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.

Rillito River Trail

Papa and I have been in Tucson for a couple of days, doing our regular volunteering at the Boys and Girls Clubs every Tuesday evening.  When driving over the Rillito River, enroute to our house yesterday, we noticed the river was running.  A rare sight!  This morning, Papa and I drove down 

and parked near the river.  We then hiked about 3+ miles along the Rillito River Trail.  

With over 25 miles of river trail, we have lots more to explore.

Morning After the Big Rain

The clouds lifted.  The creeks are roaring.  Its a beautiful morning on the ranch!

Another Rainy Day

As of 5:00 today, we've had 2.4" of rain in the past 48 hours and its still sprinkling!  Its pretty amazing to get this much rain in two days in the desert!  Only once since we bought the ranch in 2003, have we gotten more rain in a similar time frame, and that deluge came within 1 hour, so it mostly ran off and caused massive damage and erosion.  The rain of today and yesterday has been slow and steady and is soaking in.  Well... we have a few puddles.  We love it!

Rainy Day

It is rare for us to have a rainy day, all day.  Today is one of those days and we are loving it!  Over a half inch of rain has fallen since midnight.  The clouds are low.  Its a good day to hunker down.

Movies

Papa and I have spent a few extra days in Tucson over the past two weeks.  While there we've seen two movies that we particularly liked.  The Hundred-Foot Journey, tells the story of a feud between two adjacent restaurants: one operated by a recently relocated Indian family and the other managed by a Michelin-starred French chef.  It was filmed in St. Antonin-Noble-Val, a French village we visited a few years ago. 

The second movie we enjoyed was The Good Lie, about Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.  I highly recommend both of these movies.