From the Home Place

November 4, 2025

Wow, it’s 42 degrees at 5:30 a.m. When I let Coffee out the door, the back yard is light up with the full moon. I have so many memories of walking through nights with a full moon.

I’ll just admit it up right front – I do not like winter! I have a severe dislike of cold and snow, and yes, I know, I live in Wyoming. About the only time I appreciate snow is when I have to do something under a full moon with snow on the gorund.

I remember one such time: It was right close to Thanksgiving, and the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow, probably around six inches. We had been visiting with some relatives in Torrington, and then mom had to do some shopping, and then dad got to visiting with an old friend he saw on the street and …. Well, it was way after dark before we made it home.

You see, back then, coming from the south, we had to drive on about 25 miles of gravel road. The road wasn’t drifted any, it was just slow going. We finally made it home several hours after regular chore time, so the hustle was on.

The first order of business was to change into my chore clothes. We were never allowed to wear our “good” clothes while doing chores. After getting everyone and everything into the house and crawling into ice-cold chore clothes, Dad and I got both wood stoves to cooking.

Coat, hat and overshoes on, I headed for the hen house. Momma wanted the eggs gathered first thing, so she could get started sorting the frozen eggs out. Next, I had to walk around the milk cows that we had put in the south pasture, a half mile south of the home place. As I have said before, we didn’t have a flashlight at this time and dad was using the lantern to get water for the house and to do other chores.

So, I set off on foot to walk down and get the milk cows. It was an amazing night! The dark was being invaded by the moon light. As I walked, I could see jack rabbits as they jumped out from their protective sage brushes. I remember seeing a pair of coyotes as they ran across in front of me. I yelled and scolded them right strong, as they were not welcome visitors around our place. Yep, it was cold and dark, but hay, I didn’t have to worry about rattle snakes!

Reaching the gate, I found the ‘ol girls who were wondering where I had been. Each one’s bag was overflowing with milk and so we had to take our time going back home. I had been schooled long ago not to hurry a milk cow with a full bag, seeing that it would be painful for her to walk with such a load.

I remember the sense of security I felt while walking home with those ‘ol girls. As we all walked north together, there was now the bit of a little breeze that had just come up, but the whole, illuminated countryside lay quietly before us.

The snow crunched under each footstep of the cows as we journeyed northward. We hadn’t gone too far before Tiny, our only Jersey milk cow, showed up at my side. I had stopped by the grainery before leaving the barns and put a piece of cotton-cake into my pocket. It didn’t take Tiny too long to scout me out and get that cake. As I handed her the cake, I slipped up onto her back, yep she would always let me snitch a free ride!

Man, the frost on her back was really cold through my Levis, but it gave my cold feet a break. Before long, our caravan reached the milking barn. When we were within about 100-yards of the barn, I could see the red glow of dad’s Prince Albert cigarette. He was waiting on us.

Milking done, cows hayed and put to bed, we started separating the milk and feeding bucket calves. The last chore of the evening was to split and carry three armloads of firewood to the house. The moon and the snow had things so lit up that I could see to split firewood at night. So with all of my fingers in their natural place and my frozen toes, I finally made it into the nice warm house. A quick bite of supper and off to a very cold bedroom. But snuggled under my layer of quilts, it was just a few quick hours before we were up for a repeat performance.

God’s word tells us that He has given us the moon and the stars to “guide” us. All I know is that I was really grateful for that beautiful moon-light night as I headed out on my evening stroll. So, here we are today, under a full moon – slip out of your house after dark and enjoy the beauty He has provided for us. Think of all of the folks who journey under the protection of night, yet being able to find their way because of a full moon, even an eight-year-old boy headed to find his milk cows.

Enjoying God’s gifts with you, Neal