Happenings in and around the Ranch this Week!

We enjoyed having our first guests at the ranch over the past two weeks.   The wildlife are making more appearances now that our construction is complete.  We saw five deer all at one time - walking between the cottages and across the road on Wednesday afternoon.  The pond is low due to the lack of rain for sometime now.  The positive part of this is you can view lots raccoon tracks all around the edge of the pond where the water has receded.  Even more evidence that our wildlife population has been very active lately.

The Alvin Rotary Club is sponsoring Novemberfest this weekend. It is held at National Oak Park in Alvin.  Only a short distance from the ranch, you can view the car and bike show, lots of arts and craft booths, foods, and other fun activities. 

Cozy Old World Experience

Our Casita makes her debut today.   Staying in the Casita feels like stepping into your own private old world Mexico!  Enjoy the ambiance that feels warm and cozy as you relax and forget about your everyday realities. Reservations are now available for the Casita!

Escape Reality at the Texas Star Cottage

The Texas Star Cottage is ready for its great reveal! 

       It's warm, cozy, comfortable, and private. Stay a night or two at the cottage for a true escape from reality!  Check out all of the just released pictures of the completed Texas Star Cottage.  Reservations are 

now available at windsonghollowranch.com

Pictures of the Casita Cottage are coming soon!

Septic System is Installed

We've come a long way!  We've moved from raw land to a property which includes a long winding country road, water, power, two cottages and now a septic system.

Some big equipment moved in and the septic lines were laid out between the two cottage.  The Casita is shown in the background.

 

The septic tanks were set and the system is installed and ready.

We are continuing the final details on the interior of the cottages.  Each cottage is  currently being painted.  The next pictures will really show how it is all coming together.

Texas Star Tile Work

The tile work in the Texas Star is complete.  The rustic western accents create a unique feel for this cottage at Windsong Hollow Ranch.

This pictures shows the rustic stone back splash which frames the tub surround.

This pictures shows the back splash for the kitchenette area and features the a unique copper sink.

This pictures shows the back splash for the bathroom counter.  A copper beautiful copper vessel sink will be added soon.

This pictures shows the custom tile shower with the decorative tile.

Casita Tile Work

The Casita is taking on a unique personality with the addition of all of the authentic saltillo and decorative tile.

The very large tub surround is surrounded by authentic saltillo and decorative tiles from Mexico.

 

 

 

 

This pictures shows the custom tile work around the kitchenette.  It includes the addition of the authentic hand made sink imported from Mexico.

This pictures shows the tile work and sink in the bathroom.

This picture shows the completed shower in the Casita. 

Final Details are Progressing

Our progress on the cottages continues as we add the unique features that make each cottage a very special place to stay.  We have now completed the tub boxes, floors, counter tops, and are almost finished with the custom tiled showers.

Texas Star Cottage

This picture shows our Texas Star Cottage sporting a unique rock pattern tile for that Texas lodge look.  The tub box shows the knotty cedar to continue with our very western theme. The counter tops are also installed and make a beautiful accent for the air tubs which are soon to be in place.  (In the right corner you can see one of our very large air tubs -- just waiting to be included in the decor.)

Casita Tub Surround

The picture above shows the new terracotta tile floor in the Casita Cottage.  The tub surround is a very unique custom  design using reclaimed corrugated tin along along with the beautiful new surface area which will surround the air tub.

Shower in the Texas Star

The shower tile is laid in the Texas Star Cottage and the grouting process is next.  The Casita shower tiling is currently in process.

We will post more updates soon  - as we are really progressing now on completing these final details.  We are very excited about the progress and can't wait to share them with you.  We expect to be open by late September.

Custom Cabinetry Installed

Our trim carpenters have been hard at work.  In both cottages, we now have beautiful built in cabinetry, including our armoire, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, baseboards, and trim.  This week we plan to complete the carpentry work and move on to screening in the porches, installing counter tops, and interior painting.

Interior Work

Wow, we've been so busy with moving forward on the interior work that I haven't kept up with sharing very well.  The interior walls are complete, textured, and ready for paint.  The carpentry work is in progress.  The picture shows the custom box which holds the black airtub in the Casita.  The trim work is also going in now which can be seen around the door and floors in the picture.  More details soon!

