The Ranch
life out here
Developing the Ranch
The Swift Arrow Ranch is nestled in the Cross Timbers of North Texas in Cooke County, and has a rich western history that has been traced back to the 1800-1900s when the area was used by both Native Americans and settlers.
In 2019, we purchased a part of what was once the magnificent Wolf Creek Ranch. The existing farmhouse (cattle ranch headquarters) had not been updated since it’s original construction in 1984, so we took the time to remodel and reconstruct the farmhouse into something a bit more modern and functional for our family. Great care was taken to reuse many of the materials that were a part of the original farmhouse in order to preserve history and to minimize waste.
Although our home was beautifully updated, we chose not to expand the 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath house, reasoning that we would spend a great amount of our time outdoors. So once the home was complete, we moved on to the exterior work to be completed.
We cleaned up barns, mended fence, secured the existing chicken coop, moved out {most of} the snakes, carved out a garden with a greenhouse, threw in a few bee hives, added a well house, started an orchard, constructed the shop {which includes The Learning Lodge} and put down roots! All of this we did alongside our kids, who contributed to many of the improvements to the ranch!
Finally, we built two additional houses for parents and grandparents, and now we are a multi-generational ranch, with 4 generations of our family present here! What a blessing!
It has always been on our heart to share the ranch with others and to cultivate community while enjoying the beautiful surroundings!
Our family looks forward to hosting you, your friends, and your family here at the ranch!
Ranch Animals
The Swift Arrow Ranch is home to many domestic animals and livestock, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, and chickens!
We raise Red Devon beef cattle, milk our goats for fresh milk, eat the eggs our chickens lay, and enjoy riding our horses!
Nubian goats are one of our most enjoyable projects; we use their milk for drinking and for crafting goats milk soap. We partner with other local goat owners for breeding, and we often have baby Nubian goats (the cutest babies you’ve ever seen) for sale.
Our days revolve around the feeding and watering and care-taking schedules of our animals, and oftentimes we have to adjust our normal itinerary so that we can attend events off of the ranch!
We aim to teach our children the beauty and integrity of the animal husbandry and other work that they put their hands to daily, as written by author Wendell Berry, “A good farmer is a craftsman of the highest order, a kind of artist.”
In addition to our pets, plenty of wildlife passes through each day. We have been blessed to lay eyes on deer, wild pigs, bobcats, a bald eagle, hawks, turkeys, river otters, beavers, possums, raccoons, and all types of birds!
Slowing down to observe and listen to the wildlife has been a great privilege, and as such the kids have learned the species of many birds, we have had our cats bring up a baby possum, and we eagerly anticipate what we will get to view on our game camera that passes through the ranch.
One spring we dined on a wild turkey that our oldest soon took down in the woods. We regularly rescue blue jays that fall out of their nest, and the cardinals dine on birdseed outside of our kitchen window!
The Rural Lifestyle
Country life is a life full of care and connection and interrelatedness. Simple pleasures, free of distractions, and space to imagine. We chose to trade convenience for nature, for home, for adventure. Our desire and delight is to to share the awe and wonder of this space with others.
The ranch offers a variety of on-site workshops so that we can give you a true rural interaction and you can experience the peace, joy, and tranquility housed in nature!
As Joel Salatin says, “Communing with something meaningful on a farm is a salve to the spirit.” Enjoy the serenity of the outdoors, interactions with the animals, and the fresh air while you attend a course.
Experience the ranch for yourself and sign up for a course: our classes cover topics such as gardening, home design, soap-making, and homeopathy. Our hope is to move you one step closer to a more simple, thoughtful, and intentional life! Check out our “Classes & Courses” page to see all of our current offerings.