Making Bibs

Audrey has been with us in Tucson this week.  Audrey loves doing craft projects and she gave me Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts for my birthday.  There was a chapter on making bibs.  We made 21 bibs from various fabrics, some with appliques.  It was a lot of fun for both of us!

Raising Children

"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much." 

This statement by Jackie Kennedy is timeless and oh, so true!

Unusual Frog

I came across this photo taken last Thanksgiving when Mary was visiting the ranch.  We hiked down Rattlesnake Canyon, through a slot canyon, and happened upon an unusual greenish frog.  As we get so little rain, the frog is probably quite rare.  It was certainly rare for us!

Ranch Guests for Branding

We were fortunate to have Papa's sister Mary, and Audrey and Dan come to the ranch for branding weekend.  Mary, Audrey, and I stayed busy in the kitchen on Friday, preparing for Saturday's dinner.  The three of us were armed with cameras during the roundup and branding on Saturday.  Papa and I enjoyed evenings on the porch with everyone, listening to the night sounds of the ranch.

Branding Crew 2011

 

A good crew!

Ranch Branding 2011

Our ranch branding was a resounding success!  We had a busy week on the ranch, culminating in branding 162 calves on Saturday.  Papa and Dan got up on Saturday morning between 3:30-4:00.  They ate breakfast and went down to the corrals by 4:30.  They fed and saddled Oscar and Pablo, then rode back up the hill to the house.

By 5:30, there were four trucks pulling horse trailers up the hill to meet up Papa and Dan.  Colter left his home by 5, riding along with daughter Madilyn (age 6), his two 9 year old nephews, and a neighbor rancher.  They rounded up the 25 cows and calves in our Buck Knob pasture, then headed toward our house to wait for the other cowboys.  Over the next three hours, 20+ cowboys rounded up cows and calves from the 4000+ acre pasture to the west of our house.  It was an incredible sight to watch close to 400 cows and calves headed down the ridge.

The cowboys and cowgirls pushed the cattle down the hill to the Rock House corral to start the branding process by 10.  Cows were sorted from their calves.  Calves were sorted into various pens.  Each pen was emptied into the main corral with each calf branded, ears cut, horns cut and cauterized, testicles removed from steer calves, and all were branded.  All children at the branding interested in riding a calf got their turn.  It was great fun! 

The hard work was over by 1:30 in the afternoon and everyone headed back up the hill for lunch 

at our house.  There was plenty of food and cold drinks.  Everyone was tired but happy and chatter filled the air with cowboys telling their favorite stories of the day.  Papa and I feel privileged 

to have the opportunity to participate in this ranching tradition on Winchester Ranch.

Branding Dinner Prep

While cowboys have been rounding up cows and calves, repairing fences, and getting corrals ready for the branding onslaught, I've been working in the kitchen to prepare the "after branding dinner" for 35-40 people.  The menu for this year's dinner:

Rigatoni with Bolognese Sauce

Macaroni and Cheese

Orzo with Pesto, Peas, and Beans

Italian Spiced Roast Beef

Antipasti Salad

Hot Rolls

Sliced Watermelon

Italian Cream Cake

Carrot Cake

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lots of cold drinks!

Audrey and Mary arrived yesterday afternoon and helped me in the kitchen all morning.  We made good progress and will have an easy time tomorrow morning finishing things up in the oven and preparing tables for serving.  Today has been great fun for me.  So nice to have my sister in law and daughter here to help and enjoy the weekend together.

Second Day of Roundup 2011: The Runaway Horse

Second day of roundup 2011:  In somewhat of a repeat of yesterday morning, Papa was up by 3:30, had breakfast, then went down to the corrals to feed his horse for the day.  He chose Pablo, fed him and saddled him.  They came riding up the hill about 5:20 and Papa left him in the driveway for just a few seconds to tell me Colter was driving down the ridge toward our house.  In those few seconds, Pablo ran away.  We searched all around the house with no Pablo to be found.  Papa jumped in the Jeep and started driving down the hill.  As Colter was driving, he saw Pablo nearing the Rock House corral, so he stopped to pick him up, loaded him on his horse trailer and brought him up the hill with the rest of the horses.  Pablo was having a lazy morning and just ran back to his home, at the Rock House corral. 

