b'Cowgirl With A PenYOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN A RANCH HOUSE WHENBy Naomi LoomisPlease follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @thecirclelranchVisit our website at thecirclelranch.com and send any comments to Loomis489@yahoo.com. I would love hearing from you.A LITTLE COLLECTION OF RANCH HOUSE NOTES.Your house has a cellar. Every old house that I know has T he other night while winding down after a long day,a cellar and it is servers as a weather shelter and for food storage. I am thankful to have it.I was thinking about our ranch house. You see, we moved into the Circle L Ranch house when Codys Your electrical outlets are only two pronged. This is parents retired. This ranch house is our home, and now aprobably one of the things that drive me up the wall since part of the story of who we are and a large collection of allall appliances need three pronged outlets. Let me tell you, the things we love. After talking to our older generationit is frustrating!neighbors, we have come to the conclusion that this ranch house was built before 1910. Our house was a one room Your front door is the original wood door. That is all. Our homestead. The previous owners then added a largerdoor is heavy and made right and I like it.kitchen, a couple of bedrooms and an upstairs. In 1965, Codys parents, Fred and Darlene, bought the Circle L Your lawn ornaments consist of old rusted machinery. Ranch and in 1979 Codys parents added on a living room,Lets just say that we have a stock pile of iron.bedroom, bathroom and a laundry room. Codys parents raised five kids in this ranch house.Your sewer is just a pipe line to a row of old trees. Our that we have all the necessities we need because it takes aranch house does have a septic tank which was put in I came up with a few lines about living in a ranch house. vet at least an hour to come to the ranch. when Codys parents added on, but the rest of the house just has a pipe. The good news is that when we have a You Know You Live in a Ranch House When.Your washer has washed more than clothes. I will justbackup, all we have to do is go dig the dirt away fromYou can only run a few appliances/ electronics at once.leave that right there!!! the pipe.We are pros at knowing what will flip the breaker. Even with updated wires, this ranch house can only handle so You have fresh air EVERYDAY! I mean really, think Your back door serves as the door to the gun safe. much. If we flip the breaker, we have to run over a hill toabout all the drafts of fresh air that we get. When CodyYes, there are guns by the front door, back door and flip it back on. and I moved in, we had new windows put in and eveneverywhere in between.though these windows helped with a lot of the drafts, itYour bathtub also serves as a calf warmer and dogdidnt stop them all. Lets just say when the wind blows so Your walls are insulated with old Levis and western bathtub. It also has seen more sand, mud and manuredo our curtains. shirts! Yes, you read that right. Back when this house was than most houses in its lifetime. built insulation consisted of old shirts and jeans. OurThis is just one corner walls still have them in it. We put insulation on top ofYour refrigerator has two shelves/drawers full ofthem to help. We also found old newspapers packed in vaccinations/medicine for cattle, dogs and horses. Yep, Your entryway looks like the walls. We left them.you read that right. Vaccine and medications for all ourthe Calvary came for aanimals is important for us to have on hand at all times. visit. I counted them thisThe ranch house hat rack is a prized buck. I will leavemorning and we have it at this! Your laundry room also serves as a vet room. Our laundry30 pairs of boots in theroom is pretty big, it has a shower, a huge sink, a washer, aentry way. Whether weYour floors are hard wood. Living in the Sandhills, I dryer and large shelves. This room doesnt only hold dirtyneed Cowboy boots or appreciate our hard wood floors.and clean clothes, but you can find all vet supplies neededBog Boots, they areto treat a sick cow or calf, bandage a sore on a horse,ready to go!!You have a clothesline. Fresh air is the best to dry laundry animal ID tags, and the list goes on and on. We make sureand I know ours has been drying clothes since the 1900! Your fireplace has a place for a wood box. No, not a box for wood, but a box for a cold calf.Your cook stove is gas. This is one of the most important items in our ranch house. This is handy when the powerYour kitchen sink washes more than dishes. For example,is out, we can still have a home cooked supper and boil calf bottles, calving equipment, dirty kids, etc. Dontwater if we need to.worry, thats why Clorox was invented. Our ranch house is made with beams, walls and Your mud room really has mud in it. And NO I dontlots of stories. The form of ranch houses neverclean it every day. matters as much as what goes insidebecause those are the people and special things that transform anyYour floors have the creaks. No really, it is one of thespace into a home. Ranch houses not only house and things that I love about ranch houses is the creakingprotect people from the elements, but they tell a story, floor. You can hear the kids coming when they get out ofexpress a person or familys interests and make guests their beds. feel welcome. You have a floor furnace. Actually I love the floor Ranch houses are originals and they all have character. You furnace. It is very convenient to warm your cold feet andare welcome to come visit our ranch house anytime. dry wet clothes.14 January 2023'