With lots of first time guests coming to the ranch this winter, there have been many questions like “what kind of bird is that”  or “those aren’t turkeys, are they”? No, they are guinea hens. I tell folks that they are working birds on the ranch. A guinea hen will eat its weight in wood ticks in a season, they view them like snickers bars – they love them. Also on the menu are  mosquitos; small rodents; and even snakes.  They are excellent watch dogs, and will raise a ruckus if anything seems out of the ordinary. They love to range around the yard,  generally stay in one large group or several small groups. One of them usually stands guard while the others hunt and peck. They can fly sort of, not long distances and depth perception is really not there best skill as I have seen them aim for a branch, miss, and fall to the ground only to pick themselves up, dust themselves, and look around as if to say none of you saw that did you. They are not the brightest of God’s species as they will sometimes lay an egg, and sit a number of feet away. Because they range all over the ranch, it is really hard to gather the eggs. In 11 years I have only had one hen with the motherly instinct to actually make a nest; sit on the eggs and hatch out the chicks. They do have natural predators, and fall prey to an occasional owl; fox; or fisher. In order to keep them safe, we do keep them in a coup at night where they roost and rest for the next days adventures. Guineas actually come in 17 different colors, although, mostly we buy in the pearl grey birds as they seem the hardiest for our environment. Enjoy watching the guineas working at the ranch!

An interesting and rather humorous thing happened on the ranch as I was cleaning a cabin distributing last minute items cabins for the weekend. I noticed white little pellet looking things all over the ranch, at first and most of the day I was wondering how my dear husband managed to salt the entire ranch so evenly without my seeing him do it, really, that would have taken a very long time. Ididn’t think too much of it, but it really wasn’t melting the snow at all. Later in the day, as we were walking together to go turn up the heat in the cabins, my dear Skip laughed heartily at me; and told me how special I was, he said that was Rime. I must admit after both of us finished giggling about what I was thinking, I must say that I have never heard of Rime before, and don’t ever remember really noticing it. Thanks to all things Wikipedia, I looked it up, turns out “ it is a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects.” Never a dull moment at the ranch.

We are so excited about our ability to provide massage here at the ranch. Many folks have been asking if massage would again be available. Well here it is. It will change slightly, as we have turned our dedicated massage cabin back into a rental cabin. But, I feel that our alternative will be much relaxing for our guests. Our massage will come to your cabin, you will have an in room massage. Our new massage therapist is Cherie Bartha WI #4934-046. Cherie is state licensed graduating from Blue Sky School of Professional Massage and Therapeutic Bodywork; she completed training in Reiki with our previous massage and Reiki master Lori Yeager.  Cherie has been involved at the ranch in our Christmas Craft Fair as a vendor for the last few years. She has been a vendor choice for some of the organic hand soap we use in the bathrooms at the ranch.

Our massages are by appointment as Cherie lives in Oconto Falls, and comes to the ranch specially to do the massages. A one hour massage will be $75.  Massages can be booked in advance for weekdays after 2:00 PM; and on weekends almost anytime during the day. You can mention in the comments that you would like to schedule a massage if you book online; or book a massage by phone for your visit.

Spur of the Moment Ranch is expanding its horizons through Living Social Escapes. Check out what two of our guests had to say about their escape  and book yours at the following link http://www.livingsocial.com/escapes/205898-wisconsin-northwoods-cabin . The Escape Deal ends Monday Night…

Save on Cabin Rentals for the 2012 season or give a great Spur Gift Certificate to someone you love for a Ranch Stay in 2012 at 10 % off. This savings is only available at our Spur Christmas Craft Fair coming up in 5 days, December 3rd from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. All of our vintage ranch logo items will be at 20% off. Enjoy refreshments in the bunkhouse; a must stop is the Crooked Lake/Mountain Lion’s Club Bake Sale. A unique shopping experience to be sure riding the carriage through the ranch,  stopping off at each of the cabins to shop for wonderful one of a kind Christmas presents for those special people on your list.