Shannon Ranch

Of Flowers and Other Things.

hello! I’m very sorry for not posting sooner than now,I’ve been really busy with all my daily duties,helping Aspen with all her pet birds,making sure Coconut and Gypsy don’t start a fight and catching Teddy over and over and over Etc. Etc. Etc. more on that later.Now to what all the plants have been doing these past weeks that I haven’t been posting *drum roll please.* Da Da Ta Da!!!

A very pretty red flower who’s name escapes me at the moment….

A plant called elephant ears.

A rose of sharon bush.

A white crepe myrtle.

Some little flowers who’s name I’ve also forgotten. When I was littler, I would always call them barbie bouquets:^).

A big sunflower growing in our garden.

Our pool all nice and blue,cool,refreshing…….

Maggie,Big Boy and Hershey some of Aspen’s critters.

Some of Stockton’s lizards,Bruiser and Aqua.

Stockton’s fishes.

Little Don who is nothing but feathers, trust me I know.

And now for the one and only… TEDDY THE WONDER CHICKEN!I should have named him Houdini because he can get out of pretty much anything,if you don’t believe it just read this.He got out of a wire cage,so I moved him to a different cage,he got out of that too,I moved him in with Aspen’s meat chickens,he got out of that as well and I moved him in with the Called ducks and every time i put him somewhere he always ended up back in the front yard so now he’s king of the front yard. So there you have it all the pretty flowers and a circus star (Or soon to be.)

~Lots of love~

~Carolina

Atlanta’s Birthday

Saturday, July 12, 2014 –

Today is Atlanta’s birthday. I wish she was in Texas so we could spoil her a little today, but I’m sure Jordan will make sure her day is special.

Here she is when she was about 3 and Cimarron was a year old.

Now she’s a wife and mother to little Marian. We’re so proud of her and Jordan.

Evening Sky Report and Amazing Fireworks Display

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Another beautiful sunset tonight. The colors changed dramatically over the course of half an hour.

I think I just participated in a little deceptive advertising with the headline of this story. The “amazing fireworks display” claim was a little exaggerated. We didn’t go in for purchasing any new fireworks this year. However, Carolina did have one thing left from last year. We set it off tonight and here’s how it looked. I think a parachute guy shot out and floated down out of it, but I missed that part.

However, to make up for my little deception, I will post these pictures Cim sent of some fireworks that he saw on his weekend trip with the Marrs family to a wedding in San Antonio. They are truly spectacular.

Post by Cimarron Shannon.

Surprise Visit to the Zoo

Saturday, July 5, 2014

We had to go to Abilene to meet up with my cousin and his wife and give back their daughter, Samantha, who’s been visiting Aspen for a couple of weeks. Since it was Stockton’s birthday we wanted to surprise him and Carolina with a trip to the Abilene zoo. We had to leave the house around 5:30 in order to be at the zoo by 9 a.m. when it opened. We wanted to beat the heat a little bit, and we were meeting my cousin for lunch. I think everyone had a good time. Stockton especially liked the reptile house. That was no surprise to anyone.

The craziest thing we saw today was some carp that live in the lake by the park. They have an area where you can purchase a handful of fish food to feed them. The carp were there waiting. It was very strange looking.

Now for the difficult part….decisions at the gift shop.

Aspen and Samantha were sad to part, but George and Nancy were glad to get her back.

Stockton Turns 13

Saturday, July 5, 2014-

It’s hard to believe that Stockton is really a teenager now. It seems like he should still be running around about knee level getting into all sorts of fun. But he is a lot more help to us now than he was then, although he’s always been a worker. Happy birthday to a fine young man. We love you!

Carolina and Stockton Birthday – Party No. 2

Friday, July 4, 2014-

We thought we were going to have overnight guests last night and maybe even tonight, and Nathan had planned to work cattle today until it rained yesterday, so we hadn’t planned anything for the 4th. Since we ended up with the day free, Georgia came out and we grilled hamburgers. She wanted to give Stockton his gift of money because she knew we had a surprise planned for him on Saturday and she thought he might want the money to spend. So we decided to give them all their gifts, even though they weren’t wrapped yet.

Subtle Colors Sunset

Thursday, July 3, 2014-

Soft pastels in the sky tonight with wispy high clouds.

Carolina, 11 Years Old Today

Thursday, July 3, 2014-

Happy Birthday, Carolina! I’m so glad we had you. Some people thought six kids was a few too many, but I’m so glad you came along. You’re one of the sweetest, kindest, most helpful and loving people I’ve ever known. You’re one of my best friends and I couldn’t function without your help and eagerness to be useful. We all love you so badly! (as Carolina used to say when she was little).

Carolina’s Birthday – Party No. 1

Thursday, July 3, 2014-

Carolina has been enjoying her friend, Michelle’s visit this week. We picked her up in Decatur last weekend. Michelle’s parents came to pick her up today. Carolina insisted that I make a special cake for the occasion since it was her birthday today. She helped me and so did Eve. We had quite a bit of trouble with the egg whites which didn’t seem to want to stiffen up, but overall it turned out quite yummy. Carolina’s official party is supposed to be Sunday afternoon, but I guess one can’t have too many parties, right?

Carolina and Michelle ready to sample the chocolate cake.

The icing never did fluff up, so we’re calling it a coconut “sauce”….ahum…

Here’s a photo of an interesting drawing that both girls have been creating.

The Bullfrog

Thursday, July 3, 2014-

Stockton has been keeping and feeding this female frog that he caught down at the river about a month ago. With this morning’s nice rain (1.5 inches), he agreed to let her go. He wasn’t real happy about it. Doesn’t she have an interesting pattern? He got on the internet and studied up on how to tell the sexes apart. The male has yellow on his throat and ear holes larger than his eyes.

Here’s how she looked the day he caught her. I guess they change their camo color depending on their surroundings.

Garden Update

Wednesday, July 2, 2014-

We’re starting to get some goodies out of our garden. It seems strange that things are actually growing and producing. The last few years of severe drought made gardening a real challenge and not much fun at all.

Profusion of Blooms

It seems that everything around here is in bloom. It’s amazing what a little rain can accomplish.