My Achilles Heel and the Cause of My Gray Hair

This post is for all of you who think I am brave after posting a picture of the scorpion. So fair warning: this post contains pictures of crawly critters. Stop reading here if you have a problem with that. :)

This is also a long-winded post, but I am writing some of these stories down for the kids and future grand kids. :)

I don't have a problem with scorpions or spiders or bees or wasps and I even think tarantulas are awesome and frogs are cute. I love lizards. Our boy had a pet  Collared Lizard named Rex for years:

He was the coolest thing:

                                      

No, we did not let him run loose in the house, but at times we would take him out to play with him. He had a heat rock in his terrarium where he would flatten out and it always looked like he was laying on the beach waiting for the girls. We fed him crickets and grasshoppers and you could hold him in one hand and feed them to him with the other. When he had had enough he would actually shake his head no. He didn't want anymore. LOL. Sometimes we couldn't find crickets so we would buy them and on one trip, we noticed that the crickets were starting to die in the bag before we got home. We lived 3 hours from town. So what's a Mama to do? I grabbed a straw from a drink, very carefully opened the bag (didn't exactly relish the idea of 50 crickets running loose in the truck), and inserted the straw. Then I periodically blew into the straw and lo and behold, the crickets revived. I am not making this up. Saved every one. So now I can add 'resuscitated crickets' to my list of 'things I have done'. LOL

One year, our boy gave our girl a Horny Toad for her birthday and she was thrilled.

No sarcasm there either, She loved critters as much as he did. He built her a plexi-glass terrarium and she named her Horny Toad 'Duke'. We are big John Wayne fans around here.

Our son also has a passion for snakes. Oye. I've always been told that you're not worth your weight in salt...or bacon...or bread dough... as a ranch wife if you cannot kill a snake. There isn't a shovel invented with a handle long enough for me to do that. Just hand me the gun. Yes, I am terrified of snakes. And I raised a boy who loves them. He was a regular Steve Irwin growing up.

We have snake stories in our family. I have the gray hair as evidence. And it was a great source of fun for our nature loving son. I am going to share 2 of those stories here. These pictures aren't great because these are in a scrap book and I just took a picture of the pictures. :) The story is straight from the scrap book.

1. Fishing is one of your favorite ways to spend the day. You are a fishing fanatic and Kiley shares your passion. When he came to visit, you spent hours and hours fishing. Alas, this particular afternoon turned out to be about SNAKES, not fish! Ugh! While the three of you were having a ball catching fish, I was enjoying myself by capturing the memories with my camera. Little did I know that this afternoon was going to include an experience that would be told many times over through the years. And it started out to be such a peaceful day!

Kiley was working on his fishing line next to the tackle box. Caitlin was casting her line easily into the water. You were on the north end of the pool, fishing by the willow tree that hangs over into the water. Ahh! Quiet. Peace. Tranquility.

 NOT! Suddenly, the lazy afternoon air was broken by Kiley's shrieks of , "SNAKE! SNAKE!" I don't think I have to tell you how I feel about snakes, but apparently Kiley shares my thoughts on the matter.

It seems a snake was also enjoying the languid waters on that placid summer afternoon and he just happened to poke his head out of that water close to the tackle box...and Kiley! Suddenly the air was filled with flying fishing poles as Kiley and Caitlin tossed them into orbit and jumped off of the wall, yelling at the top of their lungs. Simultaneously, you broke into a run... towards the snake! As you brushed past the tree branches, they slapped you from behind and you were thrown into the water. I was running to make sure everyone was OK when Caitlin stopped and asked, "Tyler, are you in the water?" I looked into the water and there you stood, submerged up to your shoulders, nodding, and I broke into laughter. All of us were almost brought to our knees, but not for long!

You were out of that water like a shot, fishing pole still in hand, and running towards the snake:

Our laughter turned to screams when you picked it up and headed toward US! I don't even know how I managed to take these pictures! Let me tell you, it is next to impossible to run, and scream, and laugh, and take pictures at the same time you are wetting your britches.

After you released him gently back into the water, we actually had to go back to the house so that I could change my clothes. I am convinced that my hair was turning gray at that precise moment. Looking back at these pictures, I realize that the snake was not the huge monster that he seemed to be at the time and we probably scared the poor little guy as much as he scared us. YOU, on the other hand, are a rascal, but it makes for a great story, doesn't it?

