Plenty of rain!

We had a really nice weekend this holiday, with plenty of rain each morning and a few heavy sprinkles during the day. This morning we had 2.5 inches beginning around 5 a.m. This was a common sight as we tried to get back to a paved road.

This road was passable, as the ponding on one side spilled over to the other in a rush. The first turn-off on the regular route wasn't so fortunate.

That's one bridge nobody would be crossing today. We tried did see the "Road Closed / High Water" sign leaning against a fence post on the side, but couldn't reach it without waders. Hopefully anyone passing by knows better than to attempt to go through 3+ feet of rushing water.

We did find an easy, slightly longer, route back to the main highway, and while driving we saw another piece of wildlife we've never seen before in the eight years of coming out to SBR.

I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but it's a Roadrunner!

About to be busy!

What better way to spend Memorial Day than lounging around at SBR for the weekend? Some of the family are already on their way up, while others of us will come up after work tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. The trick with having everyone there at the same time is organizing food, drinks, and sleeping arrangements. As the summer heat arrives, so do the scorpions, which prevents us from bunking the kids on the floor overnight. Now we have to sleep 12 (two babies still in playpens). My two girls will share a bed or a couch, but Lisa's won't. (She tried last time, and it was not a pleasant experience!) So likely some of us will be volunteering to sleep in the bunkhouse up the Red Road.

Gotta go find our boots and pack after work today - see everyone up there tomorrow. Save us some lunch!

Great weekend!

It was a beautiful weekend to be at the ranch. Cool in the mornings with the highs reaching about 80 degrees. Mom & Dad brought Daniel up late Friday night, Pam, Jack, Merr, Kenzie and Avery arrived earlier on Friday and the girls and I arrived around Noon on Saturday. We had a little trouble getting to the ranch on Saturday due to the heavy storms Friday night. Apparently, they were really bad and kept almost everyone up at one point. My drive was going really well until I tried to turn onto the first dirt road off the paved highway. The dirt road was covered in water for a good distance. Uh-oh. I sat in my car thinking about whether or not I wanted to attempt to drive through it, tried to unsuccessfully call the ranch (several times), and finally turned around to head to the nearest little town. I knew there was another way onto the county roads from "town", but didn't know it. So I got back on my phone - couldn't reach the ranch, Dad's cell, Shelly on her cell, I got Brian, but he didn't know the route. Finally, I got David. Yes, I called David for directions. My mistake. This is the guy who wanted to go to Katy in Houston and ended up in Baytown (completely opposite direction about 40 miles apart). He gave me his best directions - I ended up on another dirt road covered with water. About that time, Dad called me from his cell and gave me good directions. All of this took me an extra hour (its only a 2 hour drive). Believe it or not, the girls, even the baby, were great the whole time.

We finally got there. Mom & Dad had friends Gary and Sandra out with their grandson. The kids all ran around and had a ball playing outside. Dad and the guys fixed brisket and ribs in the smoker. It was exellent. Laurie went for her first ATV ride and loved it. She even cried when it stopped.

It was a relaxing weekend and fun with great weather.

March 15-18, 2007

Wednesday, March 15, Marilyn, Shelly, Lisa and the usual children drove out to SBR about 3-6 p.m. in the afternoon. Despite heavy rains and occasional hail in the Houston area, the skies cleared slightly around Flatonia. The ditches on the side of the road were filled with water, but there was no water over the CRs leading up to the gate. Water in the side pond was full, and the rain gauge held 4 inches. Both the front and back ponds had a good amount of water. Rusty joined us that evening. He reported that the hog wallow was holding water.

Wildlife: Blue heron and doe at front pond; big fat armadillo at the ranch gate (Wed.) Several deer in the field (Thursday.) Possum in the trash on the back porch Friday night. (Rusty chased it off with a broom.) Red cardinals and woodpecker. Turkey (heard, not seen). Many turtles - side pond and at least one in the back pond. (Sat/Sun). Junebugs!!

Wildflowers are starting to bloom. We saw plenty of phlox in neighbors fields. Scattered bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush were also available.

Changes? Rusty & Bryan K. framed a roof to the pumphouse and roofed it. They also purchased the Hardiplank siding, but were unable to begin.

Welcome y'all

This blog exists as an easy place to post information about Silver Belle Ranch. If you would like permission to post on this blog, send an email to Shelly at work or home (see the family phone list for her email.) You will be required to sign up for a Google Blogger account. At present, Lisa is the other person with permission to post, though we hope that others such as Pam, Jack, Kay, Marilyn, & Leah will join us.