Our dog population is now up to eight, and they're all big. We go through an awful lot of dog food. Poet is our latest addition, an Armenian Gampr puppy that has been growing like weeks. He's nearly as big as our Great Pyrenees and still has a ways to go. Still, he's a complete sweetheart and loves to play with our younger dogs. We have an old bee house at the ranch, built long ago and entirely of stone. Evidently there was an active beekeeping business here for a while, and there is...

February was a tour-heavy month with a number of groups passing through the ranch. Among the notables were board members of the non-profit organization Animal Samaritans, a huge provider of health and welfare services to our valley's animals. KESQ weatherman Patrick Evans was among the attendees. Another event that took place at the ranch this past month was a yoga retreat with some 20 participants. Their day included a ranch tour, lunch, yoga sessions, animal intros, and some DIY fruit...

The new year kicked off our peak winter season here, and we have quite a few tours already on the books.  Our citrus is ripening and soon we'll be awash in grapefruit, lemons, oranges, and tangelos.  Our weather too is nearly perfect this time of year, and we can bask in the sunshine while the rest of the country suffers in deep freeze.  Many of our tour groups are from the north, and they are especially appreciative of our winter warmth. Not surprisingly, our various family members come for...