Blogging Cat Spring, Texas

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year from Blisswood Bed and Breakfast!

We hope you will come and visit us in the New Year for a Texas Weekend Getaway! You will have the chance to pick from one of our many special packages to make your weekend the perfect romantic escape. We always have lots going on at the ranch: horseback rides, fishing, bird watching, hot air balloon rides, trap shooting and golf! Not to mention all our our fun and beautiful farm animals!

Don’t forget that Blisswood is also the premier Outdoor Texas Wedding venue! With locations for both inside and outside ceremonies, we can accommodate two people to 25 and more. Let us take care of the details so that your big day can be as stress-free as possible!

Make sure to include Carol’s at Cat Spring with your reception party! We can cater or you can come to the restaurant where we can reserve the banquet room for you!

From Carol, Rodger Roo, the dogs and all of us at Blisswood, best wishes towards a glorious year of success and happiness in 2009!

We are so excited to have a new member of the Blisswood family! Welcome “Joey”, our baby Kangaroo! We are so excited to have this little guy at the ranch and think he will be a new star around here!

Right now little Joey (we haven’t picked out a name for him yet) is a lot like a little human baby: he wears diapers and likes to be held often. I carry him in a big diaper bag, to reproduce the experience of a pouch. He just likes to sleep a lot and is extremely cute! People just fall in love with him when they see him! I hope he will get along with the dogs, cats, horses, miniature donkeys, peacocks, bison and camel that already live at Lehmann Legacy Ranch.

You can see from the pictures how powerful his back legs will become! It will be fun to see him grow as the months pass! I hope you can come out to our Texas Bed and Breakfast soon and meet the new family member!

We loved the Holidays! It was a wonderful time to share our dinner table with friends and family while making new friends all the while.

I wanted to take some time to share photos and stories from recent guests that really enjoyed Blisswood, our big-hearted Texas bed and breakfast.

This happy couple came to the Ranch for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time celebrating with us! They also made sure to stop by my restaurant, Carol’s at Cat Spring, for their Texas Weekend Getaway.  We love, love, love making folks happy out here at Blisswood! That is why I opened the B&B and why I continue to try and make the Ranch the best it can be!

This is another family that came to stay at the ranch for Thanksgiving. They participated in the  Thanksgiving turkey shoot, where we gave away a nice bird for the holiday. What really tickled me was that the girls out-shot the guys! Way to go ladies! Read the rest of this entry »

We are happy to share that the good word about Carol’s at Cat Spring is getting around!

We were featured in the November issue of Texas Highways and Everyday with Rachael Ray, and are excited to be featured in The Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide to Houston. The selection was made by My Table Magazine editors.

The guidebook features restaurants, wine bars, ethnic markets, bakeries and coffee houses - representing the dynamic food scene. The ultimate food lovers guide is available in major booksellers as well as Central Market and amazon.com.

One week after our first photo workshop here at the Lehmann Legacy Ranch and the final prints are coming out beautifully!

For those of you who haven’t heard, our Texas Bed and Breakfast was privileged with the presence of famous Pulitzer-prize winning photographer Skeeter Hagler for an exclusive photo workshop over the weekend of November 7-9, 2008.

Skeeter described the weekend as a “perfect photographic weekend. Everyone was there for one purpose: to share information about photography and become better photographers. We lived and breathed photography for two days!”

There were 12 participants of varying age ranges, some in their mid to late 50’s as well as a few of Skeeter’s students from the University of Texas. Skeeter, a native Texan and Austin resident, has held these kind of photography workshops all over the nation. However this was the first he had ever held locally and said it was quite the learning experience and a unique Texas Weekend Getaway.

“I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the participants I thought would be the most amateur took the best photos! These workshops are also social gatherings; we drank a lot of wine and beer and looked at photos and talked about the art of photography.”

Skeeter says he feels lucky that he has spent his whole life working as a photographer, and yet he still gets excited about it.

“This workshop was really unbelievable,” said Skeeter, “Perfect weather, perfect location, perfect company.”

These photos really help to capture the beauty of the ranch, and I hope they will encourage you to consider Blisswood for your Outdoor Texas Wedding or your Texas Romantic Getaway.

Robert Redford can’t hold a candle to this lady!

Janice Terra has made a name for herself as an amazingly effective trainer and unique teacher of body language and communication with horses. An authentic Horse Whisperer, she has tapped into the healing power of the relationship between humans and horses and wants to share this with you.

Terra will be at Blisswood on Sunday November 16th for a full day of learning to connect with the psyche of the horse. The clinic is entitled “Wise Women and Medicine Ponies.” She is more than a typical trainer or instructor, describing her expertise as sharing how to live through connecting with horses, nature and your inner being. Terra is dedicated to  developing the potential in both horse and rider.

She gives riding lessons but is more focused on therapy on horseback and training techniques.

The event will be great for both trainers and riders. If you are a trainer, you can improve or enhance your training skills with Janice’s horse whispering techniques. If you have a horse that needs some training or conduct modifications Janice has been known to improve serious behavior problems in a hour with the horse. As her clients say, “You have to see it to believe it!”
Terra has been called a Master of Zen riding principles. She has taught hundreds of people how to experience life with her Equine Integrative Success programs.

