December 23rd...Gorman, Texas. 75 degrees and Sunny.

December 24th...Gorman, Texas. 28 degrees. 45mph winds and blizzard conditions. What are you doing with that rifle Sam?

Needless to say, we were as surprised as anyone by the first white Christmas in North Texas since 1926.

Even our horses were surprised. The Colorado bred ones figured they would just endure it until it stopped and then maybe have some fun. The Texas-bred ones thought it was the greatest thing ever!                                        

There's a lot of this...

And a lot less of this...

After months of hard work getting our cutting pen and corrals set up we're finally getting a chance to cut some cows. The weather turned super nice today, so that made it even better.

Erin's Christmas present from General Patton in a cowboy hat was this hot little cutting horse. Please note - you don't get muscles like this from being a slacker.

This is Cantankorey - an own son of the #2 cutting horse sire in the industry - Dual Rey. Riding him is a bit like being shot out of a .357. However, in the race to be the most intense,studdy horse in history, Rebar would not be outdone. Kirk Ranch enthusiasts - and you know who you are - will want to make sure to show up to a few weekend cutting shows around Central Texas next year to watch these guys in action.

The fact that she's 93 years old should give this Ol Girl some street cred. I've decided the double drop siding we're installing is like Botox and the exterior paint (which we hope will happen this winter) is the new miracle, anti-aging cream.

There are lots of girls her age in our neighborhood that are crumbling under the weight of trumpet vines with roofs that look like smashed birthday cake. It's been 20 degrees here every night for a week and there's nary a frozen pipe at the Kirk Ranch. That's due in large part to General Patton in a Cowboy Hat insisting that I "quit Facebooking" and help him with the siding. It's not a hard job, but once many moons ago, I was involved in a homebuilding project that had me and five other people installing siding on our own 1,200 square foot houses - yes five of them.

Siding makes my feet drag.

Happily, lying underneath a 93 year old girl is a job best done by a 17-year old boy. So to speak.

Enter our lovely assistant Jarrett Blankenship. He's a senior at Gorman High School is on is way to Diesel Mechanic school in the fall. Jarrett also helps us put miles on young Kirk Performance Horses. Seventeen year olds are good for that too.