Our River - almost ready for swimming . . . Our playground flowed right around the main Stringam Ranch buildings. To the adult resident...

My Blair Little Brother The words conjure up so many pictures . . . A little boy, playing with his father's boots. Riding King Pranc...

Barbed-wire. The Devil's Rope. It all looks so innocent . . . By the early 1870's, smooth wire fences were fast being replaced by...

George and Me, before our architect days Tenting was my favorite thing in the world. I could happily sit for hours in my soft, quiet sh...

My Mom. World's Best Bread Maker I love bread. Freshly baked or cooled. Whole Wheat. White. Multi-grain. Potato. Sourdough. Soda. Ba...

Ready for town . . . We lived 70 miles from the nearest city. Thus, a 'trip to town' was more of an event. Inevitably, I got car...

 Admit it, they would fool anyone! But they look like peas! They open, like peas. And they have little pea-type things in them. And i...

My Victim I had my driver's license. I was queen of the world! I have to admit, here, that most ranch and farm kids were driving fr...

Mom, George, Chris, Jerry, Dad and me. Not picuted: The clothesline. Climbing was my thing. I loved it! Ask anyone. My climbing abilit...

And yes, that's me. Far right. Second row. Dressed in my best. A Dress?! Mom wanted me to wear a dress? To school? I had somehow sl...

Me - at my best . . . I hated them. Maybe it was the color. Yucky green. Maybe it was the fit. Tight elastic on the legs. Whatever. I...

The small, green roof? Blacksmith Shop aka Playground To one side of the barnyard, squatting amid neatly-stacked barrels and other ranch...

My Dad and older brother and sister at The River. Circa 1952 BD (Before Diane) I caught a snake. Garter variety. The banks of the river...

Somehwere inside that red circle was . . . the stronghold Under the floor of the old garage was a dark, mysterious, magical stronghold. A...

 My littlest sibling, Anita (she's so cute!) With another of our horses, King Prancer . . . and a friend   A...

The summer I turned nine was supposed to be the most exciting of my life. And it was. For all of the wrong reasons. First, ...