A New Direction

Sunset at Wild Horse Ranch

I have been a bit slower to post this past month, as we have been working hard on the new direction our life is taking. Preparing for full-time living in an RV and travel trailer has meant major renovation to the travel trailer, which I will post about in the weeks to come, and getting animals to the vet, to update shots and such.

The horses are now safely ensconced in their new home in Northern Colorado, under the watchful care of my daughter, the horse lover. We are taking a little break, to enjoy a late Thanksgiving and early Christmas together, and then will head back to the homestead to put the finishing touches on the travel trailer before heading up to the grandparents' in Southern Colorado, where we will spend the holidays. Both of these towns are wonderful, and I am excited to explore them and write about them in the coming year. There are lots of farms and dairies, local beekeepers and other homesteaders. As well as all kinds of activities and points of interest for travelers.

Moonrise over Wild Horse Ranch

For now, here are a couple of pictures of the horses enjoying Wild Horse Ranch. I hope to post a couple more times in the coming weeks, and then more often again after New Year's. Looking forward to sharing about our Homestead on the road.

If you liked this post, you might enjoy:

Outfitting the RV - DIY Mattresses and Drapes

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Simplifying the Homestead

Homesteading on the Road

Remembering Why I Moved to the Country

The llama in the playhouse.

My extended stay in the Big City this year has served as a good reminder to me of why I moved out to the country.  The endless miles of cement and asphalt, cookie cutter houses with postage stamp yards, piles of rules regulating everything from garage sales to whether you can walk down the street with your child on a school day.  The gray skies that sometimes open up to blue by mid-day.  The 24 hour traffic.  The constant noise.  The overwhelming amount of activity.  The brown haze that obscures the mountains from view.  The over-chlorinated pools.  The speed at which life flies by.

Yet, there have been advantages.  Walking to daily Mass.  Spending time with my dad, my older children, my grandson, and my cousins.  Being present for the many special events that took place with my family this summer.  Seeing some old friends and making some new.  Then, there are those things that can only happen in Southern California:  black beans, lettuce and ranch dressing as pizza toppings.  Spending the morning in the mountains and the afternoon at the beach.  Hummer stretch limos.

Caught in the act.

Coming home was not without its problems.  I lost my entire sheep herd while I was gone.  One mama and baby in lambing, the other mama and baby to coyotes.  My rascally goats spent the summer systematically working their fence until they could open up a section.  So we have been systematically closing up each new hole and reinforcing the fence.  Fencing on the homestead is a never ending project.  My dog ran off to parts unknown, though she was last spotted playing with some campers visiting from another area.  I hope they're giving her a good home.

The new dogs are awesome.  The llamas were utterly displeased with sharing the back yard with them, however, so a new pen has been constructed for them.  It does have a nice shed, which, when cleaned out, will make as nice a shelter as the playhouse they were using in the back yard.

Home sweet home.

I've lost the ten pounds I gained just getting back to my normal routine and diet.  We do have a few new neighbors, creating some extra noise in my peaceful haven, but I am sure glad to be home.  Ten acres on a dirt road with clear skies trumps asphalt and constant highway noise any old day.

Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls, (c)2009, SimonandSchuster

This was a book club read, primarily because much of it takes place in our own area of Ash Fork, Seligman and Red Lake, AZ.  We also found out that the husband of one of our members grew up with the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who is the subject of the book - boy, that was an interesting discussion!  After reading Shy Boy, the descriptions of breaking the ranch horses was rather disturbing.  But there is one section where the truck Lily and her daughter are driving breaks down in the middle of the range and the best option is to coax a wild horse into helping them.,  It was nearly Shy Boy all over again.  But only for that brief moment.  The most interesting part of this book was the description of daily ranch life and travel during the Great Depression and the Great War (WWII).

To read about how children were reaised and treated at that time made me glad for improvements in attitudes toward childrearing.  At 15 years of age, after spending 10 years working her father's ranch and breaking horses, Lily Casey Smith rode solo, on horseback, from New Mexico to Northern Arizona to work as a teacher in the district of Red Lake.  Her courage and resolve were inspiring.  There are also stories of Lily and her siblings narrowly surviving flash floods, tornadoes, and living in a sod house. 

I could relate to her feelings about the big cities of Chicago and Phoenix.  Culture and modern comforts are nice, but too many people.  My favorite lines are when Lily tells her husband "In the city people worry about themselves.  In the country we worry about the weather and the livestock." 

No compensation was received for this review.  I checked this book out from my local library;)

Shy Boy - The Horse That Came In From The Wild

Shy Boy - The Horse That Came In From The Wild, by Monty Roberts, (c)1999, HarperCollinsPublishers

I love this story about Monty Roberts' introduction to the wild mustang and his happening upon the language of horses which led to his great success in starting and rehabilitating dozens of horses, travelling the world to teach others to do the same.


Roberts tells the story of the wild horse, from its' origins in North America and migration to Europe and Asia, to its' arrival back in North America with Spanish explorers. From herds of millions which once roamed the great plains, to a few thousand survivors of government roundups, sport hunts and starvation. He also narrates the evolution of horse training, from brute force, to gentle cooperation. Nearly all these techniques have been around since man first decided to ride a horse but brute force tends to be thought the quicker, more popular way to "break" a horse. To get a horse to want to cooperate often takes more time and patience than most people have. Roberts shows in Shy Boy's story, that taking that time is far more important in the long run than just quickly getting a saddle on. The proof is at the end of the book, when Shy Boy make his final choice between the herd and his gentler...

No compensation was received for this review.  I checked this book out from my local library;)

Andi's Fair Surprise

Andi's Fair Surprise, one of the Circle C Beginnings books by Susan K. Marlow, introduces 6 year old Andi and her ranch family to young readers.  Written for ages 6-8, these chapter books take early readers on a rollicking ranch adventure in 1870's California. 

My 7 year old son was into this book before we left the post office with it and finished the first two chapeters by the time we got home.  He could not put it down.  I went to the Andi and Taffy website and downloaded the FREE activity booklet, with mazes, vocabulary, math, writing, history and crafts and printed it out for him.  We used it as a unit study for the next two days.  Then, without prompting, he wrote a short story about the book!  It is so exciting when something clicks!




The Circle C Beginnings books are great "living" books, portraying California ranch life in the 1800's.

Even weeks later, my son still has a renewed appreciation for his "farm life" and enjoying nature.  He frequently looks out the window for his "TV", watching our critters roam and play.  His cowboy make-believe has take on new aspects inspired by Andi's Fair Surprise.  He is teaching himself to throw a lasso, though the goats know they're safe for the time being...  He has finally summoned up the courage to try horseback riding again. 




I can't wait to get the whole set of these books.  I learned with my older sons - when something inspires a boy to read you get it!  Four books are available in the Circle C Beginnings series, with 2 more due out in August.  They can be purchased at Kregel Publications or personalized for your child at Andi and Taffy for only $4.99 each, $9.98 for 2 or $15.96 for all 4, plus shipping.  The FREE activity books and coloring pages can be downloaded at the Andi and Taffy website.

Other crew members reviewed some of the other Circle C Beginnings books as well as this one.  See what other Homeschool Crew Members had to say about this series.

We received one copy of "Andi's Fair Surprise" in paperback for us to evaluate and enjoy.  No other compensation was received for this review.