A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! The biggest snowflakes we’ve ever seen
drifted down softly as we left the restaurant Wednesday evening. Mouths open wide, our children’s rosy cheeks
faced the sky as their tongues searched for an errant flake to fall in just the
right spot. It’s moments like these a
mother keeps and ponders in her heart.
My mother’s heart was also gladdened to see the fruit of
our boy’s labors pull into the drive earlier this week.
For several weeks now, Michael and the boys have spent
one day a week with my Dad in his shop.
Our boys have been learning to weld under his expert tutelage.
Monday they finished their horse-drawn “forecart,” a
two-seat, two-wheeled cart which is pulled by the draft horses with the farm
implement of choice directly behind. The
forecart functions as the rear end of the “tractor,” allowing greater choice of
farm implements used, including ones not specifically made for draft horses.
For example, the forecart will allow the boys to use the
horses to pull wagons like the grain cart around the farm, as well as move
bales with the bale mover.
The boys also brought home the refurbished running gear
for a buckboard-style wagon. While a
traditional buckboard is just over three feet wide, this running gear will
allow a 4-1/2 foot wide box to be built upon it, resulting in a roomier
“bed.” This horse-drawn wagon will
function as our farm “pickup,” powered by “two horses under the hood.”
In traditional thrifty rural fashion, a minimum of cash
has been spent on these projects, as the bulk of the building materials have
been gathered over the years.
For instance, the axle for the forecart came from a Model
10 Massey bailer my husband purchased from out of a tree row for parts at age
16—28 years ago. The forecart’s two
seats were re-purposed from a different cart given to them recently, and the
fenders were fashioned from metal recently purchased at a local farm sale. An old set of hames were re-purposed from
their original use on a worn out harness and welded on the front of the cart to
be used for wrapping the horse’s lines around.
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The running gear’s frame came out of a scrap pile as
well. My Dad rebuilt it for the boys
last winter. The boys recently converted
it from a single horse unit to being pulled by a team by installing a tongue.
We have very much appreciated my Dad’s help in turning
these dream projects into reality. It’s
been a great opportunity for my boys to spend quality time with their Grandpa
while learning the skills of welding and building with metal.
It was an educational venture for my Dad as well, as his
memory of draft horses on his farm growing up are quite dim. “Bob” and “Patsy” were sold and his father
began relying completely on tractors in his early childhood.*
What an ironic juxtaposition: For my Dad, draft horses Bob and Patsy are
but a dim memory of a bygone era. For my
boys, draft horses Tom and Jerry represent the dawn of a dream coming true—the
opportunity to once again farm with draft horses.
Our children are no longer dreaming of playing out in the
snow. As I write this Thursday morning,
the children are all bundled up and playing in at least 4 inches of snow. The last messenger inside reported plans for
making a snow fort. Snow is still falling at present, making playing outside
even more exciting.
I’ll go warm up something hot for them to drink when they
come in. When they’re all warm and dry,
the schoolbooks will make their appearance on the dining room table, a sad
ending, perhaps, to a fun morning out in the snow. Their spirits will soar, however, at the
prospect of snow ice cream after lunch today—another bit of proof that dreams
can come true.
*See my March 16, 2015 article at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com
for more on Bob and Patsy.
Snow Ice Cream
2-1/2 quarts
fresh, clean, snow
1 cup milk or
cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup
sugar
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
pinch salt
1. In a very large
bowl, mix milk, sugar, vanilla and salt.
2. Add clean
snow until no more can be added and an ice cream consistency is achieved. Enjoy!
Copyright © 2016 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing
in Enterprise, Kansas. She and her
husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six
home-schooled children. You can reach
The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com
.
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