(Above: The morning of 12/19/2024: This is a cow and her calf. The calf was born 6 weeks early but is doing well, and today (12/20) is trying to nurse on its own. La mañana del 19/12/2024: Esta es una vaca y su cría. La cría nació 6 semanas temprano pero está mejorando, y hoy (20/12) está intentando de amamantar por sí solo.)
12/15/2024: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the high 70s.
An early morning mischief on 12/15/2024: Someone left this gate open. Fortunately, the cows didn’t escape. Una travesura matutina del 15/12/2024: Alguien dejó abierta esta puerta. Afortunadamente, las vacas no se escaparon. 
Lunch consisted of a Wagyu sausage stuffed with cheese and jalapeño. This sausage was accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en una salchicha de Wagyu rellena con queso y jalapeño. Esta salchicha estaba acompañado de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
The field east of my little house on the afternoon of 12/15/2024. El campo al este de mi casita en la tarde del 15/12/2024. 
I did a little more work on the guest house this afternoon. I straightened some posts and removed unnecessary boards. Esta tarde trabajé un poquito más en la casa de huespedes. Enderecé unos postes y quité tablas innecesarias. 
Dinner consisted of a Wagyu hamburger steak topped with avocado and accompanied by a green salad garnished with Swiss cheese. La cena consistía en un bistec de hamburguesa de Wagyu cubierto con aguacate y acompañado de una ensalada verde adornada con queso suizo. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela.
12/16/2024: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the high 70s. Slightly sprinkly in the afternoon.
These are the steaks I chose for dinner on 12/16/2024. Estos son los bistecs que elegí para la cena del 16 de 12 de 2024. 
For lunch, we had a platter of sushi accompanied by a bowl of miso soup. The soup was garnished with avocado, cabbage and thinly sliced beef. Para el almuerzo, comimos una bandeja de Sushi acompañada de un tazón de sopa de miso. La sopa estaba adornada con aguacate, repollo y res en rodajas finas 
This afternoon I reinforced the hurricane clips with additional screws. I will be able to put the roof trusses on soon. Esta tarde reforcé los clips de huracán con tornillos adicionales. Pronto podré colocar las armaduras de techo. 
Dinner consisted of some Belgian blue steaks seared on the reverse. These steaks were accompanied by a green salad topped with slices of Swiss cheese. La cena consistía en algunos bistecs de azul belga dorados al revés. Estos bistecs estaban acompañados de una ensalada verde cubierta con rodajas de queso suizo. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/17/2024: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the low 80s. Mostly sunny, but it rained quite a bit the preceding night.
For lunch on 12/17/2024, I had a fried mixture of eggs and beef brisket. This mixture was accompanied by a green salad. Para el almuerzo del 17/12/2024, comí una mezcla frita de huevos y pecho de res. Esta mezcla estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde. 
This afternoon I installed two trusses on the roof of the Guesthouse. Esta tarde instalé dos cerchas en el techo de Guesthouse. 
Tonight, we had a salad for dinner. It consisted of romaine lettuce and green cabbage topped with ground Wagyu beef, avocado, and jarred yellow peppers (banana peppers). The salad was dressed with homemade barbecue sauce. Esta noche, tuvimos una ensalada para la cena. Consistía en lechuga romana y repollo verde cubierta con res molida de Wagyu, aguacate y pimientos amarillos enfrascados. La ensalada estaba aliñada con salsa barbacoa casera. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/18/2024: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the low 80s. Cloudy morning, sunny afternoon.
The morning of 12/18/2024: Prometheus watched me as I wrote. La mañana del 18 de 12 de 2024: Prometheus me miró mientras yo escribía. 
This is a fox squirrel I found on the south side of center field. Esta es una ardilla zorro que encontré en el lado sur del campo central. 
Today the sheep enjoyed grazing in the Guesthouse lot. Hoy las ovejas disfrutaron pastando en el lote de Guesthouse. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of eggs and wagyu brisket. This mixture was accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos y pecho de wagyu. Esta mezcla estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde hecha por mi papá. 
Today an electrician from Duke came to the ranch and put this tag on the electrical panel outside the Guesthouse. (I took this photo after a tour of the ranch with Kelsey and her mom. That’s why it’s so dark in the background. It was pretty late.) Hoy un electricista de Duke vino al rancho y puso esta etiqueta en el panel eléctrico afuera de Guesthouse. (Tomé esta foto después de un tour del rancho con Kelsey y su mamá. Por eso, está tan oscuro en el fondo. Era bastante tarde.) 
Dinner was a reverse-seared Belgian blue burger-steak, accompanied by a green salad topped with slices of Swiss cheese. La cena consistía en un bistec de res molida de azul belga dorado al revés, acompañado de una ensalada verde cubierta con rodajas de queso suizo. 
This is a sliced red apple accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/19/2024: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the low 80s. (Actually warm). Mostly sunny.
The morning of 12/19/2024: This is a cow and her calf. The calf was born 6 weeks early but is doing well, and today (12/20) is trying to nurse on its own. La mañana del 19/12/2024: Esta es una vaca y su cría. La cría nació 6 semanas temprano pero está mejorando, y hoy (20/12) está intentando de amamantar por sí solo. 
Lunch consisted of fried eggs with mozzarella. These were accompanied by a green salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. El almuerzo consistía en huevos fritos con mozzarella. Estos estaban acompañados de una ensalada verde rociada con una vinagreta balsámica. 
