In January Lil Annee hit the hospital again for one of those female operations. She had a short overnite stay and is recuperating nicely. Strictly following doctor's orders not to do any heavy lifting, she only will pick up a wine glass.

In mid- January we had a visit from Plumbob and his lovely Sarah. We gotin an afternoon fishing, a couple nice eatouts, and a trip to Telluridefor the day. Sorry, no pics.

Our new hacienda project is moving nicely. The site is graded, utilities are in, construction plans are complete, and we have selected a builder who specializes in energy efficient homes in the Santa Fe style. Final road construction is underway and it looks like we can start building in March. Stay tuned for updates.

On Feb 18,Lil Annee and I , along with Sherril & Donny, are off back to Mexico and the Mayan Riviera for lots of sun, sand, fishing, and margaritas. Stay tuned for more!

In previous stories you have read much about Ms. Virgina and daughter Lynn, who run the VJ ranch. Virginia has been in ranching as long as the world has been turning and was finally recognized as " The San Luis Valley Cattleman of the Year". Congrats Ms. Virginia! How much prize money came with that, she refuses to disclose.