Last week, I was sitting on the couch enjoying a second cup of coffee when I heard the tractor start. Wonderful — Scott was already unloading the trailer of logs to be split for firewood for our winter fires. Well, I wasn’t going to miss out on that! I jumped up, threw on the clothes I wore the day before, grabbed the closest pair of shoes, work gloves, and a jacket, and headed outside.

There are few sites as beautiful as a morning in the Colorado Rockies. We had rain the night before, so there was dew on the grass and on the ponderosa pines. Normally, in this dry climate, we don’t see dew in the morning, so it was a rare treat. The jacket lasted about 10 minutes before it was thrown off. Yes, it was work, but I found it to be exhilarating. It’s nice to enjoy the autumn season and the crisp temperatures but it’s also fun to imagine our morning fires any day the temperatures dips below freezing.

We live on a ranch. There are cattle on the property, but they are owned by a neighbor rancher who rents out the land for grazing. I enjoy seeing the cows around the ranch and watching the calves play. On occasion, we chase them out of our front yard.

I grew up on a farm in North Dakota and I do know how hard my parents worked. I understand farming. We had cattle, horses, sheep, and chickens. I had chores around the house and gardens, and a few chores around the barns, especially during lambing season. My life now is vastly different, even if we live on a ranch.

Scott helps maintain the ranch roads in the winter but that is the extent of “working the ranch” for Scott. He keeps busy finishing the construction of the shop, replenishing our supply of firewood, and completing all the projects I put on the “honey-do” list. For the most part, my ranch life is porch life! I love sitting on the porch under the aspens,
enjoying the mountain views, watching the deer, the cows, an occasional bear, and listening to the coyotes howl in the evenings.

So, a little log hauling and splitting is a very good thing. This is our life living on the ranch. We love it and we are blessed! There is no point to this blog. I’m just feeling very thankful. I hope you will look at your life and find a multitude of reasons to be thankful to our God also!

Today, and always, we are surrounded by HIS grace,
Debbie