The workshop will offer something for everyone from personal riding and training to Equine Integrative Success, Seminars and workshops. You need not have a horse, Blisswood can provide one for you.

In addition to the typical riding classes, she teaches “atypical” classes in “Equestricize” (exercise on horseback), Zen riding (deep breathing and meditation on horseback) and EquiTherapy, therapeutic riding for both horse and rider. Similar techniques as described in USA Today, Dog Whisperer and on the Oprah Show.

Just when you thought we couldn’t possibly offer anything more amazing…

Welcome to the Oasis! This little corner of tropical paradise is the newest property addition to Blisswood. A lush, and elegant environment full of flowing water and cascading landscapes is in store for you at the Oasis.

The first house we are opening is Harriett’s House. Harriett is a two-story home with the bedroom and sitting room upstairs. Downstairs has full kitchen and living area, small dining area, dishwasher, refrigerator, TV, and WILL have internet access. The bathroom has shower/tub combo. We serve the usual Blisswood continental breakfast at the Oasis.  This special place is best for couples as it is a quiet, romantic place.

The centerpiece of the Oasis is the Conservatory. A Victorian wrought-iron greenhouse, the Conservatory will lead you to believe you have just left Texas for the South Pacific. A personal pool is in the center of the greenhouse, giving the guest the opportunity for bathing during any weather or hour of the day, in the greenery and tropical environment created in the Orchard house.

We can’t wait to indulge you with this lush paradise amongst the rolling Texas Hills! Have your cake and eat it too! It is the best of both worlds!

Look for a page on our website soon about the Oasis…

Blisswood is not like anywhere else.

I guess that’s why Skeeter Hagler choose our lovely home on the range for his innovative and once-in-a-lifetime event: The Blisswood Photo Workshop. November 7 through 9, this weekend is going to be like no other!

Skeeter Hagler is a Pulitzer-prize winning photographer and a native Texan. He won the Pulitzer for his documentary on the modern day cowboy. So I guess I understand what attracted him to the ranch!

The weekend retreat and workshop is going to be for those who wish to learn about photojournalism and gain real-life experience working under the critical eye of an editor and have demanding daily deadlines. It’s gonna be exciting!

Students will be learning about how to make their photos talk: creating a visual narrative. Skeeter and his staff want to give every student on the retreat the chance to learn about making important, meaningful photography and give them skills to carry them into the future.

The weekend will include lodging on the ranch, dinner a Carol’s Restaurant both nights, and lots of fun!

It is a pretty amazing oppurtunity - and we feel so flattered that Skeeter would want to make Blisswood the location of honor for this exclusive and intriguing event.

If you want to know more about Skeeter, see some of the photos he has already taken here at Blisswood, or learn more about the event, please check the Blisswood Photo Workshop Site.

I know its been a while - ok, a REALLY long while - since I updated folks on this blog, but I am back on it and excited to share about our newest claim to fame.

The Every Day With Rachael Ray Magazine featured BlissWood Bed and Breakfast in a full page story in their most recent November publication! We were very excited and flattered to be featured by the up-and-coming celebrity chef.

Rachael featured both our amazing accommodations and the restaurant, Carol’s at Cat Spring, my restaurant. She highlighted that we try and let our guests escape form all the modernity that runs their lives and resume tranquil living, at least for a while!

The story also talked about all our great activities: horseback riding, fishing, hiking and even hot air balloon rides - yep, we have all that and more at the ranch!

The story also highlighted our Thanksgiving menu and activities. We are going to be serving some real special southern dishes, including sweet potato bisque, a roasted turkey of course, roasted suckling wild boar, chorizo and cornbread stuffing, hot and spicy cranberry sauce and more.

The story included the recipe for our chorizo and cornbread stuffing, so you better grab the next copy you see so you can make it for your family. Or find the recipe online at the Everyday with Rachael Ray web site. Unless, of course, you’d rather come and let us do the cooking and cleaning - eat with us! We will be serving the Thanksgiving menu all day.

We’re going to be having some great holiday activities at the ranch this year for Thanksgiving! We’re gonna hold a turkey shoot on the 22nd of November! No real turkeys, only targets, but if you win, you do get a bird for roastin’!

If you can’t wait till Thanksgiving for a little gourmet (and who can?) we will be having a wine pairing evening with Truchard Winery selections at Carol’s restaurant on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Come on in for some fine California wine paired to perfection with our delectable cuisine!

Bass Big in Texas

Originally uploaded by Cat Spring, Texas

My friend Richard began his “career” as Rancher Richard, helping around BlissWood Bed-Breakfast & Spa at Lehmann Legacy Ranch in Cat Spring Texas. He soon earned the title of BlissWood Bassman, as he found out he had first a passion for fishing and the challenge of always trying for a bigger catch; secondly, he so enjoys being the fishing guide for guests at BlissWood. Here he is showing off his catch at Carol’s at Cat Spring Restaurant. Richard is still trying for the bigger one, as he does not hold the title for the biggest fish. That title right now belongs to a BlissWood guest, bass measuring 24 inches. Richard also holds the pretigious title of BlissWood Bluebird Boxman.