New life

 We built a new home on smaller acreage north of the old ranch.  The boys (Andy & Chris) are older and getting their own lives.  Ray and I are getting older and wanted to spend more time enjoying life instead of taking care of 10 acres and a 130 year old home.  We loved our place in Pilot Point, but it was time for a change.

In the year 2020 we moved into our new home.  We love it!  It is so easy to care for.  We are still unpacking.  We lived in Pilot Point for 25 years, so trying to figure out where to put things in the new place is challenging.  Hubby's shop needs some work and then he can build us more storage for us to unpack some more.

The year also brought the quarantine as everyone is fully aware.  We were not affected like most people.  We were blessed to be able to continue work after a short break and stayed healthy most of the year.  The best thing to happen was we became the godparents to a beautiful baby boy.  He is so beautiful, but we may be a little prejudice.  We also did a little geocaching...found some, placed some, and DNF'd some.

The year 2021 started a little rough with Ray being sick and then there was the Texas Snowmagedden.  It was COLD!  Although the snow was beautiful to see.  Thankfully we had power and water and hunkered down till the cold weather left.

We have a geocaching trip coming up in March.  We are planning to attend the Texas Challenge in Cisco, TX.  We won't be competing but it will be good to see our friends, find some local caches, and find some waymarks.  As far as the rest of the year, guess we will see what it brings.

2018 Speeding By

Well, the holidays have come and gone and we are already in MAY!  Where did the time go?  Well besides working and doing chores around the ranch, we have been busy.

November was filled with food and friends.  December brought the graduation of Chris from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.

January of the new year was cold weather and we held a big party celebrating Chris's graduation.  Too much going on in December to celebrate properly.  I'm sure he is glad that chapter is closed.

February, the month of love, whizzed by with activities such as, the Super Bowl, our church's annual chili cookoff, and an early start to Lent.

March's Irish eyes smiled down watching us keep busy.  We attend several geocaching events and assisted with the big annual Texas Challenge geocaching event. 

Over 500 people came to this 4-day event in Denton, TX from all over the world.  We also helped the church put on a live Stations of the Cross in shadow box form and put together a party at church for our African Mission trip.

April...ah spring...oops there it went. Spring here is a matter of hours not days.  We hung out with family and friends for Easter and always look forward to that time.  We celebrated some geocaching friends renewing their wedding vows with an event and of course some caching.  We did not celebrate tax day.  Our Andy turned 25!!  Doesn't seem possible.

We went to Richardson, TX and spent the day with him eating and playing games. 

Ray created and placed our first puzzle cache.  He made Andy and Nina test it out.  Guess he thought if they could figure it out, anyone could.  It published as GC7M441--give it a try.

And now here we are in the second week of May already. 

It was 70 degrees one day and 90 the next.  This month Nina has a baby shower to attend in Pflugerville, TX and there is a LARGE geocaching event in Cincinnati, OH to which we will be going.

The ranch is quiet.  The cattle are doing well, but we lost all our chickens to predators and haven't restarted our flock.  Everyone stay cool this month and we will talk to you later.

We're back.....again

Yep, we are back.  We still exist.  I know it is hard to believe, but we are here none the less.  let's see it was 2013 since the last post.  My how time flies.  Quick update, the last post showed a calf that has grown is gone.  Momma cow is still with us, but Bro-daddy bull is gone.  Two of his sons are still here.  We had chickens and LOVED the fresh eggs.  Unfortunately, the fox, neighbors, and dogs like chicken meat and we lost our entire flock in various ways.  Someday we hope to get more chickens.  We have even discussed new designs for our coop.

As far as the ranch is concerned we have reined it back quite a bit.  The boys now in college are no longer at home.  Ray and I are working and don't have the energy or time to do a lot.  We still love our little ranch, but we are considering downsizing.  Our ten acres and 127 year old home requires attention and finances.  Ray and I are at a time in our life when we would like to do fun things on the weekends and not chores. 

We have spent the last three weekends on the road.  The first weekend of October, Ray and I attended a Knights of Columbus installation weekend.  What a fun "date" weekend.  It included dining and dancing.  We really enjoyed it.

The second weekend of October found us in the state park in Abilene, TX.  We rented a large house with 10 other people.  It was a geocaching weekend called the TXGA Lone Star Roundup.  There were several events and lots of new geocaches to find in the area.  We cooked breakfast and dinner at the house to save money and did lots of hiking.

The third weekend of October took us to San Marcos, TX.  Our youngest, Chris, attends Texas State University there and his twenty-second birthday was at the beginning of October.  Since we had other commitments this was the first time we could get together to celebrate.  We (Ray, Andy (the oldest), and I) picked up Chris and headed to North Padre Island to enjoy some family time and the beach.  What a wonderful time.