Roundup 2011

Roundup for our ranch branding started this morning.  Papa was up by 3:30 and out the door by 4:15.  He fed Oscar, saddled him, and rode back up the hill by 5:20.  Colter and various uncles, his dad, grandfather, and a cousin drove up the hill in their trucks with horse trailers.  They were on their horses by 5:30.  It was a beautiful morning!

Mother's Regret

Over the years, the only regret I've had as a mother is that I didn't journal as the girls were growing up.  I wish I had written about the girls first words and first steps, learning to ride a tricycle and a bike, all the field trips we took, the teams they played on, the parties they had and the parties they went to, the trips we took, and so much more.  All three of the girls have started blogging, which is a great way to journal.  With the distance between us, I eagerly read their blogs every day.

Monument Fire

Over the past six weeks, various fires have popped up in eastern Arizona.  The Horseshoe 2 fire in the Chiricahua Mountains is still visible from our mailbox (10 miles from our house).   It started on May 8 and has burned over 200,000 acres.  The Monument fire started last Sunday, a week ago.  It is in the Huachuca Mountains, on the south side of Sierra Vista, population 42,000+.  From our front porch, we have a direct view of Sierra Vista, about 60 miles due south.  Since the fourth day of the Monument fire, there has been so much smoke around the Huachucas that we can't see much detail.  We are fortunate not to have much smoke at the ranch, as the wind has been blowing, over 25 mph much of the time and directly east.  I took this photo on the third day of the fire, from our front porch.

My Birthday Morning

I got up by 5:15 this morning.  Papa made buttermilk pancakes for my breakfast.  I got online and video chatted with Claire, David, and Emerson, with them singing Happy Birthday.  Soon after, Whitney and Toby called to sing to me, and then Audrey called and sang.  What fun to hear from all my girls so early on my birthday!

After breakfast, Papa and I hiked to Fairchild Dam and back.  As there are so many fires in our part of Arizona, the air is a bit hazy, but it was still a beautiful morning! 

My Life List

Tomorrow is my 54th birthday.  Birthdays are a good time to reevaluate and set new goals.  I love my life!  Still there are many things I want to do, places to visit...

My Life List (after 54 and not in any particular order)
Enjoy every day, wherever I am!  Live in the moment!
Spend time with our children and their families, together at least once a year
Spend time with each of my children at least once a year, time and place of their choosing
Spend time with each of my parents at least once a year
Annual Ranch Camp or other adventure with grandchildren

      Travel to places I haven’t been, at least one trip per year, including

     Croatian Islands

     Crete, Greek Isles, Greek mainland

     Ireland

     Sicily

     Netherlands when tulips are blooming

     Barcelona

     Iceland

     Canadian Rockies by Train, Banff, Lake Louise

     Shanghai, via cruise

     Egypt, pyramids

     Istanbul and Ephesus, Turkey

     Historic hotels in America    
Travel to previously visited favorite places, enjoy them all over again!
Volunteer to make a difference in someone's life
Go to art gallery or cultural event at least once/month
Walk or other exercise at least 5 days/week, 45 minutes/day
Write or take photographs or make pottery or... Be Creative!                                                

French School

Grandson Toby turned 2 on June 7 and began a new French preschool program at Petite Ecole International in Austin.  After studying at the Sorbonne during her junior year of college, 

Whitney is fluent in French and would like Toby to become bilingual also. 

Blooming Lechuguilla

During spring, the blooms of hundreds of thousands of lechuguilla plants spring up all over the ranch.  As they have been quite affected by drought, there are many fewer blooms this year than normal.  Still we have a few lechuguilla blooms and they are beautiful as well as fragrant. 

Greener on the Other Side of the Fence

A few days ago, our horses got into our "house yard."  I like to keep the area around our home as free of riff raff as possible, which includes horse dung.  Still Oscar, Pablo, and Hank have the distinct idea that the "grass is greener on the house side of the fence."  This time Papa let them graze a bit as we are experiencing a terrible drought and the grass inside the house yard has not been grazed as much as on the other side of the fence.  After about half an hour, they walked back to the other side.

Colter Lee's Party

Carly invited Papa and me to Colter Lee's 3rd birthday party on Sunday.  The party was at a park in Willcox with their family and friends invited.  The party activities included a pinata, shooting water pistols, and playing volleyball.  Carly served grilled hot dogs and giant pieces of cake.  Colter Lee rarely goes anywhere without his rope.  Not even his birthday party!

