We were on our way across the western edge of Wyoming, on the way back from my grandparents farm in Indiana, which we visit, for the most part, annually. The highway was empty save for a few cars, and so was the snowy landscape that we saw out of the windows. Out on the prairie there wasn't a house …
Gluten Free Baking
Alderspring Ranch is a wheat-free zone. Most of us in our family of nine are gluten-intolerant, and so we have a completely wheat-free kitchen. We really don't miss wheat much anymore. Our 11-year-old daughter has risen to the challenge of recreating the snacks and desserts we used to …
Breaking the Wild Cayuses
 A while ago, one of our friends got engaged. Since she was going to be married, she could no longer keep her two horses. They were both Arabians, although only the mare had official papers. The mare was seventeen and cute, with a coat that was long and soft even during the summer. She was also …
My Horse April
 This is the story of my beloved horse, April. I will tell the tale as I remember it. I was eight years old when our neighbor's son came to sell us two horses: Shippie and April. I think it was even my eighth birthday, and I had just received a horse blanket. Dad tried her out first. Then he …
Team Challenge
 On the ranch, we own two Suffolk Punch draft horses, by the names of Red and Snap. Basically, they are our volunteer fence-knocking down crew. This, because of immense size and weight (they could cut back a little), is easy for them, and more than one of our vehicles have marks from one of those …
Riding for the Brand
I'm the oldest of seven sisters in Idaho. We all ride for Glenn Elzinga, our dad and boss on a 1700 acre ranch in "the middle of nowhere". We fall a bit short of the old time cowboys riding for a big outfit, getting meager pay. Really, most of what we do is little stuff, like helping out with the …