Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Our Last Full Day at the Ranch for April!

It has been wonderful to be in the country.
We arrived last Wednesday and will go home tomorrow making it a full week! 

I'll start out tonight's journal entry a sweet memory from 2015.


Sister Nita and Mike treated me to a 70's theme party at the River Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth.
It was so much FUN and I won the prize for best costume!

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Monday morning Dean called the City Tire Company and arranged for us to take the truck in for an alignment and get the tires balanced that afternoon after Sherry got off work.
We left the truck so they could get to it first thing on Tuesday morning. 
 

After we dropped it off, we all went out for dinner at Cheddar's.
I was shocked at the size of that margarita!!
The way the photo is taken makes it look bigger than my head but it wasn't actually THAT big - I promise.


I ordered the vegetable plate while the others had chicken fried steak and fried chicken tenders - and lots and lots of GRAVY!


We came home and Louis Dean settled down with a book while I whacked up some denim and watched a movie.


I have been watching a good many movies lately on Amazon Prime.
Tired of all the blood and violence, I have enjoyed Finding You, A Wing and a Prayer,
The Perfect Game, A Mile in His Shoes, and Liam Neeson in The Commuter.
I love Liam Neeson films!

Today was such a pretty one and so peaceful.
I love sitting out on the deck with my coffee and having Quiet Time with the Lord.

Louis Dean enjoyed running his tiller in the garden and I exercised, read, prepared meals, did some cleaning and writing and before we knew it - it was time to go back to Waco and pick up our truck.
Thanks again to Sherry for taking us!

We stopped at Dollar General in Mart on our way back to the ranch.
I prefer to shop in a smaller store like that than huge ones like Walmart.


The scenery on the way home was so beautiful.
Can you see the huge wind turbines?
They have red lights on them that blink at night.
I'm grateful that from our front deck looking straight ahead - you can't see them!
Now if you look off to the left - they they are just blinking away!

Sherry surprised me by suggesting we do hive inspections!!!
I haven't been here at the right time lately so I was excited.



All the hives looked good although there was one with a damaged queen cell in it so we are concerned that hive may be without a queen and they did act like it, too.
A queen-less hive will be more hostile while a healthy hive with a strong queen is more docile.


This one was doing well and it has a double brood box and double supers on it.
This top box had a good many bees drawing out the wax and repairing the frames.
All in all, we are thinking we will have a good honey harvest come July!


You can see the apiary back there behind the horses.


This is the big tank aka Lake Touguchi.


Louis Dean decided to leave the tiller alone and go fishing.

It's going to be hard to leave here tomorrow knowing we won't be back for 30 days!
I did no prep work for our departure deciding to wait and clean and pack tomorrow.
We just have to be home before dark and the sun doesn't set until nearly 8:00!!








17 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

You All had such a fine time of it. I think, for me personally, I'd much rather stay there in the quiet for more than a week!!

Donna said...

Too bad y'all can't sell up and move there permanently...I know how much you love it. Life is too darn short to Not be happy where you are. I know it's farther away from doctors and friends and such but there's excellent doctors in Waco, as well. Just a thought...
Love that drink! Huge!lol
hugs
Donna

Brenda said...

I use my five dollar coupon at Dollar General on Saturday. I have saved tons since moving to Florida. Enjoy trip home today.

Deb J. in Utah said...

So glad you had a nice time in the country. Safe travels back to to the city. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Kathy said...

I hate to see you leave the ranch. You always seem to have such a good time there.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

It would be hard to leave such a pretty spot in the country. Have a safe trip home in your newly aligned truck. Hope it all works fine now!

MadSnapper said...

I wish bob had a place like LD has, to get out and do manly STUFF.. the country is good for both of you. hope you have a safe and uneventful drive home. good job to Dean for finding an alignment for the big old truck. yay for bees doing well and lots of honey on the way

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love that last quote. I'm glad you've had a good time and it's something to look forward to...coming back soon! Take care!

Deanna Rabe said...

That last quote is good!

I like your photo of Louis Dean fishing! I'm so glad you've had such a good week, and got needed things done, such as the truck repairs.

photowannabe said...

30 days is going to feel like forever.
Your time at the Ranch is so special and good for both of you.
Did LD catch any fish?
I had to laugh at your Margarita really BIG ...
Safe trip home and glad the bees are doing well too.
Sue

Ginny Hartzler said...

And you are the most positive person I know. You remind all of us to be happy and thankful even for the things that seem not so good. You posted beautiful scenery today! Wish we had a Cheddar's here, I have never seen one.

Ginny Hartzler said...

P.S. what can you do about the queenless hive?

Granny Marigold said...

I was also wondering what you can do for a queenless hive. Bee keeping is so interesting but I suppose you have to really watch for problems.
You seem to have had a wonderful week at your ranch. Never a dull moment.
Have a safe drive home.
PS...In answer to the comment you left on my blog: Yes, I used to read all those Butternut Wisdom columns that Gladys Taber wrote. These days I'm reading her book Another Path, the book she wrote after her best friend died. The one who lived at Stillmeadow with her.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Even thiugh 39 days seems like such a long time to be away fromnyour favorite place, you and Louis Dean will fill the time up faster than you know, Linda. Glad the bees are doing well.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Looks like you have had a wonderful and peaceful time there at the ranch. It sounds so perfect. You are brave to go looking at the beehives up close like that. I am not sure I could do that! I love the fishing picture most of all. So glad you have that happy place to get away to. What a blessing!!

Jackie See said...

I am so glad you have your peaceful place! We love our wind mills lights. I know most do not, but the windmills are about 15 miles north of us and at night we watch the blinking lights in the darkness of rural America. I don't know how they do it, but, all of them, stretching for 40 miles, all blink at the same time. Sometimes I sit and think what my family's ancestors would think!! Your memories of your sister are so beautiful, smiles and happy times together. I am better myself because of your sharing your grief. Grief for me has been very lonely, and knowing how you walk through your days helps me so much. Thank you. ~jackie collins~

Great-Granny Grandma said...

Wow, that is a huge margarita. Almost as big as the top half of you, haha.
Interesting information about the bees.