trails and trees

took one of the horse trails into the woods yesterday.

i'm still in awe of the live oaks around here and there were plenty to admire on my walk.

this one had only two limbs that arched outward. i love that they don't grow straight but turn and arch and bend. the picture doesn't do much justice to the limbs so i highlighted them.

it looked like it was reaching out for a hand shake, so i obliged

here's what i mean about multiple trunks rather than a bunch of branches.

 they are even attached at the base.

seriously, can't get over these trees!

fun fact

a kangaroo's tail is super muscular and acts almost like a third limb. as roger is demonstrating, a kangaroo can gain more height when they use their tails, and, when fighting, a kangaroo can put all its weight on its tail in order to free up their hind legs for kicking. pretty cool!

not so sassy

sassy is one of the coolest dogs! she has free run of the entire ranch. she rides around in the golf cart with me and, to be honest, she was the one who found the turtle shell from that early post. she hitched a ride with me back to my trailer that day and led me on an adventure around the fields near our trailers. i felt like i had a hunting dog or something - she'd do her thing and i'd climb a tree or something but she'd always come back to check on me and if i whistled she'd come.

then last night she slept over. it's nice to have another puppy around

and on this farm...

these are most of the animals i feed each morning

momma donkey and baby cabella in the front and then a man donkey in
the back (who is not the dad of the baby). i need to put their feed in different
places cause the momma never shares with him - she kicks and hee-haws
and always claims the first pile i put down.

this is roger. he's a silly fellow. he always grabs my coat and tries to put his

head in my pockets

oh gosh, this is bert. as you can see, he's usually out of the pen when i pull up
and if i don't get the food on the cart in time he'll stick his head right in the
buckets. he's crazy

one of the four (or five) deer that i feed. this guy is the most calm
 though - he'll even eat out of my hand. all the others are super skittish. 

emus, some other goats, and a bunch of loud ducks and geese

spades and sledge - two of carol's adopted dogs. they're sweethearts

turtle, turtle

found this while out exploring today

oh! and debby gave me a hair cut!

finishing touches

adding pictures and knick-knacks made this place much more homey. totally worth the effort

live oaks

the live oak trees here are absolutely breathtaking.

their branches are more like extra trunks that twist upwards and create an amazing canopy. 

i love how their trunks and branches bend and twist. they grow close to the ground - making perfect branches for sitting or hanging swings on. and they're so easy to climb! i couldn't help myself.

in doing some research i found out that back in the day they were used for making ships - builders would use the natural bends of the tree to add strength to the frame of a ship. plus, the tree has strong wood to begin with, so it was a good fit. 

they are also pretty iconic of the old south which made me remember one of my favorite movies of all time... 

"she taught me how to climb...i showed her how to dangle"

welcoming gifts

gift from the guy, Able, that does tractor work around here. two types of sausages! wahoo!

they're damn good too. i cut them both up and made a sauce with canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion, parsley, basil, oregano, a little garlic powder and a little wine. damn it's good.

and on the 7th day...

as of today i've spent one week in cat spring, texas. and, yes, am just now getting a blog together.

its been nice having, basically, my own apartment - the rv has a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen (stove and oven), couch, and kitchen table. as well as running water. the only issue, which i actually just got resolved two days ago, was that my heat was busted. i spent one of the coldest nights of my life in a sleeping bad, under a quilt, under a wool blanket, wearing wool socks, sweat pants, and a sweater. to no avail, though, t'was still cold.

so my routine the past week has been wake up at 6:30 (note: i didn't even wake up that early in highschool) to go and feed three donkeys, a kangaroo, two alpaca, three goats, four (or five) emu, a handful of ducks, four (or five) deer, a pig, three cats, two dogs, and a bunch of chickens.

it takes me about an hour or so to do all that. the rest of the day, if its a weekday, i've been helping armondo or debbie with whatever they need done (ie: clean the barn, organize the office/gift shop, shovel poop). if its a friday or saturday, at 5 i go to the restaurant to help out. 

life is certainly different down here