SUN AND SNOW
SNOW COWBOY
I have heard that you have to watch out for those "cowboys". They tend to have "sticky" fingers and won't tell you anything about themselves. He probably was just rolling around the country and before you know it he will sneak away with no more sound than a trickle of water. Enjoy him while he is around.
GALEN REMINGTON SENT THIS NOTE TO JULIA AND KIERSTEN.
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Robin and her good horse Lonetree Tiger San. It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk. Julia took this photo.
After Storm Atlas, a kind man from eastern South Dakota sent a Hereford heifer to the Lonetree Ranch. Eldon is his name. I decided that Julia and Kiersten would lay claim to her. They named her Myrtle. Myrtle calved yesterday... cute little bull and his owners couldn't be more thrilled. Thank you Eldon. Your kindness and generosity is continually remembered.
NATIONAL AG DAY 2018
HOW APPROPRIATE....
The first day of Spring is also National Agriculture Day. Agriculture is art... is science... is practice of growing and producing crops and livestock to sustain and meet the physical needs of humanity. Agriculture is practicing stewardship with the soil, water and life in which God has entrusted us. Agriculture produces not only food, but also fiber and fuel to to enable a growing population to survive and thrive.
Think of it this way... Not so much... Happy Agriculture Day...Maybe it would be better to think of it this way. We are happier today because of agriculture. Thank God.
SNOWING LIKE CRAZY
Snowing like crazy out there! Official measure at HEREFORD 12SW at 8:45 AM.... 7" of wet snow. :)Molly and Ziva were out earlier checking cows... yes they are both smiling.
A SIGH OF RELIEF OVER A PARCHED EARTH
As a parched earth drinks from the bounty of a cold wet snow, I can nearly hear it say, "Ah' and then breath a sigh of relief. At least for those of us that make a living on the land, the snow we have received today has been an abundant blessing. Over ten inches so far and no wind... "so far"
Robin took the opportunity to go out with some of the other Reinhold family to see how the livestock was faring. Of course she took her camera. Julia took some photos as well. Enjoy the walk with us in one of the last days of winter. At least that is what is says on the calendar. Those of us that live in the north country know better, and from experience, March 21 is just a day on the calendar.
A LESSON MEMORIZED - A LESSON LEARNED
I was a sophomore at Brown High School in Sturgis, South Dakota. The class was English, taught by Mr. LaRue. Even years later, when many called him by his first name, Maury, I still called him Mr. LaRue. He was the sort of teacher that made you smile and he had a way of making me feel capable. I needed that at that time. Most of us need that at one time or another in our lives. Our classroom was located in the Science Building out at "The Farm". In those days, the High School campus was split into different locations with "The Farm" being just north of Fort Meade along Bear Butte Creek. I enjoyed my classes in the more agricultural setting rather than at the downtown campus. As with most English and Literature Classes, we studied our share of Shakespeare. Honestly, I do not remember if I enjoyed my Shakespearean experience or if I was overwhelmed. I do remember that I enjoyed Shakespeare more than Greek Mythology.
Mr. LaRue offered our morning class an option one week. When our studies were nearly complete with William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar'. We were told that we could either plan for a test or memorize and quote Marc Antony's tribute spoken at Caesar's burial. I chose to memorize the speech. Why? I knew the question... and I knew what the answer should be. The deadline came to recite the speech. Three of us, Teri, Randy and I, went out into the hallway to carry out the assignment. As the rest of my classmates took the test, I was reciting Shakespeare and It went went well.
To this day, I have benefitted from taking that challenge. Certainly, I have benefitted from the "speaking" aspect of the assignment as I get to do my share of public speaking. However, I have benefitted even more from the words that I memorized. It is not that I remember all the spoken text attributed to Marc Antony, but I do remember well, his opening lines. They are as follows:
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar."
I have been reminded, by those lines, countless times to look for the good in people. I have been reminded, by those lines, countless times times to focus on positive influence, even if it be small. I have been reminded many times over, to not dwell only upon the bad. Certainly I will not overlook evil, but neither should I overlook the good. We live in a day when it is so easy to blame others for our weaknesses, especially when they are no longer around to defend themselves. We certainly gain no stature personally, when we do it at the expense of someone else. If we have to tear someone down to build ourselves up, there is no gain. And seriously, if they are no longer in our midst, we have stooped to a devious low.
Shakespeare, through words attributed to Marc Antony completes his statement with these thought provoking words.
"What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason."
May that not be said of me.
61 YEARS AGO...
This was taken of my mother, Vicky, about 61 years ago. Mom and Dad had a son born to them just a few weeks earlier. His name was Danny Eugene. A "perfect" baby ... he died during delivery due to medical error. A heart breaker indeed. Mom would tell of how Dad gave her a "barn calf" to care for. She named him Spunky. I can still hear her tell the story... of how she liked playing with the calves, but then Spunky died, too. A hurting heart is not always evident from a distance. I am the oldest son, but I am the second born. I heard the hurt in Mom's voice over the years as she would tell this story, I saw the pain in Dad's eyes as he would look upon the black and white wallet sized photo, which he carried till his final day, of Danny Eugene. There was no bitterness, but there was hurt. My folks continue to be an inspiration and an example to me. May I be sensitive to the hurting hearts around me... that is my prayer today.
And yes, Robin and I chose to name our oldest son... Danny
NEW LIFE
It seem that everyone loves Springtime! After a long, cold winter, the arrival of spring is highly anticipated, especially in the North country.
