9.3.23
Yesterday was a busy one for Darrell and I. We left home just after 7 o’clock in the morning with our little truck filled to the brim with soaps and lotions, books, tables, bins and all the other paraphernalia that goes along with being a vendor at a local market. We were heading to Mitchell, a small town about an hour’s drive away where each Labour Day weekend they hold their Painted Hill’s Festival. Vendors from all over the area arrive with their assortment of wares. Food stalls are set up, folks have decorated their old cars and trucks and youngsters are all dressed up ready for the parade.
As the procession begins down the short main street of the village, people line the sides of the road, children with bags in hand stand ready to grab the sweeties thrown from the vehicles as they pass by. As the procession reaches the entrance to the park, where all the vendor stalls are set up awaiting customers, everything halts. The beautiful voice of a young lady directs our attention to the flagpole where Old Glory waves gently in the breeze. As she begins to flawlessly sing the National Anthem, everyone stands, placing their right hand over their heart. There is silence as we all listen, then thunderous applause as she finishes the last strains of the song. The parade continues, then the shoppers arrive. This is the life in small villages and towns all across our great country.
When the market finally began to wind down around three in the afternoon, Darrell and I began the chore of closing up shop. Putting all the soaps back in their boxes, packing away the lotions and books, once again filling the back of the little truck with tables and chairs, totes and tent, we were heading home. What a lovely thought!
This month marks a special anniversary for me. It was in September of 2015 that my first book, Diary of a Redneck Englishwoman was published. Occasionally throughout the year I will put certain items on special as a thank you to all my loyal customers who purchase my products. I decided this month’s special would be my Redneck Englishwoman books! Then, as I sat down to write this morning, I thought about my life here on our farm with my dearest Darrell. I thought about all we have accomplished since moving up here now 27 odd years ago to make this land our home. I thought about how blessed we are to have the home we do. That brought me back to a story from that first book of mine, which I have decided to once again share with you this morning… there truly is nothing like coming home…
5.1.14
2014 did not start out in a very auspicious way as the New Year began with Darrell having some rather serious health concerns. Not only did his stomach ulcers flare up but then he came down with a very nasty case of shingles followed by a bout of pneumonia and to top it all off threw a blood clot that lodged in his lung. We had been throwing around the idea just before Christmas time of consolidating our farming endeavours and as part of that idea we actually decided to put our farm on the market with the goal of moving to a smaller acreage. Most likely the stress of making such a major life decision brought on the health issues that plagued Darrell for almost half the year.
It really seemed a logical idea at the time; a smaller piece of land to look after, a downsizing of our animal herd, maybe more time to spend fishing on some riverbank plus we had even received an offer on our place! But as we searched the internet real estate sites, the land for sale papers, contacted real estate offices all over Eastern Oregon, we started to realise finding a smaller version of what we already had was going to be no easy task.
After a long day of looking at numerous different properties farther east in Oregon, Darrell and I were on our way home and it suddenly dawned on us, we were never going to find the perfect replacement to what we have right here, right now. With that realisation a sense of contentment and peace settled on us like a benevolent blanket. We knew we had made the right decision.
Home… yes, that is what we have here… home. When Darrell and I bought this land – our third time buying bare land and building from scratch since being married, we knew we had a special place. From a parcel of ground with nothing but an old Schoolhouse on the corner, we have over the years built everything on this place from our little log house to the barns, shop, chicken houses and riding arena. It has all been done with a lot of love, sweat and sore muscles! But my goodness it has been worth it.
We have been here for over 20 years now. Started out by living in a 30-foot camp trailer for a year before building and moving into the end of our barn then building and finally moving into our log house, it has been an adventure and a labour of love. For both of us, but me especially, it has meant a great deal as I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere else in my entire life of 54 years. I know every inch of this land, can spot a tree that has fallen down out back over the winter, know all the places deer like to bed down, not to mention having a grand butcher shop, milking house, and of course my lovely block smokehouse! What Darrell and I have accomplished here would take us so much to reproduce but that is not all…
What makes our place so special are the wonderful times we have shared with some grand folks over the years. The memories of seeing youngsters on their ponies careening around the arena and fields, some of those same children are now attending university, some have already graduated and have incredible jobs or heavens to Betsy… are married with children of their own! From Pony Club camps with youngsters on shaggy ponies to adults coming from far and near to have fun together with their equine partners in our riding clinics the memories are rich and rewarding. We even saw the joining of two wonderful people in marriage under the cover of our arena roof while the rain poured down and the cold wind chilled us to the bone… but then Darrell came to the rescue and built a fire, yes a fire, in the center of the riding arena to warm us all as the newly married couple took a slow ride around the arena on their Harley Davidson motorbike. Grand memories each and every one.
Yes, this is our HOME… and we are here to stay for many, many more years to come.