The 27th Heart

Photographs

2010-06-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

Testing for uploading photos.

This is a picture of Shiners Fannin Pepto. One fine horse.

This is the Santa Fe Wine Festival Poster.

Sage to Meadow

2010-03-20T13:45:00.001-05:00

I will no longer be posting to The 27th Heart Blog.

Please click the title link above or the link below to be transferred to my current blog.

Thanks and I hope to see and hear from you at Sage to Meadow.

Please make sure that you change the address on your blogrolls to Sage to Meadow.

The 27th Heart will remain up and will not be deleted. Make sure you link to Sage to Meadow.

Many thanks,

Jack Matthews
The 27th Heart Blog
Sage to Meadow Blog

Jack Matthews, Author of The 27th Heart Blog

Sage to Meadow Blog

March 17, 2010, Fredericksburg, Texas

Poprock Hill Pond Mist

2010-03-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

New post.

Mist on a Texas cow tank.

Not your ordinary cow tank.

Fine Sentences March 7-13, 2010

2010-03-13T09:08:00.000-06:00

Fine sentences from the finest blogs on the internet plus some of their photographs. Click the title of this post for linkage to Sage to Meadow and fine sentences. Or, click Fine Sentences March 7-13, 2010.

Thanks,

Jack

The Honest Scrap Award Given to Sage to Meadow Blog

2010-03-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

The Honest Scrap Award was given to the Sage to Meadow blog. Please click to see my thank-you post to Kittie Howard and The Block.The Honest Scrap Award.

Fine Sentences February 28-March 6, 2010

2010-03-05T15:35:00.000-06:00

New posting on Fine Sentences February 28-March 6, 2010.

Fine Sentences February 21-27, 2010

2010-02-27T11:31:00.000-06:00

Please click on the link below to read Fine Sentences February 21-27, 2010, from the blogs I read.

Fine Sentences February 21-27, 2010

Thanks,

Jack

Fine Sentences February 14-20, 2010

2010-02-20T13:10:00.000-06:00

Please refer to some fine sentences, February 14-20, 2010, of bloggers from my blogroll on Sage to Meadow and The 27th Heart. Click below:

Fine Sentences February 14-20, 2010

Thanks,

Jack Matthews

Fanny and Duncan Steele-Park

2010-02-19T11:35:00.000-06:00

I have a new post about Fanny and her trainer, Duncan Steele-Park. There are a couple of photographs with the post.

Fanny and Duncan Steele-Park in training at GCH Land & Cattle Co., Weatherford, Texas.

Of course, all the time I was writing this, I was thinking about Bald-Face Lie. No news to report on that, I am afraid.

Thanks,

Jack

Fine Sentences from the Blogroll, February 7-13, 2010

2010-02-12T17:42:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the finest sentences from bloggers I follow on Sage to Meadow, February 7-13, 2010. Each is a gem.

Fine Sentences, Feburary 7-13, 2010

Thanks,

Jack Matthews

Winter Photographs of Flying Hat Ranch

2010-02-11T10:06:00.000-06:00

Schools canceled today. I went out and took some photographs of horses, snow, tractor and birds.

Winter Photographs of Flying Hat Ranch

Thanks,

Jack

Bald-Face Lie Cutting Horse Case

2010-02-07T10:55:00.000-06:00

This is not a pleasant post on Sage to Meadow--see link below--because it involves the shooting of a young filly. The community of Weatherford, Texas, and the surrounds has responded with reward money and outpouring of sympathy. There are two posts on Bald-Face Lie: one an update and an earlier post of mine.

Bald-Face Lie Cutting Horse Case

Thanks,

Jack Matthews

Fine Sentences from the Blogroll January 31-February 6, 2010

2010-02-05T09:07:00.000-06:00

Fine writing from the blogroll on Sage to Meadow. Selected sentences from various blogs:

Fine Sentences

Click above to read some fine writing for the week.

Ice in Trough

2010-01-12T20:06:00.000-06:00

Please click on the link below to read, "Ice in Trough."

