In which I take excessive photos

All anybody really cares about are the photos.  So here are a few:

If that's not enough for you, here's the whole album (268 photos): https://picasaweb.google.com/mattritzman/RanchHouse?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIfH-tGRw-3Q1AE&feat=directlink

You may be wondering: Why so many pictures?

Well, first of all, I wanted some reference photos.  I don't get out to the ranch as much as I'd like (who does?), so sometimes the images are the next best thing.  They are a decent second option if I need a measurement I can usually estimate from what I see on screen.

Second, there's a really cool web app, photosynth, that takes pictures like these and orients them in space and relates the images to each other.

Here's the link to the synth of the main room:
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=04e15ae6-88bd-450b-a84b-129c9d8bfacf
Here's the kitchen:
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=5ef44d22-291d-4b1c-afcb-c543646ae8a8

Third, if there are enough shared points in the photosynth images, you can take the points and turn them into 3D models.

AutoDesk's 123D Catch program does exactly that.

Pretty cool looking, but not much more than that.  The program picks seemingly random points to share across images.  The 3D model is almost useless for any future planning ideas.  If the Blob had a home, this would be it.  Sadness.

To create a useful 3D model I'm going to turn to SketchUp and a future post.  Stay tuned.

In which I measure the ranch house

To do any real planning we've got to have some plans to work from.  So I'm measuring the ranch house.  Here  are my measurements.

I will, of course, collect more measurements as I consider the electrical and plumbing, but this is where it stands right now.

Meriwether Lewis on a Mountain Bike

Mapping the ranch with three kids is very inefficient.  Efficiency may not be particularly important in this case.  The ranch has been in the family for around 70 years without a map.  What's the rush?

For my own mental health I thought it would be better to take a shot at mapping sans children.  So I went out on a mountain bike and my GPS.  What a beautiful ride!

Here's an image of the raw data:

I started and ended at the Ranch House.  This is just the lower field, east of El Toyonal.

Here are some pictures that I took as I rode:

Mt. Diablo from the edge of the property

There's the turkey coop

Looking North West, toward the Eucalyptus grove

Rusting farm equipment at the Playground

This is how I found the skull.  Anybody able to identify it?

Next time around, I'm going to do the upper field.  We'll see how that goes.

I've placed a copy of the mapping project KML file on my personal site, here: https://sites.google.com/site/mattritzman/test/test2/11_1113_Ranch.kml?attredirects=0&d=1

All in a day's work

Sunday evening we sat around the dinner table and each recounted what we did at the ranch the previous day.

Julie, Kaia and Kallan saddled horses and rode around the playground.

Griffin and Lena also got on horses.

Josie and I took a stroll up the hill from the Playground.  We didn't bring keys so we ended up waiting at the gate for Julie.

Colson rode up Mt. Diablo, and Logan caused a ruckus.  It was a great day.

Found: Duffle

I found a duffle bag full of clothes at the ranch.  They are not "ranch" clothes.  It looks more like somebody was taking a trip and left them here.

I'm going to leave the duffle at the ranch for now, but eventually, I'm going take them home.  Don't worry, they aren't my size.  I'll just hold on to them till I find that somebody's been looking for them.

Let me know if they are yours.

Nov. 5th 4AM: Goals for the ranch house

I’m at the Ranch with Kallan and Griffin.  We spent the night here.  I'm awake.  Thinking about things to improve the Ranch House to make it more inviting is keeping me awake.  Often the best way for me to stop these ideas from bothering me is to write them down.

Here are some of my thoughts and goals for the Ranch House.  Take these with a grain of salt.  I'd be interested to hear what other people envision for the place.

Ranch House Vision:

The ranch house should be a comfortable place for a family and a couple of friends to stay.  It is a remarkably small space, an endearing quality, but also a real design challenge.  There are several potential activities indoors, but it encourages the use of the outdoors.   Enhancements to the ranch house shouldn’t come at the expense of getting people (kids, mostly) outside to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  I also think safety and accessibility should also be on our list.

Regarding safety, the ranch, in general, is a place where things can be a bit dangerous.  But the ranch house should be a place of respite.  If there is an accident of any sort the ranch house should be the place you come to fix your boo boo’s, not worry about getting them.

I have a strong bias towards accessible areas, but a lot of us are getting older and our mobility is always becoming less and less.  I’d really like to look into making it easier to get to the house and then move around unencumbered when you’ve made it here.

You may have noticed that I haven’t discussed style.  I’m a bit hesitant to do so.  The ranch aesthetic is an ad hoc, bubble gum, duct tape and baling wire, do whatever meets the most immediate need kind of style.  The problem is that if everybody goes in an makes changes as they see fit, we can easily step on each other’s toes.  It is something to discuss in for the future.

