I walked into the kitchen the other day to behold this troubling sight: Desert Boy had clambered up on the kitchen table, sat squarely on his tray, and was about to dump a box of cereal on the floor. Yeehaw, what a good time (if you're Desert Boy!). As you can see, he doesn't pay any attention to me.
I'm working on a post about some cool beetles, but I realize that I need some more time to research them. So when I need something fast to post about, Desert Boy is always an easy solution. 
Here's sleepy Desert Boy. The hike wore him out. Wait a minute, he didn't have to do the hiking, why is he so tired?
This is dirty and opinionated Desert Boy. He is not afraid to check out the scene and figure out what he wants.
Take two: Dirty and opinionated Desert Boy. This is a look I'm seeing more often. His personality is definitely developing.
This Desert Boy doesn't think much of his cousin's music. It won't take him long till he thinks it's cool. (Sorry, that word "cool" just slipped in, and now that it's written I just can't bring myself to go back and delete it.)
Okay, I couldn't help myself, I had to put in one picture of a giggly, happy Desert Boy. It's just one picture, after all.
I recently needed to find something to make Desert Boy happy, so we went and visited some tractors on the ranch. Like the first and second times we made these forays, he was absolutely beaming. 
Desert Boy eagerly got up and started working the controls. Except he's a bit on the short side at 31 inches, so he can't exactly sit on the seat and work all the levers.
In the next vehicle he figured out a better way to drive, by standing on the seat. He may need to get leg extensions to work foot pedals, but it's okay with me if he doesn't drive for a few years. His attention span isn't too long.
The vehicle he's in is a John Deere grader. Our ranch roads get washboardy quickly, so a couple times a year they're graded. The grader is also used to help keep irrigation ditches clean.
Desert Boy got tired of the grader and wandered over to a bright red tractor. Once again he looks quite short in the cab, but he's alarmingly close to key level.
Here's a better view of the red tractor. It's towing the feed wagon.
We move over to another part of the lower yard and find a piece of equipment closer to Desert Boy's size. He can sit and steer. He is so happy.
You can see the glee in his expression. He thinks he's really big stuff. Never mind that his jeans are too big and about to fall off and his shoe is untied. That's just not important when you're driving ranch equipment.
So what's the piece of equipment his size? This fork lift. He is totally comfortable on it.
Despite all the neat machinery on the ranch, Desert Boy seems to be just as happy pretending he's driving this broken down lawn mower in our yard. It doesn't even have a steering wheel, but it has enough metal on it to seem like a real vehicle and warrant the full accompaniment of vroom, vroom noises.
My oldest niece had her birthday last week, and to celebrate she wanted to have a party at the beach. The beach is basically the exposed lake bottom of a nearby lake that partially dries out every summer. But we make the best of what we've got, so we'll just call it the beach! It has sand, shells, tracks, and lots of room to play. We brought out the lawn chairs, towels, swim toys, and got ready to party.
The remaining water in the lake is a huge draw, and this time of year you can walk out a hundred meters and still be only knee deep. Henry and Desert Boy were ready to take the plunge.
Some of the cousins and their friends were already in the water, racing around, playing on inner tubes and boogie boards, and just generally amusing themselves. The water was the perfect temperature for a hot desert afternoon.
While the other kids were occupied, Desert Boy grabbed his cousin's sandal. He must be taking lessons from his sidekick Henry, who is always stealing items of clothing and running away with them. He started walking and I wondered what he was going to do with the sandal. I figured that as long as he didn't start chewing on the sandal like Henry does, we'd be okay.
Here he's tossed the sandal into the water and is watching what it does. You can see the inquisitive look on his face. I think he will take after his Daddy in trying out lots of experiments just for the fun of it.
Then he finds one of the inner tubes the kids have abandoned and decides to put the sandal into the inner tube. 
He climbs in after it and finds a nice place to sit and relax. 
Meanwhile, the other kids have gotten bored just playing in the water and have started a huge mud fight. It goes on for what seems like forever, and they don't get tired of chasing each other around and throwing huge clumps of mud.
