We purchased a run down piece of property (5 acres) in North Visalia in 2004. Jose's brother, Nacho and he slowly built chicken coups and other pens to house animals there on the property. The only way this plan of Jose's could work is that his brother lived there on the property and would care for all the animals. We called it the Sanchez Ranch.
We started out with chickens and rabbits....
the kids were so excited to collect the eggs.
Camille was not afraid to enter the chicken coup or rabbit pen...they'd run away from her but she'd stay in there until she'd catch a rabbit to cuddle.
If any of you Visalians remember the pet store that used to be on Mooney...they had a dinosaur out front for reasons unknown. When the pet store was going out of business, the dinosaur was for sale.
We drove by and Jose decided that would be next addition to the Sanchez Ranch.
The kids loved it! Below, Ryan is sparring with the dinosaur.
Many times Jose would bring the pellet guns for shooting.
The next addition was a goat and her son. The kids named the mother, Emily and the baby Billy.
The baby was so cute. It would hop/ jump all around the pen.
Next came baby chicks. They were so cute!
Jose found an old horse for sale. She was so calm and sweet. She was named Cinnamon.
When we arrived at the property if Cinnamon was out in the field at the back of the land, Camille would walk out and guide Cinnamon to the pen. Cinnamon would follow her! We were amazed at how much Camille loved the animals and was so comfortable with them. Camille would bring her apples from home and brush Cinnamon and talk with her.
Anyone who knows me....I am not a lover of animals. This entire Sanchez Ranch thing was not my idea. I loved it because my husband and kids were so happy being there and spending time with the animals.
Like most little boys, Ryan would use his imagination and play all afternoon in the dirt & trees. Many evenings we'd arrive home to give Ryan an oatmeal bath and Benadryl. He was so allergic to the stuff out there- eucalyptus, etc. One evening we had to call Dr. Feil because Ryan's eyeball was swollen (he got Benadryl eye drops to calm this eye). This didn't stop him from enjoying every minute there and asking when we'd head back over to play.
Many occasions, Jose would bring one or two bunnies home from the ranch. The kids would play with them for the afternoon. This is the cutest picture of them.
