A HORSE IS A HORSE...

While it was Karen's dream to own land, it's Bill's dream to own horses...

Karen used to ride horses while in college, but because of a horse riding incident many years later, she has not gotten back on a horse since. Even though Bill has been horseback riding in recent years, he's also been thrown by a horse by the name of Dutch, but is always willing to get back on a horse.

Karen also thinks he looks real good in a cowboy hat (he has several) and especially wearing said cowboy hat while sitting atop a horse. Preferably a horse that won't throw him. She certainly wishes and hopes to someday see him riding his horse in the meadow at the ranch.



To all of you reading this, please wish that his dream comes true, because Karen knows all too well, wishes are very powerful things.

Until Karen gets her courage up, and Bill finds her a nice gentle horse to ride, she'll be fine remembering her college riding days, and her most favorite horse of all...

MAY 27th...

On May 27th 1837 James Butler Hickok came into this world. Most people know of his background, his reputation, some fictional, some real. And most people know of him not as James Butler Hickok, but as Wild Bill Hickok.

How the name Wild Bill came to be is an interesting one. Due to his long nose and protruding lip, he was called Duck Bill, then JBH took it upon himself to change the Duck to Wild, and eventually the name stuck.

On May 27th 1955 Karen Dale Stefaniak came into this world, and not much as been said about her since then. She had a few nicknames over the years which didn't stick for too very long either.

She didn't grow up to be involved with the law, and she doesn't sit around in saloons and play cards. But for some reason folks have repeatedly think she looks like a nice person named Diane, or an actress they've seen on a television show which has something to do with law.

Well, whether James Butler is called Wild Bill, and Karen is sometimes mistakenly called Diane, once upon a time they both had their pictures taken while wearing cowboy hats, even though Wild Bill was a little better dressed for the occasion.

WAITING OUT THE WINTER...

The land is frozen, and the winds will come.

But soon Spring will also arrive, and it will once again be time to take long walks around the T-Square Ranch...

To watch the cows walk north...

and then south....

To go visiting...

To discover something new...

And to meet new neighbors.

To look for the tracks of the creatures...

who came to visit in the night...

and who may be watching during the day.

To enjoy the company of other landowners...

and to blow out the candles on my 54th birthday cake...

over the long Memorial Weekend.

To listen to the coyotes song...

While viewing the billions and billions of stars overhead.

To cherish, appreciate, and be thankful for...

everything that Mother Nature has to offer.

While it is hard waiting out the winter,

we also have Spring to look forward to.

A time of renewal...and possibly, hopefully...

More progress.