Latest DALE Bags

About a month ago, Papa and I bought two new cow hides, with a veg tan finish.  Since we got the leather, Papa has been at work making two new DALE bags.  He made one for cousin Renee and one for me.  The straps are very different on each one.  Nice work, Papa!

Horses

My hike this afternoon was punctuated on either end by the horses.  Oscar, Pablo, and Doc were near the gate to the Buck Knob pasture.  A herd of deer passed between us as I first approached them.  As I was passing by them, they behaved like little boys, nipping at each other.  On my way back through the gate, they stood in my way, begging to be patted.  They are good horses...  spoiled but good.

Papa

I took this photo of Papa at our Winter Roundup.  Nice smile, Papa!

Jim's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

We moved from Tucson to Dallas in August 1982.  Within two months, we found our new home, on Bradbury Lane.  The day the moving van arrived, our next door neighbor, Jim came over to mow our yard, to welcome us to the neighborhood.  His wife, Carolyn came over to tell me their cleaning lady had a day available, which I quickly acted on.  Jim happened to be the Assistant Coach for the Dallas Cowboys.  During those years we lived on Bradbury Lane, we became friends with Jim and Carolyn.  Our kids played with their grandchildren.  We enjoyed the "extras" during the holidays when Jim made fudge and cookies for various players on the Cowboys team.  When Jim retired, Claire and Whitney made it their mission to make sure "Jim was having a good day." 

We stayed in touch with Jim and Carolyn over the years, always exchanging holiday greetings.  Jim wrote when Carolyn passed.  About eighteen months ago, while in Dallas, we stopped to visit Jim.  His memory was gone, but we were glad we saw him.  Jim passed last summer.  His caretaker called to tell us.  She saved a program from his funeral for us, which had a recipe on the back for Jim's Famous Oatmeal Cookies.  They are yummy!

Jim's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Mix:

2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Add:

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 cup melted Crisco

2 beaten eggs

1 tablespoon vinegar

Mix well with spoon or by hand.

Dust batter with flour and refrigerate 10-15 minutes.  Roll cookies.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees. 

Saturday Hike in Bear Creek

Papa and I drove the Ranger  part way across the ranch, to hike in Bear Creek.  We hiked down a very rocky cliff to get to the creek, then enjoyed hearing and seeing running water.  The rocks in Bear Creek are big and colorful, reminiscent of The Flintstones.  It was a strenuous hike.

 

February Sunset

We watch the sunset every evening.  This one was quite colorful. 

Signs of Spring

We've had an unusually warm winter with good amounts of rain in southern Arizona.  

I took these photos yesterday at our Tucson house.  Spring is in the air!

 

Weekend Guests

We had guests from Tucson, Mark and Janine, spent the weekend at the ranch.  Janine and I hiked, Papa and Mark rode horses, we ate and talked, we saw lots of deer, and we hiked some more. 

    

Happy Valentine's Day!

In early January, I put together Valentine's boxes for our grandchildren.  Papa and I have enjoyed seeing photos and hearing from them, what they've made and done with the things in their boxes.  The boxes contained a heart shaped punch, paint swatches, ribbons, washi tape, cards and envelopes, paper in various colors, an M and M tic tac toe game, stamps and ink pad, paint and paint brushes.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Deer Friends

A herd of deer stays close to our house.  There are 17-18 deer in the herd, with one big buck.  We see them almost every day, sometimes within inches of our windows.  They are friendly and don't run away when they see us.  We saw them this morning and again this afternoon, on the south side of our house and down by the Rock House.

Boys & Girls Clubs

Every Tuesday, Papa and I drive from the ranch to Tucson.  We run errands, have lunch out, and then get ready for our time with the the kids at two Boys and Girls Clubs.  We volunteer at the Morton Club from 4:30-5:30, then we drive to the Click Club to volunteer from 6-7 and later.  We work with mostly high school kids.  We talk about and work through various options for their futures. 

The kids at the Click Club are particularly spirited!  We hosted a guest speaker last evening and then had a valentine's party, complete with Blue Bell Ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate 

covered strawberries, a musical hearts game, and valentine crafts.  We had a good time!

Hike Along New Fence

By 8:30 this morning, Papa and I were on our way down the road toward the corner where Colter and Dallin began our most recent fence replacement project.  It was a beautiful, warm morning.  We came within a few feet of a small herd of deer.  We hiked up, down, and more up and down, through lechuguilla, across burbling creeks, and then back home along the road.  Four and a half hours after we started our hike, we were coming back through our house gate. We had a terrific hike!

Making Valentines

A couple of days ago, Papa made hearts from old rusty wire, he cut them into pieces, then shaped and tied with string.   Madilyn, Colter Lee, and Traven came over yesterday morning to make valentines.  We cut and decorated lots of valentine cards and they made yarn hearts.  We had lunch and several rounds of hopscotch on the porch.  We played valentine bingo and ate M and M's.  All fun!

 

Low Helicopter

While in the creek yesterday afternoon, I heard an airborne vehicle approaching.  I stood still until I saw a helicopter coming over the hill, low to the ground.  It stayed low and circled twice, before flying off to the south.  Papa was in the corral and he waved at the pilot, who then circled him too.  About ten to fifteen minutes later, the helicopter came back, up the canyon, and flew toward the mountain, crazy low!

Creeks Running

Four days after the rains of last weekend, all the creeks on the ranch are still running.  Papa rode Oscar up the creek nearest the corral.   The sound of running water is like music to our ears.