Last weekend we took Purple Ranch on tour to Union Valley, a small Texas town located in Hunt County. We met some truly fascinating people. Yvonne Brown with KHYI 95.3 radio, Michael Squires, owner of Squire Haven Bengals and Tommie Ledford a wonderful artist creating incredible paintings using a wide assortment of medium but my favorites were her watercolors. The above wood carving was incredible. The artist was commissioned to carve this eagle out of a live oak tree. The detail he accomplished using a chainsaw as his brush and wood as his canvas was something you would just have to see. As usual we had a great time and the weather could not have been more beautiful.
Until Next Time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Purple Ranch at Union Valley Fall Festival
Monday, October 13, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender Video
Purple Ranch Lavender Video
Originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Purple_Ranch_Bee
Purple_Ranch_Bee
Originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Monday, June 23, 2008
Havesting Lavender at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Havesting Lavender at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.
It's harvest time at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. The field was humming with the sounds of nature. Thousands of bees forged for pollen from the lavender blooms. Butterflies fluttered from plant to plant. It was hot but also very relaxing. Our Purple Ranch Body Mister came in handy. Wand weaving was the general past time. It was truly enjoyable under the pergola. I can't wait until we get the misters installed. We are getting ready for the Rowlett Freedom Festival. Should be a good event for us. I hope to see you out at the farm. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
www.purpleranch.com
Monday, June 9, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm Slide Show
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm is in full bloom. Visit us at www.purpleranch.com
Friday, June 6, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender Field at Sunset
Here at Purple Ranch we love lavender. As a photographer there is something special to me when I set down in our fields and just take it all in. The smells, the sounds not to mention the view. At least once a week I walk around the farm looking for that special shot. I caught this shot at sunset. It looked like the purple in the lavender was reflecting off the sky. It was very calming not to mention the sweet smell of lavender. It doesn't get much better than this. It is harvest time. I hope I will see some of you out at the farm. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
www.purpleranch.com
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Royse City Ribbon Cutting at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Royse City Ribbon Cutting at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.
Purple Ranch had a very successful ribbon cutting ceremony on June 3, 2008. Over forty people from the Royse City area came out to celebrate the event. Special thanks to the Royse City Chamber of Commerce and Julia Bryant for her hard work. All visitors received a door prize and a great lunch catered by Soulman's Bar-B-Que. The wind was roaring about 100 miles an hour and hamburger buns and plates were flying everywhere. I thought I was going to have to the nail gun out to attach that brisket to the plates. Everyone seemed to have a great time and I was glad I could be a part of the event. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
www.purpleranch.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Lavender at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
The lavender is starting to pop open here at Purple Ranch. We have about 2 more weeks before harvest time. The lavender plants are very healthy and are a beautiful sight to see. That's it for our lavender update. Until next time. Lavender Up!
You can visit us at www.purpleranch.com
Purple Ranch Hand
Monday, May 19, 2008
Roses at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
As you can see lavender is not the only thing that grows here at Purple Ranch. We have a great deal of roses here at the farm that serve as eye candy until the lavender blooms. Here's a beauty. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Lavender Update at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Everyone always asks what is the lavender doing at Purple Ranch. Well I guess that is determined by whether you are in the front yard or the back field. The photo you see is from the front yard. For some reason these guys just decided to bloom first. This small field has a variety of lavenders that we have been testing for our environment. As you can see they are doing quite well. All the Purple Ranch Hands have been preparing for Mom's visit from the master gardeners. I have been busy building the pergola which is starting to shape up. Still a lot of work to be done. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm Grapefruit Hand Soap
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm introduces our newest member to the family of already premium products. Lavender Grapefruit Hand Soap is a unique blend of sweet Provence lavender and the citrus aroma of ruby red grapefruit. This luxurious, high-quality hand soap kills germs while leaving hands feeling and smelling fresh and clean.
