Thank you, Shery for the Bittersweet information. Just the other day I was saying how I wanted more Fall colors in my gardens – I have a front porch railing that NEEDS some interest and I wouldn’t have to cut it to use it – going to look into that for sure. As always a great time was had while you shared yourself. God Bless

Hello!
This vine is surely a beauty! What a beautiful fall addition to ones own beloved garden, looks like I am going to have to find a resource so I can plant a "couple" in my own garden!
Thanks for the sharing !
Truly,
Colette

Shery: We have American Bittersweet in our back yard against the fence. We were in a drought this summer and we had about 6 berries. But when it does produce, it is really beautiful. Also I think of autumn when my chinese lanterns bloom. If you would like some I have lots of seeds to share. Thanks for the beautiful pictures.

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Hi Bonnie! Oh you lucky goil … … to have chinese lanterns! I love them. I planted seeds this past spring, but I didn’t get anything 🙁 Is there a secret to them??   Shery

Hi Shery, Your bittersweet wreaths are sooo pretty! Thanks for all of the information! Fall is my favorite time of the year, sure wish it would last longer. What a pretty picture of you and your little sis. BTW I just looked at your last post and loved all of the beautiful pictures. Your Ribbon is quite a beauty!
I always look forward to you posts!
Happy Fall!!

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Thanks Jan for stopping by and for the kind comments 🙂

Thank you Sherry for identifying the true Bittersweet for me! We found some near our property the other day, and the multi-colored berries were so lovely. My son almost ate them, but I reminded him that the rule for foraging is if we don’t know what it is, we couldn’t eat it. So thanks! Now we know!

That’s it! Get the Cabin in a Can ready! I’m packin’ it in and headed for THE RANCH!!!!

love and hugs from your beachy farmgirl blogging sis!
Deb

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Ok, just bring what ya need in your backpack …  I’ll leave the light on 🙂

Shery

Good Morning from the Missouri Ozarks,
Loved waking up to your beautiful pictures on this rainy day!
We too picked our tomatoes yesterday, beets and carrots will be picked today and bell peppers will be covered with sheets tonite for our first frost in these mountains.
Canning this weekend will be so much fun.
There is nothing like the feel of fall here too.
It’s the best time of the year for camping with frosty nights.
Thanks so much for all the inspiration! ~Hugs from Diana~

AWW love your posts, and thanks so much for all the glorious pics!!!! Love Wyoming, too. Living in Oklahoma, but just love Wyoming and Colorado. We have worked in the timber in both states, but only during July & August!

Thank you for sharing these awe-inspiring photographs. Mother Nature is simply amazing! Gorgeous colours! Mmmm… think I’m going to light a fire, make a hot cup of chocolate, stick on a classic flick and snuggle under my favourite quilt, this evening! May God bless you, Shery. Catherine x

I totally agree with you about the anticipation of Fall. I actually enjoy it more than Spring time. I’ve been waiting for the cooler weather here in the California foothills for a month now. Finally, we have some relief from the heat and the dryness. On the other hand, my daughter, who lives in Montana, just report snowfall yesterday. Aaah, I remember those days of fluffy snowflakes falling way before Halloween. However, in January and February, I feel gratitude for the California winters. Thanks for the pictures, they are lovely and remind of my years in the Rocky Mtns of Montana. Love your writing style and insight.

Shery: As usual you have captured your life for all of us to share. What a gift!

A HUGE thank you for letting us tag along on your glamping trip! Each and every one of the glampers (and glamporette’s) are fabulous! I’ve read your post twice and still can’t pick my favorite glamper…they are all adorable. What a treat to meet & glamp WITH MaryJane!

Boy! Doesn’t that make me want to get on the move. How fun!!! Liz

Your glampers look great.. and you all seem to have had a great time.. glad to have done all the decals.. they look great.. and it was fun doing them..

