Milestones

Lots has been happening around here & I know I've been very lax in updating. Here's the highlights...

(in no particular order due to Blogger upload logic)

SNAKE!! In all the time I've been out at the ranch, I've never seen a snake... until this past week. We were cleaning up around the ranch & throwing old hay string away, when this little baby snake slithered off the string & caused a really high-pitched squeal (not sure from whom). We think it's a baby water moccasin, which means there's probably a whole nest somewhere nearby. Needless to say, the hay string is still there until we can get a pitchfork.

Mike K turned 40! Lots of scheming went on to make it a surprise & we were definitely successful.

The amazing cake was created by Jill A

Due to driving 1-2k miles a week, my car reached the 100,000 mile mark.

Pretty amazing to think that it only had 15k when I got it right before moving to TX.

Clifford spend 2 days hand digging and putting in the septic lines at the ranch. I never knew there was so much (or little) to a septic system! I went out one evening to help cover it all up. We ended up finishing by flashlight since it got so late. Well actually Clifford held the flashlight while I shoveled, but guess that's ok since he had to dig/trench it all out. I think I got the easy part!

Here is the 1st strawberry of the season. Have a couple more almost there, but this was the first one we ate & it was delicious. If only we had a few hundred more!

We have WATER at the ranch!!! They finally finished the well, we got the septic system finished, and everything all hooked up. Of course, the good thing for me is no more bathroom breaks behind the hay bales! The barn-do-minium is now livable! Now we'll just need to figure out when we're both off one weekend so we can move. It might be a slow/painful process. :)

Planted the blackberry bushes at the ranch today. I'd gotten 5 plants, but not sure how many survived. They're along the back fence, so hopefully we'll have a blackberry bramble in a few years. (I can't really believe I actually planted blackberries & am hoping for a bramble....aren't these things weeds that you're suppose to try and get rid of?