A True Story - Joe Boots

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A special story for Halloween - Joe Boots

We moved into the little farmhouse in the mid 60's in Silicon Valley. The farmhouse was painted barn red.  The frontage road was lined with bushes and it had a long dirt driveway.  There was a huge loquat tree in front of the farmhouse, you could not miss it.  On the other side was a willow tree and a greenhouse.

We started unpacking the truck and mom decided to open the basement door to air it out. She was planning to store miscellaneous items in the basement.  We continued unpacking until dusk. We had dinner then watched a little TV.  Mom decided to go down to the basement and organize the items she put near the doorway.  Mom walked down about 10 cement steps and found a ceiling light switch and turned it on.  As she looked around, the basement was big, and it had a cement floor with cedar wood walls.  Far off to the left was a few shelves that looked sturdy enough to hold her boxes.  Mom made her way over to the shelves with the boxes.  When she put the boxes down, something caught the corner of her eye.  Mom walked towards the corner and found an old wooden brown trunk.  As she came closer, she felt a cold breeze shoot through her body.  Mom figured it was the wind from the open basement door, so she zipped up her sweatshirt and continued walking towards the old wooden brown trunk. It had black leather straps with metal buckles on each side with a skeleton key lock in the center.  Mom kneeled and released the black leather straps and opened the metal buckles.  She could smell a stench but was determined to open the old trunk. Mom opened the skeleton key latch and then had to push with both hands to open it because it was heavy.  Inside she found a dark

blue military uniform nicely folded along with a pair of boots.  Mom picked up the dark blue coat that was heavy and walked over to the light to see if she could find a name.  The name had been torn off.  Mom yelled for dad, and he went down to the basement.  They both looked at the uniform and dad said, "it was a confederate uniform."  It was double breasted with gold buttons with a high neck collar.  The pants had yellow stripes going down the side leg area

The boots were old and worn with small nails with large heads.  Some were missing. My dad said, we should put these back in the trunk.  Mom agreed, and walked over to the old wooden trunk and folded the uniform exactly the way she found it.  That night dad left for work around 2am, he was a baker.  My sister woke up and could not sleep so she jumped in bed with mom.  Just when my mom went to doze off.  We heard a boom then heavy footsteps coming from the basement.  It felt like it lasted for hours but it was only minutes.  Mom jumped up looked around and did not see anything.  She drank a glass of water and went back to sleep. 
My dad arrived home early morning and mom told him about the boom and footsteps. He said, it is an old house. The following evening came along.  We were watching dark shadows and heard the boom then heavy footsteps, coming from the basement, again. My mom decided to go down to the basement and my big brother went along with his bat.  He said, in case I have to hit a home run and laughed.
We were bunched together on the couch waiting for mom to come back.  We heard the basement door open and then nothing after that.  It was quiet.  You could hear the crickets and coyotes that night.  Mom found the old wooden brown trunk open.  She looked at the trunk puzzled because she knew she locked it.  My brother said, “you must have left it open.” As they both closed the wooden trunk, mom whispered we will call you "Joe Boots."
They came into the house and Mom said, “everything is OK.” That night mom decided to call our ghost “Joe Boots.”  Whenever we heard the boom and heavy footsteps we would say, “Joe Boots is out stretching his legs and keeping us safe.”

Let me leave you with this quote – “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the LIVES OF OTHERS.”

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Friday’s Quote – I’m a Little Scarecrow

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I’M A LITTLE SCARECROW

I'm a little scarecrow raggedy and worn.  I have big fingers and toes. I wear a hat, and a long sleeve shirt to keep the sun rays at bay.  When it’s time to scare the crows away, this is how it goes. 

I say, Shoo Shoo Shoo, go crow go, then I wave, “Away from my garden, go, go go!

I want to wish everyone a "Happy Halloween," and always have the courage to follow your Heart. 

Poppytheauthor a Country Girl at Heart

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A Note from Poppytheauthor a Country Girl at Heart

Welcome to Poppy's Blog!

I am happy to be writing this note to my readers and viewers.  When I started writing, my aspiration was to read inspiring quotes and write short stories. Since the beginning of covid/lock down my wish was to keep my readers and viewers buoyant with hope.  Poppy has had an overwhelming response to her blog and has touched the hearts of many people which makes her feel loved and blessed. Thank you!

Let me leave you with this quote, "Worry is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere."

