Friday’s Quote – The Crazy Ones

Welcome to Poppy’s Blog!

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 

Come follow Poppytheauthor a country girl at heart on YouTube and Instagram. 

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

Come follow poppytheauthor a country girl at heart on facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Friday's Quote - First Steps

 

Welcome to Poppy’s Blog

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

Chief Inspector Poppytheauthor

Come follow poppytheauthor on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram

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

Come follow poppytheauthor a country girl at heart on facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Friday's Quote - Made of Light

Welcome to Poppy's Blog! 

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

Come follow poppytheauthor on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram

A Beautiful Memory

 Welcome to Poppy’s Blog

Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday

Today I will be reading a story I wrote Saturday – A Beautiful Memory

Growing up as a child my mother loved to visit people, being outdoors with nature and traveling.  Her favorite place to visit was Lake Tahoe.  Her friend had a lodge on the South Shore and Cheryl lived in Zephyr Cove.

Mom decided to have a girl's weekend.  I was 16 and learning how to drive. My mom called us to the kitchen and my dad wanted to teach us how to fix a flat tire, just in case we got one. My dad said, maybe I can time you girls to see how long it will take. We looked at him and said, we are not a pit crew.  Then he gave us each a job. My job was to remove the spare tire from the trunk.  Jessie was supposed to loosen up the lug nuts before Cindy jacked the car up.  They both started to argue about something that had nothing to do with the flat tire.  My dad had to step in and help Jessie.  I rolled the tire over to the car and my dad put it on.  (That my friend is how I learned to fix a flat.)

We packed the car and said our goodbyes.  I was riding shotgun since I was the oldest girl.  We made it to our destination, Lake Tahoe.  We immediately unloaded but my sister locked the keys in the car.  My mom decided to take a nap and said, we better have those keys when she wakes up.  I had the back trunk open, so Jessie crawled into the trunk and pushed the back seat open.  Then grabbed the keys and opened the car door. We put the keys inside the room. 

We then grabbed our bathing suits and headed for the hot tub.  My mom woke up from her nap and we saw her walking with her friend.  We stayed in the hot tub until our fingers were wrinkled.  The following days, we visited Cheryl in Zephyr Cove and went hiking in Zephyr Cove Park and then tobogganing.  We visited Virginia City and I got to drive on Highway 395.  In Virginia City they reenacted a corral shootout.  It was cool.  We had fun and arrived home tired, but we had lots of stories to tell our friends.

This weekend I went to Virginia City and remembered our girl’s weekend.  I smiled and said to myself, "What a Beautiful Memory."

 

Poppy

Come follow Poppytheauthor a country girl at heart on facebook, instagram and YouTube.

Friday’s Quote - Masterpiece

Welcome to Poppy’s Blog! 

MASTERPIECE

Treat your life as your masterpiece.  Know that you get to decide how you paint

every inch of your canvas – the color, the texture, the size, and the lighting.  It is all up to you.  Do not be afraid to try new things or add new designs because it is your masterpiece.  Try bold colors, paint over your mistakes, start over whenever you want.  

This is your life and your masterpiece, so create one that you love.

-Nikki Banas 

Poppy

Come follow poppytheauthor a country girl at heart on facebook, Instagram and YouTube.