My dad..my hero!!!

As a child, I remember August as the very last month of freedom before school started. Mind you, I loved school and was happy to see my friends again, but the thought of not being outdoors with my dad rounding up cattle and working in the hay fields was heart-breaking for me. I loved being on horseback from dawn until dusk. I loved the smell of newly cut hay. The satisfaction of watching the many acres of tall, green grass being mowed, then raked and eventually baled and stacked in the hay-yards is a memory that will forever be etched in my mind.

My father died 35 years ago in October, but I can still see him in my mind's eye steering his lumbering, faded orange, Case tractor down the windrows of cut native grasses being gobbled up and spit out of the baler it was pulling. Every once in a while, the tractor would stop and he would jump off and head back to the baler to change the wire, fix a sheared bolt, or maybe to check the counter. He always wore Levis, cowboy boots, a long-sleeved western shirt, a fairly large brimmed cowboy hat and he most always had a Malboro cigarette dangling from his lips. My dad was the most handsome man in my life. I was always quick to say, "That is my dad" whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Dad taught me all I know about ranching. I started following him around when I was very young. The first thing I remember being able to help him with was feeding the cattle in the winter. He would load the hay bales on a flat hay wagon and into the bed of his pickup. I don't think I had started school yet when he showed me how to steer his old green Chevy pickup. He would put it in "granny" gear for me, tell me not to go over any bumps, or drive into any ditches and he would jump out and jump onto the hay wagon and start feeding the cows. Every once in a while he would holler for me to stop..I couldn't reach the pedals so I just turned off the key. He would come and get his doctor's kit and rope. I knew that one of the baby calves needed a shot and that is why we had stopped. He finished his doctoring and then started the truck for me and we finished feeding. (Side note: My children learned to drive the same way when they were 3 and 4 years old.)When I got older, I would get to feed the cattle along side my dad while one of my little sisters and later my little brother drove. I always loved being the oldest because I got to try everything first.

In the spring Dad would let me miss school when we branded, castrated, and vaccinated the calves. I always felt sorry for those little babies...a hot iron being put on their sides, but I knew that it had to be done in order to be able to identify our cows and calves should they wander away from their normal grazing area. When we were branding, I got my lessons on how to rope. There are so many good memories...for now I will savor these...

P.S. I was looking for a picture of my dad with his cowboy hat on, but to no avail. His Marine Corp picture will work just fine...there is a story for another time...

The month of June was one that I will not aspire to repeat. Mother was in the ER two Sundays in a row and spent the rest of the month recuperating. She is much better and I am finally getting a good night's sleep again. I would not have made much sense trying to write something for my blog during the month of June.

Memories of the 4th of July when I was growing up in Colorado are vivid in my mind. The American Flag was flown from almost every house in our small town. The flag was put up at sunrise and taken down at sundown. I remember the lectures about patriotism we would receive from Dad or my grandfather, Poppo.

Mother and her friend, Gladys, would cook all day on the 3rd in order to have everything we needed for a "four-wheeling" picnic somewhere in the majestic Colorado Rockies. Dad and George (Gladys' husband) would make sure their "four-wheel drive pickups" were gassed and ready to take us on our adventure. My mother's parents would often join us on these outtings and my grandmother would be involved with the cooking.

Sometimes there were 8 children attending the festivities with our parents, but most of the time it was 6 or 7 as George and Gladys' girls were a bit older than I. A couple of times the 2 older girls and their husbands went with us. All the children were told to have coats in the pickup (yes, it did snow and get cold on the 4th in the Rockies, but not always). We grew up knowing that we were never to leave home without a jacket of some sort.

We would drive for a couple of hours until we found the perfect spot in the pines to spread our blankets and the sumptuous fare the ladies had prepared. After a leisurely lunch and a little nap for our parents and grandparents, we all hiked (most of the time) to an abandoned mine to see what was there. It amazes me now that Dad and George knew where all the mines were located. After an afternoon of fun in the sun we would head back home and enjoy a light supper.

We could hardly wait for it to get dark so we could set off fireworks in our front yard. Dad always made sure there were lots of noise makers and sparklers to satisfy our thirst for celebration. The finale' was the best...my dad and some of his buddies would meet at a designated place and load up their supplies and then head to one of the little hills that surrounded my hometown to put the 4th of July to bed with a BANG!!! I don't have a clue how much dynamite they set off, but it shook every window in town, made all the dogs howl and delighted us to no end. Mother and the other wives didn't think it was such a good idea and cringed, then prayed mightly after the blast. I think Mom and her friends were praying that no one got hurt AND that no one got arrested. the men always arrived back home in one piece. Oh what fond memories......