The Cottages are Looking Good

We continue to move forward on construction. The picture shown here is the Casita. We now have plumbing lines, electrical lines, roofs, air conditioning and heating units, and insulation. Both of our first two cottages are sporting beautiful new exterior paint.  Our luxury air tubs have arrived and are waiting their turn to be included in the cottages.  We can't wait to complete the cottages so you can enjoy a luxury evening in one of them!

Construction Progress

Our progress continues.  Our cottages are taking shape.  We expect to complete the framing on both of our first two cottages this week.  Then we will be on to the next phase.  The picture shown is the back porch of the Texas Star Cabin.

Stocking the Pond

We stocked the pond this past Saturday with lots of fish.  Cameron Busch is shown in the picture releasing some of those fish.  We stocked the pond with 225 coppernose bluegill sunfish in two different size  categories ranging from 1-5 inches.  We added 150 channel catfish that were 6-8 inches in size.  We also included 2,000 minnows.  They are doing well and already come to the surface quickly at feeding time.  It will be awhile -- but we will offer fishing at the ranch when the fish are big enough.

Cottage Framing

We are really excited to see our first two cottages taking shape.  This is the Texas Star Cottage with a view showing the back porch. 

Foundations Are Complete

We poured the foundations for our first two cottages on Thursday, May 31st.  We started early in the morning and got them poured just before the big rains arrived.  Framing is scheduled to begin next week.  We can't wait to see those walls go up!

Construction Progress Continues

We continue to be blessed with bright sunny days and are moving along really well with our construction.  We have put in the bells and piers, followed by the forms and plumbing lines, and finally the steel in preparation for pouring the foundations.  Our next step will be pouring the foundations for the Texas Star and Casita Cottages.

Ground Work is Ready for Building

The road is complete and the ground work is laid for the Texas Star and Casita Cottages.  Each cottage has a special location tucked into the trees for a view of nature and the feel of privacy.  Both of our first two cottages will also have a cozy screened porch with views of the pond.  You can learn more about our cottages at www.windsonghollowranch.com.

Making Progress

Our area of the gulf coast is experiencing another sustained down pour of rain as we enter a new work week.   We were blessed with beautiful weather last week and through this past weekend -- a full week of sunshine and dry days.  We worked many hours over the week, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and dry conditions.  Todd spread over 539 tons of crushed concrete over the road in preparation for those very heavy concrete trucks.  The winding country road is both wide and very long and it will take you back into the most beautiful and quiet area of the ranch where we are locating the cottages. 

Texas Wildflowers

All the rains for the past three months may have slowed construction progress -- but the Texas wildflowers are abundant and beautiful at the ranch this year!

New Baby Ducklings

We have three adorable little ducklings!  We love the sound of happy baby ducks and chicks -- its like sweet little chirping birds.  These three are Pekin ducks (they will be solid white).  They are at home with Todd, Andrea, and the kids until they are big enough to join the others at the pond on the ranch.

Our ducks love the pond!

On Sunday, March 4th, We introduced our 3 ducks to their new home.  They were released into the pond and are in absolute "duck heaven".  They are loving their new home!  They have so much water to swim in all day and their own floating home when they want shelter. They still come quickly when we call them -- they love to be fed treats by hand!  All three ducks are different breeds. We have a cayuga, a rouen, and a welsh harlequin.

Our Aqua Duck House

We completed our "aqua duck house".  It is a floating habitat for our ducks.  It floats in the pond at the ranch and will provide a nice floating shelter for our pet ducks.

Native Texas Wildlife

This is a picture of a deer walking through the ranch on the road where our cottages 

are being built.  We have a number of different native Texas wildlife species on the 22 acre wildlife ranch.

Construction Progress

Our area has experienced a very rainy beginning of 2012.  This is the most rain the area has had during this time period in 20 years.  We needed the rain and now we are waiting for the rains to slow and the ground to dry out so we can proceed with the construction of our first two cottages -- our Casita and our Texas Star.