The road, of course, leads home.
Everyone has a road. When I was a kid, it was Sandy Lake Road, when you turned off of Denton Tap. It meant a long, hot trip was over and home was only a minute or so away. There is a point near the end of a long trip, somewhere before home, that that emotionally marks the end of the journey. It is the landmark that tells you to relax a little, or perk up a little, and know home is near.
Our road is, in a sense, our driveway, except that it is about a half mile long. It is just a white rock road turning off the blacktop and leading home. You can't really see the house when you turn onto the road, but it is surely there. You pass a group of live oaks, probably ten to begin with years ago. Now some trunks have grown together so it appears to be a group of seven. They tower over the road and are something of an icon of the ranch to us and others who come visit. More than one local has mentioned that he has always loved the trees and had always wondered what was at the end of the road.
Today, the road needs some work. It is rutted in places and some of the gravel has been pushed to the sides and into the middle. Grass and weeds try to invade from the edges and grow on the long mound down the middle. No one knows exactly when it was built, but probably around the same time as our house, a hundred years ago this year. It is solid, with a deep base, and the path is sure. But the surface does get worn and torn by the traffic from cars, pickups, and cattle trucks - just everyday use. It can be muddy when it rains, messy when the cows are around, and dusty the rest of the time.
It is an old road for this place, but a new road for us. It used to mean we had arrived for a vacation or holiday. But now, we will drive it every day, even when it may be muddy or messy or dusty. It is our road, now.
The road, of course, leads home.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, September 17, 2007
The First Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3 says there is an appointed time for everything, so I suppose that includes an attempt at blogging. If this is successful, it will be a way to communicate with our friends about our lives on the ranch.
The short story is that we moved into the ranch house, Beth's mom's place in Lorena, TX, the second week in August and have been hustling ever since. Taylor and Travis are in school at Texas Christian Academy in Waco, playing football for the first time in their lives, and extremely busy. Jordan is at Baylor and we have seen him most weekends.
Here are a couple of pictures of Mrs. Taylor's, and now, our house. It was built in 1910 and sits on a working cattle ranch. All the real ranch work is done by real cowboys and none of them are named Musgrave. The real rancher is Judge Campbell, a retired Texas Supreme Court Justice. You can pray for his wife who is very ill.
Also featured on today's maiden voyage are Taylor and Travis in their football uniforms. In last week's JV game, Travis had an interception on the first play from scrimmage and Taylor later ran for a 75 yard touchdown. The varsity also won on Friday.
And, many of you will enjoy the picture of Beth on the tractor. It was the first and last time she has been on the tractor. I knew she would get on it while it was still clean. So much for my day labor training efforts.
We love and miss our Memphis friends and look forward to getting to know the new people the Lord will put in our lives at this new place. Just as He as used so many to enrich our lives in every place we have lived, we trust he will do the same again.
Did I mention the cows? Two weeks ago the cowboys began bringing the cows to the ranch. Right now there are about 500 head not including the calves. This has been a tremendous help in the shredding/grass-weed management exercise I have been undertaking on weekends. The cows stay on the ranch for a few months, get moved to other ranches, return, and so on. The downside is that the half mile driveway becomes a bit of a mine- field when all the cows are here. Four wheelers should try to lead, follow at a great distance, or wear full face protection when the cows have been around, but that could be a whole new thread, as us bloggers say..
More later, its late!
The short story is that we moved into the ranch house, Beth's mom's place in Lorena, TX, the second week in August and have been hustling ever since. Taylor and Travis are in school at Texas Christian Academy in Waco, playing football for the first time in their lives, and extremely busy. Jordan is at Baylor and we have seen him most weekends.
Here are a couple of pictures of Mrs. Taylor's, and now, our house. It was built in 1910 and sits on a working cattle ranch. All the real ranch work is done by real cowboys and none of them are named Musgrave. The real rancher is Judge Campbell, a retired Texas Supreme Court Justice. You can pray for his wife who is very ill.
Also featured on today's maiden voyage are Taylor and Travis in their football uniforms. In last week's JV game, Travis had an interception on the first play from scrimmage and Taylor later ran for a 75 yard touchdown. The varsity also won on Friday.
And, many of you will enjoy the picture of Beth on the tractor. It was the first and last time she has been on the tractor. I knew she would get on it while it was still clean. So much for my day labor training efforts.
We love and miss our Memphis friends and look forward to getting to know the new people the Lord will put in our lives at this new place. Just as He as used so many to enrich our lives in every place we have lived, we trust he will do the same again.
Did I mention the cows? Two weeks ago the cowboys began bringing the cows to the ranch. Right now there are about 500 head not including the calves. This has been a tremendous help in the shredding/grass-weed management exercise I have been undertaking on weekends. The cows stay on the ranch for a few months, get moved to other ranches, return, and so on. The downside is that the half mile driveway becomes a bit of a mine- field when all the cows are here. Four wheelers should try to lead, follow at a great distance, or wear full face protection when the cows have been around, but that could be a whole new thread, as us bloggers say..
More later, its late!
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