by Bill Byrne | Feb 25, 2014 | Uncategorized
….March is one of my favorite times of the year because it heralds the coming of Spring, another chance to begin again, to experience the growth of nature, in all its beauty and promise of life to come. The yellow daffodils are the first flowers to make a start, sometimes even having to bloom in the middle of the a blanket of snow. The birds begin their morning songs, the geese fly Northward with their group formations, and life starts to spring anew from many different directions.
March is also the start of many of our jobs, from calving, lambing, and kidding to making ready for the coming season. We’ve had a very busy winter this year, doing lots of repairs and improvements to our different lodging accomodations, and doing repairs to fencing and fields. All of us, people and animals included, are waiting for an end to what has been a long winter…..but without a long winter how could we appreciate the hopefull spring?
by Bill Byrne | Feb 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
We are seeking interns to help us with the ranch and it’s programs. It’s a great opportunity to take a “step into nature” this summer, and can range from two weeks to all summer. We do provide housing and a small “stipend” for food and general expenses. Please see more info at CrystalCreekRanch.org/about-us/internships and get back to us here on the blog if your interested.
by Bill Byrne | Feb 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
Another fine winter day…..We have quit fighting the snow and temperatures and started taking a walk every day in the snow and woods. It’s amazing how quiet it can be with the snow and cold. We saw alot of animal tracks, including turkeys. This will be a hard winter for them, and many other animals, because of a lack of food. We definitely get lots of exercise, as there’s nothing in our woods thats not side hill and up or down. I hope you can find time [and enough clothes] to take a walk outside today, even if its in your town or city. It refreshes both the body and the soul to be with the weather, and not against it!
by Bill Byrne | Feb 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
It’s definitely wintertime lately, and has moved us from outdoor jobs to inside. We’re doing a lot of fixing up on our lodging, housing, and cabins….new updates to furniture, painting, curtains, and getting ready for the next “season”. Seasons are part of what life is all about, and I really like the phrase “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. That’s a very peaceful feeling set of words, because we can feel a bit of the eternity and oneness that it conveys. The cycle, the return to the seed and re-growth, is what nature is all about. On the ranch it is always evident when we move back enough to see the complete cycle. The seed is planted, the newborn arrives, through growth it matures, and replants its own likeness to begin again. There is a peacefulness and harmony in that cycle, as it conveys the oneness of us all.
by Bill Byrne | Jan 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
One of our wintertime projects is fixing up a better “intensive grazing system,” for our cows. Basically this means trying to fence in smaller areas for our cows to eat in, which utilizes our grass more efficiently. To do so we will be building about 2 miles of fence, in addition to the approximately 25 miles that we already have (and try to maintain). That’s a lot of fence, and much of it runs through woods and rocky areas, which makes it hard to get to and check for repairs. We also have well over one hundred gates to keep in working order. I used to try and keep all of this ‘material’ stuff in a complete state of readiness at all times, but I finally realized that I was spending a lot of time and concern for no real reason, since the cows were in only one area of fenced ground at any one time. We’ve now learned to just check and repair the area we’re going to use next…which is another lesson in ‘line by line’, step by step, work on what is before you today, and work on your future ‘todays’ when they arrive. Living in the present moment does not mean doing nothing, as our purpose for being here is to show our ‘ideal’ in the physical. Living in the present moment is our acceptance of where we are right now, our first step toward the peace and harmony that are God’s promise.
