Howdy folks! The title of today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube is Surprise Tony and I hope that it makes you laugh out loud. And if it did make you laugh, please Like, Follow and Subscribe.
Kinky Friedman, Cousin Nancy (Nancy Parker-Simons) and Tony Simons founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in '98. Friends Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Spike Gillespie, Richard Pryor, Jerry Jeff Walker, Molly Ivins, Dwight Yoakam support the ranch. We primarily rescued dogs. Nancy, author of "The Road to Utopia: How Kinky, Tony & I Saved More Animals Than Noah" by UT Press '06 utopiarescue.com. © cousin nancy blog 2026 by Cousin Nancy All rights reserved.
Monday, August 24, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
8-22-26: Man Has It All!
Howdy folks! The title of today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube is Man Has It All and I hope that it makes you laugh out loud. And please Like, Follow and Subscribe.
Friday, August 21, 2026
8-21-26: Late Night!
Howdy folks! I’ve titled today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube Late Night and I hope that it will make you laugh. And if it did then please click on the Like, Follow and Subscribe buttons.
Thursday, August 20, 2026
8-20-26: Missing A Screw!
Today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube, is titled Missing A Screw. Please Like, Follow and Subscribe if I made you laugh today. And thank you for watching.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
8-19-26: Senior's Underwear!
Hey and howdy folks! Today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube is titled Senior's Underwear and I hope that it will make you laugh. And if it did make you laugh—please click on the Like button.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
8-18-26: It's So Easy!
Howdy folks! The title of today’s short joke, on YouTube Shorts is It's So Easy and I hope that it makes you laugh out loud. And if it did make you laugh, please Like, Follow and Subscribe.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
8-11-26: A Sure Sign You're Old!
Howdy folks! I’ve titled today’s short-Short joke, on YouTube, A Sure Sign You're Old and I hope that it will make you either laugh. And if it did make you laugh—please click on the Like button.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
5-30-26: Walk—Don't Run!
Howdy folks! I’ve titled today’s short-Short, on YouTube, Walk—Don't Run! and I do hope that it will make you laugh or at least chuckle and if it did make you laugh—please click on the Like button and leave a comment, so I will know if I am on the right track.
And I want to thank you in advance for watching today's short joke and I do hope that you have a great Saturday and will keep on laughing!
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Wild Squirrels Unlimited! or Tony—The Squirrel Whisperer!
This has just happened. A few minutes ago Tony and I looked outside our window and saw that a cute, little squirrel had figured out a way to get inside our caged, bird feeder, so Tony and I went outside so I could film the trapped, small squirrel as Tony released him—and the rest is history. Enjoy!
Y'all take care and keep on laughing!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Chad & Jeremy!
When I returned to the rescue ranch, we decided to burn some more brush, in our horse corral, for a few hours, since we have gotten so much rain this past week and we almost have it all done. Then I came inside and cooked lunch for the three of us.
Around 2:00, Tony and Aaron took off in Trigger to go pick up Guinevere and Chad & Jeremy at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so I went outside and burned a little more brush, to help me pass the time, because I could not wait to meet Chad & Jeremy and see Guinevere.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Hen Party! or Brownie Bribery!
After T. accepted her bribe the three of us went down to the pigpen to show Eileen the Egg Palace and its new occupants—The Golden Girls. After we had introduced her to Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche Tone bragged, "We got one green egg yesterday and three eggs this morning!"
"I want a chickens and a chicken house just like this one," Eileen stated. "I mean Egg Palace. This is so cool..."
"Then you should throw a Hen Party! Pick a morning or afternoon and invite the volunteers, Aaron and us to come over and we could build you one in a just a few hours!" I said. "They aren't hard to build and Aaron, Tony and I have learned from the mistakes that we made, so yours will be much faster and easier to build..."
"We've got all of the tools that you will need, too." Tony added. "And if we don't—Aaron will." And in less than two minutes, after T. and I had finally quit talking her into it—Eileen was all excited about throwing a Hen Party and collecting her own eggs.
Then Eileen and I talked about taking Ben Stiller and LaToya Jackson on a walk, so they could meet each other and possibly become roommates, if they got along with each other and that's when her bribe came in handy, because she accidentally let Ben escape from his pen and it took all three of us to catch him and put a leash on him.
Before Eileen, Ben and I started to walk down to get LaToya, Tony teased Eileen, "That's grounds for probation Eileen." We started laughing, even though Ben didn't find it funny.
So, in Eileen's defense I said, "No, Tone. Her brownie bribery, that you accepted, counts as a pre-payment, so she's off the hook."