Sheri,
Thank You so much for sharing your first Glamping trip with your sister Farmgirls and Mary Jane.
It will be a few years before I can join in on the fun of getting a Glamper, I have an eldery husband, but in the meantime I can really enjoy the adventures of you all.
I also have Mary Jane’s new book and just love it.
I already have antique things for my Glamper. It was really delightful seeing you all have such a good girlie weekend.
Blessings.
Peggy

I want to move to Wyoming and meet all of you! Do I qualify as a farmgirl…? We have a chicken coop and two hens two dogs and a garden. Also, because of tough economic times, we may have to pull a mobile home on our property to live in. Well, I am actually hoping we do so I can decorate it farm girl style. I’m so glad you all got to spend time with MaryJane.
You are such a great writer…I enjoyed every word.
Jann

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Dear Jann,  OF COURSE you’re a farmgirl!! I hope things look up for your economic future. These are uncertain times we live in. Thank you for the kind words :o)

Shery, thank you for the great post. I really enjoy your posts and this one is terrific!

So enjoyed reading your post! Looks like good time had by all! Thanks for sharing. God Bless you all.

Sheri: I know how much fun you had cuz I just got back from a glamping adventure in Minnesota. Not only did we glamp, we were in the New Prague Dolzinsky Harvest Day parade. What a kick. We had 20 campers on the float and beside it. You’ll see pictures later. Wow! What fun. Glad you had a great time too. Bonnie

Hi Shery, What a wonderful post!!! I love, love all of you gals glampers. I sat with a smile on my face reading and looking at all of the pictures and wishing that I was there too. Wow, getting to meet and glamp with Mary Jane herself, what an awesome experience. I have the new book and love it!! I told my DH that I was kind of looking for an older small camper. He didn’t seem too enthused by that prospect. 🙂 I always so look forward to your posts, you have such a gift with writing and taking great photos. You always make my day a bit brighter. So happy that you got to experience this trip and shared it with all of us. Until next time…..

Shery, So glad to read about you Glamping trip and I wish I were there, looks like you all had such a great time, I am in the process of looking for a camper to carry 2 people and a Yorkie. My husband says he will help fix it up. Sounds great to me. I live on the east coast of Va. probably not much chance meeting up with you all, But we can go glamping anyway. Thanks for the story and photos. Juanita

WOW! Beautiful work, and so worth the rewards of joy, happiness, relaxation, sharing with friends…the list could go on and on.

Michele is such a talented individual to have transformed that little camper from "hazmat material" into a "Glamorized Country Castle" and to do it all in a few short weeks. Absolutely Beautiful! I love the before and after photos, and enjoyed reading about her transformation journey.

This is beautiful! Those before and after pictures took my breath away. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to take on that project. But for $75…..maybe….especially since I have my own personal handyman husband. 🙂

LOVE it!!! I want to go !!!

Wow, the campers look great ‘specially Michelle’s. The picture of the family by the river was hilarious. The woman was actually wearing a dress. By gosh, I think I remember my Mother wearing one when we went camping when I was really little! Have fun on your trip. I’ll be there in spirit.

Glamping,,,,it’s what dreams are made of!
This past weekend I had 5 wonderful gal~pals over for a ‘Trailer Slumber Party’…we glamped tween the house & the Barn in our wee trailers…and we hit the Buggy Barn Quilt show (& lots of junk stores & yard sales)and had a blast!
Wagons HO!

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Oooooooo, that sounds like 10 kinds of fun!   shery

I have a 1973 Apache Ramada but have been eyeing up a 60s Shasta that looks just like this one! It has been sitting in a neighbor’s yard for over 15 years. I have no idea what shape it is in but I am going to go knock on their door to see if they are interested in letting it go. I hope I can trade my motorcycle or a load of scrap metal for it(they are scrappers). Yours turned out lovely. I am on a dairy farm but I have a more modern clean line style but I love seeing all campers! Great Job!

