OK, so... the "ranch". It's an old place, wrapping the original stone farmhouse in newer additions. But with a new roof, windows, and septic, we're good to go. Toss a few stalls into the big hay barn, and put up kennels out back, and the critters have shelter as well. Well, after building a few MILES of pipe and mesh fence, that is...

We have 30 acres all told. Of that, 15acres is hayfield, with a stock-pond at the bottom which the puppers swim in daily. This is the most magical thing for a suburb-gal turned redneck -- the hay just grows. We fertilize it, and mother nature takes care of the rest. Cut it, bale it, and we have a barn full of good hay off my own land. Very cool.

About 10 more acres make up the livestock pastures. The big pasture has a good slope, and boulders, but also good forage. So it's good for weaning calves or horses. Helps them get their feet under them. The smaller pasture is more level, and good for any horses that might get skitty - because they have to try really hard to find a way to injure themselves.

The last five acres is for the house, barn (hay, stalls and tack room), paddocks, workshop (tools, equipment, and trailer storage), plus a few run-ins and extra hay storage sheds, and then, finally, a wooded slope screening us from the road. Sound impressive, but it's all 'rustic-functional'. Nothing fancy, but it works.

From the top of the hill, you can see one neighbor below, with house, barn and livestock... and you can just make out a red barn a mile or so south on the next hill. Otherwise, it feels like the middle of nowhere, even though it is just off the interstate, 7 or 8 miles from town - which, by the way, is coming into the millenium with our very own Starbucks. Add that to the essential feed store, TractorSupply, HomeDepot, and WalMart, and you have north Texas civilization.