusual, I can never get a shot of them. To take a decent photo when sitting at my desk, I have to stand up with the camera and the telephoto lens to get the shot. The problem is that the minute I stand up the jays tend to get spooked and fly away before I can focus the camera. Boy are they big birds compared to the goldfinches and the myriad chickadees we have here.

Wildlife Certification

2009-04-29T13:57:00.010-05:00

We got our certification for Wildlife last week. Highly recommend Dan from Integrated Wildlife Management for his comprehensive studies of our property and his recommendations.

It's spring and there's lots of critters out and about lately. I've tagged a few here that I've seen in the past couple of days. None of ours have done any low flyovers NY lately....

I noticed the Painted Buntings are back - saw the first one on Saturday. And, I'm going to have to learn more about all the birds! You'll also see a brown-headed cow bird here (their song sounds like running water - so cool) and a Titmouse.

Also saw a copperhead (a baby) in the back garden while weeding the other day. I had to look it up to determine it was a copperhead. I'm still learning what species is what. It's the second one I've seen here - both were babies. I think that's very good thing! Interesting that the tail was green and looked like a little twig. Do they grow out of that? Found some info on them at http://www.texas-venomous.com/contortrix.html.

We do have feral pigs here. We assume they've had their latest checkups, so no swine flu.

Can't quite figure out how to get the photos to go where I want...I will leave that for another day.