Synopsis: early morning adventure in Texas winter the last few days before sunup, feeding livestock and getting downright cold for doing it.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com

I appreciate your taking the time to click on the link. Thanks.

Jack Matthews

Duncan Steele-Park Lane

2010-01-08T14:51:00.000-06:00

Please click on the link below to see my new posting about training my horse, Fanny.

Duncan Steele-Park Lane

Gray Sky and Duck

2010-01-08T14:47:00.000-06:00

Please see my new blog posting on WordPress. Click the link below. Thanks, Jack.

Gray Sky and Duck

Andrea of Santa Fe, Diana of Taos

2010-01-05T15:55:00.000-06:00

Please see my new posts on recent sojourn to Santa Fe and Taos. A bit more light-hearted postings. No pontifications, well, maybe just a little. Please click on the link below.

Andrea of Santa Fe, Diana of Taos

Thanks,

Jack

Happy New Year! What Are We Going to do Next?

2010-01-01T15:35:00.000-06:00

Please click on the link below to see "Happy New Year! What Are We Going to do Next?"

Synopsis: I post three photos and comment on the coming year for Olivia Needham, Jennifer Connell, and Brenda Matthews.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/happy-new-year-what-are-we-going-to-do-next/

Thanks,

Jack

More Santa Fe Blizzard Express

2009-12-28T09:13:00.002-06:00

Please click on the link below for more photographs and narrative of the Christmas Eve blizzard in Texas and our trip to Santa Fe.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/more-santa-fe-blizzard-express/

Santa Fe Via Blizzard Express

2009-12-28T08:12:00.000-06:00

Please clink on the link below, "Santa Fe Via Blizzard Express." Synopsis: Brenda and I travel on Christmas Eve to Santa Fe: Mingus-Abilene-Roscoe-Hermleigh-Snyder-Post-Lubbock, beginning at 5:00 a.m. and ending up at the end of the Santa Fe Trail at 9:30 p.m. MST. One photograph, but more to come.

Thanks.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/santa-fe-via-blizzzard-express/

Pulling Down the Sun

2009-12-20T08:58:00.000-06:00

Please see "Pulling Down the Sun," in WordPress.

Synopsis: A short item about Winter solstice at Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/pulling-down-the-sun/

Thanks.

Christmas Eve Music in Old California

2009-12-18T20:27:00.001-06:00

Please read my new posting on "Christmas Eve Music in Old California" at

http://swamericana.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/christmas-eve-music-in-old-california/

Thanks.

Zacatecas Tutorial

2009-12-16T10:41:00.000-06:00

Please see my new blog post "Zacatecas Tutorial," on

http://swamericana.wordpress.com

Synopsis: I give an informal tutorial to a student, Alumna Zacatecas, on The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam.

Wood Not Splitting

2009-12-13T11:08:00.000-06:00

Please see a new post, "Wood Not Splitting," on Sage to Meadow blog.

http://swamericana.wordpress.com

Jack Matthews

Bill Tiblets Picks Pecans

2009-12-05T10:49:00.001-06:00

Abandoned Mingus Grocery Store, Texas

Please see my posting, "Bill Tiblets Picks Pecans," on

http://swamericana.wordpress.com

Thanks.

Round Pen at Sunset

2009-11-15T20:09:00.005-06:00

Round Pen at Sunset

The round pen is an ages-old schoolroom for horses. I have not trained my horses for a few weeks, but have let them out to graze and play. Soon, two horses, Fanny the yearling and Shiney the colt, will have a lesson in the round pen. Of gentle horsemen, see the link to Monty Roberts, the horse whisperer, that I have provided. Not only does Monty train by "joining up" with the horse, but his method has spread across the world to trainers, including the Queen of England's stables. When horses come to our place, Monty's method of training is applied, haply and without violence. We are all the better for it, man and horse.
www.montyroberts.com

