Anyway that’s way too long so it is time so shake things up a a bit. I’ve went with a more newspaper-ish theme, and I will post some pictures soon that I’ve taken over the last year or so. 

As far as life at the farm goes… it was a very wet year. Until winter came, there was actually some green grass all year long. Also the pond north of the house held water for much of the year (it is dry now though).

I’ve seen a lot of wildlife… oodles of owls (they live in the barns and also in the trees down by the creek), armadillos, rodents (some kind of critter that is much bigger than a mouse but isn’t a rat… looks almost like a gerbil or a hamster), racoons (my dog actually treed one down by the creek a few weeks ago), coyotes, squirrels (also in the woods down by the creek), and just recently a red-headed woodpecker.

Gardening in 2008 was a bust. I planted a few tomato and pepper plants but let them die when I was traveling. The wildflowers were gorgeous though. (I actually saw an Indian paintbrush blooming in November! And I saw some of the rare yellow strain of them too this year in the front yard) I do need to post some of pictures of the wildflowers for sure.

What else is to say… I guess that’s all for now. I will shoot to post something every week from here on out.

I definitely will miss the little guy. He was so fun to watch as he climbed up the bars of his cage, or when he would chew up toilet paper rolls. He also would take sunflower seeds and yogurt drops from my fingers after he realized that he got more treats if he didn’t bite me.

I probably will get another pet. It was nice having some company when I got home at the end of a long day.

If you want to join me in prayer, we’ll be praying at dusk on Wednesday evenings at the Farm. (but call ahead to be on the safe side)

Here’s a few parts on places near Pine Ridge (they do list Pine Ridge but don’t tell anything about it except for the location). The italics below are my comments:

Alden – 9 mi. S. of Carnegie. Post office from Dec. 5, 1901 to Dec. 31, 1929. named for Alden Carpenter the son of Jennie Carpenter, first Postmaster. Alden is where my Grandparents went to school at

Broxton – 7 mi. NW of Apache. Post office from Feb. 26, 1903 – Jun. 15, 1906 My Mom went to school here, and my grandpa was on the school board at Broxton. The school district has since consolidated with Fort Cobb.

Hatchetville – located 8 miles northwest of Apache – In 1925 Elmer Jared, who was building a filling station northwest of Apache on the Hatchett farm, named his building site Hatchettville, in honor of Dr. Hatchett, owner of the farm. This is on the way to Apache, going straight south from Fort Cobb. There is still a granite cobblestone house there (similiar to the building method at Medicine Park, OK)

Hog Creek – The stream west of Anadarko was probably first called Hog Creek, because of the droves of wild hogs in the vicinity, by the party of surveyors who were sent out in 1858 to establish boundary lines for the proposed new colonies for the Texas tribes, under leadership of Colonel Cooper of Texas who selected the place for the Wichita Mission. The first survey records show the stream marked as Hog Creek. There’s a Methodist church camp near there, as well as an Indian church that sometimes meets under a brush arbor. Right there’s also a tippi errected near Hog Creek.

As for the story behind Pine Ridge’s name, I’ve posted what my grandpa told me on Wikipedia. Here it is again:

According to locals, the community got its name from the community of Pine Ridge, Arkansas that was the setting of the radio show Lum and Abner which aired from 1934-1952. Legend says that the owner of the grocery store named it “Pine Ridge” after the radio show and over time the name was adopted as the name of the whole community.

The wind was awful on Thanksgiving day. It felt super-cold even in the daytime when the thermometer was in the 40′s and 50′s.

Oh well, here’s the pictures. . .

My old 1951 Ford Truck (which hasn’t been driven since I think 1979)

A nice view of the creek in the West pasture

The West pasture, looking north

east side of the old garage/barn

inside of old garage/barn

old gas and diesel tanks

the “before” picture of the house (check back in a few months to see how it improves–there’s already been some improvements since this picture was taken)

My old 1951 Ford Truck (which hasn’t been driven since I think 1979)
Looking east from the front porch at dusk

view of the pond in the west pasture

at dusk, looking to the west

quarter moon over the farm