2. Dad was away, helping brand at the LE in New Mexico and we headed to the Kingston to feed horses. It was such a gorgeous day and we took our time, enjoying the sweet air and mountain views. Tyler wandered over to the swimming pool to explore

and Caitlin and I loved on the horses. When it was time to go, I called to Tyler who reluctantly made his way back to the pickup and climbed into the passenger seat. I was reluctant to leave as well and had the door open and one foot on the ground as I began to slowly pull away at a snail's pace. Tyler says, "Hey, Mom! Look at this!" I turned to him and he had a snake curled up around his arms. There are no words, but apparently, I made an awful sound, and bailed out faster than you can say 'scat'. I jumped right back in and hit the brake and slammed the gearshift into park to save the kids and bailed out again. They were both laughing their heads off but Caitlin's laughter was interspersed with comments like, "Tyler! That's not funny" and "You scared Mama!", laughing all the while. That little toot! I told him to 'Put him down...NOW." His reply, "But Mom! I want to show him to Dad!" Oh, Lord! I did not sign up for this...did I?

So Tyler was banished to the bed of the truck with the snake and we turned towards home. Each time I glanced in the rear view mirror, he had that snake crawling around his arm. Shudder. It was a harmless grass snake, but oye!

Brave? No. Gray headed? Most definitely!

Calling on That Sense of Humor...

On Wednesday night we had another one of our never ending wind storms. I was outside finishing up in the garden and snapping a picture for Judy

                                   

when DH came around the corner and told me I had exactly 1 minute to get to the house before I was sandblasted: 

These old ranch houses are not very airtight and sand swirls through every nook and cranny. Once the wind snatches up those sand grains, there is no escape. The back screen door was ripped open sometime during the night and I now have the distinct privilege of tending to this:

That part won't be too awful, but getting those shards of glass out of my weeds:

may take a tad longer.

I was up at 2:30 the next morning and stumbled into the kitchen to begin preparations for a crew of 11. This is what greeted me as I stood at the sink:

Took just a few seconds to set things straight!

                          

And then, just to prove that I am not fully awake at 2:30 in the morning, nor at 3:30 when the following took place, I promptly swept a huge container of water right off of the counter onto the floor. Well fiddlesticks. And yes, I did actually say that.

I heard chairs scootch quickly to see if I needed help and DH asked if I was OK, but I hollered that all was well. As I dashed through the dining room to the linen closet to grab a couple of towels, I noticed amused grins on the crew, but they were trying to avoid looking at me. Matt looked up sheepishly and I saw his eyes twinkle. I flicked my wet fingertips in his face as I stepped past him and we all laughed.

That sense of humor I mentioned a few posts back...it comes in handy...even at 3:30 in the morning.

A Welcome Sound...

I wrote this on Monday, but time is getting away from me. Still, I wanted to get it on record. :)

Last night I fell asleep to the sound of rain falling! I lay in bed and tried with all my might to stay awake for as long as I could just so that I could listen to it. I'll admit that I fell asleep with tears falling onto my pillow...very quiet, happy tears. Tears of praise and thankfulness.

                       

DH was out the door by 4:30 this morning and he dumped an inch from the rain gauge. When I peeked out, I heard the gorgeous sound of frogs...lots and lots of frogs...errr...toads. I call it a froggy serenade and posted about it here. That was back in July 2009, and I do believe that may have been the last time we heard it. That lovely sound means we have tank water!

                       

We're excited about our inch. DH is hauling cattle to the sale barn this morning, but this afternoon we'll get around while we feed and see what the storm brought on other parts of the ranch. They were going to sort in the Petty Pens, but they were under water so they hauled the cattle to our pens at headquarters. What a great problem to have!

                        

My old trusty pal and I went on a walkabout before 6 this morning.

                                      

We had places to explore:

                       

Gus is our 15 yr old cow dog and he's a great companion who has earned his retirement:

                       

Splashing in a waterhole is pretty much the perfect way to start the day:

                         

We stumbled upon this little nest of eggs:

                       

 They are Kildeer eggs:

                           

The rain paints such pretty patterns in the sand:

                                   

This shot looks like it's upside down, but it's not. It's just reflections in the water:

                          

I flipped it and now it's upside down:

These muddy puddles may not be blog worthy for many of you, but for us, well, I can't think of  a prettier picture:

                                           

It doesn't take long for this country to green up, but it will take more rain for it to recover from the extreme 3 years of drought we've had.

But right now, this particular rain came fast and hard and it filled most of our dirt tanks! Some are more full than others, and some are overflowing! All but 2 were dry before this rain so you can bet we're breathing a little easier

This inch is a far cry from ending the drought, but it is our saving grace. Praise God and thank you for all of your prayers. Keep 'em coming!

