A Labor of Love

Working on the ranch is truly a blessing. I enjoy mowing and now that we have a new weed sprayer, I enjoy riding around on the Polaris spraying the paths to the feeders and deer stands.

This was just water, needed to do that first to make sure all the sprayers worked.

Tuesday, we went to Kirsten's house so hubby could see her deck and new chicken coop. She lives at a higher elevation than we do. I was able to take this picture of the sunsetting. So beautiful.

Isn't God so creative!

We have Mesquite trees around here, fun fact: they are not native to this area. They are a nuisance, and they have thorns. What they have that is good is pods and the deer like to eat them. I am trying to get the grass to grow more, I have a few mesquites that will be take out. I don't like the "messy" look, so trying to get this area looking better, of course with hubby's help.

Can you see the pods?

So, we have blink cameras and a game camera out and about the house, RV and by the bird feeder and the alfalfa feeder. The blink camera caught something crazy. A huge jackrabbit. It hops be quickly so you might have to watch the video a couple of times.

Did you see him?

Thursday, we went to watch Kirsten's girls play tee-ball. It was really windy, why I use hairspray I will never know. Afterwards we went out to eat and there was a dust storm alert that went off. It was crazy all around us, but not in Iraan. Fort Stockton and south had the dust storm, Midland had crazy rain, we just dropped from being in the 80's to being in the 50's. Hubby was fixing the Starlink and we had the windows open; he called me out to see the sky. I thought it was pretty.

I know it isn't the best picture, but I didn't want to take pictures up 

close of children when I don't know them.

Amazing.

Sheffield is a small town not to far from us. So, I thought I would get the history on this little town. The first documented Europeans to visit the area were Spanish explorer Gaspar Castño de Sosa and his men, who traveled up the Pecos River in 1590. Although several Spanish-led expeditions followed, no permanent settlements were established in the area. In 1849, the Army surveyed the San Antonio-El Paso Road from San Antonio to El Paso, and the route included what is now Sheffield because of the Pecos Spring and the Pecos Crossing or Lancaster Crossing, named for the nearby Fort Lancaster.

Gaspar Castño de Sosa.

Fort Lancaster then.

Fort Lancaster now.

An early pioneer in the area was William Franklin Smith, who herded sheep from the Sherwood area of Irion County to the Pecos River and camped at Pecos in the spring of 1886. Smith made several trips to Pecos County and eventually relocated permanently to Sheffield in 1912. The first settler was John Cannon, who arrived in 1888 and purchased a tract along the Pecos River. A post office was established in 1898, with Will Sheffield as its first postmaster. Around 1900, a small settlement sprang up on land adjoining the Cannon ranch owned by Mr. Sheffield, and the town became known as Sheffield. Most other settlers were ranchers who established their own homesteads. However, a few of the early pioneers were later reputed to be outlaws seeking refuge far from the reach of the law. Black Jack Ketchum, later a notorious outlaw wanted in several states, was among these, spending time in the area in the 1890s.

Black Jack Ketchum.

The town prospered in the early 1900s as a supply point and social center for surrounding ranchers. Discovery of oil in the Trans-Pecos region during the 1920s, and natural gas later, radically altered the local economy. Sheffield grew slowly, from an estimated 124 inhabitants in 1925 to 350 by 1949. Although the community was bypassed by Interstate 10, Sheffield continued to support several stores and businesses throughout the latter half of the 20th century. In 2000, Sheffield was home to an estimated 600 inhabitants and 15 businesses.

Local resident Herbert A. Holmes (1900-1973) came to Sheffield with his family in 1906, and later served many years as a Pecos County Justice of the Peace. He collected facts, recollections, and photographs about the small community, and with his son J. Wayne Holmes published these in 1973 as Frontier Days in Sheffield.

Friday, we went to town to get some supplies, we didn't want to go to Fort Stockton or San Angelo and we wanted to work on the property. On our way home I saw the moon. It was like 4:00pm. Hubby pulled over and used his phone app and it was the moon. I took a picture.

Can you see it? "The moon is magic for the soul and light for the senses". Anonymous.

We were able to work Saturday and will most likely work today. "Keeping it real" I am not as young as I used to be and working in the sun and heat can wipe me out. Thank goodness for Gatorade Zero. 

Yum!

May you and yours have a blessed week. I will try to remember to take before and after pictures of the work we are doing at the ranch. "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men," Colossians 3:23 (NASB).

If there is something special you would like me to take a picture of, please let me know!
 
Drop a comment for me and let me know your thoughts on the blog.
 
God, the RV & me...