Redbird Ranch(ette)

Our 30.3 acres is bigger than many farms in Asia or Europe where they subsist just fine. In the U.S. 30.3 acres is often scoffed at - like - do you really need a tractor? can you really make egg money?

Ok fine, whatever. I love that we are a Century Farm, though only technically.  In Kansas you have to be 100 years old and have at least 100 acres. We were a Century Farm until we sold off much of the land, because, we aren't farmers. We don't have the experience, knowledge, or equipment to become crop farmers this late in life. 

I spent time trying to find out if my grandparents had a brand for their cattle, the kind you burn into their hide as your identifying mark. I've never seen a branding iron, and nothing about the family name is found in the history of Kansas brands. I thought it would be cool (yes, cool) to recreate that brand for the purpose of making a barn quilt and naming our farm/ranch/ranchette. You know - the |G - The Bar G for you novices. |G Farm feels like we should be harvesting wheat. |G Ranch indicates LOTS of livestock and LOTS of land. Ranchette is tongue in cheek, a few animals on a little bit of land.  The name needs to be historic and have a ring to it.  So many names we've discussed, and rejected.  GPJ Homestead is just too corporate.  

What do we have that anyone would notice? Birds! And especially cardinals. Redbird Ranch/ette? I like it; alliterative and rememberable. I already saved a barn quilt pattern just because I liked it. Our brand could be the Double (RR), if only for stamping our steaks with a mini iron. 

The best reason of all to choose Redbird Ranchette is because my parents, especially my mom, loved birds. They would watch for hours, and even participated in counts and migration observations. My mom could name a bird from a inept spoken description or its song. Feeders, suet, and houses are all over the yard. But it is the redbird that they loved most. I suppose it was the color, but also their prolific return in the colder months to feed close to the house, or maybe the myths about cardinals being harbingers of loved ones passed. Nothing is more beautiful than a snow-covered yard full of red birds. It makes winter bearable, and it is a sign of better days to come. 

Redbird Ranchette it is. 

UPDATE....Today we were having lunch with friends and they threw out some different ideas we might consider... 4 Gen, Redbird Roost... Thanks Mrs. Mac and Mrs Wilson, I think!