Cousin Tractor Buddy is nearly coated with mud and seems happy about it.
Of course Desert Boy can't stay away from all the commotion and goes to check it out. Mud!? He's happy to play too and soon his feet and hands are coated in mud.
And then the inevitable--he has to taste it. Yum, mud must be good because he got quite upset when I picked him up and moved him out of the mud zone. 
We went back to the party area and he soon forgot about the mud once he began eating Cheetos and watermelon. That's a balanced diet, right? It was a wonderful afternoon and a great spot for a party.
This last weekend we went to the local county fair. It's not real large, partly because we live in the desert and there aren't that many people here, but it's still fun. We wanted to make sure that Desert Boy got to see some of the animals and to support the cousins who had entered several animals.
We went over to see one of the cousins get her sheep ready for auction. She won a blue ribbon the day before. 
When it was her turn, she took the lamb into the auction arena and walked him back and forth to show off his best side. I'm not quite sure what that best side was, but maybe the person who bought him knows. The ranch bought some animals from the auction to help support the 4-H program. Sometimes it's hard for the kids to say goodbye to their animals, especially after they've spent so much time raising them. But the money they earn from the auction often goes into a special account and helps them pay for college.
Other cousins and Desert Boy are in the stands in the auction arena. Desert Boy manages to get their attention. He likes attention a lot.
Later we get to see this beautiful cousin's steer. The steer didn't particularly like other people, but he was well-behaved for her.
Nearby were these goats, belonging to a different cousin.
She's so young that she's in the Cloverbuds, a junior 4-H program. She was the only one to have goats at the fair this year, so when she showed one of them on Saturday she and the goat had the arena to themselves.
Nearby were some sheep in the pen. They look so soft. It's fun to listen to them go Baaa. I obviously don't know much about sheep. 
Then we headed to the pig barn. I think pigs are so cool. Well, actually they look a little hot here in the 90+ degree heat. But they've got nice places to lay down.
This was one of the largest pigs, probably over 400 pounds. I don't think I would want to get anywhere near it!!
Desert Boy checks out one of the smaller pigs with his cousin. She's encouraging him to pet the pig, but he's not too sure about it. He's never been this close to pigs in his life.
We'll end with a bit of piggy love. I always enjoy going to the fair and am glad that the cousins are getting such great experience. It won't be that many years before they're showing Desert Boy (and me) how to care for and show animals.
Look how happy Desert Boy is taking control of the TV. Please tell me, is this a male thing that is programmed into his DNA? See that grin on his face? He is delighted to be holding the remote control. He regularly grabs it while we are watching TV and changes channels, the volume, or turns it off. It's like he realizes how much control he has with that little black stick.
A momentous event has occurred on the ranch. One that will be recorded in the history books. Well, the history books of the ranch, if we had such a thing. What am I talking about? We bought a new tractor. We practically never buy any new equipment, so when I opened the door and smelled that new vehicle smell, I didn't believe my nose. I asked my husband, "Is that tractor really new?" He said yes, and I looked closely to make sure he wasn't pulling my leg.
Desert Boy got excited when he saw the tractor and couldn't wait to take a test drive. Or at least a pretend test drive. It's nice that he's still content to just pretend he's driving.
Once he's inside the cab, he's happy. He starts exploring everything and isn't shy at all about touching everything. I have to make sure he doesn't do something like the leave the lights on.
Desert Boy tries out the new seat, still covered in plastic. No dirt, no coffee stains, no manure. Wow, it's unbelievable. There's still cardboard on the floor. 
He's touching the plastic because it seems so unfamiliar. He is definitely a hands-on kind of kid and is always touching everything around him. 
He examines the gear shifter. You can see his stroller through the window in the background. These tractor wheels are definitely a lot more exciting.
And of course he has to do the requisite vroom, vroom noises while pretending to steer. 
The tractor is parked at the shop just behind our house, and Desert Boy keeps wandering in that direction, his eyes big with excitement. He can't stay away from the new tractor. I guess he knows a good thing when he sees it.
