Ranch Raised

As I rode into that lake to grab a rope hanging off the bull or get him to dry ground, I realized I now had water over my saddle horn. I thought to myself, I shouldn’t be getting this deep on my big, bay gelding, Wrangler. Then I could feel my horse shifting underneath me and I knew I had to quickly kick free and swim away from my horse because he decided to take full advantage of the cool deep water and submerge himself and roll.

As I left off yesterday, I can tell you from first hand experience how important swimming lessons are even for ranch kids who may never hit the pool other than that week of summer lessons.

While there are a lot of life skills that I love teaching our kids, there are some areas I have to recognize that I am not a master of and defer to others for help. Learning to swim is a life skill that is not used a lot on the ranch, but I feel very passionately as a parent that my kids are equipped to handle themselves in the water.

I feel like it is time to revisit a subject I talked about in the fall, and that subject is, navigating these rural roads and highways safely! If you are tuning in today, I would venture to say, you are a commuter on rural roads and highways at some point during your day or week.

We were able to enjoy a few hours in our local small town enjoying the hard work of a committee who has been dedicated to providing a couple days of small-town fun for our area.

I could not let June pass by without celebrating National Dairy Month! National Dairy Month started out as National Milk Month in 1937 as a way to promote drinking milk. From calcium to potassium, dairy products like milk contain nine essential nutrients which may help to better manage your weight, reduce your risk for high blood pressure, osteoporosis and certain cancers.

In communities across the land, it is summer celebration season! Listening to the radio as you are driving along checking cows or knocking down hay, it is right in front of you, we are in the middle of what makes rural America great, celebrating community!

I am always looking for new ways to use my garden goodies in the kitchen. Is the word I am looking for, “utilitarian”? Like, I want nothing to go to waste. I want to utilize every little bit of garden goodness.

If anyone thinks that life on the ranch slows down and becomes a beautiful western, romantic novel during the summer months, they are actually reading a dystopian fiction novel!

The word of the week shall be “hydration”! Thanks for tuning in to Ranch Raised!
It seems like most of the midwest from from a cool spring to squelching summer, in a hurry!