Ann Edall-Robson Author, Photographer, Lover of Life "Capturing moments others may never get to experience.” | Be the first to get all our latest news and updates. Join our mailing list. |
Spitting out a mouth full of lake water, they watched the water run free through the hose into the now gravity-fed water trough. The last two years had been spent planning and trying different techniques so they could utilize this section of pasture for the cattle without damage to the lakeshore. It all came together with the help of their contacts within the local watershed group. The ranch now had water for the cattle and the group was spending their time doing riparian work along the shore. They’d worked together, creating a plan for the good of all. Ranchers are stewards of the land. They work hard to make sure cattle are rotated out of one pasture and range, into another. If this is not done, the land faces overgrazing, and can take years to be a viable feeding ground. Water sources need to be looked after too. Not only for the good of the stock, they want to have access to it, but with mismanagement of watering holes, creeks and lakes, the water can become of no use to the land, animals - wild and domestic, waterfowl, and ultimately the rancher. The sustainability of a rancher’s livelihood is dependent on the year around care of the water and land. They do this on their own, with neighbours, and with local, government and privately funded groups. It is our privilege to know and be acquainted with these stewards of the land. October 10, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that expresses the idea, “for the water.” You can find inspiration in water protection movements. Is it a celebration or a dark dystopian warning? Consider your place and the bodies of water that have shaped you. Go where the prompt leads! #AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99Words #FlashFiction #farmerslife #ranchtradition #riparian #watershedgroup #workingtogether #MoonRisingAnEclecticCollectionOfWorks #stewardoftheland #landstewardship #caringfortheland #thankarancher #ConnectWithThePast #storiesofthepast #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #CozyMysteries #cookbooks #PromptWriting #WesternHeritage #TheOldWays #RanchCulture #BeginningToEnd #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography
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Plates the size of a little person’s hand rest beside china cups and saucers from another generation. Delicate napkins made from lacy material, found in the sewing room, lay across the guest’s laps. Mr. Bear presides over the gathering from the head of the table, and curly haired dolls wearing their finest dresses and hats sit quietly on cushioned chairs. The young miss joins her friends at the table when the lady of the house emerges from the kitchen carrying tea and baked goods on a linen covered tray. Announcing it’s time for the monthly tea party to commence. Tea parties are for children of all ages. Our mother came from England. She had a few beautiful china cups and saucers that were kept for use when special company visited. In later years, I found this odd because those considered to be special company were probably quite uncomfortable with the use of such finery, as they called it. They preferred to drink their coffee or tea in a mug. The one thing I don’t find as odd is that my early childhood years always included some kind of child’s tea service set. The memories of tiny porcelain cups, saucers, side plates, and tea pots still bring a smile to my face. I have a collection of tea cups and saucers that belonged to our mom, mother-in-law, and a gift of a complete collection of ‘odds’ from a special grandma who did not have one of her own children or grandchildren interested in her ‘finery’. Again, it is not uncommon for rural living. Thanks to Nana (aka our mother) who served tea to our girls in china cups when we visited, the tradition was introduced to the next generation. One of the girls would not, for years, drink tea or hot chocolate unless it was in one of the cups her Nana had given her. Times change, but the traditions and memories don’t. An afternoon visiting with friends is just that. Beverages and goodies adorn the table, and conversation prevails. During times when we couldn’t get together in person, we would have a telephone or zoom tea party. Each of us, setting the table as if we were all going to be in one room. At the chosen time, we would pour the tea, and connect. Chatting, sipping, and chewing, we were determined to have our tea party. Now close your eyes and think about the small child within. The one who had a special tea party outfit…floppy brimmed, oversized ladies sun hat, or a top hat worn at a rakish angle, gloves, and for the boys, an umbrella as a cane. Chatting and listening to toy box friends seated around a makeshift table covered with a towel or blanket. A child’s imagination takes them to the place that serves tea in style. Where the lady of the house takes the time to sew, bake, serve, and join in.
October 3, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about any ritual involving tea. It can be a daily afternoon tea prepared specifically or the reading of tea leaves in a cup. What do you know? What do you imagine? Is your story deep and ponderous or bright and flash? Go where the prompt leads! #AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99Words #FlashFiction #farmerslife #ranchtradition #ranchlife #teaparty #gardenparty #teaandcookies #teawithfriends #MoonRisingAnEclecticCollectionOfWorks #TheSorrelMare #thankarancher #ConnectWithThePast #storiesofthepast #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #CozyMysteries #cookbooks #PromptWriting #WesternHeritage #TheOldWays #RanchCulture #BeginningToEnd #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography
“Tell him it’s broken. Then you won’t have to write the test.” “They don’t know if it’s broken, yet.” “He won’t know and you’re wearing a sling. Man, that mare can buck.” They walked towards the classroom, discussing the weekend’s event. A horse race challenge that ended elbow first on the dirt road, and a trip to the emergency. In the classroom they tried to explain why she couldn’t write the exam. The one she hadn’t studied for. “This isn’t typing class and you don’t write with the hand sticking out of that sling. Exam starts in five minutes.” The sorrel mare was a prime example of a horse that liked to show how good she felt by throwing her heels to the sky and her nose to the ground. Not often would she let you know she was feeling her oats, but at the most inopportune time and location would be when all hell would break loose! Adding an element to the surprise was that she rarely bucked with someone on her back. She was just plain sneaky about when she would decide to perform. If she put her mind to dropping her head, a rider that was not paying attention could end up on the ground and most likely walking home. And that is how it came to be that a trip to the emergency room was needed to make sure there were no broken bones but that the ego was somewhat kept in tact. After all, a warning had been issued, “If you run that mare, watch that she doesn’t buck you off!” What does an adult know that a teenager doesn’t? Apparently, a lot when it came to the sorrel mare because about a mile from the barn the words were to be proven. On a gravel road surrounded by friends riding saddled horses, the challenge was issued as to who could get back to the barn first. The race was on. That was about the time that the teenager, who preferred to ride bareback, encountered an upside-down view of the mare’s shoulder. Unceremonious, airborne antics ended with a solid landing on the gravel road. Seconds split in half could not have anticipated the quickness by which that mare deposited her rider elbow first into a world of hurt and headed to the barn. The look of disgust on the sorrel’s face when she was caught and brought back to carry the teenager home was priceless. It was almost as if she knew she was expected to fulfill her part of the old saying, “If you get bucked off, you get back on.” Excerpt from the pages of Moon Rising: An Eclectic Collection of Words (The Sorrel Mare) by Ann Edall-Robson Note: The picture shown here is not the Sorrel Mare written about in this story. But every time I have the opportunity to encounter mare of this colour, especially if she has a blaze face, it reminds me of the day some 50 years ago.
September 26, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a broken arm. What happened? Is there a cause and effect because of the broken arm? Was the injury faked? Why? Go where the prompt leads! #AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99Words #FlashFiction #farmerslife #ranchtradition #ranchlife #buckedoff #badsprain #sprainedarm #marebucks #MoonRisingAnEclecticCollectionOfWorks #TheSorrelMare #thankarancher #ConnectWithThePast #storiesofthepast #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #CozyMysteries #cookbooks #PromptWriting #WesternHeritage #TheOldWays #RanchCulture #BeginningToEnd #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography |
99 WORDS A page to share creativity in 99 words - no more and no less.
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