Ranch Naturalists

Wait, this looks different!

Yes, you’re right. I’ve shifted to WordPress instead of Substack for my posts. If you signed up for emails at Substack, you should still be getting them. I realize some of you may have subscribed just because you enjoy reading using the Substack app; please accept my apologies and feel free to unsubscribe.

There may be a hiccup here and there with imported posts — please let me know if you see any.

WordPress has a much better mobile editor, and I tend to do a lot of work on my iPad. We do still post on Facebook, at least for now, but you’re not in control of what you see on your feed. Some billionaire—let’s call him Al G. Rhythm—decides what’s interesting or important, not you.

Why the long delay after the last post?

It’s a long story, but the TL;DR is that a very evil person got into our heads about sharing our life online by way of a deeply personal attack on Julie. It very quickly escalated from “you share too much” to using the death of Julie’s mother as an emotional weapon. I find it ironic that the first argument we had, years ago, was about her being upset that I did not tag her in a Facebook post. We’ve cut off all contact, and although it may not be possible to remove this person completely from our lives, by all the gods, we’re going to try.

It’s easy to say, “don’t let another person live rent free in your head”, and usually I’m pretty good at that. But the level of evil and pure, malignant vitriol this person hurled at us was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve been around a long time.

Once that doubt gets in your head, it’s very, very hard to get out. The pure joy we had from living here was spoiled, and it took a while to get back. Writing this post is my attempt to purge the last remnants of this experience from my mind.

Sorry, but you asked.

So, what have you been doing?

Glad you asked. There’s a lot, so I’ll only post bits and pieces of the last few months.

We took a trip up to Michigan and Wisconsin (a first for me) to attend the wedding of Julie’s sister Emily. Also a first for me, several new birds for my life list and the Northern Lights!

Back at the ranch, we had a great view of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).

We got an electric UTV to get around the ranch and explore new places.

We took a trip down Route 66 to Broken Arrow and a nature center to attend a mycology hunt.

While we were there, we ate at Natv, an amazing Native American restaurant. Absolutely amazing food.

On the way back, we stumbled onto the Wewoka Sorghum Festival and watched people who had been making sorghum syrup for generations show us how it was made. We plan to go again next year, because the tiny bottle of syrup we brought home is almost gone. It’s delicious in oatmeal, and we plan to try it in a pecan pie.

Back at the ranch, we spent more time exploring, finding scenes like this.

Julie went for an unexpected swim:

We learned how to feed the cows in the winter:

And how to take the time to play a little in the snow:

We went birding every single day, including a day with the Oklahoma Ornithological Society, and saw an extraordinary number of birds.

We visited family in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we got a new shed, we went to foraging workshops, tried many new restaurants, sold the house in Slidell, explored the ranch and surrounding areas, the list goes on and on and on.

I hope to get into the habit of posting somewhat regularly again, writing not only about our lives and what we’re up to, but also doing deep dives into some aspect of nature. So many people have said they want to keep up with what we’re doing, so I hope this is a little entertaining.

So what’s next?

Julie’s in the middle of garden prep, and we expect to have several different areas for growing vegetables as well as pollinator areas for our bug and butterfly friends. We’re applying for a grant to help with native pollinator plants.

Lastly, here are a couple of the new ranch cats trying to help Julie in her garden.

A Final Note

As I was waiting for Julie to proofread this post, we got a call from Shelby (the ranch caretaker) who said one of her own cows just had a calf. We jumped in the UTV and rode over to see the new baby.

I really thought I was done taking newborn photos. Only a few hours old.

And, just so I can test how WordPress and YouTube work together, here’s a bit of the post birth bath.

Life on the ranch continues to surprise and inspire us, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of it with you. Whether it’s the joys of gardening, the magic of birdwatching, or just the simple beauty of everyday moments, I hope you’ll join us on this journey.

— Paul & Julie