Fog in Sims Valley

2009-11-11T19:08:00.001-06:00

Grove and Fog, November 10, 2009, Flying Hat Horses, Texas

Early Feeding in Fog, November 10, 2009, Flying Hat Horses, Texas

November mornings in central West Texas bring surprises. Yesterday, fog dropped down and obscured the distant hills and Cross Timbers Mountains from the back terrace of our ranch house. We live in Sims Valley, about four miles south of Interstate 20, between Abilene and Fort Worth. The road that goes into the grove in the photograph, "Early Feeding in Fog," is one of several dirt roads used in the nineteenth century between Stephenville and Thurber, a coal mining town that supplied fuel for the railroads. When a north wind blows, we can hear the locomotives whistling as they speed through Strawn, Mingus, and Gordon, three small villages north of Interstate 20.

The horses, Shiners Fannin Peppy and Stars Bars Moore, eat some alfalfa I have put in their tub. This morning, November 11, the fog was so thick I could hear the horses nicker, but could not see them in the arena. The fog lifted by 10:00 a.m.

[Annotation: because I have the flu, I stayed home yesterday and today. I put on my field jacket and hat to feed, quickly returning to the house to get the camera and take the photographs. I am feeling better this evening and can probably go to work at half-speed tomorrow. Besides, I need to see if the ducks are still quacking on the Baird Hill Pond, close to Abilene. We have to get our priorities straight, don't we?]

Sandhill Cranes Flights above Flying Hat

2009-10-31T07:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, October 30, 2009, I saw three flocks of Sandhill Cranes flying south over our place. They were at a height of about 1500-2000 feet. Each flock contained about fifty cranes. A trilling call among the flock signals they are in the air. The Sandhill Crane call is almost like a cat's purr, only higher in pitch.

Photograph courtesy of The Firefly Forest

As a side note, also yesterday, I heard crows screeching on the Dooley's place to the west of us. I looked up and saw four or five crows chasing and harassing a large red-tailed hawk out of the sky. The crows would fly almost directly into the body of the hawk, pushing him outward to the east over our place. The crows relented and the hawk flew overhead, towards the east, emitting a high whistle of a call as it flew. We have several hawks on our place and I doubt that they will survive the great and mighty hunters of Kentucky that seem to descend on neighboring farms during this season. Yes, mighty hunters that disrespect wildlife and kill wildlife with powerful rifles while sitting in deer stands in their polyester coats, sipping whiskey. The hawks, deer, fox, and other critters know that when they are on the Matthews place, they are safe.

I don't condemn the man or woman that must take a life for food. But take a life for trophy or brag is disrespectful and that life taken and not respected or honored in its death will come back on that man or woman in their dreams and thoughts until the day they die. Killing fields exist off of the high ground of warfare.

Several years ago, circa 1975, Charles Fairweather, Selden Hale, and I went to Muleshoe, Texas, to get up early in the morning and hunt Sandhill Cranes at the wildlife refuge. We weren't that serious in hunting them; it was more of chance to leave Amarillo for the night. That next morning, we loaded up on flatbed trailers, about 50-60 hunters per trailer, and drove out to the refuge. We crouched about 300 yards from where the cranes were spending the night. The chatter of the cranes in the dark was peaceful and lulling. The three of us began to regret our hunt. When daybreak occurred, the cranes began to fly, and most hunters could not reach the altitudes with their shotguns at which the cranes flew. The cranes would circle higher and higher before they flew over the mighty hunters of Kentucky. I saw only one crane killed. A hundred to two-hundred hunters, killing one crane, and it would not be eaten. Neither Charles, nor Selden, nor I fired a shot. We went back to Amarillo and ate lunch, saying little about the morning's early light.

Snow in Santa Fe, December 2008

2009-10-31T06:24:00.005-05:00

Last winter, December 2008, Brenda and I spent several days in Santa Fe. Here is a photograph of the snow and the river that runs between the state capitol and the plaza. We usually stay at the Loretto Inn, placing ourselves near the plaza so that we do not have worry about parking. We can walk and exercise ourselves about the downtown area early in the morning when it is cold. A brisk walk of thirty minutes refreshes and invigorates us. We purchase a pickup load of pinon firewood at the woodyard just above Canyon Road and Geronimo's and bring it back to Mingus to burn the rest of the winter. Our December 2008, visit to Santa Fe usually includes a long day trip to Taos, but we did not get up to Taos last year. Our pickup is only a two-wheeled vehicle and there was snow and ice on the roads, so we did not risk the trip.

