Life at Homeland Farm

     This is a top ten list of true events that have happened at Homeland Farm. While you may not believe it, these events really did happen, and now I just need to find time to write about them all. I hope you enjoy reading the list, and I look forward to explaining at a later date.So, here we go...           HOMELAND FARMS TOP TEN LIST Number 10...I was saved from death by my guardian angel..                     (actually written already..will write on blog for                      those that never saw the magazine article.) Number 9...Cabelas doesn't allow me in their store anymore. Number 8...I delivered a foal while people watched and ate              ...

       Memorial Day, the last Monday in the month of May, has been set aside to remember fallen soldiers and those who have served our country in the Armed Forces. It is also a day when families remember their loved ones who have passed away, often by placing flowers on their graves. I am part of a family that plants over 30 red Geraniums at the stones of four generations of our family.         My brother, sister and I were fortunate to have been able to grow up surrounded by the older generations of our kinfolk. Great aunts and uncles, my grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins galore were an immediate part of our daily lives. We didn't get dressed up on Sunday to go visit the grandparents, and we weren't forced to kiss the great aunts and uncles once a year at awkward family reunions. No, they participated in births, deaths, and everything in between. Birthday parties, cookouts in summer, haying, holidays and road trips....

      As you might know by now, (if you are a regular blog reader) I had the opportunity to grow up with many different types of farm animals. We had everything from horses, cattle, and sheep, to dogs, cats and ducks. I think it all stemmed from having a mother that was a big animal lover. Every stray or unwanted animal in town seemed to find it's way to our door, via the back seat of my Mother's station wagon.       One day, my brother, sister and I were sitting in the kitchen after school when we suddenly heard our mother's horn blaring. We went out on the porch and watched  as she turned into the driveway ever so slowly. We knew for her to be driving that slowly, she must either be out of gas, or have an animal in the backseat of the car.        Sure enough, as she drove past us, there was some type of animal in the backseat. We ran around the house just in time to see her drop the tailgate of the ...

      Back when I was "in my prime", I used to think of myself as a pretty good rider. Western, anyway. I could never quite get the hang of posting a trot, or master the art of jumping. Not that I didn't try, however.      One evening after supper, I went over to Zenya's house to try jumping our horses with her. At this point, she had tired of riding my old nags, and had bought her own horse, a part Arabian that loved to jump.      As Angel and I headed over the road, I hummed to myself in anticipation of the evenings events. Angel, my Quarter Horse type mare, had jumped over fallen logs and streams without hesitation on the trail, so I thought a few small jumps in an open field would seem like a piece of cake to the old girl.     We trotted around the corner of Zenya's house, and I saw Teke and Zenya out in the field, heading for the next jump. As graceful as any horse I had seen on television or at a ho...

       As I mentioned in my last blog, I have been watching way too much television lately. I don't usually pay much attention to the commercials but a few have caught my eye lately and I have been giving them much thought. I guess I am really out of the loop, because I hadn't heard of this plague that has apparently been causing a lot of issues for many people, according to the number of advertisements I have seen. Frankly, I hardly dare go outside any more, lest I come across one of the bad boys.        I am sure there are many readers out in "Blog-land" that are by far more sophisticated and aware then I am. Perhaps you can fill me in on what it is exactly I should be looking for, so I can protect myself and my family from the potential dangers that are associated with these terrible creatures.       According to the commercials, these beasts seem to stalk middle aged people, and they can do it ins...

Liam as Mr Drysdale, ready to defend Homeland Farm      I have a really good reason for not having posted anything in the last couple days. I got caught up in reality television. I really don't watch much T.V. at all, with the exception of an occasional cooking show and the news. Oh, and of course, reruns of "The Walton's".  Recently though, Liam was watching a couple different shows, and well, I got sucked in. Boy, do they ever have some odd shows on television these days. It is apparent that they are really grasping at straws for show ideas.     Which gave me an idea for tonight's blog. I am thinking us folks at Homeland Farm need a reality show. We just need to decide what it is going to be about, and then we will start filming A&E channels newest hit show. I think the storyline will be a bunch of shows all rolled into one. Here is what I've got so far....       The intro has to be catchy, of course..to lure the vi...

    Owning a farm with a variety of animals made it hard for our family to get away for a vacation, or even an overnight camping trip for that matter. So, my siblings and I would pitch our old canvas tent at home, and pretend we were out deep in the wilderness, surrounded by wild creatures. We had a lot of fun in that old tent, but one memory sticks out in my mind the most     My sister and I decided one steamy summer night that we wanted to "camp out." While my mother packed our snacks, Kim and I lugged our pillows and sleeping bags over to the tent that my father had set up earlier that day. Now for some unknown reason, we always pitched the tent in the horse pasture, underneath one of the apple trees. Every year after we set it up, the horses and steers would check it out carefully, then pretty much ignore it the rest of the summer.       Kim and I made several trips across the pasture hauling our "supplies" for the night. You ...