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