Photograph by B. T. Matthews

Floyd McRorey Angus in Cherokee, Texas

2009-10-05T14:31:00.001-05:00

In 1946, my first experience with cattle occurred on the Floyd McRorey Ranch near Cherokee, Texas, San Saba county. He ran a cow-calf operation of about forty head. He would use a cattle call to bring them to feed: "Whooooooie, su, su, su," went the call. They came running and he would count them. The last time I saw Uncle Floyd in the 1980s (citation needed), he was spraying the cattle for ticks.

As a boy, I visited the McRorey Ranch, staying days and sometimes weeks. The ranch was the second or third ranch on a country road near Cherokee. The house was white clapboard with three bedrooms, flower garden, and lawn. A windmill stood outside the fence surrounding the house. The master bedroom had floor-to-ceiling windows and Aunt Lennie had shelves with African violets across the windows. Floyd took a nap after lunch everyday so that he go back out in the field to work. He could look out of his bedroom window and see the oak trees and cattle when they grazed. A few months later after I had seen Floyd the last time, spraying his cattle, he ate his lunch and went to the bedroom for a nap and never woke up. His last visual must have been violets, sunshine, oak trees, and his angus.

Floyd's angus cattle were very dear to him. His son, John R. McRorey, told me that he thought his dad loved those cattle more than him. John R. was joking because we all knew how much Floyd loved him.

When I had the herd of twenty-seven angus-cross on our place, I called the cattle with, "Whoooooie, su, su, su." I thought of my uncle and how he husbanded the angus and his family and me, a blond-headed kid that always asked too many questions. Of all the days and nights I spent with Uncle Floyd and Aunt Lennie, there were no unkind words directed toward me or others in their country home. There was silence, a lot of it, and we would get up in the morning with the sun, listen to the weather report and markets from WOAI radio in San Antonio. My first time away from my family, when I was four, in 1946, was to stay with Floyd and Lennie.

There are many old souls I miss. Floyd and Lennie are among those I miss the most.

Number 27 on my place survived his illness and recovered his eyesight. The 27th heart, as I call him, made it back with the herd because I remembered how Floyd cared for his cattle. And, that is being educated.

Santa Fe Wine Festival

2009-10-04T05:50:00.001-05:00

Brenda Matthews, Santa Fe Wine Festival, El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, July 2009, photograph by J. F. Matthews.

When you want contentment in your life, you need a companion. Pictured above is Brenda Matthews, seated with a glass of New Mexican white wine beneath a shade tree at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas. Jack Matthews, a.k.a. El Guapo, accompanied Brenda to the Santa Fe Wine Festival. They partook and were content as companions.

Brenda liked the herd of cattle we managed on our place in Texas. I mean, she liked working the cattle so much that she insisted on going with me to feed, and, on occasion, I had to stop her from going and feeding by herself. For some odd reason, she loved the Angus, the baldies, and would pitch in there and feed and manage them in the chute. I never thought that would happen with Brenda. But it did.

Number 27, for whom this blogsite is named, was part of that herd.

So, when you look at the photograph above and see a skirted female drinking white wine under the shade tree at Las Golondrinas, please do not assume there sits a shrinking violet, a faint heart, but there rests an American woman who is capable of managing cattle on her own. Number 27 always liked to come to her cattle call. Companions aren't always hominid.

Ranch Scenes

2009-10-03T09:47:00.000-05:00

Late summer grass on Flying Hat Ranch.

Flying Hat Horses

2009-06-27T14:47:00.000-05:00

Seen here is Shiners Fannin Doc, Shiners Fannin Peppy, and the backside of Stars Bars Moore.