Love and Peace,

Poppytheauthor a Country Girl at Heart

 

Another Day on the Ranch

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Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday

Here is a story I wrote on Friday - Another Day on the Ranch

As I settled in my ranch, I noticed the pine trees that lined the west side of the
property were turning brown and dying.  I called an arborist.  He came out on a Thursday and said I had a “soil compaction problem” which caused the beetles. I said, OK.  What do I need to do?  You need to till the soil around each tree at a depth of about 9 inches and add a layer of amendments.  He pointed across the road to the neighbor’s horses.  He said grab some of their horse manure and mix it with some of your dirt on your property and make a pile in the middle of your pasture. Every day turn the soil with a pitchfork.  You will then be able to use this aged manure around the pine trees once it is ready.  I will be back in 2 weeks to check on you.  As I sat there, I grabbed some dirt and formed it into a ball that did not come apart. So basically, I had clay dirt. I was watering and nothing was going to the root and my pine trees were stressed. Not to mention, I was stressed too. 

After he left, I walked over to the chicken coop and picked up two of my hens.  My sexy new jersey giant, and a barred rock hen.  I took them over to the trees and set them down.  As I watched, they started scratching and eating the beetles.  My other chickens started to make their way over to the pine trees. I figured I had a few weeks before my aged manure would be ready. Why not give the chickens a feast for a couple of weeks?

The following day, I went to the neighbors and they let me take some manure off their hands.  I then drove over to the Rental Depot on Riverside and looked at the tillers.  A young man approached me and asked, “what are you looking for?”  I said, I need a tiller in about 2 weeks.  He then went on and said do you need a front or rear tiller?  I was puzzled at that point.  But I continued and said, it needs to be able to easily move around my pine trees and small spaces. The kid looked at me and said, “great let's get the paperwork going for a front tiller.”  After I finished the paperwork, I asked him what is the difference?  He said the “rear tillers are good for larger open garden areas. I learned something new today. 

Every day, I went down with my pitchfork, let the dogs out of their kennel and opened my chicken coop.  I then went over to the pile of manure and turned it.  It smelled but my only thought was, it will help the stressed pine trees. 

Two weeks came along, and I picked up the tiller and it had a bladed wheel.  The kid said, to make sure to hold it in place so the tiller will dig deeper.  I said, ok. As I drove home, I said to myself about a thousand times, “I can do this.” I got home and drove into the pasture and dropped the tiller. I turned it on, then I engaged the choke, and pulled the cord and it started.  I pushed the choke handle in. I did exactly what the kid said, to hold it in place so it would dig deeper.  I started on top and came down to the bottom, then went back up with the wheelbarrow and dropped manure around the trees and tilled one more time. I then dropped the drip lines and made sure they were not clogged with earwigs.  For some reason earwigs loved curling up in the heads.  I started around 7am and finished a little after 2pm. 

I made my way into the house and was ready to kick my boots off when I looked out the window and saw the arborist parking outside of the main gate.  He started walking towards the pine trees and I met him halfway.  He saw the chickens scratching near the pine trees and said, "they too will assist with the war against the beetles."  We started from the top and walked along the fence line.  The drip-line was on and he was extremely impressed.  He said I did a great job.  As we said our goodbyes.  He looked at me and said, "I thought for sure you would hire someone to do the work."  I said, “No, I enjoy being outside and learning about beetles, aged manure, front and rear tillers.  He let out a laugh and said, a pretty lady with a sense of humor. I smiled and said, thank you.

Let me leave you with this quote - Your only limit is YOU!

Poppy

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Friday's Quote - For What It's Worth

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For What It's Worth

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There is no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you.

I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

      - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sophia and Poppy

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Living and Learning

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Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday

Here is a story I wrote on Saturday - Living and Learning

While settling in my new home, I planned to start a vegetable garden. I went to hometown nursery in Paso Robles and purchased vegetable seeds for my raised beds.  Mr. Cardinale assisted me at Hometown Nursery.  He was a small framed man, wore a big hat and had a great sense of humor.  I then went to Orchard Supply to buy a weedwhacker.  I didn’t know anything about weedwhackers until my housekeeper’s husband said, they work well.  I had an older fella help me and he said, are you sure you want to buy this?  I said, “yes.”  I purchased the ECHO and extra trimmer line along with the blended 2-stroke oil.  I had been pulling weeds manually.  It was good exercise but 3 acres.  Hmm, lets rethink this.  While I was there, I purchased 120 flower bulbs.  I would plant them around the trees coming up the hill and around the front entrance near the main gate.  It would add a splash of color.

