First off, most images of ranch life are skewed by books, movies, and country music. My parents don't wear sexy button-up shirts with Wranglers and fancy boots. My dad says if you wear a rag you'll never need one, so that's what he does. My parents don't go horseback riding into the sunset every night, and we don't have a water hole with a picturesque rope swing hanging from the nearby willow. We don't even have enough water to irrigate our crop this year. I'm sorry that I laugh inside every time I hear a girl say: "I want to marry a cowboy and live on a ranch!" Being country isn't wearing boots at your wedding, and it's not living outside the city limits. It's hard work and it's faith, because everything we do is up to God.
During haying season, we wake up anywhere between 3 and 4am to rake and bale the hay. This is usually my brother Don and cousins Spencer, Maryann, and Caleb. If they need extra help me or my brother or sometimes even my mom will go with them. My dad, brothers, uncle, and cousins will bale if there is the right amount of dew on the alfalfa. Alfalfa is hay, for those of you that were confused. We eat breakfast at 8am every morning. If they guys are still out in the field I'll make sausage mcmuffin sandwiches for them to grab. A lot of times they don't even stop their tractor, so we run along and jump onto the step while they're still going. When we aren't haying I love to get up and make a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage, and fruit. The guys work hard all day so I feel like it's important that they start it off right.
After breakfast they will go out and haul hay for most of the day. Sometimes they stop for lunch, and sometimes we take it out to them. One thing I love about the farm is that we never do the exact same thing two days in a row. Every day is different and full of new things to learn. Living on a ranch isn't glamorous, but it is more rewarding than any other occupation (I think).
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