Groundbreaking begun...

[Zephaniah W Nash]

We've started the very, very beginning steps for housebuilding. Okay, just clearing out some of the brush and scrub where we want to build, but you gotta start somewhere...

This will be the view off of our front porch, of a lovely pasture -- will often be plowed and not that lovely to some:

You can't see it in this picture, of course, but directly ahead will be the Brazos river, easy walking distance past the treeline:

And this is what I really like, what will eventually be the view from the back porch:

And the machine we're using to clear the place, gotta love a Caterpillar:

[Black Syren]

Looks very lovely, I did not know you were in Texas. So how many acres and will you have horses?

[Zephaniah W Nash]

It's the family place, so overall, the only thing that will be legally "mine" at this point is the one-acre plot required on the mortgage, but there are 86 acres overall -- with the hopes of adding another twenty in the not unforseeable future (a neighbor talking about selling, and if we can all swing it together...)

The family has been on the place -- considering all the in-laws and out-laws -- since the close of the Civil War.

My dad owns two horses at this point, one of which can be seen in the 2004 movie The Alamo as Col. Travis' horse. A family friend provided all of the horses in the movie in exchange for a certain amount of money (that amount being something we can't drag out of him -- even though enquiring minds want to know!) and the training. So, if it ever becomes necessary, I do have access to a horse that is trained for mounted swordplay.

The only famous member of our family:

[Capt Grey]

Good luck to you on your house-building adventure. Having horses close by is wonderful; I have to drive to another city to go riding but it's so worth it.

And congrats to the horse with his 15-minutes of fame.

[Black Syren]

How wonderful, My mom has some acerage in east texas and will raise mustangs she adopts from there. I will have to find a pic of Hollywood to show you. But that sounds amazing, my mom keeps offering me a place upon her lands but I do not wish to live close to them just yet. Very beautiful horse.

Ok here are the Pics of Hollywood and Daisy my mothers horses

That is HollyWood we call her Holly for short. She is registered Mustang and has only been handled for four months and my daughter rode her and she is learning driving already. She is super smart.

This is Daisy is is Quarab and definitely has attitude. I do not care for her much although she is pretty. But I love HollyWoods build cause she is stocky.

[Capt Grey]

The mare I ride is an Arab. I nick-named her "psycho-mare" because she was a little wacky when my friend first got her.

Her previous rider had a full cardiac arrest in the saddle and died; the owner was so upset she put the mare out to pasture and didn't touch her for 2 years. My friend and I have been trying to help her become a more "normal" (as normal as a flighty Arab can be) horse.

The best thing I ever did with her was fall off and then get back on. She really had a breakthrough that day (I just broke my pride ).

[Zephaniah W Nash]

Personally, I haven't ridden in so very long, that I feel sorry for whichever poor horse gets saddled with me re-learning how to do it.

The poor thing will surely be just as confused as I will be.

Not to mention, if my wife gets her way with my father, she'll be riding an English saddle (that's the only kind of saddle she's ever ridden). He'll be scandalized by it, but for some strange, unfathomable reason, she can usually manage to get away with whatever she wants. Is it really normal for a person to get along with her in-laws so well...?