Thursday night I had the opportunity to visit SJ River Ranch just outside Coldspring. I will tell you all that when I say I am a weekend country girl, that is a stretch. I am really a “weekend go to the country girl”. We have a deer feeder so that I can see the deer come up early in the mornings when the beasts leave them alone. I feed humming birds, finches and have a general bird feeder. That is about the extent of my interaction with wildlife.
Mary and Bill are real live ranchers who have a beautiful ranch where they raise cattle. Here is a link to their website that includes beautiful pictures. I love the fact that Mary is the ranch manager. She is also an artist and they have lived all over the world. The stories they tell about their adventures are book-worthy.
We arrived at their home just before sunset so some of the later pictures are grainy. I had to really adjust the light.
The ranch is over 300 acres and is a mix of pine trees and pastures. It is beautiful.
The Austin stone on the home is so pretty. I love the back porch that runs the length of the home. There are windows that line the porch wall so that you can see outside into the beautiful back yard from every room.
This gazebo is amazing. It is huge. There is a fire pit in the center and an opening in the roof for the smoke to get out. I think I would live in the gazebo if I could.
Sunset views.
Mary took us on a ride around the property. The containers you see in the distance are her raised garden pots. She also has a greenhouse.
They have a guest house. We didn’t get to check it out because there were guests. One day I want to check out how it is organized.
They have a workshop that we got to check out. With awesome metal cabinets.
They have a chicken coop. Mary has eggs of all colors. Do you see Henrietta the spotted chicken? Bill also fixed it so that they can get the eggs out without going in the coop. That green box on the outside has a lid that lifts up to get to the eggs.
There are two ponds on the property.
The ride out to see the cattle was beautiful. The views are spectacular. It is easy to forget you are just over an hour away from downtown Houston.
The true lack of my country experienc came out when we met Shooter. You know how on cartoons they show bulls flaring their nostrils, pawing the ground and charging at you?
I can now tell you that they do this in real life. Shooter, a high dollar registered bull, did not love us being near his girls. My heart did race, the Social Planner and I may have squealed enough to scare Bill into riding out to see if we were okay. The Social Planner and I thought for a minute we were in trouble.
I did get brave enough to get some shots of Shooter but not brave enough to get any closer. That wire was all that stood between me and sudden death. Yep. I am standing across the road from him thinking of an escape route if necessary. I think that bull makes my bottom look big. 🙂
See these bad babies? They slipped under the fence and were in the hay barn when we drove up. Look at how innocent they look… those little stinkers.
These calves were out in the pasture. All of the calves we saw were born in September or October.
Lacey loves food. She is on a diet so she now sneaking out to get the calf food. Poor Lacey.
This boy is head of ranch security and he is no joke.
We had a lot of fun and love learning about the place we call home two days a week. A big thank you to Bill and Mary for the wonderful gumbo, the tour of the ranch and letting us sit by your fire. We loved it.
Here is a shot of The Social Planner and me on the back of the Kabota ready for our tour.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I love hearing from you.
Blessings,
Karen