Lunch at Michelangelo's

Papa and I ate lunch at Michelangelo's Ristorante Italiano in Tucson today, as an early birthday lunch for me.  Michelangelo's has the best parmesan garlic homemade rolls I've ever had anywhere!  

One of the options on their lunch menu is to create your own pasta dish.  I created fettucine with pesto, mixed with peas, asparagus, and yellow squash, and topped with mozzarella and parmesan.  It was an outstanding creation!  Between the two of us, we licked the platter clean.

Cholla

Cholla is a genus of cacti covered in spines.  There are cholla also known as "stick cactus"
or "jumping cactus."  The different varieties of cholla have incredibly beautiful and
brightly colored blooms.  Such delicate blooms on such a prickly plant!

Chinese Peanut Slaw

This recipe is a terrific way to use leftover chicken and it's perfect for hot summer suppers.  

Chinese Peanut Slaw
1-3oz. package chicken ramen noodle soup mix
1/3 cup peanut oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 small head of cabbage, shredded or use ready made coleslaw mix
1 cup dry roasted peanuts or sliced almonds, optional
2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

Remove seasoning packet from noodles.  Break noodles into pieces and place in a shallow baking dish.  Bake at 400 for 5 minutes or until golden.  Set aside.

Combine seasoning packet, peanut oil, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl.  Beat with a whisk until blended.  Combine dressing, shredded cabbage, and shredded chicken.  Sprinkle toasted ramen noodles and nuts on top.

Birthday Ideas from Blogs

Before going to Austin for Toby's birthday party, I looked at several blogs for festive ideas.  At http://www.designmom.com/2011/05/happy-birthday-baby-june/, I found the idea to make a balloon banner.  I bought four bags of different color balloons plus a roll of string.  

Toby had fun playing with the balloons while I was blowing.

Lulu, Corey, Toby, and Whitney with Toby's balloon banner

Audrey found a cute cake on a blog and posted on her blog http://www.casasheds.blogspot.com/.  Whitney made a sour cream vanilla cake.  We used raspberry jam between the layers, then frosted with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  I covered the sides in shredded coconut and sprinkled sprinkles in a circle on top.

Toby blowing out candles on his birthday cake

My philosophy is if you are going to have a party, make it nice!  

These ideas were very inexpensive, festive, and pretty. 

Blogs are an incredible resource for ideas.

Corral Repairs

Papa has been making repairs to our corral over the past two weeks, in anticipation of our ranch branding on June 25.  Our corral is over 100 years old and not in the best of shape.  Making repairs to the corral is like "putting lipstick on a pig."

Agave Blooming

Over the past three weeks, many agave on the ranch have started blooming.  There are six blue agave blooming on the ridge just to the east of our house.  We've hiked over a couple of times, just to get up close, seeing hummingbirds both times.  The blue agave blooms are deep orange red and their blossoms are bright yellow.  They are beautiful!

Toby's 2nd Birthday Weekend

I am spending a few days in Austin, Texas, to celebrate Toby's 2nd birthday.  What fun we're having!  Toby loves his new swimming pool in the backyard.  He and his friend, Dylan blew bubbles, opened gifts, and played at his party.  Loved every moment, including the "friend" hug at the end of the party.

Family

The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to. ~Dodie Smith 

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories. ~George Eliot

The family is one of nature's masterpieces. ~George Santayana, The Life of Reason

National Register of Historic Places Sign

The Schilling Ranch Historic District, aka "Rock House, Bunkhouse, barns, and corrals" on our ranch, were placed on the National Historic Register in August 2009.  Papa and I recently bought and installed a National Register sign at the gate.

Summertime

I love summertime!  The days are warm and long.  We can wear lighter clothes and we can do all sorts of things we can't do in wintertime.  I have been sorting and scanning old photos from the girls preschool years.  We lived in Dallas then.  We went on a beach vacation every summer and we went on field trips every day of summer.  The field trip could be in the back yard or at the zoo or a park.  We were busy!  These photos share some favorite memories from those summers.

Audrey Riding her Bike for the first time Without Training Wheels!

 Playing on the Beach

 Swimming

 Climbing Trees

 Playing in our Playhouse in the Backyard

 Enjoying Local Parks

Going Fishing