Bittersweet...

...Memories. That's all I am taking with me.


The family ranch has been sold.


For a lot of reasons, this was the best decision for the family.


But for a lot of reasons, it was also a very difficult one to make.


For over 30 years, H&M ran cattle and sheep on that ranch. There is a lot of history and a lot of stories about the time there. And I wish that I knew it all.


For my part, I certainly have stories and memories and I will likely share some with you in the next week or so.


For now, please enjoy the pictures that I have taken in our last two trips up to ship cattle.

I will miss this water tank and windmill - they are my favorite things to take pictures of. Also, I'm loving Instagram now!

Dirty taught me about an app that allows you take a lot of pictures and then put them together in a panoramic shot - clearly, I enjoyed it. (I think if you click on these it will bring them up in a bigger size on your screen so you can see more detail.)

There's that windmill and water tank again... One of the things that upsets me (for all of you) is that there is a not a camera that can capture the sheer beauty of Elephant Butte in the background of this picture. Seriously, I have taken A LOT of photos of that butte, and not one of them even comes close to how awe inspiring it is in reality.

Another Instagram photo. This is on the south side of the ranch, just coming through the gate.

This is a full circle view. Papa and I climbed up onto a hill of the badlands to look for a bull and I took advantage of the vantage point to get what I think is a pretty cool picture.

H watching the sorting and shipping of the steers and heifers during Halloween weekend.

Tiny loves the ranch!

That hat that Bunner is wearing was Popie's hat. I absolutely LOVE that he wears that hat. Every time I see it, I smile.

Tiny apparently does not like to have his picture taken...

Biggie doesn't mind it so much though.