Weekend at Lake Geneva, WI

A few months ago, Audrey invited Papa and me to join their family for a weekend at Lake Geneva.  They won the weekend at a silent auction for Lauren's preschool.  We flew up on Friday morning, and met them early afternoon.  We explored Lake Geneva, getting ice cream and going on a 

boat ride.  We went to a petting zoo and we had fun on a nearby playground.  Mostly we enjoyed 

the time with Audrey, Dan, Lauren, and Taylor, who said "Wuwu and Papa," over and over!

 

 

 

Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains

Papa and I drove into Tucson this afternoon.  As we approached the city, we saw smoke in the mountains.  It was a small amount of smoke, up one canyon.  Within four to five hours, the fire had spread over a much larger area and is now (as I write this) burning up to the top of what is visible from the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, the northern boundary of the city of Tucson. 

This photo taken over the top of our nearest neighbor to the north.

Summer Green

In every direction we look on the ranch, we are blessed to see green grass.  We love summers on the ranch, and this one is special. 

Our Toad Friend

Every summer, like clockwork, after we have had several rains, our toad friend appears on our porch.  Of course, we don't know if it is the same toad, but there can't be that many, at 5420', a half mile uphill from a seasonal creek, and in the desert!  He's back!  He knocks on the window as he catches bugs.  He feels like an old friend!

Indian Caves with Colter Lee

Colter Lee come over early this morning.  Papa and I set off with him by 8, to hike to two Indian caves.  The first was on the far side of Rattlesnake Canyon.  We explored the site, with Colter Lee climbing into all the shallow caves.  We checked out the red marks on the wall, the grindstone, and I found a stone carving tool laying in the rocks.  A real find!  As we were hiking back down into the canyon, we saw a rattlesnake.  Yikes!

We drove the Ranger to another site, and hiked to a second Indian cave.  This one was smaller, but has great places to climb.  After finding a tool at the first site, Colter Lee was hopeful to find an arrowhead.  We had no such luck, but we had a good time!

 

Rainy Day

Yesterday was a busy day for Papa.  Bulls knocked some fence down up the mountain, and fifty plus cows escaped the pasture.  Papa repaired the fence and then he and Oscar rounded up the cows in light rain to move them back.  The rain all around us was beautiful!

Friend's Visit

Jennie, a lifelong friend of Papa's, visited us at the ranch.  Papa and Jennie were friends since elementary years and graduated from high school together.  They reconnected at their 50th class reunion last October.  She drove from Tucson early in the morning, arriving on the ranch by 9:30.  We picked her up at the gate and drove in on the Ranger.  We sat on the porch and talked until lunchtime.  By 2, clouds were rolling in and we drove Jennie back to her car, at the gate.  We enjoyed the day!

Kartchner Caverns

I picked up Madilyn, Colter Lee, and Traven by 9:30 yesterday morning for a trip to Kartchner Caverns.  Along the way, we stopped for a few minutes on 3 Links Ranch to let a roundup pass.

Within an hour, we arrived at Kartchner Caverns.  We had a snack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then put everything in the Hummer before meeting our group.  This was the first time visit to a cave for Madilyn, Colter Lee, and Traven.  They seemed to take it all in, listening to our guide's descriptions of all the different formations.  We had a good day!

 

 

Rock Hunting with Traven

During the ranch roundups, Traven saw two places with pretty rocks.  He knows that I collect rocks, so we made a date to go check them out.  Colter drove Traven over by 9 this morning, and we set off in the Ranger.  Traven got the gates.  We found amazing rocks! We also saw a cottontail bunny, a big bug, caterpillars, we looked for frogs around the dirt tank on top of the hill, and we had a snack in tall grass.  Papa helped Traven clean rocks when we got home, while I made lunch.  Traven wanted to watch Branding slideshows after lunch, and he fell fast asleep on the sofa.  We had fun!

 

Branding Crew 2015

A terrific crew!