Roots

More History...

I still thank my parents for my rural roots...and that may be the reason for the yearning to go back to the earth.
My mom, Donna Sue Kelley, grew up in Arvada in the 1940's and 50's when it was still rural and quite a distance from Denver. Mom learned all sorts of valuable lessons and hard work ethics from her parents. My Mom's mom, Georgia, was good with animals.

Grandma Georgia was a hard worker and spent most of her life being the mainstay of the homestead, raising her kids, as well as putting up all the food from the garden, processing game that had been acquired on the latest hunting trip, and taking care of the 4 small rental properties that kept the income stream coming in.

Grandma and her chickens.

Moms Dad, Grandpa Myron Kelley was a man way before his time.  As a young man, he studied medicine and acquired his Doctorate of Chiropractic after mom was a youngster.  He truly believed what he practiced, and practiced holistic medicine decades before it became "popular".  He grew all his vegetables organically, ate only non-processed foods, whole grains, and just a little lean meat.  He always had a huge garden and had water rights on his Arvada property nearly 60 years ago to keep it watered.
Grandpa was an accomplished healer and had many alternative therapies to the standard "take a pill" treatments.  He always amazed me with his reflexology...the things you can feel through someone's feet!

 Mom as the Harvest Festival Queen

Grandpa did have an occasional problem with varmints...like getting the skunk out of the shed.  Notice the huge forearms of the man who used his hands and arms a lot to earn his living.

Grandpa Myron getting the skunk outta the shed

My Mom's brother, Ken with his 4-H steer

Sarah Palin? Nope, my Mom did some of the hunting too:)

Both Chip and I enjoy the sport of shooting.  I prefer rifles and Chip is good with pistols, rifles and shotguns. We practice when we can. Whether it be for protection or hunting, having the proper training and skills is essential to living the rural lifestyle.


Below are some pictures of the Double D Ranch in Walden when I was raising my kids. Activities included feeding cattle, raising chickens (including egg gathering, cleaning the coop, slaughter), branding, calving, horseback riding, playing with barn cats, firewood stacking, and great family memories.

Branding and vaccinations

My daughter Brianne with her favorite Barn cat.

My son, Collin and I, with Mom's favorite horse, Paint.

So many fun memories of Chip's family farm in Massachusetts.

Swimming in the lumber mill pond.

One very sad memory was that Chip had a baby brother, Ronnie, who was diagnosed with a dystrophic disease when he was just a year old and died years later. 

Chip and Ronnie with Dad, Lou

The next post will be our story of our search for our rural dream, which began after our wedding in 2008. Stay tuned!

In the beginning

In January 2009 the story begins....

Well, actually it began longer ago than 2009.......a lot longer.  Both Chip and I acquired our love of the land through our parents.

Lou as a 12 year old in Geneseo

Lou raised Devon cattle in Belchertown

Chip's Dad, Lou, was raised in a farm family in Geneseo, Illinois.  After he graduated from college, got married, and started working at Monsanto in Springfield, Massachusetts, he knew he had to get a farm...because that was what allowed his family to survive the depression. He wanted to assure his own family they would always have food to eat. He bought a 100 acre hobby farm and ran cows, put up hay, had a vegetable garden and raised his children. Belchertown was about an hours drive from Springfield, Massachusetts.

The old farmhouse--with outhouse

Updated! with Jackie the farm dog and Chip's best friend

Lou, Jane and Chip

Chip's Mom, Jane was the quintessential farmer's wife, turning their late 1700's farmhouse into a home.  Furniture was acquired, remodeling and upgrading done (indoor plumbing...yea!), and putting up the harvest of the garden and farm.  She constantly entertained guests as there were visitors every week to "sample the farm life".

When Chip was 10 years old, Lou got transferred to St. Louis, MO, and they had to sell the farm. Chip was used to all the freedom a farm offered and enjoyed every aspect of rural living. It was quite an adjustment to move to suburbia.





My father was born in Denver but was sent to live with his Grandmother in the farming community of Creighton, Nebraska when his twin sisters were born.  Dad was a difficult child and his mother knew she could not provide the discipline needed to keep him in check with 2 newborns.  Dad loved the small town of Creighton and all the agriculture influence stuck with him through the years.

 Dad became an accountant and CFO of trucking and sporting goods companies, but always wanted to go back to his roots.  When he took early retirement, he followed his dream and bought a 160 acre ranch in Walden, Colorado.










Dad learned a lot about Ranching and all us kids got to reap the benefits of learning about agriculture (well, at least the cattle business).  








Dad did haying as well as raising several different kinds of livestock including chickens, turkeys, hogs and horses, but Dad's primary focus was cattle.  Us kids never really were able to fully experience the true ranch life as we all had jobs and kids in Denver, but we spent as much time as we could helping with the chores and enjoying the experience.  My mother was like me, always preferring to be outside taking care of the animals or the land. She did her share of farmhouse cooking, but the land was always calling her outside.

All the grandkids proclaim that the "Camp Double D"(my parent's names-Don and Donna) was their favorite childhood experience.

When Chip was a teenager, he spent many summers in the Ozarks at canoeing camps. Once as a camper and more years as a counselor.  It was one of the happiest memories in his life.  When Chip and I started dating, one of the first trips he treated me to was a canoe trip on the crystal clear waters of the North Fork River in southern Missouri.  I too fell in love with the experience, all the greenery, and the wildlife. We shared our childhood experiences of rural life on long drives in the car and slowly a longing for that old rural lifestyle emerged.