MORE ON THE PORCH

It seems that our screened-in porch has become the depository of all things ranch/farm/industrial that we have accumulated over the years.  In an effort to corral some of the stuff into a sense of order, Bob put up a shelf in one corner last week.  The brackets are some sort of hardware store thingies that were in my Dad's farm workshop.

 The round window came out of Bob's childhood home.  I, also, have the window that was in the farm house where my Dad was born.  As soon as we get the frame spruced up, I'm going to hang it in this corner, too.

 The red barn lantern belonged to my great-grandfather; the blue-tipped thing is a sheep brand in the shape of an H for my family name; plus a cow bell; my Dad's spurs; and more brands.

There is still more stuff to organize and display.  

In the meantime, this is the view from the porch -- our shrub roses have been beautiful this year!

MEMORIES FROM "THE GOOD OLD DAYS"

It is almost time to close up our screened porch before the snow flies, but thought I would take you on a tour first.

Both sides of my family were farmers and ranchers after homesteading on the prairies of Colorado. When we cleaned out my father's shop, I just couldn't get rid of some of the things that remind me of those days long ago. Somehow, they have accumulated on our back porch.

The candle holder is a part from an old piece of farm equipment, and the toy truck belonged to my husband as a child.

This stool is made from an old tractor seat and was at my Dad's workbench for years. The blanket is from the Chimayo Trading Post in New Mexico, and was purchased a long time ago on a sheep buying trip by my Grandfather.

A sheep crook that was salvaged from an old sheep herder's wagon.

A branding iron for cattle.

This little table is where our grandchildren play and eat. The little tractor and wagon were mine as a child. We call the little silver man driving "Granddad Man"! He occasionally gets lost, but we have always managed to find him. In the background is my Mother's wooden ironing board from 1937.

A chicken coop and a stoneware chicken water jug.

This old rake holder holds my Dad's spurs and several wooden and metal brands for sheep.

Old stoneware jugs -- for "moonshine", I guess.

An old red tool box with tools from my family, plus others that Bob has collected over the years.

This is a lantern that belonged to my Great Grandfather.

In the background is a Dutch oven used in a sheep camp. Bob made the rustic stool, and there's an old copper wash boiler where we store the kid's balls.

Hope you enjoyed the tour into yesteryear. There are a lot of memories here!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally