Ramblings

Wow it is still cold! Burr! The sun did come out today. It sure looked good after not seeing it for several days.


We managed to get to church this morning. I was full of excuses today, it was to cold, the roads might be icy etc. Taylor drove up to the highway, and it was clear. Can't use the bad road excuse. It started warming up, can't use the "its too cold", excuse. Okay what about the," I am tired, and lazy and don't feel like driving an hour to town excuse." Tried it but just couldn't feel good about it. So off to Church we went. It was good, and I enjoyed it. Isn't it funny how the ole devil works on us on Sunday's? Not funny, ha ha, just tricky funny.


I have been thinking about my roots, and how your childhood shapes your life. Sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad. But either way it influences you as an adult. I have to say that good memories of my childhood out number the bad. I was truly blessed. Here are some pictures of my home place.

This was our home away from home. My grandmothers house was just across the drive from ours. Ours isn't there anymore, but Mammaws is still standing strong.







Yes, this is what you think it is. We never used it, thank goodness. But it has always been a conversation piece.






This barn is over 100 yrs old. It was built by my great grandfather Beck. As kids we spent many hours playing in it. You can't see it, but there is a hay loft, with a door. My sister and I watched the movie Mary Poppins one evening. Well we were convinced that we could fly with an umbrella, just like Mary. We found our mother's, snuck out, climbed up to the loft and....Fought about who would be first to fly. I won, being the oldest, I mean I had rights....right. Well I walked to the door, looked down, humm, maybe I don't want to be first after all. But there was no going back. Not with a smart alec little sister standing behind me threatening to tell everyone on the school bus I was a big chicken. So I jumped. I did not fly. The umbrella did not survive the crash, and neither did my knees. My dear sister nearly fell out of the loft laughing. And I had to limp to the house and explain my stupidity to everyone. I still hate that movie.



Here is another place we kids spent countless hours playing, exploring, doing things we weren't supposed to do. This is the salt fork of the Brazos river. I wish I had a dollar for every hour we spent here as kids. Gods grace is so big. We were never snake bit. We never drowned. Looking at it now, you may wonder about the drowning part. It used to run bank to bank at different times of the year. Of course that was all the more fun. :)

I think that kids that are raised in town miss so much. Daddy worked hard, but farming dry land wheat is a hard life. Money was scarce. But we never considered ourselves poor. We were free to roam, free to play, free to use our imaginations. We didn't spend alot of time in the house. It was great fun when the cousins came. And we were taken to Church every Sunday. And VBS was the highlight of our summer.

I still remember the times Daddy would break down and have to drive into town, 20 miles away, to get a part. He, more times then not, would stop at the little country store and buy cokes and ice cream. He would bring them in, and before he went back to the field we would all have coke floats. What a treat! Sometimes it would be Nutty Buddies, he just loved them. But it was always a treat, and not the norm. That is what made it so special. And that is why I remember it to this day.

We learned to work when we were kids. My mother taught us to clean house at an early age. My grandmother always made a game out of helping her. We loved to dust. I don't know why. I still love the smell of lemon oil. Daddy had 2 girls before he had his boy. There is 8 years between my brother and I. He never treated us like fu fu girls. He bought us trucks and tractors to play with. When we got older we helped him around the farm. I learned to drive a tractor when I was 12. There was the dreaded day that he went to town and came back with....cotton gloves, a new water can, and hoes. Oh NO!! cotton hoeing season was upon us. Now I have to say that cotton hoeing is not a fond memory of mine. I hated it, and I would tell anybody that would listen that I hated it. And I didn't work at it to hard either. My sis was a much better hand at it than I was, suck up.

Even though we farmed, Daddy was a cowboy at heart. His daddy's side were farmers, but his mama's side were cowmen. Daddy took after the cowboy side. Daddy didn't especially like farming. My grandfather died when Daddy was fighting in Korea. Being the only son he got to return home. As the sole bread winner for my grandmother, he took on the farm. Even though he farmed he always had cows and horses. We grew up with the best of 2 worlds. We learned to drive a tractor, and we learned to work cattle and ride a horse.

I can look back on my childhood,and see how it prepared to be be a ranch wife. I learned the value of hard work, and that money doesn't grow on trees. I was used to the quietness, and at times, the loneliness of the country. I appreciate a good water well. And I don't panic over rattlesnakes, and electricity outages. I value a good neighbor. I have learned of death, and also of life. And I can see God's hand in the creation that He made. I know that bad things happen in life. But I also know that this life is fleeting, and the one to come will be glorious. I know I am blessed to have been a farmers daughter, and a ranch wife.

God Bless, and Happy Trails

Ranch Wife