Christmas Letter 2018

Well-- another year seems to have gone by in a blur and I'm sitting here trying to remember -- Gee- did we do anything interesting this year?

We did a lot of the same old same old:  sat around watching the hay grow, picked here and there, did Winfield again, catered to the cat (an immensely and intensely pampered beast that Trish seems enamored with), etc. 

In May we got to stay at the Boarding House, which was a treat.  Trish's niece Amy is best buds with the PW and was able to get us (Amy, Trish's mom Allene, and me) rooms for a couple of nights.  Possibly the ritziest room I've ever stayed in.  Very nice.  Incredible shower, the bathroom was almost as big as our house ;-)

I had a somewhat scary experience earlier this year:   a graphic illustration of how a perfectly normal day can suddenly turn otherwise.  Range fires are a very common experience around here and we all know you're not supposed to drive into smoke, but many of us probably do.  I was driving back from Bartlesville when a bit of smoke drifted onto the road.  Nothing to worry about so I kept going.  I rounded a corner and ran smack into the thickest smoke I'd ever seen. I could barely see to the end of the hood. This portion of the road had no shoulder, and flames were right up to the side of the road.  So pulling over wasn't an option.  Backing up wasn't an option (I'd certainly get rear ended.)  On coming traffic suddenly appeared out of the smoke with about a second's warning so I couldn't turn around.  It looked like a scene out of hell.  Nothing to do but cross your fingers, drive on, and hope for the best.  Fortunately I got lucky.

Another book about Pawhuska and Osage Country was published recently.  Trish relates:  The book, Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann, is a new version of an old tragedy that occurred in Osage County in the 1920's. This book has gained national attention.  I had the opportunity to hear David Grann speak to a packed auditorium in Tahlequah, OK.  I also met him in Pawhuska at a book signing.  Word is out that there will be a movie made of the book, with emphasis on the birth of the FBI.  

Trish continues her work as docent at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve.  She has become the official "Leader of Hikes" to the John Joseph Mathews' cabin.  She also continues to march with fellow docents in local parades when she has the chance.  

[Trish's comments about her travels this year.]  I took two trips this year without Allan.  (We have to stagger our trips so one of us can stay home to tend to the livestock (both furred and feathered)).  In the summer, I traveled with my niece Amy and her kids, Jack and Siena, to Arizona.  It was our first time to see the Grand Canyon.  In the fall, my dear friend Jami and I took our yearly road trip.  Jami discovered that Hermann, MO, has an Oktoberfest every weekend in October.  We decided to check it out. The time spent was too short, so we have already made our reservations for 2019's Oktoberfest.  

In November I took my mother up to Omaha for a family gathering in honor of her 93rd birthday.

Just before Christmas Trish and I took a quick run down to Allen, Texas to visit Trish's niece Amy and family.  It was a very pleasant weekend.  Amy really knows how to throw a Christmas party.  They'll be talking about it for years to come!

We hope you all are doing well.  We wish you a Merry Christmas, a joyous Holiday Season, and all the best for the coming year.

Farm Report

 We currently have five head of chicken.  Darla (aka Devil Chicken II) passed on.  She had become truly wicked.  We did not mourn her.  Thanks to a series of late freezes and frosts our plum crop was about 1% of last year's.  No peaches.  No pears.  Fortunately a bumper crop of blackberries helped to make up for this.  Hay crop was decent.  I still run the garden year around.


Construction Report

We've gone from construction to repair.  There's always something.

Music Report

It was another pretty tame year music-wise.  We threw a couple of pickings, jammed at a few more, and had a couple gigs:   we played for a benefit in downtown Pawhuska during the spring, and later in the fall we played at a house party where we literally sang for our supper.  One picking  was certainly different -- we entertained a group of bikers during Oklahoma Freewheel.  We did the whole Winfield experience this year (see the Winfield Pix page).

Anyone passing this way is always welcome to drop in and sit a spell. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season and we wish you all the best for the coming year.