Graceful Landing: Farm and Garden

Showing posts with label Farm and Garden. Show all posts

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Garden Haul

When the fruits of your garden labor arrive in abundance....it's a very good thing.

These become this:

Spaghetti sauce, salsa, canned tomatoes for winter salsa and soups;

these are the reasons tomatoes are my favorite!

Friday, August 19, 2016

The Beauty of Everyday Things

Fresh sheets and pillowcases on the line- soaking up the sun,

Momma kitty and baby lazily playing under a tree,

And a good dog lying at my door...

Beautiful.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Heavenly Evening

Inhale evenings like this....

store them up and breathe them out in remembrance on a February day.

Friday, August 5, 2016

True West

My great-great grandfather Morgan traveled west, following his Uncle William's footsteps.

William Logan

William crossed the plains with wagon and oxen in 1852 and was one of three men who began the town of Weiser, Idaho in the 1860's and soon after, moved to Malheur County, Oregon.

Morgan Logan

Morgan was a teetotaler, a marshal, rancher and family man. He lived the west. Wrangling an existence for his family in eastern and central Oregon, he and his wife braved harsh conditions and even the loss of two precious children.
I admire their courage and determination.

My great-grandfather, Clair "Cub" Logan, far left

Central Oregon is a hotspot of family history for me. I can visit my great-great grandmother's and grandfather's graves- from both sides of the family- at the base of Pilot Butte in Bend or drive up to the little town of Prineville to visit Morgan's. I can visit Lake Owyhee reservoir, under which was once some of my ancestors' ranch land. Generations were born, raised and buried there and in south-western Oregon.
We are westerners through and through.
The old west has been romanticized, I know, but there's still something special about those who blazed trails, endured hardships of every kind, developed a bounty of skills and stood firm in a rugged land in order to make something of it.

In honor of those mighty ancestors, I value practical skills- including gun knowledge and use. I am careful and thoughtful with a weapon. Lucky for me, I'm married to a skilled gunman who also uses great caution and care.
He's taught me well, has provided food for our family and protected our farm (and vulnerable animals) from brazen foxes and coyotes. Such animals have done things like wiping out an entire flock of our chickens in one night. Chickens that were in a fenced enclosure, preyed upon and their carcasses left strewn across acres of land.
I'm ever learning and don't want practical skills and freedoms to be lost. All creatures have their purpose and beauty, but protection on our own land of our weaker animals is crucial to our farm.

Learning sensible, servicable skills and putting them to work when needed.
That's a large part of the true west.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

A Spring Evening

Strolling around the farm on a beautiful spring evening, camera in hand, I captured
some moments to keep.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

All the Pretty Little Ponies

Lullabies are powerful.

From Wikipedia: A lullaby or cradle-song... is a soothing song or piece of music, usually played or sung to children or adults. The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledge or tradition.... Perhaps one of the most important uses of lullabies is as a sleep aid for infants. As a result, the music is often simple and repetitive.

Lullabies can be found in many countries, and have existed since ancient times.

Dez wasn't interested in my affection the other evening. She was unhappily separated from her pasture mate, Zip. I followed her around as she tried to avoid me. Finally, I sat quietly in the grass near her for a while. She stood, a few feet away and looked at me curiously.

Out of the blue, I decided to sing her a lullaby. 'All the Pretty Little Ponies' seemed fitting,- it was a song my mother sang to me and I sang to my own babies.
She stood very still, listening.

Then, relaxing, she got sleepy and actually began to drool.

I'd say that's a powerful song.

There are many versions- originally a scottish tune, and my mother sang 'Pretty Little Horses,' but here's the one I sang to my babies-

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep, my little baby.
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little ponies.
Blacks and bays, dapples and grays,
All the pretty little ponies.

In the meadow, on the ground,
Little baby crying mama.
Birds and butterflies fly around,
Little baby crying mama.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby.
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little ponies.
Blacks and bays, dapples and grays,
All the pretty little ponies.