I am sitting at my desk checking email on a nice quiet Saturday morning when I hear this strange noise outside. When I get outside, I find this big branch from a Mesquite tree laying across my drive way. Not the nicest thing to find first thing in the morning or at anytime for that matter. It is a good thing that I didn't have to be someplace important on that day.

As Margaret likes to say, "Once again the ranch has decided how you are going to spend your day". So it is out with the chain saw with gloved hands and with Margaret's help we have it cleared up in a few hours. Now I will wait a few days until the leaves die and it dries out a little and then I will be burning some brush.

This the center of Pebble Beach. It goes a little further to the left depending on what happens when the rains come. For those of you that don't know, this is where Jack was baptized. It is also one of our fishing holes, swimming holes and a good place to search for Indian artifacts. We have found quite a few arrow heads and spear heads plus some very interesting rocks.

This is the right side of Pebble Beach. It goes on further to the right but it is a little overgrown right now and besides, you get the idea of what it looks like.

This a the left side of the fountain that Margaret and Jack are having put in on the privacy terrace. Of course it is not finished but it sure looks like it will be quite nice. I will post the finished pictures when it is complete, probably in a few weeks weather permitting.

This is the right side of the fountain.

Since I have moved back to south Texas, I have noticed that this cactus doesn't bloom every year or rather not all plants will bloom every year. This year this cactus bloomed twice. Both Margaret and I have this same species in our front yards and mine has not bloomed this year at all and Margaret's has only bloomed once. Go figure.

It has been a long time since I've seen one of these whatumacallits. They are probably all over the place and we just never see them. This one must be a old one. It is about 7 or 8 inches long tip to tip and it had one leg lost somehow. It still managed to climb up the side of the house okay. I took this picture yesterday and it is still there this morning but further up the wall and under the eave. It must have found a good feeding spot. I hope it eats mosquitos (the biting kind and not the dog).

Since moving back to south Texas I have not seen any of the old Horn Toads that used to populate this area. I now have a theory. Sometime during the past 40 years, all the Horn Toads fell in love with the Green Lizards and they mated. The Horn Toad slowly died out leaving us with the Horn Lizard.

I have a friend that has a Turtle named Bro that shares her swimming pool. So not to be outdone, we now have a Turtle named Sis who shares the swimming hole with us.

Kaylyn participated in Leadership in Training for Christ. This was her first year and she learned to "sign" the song I Love The Lord. She got a silver medal for her performance.

Nathan praying at San Antonio's National Day of Prayer on the steps of City Hall. He is standing to the left of the banner in front of the flag. May 3, 2007