As for me, as much as I hate to, I've got to make a trip into town this afternoon. We're working cattle on Tues and Thurs and it might behoove me to have something other than bread to serve them.

I'm whipping up a batch of our boy's favorite cookies this morning and sending him a package when I go to town. I figure you're never too old for care packages from home. Gosh, I miss those kids!

I imagine there will be lots of happy faces on the farmer's and ranchers in town today as well as at my dining room table at 4 am tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see those muddy boots walk through my door!

Unplugged and Eight Extra Legs Under My Table at 4 am

   I’ve been away for a bit. Not  away, away. I’ve been here, but  our  Internet has been down for 12 days. Right after my last post, the Internet quit. Later, I realized the TV was out too. The roofers were shoveling  4 layers of old shingles off of the roof…right onto our satellite dishes. :)

 We’re not big TV watchers so that wasn’t a big deal, and even the Internet isn’t a big deal, but being without it made us realize how much we depend on it. We couldn’t check the weather or get any news and I felt lost without checking in with y’all. Only learned about the Oklahoma tornado from one of the crew on Tuesday morning.  Those poor people. I cannot imagine. We don’t see people on a day to day basis out here so we tend to rely on the Internet for our news.

 After 3 days, we did get the DISH technician out so we had TV for news. Found out we were in the path of some severe weather that included hail. Half finished roof plus hail does not make for a good combination. Thankfully, we were spared the hail, but sadly, we didn’t get any rain either. All of you in Texas who are soaked…let’s dig a ditch to NM. I’ll start from this end.

Our Internet was another story. We have Hughes Net. It’s our only option out here. I used up all my cell phone minutes chatting with the lovely representatives in India. Still no Internet. Nuff said. 12 days later, and another $100 tacked on to the phone bill and we're finally up and running.

We branded 2 days the week the roofers were here and had a small crew. Just  5 men. Not a big deal, but that 3:30 wakeup call is getting harder and harder to obey.  After cooking for a crew for 26 years, I have a system. I know what they like and how much they eat and no one goes hungry…except maybe this morning. We’re not working tomorrow so I planned everything just right. I finished up a lot of stuff. Cracked the last egg (with just enough for scrambling, plus a few for the blueberry muffins, and 4 left for a chile rellenos casserole); used the last of the bacon and sausage and hash brown potatoes. Last piece of bread for toast too. Then the neighbors walk in the door…4 of them. Suddenly, my 5 for breakfast turned into 9. DH didn’t have them scheduled until the 30^th. Oops! LOL. Um…think fast.  Grab those 4 eggs and dig very deep into the freezer for a package with 4 pieces of bacon left. Have just enough coffee left for a few more pots. Gather more chairs… and silverware and plates and cups and pull out the table to put in an extra leaf.

 I saw the crew watching me. I think they were wondering if I was going to blow. LOL. Honestly, I just laughed and dusted off the initial surprise and made due. What kind of ranch wife would I be if I didn’t? If you’re planning on being a ranch wife, flying by the seat of your pants is a skill I highly recommend, and add in a dose of humor. It’ll serve you well on a daily basis. At dinner I was highly praised for not coming unglued. 

 Poor DH had to quickly change his schedule around too. The day before, he had hauled the branding rig to the pens where they were going to work and I was going to drop the crew and their horses in another pasture. We didn’t need a big crew for what he had planned so he quickly changed things up to take advantage of more help. Oye! It was a little like Keystone Cops in my tiny kitchen for a while.

To top it all off, a little critter jumped out of my apron when I pulled it from the hook on the wall. He looked like this:

Sorry fella…you are not invited to breakfast this morning.

I had already made up a big pan of chicken enchiladas and a berry pie for dessert the day before. With 4 extra, I had to expand my menu. I was already fixing a salad, and a big pot of beans, and homemade rolls, and Pico de Gallo. There is a really nice family at our North Camp and when Jake left after breakfast he whispered, “Kassie’s up and planning on making a trip to town if you need anything.” Dear man…married to a dear wife who picked up some apples and orange juice for me to make a big pan of Spiced Apple Twists to serve with ice cream for dessert. I was trying to think of something that didn’t require eggs since I had used my last one. Then I went out to the coop and sweet talked the chickens into laying me just 2 eggs in time for me to make a different chile rellenos casserole. I bribed them with the promise of watermelon later in the day, and a few minutes later I ran to the house with 2 eggs. Good girls!

Heck, there’s always room for one more around here…or 2…or 3….or 4! Just don't judge my gray hair...I earned every one.