We three cats had a very quiet day yesterday. Our humans were gone almost all day. First they went out for breakfast which is something they almost never do. That means I didn’t get my buttered toast and I was not a bit happy about that. Mom said she was craving pancakes but didn’t have any buttermilk to make them. Then when they got home she said she didn’t even have pancakes! Humans!!

They left again soon after returning home. They went to the YO Ranch in Mountain Home, Texas. The YO was established back in the 1880‘s as a 550,000 acre (860 square miles!) cattle ranch. Today a great grandson of the original founder operates 49,000 acres (only 77 square miles) as a game preserve with both native and exotic animals. They went for lunch at the Chuckwagon and then took a private tour of the grounds. They saw all kinds of animals from all over the world. Blackbuck and other types of antelopes,  kudu, wildebeest, gazelles and oryx, giraffes and ostriches were just some of the animals they saw. They even got to feed some of them. Dad said it was like a mini trip around the world.

The folks got home, changed clothes fast and went out again! They went over to Burl and Vicki’s for dinner with some other folks here at the Buckhorn. Burl and Vicki own one of the ranch houses here at the resort. They are full time RVers who use this as their home base. Burl made margaritas that mom said were really good and they had salmon that Burl caught in Washington State. A good time was had by all except for us cause we didn’t get any dinner!

This is not a longhorn - it is a variety of African cattle called a Watusi

This is a true Texas longhorn.

Another of the prized longhorns at the YO Ranch. Cattlemen come from all over Texas to buy breeding stock from the YO.

This is a Kudu (from Africa). They hide in thickets of brush and are rarely seen in the open. Since the leaves are still off the trees at this time of year, it was a little easier to see them.

These are Dama gazelles, an endangered species native to the Sahara desert. There are probably fewer than 500 left in Africa and this pair (named Shrek and Fiona) are part of a breeding program at the YO ranch.

A herd of Gemsbok oryx (a large African antelope) and a couple of emu.

Giraffes and wildebeest (also known as Gnu) roaming the Texas plains at the YO ranch.