I live on a small ranch outside of Three Rivers with my husband Patrick and the two boys. Ranching and farming are not a hobby; most everything here has a purpose. We raise beef and an occasional hog for the freezer; we keep chickens for eggs and meat, and usually have a big vegetable garden. We like to can a lot fruits and veggies, make salsas, and jerky. Once in awhile, we attempt cheese making.

I am learning Herbalist medicine for critters and people. I enjoy being outdoors, camping, cooking, baking, reading, and working with livestock.

I was number six of seven kids and arrived in this world one day after a late March blizzard in SE Nebraska. I grew up there on a farm and have always been around livestock; mainly cattle and horses. My dad is a retired truck driver and mom stayed home to tend her garden and us kids. It seems she was always cookng or canning something.

We showed horses, and if a show was on Sunday, we loaded up and the horses waited in the trailer while we went to Sunday School. I preferred speed events, but had an older sister who insisted I learn things like showmanship, horsemanship, western pleasure, and English. Years later I understood the importance of her teachings.

I went to country school, kindergarten through eight grade, and if the weater was agreeable we either rode horses or bicycles to school. Sometimes my dad would hitch up a team of ponies or a horse or two to pick us up with a hay wagon or a buggy.
Right now I am "horseless"-- but I have a family milk cow, a Jersey named Dolly. We raise an extra beef calf or two on her and she still provides wholesome raw milk for the house. She is a good ol' gal defnitely earns her keep. Dolly is one of those irreplacable critters that seldom come along in our lives. She has her days, but has more manners than some horses I have encountered.