Here on the ranch, we eagerly await those first signs of spring—a blade of green poking through the melting snow, the return of the meadowlarks and robins, and the new life that seems to appear everywhere! Calves, colts and lambs frolicking in the pasture, kittens in the manger, chicks in the barn..no matter where you look, there is one central theme: New Life!
Springtime is a gift from our Creative God to remind us of His renewal, that life goes on, that the dark, cold days of winter come to an end—a truth, not only in the physical world, but also spiritually.
Sadly, some people live all their lives in the dark, cold days of “winter”, not allowing the “Son” to shine in and give light and life. Jesus said that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
Are you longing for a more abundant life? Are you weary and burdened, needing some “new life”? The answer is found in Jesus. After all, He is the source of life itself (John 1:3), and He is THE LIFE (John 14:6). Only Jesus can lift the darkness and replace it with light and joy! I know this to be true!
The Bible tells us that “...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). To be “in Christ” simply means to place your complete trust and faith in Him alone. And when we do that, He offers forgiveness from our sins and not only an abundant life on earth, but the promise of eternal life “...that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:15)!
Anything less than Jesus is just a temporary fix, kind of like one warm day in the winter, followed by a blizzard. Look to Jesus, open your heart to Him, and let His love and joy fill you up! Experience the warmth of everlasting springtime, from new life to eternal life!
MANY "MINI-VACTATIONS"
We don't find it very easy to get far from the ranch, but that doesn't mean that we never enjoy a vacation. We recognize that we have to, as Jesus did, "Draw apart for awhile."
The Reinhold family has been enjoying this land for over 100 years. Truthfully, we count it a blessing from God to live where and how we do. But that doesn't mean that we never find ourselves too wrapped up in the "busyness" of the moment.
It has been very positive to instill into each member of the family to realize what God has entrusted to us. To use and to enjoy. It only made sense after schooling was accomplished for the kids and Rachel and I working in the office on tax preparation, to get outside.
It was all downhill...
But that didn't hurt our feelings.
I am convinced that we as individuals and families come to the end of the day and we really do not enjoy each other as God had intended. I see too many families so busy doing stuff, filling obligations that others have set and just being so preoccupied with the "world around them" that they forget those that God has surrounded them with. Don't wait for the two week vacation to pour into those that matter. Take time for some "mini vacations"... even daily.
Photos taken February 27, 2018 by Robin Lee Reinhold and Rachel Reinhold.
CHORE TIME WEATHER
"COME ON KIDS...
IT'S TIME TO DO YOUR CHORES"
WE ALWAYS ENJOYED THE SUNSHINE.
As I watched the Reinhold kids enjoy the sunshine while doing chores, I found myself reminiscing of days gone by. As a young child, our winter days started way before sunup. We would hear the customary creaking stairs as Dad would head down to put more coal in the furnace. We would hear he chain turn as he would "Check" the furnace to let more air in. Often times the fire would be out, but some of the hot embers would be left and with a little persuasion, pretty soon the fire was burning hot and us kid would hope there would be some heat coming up the stairway before we had to go down.
We would then hear the music including the morning polka coming over KOTA radio. Verne Shepherd would play his traditional every weekday morning recording of a rooster crowing. Follow that with the blaring announcement of "It's reveille on the ranch." Then would come the news, but that was never the most important part of the early morning routine. It was the weather. Reporting from the Rapid City Airport were the voices of Fred McNally and Claude Sauer. They were the chief meteorologist in those days. The weather reports were played twice around breakfast time. When we heard one of them, it was time to have our morning devotions. Dad would read from the Bible and Mom would read from the Daily Bread booklet. And then it was time to do chores. Only during calving season would this schedule be broken and that would be by the one member of the family that had to the morning check on the cows.
We still listen for the weather or check it on the internet as it is such a big part of our lives. One thing for sure... On a winter day, we still enjoy the sunshine.
AGRICULTURAL ROLES
Daniel Lattier for Intellectual Takeout writes. “At the time of the America’s founding, 95% of its population lived on farmland, and only 5% lived in urban areas. Fast forward to today, and these numbers have dramatically flip-flopped. Currently, a whopping 81% of people live in urban areas and only 19% live in rural areas. What is more, only about 1.6% of the American labor force is engaged in agriculture.
Thomas Jefferson when writing about British commercialism: “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds… I consider the class of artificers as the panders of vice, and the instruments by which the liberties of a country are overturned... I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural.”
THE STORM WAS CALLED OLIVER
A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND
Even though the temperatures were below zero or barely above... the 12 - 14" of snow over the last couple of weeks has given us hope for more much needed moisture to come our way.
Photos by Robin Lee Reinhold on the Lonetree
TRIBUTE TO TIGE REINHOLD AT HEREFORD DAY 2018
For several years now, during the stockshow, theReinhold family has presented a painting to a family that has enjoyed the tradition of the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, particularly Herefords Day. We do this in honor of Tige Reinhold. This year we honored the Woods family of the Hillsview Ranch. It was a pleasure to present this painting by Bob Yorkto our neighbors.
MID-WINTER SUNSET
The beauty of a sunset across the western horizon of Dakota is often spectacular in it's own right... but then you add a herd of horses...
Photos by Molly Reinhold
HORSES OF THE LONETREE
JUST ANOTHER NAME... HARDLY
THE BEAUTY OF A WINTER DAY
A JANUARY MORNING PROVIDED SOME WONDERFUL PHOTOS
PHOTOS BY RACHEL REINHOLD ON THE LONETREE RANCH
LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING
NEW LIFE OF SPRING... JUST AROUND THE CORNER
