Country Lifestyles
Look Out here comes the next Generation – Part 4
By Judy Wade
Rex and Regina Hand are raising their six children in Deer Creek on land that has been in the family for over 100 years. They are sixth generation Clay Countians, and practice in their arena on land their ancestors walked on. Rodeo involves the whole family. All except the youngest attend school in Windthorst.
Blue Hand, the youngest, is five years old and will attend Kindergarten next year. He likes to play t-ball and basketball. Although he has been riding for a couple of years, he just started his rodeo career last fall. He competes in mutton bustin’ and dummy roping. He likes to ride Doc, a 13-year-old bay that his brother Ace trained. “My dad is my hero, and I want to be just like him and rope and shoe horses,” Blue said.
Hadly “Bronc” is a seven-year-old second grader. A straight A student, he plays football, basketball and baseball. He began riding at age three and rodeoing at age 5. A member of Mid-South Rodeo Cowboy Association (MRCA), he competes in barrels, poles, flags, ribbon goats and his favorite, calf riding. “I like how they buck!” he explained. He has already claimed a title—Montague County Cowboy Church (MCCC) Champion Mutton Buster. He also likes to ride Doc.
“Dad is my biggest help because he helps me get my rope ready, and Mom is my idol because she wishes me good luck and cheers for me,” Bronc said. When he grows up, he wants to be a famous cowboy and a doctor. To read more pick up the February 2016 issue of NTFR.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Annette Bridges
Everyone needs a room with a view that makes their heart happy. My honest favorite panorama would be either the mountains or the ocean. I have yet to convince my hubby to make permanent moves to either, although he does enjoy the visits as much as I do.
The location of our house on our ranch does not provide the expansive field of vision of our land that I would enjoy. So, I have created a room decorated and furnished in a way that gives me smiles, giggles, and a wonderful peace-filled feeling when I am hanging out in it. I am in that place right now writing this column. I am in a lounging position with my computer in my lap on the chaise that was once my sweet mama’s. I had it reupholstered this year to give it a fresh look.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Local celebrity dancers of the greater Gainesville area brought the house down recently at the second annual “Dancing With Our Stars” contest in Lindsay. The event raised more than $200,000 as the sponsored dance teams did their best to take home the grand prize.
The money raised will go to the “Heart of NTMC” Campaign for the purchase of a cardiac capable CT machine for the Gainesville hospital. Rodolfo “Rudy” Martinez and Sherry Sherriden took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
-
Country Lifestyles1 year agoScott & Stacey Schumacher: A Growth Mindset
-
Equine7 months agoThe Will to Win
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoStyle Your Profile – What your style cowboy hat says about you and new trends in 2017
-
Country Lifestyles4 years agoAmber Crawford, Breakaway Roper
-
HOME7 years agoGrazing North Texas – Wilman Lovegrass
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoDecember 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoJune 2016 Profile – The man behind the mic: Bob Tallman
-
Outdoor9 years agoButtercup or Primrose?