Meling Ranch girls who assist Andrea to keep the ranch working...

Melling Ranch has two girls who mostly perform inside functions and assist Andrea in every way. As of my latest visit, in September 2008, Jicelia, who I met last year was there, along with a new girl, Antonia, with Julie having departed.

Photo: During my October, 2007 visit to Meling ranch, I hug Jicelia and Julie, as Andrea takes the photo, in the kitchen annex.

The two girls report directly report to Andrea, and work with her in the kitchen, and the inside areas of the dining room, and the guest rooms. They prepare food, set the tables for the guests, cook the food, serve the food, clean and bus the tables. After the guests have finished their meals, the bus the tables, clean the dishes, clean the kitchen and dining room, and attend to any other issue that needs to be addressed. After meals, they perform maid duties in the guest rooms, make minor repairs inside, and generally do whatever needs to be done. As far as cooking is concerned, Andrea supervises their cooking, but since Andrea taught these girls how to cook Meling Ranch-style, little supervision is needed, as these girls know how to cook!

Photo: Julie and Andrea in the kitchen annex, preparing breakfast on a beautiful morning. Seated at the table is Andrea's Uncle Manuel, who lives at Rancho Coyote, just a few miles west of Meling Ranch. Uncle Manuel is a regular visitor at Meling Ranch, and likes to stop by for coffee and breakfast in the morning.

Photo: Jicelia and friends take a stroll, during one of her afternoon breaks.

The day for the Melling Ranch staff begins around 0645, and breakfast is served, for the ranch's guests at 0800; breakfast is announced to the guests by one of the girls ringing the triangle that hangs outside the kitchen, which reminds you of the wild west. After the guests are served, the staff meets in the kitchen to enjoy their breakfast together at the communal dining table in the kitchen, next to the wood stove. After breakfast, when the guests leave to do whatever they do, the staff goes to work at their various jobs, and they work until around 1300, when it's lunch time at the ranch.

Photo: Jicelia and Julie begin to prepare another fantastic dinner. These girls are outstanding cooks!

After lunch, there's a two or three hour break for the girls, but they don't really seem to relax, as during this break period, I had the opportunity to observe the girls at "work," or ... break? Whatever you want to call it, I observed a lot of activity that I wouldn't consider a relaxing endeavor, including activities such as delivering firewood, planting flowers, weeding, feeding an infant goat, and filling hummingbird bird feeders, and many similar activities. The evening meal for the guests is served at 1900, in the main dining room, and in keeping with Ranch Meling protocol, the staff eats together in the kitchen, after the guests have been served. After dinner, the ranch hands are dismissed for the evening, unless they have pressing chores to perform, while the girls bus tables, wash dishes, tidy up the dining room, store food, and generally get ready for the next day.

Photo: Antonia makes beef gravy, to accompany a delicious roast beef dinner.

Photo: Andrea, Antonia and Jicelia eat their dinner at the table for the staff in the kitchen. The staff eats the same food as the guests, but they take their meals in the kitchen, rather than the dining room.

In private conversations with the girls, both Jicelia and Antonia told me how much they like Andrea, what a good boss she is, and how much they enjoy working at Meling Ranch. These girls are outstanding cooks, hard workers and very nice people.