"Thanks Nancy. She's right, Tony!" Eileen teased back. And then we took off to get LaToya.
During my fun walk with Eileen and "the two, new best friends" Eileen tried to talk me into going to a Crosby, Stills & Nash concert with her and her sister Dean, in August, at The Majestic Theater in San Antone and she almost had me talked into it, because I love them—especially Neil Young.
After we had put LaToya and Ben into Ben's big dog pen, we took Betty Rubble and George Clooney, who was adopted last Saturday and is getting picked up tomorrow to go to his new home. And the dogs enjoyed it as much as we did.
Later in the day, after eating a fun lunch at the Koyote Ranch Grill, with Eileen begging me to go with them to the concert, we came back home and that's when I almost made an expensive mistake, because I had decided to go online to buy a ticket to the Crosby, Stills & Nash concert.
Not knowing where they would be seated and knowing that I would be sitting alone, I decided to splurge on myself and buy a pricier ticket for a good seat, so I could be closer to the stage to see my hero—Neil Young.
After I had filled out the billing information I was shocked at what the total price had jumped up to, because of the added on handling fees, shipping, insurance, etc., so I hesitated for a minute to think about it before clicking the "Buy Ticket" button—thank goodness.
As I thought about buying the ridiculously high $199.00 ticket price I glanced up at the top of the screen and read the words: "Crosby, Stills & Nash Concert." And that is when I realized that Neil Young's name was missing, so I clicked the "Cancel" button immediately.
Don't get me wrong. I really love Crosby, Stills & Nash's music, but I love Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's music so much more, so I have no regrets about not spending that much money and not going to the C,S&N concert, which I'm sure will be sold out and totally awesome. And I am really relieved that I don't have to go into that big city, because as you well know—I don't do big cites. And that is about it for tonight.
Y'all have a great evening!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tortilla Flour!
This afternoon while we were running errands, in Kerrville, we stopped by Wolfmueller's Books to visit with Sandy and Jon for a minute, and to also pick up a special book, that Sandy had just found and bought for me, the day before Levon Helm had died. The title of the book is, The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble, and it is filled with fabulous photographs taken by Paul Laraia and the foreword is by Levon Helm.
On our way home I began reading The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble by Paul Laraia and I could not put it down long enough to backseat drive and by the time we had arrived home, I was over half-way through the book. "Omg, Tony. I love this book and you are going to love reading this book too. There are pictures of famous musician playing there, on every page with a comment they made. Like Steve Earle, Billy Bob Thornton, Phoebe Snow, Pinetop Perkins, Dr. John, Bruce Hornsby, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Larry Campbell, John Sebastian, Sam Bush, Garth Hudson, Delbert McClinton, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Rickie Lee Jones, etc. and it's totally amazing! And you are going to love the picture of Levon's dog—Muddy."
After we had put up our groceries I picked up the book and started reading it again and soon found that there are two pages of pictures of Kinky, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso performing at the Midnight Ramble and that Kinky wrote the blurb for the back jacket, so I called Kinky to ask him if I could come over to the Lodge.
Three minutes later, after telling Kinky about the fabulous Levon Helm book, I showed him the blurb that he had written on the back jacket, "There hasn't been this much musical talent on the same stage since Hank Williams opened for Mozart." And then I showed him the pictures of him, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso performing at the Midnight Ramble.
Friday, April 20, 2012
The One Night Sand Saga! or Send Sand!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Three-Ringed Circus!
First off, we knew in advance that Sherry and Katie were bringing Beau Bridges, the 2 1/2 month old Blue Heeler, that they had rescued near College Station, to us so we could adopt him out and that Tucker, the brother of Joe King Carrasco and also a good friend of Rick, the famous Friendly Lighthouse Keeper, would also be arriving around 12:45, with his friends, to visit with Kinky and us, but what we didn't know was—who was going to get here first.
When our dogs outside started barking Tony and I went outside to go greet Sherry and Katie or Tucker and his friends, but instead we greeted Berni, a very nice, friendly woman and her ten-year-old son, Alex.
After howdies and handshakes Berni told us that they had come out, from Kerrville, to look at our dogs, because she wanted Alex to have a dog that he could play Frisbee with, etc., so we took them on a tour to meet all of our dogs and while we were walking around, I told Berni about Beau Bridges coming in, any minute, but she wasn't sure they were ready to deal with a puppy.
When they met Harley, he turned on his charm with them and was close to stealing their hearts, which thrilled us, when Sherry, Katie and Beau Bridges pulled up, so Tone went to greet the friendly, dog rescuers and Beau.