During pasture inspections this afternoon, Padre and I created a yellow tape fence to protect ourselves from the mother of a calf that needed her vaccinations. Durante las inspecciones de los pastos esta tarde, mi padre y yo creamos una valla de cinta amarilla para protegernos de la madre de una ternerita que necesitaba sus vacunas. 
This afternoon, I picked a papaya in the central field. My father took this photo. Esta tarde, recogí una papaya en el campo central. Mi padre tomó esta foto. 
The evening of December 19, 2024. El atardecer del 19 de 12 de 2024. 
Dinner consisted of a Belgian blue ground beef steak encrusted with salt, black pepper and sesame seeds. This steak was topped with Swiss cheese and accompanied by a green salad. La cena consistía en un bistec de res molida de azul belga incrustado con sal, pimienta negra y semillas de sésamo. Este bistec estaba cubierto con queso suizo y acompañado de una ensalada verde.
12/20/2024: Today began in the high 50s and warmed into the mid 60s. Sunny.
Lunch (of 12/20/2024) consisted of some Italian Wagyu sausages. These were accompanied by a green salad. El almuerzo (del 20/12/2024) consistía en algunas salchichas italianas de Wagyu. Estas estaban acompañadas de una ensalada verde. 
The dessert was a nice red apple. El postre fue una bonita manzana roja. 
This morning I got a lot of beef from the butcher. These boxes contained that meat, but in the afternoon, I needed to get them out of the store. Esta mañana conseguí mucha carne de res del carnicero. Estas cajas contenían esa carne, pero en la tarde, necesité sacarlas de la tienda. 
The store after cleaning. La tienda después de la limpieza. 
I found this calf in the wrong field, so I needed to move it. Encontré esta ternera en el campo incorrecto, por lo que necesité trasladarla. 
Dinner on 12/20/2024 consisted of barbecue style Wagyu ribs. These were placed on a bed of rice and accompanied by a green salad. La cena del 20 de 12 de 2024 consistía en costillas de Wagyu al estilo asado. Estas estaban colocadas sobre un lecho de arroz y acompañados de una ensalada verde. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/21/2024: Today began in the high 30s and warmed into the 60s. Sunny.
Morning of 12/21/2024: I spent time at the Master Blend store and gave out cookies and coffee to visitors. La mañana del 21 de 12 de 2024: Pasé tiempo en la tienda de Master Blend y les di galletas y café a los visitantes. 
Lunch consisted of fried eggs accompanied by a colorful salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en huevos fritos acompañados de una ensalada colorida hecha por mi padre. 
The sunny afternoon of 12/21/2024 in the central pasture. La tarde soleada del 21 de 12 de 2024 en el campo central. 
This afternoon, after working on the ranch, Padre helped me lift boards up to the roof of the Guesthouse. I’ll use them as trusses. Esta tarde, después de trabajar en el rancho, mi padre me ayudó a levantar tablas hasta el techo de Guesthouse. Las usaré como cerchas. 
I found this weed in the garden. It smells like pickles. Encontré esta maleza en el jardín. Huele a pepinos encurtidos. 
The garden on the evening of 12/21/2024. El jardín en la tarde del 21 de 12 de 2024. 
Dinner consisted of smoked Wagyu shoulder roast accompanied by a green salad and a baked potato filled with sour cream. I would like to write here that the meat was a cooked by Brimage (and it was delicious). La cena consistía en asado de hombro de Wagyu ahumado acompañada de una ensalada verde y una papa asada rellena de crema ácida. Me gustaría escribir aquí que la carne fue cocinada por Brimage (y ese asado estaba delicioso). 
Dessert consisted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon. El postre consistía en una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela.
Final Note: I acquired some of the notes for this excerpt from our plane-ride home from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I was interested to note two things: the sky was unobstructed despite the presence of clouds AND the horizon line was notably lower.
On straightening, the Youngest searched for more maintenance entries. He found them: one for each of the two other sectors belonging to the pocket dimension, and again, he wondered at the excess use of the imbued material. Certainly, it would have granted all resident Rakshanah equally efficient access to the outside word, but in all of his existence, Grimorzak had never seen time considered a more valuable resource than seedsteel. It seemed an almost ridiculous notion until a realization stuck him;
“Have we really advanced in deeming the opposite? True, we may have discovered artificial immortalization, but organically valuing our time – our existence – has only grown increasingly difficult.”
The query stymied him, and as he thought, he ventured leftward by a few meters to gain a completely unobstructed view of the outside world. Stars studded the entire firmament all the way down to the distant horizon which, from this vantage, exhibited a significantly lower plane than it would have at a lesser elevation. It was a dome uninterrupted by anything except the singular glowing sequin that, during his time exploring the observatory, had risen from the east and was about halfway up its arc. That crescent moon was small, yet it was bright, granting a silver cast to a nigh motionless cloudscape of rolling vaporous knolls littered with ponds and lakes of profoundest black: the lands that lay deep below. Mendhir was somewhere in that direction, he knew, and on trying to espy it in one of those dark patches and failing, he shook his head.
Observation, the Youngest thought to himself once more as he turned his back to the scene, And for that, I need power. That must be the first order of affairs.
Very much appreciate your sharing all this… also the concept of organically valuing time, I feel, can be a great catalyst for action.