Category: Ranch Slants
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Fair Enough
Participating in our county fair is fun but sometimes I can turn into the Wicked Witch of the Fair when it gets down to the wire. The weeks prior to Achievement Days, I have to look at or walk around posters and displays propped up on unused spaces during their varied stages of completion. It…
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Amy’s South Dakota/Life in the West Recommended Reads
I’m open to reading a variety of different books, but am most drawn to non-fiction. I’ve read some excellent fiction, but if it’s a really good story, it’s disappointing to me in the end if I have to remind myself that it’s not true. I enjoy history, especially about women, but overall, I just enjoy…
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A Working Ranch/Marriage
The column “What I’ve Learned,” about my sixteenth wedding anniversary evolved while trying to come up with material based on an idea I had to write about things I’ve learned since my husband and I got married. During my free-writing session, I created two lists; one that went into my column and another that was a list…
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What I’ve Learned
My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. After sixteen years, I’ve discovered a few things about him and marriage in general. Namely, that I started out married to a perfect stranger. The following are ten things I’ve learned about my spouse in sixteen years. 1. Do not, under any circumstances, wake him up…
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My Dad Taught Me A Lesson
My dad taught me all of the things a girl needs to know about things girls aren’t supposed to know because they’re not boys. It didn’t matter that I was a girl; my dad wanted to share his interests with me and taught me things that were typically of interest to boys. He spent one-on-one…
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Sporty at Forty
For twenty-some years, something’s been missing in my life; a void that needed to be fulfilled. Getting married and having children didn’t satisfy the void, although both have been very fulfilling. Getting married gave me a husband who knows how to fix the problems I create or encounter and with whom I can kiss every…
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The Deal on Wheels
Early in my marriage, I started getting phone calls from strange men asking me questions I didn’t like answering. The calls began to cause marital problems between my husband and me. One day I finally told my husband I didn’t want to be his phone girl anymore. Back when cell phones were still considered a…
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Name That Baby!
When my due date got closer with my first pregnancy, if people asked us whether we wanted a boy or girl, I gave them the standard answer; I just wanted a baby with a name my husband and I agreed on. By the looks of me, there was no question the baby would be healthy….
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Contemplating Forty
I recently turned 40 on the 27th of May, and it’s caused me to pause over my life and think about what it means to be this age and what I’ve learned in forty years. Here’s a list of forty things I’ve thought about regarding being 40 years old: I didn’t feel a thing…
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Sticking with the Tradition of Neighbors
A calf table is modern ranch equipment that’s safer, easier, and a more convenient way to brand calves without the need for extra people. That’s why they’re really boring too. We still brand the hard way with the use of neighbors. Eliminating the need for people eliminates getting together with neighbors to drink beer and…