Rafee Corvair in the heartland of the USA; tel 918-753-2486, 7days/week; e-mail here.

                                                 Fun stories of our life here in the country,

Happy 4th America from the Heartland!

enjoying another day of freedom in the land...

2 of my best friends.......

what else can I ask for ? Damn, that girl needs a tan......

spray on time...LOL.....

Nothing like a fresh steak on a chilly day........

Boucherie au ranch, venez manger... il y en a pour tout le monde.......

Winter was a blast, we had a lot of fun......

L'hiver a ete plus froid que d'habitude, on s'est bien amuse......

                   Another great day of hunting on a chilly day, whooo-hoooo!

Guess what's for dinner? RIBS.......mmmmmmm!

          check it out, city slickers!                                   

When we left California over 5 years ago, we had no idea what was in store for us. Living here in the heartland ( we are talking in the middle of nowhere, a small town 30 mn away), has been a real great experience, something that we will never forget and we are glad we did it:here , we enjoy fresh air, beautiful country side, new hobbies like hunting, fishing, butchering,having the chance to build my own place, farming, cattle ranching with cows, horses ,and donkeys...and many other outdoor activities. We thought we'd share some of those cool experiences of life at the Apache trail ranch with y'all, giddy up ! Peace out.

++++*****++++*****++++New arrivals at the farm for the New Year, don't they look awesome. 

 Glory and her first baby  ! all natural birth, in the pic, he ( or she) is 1 day old, and already walking great, amazing...Glory came here about a year ago, we were so excited to get her as a companion to our male donkey, also rescued, and he was too.... Quickly they became inseparable, and you see the results. Awesome little ass !

+++******++++++********+++++Here is a new one for y'all, city folks !

most days, when I am done in the  shop, I take a stroll in the ranch, checking on the cattle, making sure all the ladies are still there, fixing fences, another one of my fun activities here. so yesterday,me and my girl just started gathering blackberries to make berry wine , a new experience for us here in the country and a lot of fun. Believe it or not, even our pals the dogs dig berries, are those fools going vegan, or what ? no,I think they were trying to cover their scent for better hunting. right after that, when  we barely had the first berries in the bucket, we saw them dash by the creek, and the barking would not stop, you could tell there was something going on, not just bickering among themselves.  my heart started racing as I headed for the river through the bushes,gun cocked, ready for action,  not sure of what I was going to encounter, dinner ? pork, whitetail, turkey, armadillo ?  as I got closer, the barking grew more intense, I knew they had a prey pinned down. I emerged from the bushes, and there it was, in the creek, trapped against the embankment, Mister Hog, grunting and fighting for his life ! I was trying to get a clean shot, and not get one of my pals maimed in the process, man, wild hogs sure put up a fight and can move very quickly, he was able to nick 2 of the dogs before I took him down with one bullet through the mouth.  He was still fighting after I shot it, it's hard to believe the adrenaline they can release ,to the very end they can be dangerous and easily kill a human if caught off guard, but not this fool ! I took him back to camp, and another process had to begin right away, it was getting late, and darkness was approaching. Since I have butchered several hogs before, I was able to slaughter him pretty quickly, feed all my friends some fresh meat, I guess the berries were a just game plan ! CRAZYNO. here are some pix, hope you guys enjoy them, I am going back today to get some more berries, or ?? you never know. peace out. 

                                                                                        SEE WHAT YOU ARE MISSING, INGRID, GET IT , CRACKER-JACK ?

                                                                                  Here is Napash dozing off on Vicodin and brewskis, he got 2 nicks,                                                  he will make it for the next round ! WHAT A LIFE !

                                                                                                        STRIPE & ZOUZOU AT THE SALAD BAR! YEAH !

**** Okay, here is one. Man, after chasing this wild hog for many days to get it to the right spot, there I had it; I got him in the cage, but he was not ready to give up so easily without a fight . The son-of a- sow was able to get  one of my dogs right in the  neck through the wires in a split second.Damn,he was fast. Johnny was bleeding profusely  & still trying to fight him back. I was able to grab  him back & quickly wrap my shirt around his neck . Man, I thought he was going to die right there. I was able to take him to camp & quickly  grabbed  thread & needle and stitched him up the best I could. After I got done, the fool looked like a sack of potatoes, but I wasn't going  for a beauty contest, I just  was trying to buy time to take him to the vet , that is about 40 mn away; anyway, we made it, and the next week, we partied  together with some ribs, scar & all . Damn, he may be old, but he got such a strong spirit !-he's been in the family for more than 10 years, I still remember when he appeared at the shop out of nowhere like it was yesterday, I guess he figured out he found a sucker to feed him for the rest of his life - Here's some pics of me doing what is right ! Even Frenchy got a piece of the action !

