Welcome to John and Kate.

John Byfield and Kate Heber spent many months traveling across and around the country in a journey of “discovery, hope and serendipity”. Their website documents their  “eco-discovery tour“.

It was a joy to have them here and to learn about their journey; and we were thrilled when they returned in January of this year for a visit.

Kate and John have now become Texans, and have been hired on to manage our guest ranch near Houston. They both have extensive management skills and are very customer oriented. In addition, they bring with them a great deal of knowledge about making environments more eco-friendly (as they did their 1962 Airstream). We are excited that they will be able to help further develop green lodging at Blisswood.

We wish John and Kate a warm welcome to Texas and the ranch, and we know you’ll all enjoy meeting them the next time you visit.

Be pampered before you break out the pampers.

The arrival of a child is a blessed event, and one that will be remembered and celebrated the rest of your lives. The weeks and months after the birth of your child will be filled with many joyous moments, along with many sleepless ones. The meaning of time will change. Some days you’ll feel triumphant simply because you managed to take a shower, make your bed and prepare dinner. Other days, you won’t.

We can’t make everything go smoothly for you after the baby is born. We can, however, help you to feel relaxed and pampered before baby arrives, which can make a big difference during delivery and those first weeks.

Our Babymoon special delivers “Bliss Before Baby”. When the nursery is ready and you have nothing to do but wait, head to our Houston area b&b for two nights of relaxing romance. Enjoy sparkling cider, chocolate-dipped strawberries (eat enough for two!), and flowers. Treat yourselves to a picnic at the Gazebo by Enchanted Lake, and linger over a gourmet dinner at our Cat Spring restaurant. Remove all stress with hand or foot relfexology, and convince the future dad to have a massage. After all, dads bend over changing tables, too.

Take this time for yourselves, even if you have other children. As families expand, sometimes mom and dad can forget that one of the most important things they can do for their family is to care of themselves.

The next time you come out to our Texas bed and breakfast, stop by and see the spring babies, pictured below.

Baby angus calf

Proud Mama and her calf

A beautiful wedding at the ranch

“My husband and I have always loved the outdoors, so when we finally picked a wedding date, we knew that the ceremony would have to be an outdoor one. When we came across Blisswood’s website and watched the enchanting videos and viewed all of the amazing pictures of the ranch, we knew that we had found the place.

Our arrival was greeted by a couple of miniature donkeys and a peacock as we drove up to the nostalgic farm house in which we would be staying. The entire ranch was encompassed in towering oak trees and sparkling lakes. Our days were spent taking early morning walks through the dew-kissed fields where we could spot new born calves resting. Later in the afternoon we were fishing in the many lakes catching blue gill, bass, and our favorite catfish. Our evenings were spent swinging on our porch watching the blazing fire from our outdoor fire pit dance on the warm wind of Texas nights.

The staff of Blisswood catered to our every need during our stay on the ranch. Our house was tidied up and always stocked with breakfast for the following mornings. If we wanted to ride the white majestic horses, they were instantly saddled up for us, and all of the exotic animals on the ranch were just a short walk away. The owner of the ranch, Carol, also owns an amazing five star restaurant, where she mingled with her diners while they enjoyed mouth-watering dinners.

Our wedding day was the best day of our lives, and the most memorable. The whole place was dazzling in the afternoon sunlight, and as I walked up the aisle to my awaiting husband, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to be. Thanks to the on-site Pulitzer prize winning photographer, our memories will last forever. We were married by non-other than Carol herself, who is also an ordained minister, and had a wonderful party on the ranch with our friends and family afterwards. Our family and friends had paid for packages from the ranch that included roses in our house, chocolate strawberries and even champagne.

The most memorable time of our lives turned out flawlessly at Blisswood, and we cannot wait to go back to celebrate our new lives together.”

We are so happy they choose to have their wedding at our guest ranch Texas. It was a joy to share in their special day.

Head to Stephen F. Austin Golf Club

The Stephen F. Austin Golf Club is a beautiful spot just 30 minutes from our Houston area guest ranch. It is nestled in a bend of the Brazos River, and has several small streams meandering through it. These, along with the thousands of pecan trees that line the course, help keep the course cool in the heat of summer. They also present a fun challenge for golfers.

Or head to the River Ridge Golf Club

Just a little farther down the road is the River Ridge Golf Club, in Sealy. Golf Digest has called it “One of The Best 18 Holes of the New Generation”. Also on the banks of the Brazos River, River Ridge has spectacular views and golf for all levels.

Enjoy comfortable lodging in our Hill Country guest ranch. Sleep late. Golf a while. Then enjoy a drink on your deck and dinner at our Cat Spring restaurant. When you return to the city, you will be a new person.