Sheri,
Great story on Michele’s Shasta. I love the colors….very earthy. I had to chuckle at the description of cleaning the Ewwwww out! A secret weapon for all who battle these “old camper smells”…..camphor cream on a cotton ball….place them in nooks and crannies where rodents may try to enter. They won’t! Trust me….I’ve done extensive trial and error experiments, and this works the best. It has been over a year now, and no more mice. (You have to block off their entrances too, of course) but, this cream is too strong for their respiratory system….they will not attempt to travel into the aroma…which by the way is very tolerable to us humans. Minty fresh.
Gail

Oh my goodness! I stumbled upon this page as I searched for decor ideas on what to do with the used trailed that my husband and I are purchasing. I think there is going to be a slight turn in our plans!! Thanks for so many inspirational ideas, and the photos were fabulous! Michele

Hi Shery! Your camper is looking great and all your pretties inside are bringing it all together. My mom in love just sent a large Scottie door stop over that was left from an Aunt who had passed recently. It is the exact duplicate of one I already have and the first thought that came to mind was now I have one for my dream camper. I am doing as you said and keeping my eyes open as I drive around the countryside we live in but I do not really know anyone since we have only lived her four years and am not brave enough to stop and peek around and in barns. I have enlisted more helpers for the search though. We have been going through our own kind of drought here in Michigan also. All our berries that we have on our property were shriveling up from the heat before they would even get ripe enough to pick. Finally the rain came and it has been raining for two days straight. Our back pond is the lowest I have seen it and I was a little concerned because that is where we pump water for our garden from. Oh how I wish I lived close to you and could come for a visit in your sweet little hideaway garden. I prefer coffee but am always happy for a cup of tea! Many blessings on your Glamping trips! I will look forward to pictures.

Up until I saw your camper, my idea of camping was staying at the Awhanee Lodge in Yosemite. But when I saw your little sleeping nook I just wanted to crawl in and stay. You have just the touch!
You mentioned that you painted the line on the outside free hand. Looked great, I wouldn’t have known except you said so. In case you need to paint lines again, use masking tape to outline the area you want to paint, make sure it sticks well. This will give you a crisp edge without all the time.

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Hi Betty,  Thank you!  I did use blue painters tape, but there was still some bleed-under that I had to go back and tidy up after I took the tape off. At some point though, ya just gotta say ‘good enough is good enough! :o)

Oh Shery,
How I luv Moonflowers, and their faint ‘baby powder’ scent….
I also luv your re-purposed metal tray…
A Glamping we must go!
I am having some gal~pals over on the last weekend of Aug., for a Trailer Slumber Party… (one of the perks of owning property)…We’ll hit the "Buggy Barn" for their annual Quilt show and then into town for some good ol’ fashion Junktiquing… wish you & your ‘gang could come join us…
Wagons HO!

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Hi Grace!, Your get-together sounds great. Y’all have FUN … I know you will.  :o)

shery

Love all your beautiful flowers but have to say that I believe that you do not have "moon flowers". I grow them on my upper porch and they are a vine. You have the common name is jimson weed or datura..which is a beautiful deadly plant! We in the south call it loco weed and it grows a lot behind the barns! I think if ingested etc you go a little crazy…so you gals watch the glamping! If you ever want to come visit Tennessee, come park at Watermelon Moon Farm. Would love to host such creative souls! Enjoy the rest of your summer and be safe on that long highway!

I love moon flowers. I don’t have to make an effort to plant them though. They just pop up wherever they choose on our ranch. It is always a pleasure to be wandering around and see those lovely flowers. I just don’t want them invading the veggie garden and they do have a tendency to invade if left to their own means. Love your photos too! Thanks for the effort of sharing.

Howdy Shery: Love your paint job on the camper. You did good. Also love your flowers and garden. I love your newsletter and can’t wait for the next one. Have a great camping trip. Guess we won’t be hearing from you in a while.

Love this! We had a pop up camper (old) when my girls were grade and middle school ages. I bought it from someones yard. Canvas had to be sewn in places and hubs had to do some undercarriage work on it. But my favorite part was painting the old cupboards, covering the cushions and making new curtains to hang in it. Back then it was red and blue plaids. That old camper finally went caputs and hubs made it into a hauling trailer. I have been ogling the glampers and pinning away! I have not found one for myself yet, but I have hubs and a few friends keeping their eyes open. I recently bought a vehicle that I am pretty sure could pull one, so here I am dreaming. Have you read the book that the movie Out of Africa was derived from? I did, was a good book. The movie, I think I have watched it a couple dozen times. Love it!

