Now that Christmas has been thoroughly celebrated at our house, we find ourselves in a state of torpor not unlike a sea turtle washed up on the beach. The furious activity of the past couple weeks has used our energy reserves, and we are into being reflective about the year which seems to have whizzed by like the Roadrunner in the Wiley Coyote cartoon. It’s either that or I’m just asleep in my lean- back chair between the fireplace and the Christmas tree dreaming about reflecting.

A new year is approaching and I’m not sure what it will bring, but I can only hope the pace will be a tad more sedate than this one. Or maybe it’s just that I’m not is able to keep up the pace as I once was. In any event, I’m hoping for more time to kick back and enjoy the family and the ranch without feeling like I just ran a quarter of a mile. I suspect a lot of folks are hoping for the same thing, along with fewer international upsets and a little less terrorism and some moderation in the weather. I think the Gulf Coast has seen enough hurricanes, and the Pacific coast enough fires, to do for a while.

Looking out at the cows and horses clustered around hay bales in the gray drizzle, I’m ready for some sunshine and those moderate Gulf Coast days that make people migrate to Texas from snow country. That reminds me of the guy who left Minnesota with a snow shovel tied to the top of his car, heading south. His neighbor saw it and remarked “Why do you have a snow shovel tied to your car, Oley? You’re headed south.” His answer was “When I finally get to a place where someone asks me what that thing is tied to my car, I will know I’ve gone south far enough!”

I hope that we continue to not know what a snow shovel is here in central Texas.