While T. visited with the women and Beau Bridges, in their car, Alex and Berni talked to me about Harley, when Tucker and his friends arrived, so it was sort of like a fun, three-ringed circus going on out here. And within twenty minutes, Bernie and Alex had adopted Harley, Tony had adopted Beau Bridges-Simons and I was over at the Lodge with Kinky, visiting with Tucker and his nice friends and Kinky was delighted about Harley getting adopted and Tony adopting B.B.-S. Here's a picture of Harley, fixin' to go home with his new family.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Adventures Of Joan & Kent! or Here's It!
When Tony and I had finished doing our morning chores outside I decided to walk back to The Cabin, instead of hitching a ride with T. on Kermit and I am glad that I did, because I found a large turtle trying to get inside Rufus' and Roxanne's pen, near the barn and those two dogs were pretty upset about it.
So, when Tony and Kermit approached I waved them down to stop, so Tone could help me rescue the uninvited stranger and return him back to the creek. "Get back, Nance. That thing can bite your finger off." Then Tony put his leather gloves back on and carefully picked up the turtle and put him or her into a big bucket.
As Kermit took us down to the creek Tony told me, "Around here, we call them Alligator Turtles, because of their long spiked tails..." Before the turtle found its way into the creek I snapped these pictures of Snappy.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The Scales!
Two hours later, after practicing the C and G scales on my guitar, I got offline and did some pickin' and grinnin' until my fingers were killing me or 8:00, because I wanted to watch the highly acclaimed PBS documentary, The Titanic With Len Goodman and I am glad that I did, because it was a real eye-opener for me on that historic, tragic event, 100 years ago. And, I am glad that I recorded it, because I can't wait for Tony to watch it with me.
Today has been a good day. This morning while Tone did the morning chores outside, I stayed inside with Hazel and we cleaned up The Cabin. When The Cabin finally looked like T. & I didn't live here, I took a break and went over to the Lodge to visit and to drink some coffee with Kinky.
During our fun visit, on his front porch, Kinky asked me if I wanted a cookbook, that he had written a blurb for, on the back jacket cover, that he had just received from his friend and of course, my answer was, "Yes, I do. You know I love cookbooks and..." When I came home, I gave the cookbook to T. because it was mainly about outdoor cooking.
Late this afternoon we met Kinky and our friend, the popular morning radio host, Big G, at Buzzie's BBQ, in Kerrville, for lunch, even though we had already eaten lunch at home we had a blast visiting with them and Buzzie.
Then we went to Wolfmueller's Books to talk to Sandy and Jon, for a few minutes, about our upcoming fun trip. Then we adios-ed them and went to Home Depot to buy some lumber, because in the next few days, weather permitting, we are going to build a small chicken coop, so we can have chickens again and start eating healthier, free rage eggs.
Tonight I am fixin' to go out to the Okay Corral to play the scales, over and over again on my guitar, until I can either play them by heart or my fingers are killing me, which ever comes first. And that is about it for tonight.
Y'all have a great evening!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Hair Removal!
When we arrived at his friend's restaurant the parking lot was completely empty, so we drove up to the door and the sign on the door read, "Closed On Monday," so I grabbed my cell phone, out of my purse and punched in Kinky's cell phone number. "Hi, Kink. We're here and the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so where do you want to eat now?"
After telling me where he wanted to eat, we adios-ed each other and as I was putting my cell phone back into my purse a good-looking, young man, probably in his early thirties, pulled into the vacant parking lot, to my side of Buttermilk and then he waved at us to lower my window.
Since he was wearing a big grin on his face I lowered my window and smiled at him. "Are you Cousin Nancy?" he asked. Tony started chuckling.
"Yes, I am," I answered, as I began to blush. Then he chuckled and pointed his finger at me.
"I knew it was you!" The happy man said. "When I saw the rescue ranch sign on your Expedition, I just had to follow y'all, so I could put a face to your voice. I hear you all of the time on Harley's show." And that made me chuckle.
"I love Harley and I am glad that you listen to his morning show."
"Harley's great. Well, I am sorry for wasting your time, but I just had to meet you."
"Don't apologize. You just made my day and I thank you." Then we adios-ed each other and took off in different directions and T. teased me all of the way to the restaurant.
Kinky pulled into the #2, his second choice restaurant, right behind us, so after greeting each other we started walking toward the door, but we didn't make it inside, because a smiling man hollered out, "Hey, Kinky!" So, we made a detour over to the man and his friend.
While shaking hands with each other, the friendly man introduced himself and his friend to us and then Kinky introduced Tone and me to them. "Kinky, I am Molly Ivins brother and..." Then we had a fun conversation with the men, in the crowded parking lot.
