58 Ranch Life

     February 27th
     We  packed up  and suited up for our trip to the ranch.    It was 46 degrees this morning,   when you are traveling outside at 70 mph the cold air chills you to the bone.  We found out after a few miles are jacket liners weren't heating up the way they should be.  We pulled into a ranch entrance to check out the problem.  I found a broken wire from the power source.  We could have found ways to repair it, we usually can, however with Stephenville a hundred and fifty five miles away we decided to tough it out and keep going to our destination.  Ruthie put on rain suit top to block wind,  I got out heavier gloves and we traveled on.  We could have slowed down but you know how I feel about wasting those extra mph, you can’t save them up.

Our home for two weeks, hope the truck is in Park!

     By the time we got to Brownwood we were ready to grab a bite to eat.    We had seen Scholtzkes on this trip and this was as good a time to see what kind of food they had.  Of course we were a little chilled so it was a good chance to warm up.  We found they are a fancy sandwich shop with specialty breads.  Very tasty.  I ordered some coffee to warm up , the coffee pot was empty.  The worker went to ask other employees how to make the coffee.  While I was waiting I purchased cookies to have with coffee.  She (worker) was getting everything together to make coffee, and then came back and said "I guess we don’t sell coffee" . I suggested that they not have it on the menu as an item to sell and that maybe they should remove the coffee pot.  ( maybe just a little impatient now, not like me.)  Another employee came along and said they would make the coffee.   We had now spent way to long for our lunch, "Lets just fill this (empty coffee cup I'm holding) with milk to save time.  She came back and said  “ they tell me we don’t sell milk.”   First day huh.  I will wait for the coffee.

    Back on the road we located a bank to get cash for our rental property.   When we arrived at Serendipity ranch they were just leveling our home,  the truck was still attached and would provide battery power until we were hooked up to electricity,  The electrician was supposed to hook it up the day before but of course not all things go as planned.  We met Glenn the owner of the ranch and got a tour of the ranch house , The original ranch house had been built in 1946 and the third generation owner had bulldozed the home and rebuilt to the original specs in the late 90's  5 bedrooms and four fireplaces, I think if we had a home like this we would never go out.
   This would be our home and base for our travels for two weeks, I think we are going to like it here.  We slept well that night, it was nice not having the concern of where we were traveling to or where we would be staying.  We heard some coyote's howling and Lopez our new neighbor greeted his horse friend Stormy several times.  I've decided he brays like you play harmonica, emitting his unique noise both by exhaling and inhaling.   We spent some time watching him (not much on TV)  Even though he was tiny Stormy seemed to rely on him for decisions and would follow him around the corral.  
The next day was windy (not surprised) so we spent some time inside, maybe to much time.  Ruthie said I made her feel paranoid, "pairanoid"  I said, she kept me quite busy, was interesting enough and I was very happy with just one of her, I know, we need to get outside more. 

  We rested for a couple of days made some short trips into Stephenville, interesting place they advertise as the Cowboy capital of the world, ( I think I've heard that before?)   Found a great BBQ place there called the Hard 8 They have a covered area where they do all the grilling.  You order at the grill and then walk in for your fixings . Very good, we will be back.   Several nights the wind was so strong that our little home made us wonder if we were going to be laying on the wall in the morning.
     Sunday morning we decided to try a cowboy church we had seen on the trip to town.  It was just a huge metal pole building with an arena beside it.  When we arrived there were some people on horseback sitting by the entrance sign, I thought "I hope they aren't the ushers or church greeters."    Turns out they were more for atmosphere and would wave to cars passing by or entering the parking lot.  The attendance was amazing.  The parking lot was full of trucks and the congregation was sprinkled with western hats, I felt at home.  A calming message, some gospel music, (made a note of "Come to the Water, would be great to hear Michelle sing this one) , good fellowship and end the service with "Happy Trails" does it get any better than this.  We found out the Arena is part of their Christian outreach, they use it during the week for everything from steer roping to barrel racing.   One of the items in the bulletin was Barrels and Bibles on Tuesday evening.  

     Sometimes in the evening we would hear a commotion behind our camper.  Wandering out there we found it was some of the ranch residents practicing "heading and heeling"  They rent Mexican cattle because they stay smaller,  when they are released from the chute one of the riders ropes the head while the other ropes the rear legs, quite a feat while running at full speed.  Interesting comparison where up north they might be practicing baseball or football after a day of work or school.  Here they get out their horse and practice arena events.  Some of these young people will go on to be rodeo stars.
      We  just heard Justin Trevino on the radio.  I guess they weren't kidding when we went to that dance in Marathon TX he is a national star.

March 4th,  The weather man was promising some warmth and less wind today, ( you notice I said less, after all we are in Texas.)   Today we ride.  We headed East with the wind behind us.  It was fun to see the huge ranch entrances,  we went thru a little town where Bonnie and Clyde had rented a room to case the bank across the street.  George Straight made a movie in the same town.  I think George was the winner..    
    We stopped in Waxahachie to take a picture of the beautiful Ellis County courthouse.

      In Palmer we stopped into Jenny’s cafe,  As we sat down I seen a large green frog (not real) that had popped up back  by the kitchen,  by the time she turned around it was gone.  I kept watching the spot so I could prove I wasn’t imagining things.  The waitress said we couldn’t’ go wrong with the Chicken fried steak,  we shared the meal ( their goes that frog back down again, to late to show it to Ruthie.) two vegetables and fresh cut fry's.  She was right, great home cooked meal.  There goes that darn frog again.   Starting to irritate me, doesn’t anyone else see it.  I took a picture of Ruthie beside the barbed wire display, don’t see that at home much.  The metal shears under the picture on the left are used for shearing sheep wool, now that I do remember from my youth.  When I stepped away from the table to take Ruthie's picture a  Police officer siting with friends made a  sudden movement and said he had heard an alarm ( must have been the camera opening up)  he teased me ( I think) that I was lucky I hadn't  made the move on his gun side. 

    Finally figured out the frog was linked to the front door,  every time it opened the frog made his mystery trip to alert the kitchen that someone came in.
      We had a nice ride home, full day with lots of western scenery, sometimes it works out having the GPS set on shortest distance and sometimes we end up on a bike path.
     The wind started coming up and their wind advisories.   Sometime in the middle of the night we ran out of propane, the inside temperature dropped to 50 degrees,  and no hot water.   During the day Glenn put on a used tank with the promise to get the others filled.   Tonight there was a freeze warning so he disconnected our water hose.   This ranch life isn't for sissies.