Ranch Wife's Slant

Cowboys, kids, and ranch life

Category: My Columns

  • The Loathesome Gate Job

    This column was originally published May 21, 2014 I’ve never viewed any job involving a gate as being a coveted one. Stubborn gates always seem to require more muscle, squeezing, and grunting to shut than to open. I do not enjoy being watched while straining to get a tight wire gate open or getting perfectly…

  • What A Ranch Woman Wants to Hear

    This column was originally published December 11, 2013 After the first year as husband and wife and every day thereafter, a ranch wife loves to hear certain words from her husband. Words that renew her romantic notions about the man she married. Whether husbands realize it or not, there are certain things a wife never…

  • The Art of Encouraging and Supporting Shop Projects From Afar

    One of the many shop projects I’ve witnessed over the years: converting my old family car (Ford Explorer) into a “ranch pickup”…on Mother’s Day. This column was originally published September 25, 2013 It’s a good idea for wives to show genuine interest in their husband’s projects, but discretion is advised. Supporting my spouse’s projects demonstrates…

  • My Annual Lucille Ball Moment in Twine

    A couple of ideal-looking baling twine balls. Examples courtesy of my Hubs. This column was originally published December 26, 2013 Cutting twine on a round bale and gathering it into a wad may seem like a task any idiot can do, but at the start of a new winter cow-feeding season I have all sorts…

  • Patches are so Un-holey

    This spring–when it was still snowing–I dug out the jeans I’d stored away for patching; dug out my denim scraps to make patches and sewed different sized denim squares and rectangles on my work jeans. Now I have three new pairs of jeans to wear for ranch work! That may sound kind of weird, but there’s nothing like…

  • What You Can Get Away with on a Farm or Ranch

    This column was originally published February 12, 2014 Farm and ranch residents may not have a grocery store or WalMart located only minutes away, but there are some advantages to living out of town including things you can only get away with in the country. It’s universally acceptable in the country if a kid pees…

  • It’s A New Year!

    I was going through all my past columns on New Year’s Eve and came across this column I wrote about the New Year in 2013. Just had to share and thought it could easily apply to every new year. Wishing You a Happy List of Little Stuff in the New Year   The New Year…

  • One of My New Favorite “Little Things in Life”

      I’m big on acknowledging the little things in life that make me happy. One of my favorites is the moment after I’ve sat down in a comfy chair or our couch with a cozy blanket on my lap and I open the pages of a brand new book to start reading. I love the crispness and…

  • A Reputation That Stacks Up

    Our ranch takes pride in what we do. As ranchers we have a reputation to uphold which you might’ve guessed has to do with hay. There was a time when the Kirk family’s reputation was based on haystacks but with the convenience of baling equipment, my husband believes our reputation is now built on the…

  • Living the Simple Life

    I thought my household needed to be simplified so I read Living the Simple Life by Elaine St. James. I was amazed to learn that I didn’t need to buy the book. It just verified that I should have written it. My family has been doing the majority of the book’s suggestions for years, which…