Terry and David have spent the morning learning how to etch the beautiful custom hunting knives they have been making for the last few weeks. They use all sorts of exotic woods for the handles and some of the handles have coral, turquoise or other types of embellishments in them to add to their uniqueness and beauty. A web page is being made by one of our sons. I am sure it will be spectacular. The funny part of this is our house has become a factory. They do the dirty work in the garage, the finishing at the kitchen table and the etching at the kitchen counter. I talked to Laura about having my home and visiting teachers meet us at her house as mine will probably never again be neat and clean. Of course I add to the confusion with my beading, painting, crocheting and knitting projects. Oh yes, Terry still makes his one-of-a-kind embellished gourds. It is Saturday morning and I am still trying to figure out what to do next...hmmm....clean house? do laundry? or start another project? Guess I will do the project...a baby quilt for my niece's first baby...Yep, that's what I'm going to do.

From Arizona to Pennsylvania and back in 7 days.

Brian, our middle son, made a life-changing decision the last part of April this year. He made a trip to New York for a wedding and while he was on a layover in Atlanta sent me a text that read, "I am moving to PA, asap."...


He had been talking about moving for quite some time, but we didn't think he would move so far away. We convinced him to wait until my sister, Pam, could come to Arizona to take care of our mom and then we would help him move by pulling his car and transporting his things in our pickup...3 drivers are better than one any day.

We left Arizona on Friday, May 8th around 6:30 a.m. The drive accross the country was uneventful for the most part. I spent the time I wasn't driving in the "small" backseat sleeping, working crossword puzzles or reading.

We drove all day and night on Friday and until about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday...we had reached Columbus, Ohio and were really glad to find a nice Hampton Inn to rest and clean up. I had one of the best omlets I have ever eaten at "Bob Evans" restuarant that evening. Brian said his salad was the best he had ever had. Yes, we are now fans of "Bob Evans".

We arrived in Palmyra, Pennsylvania around 1:30 p.m on Sunday and unloaded Brian's car and belongs, visited with Kate and Autumn. It was Mother's Day so Brian took Kate and Autumn out for "linner" (that is lunch/dinner) and Terry and I traveled to York which is about 45 minutes from Brian's to see his sister, Carmen and family (their house is pictured). We had a yummy Chinese dinner and did lots of visiting and catching up. We spent the night with them and on Monday morning, Terry, Carmen and I went to see Gettysburg. The museum is fabulous and one really needs to plan to spend a whole day there to see it all. We didn't have the time, unfortunately.

After taking Brian, Autumn and Kate to lunch, Terry and I started back across the country. We took the northern route home so we could surprise Wendy and her family with a visit. We arrived in Colorado on Wednesday in the early afternoon and stayed with the kids until Friday morning. We were so fortunate with timing... Colton's kindergarten graduation was on Thursday evening. It was such a great time to be there. We arrived home Friday evening around 8:45 and were tired but happy that we had such a good trip. Now back to the grind....

I CAN be a blogger???

For several months, maybe years, I have been told how much fun it is to "blog". My replys were many...who has time, I am on the computer sooo much with my job, I don't really have that much going on in my life, or that is just not my thing." Well, here I am today, with all good intentions, trying to create a blog. It won't be fancy...YET... but here it is for all to see.

I turned 60 this year, but I think 25 except when it comes to cleaning my house, then 75 or 80 might be more like it. Why is it the older you get, the slower you go, even though you think you are really cruisin?

I am married to the most wonderful man in the universe...ok...so I am biased. Terry and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on April 13th. Yes, I love the number 13...it has always been good to me.

I have a son, Chris in Alaska and is a cattle rancher, fisherman, bear hunter, ...the list goes on. My daughter, Wendy lives with her husband, Marv and their two children, Kylie and Colton in Colorado. Marv and Wendy own a franchise called "Healthy Addictions." They sell Happy & Healthy" Fruit Bars and Snacks to Whole Foods, nurseries, colleges, hospitals, mom and pop stores...etc. They are doing quite well with the business and it has become a family affair.

Terry has 3 sons, Chris,, Brian, Nathan. Terry recently retired from SRP after almost 30 years of employment with this company. Brian recently moved to Pennsylvania. He has plans to start Veterinary Tech school in the fall. Terry and I helped him move and that is one of the reasons I decided to become a blogger.....