KB Ranch

This year’s Heritage Days activities

Written by karen on September 9th, 2013

This weekend was the annual local Heritage Days event here. As we’ve done in previous years, Brad and I put together the kids’ activities, which were a big hit. (More on that here if you’re interested.)

This year, Heritage Days included a field day hike to some local Indian rock paintings. The beginning of this hike was just about 30 minutes from our house. The hike up to the rocks was about 2 hours. We were happy to be able to go on this hike (we’ve mostly been trying to focus on the house instead of things like this, but it was nice to go, and we were able to take a couple neighbor kids along), and we never would have found this if we hadn’t had a great leader!

Here are some pictures.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: stufftodo

Weather

Written by karen on September 9th, 2013

The monsoons here are continuing. This morning I harvested produce in a cool, gentle rain. Tomatoes, greens, melons, and beans are all plentiful right now, as are grasshoppers and horn worms.

The combination of lots of moisture in the air with cooling temperatures is leading to some spectacular views. We are fortunate to have this view from our bed.

We had over an inch of rain this weekend, and actually turned on the generator today. Amazing.

Work on the house is continuing with a focus on getting the bathroom done. We painted that room last week, and tile is happening.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: garden, weather

Bounty of basil

Written by karen on August 28th, 2013

I grew a lot of basil this year. Really a lot.

I love pesto and like to freeze it for when there is no more fresh basil. Today, I’m trying a new way to freeze it to conserve freezer space. (You might want to wait and see how it works out before trying this yourself. I’ll report back.)

In other news, the annual plague of grotesque grasshoppers has arrived, the monsoons are continuing, and we have finally finished reading Anna Karenina aloud. (Thank god…this is a seriously long, repetitive, and bleak book.)

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: food, garden, weather

Last of the ceiling

Written by karen on August 22nd, 2013

The last of the ceiling went up yesterday. Yay!

We also said goodbye for now to a special helper friend this week.

We’ve really made great progress on the house in the last 6 weeks. You might think that’s strange since I was gone most of July. (Or maybe I’m not as “helpful” as I think I am. :) But actually, knowing that I’d be gone and really, really wanting to get this finished, we’ve tried getting a helper this summer. It started with looking for someone to help dig some trenching, but then we had hopes of someone doing more.

Mostly, they weren’t that great. Some didn’t show up for days with no word. Some stopped coming altogether. (One actually moved across country…we heard…not from him.)

Then we found Eddie. Eddie has been a dream. He showed up every day. On time. He had a pleasant personality. He was skilled (especially with taping drywall, which is not my favorite job.) He worked hard all the time he was there. When there was a break in whatever we were doing, he’d always find something helpful to do. Sweeping the floor. Cleaning up. Gathering trash. Whatever.

While I was gone in July, he worked with Brad. And then when I was back, the three of us worked together. Until today, when Eddie headed back to college.

We’ll miss Eddie, but I think we’ll stay in touch. And of course, we’ll think of him often because his mark is on this house. Oh and he does artwork too.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: ceilings, construction

Outdoor movie night

Written by karen on August 20th, 2013

If you haven’t experienced outdoor movie night at our house, here’s what it’s like. (Oh and there’s fabulous food and drink, of course.)

Prime time for this right now. The weather is great.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: movie, weather

Can you guess the plant?

Written by karen on August 16th, 2013

Isn’t this a beautiful flower?

What is it?

An exotic orchid of some type?

No…it’s a Bisbee cowpea (a kind of black black-eyed pea that is heat and drought resistant). I grew one bed of these, which were attacked early in the year by aphids. Usually, that’s the end of a plant, but I patiently rinsed these for a few days, and they eventually made a great comeback. They’re thriving now, and even as we are harvesting the first of the dried beans (in long pods with many peas in each), they are blooming again. Gorgeous.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: garden

Closets…the progression

Written by karen on August 14th, 2013

…and the drywall transition to the vigas and glulam is really looking amazing.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: construction, dry wall, vigas

Closets

Written by karen on August 9th, 2013

I’m finally back home…for good now. And I jumped back into construction full steam this week. (I have the sore shoulders and bruised shins to prove it.)

Today we designed and began to build my closet. That was exciting. Closets are one of the things that I’ve missed most in the past couple years.

Other than that, we’re mostly working on drywall now. Lots and lots of sanding, hence the sore shoulders.

In other news, the hedgerow and outdoor tomatoes have both outgrown their mini-hoop covering and have been set free. With all the rain we’ve gotten, everything is green and thriving, and the wildlife should have plenty to eat without getting into my garden. Still, we’re keeping an eye on everything!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: construction, dry wall, hedgerow, weather

Our mail

Written by karen on July 20th, 2013

Here’s one of the things I love about small town, rural life. I got this envelope today. My name was close, but there was no address, and the state and zip code were wrong. And still it was faithfully delivered to my mailbox. Amazing.