Intro to Adventures at the Y2K Ranch

They say that growing things is in your blood. That must be true. I am, in truth, the farmer's daughter. My dad (and mom too) has a green thumb and has all his life. His mother said that in the 40's and times were tough instead of going to the movies, my dad would take his dime and buy flower seeds. He would plant those seeds and grow real flowers...they were all shocked.

My dad's not some weak little girly man either. He's a big strapping man and always has been. He just loves growing things. When he retired from his career in Dallas he moved to a very remote little patch in the Piney Woods of Texas. He's never left. Seriously. You might see him tooling around on his motorcycle on country lanes...you'll recognize him. He's wearing a black helmet with flames, has a tremendous white moustache and is most likely wearing overalls with a long sleeved shirt. However, he WILL NOT spend the night away from home. Nothing will entice him to do this....NOTHING.

Anyhow, my brother who lives in the city, and I have taken an interest in the farm which we jokingly call the Y2K Ranch. That's not the real name but it sounds better than the real deal so since this is my blog, that's what I'm calling it. So there.

Last year with Daddy's permission my husband and I had a very small and somewhat ragged trailer moved on to Dad's property with the intention that we'd have a place to stay when we go visit, spend the holidays, etc. It's been an adventure.

All summer my husband worked and financed our little operation. My brother provided thousands (literally) of hours of work on the place and immeasurable good advice. My dad shook his head...alot.

We started out with running water and working bathroom, etc. No electricity, no phone, no cable tv, no dishwasher or refrigerator! YIKES! That was in May. The first of June we were able to get the electricity in and boy! was it welcome! That was the hottest two weeks of my life.

Think about it, no electricty means no hot water, no working appliances, no air conditioning. At this time in my life, air conditioning is as important as food. That's saying something. Dad says the ground water is at 52 degrees and I can attest that this is true.

Then there was the work! Those danged chickens didn't always feed themselves. You can not just pour out a ton of food and it will last them. NO! The little buggers will eat it ALL immediately and you'll have to feed again tomorrow... The goats have to be fed and are incredibly loud for such small sizes. And the roosters, Oh my gosh! They start crowing at about 4:00 a.m....I guess it's immediately after the freight train literally blasts you straight out of your bed... Dad has offered to kill those old roosters but they're too old to cook and frankly, I just think they're soo pretty. I'm kinda soft hearted. This I will address more fully in the future. Yes, it does come back to bite me later on...i.e. farm sale.

Then the garden! It just keeps going! We planted lots of stuff late but still had more tomatoes, squash, okra and cucumbers than we could possibly eat. Dad even raised some 100 pound watermelons and 40 pound musk mellons (cantaloupes). We have photos...We picked, lord how we picked. We're pretty much organic out there but not by choice. Lucky for us the FIRE ANTS clean out most of the other bugs. That's a good thing if you never have to come into contact with the little bastards. If you ever do even breathe on the nest, run like you have never run before! They're not called Fire Ants for nothing.

As it turned out, eating your own fruits and veggies is one of the most wonderful things in the world. The majesty of watching a seed grow into a plant and then make food, well it's miraculous is what it is. Seriously. The hand of God at work.

I know this has been a long post but I wanted to give you lots of background. You see, my brother and I have that same farmer blood running in our veins. It's really true how the farm calls to you. No, I'm not unhinged...well not admittedly anyway. I'll be on my way back out from our lovely Scottsdale home (lovingly referred to by my 4 year old son as "Arizona house") to the farm (Texas house) for the summer on the 1st of June. I'll be posting my insights and views along side the many, many lessons learned. Yes, you can teach old dogs new tricks. Life is an adventure...live it!