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Brenda,  Only 2 of the 5 campers in our little flock were advertised for sale. The other 3 were spotted and asked about. Since I began really looking for these little trailers, I discovered they are EVERYwhere … sitting behind people’s homes, in out of the way lots, in alleys etc. So, if you spy one and it looks like it is worth looking into…STOP and ask or ask a neighbor who the residents are and call them. The worst they can do is say NO. In our ittybitty town of 800, my galpal and I found over 12 to investigate. These are ALL vintage campers and, yes, some of them are not for sale … but 3 of them were! Good luck finding your dream glamper :o)   shery

Shery: I’m ready to go, ho ho, ho ho. Can’t go with you but I’m glamping with the River Valley Farmgirls in Minnesota. It will be great fun. I just LOVE the pictures in your blog and you are such a great writer too. Can’t wait to see Mary Janes Glamping book. Have a great time!

Brenda: I am so excited for you and your friends! I have been a Sister on the fly for five years now and have a 2010 Airstream "Coop de Villa" and a 1969 Dreamer and her name is "Henny Penny"….just sold my 1968 Shasta Compact "The Queen Bee"…as you can see, it becomes an addiction! Can you guess my theme for my two campers? Love me some chickens! Don’t have any, but feed my obsession with glamping and decorating…can’t wait to see some pictures! Hugs!

Ya know, I’m reading this and thinkin’, Hey, I’ve got that 27′ 1972 Nomad sitting outside lookin’ homely as all get out!……hmmmmmm…..what to do, what to do! It could truly be a rolling mansion! Dang it, now along with this old house, I’ll be dreamin’ of all the wondermus things I can do with it. I’m already thinking "Sassy Sister" may have to be her name. My oh my, the hubby is going to gasp! But he just got his dream jeep, a 1946 Willy’s flat fender jeep, all original, which by the way, I named Willow. Yes, it’s true, all my vehicles have names. Anyway! Thanks for the inspiration! Keep those tires full and the gas tank full and glamp on!

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Diann,  What’re you doin’ still sittin here, girl??!! Glam that vintage baby up!! A ’72 is vintage Enuff to have fun with. My girlfriend bought a 78 and it is as cute as a button. I like my cozy little glamper, BUT, a roomier version would be that much more wonderful…a little more room, a little more of everything. In truth, my favorite of the glampers are those that are about 20 feet long. Mine is 16′. Another 4 feet may not sound like much, but it is.   Shery

Hi Shery, Oh what fun your going to have!! I have loved the glamping idea since I saw it in a MaryJane magazine a few years ago. I would love to find one of those little campers, but sure haven’t seen many around here. My neighbor got one last year, she spent most of the summer painting it and restoring it. Looks great now! I will continue to look.
I get a bit anxious before a trip too. Once on my way, I am fine. It’s all that getting ready I guess.
You girls have fun and I can’t wait for those pictures.
Jan

I am breathless – excited – hep’d up just waiting to read and see all about your trip. Sure wish ‘glamping’ would have been in my days of camping – just prepping the camper etc, is so much fun – hmmmm may have to think about doing a little ‘glamper’ for me even though using it is not a possibility – thanks for letting me enjoy your wonderful times. Safe travels and God Bless.
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Hi Joan,  There are many glampers that will never see a lot of road time…including my own, in all honesty. Just the long months of winter here make that a reality. Then add the fact that getting away on vacation means that MOST of the time you’re busy with everyday life. SO, my little glamper will also be our ‘guest cabin’ and a cozy little place for my farmgirl pals & I to have a glass of wine of whatever when they visit. Its like a grownup’s playhouse and anyone who ever had a treehouse or a playhouse as a kid has WONderful memories from that time. Reinvigorating our inner wild involves our inner child too :o)  in my opinion. Never lose that sense of wonder and hunger for FUN!    shery

Dolly, I am in Minnesota! My camper isn’t finished yet, but maybe with someone to camp with, I’d get my butt in gear! Kim

Hi Shery:
I ranch about two hours away from where the fires were here in Colorado. I was raised on a ranch on the Colorado plains. We had a prairie fire burn us out one time. It came fast across the prairie grass and had us. I was young, but remember it like yesterday. We lost cattle, but no horses and thank God no lives. After that we seriously cleared off the brush in a large radius around the ranch. We never got burned out again. But, two years ago there was a fire that surrounded my ranch. Now, we ran the bulls and cows into large corrals and the horses in a large separate corral. There was no brush anywhere as I had cleared it all out. I watched that night (who could sleep) as the fire danced on the dirt, but couldn’t burn and would go out. The next morning at false dawn I went out to the corral and saw 28 head of white horses standing there. But, I don’t own a white horse. It was ash on all the critters. They were nervous and coughing, but alive.

