And so I found myself leaving the ranch at times, becoming more and more fascinated by the history of the area, the awesome beauty, the lifestyle and diversity of the people who live here, those who travel through, and others who are the early Creators of Durango and the Four Corners Region. In a nutshell the stories – Past and Present.

We wish to share with you stories by and about the 4H Kids, an anthropologists view of long term land use and small ranch life, garden tips and recipes (got to have recipes), cultural opportunities, sustainability and how our region is planning for our future and striving to foster community, the Southwest Lifestyle and many others.

Of course we continue to share with you our “ know it when you step in it” stories of small ranch life, the colorful cast of characters including Curly the Bull, his harem and their offspring, and our majestic horses. And we must mention the deer, the prairie dogs, pocket gophers, bear, fox, coyote, heron, ducks and geese and others who pass through here on occasion and entertaining photos of these wonderful species which we catch on our Critter Cam.

From the time I was young, it was my dream to have a farm.  Watching “Modern Farmer,” “Roy Rogers,” “The Rifleman,” and “Matt Dillon” only added fuel to the fire. I’m not a seasoned rancher — I am always learning. Having a small ranch keeps me moving, and the day-to-day challenges keep me sharp. I am semi-retired, a former farrier, and have fifty three acres of land in Durango, Colorado. I am finally living my dream.

To address the financial aspects of having a mini ranch, I harvest the older steer and sell half of them every year. If there is a heifer I send her to the auction to help raise cash for the winter feed. This is how we balance the joys of ranch living with the pragmatic reality. It took a number of years to get the hang of it. I share this life with my wife, who contributes Garden and Chuckwagon articles to our site. We care for a number of “colorful” animals, including a Hereford bull named Curly, a dairy cow named Baby and a classic Black Angus cow named Marge. They are very prolific and have born many offspring. As it happens, Marge gives birth in the spring and Baby in the fall. One of their offspring is TG (a steer). Then there are Smudge 1 (a steer) and Smudge 2 (a heifer). Since they are both white-faced with spots on opposite sides of their faces, they are named after “Thing 1” and “Thing 2” of Dr. Seuss notoriety. The most recent calf named Spot was born in early May. He is such a hoot! His idea of a good time is testing EVERYTHING and harassing his siblings. Once they finally go after him, he runs under his father Curly for protection. This happens again and again. We are sure that one of these days this will come back to bite him!