There it is : Johnny and his DEAD buddy, Johnny made it, with a special WILD PORK diet, yummy.

****ANOTHER ONE: This shit was crazy, I though only salmon can swim upstream ! But I was proven wrong : here in Okie land, at a certain time in spring, the GAR FISH,  a mean -looking, 3 to 4 foot-long , crocodile wanna -be with a long mouth full of sharp teeth ; anyway, the gar swims UPSTREAM  to lay eggs or something. I was checking on my cattle ,  walking across the creek, and they freaked me out, they were jumping and flapping around, I 'd never seen this kinda shit before ! They were so many, man,  you have to see it to believe it  ! I am like a dumbfuck running up & down trying to grab them and thinking already about my free meal, man, I ate it so many times tripping on the slippery rocks and stuff, but, you know what, it was worth it !  I tried to stone them , like Terence Hill in the spaghetti western, that crap doesn't work , only in movies.  This experience was  for real, & , you know what, this fool's  always packing, & there's nothing a 9 mm can't do ! So I caught 2 big suckers- SEE PICTURE-, grabbed  my knife to gut them , GUESS WHAT ? They have some kind of  armor -like , tough mother skin, that cannot be cut. So what to do? I went to the shop and got some fence cutting metal shears. Then,  I was able to enjoy some unique white meat with a touch of lemon and some brewskis. Most locals don't eat gar, they 're not country enough for that, but I can hardly wait for the 09 season, it's coming up.  We keep  you posted.

                      This other White Meat is not as tough as the wanna be  -crocodiles. YEAH !!

 

****Freakyyyy, check this out ! For those of you in the city trapped all day in your office  space, and shoe box apartment, or stuck in traffic,_ and that WAS ME not long ago_ I want to introduce you to MY office space  and a little taste of Country Life ! They say the star of the Oklahoma landscape is the sky, to me it looks more like one of those  sci-fi freaking -ass  movies, the kind they show at 3 AM, with all the  giant bugs, tentacles, thunder & you name it. Take a walk in the woods at night, man, if you think the country is quiet ! No, I am not talking about those  meditation gizmo sounds  that a bunch of city slicker-idiots buy at the Sharper Image, to pretend they are by the creek in the country, I am talking about the REAL CHARUZKO.  You get to hear so many sounds, if you are a moron, it can freak you out: you get to see or hear ugly toads, weird owls, funky -ass cats with a stripe, they call them skunks, don't even think  of pissing them off, they spray some crazy tenacious  perfume right at you;  ask my dogs,they've been sprayed so many times. They were city slickers too , they are still trying to figure out what kind of cats are those ! You hear  coyotes howling, they sound like the high -pitch cry of a child, now that's freaky ! There's even been  nearby sightings of brown bears and black panthers! Here it is, creatures  galore, for real  !!!! They even talk about BIG FOOT,cookoo! I think these fools in the mountains drink too much moonshine! Let me tell you, I often wander in the woods hoping to see this Big Pattas/ Big Foot or other big game and fearing at the same time, it's a real rush, kinda hard to explain. I've had a couple of encounters with wild hogs, I was thankful that my dogs were with me & able to keep them at bay; Dude, you better watch out, they can tear your up... So far, I haven't seen any freaky stuff, but I will keep you posted. Let me tell you , I am so glad we left the big city to relocate to the country. There are just so many things we enjoy here that you cannot do in the city. To be sure, we still miss certain things like a good Sushi bar, Indian Food, French Cuisine, off-beat movie theaters, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Gelson's etc... Around here, the only thing you get is Wal-mart, they sell mostly cheap crap, but they are the only store, I mean THE ONLY STORE around. Sometimes, you just don't have a choice, unless you want to drive more than an hour to another state. But, overall, we are REAL GLAD we came . Here are some pix of the cameleon weather, from Okieland. Sometimes, it 's hard to believe how rapidly it can change, even the same day, it can drop 25 degrees, or start pouring rain, or heavy winds, or some funky wannabe - snow,roaring thunderstorms, you name it, we got it. Anyway, I am outta here 4 now. Peace out !!

                                                                                                                                                  Trippy!

Man, when it rains, or when the snow melts, you gotta be prepared & so careful, when the water rises up, you can't get anywhere, you gotta make sure you have food, wood, fuel, your generator, your brewskis &  don't forget your human blanket, YEAH, you know what I am talking about ! The way I see it, if I am gonna be trapped with no place to go, at least  I should do it in style & comfort. That was a picture of trail near the lake under the snow. 2 weeks later, there were some heavy rains, roads were flooded, those wanna -be bridges were flooded too, and the lake over spilled. NOW THAT IS FUN, you need to experience this stuff !!!