My neighbor Pete came hollering, "Treese, get your horse my herd is loose!" He is 88 and alone. I must have been a sight, I threw on a jacket over my pajama’s-got on my boots and rode off bareback on my horse. His herd was headed towards the fire. We got them turned around and into a safe corral down the road.

I got back quick because the firefighter’s came by to say they were cutting all electricity to prevent fires. Well, my water pumps (I am on well water of course) went down. No water for critters. I hooked up my new generator which ran an hour and then blew up. Well, after a few hours all water tubs were dry and the critters eyes were bugging out in the heat.

I called Old Pete to see if he was safe and okay. A little while later here comes Pete in his old pick-up with a generator Moses could have used thrown in the back. But, it fired up and the pumps started up. So, plenty of water for the critters. We were without electricity for 5 days. No toilet, no shower, no stove (no loss I don’t boil water-LOL), No lights, no fan, no AC, no nothing. But, my ranch survived and so did all the critters.

In the afternoon when I shade up I catch up on my reading.

Treese/Colorado Cowgirl
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Oh Treese … … … your testimony is sobering. We’ve not experienced a large grass fire in all the years we’ve been here, even through 8 years of drought. BUT, this summer has every one tense … on edge. There is plenty of fuel in spite of the shortage of grass — lots of sagebrush and greasewood. So, we hope for rain and keep an eye on the horizon for signs of smoke. Stay cool and safe my friend. Shery

Hi Shery! Your description of the ranchers having to shoot their cattle to prevent them suffering the fate of the fires was haunting. I am going to pray long and hard for everyone out there, with animals and without- I am so blessed to be here in the east where we have had rain. We visited Nebraska for the first time last week for the Junior National Hereford Expo and got a taste of the constant wind- it eased the heat for us but I can see how a fire would be out of control in minutes.
Blessings to you and your neighbors-we’ll pray for rain for you! Meredith

Isn’t it wonderful not only to be ‘addicted’ to Glamping in our wee trailers,,, but to get our gal~pals addicted too!
"Trouble travels in pairs"…lol!
Happy trails & Wagons HO!

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HiYa Grace! Thanks for dropping in…and YES to all you said…including the trouble! shery

So love the comments about your horse. I too have one, only a gelding. I refer to him as Checkers "The Wonder Horse". My kids don’t always agree. We are having a wetter than normal summer. More grass than you can imagine. Would sure send some rain your way if we could.

I loved your pictures and stories, again! So much of what you are doing parellels what is going on in my corner of the world. It is nice to know there are women out there with the same loves as myself! Thanks for sharing!!!

I had a horse like your Dolly. His name was Captain. I got him at a police auction. He was a big, 17 hands, flea bitten grey. I trusted him like no human. If I was sad, I would put my arms around his neck and he would pat me on the back with his great head. Sadly, Captain fell on a stall mat and broke his pelvis. We got him healed up and he lived another year and fell again. He was not young when I got him, but frankly, I prefer older horses. I’m older and prefer a horse with a little common sense.
Your blog reminded me it really is summer, even if this farmgirl works in an office all day.

Shery, if I lived in Wyoming, you would definitely be my "bosom friend", (from "Anne of Green Gables"). My heart melted at the sight of that new baby calf. Being away from my rural past for 20+ years, I had forgot all about the Killdeer doing the "broken wing thing." Thank you for the memories! And girl!!! Guess what I have sitting on MY big cupboard? One huge elk antler drop. My DH found it while hunting and had to bring it home. We’re on the same wave length!!!!!!! Oh…and must mention one more thing. That Ellis! What a guy! He is amazing!!! Must be due to living in a pristine place like Wyoming!!! AND Lonesome Dove!!! Have watched it probably 200 times. Gotta love that Gus!

