Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

It's Sunday. I went to the Garner Ranch on Friday to visit my sister and her family. I couldn't get a signal to access the Internet via my crackberry. That meant I couldn't post any messages Friday and Saturday after committing to one a day till Christmas. I'm going to fix that and post three messages today! And the truth is, it was great to get away from technology for a few days. The ranch is heaven on earth and doesn't need to be spoiled by tech towers dressed up like pine trees. That being said, I did notice a bunch of solar panels in the meadow which turn out to be part of an earthquake fault monitoring system. They are also effective "scratching posts" for appreciative steers. That's about as far as technology can go at the ranch, in my experience.

There are dozens of new calves right now, including a two-week old whose mother abandoned her at birth. She's being raised by my niece, Hannah, who has named the calf "Bella." Bella gets several bottle-feedings every day. She also likes to play with the ranch dogs, who this weekend included Vanna and Bindi Sue Ingram and their Labradoodle pal, Marley Bucci, along with Jake, Lucy Lou and Alex Johnson - the REAL dogs of Garner Ranch. Bella ran alongside Marley, who is exactly the same height as she is. Vanna and Bella ran down to the pond together and found their way into the mud. Picture a cartoon movie cross between Charlotte's Web and Bambi and that's about what we had.

More later.