I had company for the weekend. Some might call it a gathering. It turns out event might be an apropos term to describe such a varying collection of souls that normally wander about the ranch but all happened to congregate here for the night.
After much preparation, there was a lovely calm before the storm in the mid-afternoon. An hour, myself alone on the deck, music playing, everything tended, a somewhat settled man at peace with his surroundings and at peace at what was about to unfold. My friendly, helpful co-hosts showed up, we chatted and laughed, but all was still quiet for a spell.
The gift of my view is not only the vastness of what is visible, but some of our little roads are in sight as well. All at once…. movement! A side by side came up Schierl immediately followed by a pick up truck. Two more side by sides were traveling from the east, down Spangle, up Brophy. A third now coming down Spangle. Within ten minutes the household filled from us few to over a dozen. Within an hour, that number too had doubled.
It was a lovely evening. Plenty of conversation, much laughter, and lots and lots of food. It was a mix of the old and new; some folks had been here thirty years or so. Some of us less than a year thus far. Ages ranged from low thirties to mid seventies, but age doesn’t matter here. Where you came from doesn’t matter here. What matters is that we love it here. We are a community, and we shared ourselves with each other for the night.
For this man, my favorite moment was one alone in quiet reflection, just listening to all the spirits, the energies, the voices inside my new home, sharing time with me, with us all. Thank you all for coming. It was my favorite night in the ranch thus far.