It's Ours!!!

 Swim Lessons... so cute.

Maybe it's been obvious, but I've been too superstitious to actually explain what's going on.  We moved into the barn of the property we have been trying to acquire and started work on the bunk house about a month before we actually closed.  The sale of our home in Oregon was really tricky because the buyer (my Father in Law) is in Iowa, his financing was in California, we are in Nevada and like I mentioned, the house we were selling is in Oregon.  There were paper-work errors that set us back 4 days about 10 separate times... and of course the weekend doesn't count, so we were under contract without a close date for 3 months.  I will forever love the seller for accepting our first offer even though we were months out from financing the property.  So.... the farm at the top of the page is ours!  It even has a name... Winter's Creek Ranch.  It's a historic property and a total privilege to own, restore and care for.  After moving 9 times in our 13 year marriage, we hope to keep this property in the family for the rest of our lives.   Oh!!! and the best part... my in laws bought the adjacent lot and they will build a home on it and retire there next year.  Truly, a dream come true.

I'm feeling a little bit like snow white.  There was the bunny, then that night a bird tried desperately to get in our house for an hour before finally getting in.  Dan caught it in his fly-fishing net and sent him on his way.  He was the craziest bird, just yelling at us and banging on the window over and over... I wish I spoke bird.   Then the next morning Lincoln caught this rubber boa... the boys kept it in a Rubber-Maid box for most of the afternoon until it escaped... hopefully not into the house.  

Eww... that pictures so ugly... quick!  Scroll down!

Ahhh... that's better.  The next day we found little Magaville Mordechai in the gravel in front of the barn.  We checked under the eaves for a nest, but we couldn't find one and there aren't any trees there.  It had been really windy that morning so we think he was blown from a nest.  It was exposed to the sun... and Powell and other predators, so we put him in this trash can and took him inside while we tried to find someone qualified to care for him.  We made a few calls but no luck.  I tried to give it water from a dropper, but I looked nothing like his mother, and he wasn't having it.  He was almost able to jump out of the little waste basket, so hoping he was ready, we released him the next morning.  We took him to a shady protected area by the stream and set him free.  The little guys cried for the rest of the morning and hated me for not allowing me to keep him... I was hating myself for allowing them to bring it in the house in the first place.  I have begged the kids not to pick up any more wild life.  It's so sweet and cute, but I can't bare the responsibility of caring for it and it killed me to release this little guy into the cruel world, but I'm sure he's fine! 

Oh... just before we released the bird Dan and P came in the house excited that they had just spotted a bull snake in the front yard right in front of the sliding glass door.  It could be worse... we've been warned about bear.