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There’s something else I enjoy about dawn here at Madrono Ranch and that’s the improvised chorus of Hill Country Aviators, as I like to call them. Or more directly: birds. But not [...]

We’re standing outside in direct sunlight on this 100-degree day and I’m the only one who seems to be sweating. There’s R the ranch manager, myself, and a soil conservationist. [...]

It’s difficult to describe my affinity for dawn in the Texas Hill Country. Already this precious two hours of mornings on Madrono Ranch feel like ritual. The lakeside pasture which, just [...]

Now it wouldn’t be right to stay in Cowboy Country much longer than week without giving more of a nod to the fellows themselves. I’ve seen my share of boots and hats in Bandera [...]

It’s so dry you could spit and something might catch fire. Creek bed after creek bed, mile after mile; the earth thirsts for itself. [Wallace Creek, at right.] To my eye, it’s not the [...]

As a child of the Pacific Northwest, I grew up directionally challenged in no small part because of states like Texas. I had some vague notion of “the West” and I knew that it [...]

It’s been thirty-six hours and already my vocabulary expands: a hill is so much more than just a hill. Out here in Texas Hill Country, they make perfect natural boundaries, create walls of [...]

Welcome to Madrono Ranch, faithful readers! The next three weeks promise to be full of adventure, hard work, and a lot of meat. I arrived from Houston to Medina this afternoon to a fully stocked [...]

I’ve always been able to assimilate my experiences into nonfiction more rapidly than fiction. I still force myself to try and tell a good story in nonfiction, but when it comes to [...]

The Harris County Jail just a few blocks from our studio is ever-present in my mind. I walk past daily, perhaps 5-12 police officers within sight most of the time. I notice the steady flow of [...]