I plan to post my ideas here before executing them, at least the major ones.  As always, please let me know what your opinions are.  The comments section is a great place for that.

I think the first thing to do is take stock of what’s here.  From there we can decide what stays, what goes, and what can be improved.  Look for that in future posts.

Final Resting Place

Last Saturday afternoon we scattered some of Uncle Dick's ashes on the Ranch.

We gathered at the Eagle's nest, just off of El Toyonal, sang a rousing chorus of "When the Saints Come Marching In," as Colson accompanied us on the trombone, and had a prayer.  Then everybody was given a small cup of ashes to spread upon the earth that Dick loved so dearly.

It was a touching and remembrance.  I felt that Dick would have appreciated that we took time to visit the ranch and think of the impact he had on all of us.

Ranch Map

Yeah, I kinda drove Kallan crazy with mapping the ranch on Saturday.  Spending a couple hours mapping with Kallan, Griffin and Josie along for the ride made me realize that this is going to take a long time and a lot of work.

But I think it will come in handy to have a map of the ranch.  If/when something breaks we'll know where it is and we'll be able to fix it.

Here's what I've got so far http://g.co/maps/q5p7h.  The track from our adventure is in red.

I'd like your help.  

• Let me know if there's anything in particular you want me to map.  
• I need names of things (roads, landmarks, gates, etc.).

The need for names became very apparent as I was dictating to my smartphone.  It attempts to transcribe what I say to it.  I told it, "Gate" and it wrote, "Geico."  I'd be amenable to naming it the Geico Gate if we can get corporate sponsorship, but till then, I think we need to come up with something better.

Our Ranch Adventure

By Kallan Ritzman

            We had an adventure yesterday. Our original plan was to look for an old barn Abba had showed to us on night walks. The barn happened to not be on our property and also there were bushes blocking the way. I wanted to cut them. Nobody supported me, supplied me with saws and we had Josie. No offence to her but she would not be able to get through anyway. I was sad.

              Next, we went the goat house. My Dad added to google maps for the ranch around the house. Meanwhile, Griffin and I thought that since we can't go to the barn let's go and explore where the goats used to be because we hadn't been there EVER! It so happens that we came to a stop. We couldn't do it. Another idea blocked.


               Then, we started to walk on the road to Aunt Josie's apple tree. As we were walking my Dad marked the water tank gate and the water tank on google maps again. Then we walked on. Finally we get to the gate and it's locked. No matter how we try we can't get through.  My dad forgot the keys.

This is the water tank

              None of our ideas were working out!  It was terrible.  My Dad marked everything for google maps. It took forever.  Griffin kept yelling, "We're all going to die!" I was annoyed but I knew we weren't going to die.  My dad said let's go to the Pokemon Center - that big flat spot next to the road.  So we did.  But we still didn't have keys.  Griffin and I could squeeze through.  My dad and Josie couldn't.  But it was too late.  Griffin had to go home.  My Dad gave us a picnic to eat.  Then he took Josie back to get the car.


              The picnic was really good.  We packed a can of peaches.  We used to eat peaches with Abba.  Peaches are traditional at the ranch for snack.  

Here's Griffin and me

              Nothing went like we planned on our trip.  But at the picnic we had fun anyway.  I want to go back to the ranch soon.  This time I'm going to find that old barn.

Status of the Fire Suppression Project

About a month ago we were given notice that The Ranch was out of compliance with local fire codes.  We are supposed to have 30 feet cleared of brush from any property line.

The property line of The Ranch is over 2 miles long!  So this is a huge project.

Harry and Dave have spearheaded the heroic effort.  They've worked nearly every day since we received the notice, whacking weeds, cutting down coyote brush, and organizing work parties.  A few others have pitched in, including Johnsons, Jensens, Foxes, and Ritzmans.

We've made significant progress.  Most of El Toyonal to the ranch has been cleared, and it has really improved the curb appeal of The Ranch.  We've opened up some wonderful views, and cleared some paths for horses.  We've also cleared brush away from many fences that haven't been seen by human eyes in decades.

There's still a lot of work to be done.  We are working with the Fire Department to get leniency for this year on some of the stricter rules till we can get a complete handle on what needs to be done.  It looks like we will have to add this project to our yearly calendar of Ranch maintenance.  But we are learning lessons that will allow us to be more prepared come next spring.

The First Post

Welcome to the first post on the Johnson Family Ranch blog!

There are a few things that I'd like to get posted here on the blog:

• Things that are happening now
• Things that are going to happen soon
• Announcements of work parties
• Pictures
• Memories
• Plans and wishes for the future

I'm going to need your help.   I'd like to get as many Johnson's and other friends of The Ranch writing on this blog as possible.  Please let me know (in the comments) if you'd like to contribute.

Matt (Julie's husband) Ritzman