Dressed and ready for guests

Ranch Play

Kids bucking station, feeding the animals, ride the tractor...all the usual ranch day play fun items.

Birthday Cake

Party Time

Zoo time with Alexander

Our friends from Hamburg came for a visit. Gayle and Caden showed them around the Zoo.

Easy Access

We have a nice wood bin that can hold about a full cord. Of course the designer of said bin, the previous owner Bud, must have had plans to park his tractor on this thing. The lid is a reinforced 3/4" full size plywood with 16 interlocking 1x6 pine tacked in with some 3800 framing nails. I have to stretch, warm up, then perform an unspotted military press just to access this behemoth. But I digress...

I cut a nice little side door to give our young cowpoke Cade unfettered access to the black widows and snakes therein.


(another fine RL Engineering masterpiece)

Snow Way...Way

Reminds me of the stories my grandad used to tell of great-great grandaddy driving a mule train to Saratoga Springs during the great blizzard of 1888. Experts are calling the blizzard of 2011 worse than '67 and nearly as bad as 1888. Our ranch was spared from the teeth of this mighty storm. By that, what I really mean is...I never had any stories, nor any relatives in New York and the big storm that hit the midwest in 2011 was about three weeks before these pics were taken. But in all honesty we got at least 30-40mm of snow last night.

zzzzzz

Little guy was so tuckered out from playin in the snow, he fell asleep in the most uncomfortable chair in the house.

Smooth Stroke

The funny part here was the second swing when he caught me by surprise and roped a liner between me and first base. You can hear my boots clicking half way down the driveway.

Super Sunday at Disney

We spent Superbowl Sunday and the Monday following at the Disney parks in Anaheim. Great couple days of playing around at both California Adventure and Disneyland. Caden enjoyed seeing his buddies Mater and Lightning. Fishing with Grandad was a highlight as well.

Legoland with Deb and Kathryn

Gayle and Cade went for a day of fun and adventure at Legoland with our friend Deb and her lovely daughter Kathryn. The only downside was prying an unruly Cade off the final playground at closing time. Determined,that one.

Added Chores

Well Gayle and I decided to save money on our ever climbing electricity bill by burning wood this winter. I read once where burning wood is the most effecient means of warming yourself. It warms you three times...once when you chop down the tree, again when you split the wood and finally when you burn the wood.

Here's a couple lumberjacks headed out for the second warming session.


Speaking of chopping wood, I have a confession. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I’m just a tool.

I decide to chop a weeks worth of wood, so I head out to the wood pile with an axe and a sledge hammer. Now here’s the problem…the axe is a wee little 2 lb job that hasn’t been sharpened since 2004 and since I can’t locate my sledge hammer…the best I can do is a framing hammer. 30 min into this adventure I’ve split maybe 2 logs for a grand total of maybe 5 pieces of wood.

Here’s what it takes to make a split…hurl the axe with all my might at log. Axe is now stuck and removing is impossible. So I take the framing hammer and belt away at the back end of the axe until my hands and arms are numb and the log mercifully splits. Repeat.

60 minutes in, the axe handle shreds/snaps, the blade makes a break for freedom flying into the wood pile and I, your humble outdoor enthusiast, fall to my knees in a crumpled heap of sweat and exhaustion. And there I sat, sharing a laugh with my new friend, despair, as we count our 8 pieces of ready made firewood.

So that night, as I swiftly burn through what little firewood I have, I hit the information highway to learn all there is to know about splitting wood. The next day at 7a finds me checking out of Lowes with a splitting maul, new axe handle and a couple sharpening stones. Splitting maul…8 lb head to give it some drive, the same 36in. handle, sharp as a razor and wide enough not to get stuck. Who knew this fantastic piece of genius existed. I felt as mighty and proud as Paul Bunyan walking out the door.

Feeding Time

Caden really likes helping feed the horses. Really I think he likes putting on his hat and boots, then riding the tractor down to the hay. But he giggles everytime the horses come near.

The Daredevil Kaden Knievel

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving at the Manoukians