Life on a Ranch

Over the course of two weeks we’ve: started draining hoses between uses, wrapped up high school volleyball season (with a loss to Imbler in the second round of state play-offs), Cooper played in his first junior high basketball games, Buck filled a Catherine Creek bull tag, I celebrated a birthday, we picked out Lucy’s senior pictures, Lucy and I planned a trip to Nebraska, we had an election, the girls and I visited with Grandma Janie, the kids have done a bunch of duck hunting, I coordinated a holiday greenery fundraiser for the senior class (my kitchen table is currently covered with order forms, checks and lists), we’ve doctored some calves, turned some calves out, sold some calves and started feeding some, too. Buck and Lucy brought the cows to our winter-feeding ground where there’s plenty of fall feed left to graze, for now. And last, but certainly not least, we’ve saved some daylight. Since we’re saving daylight, the evenings are getting longer and longer by the day. This isn’t my favorite season, but I'll try to embrace doing chores in the dark and feeling like it’s bedtime before evening meetings, games and activities have even begun. Buck and I took out the ol’ cribbage board a couple of weeks ago. We planned to play with my parents while they were here to watch volleyball, but never managed to sit down and deal out the cards. We’re practicing for Thanksgiving, making sure we have our "AGame" on because my Dad is ruthless for stealing points if you miss them. The long evenings give us ample time to practice- making sure we're prepped and ready for any card combination that comes our way! I also have a stack of books to read, and I have plans to dive into those soon. Considering the list of things we’ve done in the last two weeks, it would probably make sense to start at the top and work my way through, but I think I’ll pick and choose which ones to elaborate on and which ones to keep you wondering about! Let’s start with Grandma Janie as I’m sure many of you would enjoy an update on the matriarch of this column. I should note that she’s Grandma Janie to Buck (and me, by marriage) along with a bunch of Buck’s cousins. Then, she’s Great Grandma Janie to our kids and over thirty other great grands. And she’s awfully proud to share that she now has a Great Great Granddaughter and a Great Great Grandson! After you wrap your mind around how incredible that is… this weekend, Lucy, Katelyn and I were headed up to Wallowa County to see, and pick out, Lucy’s senior pictures from our friend and photographer, Charity Ketscher. Having not seen Grandma Janie in quite some time, we called to see if she’d be home so we could stop in for a visit on our way to Charity’s. Not only was she going to be around (after church), but she fixed lunch for us, too. I know in years’ past, Janie journaled about the meals she cooked and the food she canned when she wrote here at Agri-Times, but I’m sincere when I say, there’s no food like Grandma Janie food. She fixed beef and vegetable soup with stewed tomatoes and carrots- all vegetables she grew, of course. She showed us the racks where she started her tomato plants. The racks sit in the big southwest facing windows where the bright spring sun shines in over Ruby Peak. She started the seeds, grew the plants, picked the fruit, stewed and canned the tomatoes and saved seeds so she can grow more next spring. “Every year I say I’m not going to do a garden again and then, well, I guess I just do it anyway!” (I wonder how many 91 year olds have said that before?) She made hot open faced sourdough cheese sandwiches to go with the soup. And then to top it off, she had Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookies and her own canned pears for dessert. We sat at her kitchen table, eating together, while Grandma Janie told stories. She also answered questions- parts of her story that I’ve missed, or couldn’t quite remember the details of. She told us about all the activities she’s still involved in, including but not limited to, two different writer’s groups. She shared about the hospital foundation dinner the night before where she auctioned off a Huckleberry Pancake breakfast. The winners (who paid a lot of money for this experience!) get to go to her cabin on the creek in Imnaha where she will cook them breakfast. In one lunch together, the girls learned all sorts of interesting things about their Great Grandma Janie. And just like the sourdough bread did with the soup, they soaked it right up. When it was time to go, we hugged and said our goodbyes and I snapped a picture. The rest of our day was filled with picking out those senior pictures. Upon arrival, Charity showed us a slideshow of all the photos she took at Lucy’s session in August. I cried (surprise!) because she captured our girl so well. She not only captured our girl, but also managed to include her favorite horses and Kit-our-favorite-cow-dog, as well as her favorite places- the Mt. Harris Road that overlooks the valley and Frisch’s wheat fields, and she even included Lucy’s favorite thing- her pickup. After seeing all the shots, we sorted and picked out the ones we liked the most and designed graduation announcements and cards and yearbook pictures. By the time we neared the end, it was dinner time and Charity made taco soup. We were the lucky recipients of two delicious meals in one trip to Wallowa County! We made a quick stop at Luke and Callie’s on our way out, then hit the road for home. As we drove, we talked about the pictures, but we primarily talked about our time with Grandma Janie. It was really fun to hear our girls start to put the puzzle pieces of their extended family together- which grandkids go with which of Janie’s four kids and which great grandkids go with which grandkid. Lucy, Katelyn and Cooper have grown up with a lot of cousins- some they know well and others they’ve only seen a time or two. They’re old enough to sort it out now and they not only sorted it out, but asked questions about Grandma Janie’s life. They wanted to know more about the early years of her marriage to their Great Grandpa Lyman, who they never met and neither did I. They weren’t the only ones to wonder. We made it home after bedtime, and Buck's sciatic pain was keeping him awake. Then I did, too, by distracting him from his pain with lots of questions about his family. With that, I better get this wrapped up. I realize I didn’t make it very far on my list. Next time I’ll give you a full report on Nebraska. A quick hint- there’s a college to look at and we're planning to see one of those cousins I mentioned, too. I’ll also let you know if Buck and I manage to keep our cribbage points away from my Dad after we celebrate Thanksgiving at the coast. Until then, we’ll enjoy a lil’ bit of saved daylight and make the best of the long dark evenings, right out here in Union County!