Picnic Hill

Saturday afternoon some people scouted out "Picnic Hill", a piece of property adjacent to SBR overlooking the back tank.

You can actually see the back tank if you look very (very) closely at the center of this photo, between the trees.

The property is very overgrown with brushy weeds, and a few minutes after taking this photo of Bryan and the girls on "Picnic Hill" (the name hasn't grown on me yet...) Brenna tripped and fell into a patch of what we now believe to be stinging nettle. Her denim capris didn't cover her lower calf and the leg swelled up red with white welts that looked like ant bites. She screamed saying it burned. Thankfully we were able to treat with Deep Woods Off at the truck and Benadryl back at the house.

Spring at SBR

Spring Break is coming....

Get ready, get set, and let's all go to SBR for Spring Break.

Some of the family are headed out this weekend, and Lisa and I will bring the kids out on Wed or Thursday. I'm planning a side trip to Austin for Cameron to see the Texas State Capitol building. I'm thinking of doing Goliad or Washington-on-the Brazos that week also.

Whoever gets there first gets to clean. And those of us there last will get to clean again. Spring cleaning.

Febuary Pictures of SBR

I took these photos in the 10 minutes we were at SBR to get Dad's car on Feb 25th, the day after he had his heartattack. The light coming across the field was so pretty. I'm afraid the pictures don't quite capture it since it was 5 p.m. and I was facing West into the sun.

I just noticed that if you click on the pictures, the color appears a little better.

Images of SBR

Taken the last week of December 2007

SBR freeze

During our MLK weekend at SBR, temperatures dropped pretty low for these Gulf Coast dwellers. The weather reports called for a good freeze, and we all were watching the thermometer drop during the night. Mom said she saw it at 1 a.m. at 28F. I got up to use the bathroom about 2 a.m. and it was 27F.

The final number?

At 7 a.m. just as the sun began to rise, I captured the outdoor thermomete showing 24.5F, and brr was it chilly inside the house. Each bedroom had a heater, so it was at least 60F while we were sleeping. Outside everything looked beautiful beneath a layer of frost.

Despite the cold, everyone found plenty to do Sunday.


Bryan spent a little time playing chess with Cameron. I "played" a little with Brenna, who surprised me by demonstrating that she understood the movement of about half the pieces. She only had to be reminded a few times about the others.


Despite the cold weather -- it warmed to about 45 -- both girls enjoyed playing on the porch. Bryan took them fishing at the back tank in the early afternoon.


I visited them for a short while, then Dad and I walked the back 80. Bryan moved the girls to the front tank, where they caught two fish! (And I had the camera, so no photos!)

Wintertime at SBR

Mom & Dad came out to SBR with us over MLK weekend. It rained a good inch on Friday night, leaving everything wet and muddy for Saturday; however, Sat. was a beautiful, clear, windy, chilly day.

Jenn & Michael joined us for the afternoon. Their four children (almost 7, 4, and twin girls 18 mos) really enjoyed playing with Cameron and Brenna. Would you believe that all six children were perfectly behaved?

We gave them a tour, and the kids started playing, though Eliza Claire needed a little time to settle in among strangers.

Once settled, we walked down to the back tank. Rehm, Charlotte, Cameron and Brenna ran ahead while the grown-ups walked more casually, helping or carrying Ruby & Eliza Claire.

At the back tank, the kids had a lot of fun trying to skip rocks. During all of our summer visits to SBR (May, July, Sept) the back tank was full from all the rain, so it was quite a shock to see how low the water is at present.



Rehm had a zillion questions about everything and Cameron enjoyed answering them, showing off a little. He wanted especially to know the names of the cows. (Some have names - like Tigger and Pooh and Merr, but the five black cows in "the Harem" are only identified by their ear tag numbers. So Rehm would ask "What is #23's name" and I'd say, "Number 23!"

When we were walking back from the tank, about half the cows were in the way and they follwed us very closely all the way back to the house, no doubt hoping for those yummy range cubes.


While the brisket and ribs were smoking for dinner, we had a snacky lunch and then Bryan and Dad took Charlotte and Rehm on an ATV ride. A short one, because the temperature -while in the upper 40s in the sun - was starting to drop.



After their rides and I ran Jenn up to the barn for a quick trip, we did have a big dinner where we were able to really enjoy the company and conversation until we finally had to acknowledge that it was time for them to drive home. I didn't see any new wildlife while they were here, although Bryan & our girls saw a deer during an earlier ATV ride Sat. morning.