I fear that to some of our “urban” friends and family it resembles something from some of those hoarding shows on TV. Best we clean some of it up.

There are long retired pieces of equipment scattered around the ranch. They were retired before my time here. I recall that they seemed “cool” when I first saw them. Their “coolness” has only increased for me. They have become special places where I am encouraged to spend a few moments contemplating a different time in this same place.

What was it like the day the team pulled the piece of equipment over to the edge of the bush and were unhitched and walked away without it? What was the news that day? What reminders are we going to leave from our experiences of this past year (2020)?

They say things were simpler then. When I look at some of the equipment up close and consider hauling water from the creek and washing clothes in a tub by hand I don’t think life was all that simple for the men nor the women. And this was well before the pill.

The little chicken house reminds me of my childhood and cleaning out the chicken house. You had to be there to know what it was like. Words just don’t quite describe it. But then what a treat to collect a warm freshly laid egg from a nice freshly bedded chicken house.

One thing we do notice is that people have become much more accustomed to travel and entertainment than when we were young. If we went away for a day once or twice during the summer it was a normal summer. Life wasn’t boring. We did entertain ourselves – although that is for another story.