Sunday, August 17, 2008

And Then He Is Gone...

My honey came for the weekend. It was soooo good to see him. But, I didn't give him much of a chance to rest. I had a long "honey-do" list of things I needed his assistance with. First and foremost was some long-overdue cleanup at my ranch. It took me awhile to get rolling on Thursday. After a long day of showing, the day before, all I wanted to do was rest up...but my honey only has limited time and finally he got my butt in gear.

We went to mom's, fired up one of the tractors and roaded it down to the ranch...
This is what is left of what was once our "shop"...
The buildings on my ranch are old, old, old.
This is one that my brother started to tear down a few years ago, never got the job finished and last year it finally fell over.
Originally, I had wanted to burn it and then just remove the debris. But since it is close to the house, mom was afraid that any sparks could set the roof of the house on fire. She decided the best thing to do was place the debris along the creek bank behind the house.
Since the bank is washing out and getting closer and closer to the house every year, this seemed like a good idea. The wood will rot and hold the dirt for awhile. I was glad Chris was good enough to do this part. I didn't want to be the one doing it. I could just see me forgetting to put the tractor in reverse and driving off the bank. (Gulp)

So while my honey manned the tractor, me and the kids worked on the little stuff...
Everything is old on this place. This is the forge that used to be in my great-grandfather's livery...
This grinding stone is probably close to a hundred years old too...
Heres an old corn grinder. I can remember my grandpa showing my brother and I how it worked when we were little kids. We thought it was so cool. We were always sneaking ears of corn to grind up...
Of course, moving all this junk, especially this time of year, requires a person to be VERY careful...
Look away Mikey!! My big, killin' machine got himself a little rattler...
The next load produced this much larger bull snake...
He got a little damaged, but I think he will be alright. Megan and I rather like snakes...as long as they are NOT poisonous!!!
Ta-Da!!!

The next day we went back and I put the kids to work on nail detail...
A friend of mine lent me his rolling magnet. Man, that thing is AWESOME!! They ended up gathering up about 20lbs of old nails, screws and odds and ends of little metal. I had to stay on them though, every time I turned my back, it went from nail detail to snail detail. What else can you expect from two teenagers...especially when they are dating-LOL.

Chris and I moved onto moving the rest of the old stuff out of the yard. Aren't these old iron rims cool. Oh yea...I am so saving them!!
This is the neatest little wagon. The box is ka-pute but the axles and rims are good, so I have dreams of rebuilding it. I even found the original wooden seat for it...
The one thing my great-grandfather, my grandfather or my dad never did was get rid of anything!! I forgot to get a picture of all of the old horse-drawn equipment that we moved and lined up, outside of the "lane". Some of it was converted to be used with tractors, so the tongues are gone, but a lot of it still have the original wooden tongues. Very cool...
Now that my hard-working, looking-good in that tractor honey has helped me get this yard cleaned up, it will make it much easier to sort through things this winter. There are trailer loads of scrap-iron that need to be hauled out, both here and at mom's. Never fear, the cool stuff will be staying for at least another couple of generations!!

13 comments:

Mikey said...

AAAGGGHHHH!! No, lol, y'all do what you want with the rattlers, lmao. I was totally into that old forge though, you best not part with any of that stuff. That is SO COOL!!!
Really really neat stuff there. You guys are one heck of a work crew. Way to get stuff done!

Flying Lily said...

Oh wow you have stuff your grandpa made!!! And worked with...I am so in admiration. We lose them so fast these days, and all their skill and work just can disappear....I'm glad you are holding on to some of it and maybe even rehabbing it. Very cool.

Mrs. Mom said...

Dude. Snakes.

Ugh. (Mikey, every time you do a snake post, I have to look away..lol)

Way cool that Honey Buns there was able to come home and get so much done with you!

Cant wait to see all the old horse drawn stuff--- that always makes me wonder what it was like "back then" ya know?

kdwhorses said...

Sounds like you all were very productive!!! That is some cool stuff laying around! UGH~you can keep the snakes there! I haven't seen any in awhile!! I agree waiting to see the horse drawn stuff, how cool that shall be!?!?!

Callie said...

Wow, A lot a clean up! Yuk! A rattle snake! Yuk Any snake! I'd be screamin'!

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Chris was so disappointed! He only got to kill 2 rattlers this weekend. This one and one more on the road.

Finding the bull snake and the rattlesnake in the same spot dispels the old myth that bull snakes kill rattlers. To my knowledge the only other snake that will kill a rattlesnake is a king snake. Unfortunately, we don't have any kings up here. We did have a really nice big king at our house in AZ. Never once saw a rattler there!

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

I love that those gadgets have been passed down through so many generations. You brought back memories of my brother and I going on snake hunts. I love snakes. I once had a king snake slither up beside me while I sat on the side of a river bank. It was perfectly content sitting next to me until my brother came along and threw a rock at it because he thought it was a rattler.

Train Wreck said...

Oh Please, Please, Please... tell me, that wasn't old barn wood! Weathered, grey, lots of knots, beautiful, barnwood? The kind I need so desperatley to make frmaes for my art!? That would've been a reason to come visit!
All that old stuff is awesome! I love the ginding wheel! We had one when I was little, My parents had old wagons in our yard too. We have an old horse drawn blade in our front yard! I love it! My dad keeps telling me I need to paint it! What No Way! I love that rusty look! If you ever decide to get rid of those wheels we are looking for two for our front gate. Or hey, there is an idea for you!! Snakes eeee shudder!!

LatigoLiz said...

Ditto on what TW said about the barn wood! I would LOVE to have some of that stuff!!!

Trailboss said...

I'm with you mrs mom about the snakes. I don't look away but I am thankful they are just pictures on my computer. I am sooooo afraid of them. Since I was bit by a Copperhead at the tender age of 5 they put the fear in me for sure.

I love all the old stuff. Glad you are keeping what you can for the next generation to enjoy.

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Don't worry girls-the good wood was salvaged. That's why the building fell over-LOL.

TB-My brother was bit by a rattler and is terrified of snakes. He will flat run over you if you are in his way. My grandmother got bit by one too and that just pissed her off. They lasted about 2 seconds around her after that.

Andrea said...

THose snakes are creepy! Yikes, you two are brave! What fun treasures! I love those old rims too! It looked really great all cleaned up!

Carroll Farm said...

Love the old stuff. My dad has always had two or four old wagon wheels somewhere on our property set up in the dirt and blocking or decorating something. Love the pictures! We haven't seen any snakes yet - KNOCK ON WOOD - my girls have been keeping their eyes open too. LOL I think they are all going to Mikey's- they all know that MIkey will save them and I won't. I don't mind the non-poison ones - we actually had 2 kings and a boa in our house for years - in a cage of course.