Purchase online at our store or come out to the farm. www.purpleranch.com
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm in Brenham Texas
Purple Ranch is back from Brenham Texas. What a great time we had there. Met a lot of great people and reunited with some old friends. The weather was perfect and that huge pecan tree will always hold a special place in my heart. Our booth was relocated right beneath a huge pecan tree. The trunk of this tree was about 6 feet. This was the first weekend that Purple Ranch did two events in one weekend. It is so exciting to see people excited about our products. Unfortunately I didn't get to visit the Blue Bell Creamery. That would have been awesome. But I did see some milk cows standing on a hill. Since the cows can talk there in Brenham, I wondered what they were saying about me. I think they probably said I stink, since the humidity was so high and I was sweating like a pig in a parka running the mile in the Mojave desert. Well, Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Spider and Buttercup at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Spider and Buttercup at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.
Here at Purple Ranch we are getting ready for a busy season. I came across this event out in our field. I love taking photos. For me it is a snapshot in time. It can never be repeated. The image of the spider and bee with buttercup symbolizes life and death. God has made nature with such balance. I am always amazed at how He creates things so perfect. The story is all about survival and making the right decision. I'm sure if the bee were able to step back he would have sought pollen from one of the other million buttercups in that field. But he can't so there he is completing the cycle. It reminds me of things in my life where a buttercup became a thistle once I got a closer look. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Visit us at www.purpleranch.com.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tattered Butterfly at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Last weekend my son Jake found this monarch butterfly at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. The night before we had some really high winds and some torrential rain. What a survivor. I love to watch movies and this butterfly reminded me of the American movie "The Memphis Belle". The story of a bomber crew during WWII. The Memphis Belle was a plane. There are a couple of scenes where all the men stand out on the tarmac after the missions and count the planes as they come in. This butterfly reminded me of one of those planes that came in and the wings were just torn up from the abuse it had taken. When I see things like this I realize that sometimes life is beautiful and everything seems to go right. Then there are those times when the wings seem to fall off. I hope I find all of you with your wings in tact. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Lavender Blooms at Purple Ranch
The time is here. The first lavender blooms can be seen across the horizon. What a great time of the year. My photographs now will turn to the business of lavender. I just finished design of a new brochure which incorporated a lot of my photography of products made here at Purple Ranch. This weekend we are preparing for three events next week. The Woodlands 10th Annual Ladies' Night Out, Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes and 118th Brenham Maifest Festival. It is great to be busy. This weekend I will be hopefully completing the pergola we started last weekend. I will keep you updated on the progress. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Monday, April 28, 2008
Purple and White Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch
The wind and rain have really taken a tole on the iris's. This one however has endured the elements. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm Sign
What a great weekend at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. One of my first blogs talked about the sign that James, with Cut of Steel, did for us. This sign weighs over 300 lbs. It felt like we had opened our doors for the first time. We now have a sign that people can identify with Purple Ranch. It does feel good to get this project finished. We still have to run the electrical to it. At night the purple part lights up with LED lights. Really cool. Come out and see it. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Purple Ranch Family
Most of you know that my Mom started a lavender farm about 3 years ago. I thought I'd share some of the rest of the story. Yes, we faced all types of trials and adversity as we started this farm. We lost 75 percent of our crop the first year. The above photo tells some of the rest of the story. Four years ago my youngest sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There are four of us kids and none of us had had any physical problems but now it was different. As we all watched my sister Brenda grow in her faith but wither down to almost a skeleton as her chemo treatments took all she had. My Mom and Dad would keep her during the week and take her to her treatments. Being a very logical thinker I would sometimes visualize life without her in an effort to prepare myself for the worst. Obviously not in hopes of that, but in my own way dealing with the loss of not only my sister but one of my best friends. I had never seen someone as strong as she was. God took on new meaning for my family. We were at the bottom just looking up wondering what next Christmas or Thanksgiving would be like. Would there be one extra plate or gifts under the tree that bore a name but had no recipient. In an effort to support her, all of us that could, shaved our heads to honor her as she lost her hair. I remember the first time I went home and saw everyone sitting there with their new hair styles. We all laughed and joked about the funny shaped heads we all had. Through all of this we learned to not make the outward things important, but see what was in the heart. I saw a family that I could take pride in being one of them. The above picture is all of us honoring my sister Brenda in our own way. During this time my Mom put her dream of the lavender farm on hold in order to take care of Brenda. There is a happy ending to this story. A couple of weeks ago Brenda got a positive bill of health from her doctor. Her cancer has now been in remission for 3 years.
