A story about the ranch is not complete without explaining how remote it was.
There was no power company to provide electricity ~ and no phone. The refrigerator ran on propane and the clothes were dried on clothes lines. At night we ran lights off of a very large generator. To trigger the generator and get it up and running, two light switches needed to be flipped at the same time. That was something that we were taught very early on.

Communication was a far cry from a cell phone. I will never forget a holiday
weekend at the ranch when we so looked forward to one of the Grange dances. My father ~ with the wonderful name of Wiley ~ many times headed out to the ranch ahead of my mother and us kids. There was work to be done and he wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible so that he could spend more time with us ~ or more time hunting. I suspect that the hunting was a real inspiration to get the work done early.

It was the weekend of a Grange dance and as normal dad had gone ahead of us. I do not recall the year but I believe I was no more than 12 years old a the time. Dad had packed in a hurry and had left a few important items out in the process. I do not think that we will ever forget this memorial event.

Poor dad had to use someones CB Radio ~ to contact a friend in town and have them call my mother. It appears he forgot to put clean "shorts" in his suitcase.
Since a large portion of the people in Petrolia also used the CB Radio for communication....word got out. Of all things for people to remark on at the Grange dance ~ many asked my father if my mom had gotten his message. I can imagine he was
given a bad time about that message more than once in his lifetime.

The picture is of my father holding me ( the youngest ) and my sister Susan.
He was our hero and a very liked person. He always had a story or a joke to tell or a kind deed to do. I know it is not related to the ranch ~ but one of the kindest deeds I have to mention here before I forget in the future.

We rarely traveled as far as San Francisco. My father as well as his father and his grandfather before him were of the same make. They did wonderful things all the time for people. I will never forget all the times my father paid
the bridge toll for the car behind him. The reactions were awesome ~ and my sister and I always do the same when we travel together. I dedicate this story to him
and his memory ~ Luv you Dad ~ Cheryl

Ah ~ I just listened to Elvis sing the "Green Green Grass of Home" ~ Now that song says it all. He talks about the old oak tree that he used to play on ~ they'll all come to meet me ~ Arms reaching ~ smiling sweetly ~ Oh it's good to touch the green green grass of home!

Home ~ It stays with us all of our lives. It is the sweet spot in our hearts that
is pure comfort. It is where we experienced the "first" of a lot of things. When the
world closes in on you and you feel trapped just thinking back about home is like a
sweet kiss.

When loved ones have gone and you are left with the memories ~ the green green grass of home is something you just want to lay down in and close your eyes. To savor the past and appreciate it. I have included a picture of Mable and me ~ because Mable is part of my green green grass.

I have two homes from my childhood ~ and the Ranch is certainly the sweetest. I remember times during the summer ~ not every year ~ but every so often ~ when the grasshoppers arrived. It was the strangest experience. They came in swarms. The green lawn would suddenly be brown. You would walk on the grass and it would come alive. The lawn would be wall to wall grasshoppers ~ and they would all take flight at the same time when you disturbed them.

When you read about locusts I would guess it would be close to the same experience. When they light on you ~ your whole being just freezes ~ because you
fear they will completely cover you !

Tonight I would like to share with you my dear sweet Mable ~ She is a huge part
of my green green grass of home. Her love , cooking and just plain wisdom is a part of me ~ and I thank her for that. I have spent much to long trying to get the spacing to work ~ I give up ~ God Bless Cheryl

Ruth Lease For Sale

Very private secluded lot ~ Trinity County ,California ~ Ruth Lake Lease Lot #112 H
Posted on Craigs list on Humboldt Co. right now and will move to Mendocino County soon ~ Beautiful wooded site with water, septic, and electricity. You can drive to property year round. It is a 5 minute drive to the lake and cove that has public access. It is also approximately 5 minutes to the Ruth Store, gas station and Blue Moon restaurant. There are a few really good swimming holes in the river within a few minutes drive.

The trailer is well maintained and in great condition and has working air conditioning ~ microwave
etc. There is a lot of room for guest tents and travel trailers and hammocks. There is also shade during the heat of the day. The lot has a 10' x 12' bath house and 4’ x 6' storage shed as well as a large snow roof / carport which is fairly new. There is approx 10 to 12 ft behind the 25 foot trailer that is covered by the snow roof where we intended to build a deck for times when there is a need to get out of the weather.

The great thing about this lot other than its beauty is that all the red tape, as far as construction
goes, has been dealt with. The extremely high expense of putting electricity into the lot is also
taken care of. We had approval to put in decking but did not get around to it. The bath house and
75# snow roof are permitted buildings. We were also told the decking will not need a permit.

This lease is on a shared water system that is well maintained and has a very large holding tank
which is fed by a large creek and spring that is at the top of the hill. Being gravity fed there is no need for pumps. There is a picnic table and brand new large crank open umbrella with a cast iron stand that we put in the middle of the table for more shade. A salvaged Forest Service fire ring that is heavy duty helps to contain a large fire pit and the fire ring has a grate on one end to set pots. Notes on the lease inspection for the last two years state “Very nice location!" and "Very well maintained site". We have had this lease for 25 years ~ there are very few as pretty as this one. Contact through Craig's list ~ Just search all housing and put in Ruth ~ Thanks Cheryl

Back From Vacation

Hi Folks ~ I am back and wanted to get something posted so that I did not loose any followers! I have loved writing my whole life. I used to write my book reports from comic books.... I did not use the "Cliff Notes" like so many of my fellow classmates did. When I was growing up there was a series of comic books called "Classic Comics". The titles were Withering Heights, Mutiny on the Bounty etc. I know that I did at least 3-4 book reports from those comic books and received A's.

I have tried to teach my children that the best technique for writing is to write like you would tell the story in your own words. Do not try to ad fancy words that are not in your vocabulary ~ until you have mastered the basic stuff. I do know that it seems to make things more real and more personal to write in that manner.

I love sharing my memories with others because I would wish them to have wonderful memories of their own. I just know deep down in my heart that I was really fortunate to have the people in my life that made my memories. So to all of you out there ~ THANK YOU!

I guess I will keep going on memories of the ranch for now. My mind does love to skip around ~ but for your sake I will try to stay focused. Some of the best visualizations that pop into my mind about the ranch were nights close to the full moon. Can you imagine anything more beautiful than the glimmer of the full moon off the ocean? I do not know if it was the location or just my wonderful imagination ~ but every full moon I experienced out at Petrolia was magical.

The opposite view from the ocean on the other side of the house were hills~ hills covered with wild game. The number of deer were amazing ~ and a favorite pass time was counting how many we saw in a herd.

Another wonderful memory about those nights was the after supper card games. The adults were so gracious as to allow the young folks into their card games and we really felt grown up being included. Speaking of supper ~ I think I have hit on something that may help some of you out there. At the ranch ~ lunch was called dinner and dinner was called super. For those of you let me explain :

SUPPER:
1. A light evening meal when dinner is taken at midday.
2. A light meal eaten before going to bed.
DINNER:
1.the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.
2.a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.

Now ~ It makes since to eat a larger meal when you have a lot of work ahead of you and a lighter meal before going to bed. Maybe that is what is wrong with all of these overweight people in our country. We need to get back to dinner and super!

The picture I posted is on the hill looking down on the ranch house and corrals ~ where you see the cattle is where the "old house" use to stand. Nothing can take the memory of the "old house" out of my heart. It is still there today in my minds eye. That is a way a lot of us survive things these days ~ by keeping things in our "minds eye". Until next time ~ God Bless Cheryl