Tropical Storm Hermine

There's an old saying in South Texas ... If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute.

We are flying horses and donkeys this week ... and we've been blessed with some interesting weather, courtesy of Tropical Storm Hermine.

Some of the animals flew to Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon. Terry and Megan drove them to Houston and loaded them into the shipping containers in the midst of heavy rains, thunder and lightning. All went well, however, and they have now arrived safe and sound in Europe. Thank you, Hans and Laurence, for sharing your animals with us. And thanks also to our groom, Bob Riley, for doing such a great job of caring for them on the flight.

Last night Tropical Storm Hermine dumped 4.75 inches of rain on the ranch within an hour's time, along with a magnificent light show that was accompanied by dramatic thunder rolls and claps. At midnight, as Salem, our resident ranch cat, and I were sitting up in bed watching the lightning and listening to the pounding rain on the roof, I was thinking about the 10 horses that we needed to load for the trip to the airport this morning. Loading horses in a thunderstorm is not much fun ... not for for people nor for horses.

I was so thankful that when the light of day dawned, the rain had stopped and we were able to load the horses in the sunshine. Ron and Tanner drove them to the airport without incident and they are all safe and sound in Houston, just waiting for time to load into the containers and fly out on their CargoLux plane. Terry and our groom, Henry Quintanilla, are flying with them ... some to Luxembourg and some to Kuwait. Thank you, Mercy, Isabelle and Ayman, for sharing your horses with us. They will be in their new homes soon.

Now that its evening, the storms are beginning to pop up again at the ranch. Who knows? If we're lucky, Salem and I will be treated to another midnight show!