FIRST BLIZZARD OF THE SEASON


The day after our first "Autumn Blizzard". We fared OK Now to look forward and hope for some nice weather to get some fall work done.

The Last Bouquet

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Rachel and I just came in from checking some livestock. Snowing right along. Rachel picked some wild coreopsis by the gate. Of course Robin was waiting up for us. She added the freshly picked dainty yellow flowers to the last bouquet of Autumn 2019... and of course she took a photo for me to share. All this around 11:00 PM

A SEPTEMBER SUNDAY AFTERNOON



Very nice.
After a somewhat cool rainy weekend... the sun came out this afternoon. Robin took these photos around the yard this Sunday afternoon.

Wessington Springs, South Dakota

Stopped at the Hathaway Cottage in Wessington Springs, South Dakota on Sunday. Very pleasant and worth the visit.

"I WILL NEVER FORGET"


Tonight, I fried up our first batch of home raised Autumn harvest apples. Of course I delegated some chores as I had Rachel cut the apples and Kiersten helped me add ingredients.

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The first time that I really remember having fried apples was when my 95 year old grandpa invited me to stay for supper. Grandpa Walter Bangert was such a fun man. And one Sunday afternoon, as I often did, I went to visit him in his apartment on the west side of Rapid City. I well remember him slicing the apples and then frying them in butter and together we enjoyed more sweet fellowship over a simple meal.

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I grew up eating my share of baked apples served up in Tapioca (Frog eyes as my Dad would call the pudding). Mom baked them and served them as a dessert. Another side note on Tapioca...aka "Frog eyes". :) If I remember right... We were studying Brazil and Brazil was a leading producer of tapioca. I told my Teacher, Mrs. Eppenbaugh, that tapioca was know as "frog eyes" I even went as far and wrote frog eyes on a test instead of tapioca... Mrs. Eppenbaugh, was not impressed. She had the audacity to mark my answer as wrong.... "Can you imagine that?????"
:) 
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Oh yes, These fried apples also included "frog eyes.... er I mean, tapioca and we jazzed this recipe up with some bacon. :) Yes, it was very good.

A DREAM COME TRUE

A process and a dream come true... and a lot of work still to continue. Over the last five years, we made a huge effort to add to our "Apple Orchard(s)" There are now over 140 apple trees of various ages on the ranch. Tonight, we had apple crisp made from LODI apples "summer apple". First crop off young trees... This is really part of a plan. That being... having fruit during the camp season that we can let the kids help with and enjoy. And yes the dessert was delicious.

ENJOYING INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH FAMILY


The Fourth of July is certainly an important celebration in this very patriotic family... and it is just as important because it is celebrated with family. We had such a good time with the Paultons, Brovants, Lillys and Stolhammers yesterday at Grandma Ellen Paulton’s place. And yes, we played our traditional softball game.

ANOTHER RAINY AND DAMP "FOURTH"

Another rainy and damp "Fourth Of July".

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You are right... There are not many like this and perhaps you do not even recall an Independence Day Observance where it "rained on the parade". One stands out in my mind and that was forty years ago. July 4, 1979 overshadowed by much more than clouds and falling rain. It was just over a month before that my brothers, Lyle and Lee, and our friend, Wayne, passed away in what the world termed a tragedy.

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Now our family has always enjoyed the festivities of the Fourth. The ranch was the setting for many holiday celebrations. I can recall so many good times with family and friends. Like when, Grandma Hazel Reinhold and Aunt Ila brought us boys our first firecrackers. I had heard many stories about shenanigans with "cherry bombs"... but we started out with Black Cat Lady Fingers. We would carefully lay one at a time on the step, light it carefully and then run like the dickens.

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As we got older we started having big parties, mainly with families from church. There was a huge firework exhibition on top of the Big Dam. I was impressed and I looked forward to the day, when I would be the one lighting them off.

And then the celebrations began to last all day. The first one that I recall started early in the morning. The Keeney family was there bright and early. Janet made Æbleskiver, a Danish "cake" for breakfast. And when the Crossman family showed up, we could hardly believe our eyes. Ed brought out "bunches" of pop in a bottles. This was not Shasta in can, but real pop like 7UP and Orange Crush. Yes there were plenty of "orange mustaches" on little kids that day. :) They put all that pop on the shady side of the house in wash tubs packed with ice. We probably drank more pop that one day than we did the rest of the year. :)

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And then there were these crazy "Grownups" that were such good examples when it came to firecrackers. Do you remember the "Chasers"? My mom could tell you plenty of stories of being the "target" of those loud whistling with report Chinese creations. :)

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As we became teenagers, our celebrations started the night before. We camped on the peak.. we camped on the pontoon... Many memorable times. Bottle rocket shot from the highest point on the ranch made very little noise. And sleeping on the pontoon in the middle of the night in the middle of the lake presented interesting situations for a bunch of boys. I won't go into detail on that. :)

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One thing proved normal in this tradition... we always ate well. Of course we continued to look for more creative ways to do firecrackers and bottle rockets. 1000 firecrackers going off all nearly all at once was impressive. And then when our friend, Doug Foley lit over 400 bottle rockets at one time after we lined up the fuses around the outside of a coffee can... I can still hear Mrs. Foley saying, "Oh Dougie, Dougie, Dougie". :) Of course that was music to our ears. :)

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One family that was always a part of the celebrations was the Stokka Family. Pastor and Mrs, Stokka were amazing people. And their kids were so much a part of our lives for years. Our parents always encouraged us to have good friends.. these people filled the bill.

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But in 1979, there was little desire to celebrate. And to top it off this Fourth Of July was rainy. It was decided to meet together at the Church building in Rapid City. Oh yes, we still ate well, but the solemness was so out the ordinary. My Dad and Mom went for a walk to see the flowers in Halley Park in downtown Rapid City. When they came back, three young college age guys were with them. One was named Hans... I don't recall the others, but I do remember that these young men were passing time while waiting for a bus to continue on their journey across America. They were from Sweden, Norway and Germany. And what do three European guys do in America on the Fourth Of July? But so characteristic of Tige and Vicky, that even in sorrow, they reached out.

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The evening of the Fourth in 1979 still found us at the Ranch and a year or two later we had a Family camp at Rainbow Bible Ranch. Times have changed, the years have come and gone, many of the people from those times past have passed on to glory. I am thankful to say that the family did not become reclusive in those hard days. I am thankful that even in the storms and cloudy days, there have been rainbows. I am thankful that in Christ we can have joy even in the midst of pain.

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TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE AND CONTINUES TO DO.

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But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

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BLESSINGS TO YOU ON THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION... AND I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. :)
Larry B. Reinhold

WE CLIMBED "THE MOUNTAIN" TODAY

Lonetree Ranch
14666 Lonetree Road
Sturgis, South Dakota 57785

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