Erin’s Secret Spot

June 18, 2023

Howdy folks,

Well, our second week of taking care of the ranch while the boss was away went off a lot smoother than the first week.  Not that last week didn't go smoothly, but it involved more people and more trips to town to get supplies.  This week was mostly just me and Valentin working outside around the house, with only two contractors coming out to finish some projects.  This gave me time to run the box blade that we have on the tractor right now over the old roads in the horse pasture.  First, last week, I went back and forth from the barn to the feeders and got it just beautiful...but it was really powdery and loose and needed tamped down and then the tremendous thunderstorm that we got last Tuesday scattered all of that to the Four Winds.  This week, now that it's been much drier, I redid that section and also resuscitated an old road that ran from the water troughs to a second gate along the old driveway, then around the little ridge that looks over the houses and bottom part of the pasture, all the way to the backside of it where you have an amazing view of the mountains that lie just to our north.  I call it the Back 40 and now that I've cut the road, we can access just about every corner of the 220 acres of horse pasture with both the buggy and the tractor.  There is one almost-hill-climb section that makes Erin just about suck her breath in every time that I don't think would allow me to get the backhoe out there...but, where there's a will there's a way.  I mean, you probably have to be a little bit crazy to work with wild horses, right?  I guess you'll just have to ask Erin about it.  She made a video of the first ride out to the Back 40 with me that she's still working on editing and splicing together, then she's going to start a new section of the website that will have videos of all of our crazy adventures.  The temperatures have been about the same as last week, generally speaking 45-85, but, man, have the winds picked up again.  They have just been pounding us day after day.  They're typically heavy from late morning through mid-afternoon and then die back down again.  This is not to be confused with the windy spring season out here, which is much heavier and all-encompassing, but still we've been seeing gusts up to the 40-50mph range almost every day.  Hold on to your hat!  Seriously!  I even took the headband off of the big straw hat that I've had for quite a few years now and put a braided piece of copper on it from some construction site refuse that I saved from the dumpster and made sure that it really squeezes my big noggin tight.  You need it out here or your hat could very well end up in Amarillo!

So, back to the Back 40 and Erin's new Secret Spot, it's exactly one mile from the hay barn, if you follow the road that I made, and I hauled an extra metal table and chair set that we had lying around to make a spot for Erin to sit and get away from it all.  I mean, we're only already out in the middle of nowhere, but now, if you really want to, you can be really out in the middle of nowhere!  We've been trying to go out there every night in the evening at some point, but I've only had it done since Wednesday, so we're still breaking it in.  I figure that the boss will really like it, too, and am eager for her to get back from vacation to see it.  Where the houses sit on the ranch, you can hear the sounds of nearby I-25, depending on the wind and humidity.  They're usually faint, although at times quite surprisingly loud, but in general are a slight background noise that you notice only when the wind isn't blowing.  However, out in the Back 40, there is zero sound of the interstate and you could actually pretend at times to be truly alone on the earth.  Well, of course, until a plane flies over...but, you get the idea.  It's really cool to have a louder, closer-to-town part of the ranch and then this back corner that we're eagerly waiting to view wildlife from.  I've kicked a few deer and elk out back here and just put a trace mineral salt block out in the clearing below our table and chairs with some hay.  I've also chosen this as the spot to deposit all the loose hay from the barn that accumulates over time on the ground and needs swept up and dumped outside somewhere.  I had been putting those sweepings in the old corral, but now have started to put them at the turnaround by our spot.  Why not give the horses a little snack bar when they're so far away from the feeders?  Truly, the biggest excitement of the week was Erin backing the buggy into some patio doors first thing Monday morning...bang!  But, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...boy,  we've got some fixin' to do!

Now, here's another batch of pictures for your viewing pleasure.  First up, a gaggle of our older kittens waiting for the green light for the outside door to open up.  Next, a series of eight shots from the spot that I made for Erin out in the Back 40: first up, a shot along the way there; then, two shots of Erin at her new table and chairs; next, the clearing below in more detail; then, an old pine looming over us; and, finally, three shots of the sunset from our first night hanging out out there.  Then, yet another angle from my never-ending task of filling up the water troughs.  Next, an old cholla stump that is now sprouting new growth.  Then, a sunset glow as seen from our front stoop.  Next, one of my new jobs, cooking for the boss...I kind of love it, actually!  Then, planting some Quaking Aspens on the front side of the new house.  And, then, lastly, two shots from the Great Buggy Incident: first, the scene of the crime; then, Valentin trying to see if we can salvage it or if we're going to have to spend a week's pay to go get it fixed...just when we were getting caught up, too, every time!

See you soon.