Phew!

OK, I've decided that I'm going to update this with a "small" entry more often.

We had a really nice weekend. Our precious youngest child (and only son) James is leaving Sunday for the Army. We are so very proud of his decision to help protect us and our country from those wishing to do us harm. Our hearts are heavy with the knowledge that he is leaving, but I know he will flourish in the service as he does in whatever he chooses.

His beautiful wife Melissa is trying to be brave for him too as she will be single-parenting their 20 month old son Landon and preparing for the birth of their second son, Carter who is due in November. Fortunately she is surrounded by lots of great friends and family.

She put together a surprise going away party for him Saturday and boy was he surprised! A great evening of family and friends at our house to say a final goodbye for now and wish James a safe and happy service.

Sunday was another great BBQ at Deer Valley Ranch, our sister property. The company was great, the food was fantastic and the day was perfect.

Sunday night was another matter. I woke up at around 2:00 am (actually Monday morning) to hear our female Pyrenees, Angel, barking somewhere in the distance. I didn't want to disturb Marvin so I jumped into the Kabota and took a drive. When I found her, my flashlight illuminated a big surprise. There was a large tail pointing my direction attached to a black and white striped animal. I hightailed it back to the house and got Marvin and his trusty shotgun. There were actually 3 skunks - Angel had already dispatched one and Marvin took care of the others. The amazing thing is that at least one of them had sprayed the plants in the garden but there wasn't a bit of smell on Angel. She is so quick that she was actually outmaneuvering them! All was well and our ducks were safe and sound.

Give us a call and come pick veggies or pick up a couple of hens. You can reach me at (805) 610-1053 or Marvin at (805) 801-1899. You can also email me at
kblackbu3@yahoo.com.

My thought for the day: "Wag more, bark less".