Remembering

I am a mish-mash of many different people. I don't know if it is normal or if I am unusual in that. With a fractured family tree there are many many branches.

This last weekend I flew back to say goodbye to my grandmother, Mur.

I became part of her family through marriage. Not mine. My Dad's. When I was six I gained a step-family. Soon after the wedding in Texas I went with this new part of my family to Oklahoma to visit my step-mom's parents. I did not know at the time the impact they would have on me.

I'm not even sure I realized until very recently the truly full impact. Of course I saw it in my involvement with horses. As I visited the farm this last trip, I walked the paddock where I rode for the first time. I ran my hand along the welded pipe fencing that I climbed over and through so many times over the years. That impact on my life was easy to see. There were things that were deeper that are just now coming to the surface.

The paddock where I first learned to ride.

It wasn't until I sat there during the funeral service that I started counting the ways Mur has influenced my life. My recipe book is filled with "from Mur" recipes. My children watch (and will soon help!) me snap green beans. When we have beans and cornbread I always serve it with pear relish (a "from Mur" recipe) that I have canned myself (just as she did). Growing a garden...Snickerdoodles... Red Velvet Cake... Goulash... And the list goes on.

But, it's not just the physical actions in which I see my grandmother. The real impact from her was with the acceptance and inclusion. Whether or not you were family, you were family. I felt it in a very real way when I knew without a doubt that I would be welcome at their house always. Even after my dad and step-mom split.

During my first trip to the farm after the divorce of my dad and step-mom, Mur pulled me aside and reiterated that I was family, no matter what.

The pear tree where Mur would send me if I wanted pear cobbler. -which I always did!

I usually spent about a month in Oklahoma in the summer. There was always someone extra at the dinner table - and if you are from the south you know that by "dinner" I mean the middle of the day meal. Mur came from the generation that always extended an invitation to whomever was around after church.

I learned hospitality from Mur, and how to serve a big group.

If I were to ask my grandparents why they were the way they were, I know the answer I would get. They would look at me and say, "Because that is what God calls us to." They really believed that and lived what they believed every. single. day.

The "Back 80".  The best place ever for a girl and a horse. It has about 60 acres of open space. 

Mur and Pa might not have taught me the subtleties of theology, but they did teach me simple faith. That lesson has carried me through many hard times. Sometimes it doesn't matter whether I am a Calvinist or a Wesleyan; whether I believe in predestination or not. Sometimes it is just enough to know that Jesus loves me. That is what Mur taught me. Over and over at the funeral service I heard how Mur wanted everyone to know that Jesus loved them.

I will always be grateful for the wonderful memories and for the things that I learned in Oklahoma. This last weekend I walked through the 200+ acres that comprised the farm. As I walked I had so many sweet memories come back to me. Everywhere I looked I remembered being on horseback. I rode several different horses over the years and each had it's own season. One horse I rode up and down the creek and through most of the treed areas. Another horse was the first one I ever swam. That was a fun experience. There was the horse I jumped and the horse that dumped and drug me. I saw the pond that I learned to fish in.


Good memories!

The pond I first swam a horse. The water is super low this year.

  The creek bed that I used to ride up and down. Again, super low on water.

So, when birthdays come around I will continue to make red velvet cakes. I will add bread crumbs when I saute vegetables.

And, I will strive to show the hospitality that was modeled for me.

Oklahoma red dirt

When I think of dessert at the farm I think of Mur's scotch cake. I have no idea how it got its name, but it was always yummy.

Mur's Scotch Cake

2 C Flour

2 C Sugar

1 Stick Butter (1/2 C)

4 T cocoa powder

1 C water

1 t Cinnamon

1/2 C Buttermilk

1 t Vanilla

2 Eggs

1 t Soda

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and soda in a bowl. In a sauce pan mix butter, water and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Pour cocoa mixture into flour mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Icing

1 stick butter (1/2 C)

6 T milk

4 T cocoa

1 box powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

In a sauce pan bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil. Add other ingredients. Mix well pour over warm cake.

Wordless Wednesday

Farm Blog

I will no longer be blogging about the farm here. Instead I will be blogging about our farm at http://washingtonfarmerchick.blogspot.com/ Come see the animals there!

Finley

Bella had her baby on Sunday evening. And, it's a girl!

Meet Finley! 

It was quite exciting. Sunday morning I got up and checked Bella and found that she had "lost" her ligaments. There are two ligaments that run diagonally from just above the tail. When those loosen enough that you can no longer feel them then delivery will be within 24 hours. So I got my kit and pulled up a chair. And waited, and waited, and waited. She was showing signs of early labor off and on all day until about 5pm when her stage 2 labor started and she was ready to deliver.

My concern was that Bella would only have one kid thus making for a larger baby for her first delivery. Unfortunately I was right. When a doe kids you want to see little hooves first followed quickly by a nose (or two back feet). We only saw a little nose. The baby's feet were tucked back. I gave her a few minutes to see if she was going to be able to deliver, but it appeared that the baby was stuck. I was able to go in and find one foot and gently pull that one forward, but I couldn't find the other front foot. The foot was straight back. A doe can deliver that way and Bella probably could have delivered if it had been twins (because chances are they would have been smaller), but with the baby being bigger her shoulder was caught on Bella's pelvic bone. I ended up sliding my hand along the top of Finley and down over her shoulder during a contraction and dislodging the shoulder and allowing her to slide on out.

There were a few tense moments, but it was wonderful to see a healthy baby doeling slide out and see Bella get right to work cleaning her up. Bella was a little bit of an overzealous mom. All she did was lick Finley and Finley couldn't get close enough to eat. We had to hold Bella to let Finley eat the first couple of times. They have now both settled in and are doing well now.

Here are some pictures of the delivery (*warning, they are a bit graphic)...






Here I am trying to find the feet

Here I've found one foot and the head is out. We couldn't get past this point until I dislodged the shoulder.

Here is Bella cleaning up Finley. I dried off the major goo and cleaned up around the nose and mouth, but let Bella do the rest. It was a nice warm sunny day, so I wasn't worried about Finley getting too cold in the process. 

First time up on her feet! It was hard to stand with that much licking from mom.

Holding Bella while Finley got her first drink.

My mom and her husband were over for the big event. The original plan was to let the kids watch, but when the birth didn't go as planned my Mom took the kids inside and kept them busy (Thanks, Mom!) until we were sure that everything was going to turn out ok. Here is my son meeting Finley for the first time.

Finley at 2 hours old.

The plan is to keep Finley and breed her when she gets close to 1 year old. After all that work I don't think I could sell her anyway. She is exactly what we wanted (and she has ears!)