In the summer Sili and Cashew would go outside to rough house, sprint, and wrestle in the 101 degree heat. Then they would come barreling through the house, slop water all over the general area surrounding their bowl, and collapse around me to enjoy the cold floor and be petted. It was a rare moment …
Tag Archives: homestead
My Mother and Grandmother lay Eyes on the Land for the First Time
i was born on my mother’s birthday so we usually tried to spend it together when possible. The Summer after i bought the property she decided to come to me and this time she was bringing my grandmother. I was so excited to show them what i was building. I was excited to show them …
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A Family Occasion
For most people in my family packing for the plane ride was probably quite simple. They popped some dresses off hangers in the closet and folded them into the suit case, dumped in some travel-sized toiletries, and a few lara bars for the plane. My trip preparation was a bit more extensive. I had no …
Sharpening the Knives
On the homestead a knife is used often and what begins sharp is quickly dulled. Knives are good for cutting tall weeds away from the laundry line, cutting through zip ties, cardboard boxes, and plastic packaging, cutting twine to secure hanging plants to the porch beams during windy days, and cutting the plastic tips off …
Sili’s Hurt Leg
One night i called the dogs in and only Cashew came. I knew immediately that something was wrong because Cashew was my wild child. She was the one who bucked the system. She was the one who stayed out all night and had me traipsing through the grass in the dark with a lantern, wearing …
Double Rainbow
There’s always something going wrong or about to go wrong at the homestead. It’s just part of the lifestyle. Either you need a new water heater, air conditioner, refrigerator, pests are chewing through things, predators are traveling through areas you use frequently and getting too comfortable with the territory, deer are in the compost, the …
The Roof Leak
I was lying in bed one day when i began to hear a noise. I thought it was the rain tapping against the window. However, when i got up to walk across the room i stepped in something wet. At first i thought a dog had peed but it was clear and had no odor. …
Cashew and Sili
The Hill Country Sky
Discovering the Sumac Tree
The property was basically set out like a triangular ring. In the middle was an area of cleared land and all around it was a border of densely clustered trees. It was a perfect nature-made privacy fence. Every time i went exploring i found something new. The problem was there wasn’t much time for exploring. …