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Dear Vikki,  That is the thing about meeting a fellow farmgirl you’ve never met… it’s like you HAVE met and known each other. Kindred spirits don’t have to explain themselves to one another … they just all talk at the same time and splatter all that good energy everywhere :o)  The elk antler —— I carried that thing around for a couple of hours until we got to a gravel road where the ranch owner could swing by and get it for me. That thing is HEAVY and not the easiest thing to tote a’horseback. We were to move cattle and ride for most of the day and there was No way I could have carried it that long. BUT, it is a huge antler and I didn’t want to surrender it. Funny that you have one on display too. Well, it would be fun to be bosom friends no doubt. You take care and keep on livin’ large :o)   shery

Once again you hit the nail on the head of a good read – from the wonderful time had with your farmgirl friends – to the love of Dolly and the joy to be inside making your home spew forth your loving kind spirit. We have been experiencing a major fire that burned 346 homes but the very dedicated fire fighters saved many many more homes – we thank each and every one of them and all of them around our nation. Stay safe God Bless

Shery, you are an inspiration. I look forward to reading your posts. You are a definitely an exceptional writer and today you touched my heart to the point that a small tear drop formed in my eye. I completely understood your message because no one understands to see "the overlooked, to see deeper, better and through things" like you mentioned. I myself see so much beauty in so many things and I’m the only one that sees it! So much potential in so many things…regardless of everyone else, I’m going to continue my search for beauty in everything I see. Go Girl you got my vote…

What a wonderful blog! Your pics are great, and everything looks super. I have a love for so much. I often re-purposed stuff and I am tickled pink when it works out. Warm regards, Anna

Oh Shery! I think I just found my clone! I’ll be 70 next month and that means I’ve been collecting longer than you have. Why do people want to call it junk? It especially works well in the garden and tucked in around plants. I envy your room to keep all your "treasures". You’re my kind of farm gal. Keep up the good work! Bonnie

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Hi Bonnie! Thank you. I don’t know why relic gems are called junk. I guess when they’ve outlived your usefulness, they get to be ‘junk’. Some of the old stuff we like will still be around long after the ‘junk’ of this generation is buried. I dunno, maybe that is better…disposable junk that actually goes away…except that all of the plastic stuff we’ve created will be around and it really IS junk. I think an important aspect of going green is to make better quality ‘stuff’ (like in the old days) so that we don’t have so much CRAP to put in the landfill. One day they won’t be called landfills anymore. They’ll be landFULLs.   shery

Shery…you’ve done it once again…brought back memories that will forever be precious to me. While reading your post what came flooding back into my mind was summer nights when I used to live in Idaho. The windows would all be open and since we lived out in the country, all would be quiet, except for the sprinklers on our handlines watering our pasture, (so soothing), a train going through town blowing it’s lonesome whistle and the Killdeer! What lovely little sounds they make. All was well with the world! Once I found a tiny baby,(just a little furball with loooong legs) in the middle of our road. I got to gently pick it up and put it in our pasture to join up with his mama. I’ll never forget that…had to be one of the dearest things I’ve had the honor to hold. Thanks, Shery….for helping me not forget.

I love your blog, I love what you do with all the "stuff" you find. But I guess I’m not a farmgirl after all…I run across that "stuff" and I see junk…I have tried to do something with it and it still looks like junk. I guess I wasn’t born with that gene. 8~(

Also around here, since work is very hard to find in the "thumb" area of Michigan, there is no abandond junk to be found, "scrappers" have claimed it and sold it for money. Its gotten so scarse to find around here, people steal metal items from abandond houses and sell it. You can even make money selling cardboard boxes so stores dumpsters get raided after they have had a delivery, they look for boxes and than sell them also. They even have tried to sell manhole covers with the cities names stamped on them! Really! haha!

Shery, I love to savor your posts and rejoice when you have a new one! You are a lovely, engaging writer and I love your writing and pictures. Your garden, home and ranch are truly amazing and so beautifil. Truly a garden of eden so to speak on the Wyoming plains. Thank you for sharing your treasures with us!!!

Shery: You’re a genius! You took all that "good stuff", put it to great use and beautified it with flowers; God is proud of you and so am I, Well done my good and faithful servant. You are a prime redeemer.

