Ranch Wife's Slant

Cowboys, kids, and ranch life

Category: Home Sweet Home

  • Putting Food By Using A Dehydrator

    When I got married I used some of our wedding money to buy a food dehydrator and extra trays. Unlike some appliances I’ve bought, I’ve never regretted getting a dehydrator. I still use mine a lot. I originally bought my dehydrator to dry fruits but I’ve ended up using it more for vegetables and making…

  • Plays Well with Words

    I like to use idioms and puns in my writing to add interest to my column. I enjoy surprising the reader or making them wonder if a pun was intended or not. The Free Dictionary is an online tool I use for looking up idioms. Sometimes I look an idiom up to see if the meaning…

  • The View Outside My Office Window

    During the summer I spend a good chunk of my time looking out the window while I work…and think.   Sometimes I let other noises besides my inner voice like the radio, break into my long train of thoughts. I absorb enough news on the radio to last me for another whole year when I’m…

  • Beef Recipes from A to Z

    One of the things I love about cooking with beef is the many different ways I can enjoy it. I do a lot of experimental cooking mostly with roasts and steaks; sometimes hamburger, to discover new flavors and new favorite dishes. I’ve never been brave enough to try cooking a prime rib but I’ve always…

  • Mary Jane’s Farm Magazine Makes Waiting for Tanks to Fill Enjoyable

    Recently, my girlfriend Sadonna recycled her Mary Jane’s Farm magazines by passing them on to me. She gave me three issues and I haven’t been able to part with them yet to pass onto someone else because they’re so good! For any of you guys out there who might be reading, Mary Jane’s Farm magazine…

  • It’s Rhubarb Season!

      One of my favorite summer treats is having rhubarb. For those who have never experienced tasting rhubarb, it’s very tart, and like chokecherries, it’s consumed after it’s been cooked with sugar. Rhubarb is an easy to grow perennial plant that’s popular in our area and freezes really well. It has a very distinct, unforgettable…

  • Signs of Summer

    After a long Black Hills South Dakota winter, the thought of spring seems like a dream and summer an illusion. Too many times we’ve been fooled by wonderful spring weather only to get clobbered by a late spring snowstorm to remind us that Mother Nature’s in charge of when it’s spring and summer. That’s why…

  • Our Annual Family Picnic

    When we move our cows to summer range every June, I pack a picnic lunch for our family to enjoy afterwards. It’s made the annual cow-moving trek a family tradition. Sadly, we rarely have picnics, which I need to change. When our kids were younger, the thought of food (mostly a can of pop and…

  • The .25 Room

    I’m going to talk about a topic that may make some of you uncomfortable. It’s a subject that’s not normally discussed in public but is a fact of life. The bathroom. We ranch, therefore my family and I live in an old house with old updates, and is the reason why our home is paid…

  • A Lovely Little Collection From Nature

    The first time I found a heart-shaped rock (the biggest one pictured) was when I was cleaning up around our yard. I was sure it had to be lucky because it was perfectly heart-shaped and I’d never seen one before. I’ve always had a thing for heart-shaped objects, especially ones nature created. I considered the…