Mild Winter

We’re thankful for some mild winter weather. The goats appreciate it too. They have been free ranging, supplementing their browsing diet with alfalfa hay. They don’t like it when there is “white stuff” covering the ground.

It feels like winter

Cold last night 6 degrees, light cover of snow and froze the fish water except for where the fountain is. Christmas is coming!

miniature golf

We set out the rest of our miniature golf course.  We haven’t made sense of it yet, but the children (and adults) who played it today don’t seem to mind.  The goats were in the area and were moving course hazards as the goat kids played king of the hill on each piece we added.

AWOL

We’re back!  More than a year since our last blog, and much has changed.  We did initiate the motel rate which is $50 for one, $55 for 2, $60 for 3 and $65 for 4.  Our B&B rates are $60 for one and on up in $5 increments.

We started with 3 “holes” of miniature golf.  We acquired 2 mother fainting goats and 3 babies born in March – a lot of entertainment for us and guests.  We expanded our pond area after 15-20 head of cattle dismantled it seeking water after a 2 mile trek after being spooked last October 31st.  We now have a fence to protect the pond and hopefully slow down winter drifts.

Stay tuned.

Price Change

Another change coming soon to the Patriot Inn. We realize that we serve the community not only as a B&B, but also as a motel. We recognize that some of our guests are not really interested in a continental breakfast, just a comfortable, affordable place to stay. We feel this will be a win/win change.
We want to introduce “Motel Rates” which will be $45 for single, $50 for two, $55 for three and $60 for four, coffee provided.
The B&B rate which will include several breakfast menus to choose from, access to the “coming soon” hints for the following prices: $65 for single, $70 for two, $75 for three and $80 for four. Until we get our menus and special coming attractions in place, our B&B rates will continue as advertised on our website, www.bbc.net/~patriotinn. Stay tuned.

Coming Soon

Hi Everyone,
I’ve been AOL, but now will be updating this blog regularly. What’s new at the Patriot Inn? Spring is soon to break out. The birds are here and ready! Also here are a couple of hints of what is in the works: “putting”, “101 degree water” and “water feature move”.

Is Rural Living for You?

The rural population has dwindled from the time of our country’s beginning. Fewer and fewer farmers are able to meet the needs of larger and larger populations. Many of our rural young people had to go to urban areas in order to follow their career dreams, but for many of them, the saying is true: you can take someone out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of that person.
In recent years there was a small influx of urban people who wanted to buy rural land for the peace and solitude it seemed to offer in comparison to the fast-paced city life. I worked as a dispatcher in the sheriff’s office for many years. Around 5:00 a.m. one morning I received a call from a very upset lady. There was a crop duster disturbing her sleep and wondered if we could do something about it. I asked if she could see letters on the body of the plane? She could not. Did she know whose field was being sprayed? She did not. She didn’t know her neighbors. She was mostly wanting to vent her frustration and I was unable to help her out. She complained, It was quieter in New York City where I came from!”
I saw an article in a local paper about that time saying that the smells of rural life are not always what idealistic urban dwellers expect. The article suggested that urban dwellers might want to spend a couple of weeks in a rural area first before making such a drastic life change. Maybe you can take someone out of the city, but maybe you can’t take the city out of the person.

Rugged Independence

Maybe instead of rugged independence, it’s more like stubborn independence.  Growing up I often wondered why it wouldn’t have been better for my dad to hire someone to fix something rather than to struggle to do it himself.  Things were tight financially, only I didn’t know that.  But Dad wasn’t the only one around who did that.  Like when we needed to upgrade the old wiring from the 30′s or before.  Dad just put in a new box and hooked it up.  Or like when Dad and Mom remodled the house in the late ’50′s.  They moved the door to the kitchen and made it an archway door.  They moved the bathroom which they had created in the pantry in the 40′s, cut a bedroom in half and put in a combination bathtub and shower.  Guess who did the plumbing?  Many a time I watched my dad fix the plumbing, assisting by holding tools and whatever.  Our cousin Tom, who also grew up on a farm (which had an outhouse), and who worked many years as a journeyman electrician, called it “farmer electric” and “farmer plumbing”.  Though my parents are gone now, my brother, his wife and I continue the practice – fixing plumbing, wiring (we get lots of advice) and I might add with pride (though not a stellar sample of carpentry work), I shingled my own house by myself at age 55 – by following a how-to book I bought.  We are fortunate to have all those do-it-yourself programs now days.  I am in awe at how my parents did what they did.  But (anybody out there listening?) I sure would like to have someone recommend us to one of those programs that fixes the mess we’re in because we burned out, tired out, got too many irons in the fire to finish, and the clock is ticking pretty fast these days.

Does Living in a Rural Area Mean you are in the Minority?

I’m taking my information from the USDA Economic Research Service website to define “rural”. Fifty million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, live in nonmetro areas. Nonmetro is defined as outside of the communting area to metro areas with 50,000 people or more. So 17% of Americans are living on 80% of the land area. I and the rest of the rural people are a minority, but we live on the majority of the land. No wonder we can see for miles around. No wonder we enjoy the sunrise and the sunset. No wonder we are weather addicts!

Rural Living

I’m interested in promoting the good life. Rural living has a lot to offer. We don’t have all the nearby malls and businesses to choose from, but we don’t have the traffic problems either. We have lots of fresh air and the view goes on for miles. You can actually see the sky, the moon, the sunrises and sunsets. People here are into do it yourself. I like to share products and “how to” advice that make this “good life” in Nebraska more rewarding. Come and share “the good life”, no matter where you live.