Page 19 of Love Unforgettable
Chapter 7
Cole
Pappy had a 175,000 acre ranch in north Texas, been in his family for years. When the kids were grown and out of college, my mother included, he parceled the ranch. This would have been some twenty-five years ago now. Divided 90,000 acres between his three kids and sold the other 85,000 acres. Which bought him just over 3,500 acres in the Central Coast with a hefty chunk of change left over. Crazy how that works. He sold right before the decline in ag-land values in the 1980’s and bought right after. Pappy was either crazy lucky or brilliant. We were never sure which.
Pappy and Babs didn’t have to keep working, but they chose to anyway. Pappy liked to stay busy, so he and Babs started the small (by Texas standards) ranch in San Soloman; dabbled in cattle, horses, some farming, and such until Pappy passed last year. Babs tried to keep running things with the staff, but she says she’s tired and wants to spend more time playing with her friends. And that right there is something she deserves more than anyone I know.
Earl is leading me around the ranch on ATV’s. The operation that Pappy and Earl set up is impressive in terms of sustainability and water conservation. Some of the things even being more modern than what we use in Texas for an operation ten times this size. Course, we were lucky in that the part of northern Texas where I’m from isn’t in a drought like much of the remainder of the state. There are parts of Texas, and California too I’m sure, where it’s so dry, the trees are bribing dogs to come do their business.
So, learning about water conservation and water repurposing is downright interesting. Earl does a real good job of running things with his staff. Past that though, he’s not much of a talker, and since I don’t have many questions for him, our conversation is sparse. I think I like the quiet, it’s a nice change from the constant buzz and hub-bub back home. For a while at least. I could never survive for long in total quiet. I like noise and chaos and crowds.
The entire property is just as pretty as a picture. A lot of money was put into sustainable landscaping and agriculture. Everywhere I look, Earl is pointing out another native tree or plant. I like that it makes the bulk of the land look like a park or some sort of sanctuary. Naturally, the pastures are all grass, but Pappy included assorted shade trees scattered in groups throughout to give the livestock added protection from the sun.
A man-made lake, about one hundred acres in size, lies in the middle of the cow pasture, separating it in part from the main horse corral. Recycled potable water, according to Earl, for the cattle on one side and the horses on the other. Not their only water source, but one they seem to favor. In addition, a thousand acres or so are devoted to almonds. And another five hundred acres for table grapes. Pappy loved to diversify.
“We got a whole separate system that repurposes the waste water for irrigation purposes, so our new water usage is greatly minimized, which helps get us tax exemptions from the state,” Early says.
“I like exemptions,” I smile.
We finish our tour at the personal vegetable garden, which supplies all the greens for the ranch. It’s got to be at least two acres. Assorted fruit, citrus trees, and berry bushes line the outside perimeter of the garden, making it like your own outdoor market for produce of all kinds. I spend a few minutes walking the garden to familiarize myself with everything we have immediate availability to. Earl tells me about the portable greenhouse to cover the garden in the winter, so the cold doesn’t destroy it, and so the chef has access year-round.
Apparently, Pappy had hired the full-time chef a while back, but mostly out of necessity. One, so that Babs wouldn’t have to work so hard on a daily basis and with entertaining. And two, because some of the staff live on site, and therefore work long hours, and he wanted to provide for them. Namely Earl and his family, another ranch hand and his partner, and the chef and her family. But there are others who come in every day, plus seasonal migrant workers, and Pappy liked to make sure they were all taken care of. A tradition I like and plan to stick to. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Feeling quite accomplished for the day, I decide to head back to the house to clean up before dinner with Mavis. Which is when my phone alarm goes off, alerting me that it’s time to leave for dinner if I plan to be punctual.
Well, shit.