It feels like the gods have come together to create the ideal weekend for a getaway with your sweetie. Three days? How can you resist?

Let us help take the pressure off you – all you need to do is call our Texas guest ranch and ask for our Valentine’s Day Special. You’ll open the door to your guest house to find flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, cheese and crackers and even a bottle of chilled champagne. You’ll have three mornings to laze together in bed, and three days to explore 600+ acres of the ranch by horseback or on foot.

The guest houses all come with kitchens. Have fun cooking together on Friday and Saturday night, and treat yourselves to a romantic dinner together at nearby Carol’s Cat Spring Restaurant on Valentine’s Day. After days out in the fresh air, you’ll both have good appetites.

Don’t stress about Valentine’s Day this year. Treat yourselves to a much-deserved weekend away, and let us throw in a few romantic touches. They will be appreciated, and you’ll get all the credit!

Roger Roo

The resident kangaroo of our Houston area guest ranch has wise words to impart.

Roger Roo says “Pretend every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck saying, ‘Make me feel important!’”

We strive to make guests of our Cat Spring TX bed and breakfast feel welcome and important. Private cottages, hundreds of acres, and nearby fine dining help. We’ll help you schedule activities both on the ranch and off-site that will make your stay here special.

Thanks for the reminder, Roger!

Have you ever spent the night on a Texas guest ranch? It is incredibly peaceful here. You’ll drift off to sleep listening to the breeze caressing live oaks. You’ll awaken to birdsong. You’ll find the time and the space to truly appreciate one another.

We offer a number of guest ranch specials to tempt the romantic in you; the Romance Special and the Valentine’s Day Special seem appropriate right now, but it may also be the right time to renew your vows, treat your sweetie to a horseback ride and picnic, or surprise him/her with a massage. We will strive to meet your romance requirements, whether they be champagne in the room, a horseback ride/wine picnic, or a dinner out.

Some people place a great deal of importance on Valentine’s Day, and some don’t. Yet everyone appreciates it when the person they love takes the time to plan something special. So why not do that this year?

It was a beautiful mysterious horseback ride in the fog.

Our most popular teenage guest got her birthday wish with another horseback ride at our Texas Guest Ranch.     Because her birthday is close to Christmas, her wonderful parents let her choose what she wants to do every year, and for the past four years her wish has been to come back to BlissWood.  Here she gets to satisfy her love for animals, as this lucky birthday girl gets to be upclose and personal with our ranch animals.  We love it when we can share what we get to experience every day here at BlissWood.

Carol with a jar of her tasty cookies

“I grew up on a farm/ranch in Texas with wonderful memories of family togetherness. Eventually, I left to become a city girl, and went to night school to get a court reporting degree. Yet, after the appeal of city lights faded, I yearned for a simpler life, with nature and animals. Now I’m back in the country at my own B&B and restaurant, on my own ranch, raising cattle, horses, miniature donkeys, chickens, bison, black buck antelope, fallow deer, and my pet kangaroo, Roger Roo, all which guests love to visit.

My favorite holiday cookie is a family favorite my Mom always made at Christmas. Our family would spend many weeks preparing for Christmas, and we always had lots of sweets. Mom always made her favorite fudge, along with sand tarts, icebox cookies, divinity, and these heavenly fruit cookies. I can remember helping to shell pecans and cutting up the fruit for the cookies. What made them extra special was the homemade butter we churned (from the cows we milked), and the fresh eggs gathered from the chickens we raised. We kept these sweets in gallon jars – our own homemade cookie jar.”

There is no better time than the present to try out new cookie recipes. By the time the holidays roll around in 2010, you’ll be well practiced at making these delicious fruit cookies. Why not plan a girlfriend’s getaway at our Houston area guest ranch with friends? We have guest houses that sleep up to eight people. While some of you bake, others can enjoy pedicures, manicures, facials and massages. Bake until you drop, than burn off those all those tasted cookies with a horseback ride on the 650-acre ranch!

For Marti’s article, please check out examiner.com.

Read on for the recipe:

Mom’s Fruit Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter

4 1/4 cups flour

2 1/4 cups sugar

5 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups dates

1/2 cup candied citron

1/2 cup candied cherries

1/2 cup candied pineapple

(all cut into small pieces)

3 cups raisins

4 cups pecans

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Sift dry ingredients together 3 times. Cream together sugar and butter. Add beaten eggs and vanilla, flour mixture, chopped fruit, and pecans. Mix thoroughly. Drop cookies by tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet approximately 1” apart. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes, until brown. Yeild: 60 cookies.

Cookies will keep like fruit cake and are good sprinkled with whiskey to keep them soft.