Lost on Saturday

Yesterday was Saturday and little D and I found ourselves alone here at the ranch. I was committed to spending the majority of the day putzing around the house, desperate for some time to just relax and not have to be on the move like I have been all week. I just needed some down time.

It was a strange day. Gloomy and gray, it looked like it might rain at any minute, yet it never did. It was warm, about 70 degrees, yet there was a wind that made me feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz…

Little D and I wanted to take a look at the new heifers across the ranch, so we ventured out. I would typically jump into my car and drive out of the ranch and around to the other side, but for some reason yesterday, I felt that pioneer spirit swell inside of me, so rather than jump in the car, we jumped on the bike and headed out. (I bet you thought I was going to say ‘horse’ didn’t you? No, not that brave to venture out on horseback without anyone else around!)…

It is a pretty long trip, even when you take a straight shot across the ranch, but enjoyable. We didn’t encounter many pastures of animals, just a few. More than anything, we encountered mud. Lots and lots of mud.

The pastures are gray and unattractive this time of year. Everything looks beaten down from the cold of the winter. The gray cattle that normally sticks out as a distinct contrast against the green pastures now blends in- not my favorite time of year for visual ‘eye candy’, that is for sure… though this stark and barren season still fills me with so much hope and promise… spring is around the corner!

Well, we made a deal when we headed out to the Highway 21 barn, I would drive there and little D would drive back. Somehow I got lost in my efforts to get us there. My internal GPS just isn’t functional apparently. A few years ago, to get lost in the middle of the ranch would have put the fear of God in me… I could be eaten by coyotes! Stranded for days without water or food! Trampled by wild pigs! All sorts of terrible thoughts have entered my mind over the years, paralyzing me from going exploring in the ranch by myself.

Yesterday I found myself lost in the ranch, not alone, but with my most precious gift. My son. You would think that would have sent me into MORE of a panic. Nope. You want to know why? Because this pioneer boy knows exactly where he is and got his Mom to safety. Isn’t that something? He knew exactly where we were, how far away the next fence would be, and where we should turn to get where we were going.

Amazing.

So, I let him drive and sure enough, within about 2 minutes, I regained my whereabouts and realized that this kid knows a lot about this ranch.

But what he didn’t know, and neither did I, was that we would arrive at a fence that we could not pass through. We were so close to the new cattle, yet so far. Between us and them was a huge swampland of mud that was about 4-5 feet deep.

No way to pass through…

So- we backed up and came home without seeing the Hereford cattle, though we agreed that the trip had definitely been an adventure. On our way back we stopped to see some Brahman cows eat hay and marvel at the beauty around us…

Of course, it is gray and tan beauty, but it is still beautiful. I am still holding out for spring, but I guess I can still see the beauty of winter. Kind of…

We made it home and played around the yard a little longer before going inside to get ready to head out to meet Big D and friends in The Woodlands for dinner. Lovely evening spent at Flemings and a quick walk through Anthropologie for me!

It was a good day!