Granite Dells

Papa and I drove from Tucson to the Grand Canyon today.  Along the way, we stopped in Prescott for lunch and to visit an art gallery.  Our next stop was the Granite Dells, just north of Prescott.  Granite Dells are a beautiful sight, and especially with the snow capped San Francisco Peaks in the distance.

Listening

As I hiked this week, I listened.  We don't have much extraneous noise on the ranch.  On Friday, 

I paid attention to the sounds while hiking.  I heard flies buzzing, birds chirping, a plane engine far away, wind rustling the grass, air moving under a vulture's wings as he flew, and my heart beating.  We are blessed to have such quiet on the ranch, so that we hear the sounds of nature. 

Orange Mallow

This big patch of orange mallow is growing in the road, uphill of our house, toward Hunter's Camp and Muskhog Peak.  Papa tells me he knows orange mallow as "pink eye," and if you touch it and rub your eyes, your eyes will become irritated. 

Papa Working With the Horses

Papa works with Oscar, Pablo, and Doc every couple of weeks.  He practices getting them in and out of the horse trailer, along with several other exercises.  Mostly the horses play along, with Oscar most often being a "grouch," Doc doing as he's told, and Pablo pouting until its his turn.  I hiked down to the Rock House while Papa was working with the horses this afternoon.

Traven Visit

After a busy day, I hiked down the hill toward the Rock House by mid afternoon.  Colter and Traven were dropping off fence materials, left over from our boundary fence project.  Traven had spent the day with his Dad.  Traven had a bad fall when he was three, with his face hitting a rock.  Most of his front teeth became loose, and by the time he turned five, he had lost nine teeth, and has a snaggle tooth smile! 

Spring Blooming Cacti

The Sonoran Desert is ablaze with spring cacti blooms!  We spent the past two days at our 

Tucson house.  I took these photos in our yard and along my walks in the neighborhood. 

 

Easter Morning Hike

We drove the Ranger to our entrance gate this morning and hiked up the eastern ridge of the ranch.  The grass is tall with plenty of new growth at the base.  The sky was clear and the views were extraordinary!  The horses were at a drinker by the road as we drove home. 

  

 

Beautiful Spring on the Ranch

We see new flower blooms opening every day.  Our first year heifer crop is roaming about in the pasture around our house.  Deer greeted us within 10' of our windows earlier this week, and they were grazing nearby this morning.  The larger than normal rainfall so far in 2015 - 3.4" and counting, has contributed to this exceptionally beautiful spring!

Easter Eggs

I always have fun coloring eggs.  When at the grocery on Wednesday morning, I bought yellow 

and red onions with extra onion skins that were laying about, and a red cabbage.  Last evening 

while making dinner, I wrapped eggs in onion skins with rubber bands, then put the extra 

onion skins in the boiling water.  I chopped a quarter of the cabbage and put it in a pot of water, 

along with three eggs.  Each pot boiled about 10 minutes and cooled about an hour.

These beautiful colored eggs were the products of all the chopping, wrapping, and boiling. 
Happy Easter!

Thistle

Our horses, Oscar, Pablo, and Doc, seem to think thistle blooms are candy.  They love them!