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Lavender Update 2Posted: 14 May 2008 Posted: 13 May 2008 Posted: 13 May 2008 Posted: 07 May 2008 Posted: 05 May 2008 Posted: 05 May 2008 Posted: 02 May 2008 Posted: 01 May 2008 Posted: 28 Apr 2008 Posted: 28 Apr 2008 Posted: 24 Apr 2008 Posted: 21 Apr 2008 Posted: 17 Apr 2008 Posted: 16 Apr 2008 Posted: 16 Apr 2008 Posted: 14 Apr 2008 Posted: 14 Apr 2008 Posted: 13 Apr 2008 Posted: 13 Apr 2008 Posted: 09 Apr 2008 |
Purple Ranch Hand's BlogThe life and times on a lavender farm in Texas.
Been a while
Category: Lavender | Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:22 pm 
It has been a few days since I have written. A lot of things going on here at Purple Ranch. Last Saturday we hung the Purple Ranch sign at the entrance of the farm. This is no ordinary sign. I designed the sign and had a guy out of Houston Texas cut it out of quarter inche steeel. It is 3 layers. Two white and the center being Purple Ranch Purple. I wired LED lights behind the white layer so at night the logo lights up. Really cool if I might say so myself. This thing weighs over 300 pounds. Quite a job. We put the skin on the greenhouse and I poured the foundation for a pergola I am building near the lavender field. It's a pretty good project. Until next time. Lavender Up! Purple Ranch Hand This blog entry has been viewed 50 times
Got a Friend!
Category: Lavender | Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:21 am 
This weekend I shot some really nice photos on Saturday morning. This rose looked like it was a fire ball. The bug there is some type of lady bug. Hope you enjoy as much as I did. Until next time. Lavender Up! Purple Ranch Hand[/img] This blog entry has been viewed 70 times
A Family's Journey
Category: Hand Family | Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:48 pm 
Most of you know that my Mom started a lavender farm about 3 years ago. I thought I'd share some of the rest of the story. Yes, we faced all types of trials and adversity as we started this farm. We lost 75 percent of our crop the first year. The above photo tells some of the rest of the story. Four years ago my youngest sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There are four of us kids and none of us had had any physical problems but now it was different. As we all watched my sister Brenda grow in her faith but wither down to almost a skeleton as her chemo treatments took all she had. My Mom and Dad would keep her during the week and take her to her treatments. Being a very logical thinker I would sometimes visualize life without her in an effort to prepare myself for the worst. Obviously not in hopes of that, but in my own way dealing with the loss of not only my sister but one of my best friends. I had never seen someone as strong as she was. God took on new meaning for my family. We were at the bottom just looking up wondering what next Christmas or Thanksgiving would be like. Would there be one extra plate or gifts under the tree that bore a name but had no recipient. In an effort to support her, all of us that could, shaved our heads to honor her as she lost her hair. I remember the first time I went home and saw everyone sitting there with their new hair styles. We all laughed and joked about the funny shaped heads we all had. Through all of this we learned to not make the outward things important, but see what was in the heart. I saw a family that I could take pride in being one of them. The above picture is all of us honoring my sister Brenda in our own way. During this time my Mom put her dream of the lavender farm on hold in order to take care of Brenda. There is a happy ending to this story. A couple of weeks ago Brenda got a positive bill of health from her doctor. Her cancer has now been in remission for 3 years. Below is a picture of her and my Mom a few weeks ago. Alive and well selling lavender at the Tomball German Festival. 
I know she will read my blog some day. So here is my plug. It's good to have you with us Bren. I love you. So, until next time. Lavender Up! Purple Ranch Hand This blog entry has been viewed 111 times
Sad day at the farm
Category: Lavender | Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:19 am 
Sad day here at Purple Ranch. I have been watching these eggs each time I go out to the field. They are Killdeer eggs. We see them all over the farm doing their broken wing act when you get close to their nest. This nest was made in an indention where we had rooted up a lavender plant that didn't make it through the rains of last year. So I have been keeping track of these eggs. This weekend when I went to check on them they were gone. No evidence of shells in the nest so I assume a snake or the coyotes that frequent the fields had a midnight snack. Every year we have these nests in our driveway. They lay them right there on the hard aggregate. My Dad told me yesterday that he walked down the drive last year and some young ones had hatched. When he came up on the nest all of them were dead. So he went to tell my Mom. They came out to look at the nest and those chicks were running around until they saw my parents then they played dead again. My Dad said they were laying all over the driveway. That could kind of tie in with that possum shot I saw earlier today. Until next time. Lavender Up! PS. I will try to get a photo of an adult so you know what I am talking about. Purple Ranch Hand This blog entry has been viewed 101 times
Daffodil's are Blooming
Category: Lavender | Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:00 am 
The daffodils are out in full bloom now. I didn't realize there was a little friend in the yellow one till I put it on my computer. Always something to see. Until next time. Lavender Up! Purple Ranch Hand This blog entry has been viewed 47 times
Purple Bearded Iris
Category: Lavender | Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:38 pm 
This bearded iris really caught me by surprise. I didn't go out there for a couple of days and then when I did this was the treasure I found. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up! Purple Ranch Hand This blog entry has been viewed 107 times
Where is Sid when you need him?
Category: Lavender | Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:49 pm 
Every time I see these dandelions in the field I think of the movie Ice Age. Remember, Sid the sloth eats the last known dandelion. I think Purple Ranch needs to get a sloth. As much as I dislike them, they make for interesting photos. Until next time. Lavender Up! This blog entry has been viewed 46 times
Mockingbird came to visit
Category: Farm Animals | Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:44 pm 
Today a I got a photo of a common visitor we have around Purple Ranch. Those of you who know about mockingbirds, you know that if they have a nest they will do anything short of calling out the military to protect their nest. Today I got this shot and came out unscathed. How fortunate for me. Until next time. Lavender Up! Last edited: Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:25 pm This blog entry has been viewed 63 times
More Blue Bonnets
Category: Lavender | Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:35 pm 
The blue bonnets are really coming out here at Purple Ranch. I finally got some time this morning to walk through the field and take some photos. What a relaxing place. You know they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don't know that my photos do justice to these beautiful gifts of nature. I always hope that I come close to capturing the essence of this time. Yesterday we worked on getting a sign pole up at the front entrance of the farm. We had a welder weld a 16 foot sign post that we will eventually hang a 3-d lighted sign from. Another little project I have been working on for a while. The weather here has not been very cooperative. We have had a lot of rain. Today is beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. I hope you enjoy the blue bonnets. Until next time. Lavender Up! This blog entry has been viewed 63 times
Purple Ranch Hands
Category: Lavender | Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:26 pm 
Above is the beginning of the field you saw in my photos yesterday. That was last year when we planted. The bottom picture is of my sister, Brenda, actually harvesting the lavender. To give you a little bit more info about my Purple Ranch Hand name. Our last name is "Hand". Until next time. Lavender Up! This blog entry has been viewed 68 times
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