100 Day Challenge: Scenes from The Ranch

Since I’ve been doing this 100 Days challenge and living in New Braunfels … that’s “New Brawn-fells” for those of you who have no idea how to pronounce it. Please note there is no “s” in the middle like Brownsville. I said no “s”! Okay, to keep it simple, let’s just call it NB until you figure out how to properly pronounce it. What was I saying?

Oh, yeah, since I’ve been living in NB, I’ve been joining one or both of my parents on hikes with their four dogs on a nearby 400 acre ranch. My mom, green thumbed gardener that she is, tends to hundreds of orchids belonging to the owner of “the ranch.” I love this place, in fact I’m still hoping there is a single son in the family so I can marry my way into some of the land, unfortunately I just don’t think that will happen. The ranch is just up the road on the Guadalupe and is gorgeous, in that inherent beauty of south-central Texas way. One of my Colorado friends (you know who you are) laughs every time I talk about the beauty of the Texas Hill Country.

I get it; Colorado is gorgeous, much like a super-model. Her beauty is obvious and striking, leaving you feeling well below average in her presence. Of course, some super models have reputations for being high-maintenance and snobby. Colorado, I’m not calling you a “snob” per se, but sometimes you can be down-right conceited about your ridiculous good looks. Texas is like the girl next door; the one who isn’t afraid to get a little muddy, has her hair up in a messy pony tail and makes you laugh, especially when you fall into one of them prickly pear cacti. Once you get to know her and look beyond the dirt on her face, you can see she is quite beautiful; you just have to try a little harder and not be so quick to judge.

Here are a few scenes from the ranch. Most of them were taken over a few recent afternoon strolls with the dogs (who will be formally introduced in a later post) on warm January days. Check out the rolling hills with tall golden grass, rugged limestone cliffs, moss covered trees with different shades of green and gray, prickly pear cactus growing everywhere, a dry creek full of brilliant white stone, bodies of water reflecting the landscape and of course, the big blue Texas sky. Meet central Texas and give her a chance, she just might surprise you (or push you into a cactus).