Happy New Year!

It is the very last evening of 2010.  After an evening of reflecting on the past year, I conclude it has been a good one.  Not only for me and my family, but for the progress we have made on Hobble Rock Ranch, what we have learned and the experiences we have had. 

After almost a month we got back up to the property.  It was a beautiful, cold wintery day.  We found a huge leak in the trailer, and Dad and I had to tarp it.  It actually turned into a comical predicament.  The big ladder was at the Citrus Heights house because we had to clean gutters down there and put up Christmas lights, so we only had the small ladder.  After a good while of trying to throw the tarp over the trailer without actually getting on top, we had to devise a way of getting me up there.  We ended up moving our picnic table up against the trailer and putting the small ladder on top of the table and even that was barely enough to get my hobbit-size self on top of that trailer.  But after a little more effort we got the tarp on and tied down.  Did I mention the wind was howling against our efforts?  I really hope that the tarp holds!

On the way home we stopped at the bridge dividing Butte and Yuba Counties.  The nice little stream was a raging water.  It was crazy insane! 

Olive, the other Reindeer!

Today, my parents harvested the olives from our baby olive trees in the backyard.  We cleaned them off and now are soaking them in a glass bowl filled with a brine.  It should be three or four weeks until they are cured.  I can't wait to try them.  I really hope they are yummy! 

This spring we are going to plant the olive trees at Hobble Rock Ranch was the first two trees of a small olive grove.  We plan to make table olives and boutique olive oils out of the olives produced.  We will use all we need for ourselves and maybe even market some to local restaurants.