Above is a picture of her and my Mom a few weeks ago. Alive and well selling lavender at the Tomball German Festival. I know she "Bren" will read my blog some day. So here is my plug. It's good to have you with us Bren. I love you. So, until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Here at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm we are getting ready for a very busy month. For the first time we are going to divide and conquer by doing two festivals at the same time. This weekend will be full of production and history will be made when we lift the 300 lb. plus sign up to it's resting place about 16 feet up in the air. I am looking forward to it. On a design note. I am creating new labels, one product we are very excited about is the lavender/grapefruit soap. It will become part of our signature line but it has really gotten rave reviews in the testing phase. Keep checking www.purpleranch.com for availability. Well, until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bird Eggs at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Sad day here at Purple Ranch. I have been watching these eggs each time I go out to the field. They are Killdeer eggs. We see them all over the farm doing their broken wing act when you get close to their nest. This nest was made in an indention where we had rooted up a lavender plant that didn't make it through the rains of last year. So I have been keeping track of these eggs. This weekend when I went to check on them they were gone. No evidence of shells in the nest so I assume a snake or the coyotes that frequent the fields had a midnight snack. Every year we have these nests in our driveway. They lay them right there on the hard aggregate. My Dad told me yesterday that he walked down the drive last year and some young ones had hatched. When he came up on the nest all of them were dead. So he went to tell my Mom. They came out to look at the nest and those chicks were running around until they saw my parents then they played dead again. My Dad said they were laying all over the driveway. That could kind of tie in with that possum shot I saw earlier today. Until next time. Lavender Up!
PS. I will try to get a photo of an adult so you know what I am talking about.
Purple Ranch Hand
Hope at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
They say a dog is man's best friend. Hope seems to be Jon's best friend. She loves to give kisses to let you know she is there. She roams Purple Ranch Lavender Farm with her brother Rolo. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Monday, April 14, 2008
Where is Sid when you need him?
Every time I see these dandelions in the field I think of the movie Ice Age. Remember, Sid the sloth eats the last known dandelion. I think Purple Ranch needs to get a sloth. As much as I dislike them, they make for interesting photos. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Purple Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Purple Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.
This bearded iris really caught me by surprise. I didn't go out there for a couple of days and then when I did this was the treasure I found. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Hand
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Mockingbird at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Today a I got a photo of a common visitor we have around Purple Ranch. Those of you who know about mockingbirds, you know that if they have a nest they will do anything short of calling out he military to protect their nest. Today I got this shot and came out unscathed. How fortunate for me. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
The blue bonnets are really coming out here at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. I finally got some time this morning to walk through the field and take some photos. What a relaxing place. You know they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don't know that my photos do justice to these beautiful gifts of nature. I always hope that I come close to capturing the essence of this time. Yesterday we worked on getting a sign pole up at the front entrance of the farm. We had a welder weld a 16 foot sign post that we will eventually hang a 3-d lighted sign from. Another little project I have been working on for a while. The weather here has not been very cooperative. We have had a lot of rain. Today is beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. I hope you enjoy the blue bonnets. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Dogwood at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
The dogwoods that we have are the Cornus Florida variety. They are trees growing 20 to 30 feet in height. Back home in Louisiana they grew taller than that. There is a fable about the dogwood. It was believed that the cross that Jesus was crucified on was made from the trunk of a dogwood, a very hard wood. The tree was believed to be extremely tall in his day. to ensure an end to the construction of crosses he dwarfed the tree and twisted it's branches. The flower of the dogwood symbolizes the crucifixion with the four petals representing the four points of the cross. The red splashes of color on each tip represents the blood shed. Pretty cool story. But then again it was told to me as a fable. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Lady Banks Rose at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Last weekend I took these pictures of the Lady Banks Rose at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. It is just covered with blooms. I'm not sure of the botanical name for this rose. My Mom is a master gardener and has stories for all of her plants around Purple Ranch. You can see her story at www.purpleranch.com in the "About" section.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Indian Paint Brush at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Indian Paint Brush at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.
