The steers were agitated, squaring off and shoving each other while butting their heads and stamping in circles. The ruckus was an all out longhorn brawl. With our eyes wide and our mouths open, Jimmy and I perched on top of the dam — somehow believing twenty sloped feet between us and the fighting longhorns … Continue reading Meet Sweet Ferdinand: All 102″ TTT
"Listen, God has made you free in a tomb that is empty." (Robert Troutman, my dad, sermon from 1981). Excerpt from the sermon, "An Easter for all Seasons." "This freedom can be in any kind of society or structure. It can be in any country in the world. ...This freedom can come at any place, … Continue reading Your Easter Basket
During the week that followed Thanksgiving I considered the condition of the ranch, and it was a contemplative exercise. Compared to most of the country, the foliage in South Texas changes color late in the calendar year, if it changes much at all. That the calendar sits open to December and the Texas red oaks … Continue reading As a Child
It frightened me — watching the engineer at work. Adept, skilled, and determined, and very much unsettling. No, not this spider, patterned in colors of Halloween, intricately weaving a web to ensnare a meal. The engineer in my nightmare was the specialist at the genius bar, donned in an Apple Store t-shirt, decisively launching programs … Continue reading What a Fright!
Grind, dose, tap, tamp, pump, extract, knock, steam, stretch, froth, thump, swirl, pour, sip — I love a perfect espresso that makes a great latte. For most of my life, I didn’t drink a drop of coffee, but over the past five years, quality fresh ground beans, golden-brown espresso with crema that lingers, and velvety … Continue reading Savor: Things, Ideas, and People
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Anyone with unirrigated land in South Texas knows how it feels and sounds as you walk across dry parched grass. Crunch is the sound I heard as I walked to see the sedums this week. That was unexpected. Just last week at the Lost Madrone Ranch, I walked through a bright yellow … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch: That Was Unexpected
Spring rains are here, the ground is wet, and overcast skies dampened my expectations to find many blooming sedums this week at the Lost Madrone Ranch. So, as I planned to head to the ranch, I thought about what else I would look out for on this trip. Last week was week six of watching … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch at the Lost Madrone Ranch: April 15
Five hours is all the daylight I saw this week at the Lost Madrone Ranch. Five hours of wonder. Returning from a short vacation, I made a quick trip to the ranch late Thursday afternoon to work in the garden, maintain the house, and check on sedums, of course. The pace of my short visit … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch at the Lost Madrone Ranch: April 8
It’s week 5 of watching wild sedums at the Lost Madrone Ranch in Comfort, Texas, and I am shocked by the change at the ranch from one week ago. As I drove through the gate and proceeded along the one-mile road to the house, my eyes blinked; my jaw dropped; I gasped. Like magic, “Greenery” … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch at the Lost Madrone Ranch: April 1