|
Books About Life on a Farm Written Especially for People Who Like to Read! "Highly recommended reading." The Midwest Book Review Reviews & Readers' Comments |
LeAnn R. Ralph Rural Route 2 Author E6689 970th Ave. Colfax, WI 54730 (715) 308-6336 |
| |||
| |
|
by LeAnn R. Ralph When I lived southern Wisconsin, where there is a much more urban atmosphere than the rural community where I had grown up, I decided it was possible to take the girl off the farm - but you couldn't take the farm out of the girl. Living in a house that had a stamp-sized lawn and was surrounded by other houses just didn't do it for me. Even if the house WAS out in the country on the shores of a lake. Then one day, I realized I wanted a horse. I missed having a horse. My old Standardbred mare, who had stayed in west central Wisconsin with my father, was too far advanced in years to consider moving her. And besides, then Dad wouldn't have had any chores to do. You know how it is with old farmers. You can retire an old farmer, but you can't expect him to sit around and do nothing. So, I went to a stable just outside town. I bought a quarter horse from the owners that they had acquired because someone couldn't pay the board on him. A beautiful friendship was born, both with the horse and with the owners of the stable. The stable specialized in Tennessee Walking Horses, boarding, training and breeding horses. With about 70 head of horses to feed, you can imagine how many thousands of bales of hay they needed. I loved going out to the farm. Not just to see my horse, but because it was a FARM, complete with cats, dogs, wild birds, lots of open space - and chores. I probably spent more time out there working around the farm than I did riding my horse. And as is true with all farms, you can never have too many people to help at haying time. So, I'd find myself unloading wagons or up in the mow, stacking bales. Sweat dripping in my eyes. Hay chaff sticking to my arms. Sneezing from the dust. I enjoyed it immensely. One or twice, though, I told the stable owners they were going about this haying business all wrong. "There are lots of people in Chicago who would love this kind of an aerobic workout," I'd say. (The town I lived in was about a two-hour drive from Chicago, Illinois.) "You could advertise it in the papers down there as an All Natural Aerobic Workout Week On The Farm. People would pay YOU to come do the work." Think about it. All those city people who spend hours in a gym, working to strengthen their muscles. All those people who spend hours running around tracks or around neighborhoods. All those city people who think the country is so charming - and who would gladly pay for the privilege of spending a week on a real, working farm. As far as I am concerned, going to a gym is a useless waste of calories. If I'm going to work THAT hard, I'd like to have something to show for it, like a new fence, or a newly-painted barn, some clean stalls, or a few thousand bales of hay put up. So how about it? Do you think any of those city folk in the Twin Cities area - only a short two-hour drive away from where I live now - would be interested in an All Natural Aerobic Workout Week On The Farm? I'm SURE I could find some hay that needs baling, fences that need mending, or perhaps even a barn to paint. LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the farm books: "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm) (trade paperback; July 2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback; October 2004); "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories)" (e-book; April 2004). |
|
 Home Books Preserve Your Family History Sample Chapters Articles Free Recipes Biography More True Stories Newsletter LeAnn's Blog Links Photo Album Reviews & Comments |
|
Privacy Policy: Any information you provide to Rural Route 2 will be kept strictly confidential and will not be not given to any third parties. Telephone number is requested in case LeAnn needs to contact you about your order. E-mail address is requested so LeAnn can confirm your order. This Web Site and All Its Contents are Copyright © 2008 LeAnn R. Ralph. All Rights Reserved |