And Molly's brother and friend laughed a lot, after Kink and I told them the funny story about a woman asking me to sign her "A Night With Bob Wills" program, at the Cailloux Theatre, during an intermission, and after I had signed my name she sincerely said to me, as she walked away, "I love you, Molly Ivins. Thank you so much."
After an enjoyable lunch with Kinky we went our separate ways to run our errands. And when we returned home Tony was thrilled, because his "Shed Pal," an incredible cordless pet grooming vac, that he had ordered for our dogs online, had arrived.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Purple Windmill!
"What y'all have done to improve this piece of the property is amazing to me. The entire rescue ranch looks beautiful and it is a very special place. I like what y'all have done to the Okay Corral too..." As he sat on top of the picnic table, I pointed out our freshly painted purple windmill and then I bragged about our new flowerbeds, the solar lighting, etc., but what Kinky seemed to like the most was the purple windmill.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Aren't People! or Life Is Beautiful!
After I gently scolded one of my dearest friends, for tearing up the window screen that we had just replaced, last month, I leaned over and hugged and kissed my ninety-three pound, sad-eyed looking dog. Then I laughed and said, "It's okay, Roy. Don't worry about it. We're just not meant to have nice things. Some people are and some people aren't and we are—The Aren't People..."
Then I came inside The Cabin, grabbed my camera and took this beautiful picture of Roy-Boy looking a little guilty, through his newly torn up screened window, that he alone had done, because I could not be mad about something as unimportant as a ripped-up window screen, because it can be so easily repaired.
Before I end this beautifully written post tonight I must apologize to you, for purposefully over using the word "beautiful" so often, because while I wrote this evening—I've been listening nonstop to my new favorite Keb 'Mo song, Life Is Beautiful, because it is one beautiful/happy/upbeat song, that I am totally in love with, which earlier this evening I finally learned how to play all of the way through and can now pick on my guitar—that Ronnie made for me.
Y'all have a great evening, because life is beautiful and torn window screens don't matter at all.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
In Hot Water! or Buddy Holly Was Here!
This morning I had Tony wake me up real early, so I could drink some coffee and wake up before doing my Utopia segment, about our rescue ranch, on Big G's popular, morning radio show.
As I poured my first cup of coffee, Tone walked into the big room and declared, "We have no hot water."
"Do we need to replace the hot water heater?" T. started chuckling.
"Nance, they're called water heaters—not hot water heaters. And yes, we need to get a new one this morning after we do The Breakfast Club with your friends. I'm going to call Aaron right now, to see if he can come out later this afternoon to help me install the new one. " Then he called Aaron at 6:35 and then Tony adios-ed me and took off for the Old Timer with Trigger.
After I did a fun Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment with Big G., I called Kinky to make sure he was up, because he was going to our Breakfast Club, in Kerrville, too. He answered on the first ring, "Thanks for calling, Nance. I'm up..." Then I heated up some water on the stovetop and took a sponge bath, because we had no hot water.
Breakfast with our friends Beth and her father was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it and when it ended we went to the Post Office, so I could mail out a package, before we went to Home Depot.
"Welcome to Home Depot," a friendly woman said to us. "Can I help you find something?"
"Yes. We need a new hot water heater," I said. She smiled and Tony winked at me and then he started laughing.
"She's from Ft. Worth and they call them hot water heaters up there," he explained to the helpful Hill Country woman, as we followed her back to the hot water heater section. We ended up buying a 40 gallon electric one, then we came home and did our chores outside, even though we were running thirty minutes late doing them.
When we were done working outside, Tony took off in Trigger to go make a bank deposit for me, in Bandera, while I returned several phone calls before Hazel and I quickly cleaned up the trailer, because we were scheduled to do a camera shoot at 2:30, with our new friends from the Cailloux Foundation, because they had recently awarded us with a substantial grant.
The camera shoot was a lot of fun. We did it outside of the rescue ranch, next to our sign, on the white boarded fence and my Roy Rogers was in it too! Mark, Betty, Kinky and I smiled and laughed as Chris, from the foundation and Tony shot us, because we kept trying to get Roy to pose and look at their cameras as we held their check. Here is one of Tony's pictures.
So, I invited them to come inside The Cabin, so I could show Chris my guitar, that I am so proud of, that Ronnie custom made for me. And little did I know, that Chris would actually pick up my guitar and do some Buddy Holly for us. It was fabulous and he was so good I got goose bumps. Here's a picture of Chris Huber that I took, right before he gave me those goose bumps. It was like Buddy Holly was here, in our big room.
Y'all have a great evening!





























