Five Marys

Five Marys Five Marys raising all-natural pastured beef, pork & lamb delivered from our ranch to your door
(13)

04/23/2026

It still doesn’t feel real but I’m ready to settle in and enjoy this home we built! ♥️

A lot of people questioned the timing when we waited so long to build a house and then spent four months in Arizona, but it’s the season we’re in with our daughters to help them chase their dreams and the wonderful thing about building a forever home as it isn’t going anywhere, Lord willing!

And when I say roughing it for 4124 days, I’m not exaggerating, (although if you ask my daughters, they say I have a tendency to do that)

The first little cabin we moved into on the ranch that was 760 sqft and used to be a chicken coop. It was cozy but tight living and nothing but a wood stove to heat it. No dishwashers, no propane, one combined tiny bathroom/laundry room for all 6 of us.

When we outgrew it and moved into the old Homestead house built in 1868 we knew we didn’t want to invest a lot of in renovating it to modern standards because it would lose the historic quality (its pretty cool how original it all is!) and we wanted to save up to build a house with a better layout long-term.

But that old house was so cold… sitting on the west facing slope of a hillside, sometimes I’d wake up with frost on the inside of the windows and one time we let the woodstove go out in our gel topper mattress froze! The only plumbing was in the kitchen and plants grew through the walls in my bedroom. I didn’t complain much (maybe only to my husband on the harder days) but this new house feels like we earned it and I’m so happy to be here and settle in and enjoy it with my family!

04/23/2026

Cousin shenanigans 😂 they don’t always let me post their clips but talked them into letting me share this one.

They have their own rooms and actual closets now… but I still find them piled on the big couch together some nights. 🌙 *...
04/23/2026

They have their own rooms and actual closets now… but I still find them piled on the big couch together some nights. 🌙

*How many disclaimers do I need on this post? 😜 Yes they were always safe sleeping arrangements. Yes I made the crib and bunks myself. No they weren’t dangerous. Yes they do get along well and YES they still bicker like normal sisters and teenagers (it’s called interpersonal skill building;) Yes they are well prepared for sharing rooms in college dorms. No they didn’t hate it. No they weren’t deprived. No they didn’t want their own rooms until they were older. Yes they have their own rooms now. Yes I’m glad we toughed it out living in old ranch houses without amenities or much extra space for so many years to build grit and adaptability for their older years. 😊 *and YES we love our new ranch house and appreciate every night sleeping in it now!!!

04/22/2026

Lucky enough to spend the winter in the Arizona sunshine and a week at one of the most beautiful places on earth in Hawaii… but there’s no view in the world like this one.

We are HOME for my favorite seasons on the ranch. Green grass, still snow on the mountains, cows on pasture, new baby lambs, happy pigs, calving season coming, river floats, porch cocktails and ranch sunsets. ✨

* granted there’s a lot of work, dirt, sweat and things breaking and going wrong in between all that romanticizing but I’ll still take it. 😉

04/22/2026

Helen is the youngest of the twelve cousins on my side of the family and she’s cute, precocious and kept us entertained all week in Hawaii!! She goes golfing with her Dad and big brothers - but we sat on the sidelines together to watch my girls, Brian and her Dad hit a few at the driving range. She had lots of tips! We ♥️ you Helen!

Simo Family trip to Hawaii was the most amazing week! The whole family together in one place - my parents, their four ch...
04/22/2026

Simo Family trip to Hawaii was the most amazing week! The whole family together in one place - my parents, their four children and their spouses and twelve spunky grandchildren.

It’s not easy to get everyone together like this but my parents make it a priority and we are so thankful they do. The time together outside all of our busy lives is so rare and cousin time is hard to come by like this - all sleeping over in hotel beds, waking early for breakfast and spending the whole day swimming, pickleball, paddle boarding and drinking pins coladas.

Dinners together and drinks with my adult siblings and spouses laughing until we fell over and telling stories half of us remembered was something to be cherished!

And my parents making sure we all had a great time - my mom is the queen of kids games and ALL the fun, making every person there feel special and loved. And knowing how hard my dad worked his whole life to make something like this possible for us. He was up before the sun every morning putting our orange towels on beach chairs to get us set up for the day!

A trip of a lifetime and so lucky to call this group my family. ♥️

Mauna Kea you were good to us. 🧡

04/14/2026

Part 2 : of a post-mortem c-section to save a calf on our ranch.

⚠️ I did my best to share with you as much as I could while respecting the deceased cow, those who might want to learn but don’t want to see it all and this platform. Please be kind and read full caption before you comment. 🙏

This was one of our breeding stock and a great mother cow. She was a healthy her whole life and very healthy when she was bred. When you take good care of your livestock they can breed for many years.

She was doing great until the very end of gestation when something took her down quickly. The right call was to put her down so she would not suffer… but we hoped to save the live calf at almost full gestation she grew.

It was not easy but after years of ranching we’ve learned these things never are. We’ve also learned what to do in situations like this as caretakers.

It took some doing (calves usually need some stimulation, mucus cleared, pressure on chest) to get going.

THE CALF LIVED ♥️

PART 3 = see this calf today!

*we live in a very rural area in a town of 600. The closest vet is hours away and likely very busy on short notice. We have multiple large animal vets we consult and are confident in the decisions we make with their guidance. On a ranch, ranchers often have to perform many jobs a common person might assume a vet “should do.” It’s the way it is and we are glad to have these skills and confidence in emergency situations to provide the best care for our livestock.

*the cow was “dispatched” by my husband in a very humane way in the field (harder for us but best for the animal, like all decisions we make) immediately before we started the cesarean. We check to ensure no signs of life. The rope on the legs was to protect me from post mortem muscle reflexes (leg kicks can be forceful after death) and any movement you might see from cow are natural muscle pulses after death.

*this cow was not too old to breed. She was very healthy at breeding time. She was only in poor body condition (skinny) because she went downhill quickly at the end of pregnancy. If you look at our other cattle you’ll see how well fed and taken care of they are.

04/13/2026

This was one of the tougher days of last year’s calving season (as we think ahead to our calving season this fall, I wanted to share this story again)

Brian takes such good care of our cattle, especially our older cows who have been with us since the beginning. This momma cow was 17 (old for a cow) but had been in great shape and had really great maternal qualities (good at having healthy calves and took very good care of them) - but at the end of this pregnancy she went downhill fast.

The humane thing to do was put her down quickly so she didn’t suffer - but we wanted to give the healthy calf inside her a chance at life…

Part 2 coming next.

04/08/2026

It wasn’t the season we expected…. running an RV park and horse boarding facility with roping practices was the plan so the girls and their horses could spend the winter months roping in Arizona.

The kids who found their way to Hidden Hacienda and lived with us for weeks and months… we ate together, cleaned stalls, rode horses, worked hard to manage the property and guests, roped all day everyday, cheered each other on at jackpots, did fun things together on the lake and at High Tea, had lots of bonfires and basketball nights and adventures.

It was a season we will never forget and we’ll do it all again next season! Hopefully with a few more Cowboy Camps and clinics for beginners to join in too… wanna come!? 🤠

Address

11903 Main Street
Fort Jones, CA
96032

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15304684001

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