Happy 4th of July!!

Jul 4th, 2009

by WK.

July 4th Fireworks

Summer is here with a vengeance, it’s been over 100 degrees almost every day for the last several weeks, and there’s no end in sight. Mowing the ranch yard has gone from a pleasure to a chore because of the heat — early mornings the grass is covered with heavy dew, and by the time it evaporates, the heat has begun.

And dry, it’s so dry in Texas in the summer, especially in July and August. It’s against the law in most cities to set off fireworks because of the fire hazard caused by our dry summers, so for the 4th of July people go to friend’s homes in the country to set off their fireworks. It’s fun, and the little kid in all of us loves it, but as a property owner it’s scary, it’s so easy for a drifting spark or runaway bottle rocket to set a roof or field on fire.

So tonight I’ll enjoy my barbecue with friends, and I’ll enjoy the neighborhood fireworks, and I’ll have my long hose hooked up, ready for sparks. And I’ll be thankful — for our country and our freedoms, for friends and family, for good hoses, and for the metal roof I had put on the ranch house a couple of years ago!! Happy 4th of July to all, and God Bless you, your family, and America!!

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Welcome to Country Common Sense

I guess I'm basically a city boy, turned country. I spent much of my early youth part time in the country, on land we owned away from the city. My pop (step Pop, but knew no other) owned and operated a plumbing business in town and played cowboy on a large track of land we owned in east Texas on weekends. Sometimes I would stay over in the country, if not in school, while everyone else migrated back to our city home. While there I rode fence lines making repairs and doctoring cows and lived life learning nature's way. I learned a love for the land that would call me back later in life. I loved the country life and the sweet smells and sights of nature. As I roamed the woods and meadows and small towns around our place I got to know the people in the area during those stays. Country people, who seemed to have a built in common sense born out of dealing with hard work and watching nature on a daily basis and being around all the farm animals and wild creatures that inhabited their world. A natural world that taught right and wrong with a clarity of example. I’d like to take the pages here and tell some stories about my “country common sense” experiences, then and now.