Christmas at Our Family Farm

~It's kind of exciting not knowing what's coming next.~

~Anonymous~

I know this is totally late, but the following text is what I wrote for the January Horsefly (one of the reasons I didn't do much posting after Christmas)...and wanted to share it with you. I'm adding a lot more photos than were printed in the publication...as usual (you know me!).

The View From My Saddle

You know, I’ve heard that it’s not a good idea to go back to a place you sold; it’s usually worse for wear and always a disappointment. In this instance, we didn’t sell our family farm, but when my father and uncle retired, they divided the farm which was located south of Hillsboro ,and my uncle sold his half a few years later.


After the new owners took over, they tore down the old two-story farm house I lived in for years as a child and replaced it with a manufactured home. That was hard to take. But the worst was yet to come. I remember the day I drove up the driveway for a visit and the old barn was gone. I was angry. I was hurt. A part of my life was gone…forever.


That old barn was the nucleus of my childhood. From hay forts and the smell of burnin’ calf hair on branding day to little girls spending a night in the barn for a sleep-over and getting my horse ready for 4-H fair; that old barn was my life.


Time has healed the wounds. I enjoy just remembering the way it was. My younger brother now owns the farm and has done wonderful improvements to not only the house that my mom and dad built, but has also built a cabin down at the irrigation pond.

My dad built this irrigation pond way back when.
It's fed by a stream. The deepest part is probably 13-15 feet or so.

The Cabin.
It comes with a pot bellied stove, running water, and electricity powered by a generator.
There's a half loft above with a bed. Totally cozy!!!

We spent Christmas Eve afternoon at the cabin playing
 the card game "Euchre" and eating popcorn.
Cindy Sue was trying to get a corner of the dog bed,
but Bella Jo was being a bed hog!

What would a cabin in the woods be without a matching outhouse?!?

Peace and tranquility.

The dock sees a lot of activity in the summer. Big kids and little kids alike are out there
with their fishing poles catching bass, catfish and blue gill.
The boat ties up to the dock.

The annual family Christmas Eve gathering was held at the farm this year. My husband and I spent three nights there and enjoyed every minute.

My favorite meal of all were these stuffed Cornish game hens...
(my brother's not too bad of a chef for a general contractor)

...along with these "fresh from Boston" lobster!!! Serious...they were still alive
when they got plopped into the boiling water...the best I've ever tasted!

Spending time at the pond and cabin brought back childhood memories of summers swimming and catching pollywogs and extreme winters when it froze over and the church youth group came out and we played hockey. Ah…the good ol’ days.

So, life goes on no matter what happens. Mom and dad would be mighty proud of our family farm now; even with the changes.

It’s good to know that the land is still in the family. It’s cared for and loved by all of us.


Well, that was our wonderful Christmas trip. The weather was pretty good going over the passes and we also got to visit friends. But, as always, we were sure glad to be home!

NOTE: The nursery stock you see in some of the photos is on the property that my uncle had owned. My brother raises a few Christmas trees, but leases out the majority of the land to another farmer.