It's another beautiful day at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. I got out early to catch the dew on all the blooms. The Indian Paint Brush is such a beautiful wild flower. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Calibrachoa at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
The Calibrachoa or trailing petunia is a tender perennial which produces flowers that look like small petunias. These are compact, mounded plants which grow 3-9� tall on mostly trailing stems. Flower colors include shades of violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze, and white. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Wisteria at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
Yesterday I walked Purple Ranch looking for interesting things to photograph. I didn’t have to walk far. The wisteria is in full bloom and was absolutely gorgeous. My photography just can’t do justice for this beautiful climbing vine. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Bradford Pear at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm
I love this time of year. Everything is in bloom and it really helps me realize how thankful I am for God's blessings. He is a wonderful creator. The photos you will be seeing in the next few blogs are from a couple of weeks ago. I walked around the farm taking pictures of new growth and any insect that would stay still long enough to let me get a shot. The Bradford pears that line the drive leading to Purple Ranch were just swarming with new life. Bees, birds nests, wasps, lady bugs all their friends came out to play. What a great time I had being a part of the fun. I hope you enjoy this spring as much as I will. Lavender should be blooming soon. I can't wait. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Purple Ranch Twin Terrors
The newest additions to the Purple Ranch Family are a couple of dogs we call the twin terrors. A brother and sister combo weighing in at 45 and 50 pounds. Part Blue Healer, Australian Shepard, Lab and a 3rd degree in Hulk Hogan gonna put a hurt on ya. Rolo and Hope can be seen practicing herding techniques down the rows of lavender. Don't get in their way. They will run over you and not even notice. Recently Rolo made a visit to the Vet to have some business taken care of. He came home with a fashionable white cone around his neck converting our once lovable puppy into a 50 pound wrecking ball. It was like watching an old pinball machine, Rolo being the ball, hitting every bumper, in this case every tree in the yard. Fun stuff. Until next time. Lavender Up!
What is Purple Ranch Lavender Farm?
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm is a family owned and operated farm. We are a physical farm with over a thousand plants in the ground. We are a close knit family with great work ethic. I have always enjoyed doing projects with my family. And we have plenty of them. But it is more than that. It is a dream. A dream my Mom is actually living out. A dream to leave a legacy and something for the next generation. My sons Jon and Jake love going to the ranch and playing Star Wars with a couple of homemade light sabers. Or driving the tractor which is Jake's favorite. Jon's would be planting with Mom or finding bugs. This last week we went to Tomball for the German Festival they have there every year. As I stood there and watched multiple people come up to Mom and invite her to this festival or this event I realized for the first time that this thing we call Purple Ranch is more than that. It is what I think about and what I dream about. It has become my dream also. As I try to market this business and create new things whether designing a new product label or adding functionality to the web it all comes down to this. Purple Ranch, the dream, is physically making people happier and healthier. At the festival this weekend the lady next door to our booth bought some Purple Ranch Lavender Foot Therapy. She told us on Saturday that she was so looking forward to using it but forgot it in her booth. She said she couldn't wait to use it. You know if I were to make a product or service. What better than one people are excited about using and can't wait to try. The Festival was one of the most successful events we have had. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Thanks Mom for giving us all a dream. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Purple Ranch Lavender is a hit at the Tomball 8th Annual German Festival
Purple Ranch Lavender Farm went to Tomball Texas last weekend for the 8th Annual German Festival. We had a great time. The Red Hatters stopped by to smell the lavender. What a great group of ladies. This trip was one of the most successful ones that we have had. We made so many contacts on this trip and everyone seemed to love the products. It is great to be back home in Dallas. This week we will be focusing on producing product to replace all that we sold. We will be busy at the ranch getting things ready for the Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes event. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Trip to San Antonio
I took a little break from the Purple Ranch to do some time with Jake, Jon and the Hayne's. We had a great time. We took an evening trip to downtown San Antonio to ride the river boat and eat some really good Mexican food. We spent two days at Fiesta Texas which was awesome. I love the Rattler and the Poltergeist. We rode them all. Our evening were spent shooting paintballs at each other. We had a great time. Thank you Cliff and Angela for your hospitality. We love you guys. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Purple Ranch At the Royse City Business Expo
