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.

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!