I arrived home and unloaded my car. I put the oil into the weedwhacker and pulled the cord.  It started just like that.  I went down the hill whacking the weeds to the right then came back up and did the left side.  It was easy to use and it was really giving me a workout. My neighbors were sitting on their porch and yelled, “you sure got a lot of energy.”  I said, yes, I do not want the weeds to get the best of me. They smiled as they watched me.  I then made it back up the hill and put the bulbs into my red wagon and headed down the hill to plant them.  I stopped at each tree and planted 12 bulbs near the irrigation line near the tree.  I then went to the front entrance and planted around 30 bulbs to the right and 10 on the left side.  As I walked up the hill, I planted 15 more on the left side in between the lavender plants. The rest of the bulbs I put near my door entrance under the headquarters sign. I would work on the raised beds tomorrow because I ran out of daylight.

That evening, I sat on the patio deck and thought about my friends working in the large firms.  If they only knew about this weedwhacker machine.  Instead of punching a bag at the gym, they could weed whack and be out with nature.  I then chuckled.  That night I slept like a baby.

Let me leave you with this quote – Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.

Poppy

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Friday’s Quote – The Crazy Ones

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THE CRAZY ONES

Here is to the crazy ones.  The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers.  The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing that you can't do, is ignore them because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire.

They push the human race forward. Maybe they must be crazy. Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.   

 

-   Jack Kerouac 

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Little Jersey

Welcome to Poppy's Blog! 

Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday

Here is a story I wrote on Saturday - Little Jersey 

It was my second year in Paso Robles and I decided to check out the small animal auction in Templeton. As I drove into the parking lot, I had a flashback as a child going to the 101 livestock auction with my dad.  I found a parking and went into the café to find a cup of coffee.  People were selling animals outside of the auction, chickens, ducks, geese, and some cattle dogs. I made my way into the auction house and found a seat in front of the round corral.  As the auction started it was interesting. They had cows, goats, pigs, and horses. Halfway through the auction I saw a little jersey bull calf come in the pin.  People started to bid on him.  I looked at him, he was small and scrawny looking, but I liked his color markings.  As the guy hit him with the cow paddle, I could see his eyes and he was scared.  I decided to bid on him, and I won.  A whopping $125. I had a few eyes on me but I did not care.  I was going to take the little jersey home and give him lots of TLC so he could get big and healthy. They loaded him in the trailer for me and when we

arrived home, I backed the trailer into my pasture and opened the door and said this is your new home. I am going to call you “Little Jersey.” He did not want to get out.  But when he saw the hay in the trough, he came out quickly.  He then found the water. Every day I would go out and see Little Jersey.  When he saw me walking down the hill he would start to buck and run around the pasture. He was gentle and ate right out of my hand. The neighbors watched as I fed him, and they would yell across the field "he loves you." While washing my dishes I would look out of the window to see what he was up to. One time he was chasing the chickens. It was funny. As time progressed, he started to look healthier. He was growing into a handsome jersey bull. As I entered the pasture, I would talk with him and he followed me around. As I checked the water trough, he would snuggle up against me. He was getting big and he almost pushed me into the water trough when he wanted to snuggle. I even crocheted a necklace for him. He was all grown up and strong and it was time to take him to the auction.  He was ready to reenter the world but this time healthy and good looking.

I hauled him over on a Saturday morning and I had my bill of sale. They had separated him and put him in a pin by himself. I went into the office and the lady said she had called the branding inspector because she thought I was a cow thief.  I had already showed her my bill of sale, but she did not believe it was the same jersey bull. She said my papers were not in the system.  I had to call an old rancher friend to talk some sense into this woman. He came and set her straight along with the branding inspector.  Apparently, the auction office was not organized, and had misplaced a stack of papers, which included mine and a few other peoples.

After all this mess was said and done.  Little Jersey weighted in over 1,000lbs. and was sold to a dairy in the valley.  I went over to see when they were loading Little Jersey into a fancy large aluminum trailer.  A man came over to me and said, “mam, he is gentle and healthy.  I said, “thank you” and waved goodbye to Little Jersey.

As I drove off in my truck, I was happy that Little Jersey went to a good home and will have lots of babies.

