{You can learn more about us at A Beautiful Life, my blog about family, faith and home.}
We might live near the suburbs, but it's still 'the country' here on our little farm. Those who would object need only to spend some time here just 7 miles out of town to recognize the difference.
You would find that there are regular spottings of deer and coyotes in the backyard, an occasional cougar, and that at night you can hear those coyotes eerie howls nearby in the fields. You might also hear the loud songs of frogs and crickets, but what you might notice more is the quiet and the darkness.
You would see it is a regular way of life to grow your food, have tractors for working the land, keep Muck boots by the back door, and watch livestock grazing from the kitchen window. In the cold of late winter, there are midnight trips to the barn to check on cows at calving time. There are vaccinations to give, hay to haul, fences to check, pasture to fertilize, barns to clean, twice daily chores to feed and water, shows to prep for, trees to prune, garden to till, plant and weed, vegetables, fruit, and berries to harvest and preserve.
This is the life that keeps us grounded. It breeds toughness, a strong work ethic, and a view of life that constantly brings us close to the One who made it all.
'Suburban Cowgirls' is so named because of the passion I have, and now my daughters, too, by association, raising and showing cattle growing up. This is not to leave out the 'Cowboys', who, make no mistake, are behind everything we cowgirls do around here. We have just recently, in the past year, began to raise cattle here after seventeen-some years since dispersing my first herd when I went off to college. My oldest daughter started 4-H and just showed her first Shorthorn heifer last summer, 2010. Two days ago, that heifer had her first calf. We're back in business.
I have my country boy to thank for helping me to continue this way of life with our children. I am amazed at this life we have together. Thinking of our journey to now reminds me of the time, shortly after we were married nearly 13 years ago, when I was feeling particularly homesick. I was adjusting to my new permanent life as a wife in the city. I remember blubbering something about not liking the city, being surprised when he took me in his arms and held me, and his gentle promise that we would live in the country again. Three and a half years later, we found our little piece of property and started our life here with two small children.
Even though living in the country came before the cattle, it was the way of life of ranching and a love for cattle that really defined country life for me, so that I didn't even recognize how much I valued it all. That passion I had growing up, after moving away for awhile, grew into a love of rural life; farming and ranching, and all things country, in general. The values I had been raised with became all the more important to me. In adulthood, I learned that what I was shown growing up about gardening, food preservation, cooking for a family, natural and frugal living, as well as animal husbandry, was part of my passion. So, I am both a country girl and a cowgirl forever in my heart, no matter where I live...cause, yes, it's true. 'You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.'
