Second Tuesday on Franklin Hill Farm

A wonderful thing

By Bettina Sperry

The young man from the farm next door came over recently to ask me if I had a trail riding horse for his wife. I am sure at that moment I fell in love with the idea, too. Both he and his wife are nature-loving farmers, raised life-long on farms and in rural settings. I later convinced him that he needed two horses – one for his beautiful wife and one for him, so he can ride alongside her.
    I have a lot of love and appreciation for my Tennessee Walkers. They are healthy, well behaved, listen well, and are very affectionate souls. They are gentle and giving creatures. They would be moving to the farm next door, gifted to wonderful parents. And it took no time for the Walkers to fall in love with their new family.
    It was late winter and, excited about trail riding, we set up a brief time for getting the new parents acquainted with their trail riding horses – in the snow. It was cold outside when we got the two Tennessee Walkers saddled. Admittedly, from someone who has had a lot of neat experiences, the day would prove to be one of the more fun days of my life.

    The path down the hill from their house is steep. It was made more challenging by a thin layer of ice beneath our feet. The walk to the road was slow, steady, and quite beautiful. At the bottom of the hill, looking towards the wife’s parents’ farm, on the other side of the road,

we turned right onto the main road for just a short distance, then a quick left:

    Mastering a few rough spots, we broke a stirrup and had to dig into the wood pile to make a horse-mounting block. After providing a little training (which really wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done), we finally got the horses to move in unison:

It was soon time to do some exploration of the farms. After putting the horses away, we climbed into their old, camouflage-painted Ford F-150 and headed up the hills. I had wanted to see my farm from a different perspective, so getting that view from the neighbor’s property was clearly the best approach.
    Over the hills and up along the fence where the properties are adjoined, we did a check of the barbed wire and I showed them where I kissed Tony: Several weeks prior, Tony and gang had joined me here while I made some minor adjustments to the fencing. Tony was insistent on getting his nose into my business. The minor details of working with barbed wire were overshadowed by this large cow sticking his nose right up on whatever I was doing. Not but a few inches away with every move I made. As big as he is, it became clear that Tony wasn’t leaving. Nor was he afraid of me. I decided that this must be a hand-raised cow. I gave him a kiss on the forehead. He was happy and permitted me to finish my work.

Up on the ridge, we climbed out of the truck and climbed up the deer stand. Looking out of the window I saw a gorgeous view of the farm and the old F-150. It was then that I realized the full quality of the day. I’ve been around a lot of old trucks and tractors, so had a great appreciation for what I saw.

    Heading out of the deer stand, I shut the door behind me. A quick glance down, my heart was moved by the vintage door with a crystal knob. A lot of the homes around here were originally log cabins from the 1800’s, this door coming from one such belonging to the original farmhouse on the property.
    We ended our day with a view of my farm from theirs. The creek still frozen over, the stillness of winter ever present.

    Heading down though the pasture and past the pond, we were now at the lower fence line between the two farms. Enjoying the great view of my own farm, I turned around and saw Tony and crew behind us, ever enjoying their own version of life on the farm.

L-R: Jersey, Tony, CJ, and Rosie

Copyright © 2015 by Bettina Sperry