Thanks Shery for bringing back some springtime memories. I haven’t helped "work cattle" for many years, but from about the age 10 and up my jobs were to help with the sorting, and tally the heifers and bulls for Dad as they were branded and whatnot. My sister gave vaccinations, and still does at their own farm.
We used tractors and later 3 & 4 wheelers instead of horses. Dad was thrown and severely injured when he was about 22, and wouldn’t have a horse on the farm. I hated/loved the sorting. I was always stuck at the gate where the calves were separated from their mothers. Those cows were alot bigger than I was. I never got hurt, but sure did get scared.
I loved branding season because it got me out of the house. Mom ran the kitchen on those days and us kids earned our lunch and a sip of beer at Noon.
But even better was moving the herd up to the North Pasture (roughly 6 miles of gravel roads) for summer pasturing. I always, always had to ride with Dad in the front as he would call his "Come boss, come boss" to get the procession started. My job was to jump out of the pickup and hold back those bossies (in the ditch) who were in a hurry to get to greener grasses, letting the stragglers catch up. It was another scary job, but I did it, sometimes having to run out into a new stand of wheat or oats to bring a stray back to the herd. Sounds like a bigger job than it was, and I did have help. As we got closer to the pasture,if I was already a ways from the pickup, I got to go to the tail end and keep the little ones moving along. Usually I just walked behind, but sometimes my brothers would let me steer the tractors or pickup – whichever was bringing up the rear.
For a time after I married and became a city slicker, my husband & I still helped with the spring activity. It took many years and a family of my own to lessen the tug back to those times. Now I can think of them with fond memories and realize I can’t do that type of work anymore.
It was a wonderful idea asking those kids to help out. They will have stories to tell, and bruises to brag about for a long time. N

Hi Shery – I loved your pic’s today! Those kids were having a hardworking blast of a good time!
I have to tell you how proud I was of MY daughter today- she just turned 13, mind you, and today one of her heifers was having a bit of trouble delivering her first calf. She called her dad who listened to what she was seeing and advised her to help the mama with the ob chains, which she has seen him use plenty of times before. She could see foot #1 but #2 was still just inside. Knowing the calf was properly positioned, she dove right in (literally) and found #2, got the chains on, and with a little help from me, had that calf on the ground and the mama on her feet in 5 minutes. The calf had been a bit stuck (big head!) but all is well with mama and baby this evening. What a handsome bull he is going to make!
I am so proud of this child for taking the situation in hand and fixing it, and what a huge blessing to be living this kind of life!
Cant wait to see the rest of your photos, and hope you all have a fantastic summer!

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You SHOULD be proud. It is scarey to watch with worry when an animal is in distress. She took responsibility and made a difference for that baby. She’ll benefit all the days of her life from the confidence built in the life you’ve made possible for her.   shery

Just be thankful that in your neck of the woods the young folks still want to do manual labor! So refreshing to see…I’m not sure that I could even FIND a teen to help me mow the lawn, let alone brand some cattle! Hats off to all of them!
Love to see how your garden is coming along. I used a more ‘horsey’ theme on my garden patio this year (my husband built a patio on the end of our garden shed). I hung my ‘horses for sale’ sign that I got at a garage sale a few years back (hand painted!) and surrounded it with old tack, my spurs from back in the day, etc.
Does anyone have any ideas for the large leather-covered horse collars? I rescued mine from a client’s garbage. They were from his family’s draft horses on the farm! I couldn’t bear seeing them thrown away. One man’s trash is another woman’s treasure!!
Can’t wait to see the planted part of your garden project!

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Hi Jan,  Hey, I saw old collars dressed up as WREATHES. Just assume it IS a wreath and dress it accordingly…for fall, christmas, patriotic etc etc. Twist a ‘tie-wire’ loop on the back to hang it with and it will be wonderful looking. Gosh yea, I couldn’t bear to let those old goodies go to the dump either.  Love your equine decor theme.   Enjoy your new patio!   shery

Hi Shery, thanks for another wonderful time at the ranch garden. Love all that you have done and it so inspires me. Now to get out and DO in my garden. Take care from the plains of CO.