Let me end with this quote - Having a tender heart in a tough world is a superpower.

Poppy

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Friday's Quote - First Steps

 

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FIRST STEPS 

You do not need to see the entire path to take the first step. You can take the first step with
fear and doubt. You can take it with hope and trust. Too often we think we need to have it all figured out and planned before we start. But the truth is, the best journey’s taken are not planned from start to finish. They take unexpected twists and turns to lead us where we need to go. They take longer than we think they will. They teach us things we could have never prepared for. 

So, if you find yourself at the foot of a path, do not worry about everything ahead. Just take the first step, you will find your way.

-        -  Nikki Banas

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Country Time

Welcome to Poppy’s Blog

Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday

Today I will be reading a story I wrote Saturday – Country Time

After working in Monterey County, I decided to move to the country.  I had always

liked Paso Robles because of the friendly people, country roads and the hometown feeling.  I eventually moved there.  I found my home through an agent in Atascadero.  The moment we drove up to the gate my belly said, "this is my home." The agent said, the owners are home.  Would you like to meet them?  I said, yes.  Mr. Wilson was a nice man, he explained to me why he had the house facing north versus south.  How many nails were in the roof, why he cross fenced the way he did, and the place was set up for pig farm with small pins.  I fell in love with the bright sunny kitchen with its natural sunlight, and the smell of jasmine coming in from the windows.  

The day I moved in my agent was out of town, so I found my keys under the rock near the gate.  There was so much to do.  I unpacked slowly and watched Leo and Zachary running around in the field chasing birds and looking for ground squirrels.  They would jump into the water trough to cool down then it was nap-time in the sun. They were having fun.

I loved to watch the sunset from my porch.  At night, the sky was so clear you could count the stars.  I worked in the garden planting and tending to the many rose bushes, grape vines, and the fruit orchard.  I went to the small auction in Templeton and purchased a few chickens since I had small pins already set up.  I bought a hampshire pig and had it delivered.  My neighbors were great.  I bartered with them during spring with eggs from my chickens and grapes from the vines.  I received tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant.  We visited each other and had coffee and cake and great conversations.

Every day, I would wake up and walk down the hill and feed my chickens and let them out to stretch their legs. I would then open the main gate and take a walk to the end of the road with Leo and Zach. It was peaceful.  

One weekend, my daughter came to visit, I was working out

near the road trenching a line to drop the irrigation line down the hill for my lavender plants.  I started to dig my holes and plant the lavender when I heard a honk,  It was my daughter at the gate, as I turned around Petunia had uprooted two of my lavender plants and was throwing them in the air.  I looked at my daughter as she laughed.  I ran up to the house and grabbed a basket of grapes.  I walked over to Petunia and said, bad girl.  Follow me, as I dropped a few grapes at a time.  She followed me into the pin, where I left the gate open.  I filled her mud bath with water, and she jumped in while she ate the grapes.  I ran to the gate and my daughter was laughing.  She said mom, a corporate woman turned country.  My daughter only remembers me wearing suits and working in the large firms. I smiled and said, that was years ago.  Zachary had to give her one of his high fives before she entered the house. I dressed and took her into town where we had lunch at McClintock’s and walked around the park.  She also met my neighbors and said, Mom, you look incredibly happy.  I said, yes, I am, and we hugged.

When she left that day, I sat and smiled because she turned out to be just like me.  Such a beautiful, intelligent young lady. When I look back over my life, I realize that I did a fantastic job in raising my daughter.  I applaud myself, as a professional single mom and loving mother. I made sure she had a good education and my mom (grandma) made sure she was a child. Being in the corporate world as a woman was no joke in my days. My daughter was and is the world to me.  

Let me end with this quote – The greatest gift I gave to my daughter was my time, my love and mostly my attention.  We can only love others as much as we love ourselves.

 

Poppy

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Friday's Quote - Made of Light

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MADE OF LIGHT

Your heart is meant to be full of love and your belly is supposed to ache from laughter.  Your eyes are meant to crinkle on the edges from smiling so much and your soul is meant to feel joy with each new day you are gifted.  You are meant to feel peace when you rise each morning and again, when you lie your head down to rest each night.  My beautiful friend, this is what your natural state is.  

This is what light feels like.  Peace, Excitement, Love, Joy, Laughter, Happiness and Gratitude.  This is what you are made of and this is what you are made for.       - Nikki Banas

Poppy

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