Braiding strands of earthen insight with uproarious storytelling, Texas Hill Country legendary author Becky Patterson recreates the history of the Steiler Hill Ranch in twenty-four anecdotal chapters interspersed with original artwork. The result is a mixture of memoir and montage, treasure chest and tableau vivant of a world that’s beautiful, brash, and wonderfully heartbreaking. Patterson -- the daughter of Texas folk hero and self-proclaimed mayor of Luckenbach, Hondo Crouch -- has big shoes to fill and she does so successfully in this colorful collection of Hill Country and Texas ranch vignettes. Foreman and general cowboy guru Raymond Kuhlmann tells stories of the Goat King and German drinking songs, the buzzard traps and Mexican corridos that filled the nighttime pastures. First-person accounts and vivid historical narratives evoke the ranch’s past, overlaid with Patterson’s breathless personal histories of afternoons spent rescuing a doe in a nightgown, or saving a porcupine from a pack of dogs. This is a book that will connect you to whatever patch of earth you hold dear. It is poignant reminder of the landscapes we’ve forgotten to keep close, of the land that does not belong to us but simply is who we are. The Ranch That Was Us is an affectionate reminder to go outside and touch the earth that is you.

When Widow Tulip Jones of Bore, England, inherits a ranch in By-Golly Gully, Texas, and moves in with two trunks of tea, twelve pet tortoises, and three servants, hilarity ensues. The peaceful life suits the wealthy widow fine until word gets out and every unmarried man in Texas lines up to marry her. Widow Tulip and her small staff of three can't possibly run the farm and manage all the suitors, so she devises a plan—and it just might work. This story filled with giant tortoises, 1,000 brides, bad guys, a smart widow, and even a little romance is sure to get kids laughing.

My Side of the Mountain is a favorite middle-grade novel. This companion gives background on the author, including an interview, questions to guide reading, clues to the story's themes, plot, characters, and setting, a glossary, writing and other activities, and more. If you loved My Side of the Mountain, you need this reading companion.

The secrets behind the delicious vegetarian cuisine of one of the world’s greatest spas. You come to The Ranch at Live Oak for transformation. Nestled high in the hills of Malibu, California, this spa is consistently ranked among the best in the world because of its unique combination of luxury and rejuvenation. Through intensive physical exercise complemented by wholesome vegetarian meals that detoxify while they restore the body, guests come away with changed lives, their well-being achieving an unprecedented height. Now, anyone can reap the benefits of The Ranch’s legendary program through this cookbook that reveals the secrets behind its deceptively delicious food. The cuisine centers around foods that are low in gluten, sugar-free, and anti-inflammatory. The objective is to pack nutritional density as well as amazing flavor into every bite. Carefully developed and honed over the years by a team of professional chefs, nutritionists, fitness experts, and gardeners, the recipes are easy to reproduce at home: Purple Carrot Soup, Kale and Chickpea Salad, Cauliflower Tabbouleh, Pumpkin "Meatloaf" with Mushroom Gravy, and Chai Poached Pears. The opposite of a quick-fix diet, this cookbook helps you create a way of eating that can be sustained in everyday life, to live like they do on The Ranch.

Most people may think of ranchers and cowboys as men. But although they are under-chronicled, ranch women work from dark to dark, keeping step with hired hands, brothers, fathers and husbands. They blaze trails through unforgiving scrub. They cook supper and feed bulls. At any given time, they wear the hats--and the gloves--of geologist, veterinarian, lawyer and mechanic. They are fierce and feminine and powerful. Photojournalist and writer Alyssa Banta spent over a year following more than a dozen Texas women through their grueling daily routines, from the messy confines of the working chute to the sprawling reaches of the back pasture. The result of this unprecedented access is an intimate portrait of the challenges and achievements of the ranch women of the Lone Star State, along with the land and livestock that sustain them.

Jason Sterling had a simple life by all accounts. He had worked the same job his entire adult life, he had never married and he had no children. He was used to doing things on his own. His comfortable life was shaken to the core the day he learned of his fathers death. It was a mysterious meeting that set life altering events in motion and the allure of a new life was too great to walk away from. When an Electromagnetic Pulse brings the modern world to its knees, Jason's choice proves to be the right one. Book 5: Evolutions "Tell me, Tara. You do know you can't win now. The only ending here is gonna be a bullet to the head when I'm done messing you up. Trust me, you'll beg for it to end," he let a broad grin play across his face. "Right now, you're just boring me to death." "See! There's that spunk again! Death is staring you in the face and yet, you're defiant! I love that! Too bad we couldn't have met under different circumstances. I'm betting we could have been good friends and associates!" he lunged forward but stopped short of getting within engagement range. Instead, he started circling. "Are your knees getting weaker? I think they are. You're as white as a ghost. Honestly, I don't know how you're still standing," his taunts weren't far from the truth. The knife in my hand was growing heavy, my feet were slow to move, and my vision was beginning to blur. My legs finally buckled, no longer able to support my weight I collapsed to my knees. My blade clattered to the pavement. I was done. I knew I'd lost too much blood; I couldn't take enough oxygen into my lungs. I raised my head and tried to focus on Keith. He walked toward me, kicking the knife well out of my reach. He put the tip of the bat in the middle of my chest and pushed. Unable to resist either him or gravity, I toppled over backward.

Jason Sterling had a simple life by all accounts. He had worked the same job his entire adult life, he had never married and he had no children. His father's death set events in motion too great to walk away from. When an Electromagnetic Pulse brings the modern world to its knees, Jason's choice proves to be the right one.