Sunday, January 24, 2016

A Traditional Farm Life - Snow Ice Cream


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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