Ranching has become a passion for us. We love all of our animals. You don't have to ride horses to enjoy them. Just watching them run and play can take your breath away. Each one has such a distinct personallity. Daisy knows that she is in charge. Maggie is a talker. She will tell you all about her day. George, our miniature donkey, thinks he is the Don Juan of the ranch. He tries to run along side the fence line and impress the ladies. Lee, the other miniature donkey, just watches and is extremely laid back.

Mama Llama (also known as Chevy since she has the emblem on her forehead) managed to surprise us with a pregnancy and gave us little Easter (guess when he was born).

We also have turtle the micro??? pot bellied pig. As you guessed, there is nothing micro about him. He is probably the smartest animal on the ranch. When he gets hot, he gets into the water trough. Quite a sight. We also have two dogs, Gater, the border collie and Bunnie, the English bull dog. Gater is our herder. He keeps everyone in line. Bunnie may look rough but she is the sweetest dog in the world. We have numerous barn cats that all do their job keeping out mice from the feed and love to play in the hay. Our youngest daughter raises goats for her 4-H project each year. They follow her around like puppy dogs.

In addition to the animals, for fun, we do skeet and trap shooting, ride the horses, ride the 4-wheeler/golf cart/jeep. When it is hot, we jump into the pool. In the evenings we love to take nature walks. We enjoy the birds, deer and other wildlife while seeing the beautiful wildflowers. We have 40+ mile views off the back of our ranch as we sit up on a plateau. You don't want to miss one of our sunsets and the star gazing is to die for. Meteor showers have taken on an entirely different meaning to us since moving out here.

My husband, Keith, has his garden and enjoys making his own secret recipe for organic fertilizer and compost. Of course we have to fence this in or the rabbits and other wildlife will get to the vegetables before we can.

We also sit on a limestone ledge that has many interesting fossils. The girls and I like to do "digs" to uncover fossils. In addition to fossils, we have found many interesting old items such as a pocket watch, coins, and medicine bottles still in tact. We are determined to make a huge find someday such as a dinosour track.

Our parties usually consist of barbeque on the grill, a water trough to keep the drinks in ice, music, ping-pong, horseshoes, etc... We usually share some pretty good stories too. Parking and noise are never an issue. There is truely something for everyone. We have a party for our clients annually that ends with a fireworks display since we try to do this around the 4th of July.

What means the most to me is the lifestyle. Taking my grandson out for walks. Watching his face when he sees the first doe and her fawn. Knowing that when my youngest daughter says she is going out to play that I don't have to worry. Passing this way of life down to our children and grandchildren is thrilling. They are learning so much about their environment and how to be good stewards with the land and animals.

If you are interested in this way of life, please give us a call. We can help you achieve your "little slice of heaven". We enjoy sharing our experiences and hearing other peoples stories too. Hope to see you at the ranch soon.