Up at the ranch

My friend Kim will appreciate this post. Don't worry, no pictures of you in here.  But we can hear you talking over the turkeys.

Whenever I go back home to Marin, one of my go-to destinations is the Sky Ranch up in Fairfax.  My good friends Bonnie and Kim have been managing the horsing around up there forever and a day.  I'm sort of a johnny-come-lately as I've only been hanging around for the last 20 or so years.  Yes, it's been that long!

The ranch trails lead out to the open wild lands of Marin Municipal Watershed District. You could literally go to the top of Mount Tam, even out to the Pacific Ocean, from the ranch.  Well, you could but usually they go riding around the lakes.  Or maybe just the arena.

The ranch is privately-owned property, but that doesn't stop the trespassers from hiking through to get to the trails above San Anselmo and Fairfax.   I guess I can't blame them for wanting to go up there, look how beautiful it is.  One of my classmates from long ago, who hailed from La Jolla, called his hometown God's country.  Well, eh hmm, I beg to differ.  I think my hometown has those braggin' rights, fella.

That's yours truly with one of my buddies.  Kim has about 5 chickens that keep laying lots of eggs.  See that round brick thing in the background?  That's where the goldfish live, and it doubles as a watering hole for the horseys after a long trail ride.

Mr. Wil E. Coyote comes around too, and he is as unwelcome as the trespassers.  There's been verified bobcat sightings, and some say a mountain lion was spotted up on the ridge.  Years and years ago, we spotted a turkey at the ranch, and it was big news.  He was also seen in downtown San Anselmo.  We wondered if he would find a mate, and wished it so.  Well, something right must have happened because Tom and the little missus started quite the family, and they are well-settled at this point.

There was a time when I lived just down the road and would hike up to the ranch and points beyond just about every day, and sometimes, at night.  If someone was around, then we'd have a beer and a good laugh, or a good cry, a bad argument (and you two know who I am talking about). Lots of folks have come and gone, and horses too. But when I go back, thankfully it's still the same familiar place.  Thanks everyone for putting up with my sad stories this last visit!

Spring is just around the corner, can you tell?