Welcome to D-bar-W Learning Ranch

Welcome to our learning ranch. Our door is always open to all of you, whom we love dearly. Please come and visit anytime. This is what you can expect to find: One hard-working, general contracting, creative building Dad, named David; one "non-conventional" Mom, self-named "Auntie W."(so the neighbor kids don't have to call me the formal, "Sister Radmall")... or "Rad-Mama," as dubbed by a 3-year-old neighbor; A devoted 14-year-old student of "Newton's Universe," Amber; a dependable boy of 11 years, Brigham; A 10-year-old lover of babies and "nurturer" to the core, Lisa; a spunky, inventive 7-year-old boy, intensely involved in tractors and dirt, Isaac; an independent 4.5-year-old cutie pie, who wants to do "whatever I want," Rachel; a 4 year-old brown mini horse mare, expecting to foal any day, "Pennie"; a gentle, but spunky 3-year-old white mini horse stallion, named "Mighty Mouse" or "Mighty" for short; 3 female cats, "Colors", "Blackie", and "Socksie"; 4 cute kittens, "Galileo" et al; 5 brown hens, "Bertha and Company"; 1 noisy rooster, "Moroni"; 5 bunnies, "Leonardo Davinci"--"Leo" for short, "Buddy", "Bubbles", "Alfred"--"Fred" for short, after Grandpa Big John's Dog, and "Snowball"; 2 "teenager" chicks--one month old, "Fluffy" and "Lucky"; 14 baby chicks, see other post for names; and 8 fuzzy ducklings, named "Bob", "Ducky" et al.

All of these people and animals you can expect to see running around our 5 acre "learning ranch" surrounded by our neighbors' 200 + acres of farm and wetlands. Our closest neighbors live 1/2 mile in either direction and our normal bike route to our last home is 1.3 miles away, passing 8 houses on one side of the road, and 4 houses on the other, besides the barns and fields. We often take bike rides to Trenton Park, about 4.5 miles away, passing just one more house until we reach the center of town--then just 8 more houses until the park.

Trenton is a great place to live because of the people, the space, and the lovely views. Every year on the 24th of July, the town puts on a fabulous celebration, including a parade--that circles the town twice (in case you missed it the first time), a "lawn-mower race", a carnival for the kids, family games, sand volleyball tournament--pretty competetive, entertainment, an afternoon of "foam" and water--the fire men provide the water hose to spray over the ball field, lunch for a bargain, dinner and fireworks on the sod farm. This is an event you have got to experience at least once in your lifetime! ...anyone want to come this year???

We, the Radmall family, began our adventures in Trenton 13.5 years ago, when on October 1, 1995, we moved into a 528 square foot bungalow on 17.5 acres, which we dubbed our "love shack," because it was just the two of us and Amber, age 1, and we couldn't lose anyone in that home. Since that time, we have built 3 homes over 2400 square feet within a 1-mile radius of one another, moved 4 times, and added 4 more kids plus litters of kittens, a few horses, and all you see above. I will attempt to chronicle our story of living here in Trenton through this blog, along with all the lessons we have learned along the way.

I hope you enjoy the posts.
Sincerely,
Wendee