Shannon Ranch

Storm Chasing from my Computer Chair

Saturday, May 16 –

Today was the big race that Cim, Laredo, and the Phipps boys have been working toward. It’s called a “Tough Mudder” race. It was 11 miles of mud and obstacles. It was in a small Oklahoma town called Okemah, east of Oklahoma City. I’ve been worrying now for months about them being in that area of Oklahoma in mid may. It’s a tornado magnet.

Well, I was right. There were bad storms all day long. I found a live feed from KFOR Channel 4 in OKC. Also I had up TVN weather network on the internet. It has a map of the area showing storm chaser locations. You can click on a storm chaser and watch their live feed.

All day long I kept up with the storms. One tornado after another was forming. At one time the kids were in a tornado warning and a tornado even threatened Okemah a few hours after the race was over. I’m glad it’s over and the storms have moved on now into Arkansas.

Here are a few storm chaser pictures I snagged off the internet feed and from KFOR feed.

These first few are near Shamrock, TX and northeast into OK toward Sayre.

If you’d like to check out the feeds I was on, here are the links:

www.kfor.com/on-air/live-streaming/

www.tvnweather.com

Banquet in Black

Andrea invited Laredo to a banquet given by her LCU social club. They decided to both wear black. Don’t they look great?

Mother’s Day Surprises

Sunday, May 10 –

Today was filled with very nice surprises. First, upon awakening, this was what I saw waiting for me on my desk.

a large vase of wildflowers, cards, posters and various notes.

As we left out for church, I was also surprised to see my pickup freshly washed.

Apparently, Stockton and Carolina had been out in their bedclothes at 6:30 doing the job.

After church, everyone rushed away from church in their various vehicles. ( which wasn’t strange as the boys are always dashing away somewhere without notifying me.) Nathan and I stayed and visited as we usually do. We stopped by Georgia’s to pick up Stockton and Carolina who often go home with her after church. I walked in the door to find everyone there and a large spread of food prepared and ready.

There were two kinds of enchiladas, fried rice, black beans, salad, chips and hot sauce! and for dessert, a wonderful cherry cheesecake with chocolate topping. Who wouldn’t feel special after this treatment?

Aren’t our children such a gift from God? We’ve been chosen to raise them and give them a good foundation in the Lord. As they are now coming of age and becoming responsible for their own lives before God, it fills my heart with gladness to see them making good choices and living amazing lives for God.

Branding Before the Rain

Thursday, May 7 –

This is a painting called “Hurry Up and Brand” that I created in 1991. It depicts two cowboys who have snagged a calf that was missed in the recent roundup. Will they have time to get a fire going and brand it before that approaching storm hits? Probably not.

However, our group recently had better luck. Cim and Laredo had some cows and calves to brand. Rain was threatening, and they really had to hurry, but Courtney and the other kids pitched in to help and they finished the last one just as the big drops began to hit.

The New Fence

Nathan put up this nice fence to replace the one that was here before (and falling down).

After the Rain

Sunday, April 26 –

On the way home tonight, we followed a rain storm and got to watch a full double rainbow for the whole drive. At home, the clouds were especially pretty reflected in the recently created puddles.

Ladies of the Matador Church of Christ Host Shower

Sunday, April 26 –

Many old friends were in attendance at Diann Campbell’s house Sunday afternoon as the area ladies honored Courtney and Cim and showered them with kitchen goodies. Each one brought a recipe and all the ingredients, including the pan, needed to fix it. It was very fun.

Shower in Lubbock for Courtney and Cim

Saturday, April 25 –

We had a nice shower at the home of Joy Rainey, grandmother of the groom. Many friends and relatives came to congratulate the couple and bring a gift for the new household.

Easter European Missions Banquet

Posted on April 23, 2015 by adminMay 16, 2015

Thursday, April 23

Tonight, a group from the Matador church of Christ met with other Christians in Lubbock for a meal and presentation from the EEM. Their mission is to print and distribute Bibles all throughout eastern Europe. Amazing things are happening overseas. The schools and universities are begging for Bibles–IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS. They’ve been a Godless country for a long time and they have reaped the consequences. I only wish our country would embrace God’s word in such a way. Check out their website at www.eem.org

Matador Storms Bring Excitement

Wednesday, April 22 –

While sitting in church, my phone vibrated with a warning signal from my RadarNow app. I glanced at the radar to see an ominous cloud headed for Matador and a red tornado warning box around us. Church lasted 10 more minutes and then we all zoomed away quickly. We decided to drive home. As we got east of town heading north on FM 94, we could see the cloud more clearly. It was very dark and low hanging. I had Carolina snapping pictures in the back seat on her tablet, but when we got home and could look at them, we found that they were dark and blurry. I wish we could have gotten better pictures.

However, Cim found this photo by a storm watcher on facebook reposted by a friend of his. This would be facing east, taken from the Allsup’s parking lot.

This video was posted on facebook by Don Baxter, Jr.

We noticed a storm chaser sitting on the edge of town as we sped home. I found a youtube video that must have been taken by him and captured these two shots. His name is Spencer Basoco. This is exactly what we saw in front of us in the northern sky on our way home.

The real scary cloud was in the western sky headed toward Matador. I wish these shots were better, but maybe you can get an idea of what we were seeing.

Well, I told you they weren’t that good. I wish I would have stopped and taken some, but we were in a pretty big hurry to get home. Georgia ended up going to the courthouse in Matador. They have a large basement. She said there were about 100 people there during the worst of the storm.

Rusty and the Rattlesnake

Tuesday, April 21 –

This afternoon, Stockton and Carolina heard a rattler under a large piece of plywood out by the barn. Rusty, of course, stuck his nose under it for a better look. They came to the house to ask for help getting the board up so Stockton could get a shot at it. I told them to wait for Nathan or the big boys to get home because I didn’t want them putting their hands under it. About that time Rusty shows up at the house with fang marks on his nose.

We talked to a vet who was willing to meet us in Childress if it turned out to be a bad case. But he said that a bite on the nose is the best place to have one (if you’re a dog).

Meanwhile, Rusty is enjoying his new status as a patient. Stockton is brushing him and trying to get him to stay calm. His nose is beginning to swell, but other than that, he seems fine.

When Cimarron got home, he and Stockton went back out and killed the snake. They said that under that piece of plywood was the rattler, a racer snake, a ground snake and a box turtle (which Stockton kept). The rattlesnake had 12 buttons, but was normal size.

As I write this at 10:12 pm, he seems to be fine. I think he dodged a bullet this time.

Pink & Purple Sunrise and Secret Messages in the Sand

Monday, April 20 –

This morning’s sunrise is a special treat for anyone.

But look at the extra-special surprise I got after I took these pictures and started back to the house. Carolina had left a message in the sand for me and Nathan.