We drove through Port Aransas on the way back.  Hurricane Harvey did a job there.  There are still houses missing shingles, even entire roofs, and piles of rubble everywhere.  They truly need our prayers.  That got me to thinking about Puerto Rico and the islands that were hit.  Some in our church have family there and they are still without power, water, and basic essentials. So much devastation and we are so blessed. 

So with the last three weekends being so busy, we are spending a boring weekend at home this weekend.  It has been chilly the last couple of days but tomorrow should be warmer.  I probably will mow the lawn tomorrow.  Talk about excitement.

Not sure if anyone is watching this any more, and can't blame them if they aren't since it has been so long, but I am going to try to write every so often...not every few years.

HAPPY BURPDAY

Welcoming the latest addition to the ranch. 

Sad day

Today was a sad day at our ranch. An old oak tree by our drive way died and had to be taken down. 

It is amazing how much wood there is in a tree. It took 3 large trailer loads to haul it off. 

IT IS FALL!!

We have really been enjoying cooler weather and we even had rain last week!!  Woot!! Woot!!  It is amazing what rain can do.  My once brown yard and pastures are now green and need to be mowed.  Would love to have some more of that rain (maybe some this week), but our church is supposed to be replacing it's roof this week and rain would be good.  Sadly the drought has claimed the life of 3 of our really big oak trees.  We are trying to water them, but it is expensive and I'm not sure if it is doing any good.  We will keep trying though because I love those trees!

The temperatures have been wonderful.  Only highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s.  The animals even seem to be happier.  Everyone seems to be in a better mood.  Work is keeping hubby and I quite busy, but we still find time to enjoy the outdoors.  We worked in the yard all day Saturday, cleaning up a dead tree that was cut down over a month ago and mowing.  But then Sunday we decided to play and went geocaching.  Perfect weather for it, cool and sunny.  Love spending time with him.

Hope everyone else is having a great fall.

Fall?

Is fall around the corner?  Possibly. The mornings aren't cool but they aren't as hot. The days are still warm, but the hope of fall is in the air. 

Our family enjoys geocaching. If you don't know what that is, you should check out www.geocaching.com. We especially enjoy cooler weather for this outdoor activity.

It takes us to all kinds of neat places. This is a sunset picture on one of the trips. Then this weekend we hung out at Tyler State Park. There were people swimming and canoeing. 

More Crazy Weather

There are times that our ranch name just fits and this weather is one of those times.  Today's high is to be around 79 degrees.  BEAUTIFUL!!  The lawn is mowed, the animals are happy, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and the birds are singing.  Tomorrow is another story---the predicted high is 54 degrees!  Here we go again.  We are greatful that we will be getting some rain with the temperature drop.  No snow but the weatherman said high winds and hail are possible.

The one thing about a ranch is that there is always something to do, no matter what the weather brings.  Nice weather brings outside chores and plenty of them, but when Mother Nature gets busy there is plenty to do on the inside too.

We visited Caddo Lake in far east Texas over spring break.  We stayed in the town of Uncertain. Yes, that is the name of the town and not a typo.  We relaxed, toured the lake on the last wooden steam-powered paddle boat, played all kinds of games, canoed, geocached, and just generally recharged ourselves.  Caddo Lake is beautiful and I highly recommend it. It is close to Jefferson where all the antique shops are located.  We took a day just to stroll around and look at all the pretties.

Ray is still working hard at our church which limits the hours and energy he has to get things done at home.  On top of it all, Chris and he are fixing up a 1962 Corvair convertible.  This will be Chris' permanent car, but Chris just informed Dad that he would like to use it for prom---on May 4th---less than a month away.  It may require a miracle to get it done.

Nina works at Slay Memorial Funeral Center and Aubrey Florist.  She is working more and loving it.  She has worked on the floral side for a while, but is now being trained on the funeral home side. 

Well, remember to enjoy your family and friends, laugh alot, and thank God for your blessings! We hope everyone is staying safe and sound with all these wild weather patterns.

Crazy Weather at the Circle Crazy S Ranch

The weather this winter has been absolutely bonkers!!  The entire winter had major swings, 80 degrees one day, 40 the next, snow one day and rain the next.

Ray Roberts Lake in the background.

It sure is cold out here!!

It has been a dry winter but we have had worse.  We just wish the temperature could make up it's mind.  

You looking at me?

Spring seems to be here.  Things are starting to bud. Our Narcissus (or Paper Whites) are really blooming and smelling great!

Lining both sides of our front walk.

But no matter what, our indoor animals are always comfy!

Lucy (left) and Bootsie (right)

Katie

We hope this spring finds you healthy and happy no matter what the weather!

First day of school!

Well not much happening on the ranch.  It has been hot and dry.  We had to get rid of some livestock because it is just too expensive feed them all.  We are down to 1 cow, 1 calf, and the neighbor's horse.  Hopefully we will start getting some rain so we can get some more cattle.

The boys started back to school today.  Chris begins his junior year with some hard classes ahead of him.  Andy returns to college.  He hopes to finish up junior college by next summer and attend a university in the following fall.