Country Lifestyles
Bit and Spur Maker: Troy Flaharty
By Dani Blackburn
Bits and spurs are a functional part of a horseman’s everyday gear, but they start out as just a simple piece of metal. However, when that steel gets into the hands of bit and spur maker Troy Flaharty, it becomes a work of art.
Flaharty was born into a family of horse trainers in Pennsylvania, giving him firsthand knowledge of the value of a good bit and pair of spurs. At 18, he moved to Kansas to attend college on a rodeo scholarship in timed events as a team roper, calf roper and steer wrestler. His horsemanship plays an important part in the quality of work he produces.
“The elementary horsemanship is the fundamentals of a bit. If you don’t have elementary horsemanship, I don’t know how you can make them. You have to know what will work and won’t work,” Flaharty explained.
It was in college where he was first introduced to bit and spur making. He learned the fundamentals and continued the craft as a part-time gig, until he decided to go all in.
To read more pick up a copy of the May 2021 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Country Lifestyles
Lacey’s Pantry: Strawberry Sorbet
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Country Lifestyles
A Mountain Out of a Molehill
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.
Country Lifestyles
When A City Girl Goes Country
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.
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