How fitting that Willie Nelson's classic song comes to mind. It goes something like this. "On the road again, like a band of gypsies we roll down the highway". That described us at the Royse City Business Expo. Five containers, a dolly and about 6 Purple Ranch Hands and we are ready to go. The smell of lavender filled the air. The business expo was especially good since Southern Junction cooked our steaks. Quite tasty I might add. We had a great time, met some great people. I remember an old western and the main character's name was Paladin. He carried a card with him that read "Have gun. Will travel". We have our own version of that "Have lavender, will travel". By the way Bren, your new tag is "Lavender, that is". Well until next time, Lavender Up!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Young Purple Ranch Hands
At Purple Ranch we believe in starting them young. Jake loves to drive the tractor. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Purple Ranch Legacies
The Purple Ranch Legacy series has really pulled at my heart this week. Trying to tell you this story from the roots up has forced me to look into the past and think about my grandparents and what they mean to me even though they have all gone to be with the Lord. I realized how much they have invested in this endeavor along with us even though none of them were present for the first shovel breaking the ground. My grandmother "Great Mom" is my focal point today. She is in my thoughts. If she were here today I could see her walking out among the lavender with both hands stretched out gently brushing the tops of the blooms with her finger tips. The scene from "Gladiator" comes to mind. Each time he dreams of home you see the vision of Maximus walking across a field of grain, hands outstretched, and his young son running up the road to meet him. I know Great Mom would have loved the smell of sweet lavender on her hands and the feel of freshly turned dirt under her feet.
My memories of Great Mom are many. I lived with them for a few years as I finished college. Great Mom owned a florist years before I was born. I only heard stories about it and once while cleaning out an old dilapidated building behind their home I saw the marque sign that had hung in front of her shop. It was evident that she had a great love for plants. Her long driveway in front of their home was lined with azalea bushes and huge oak trees. On one side of their drive was an assortment of fruit trees and rose bushes. I remember two cumquat's she had growing in the back yard. As we played outside I would go by the bushes and grab some for a tasty snack. She would always say to me "Don't eat the ones on the bottom". One day I realized why she kept telling me that. This huge German Shepard came meandering through her back yard one day while I was there, stopped, hiked his leg and watered both of those cumquat's. He could only reach the bottom fruit.
Pop, my grandfather kept the yard trimmed like a fairway on a golf course. The front yard was a field of green, wide open except for a bird bath in the center of the yard. Bright red Bottle Brush lined the front near the road. The front yard was reserved for pass routes on Sunday afternoon during half-time and the bird bath played defense. It was laden with wickets when the whole family would play croquet. It served as a chipping green, pitchers mound and even the arena for a good game of freeze tag. But during the week it went back to Great Mom's paradise. An iris bed in the corner, a rose bed at the end of the yard, hibiscus, flowers and plants showing off every color nature had to offer. This was her roaming grounds. I can remember people giving her plants and saying "I can't get this plant to grow" and she would take it in like an orphan and care and nurture it until it found it's place in her paradise. She never forgot where it came from. If you walked with her in the yard she would say something like "Aunt Jane gave me that plant, she got it on a trip she took to Mississippi." She continually talked to her plants like she would a grandchild. There are a lot of memories in that yard. Some of those memories continue to live on in my Mom. So if you were wondering where my Mom acquired her love for plants and her ability to grow anything. My Great Mom is probably a good place to start. Until next time. Lavender Up!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Four Generations
Purple Ranch is a family owned and operated farm. It wasn't handed down through the generations but began as a dream of a 70 year old entrepreneur whom I refer to as Mom. This blog is dedicated to my family. All of them. The photo captures four generations on my Father's side of the family. Top left, Cliff Hand, Top Right, Paw-Paw Hand, Bottom Left, Myself, Bottom Right, Jon Hand my youngest son. You may wonder what this has to do with Purple Ranch Lavender Farm? Everything. Our work ethic and love for each other comes from the generation before my parents. It is said that you leave a legacy for 100 years. I believe that to be true. My Grandfather was 97 when he passed away. At that time my father was 67, I was 37, and my oldest son was 7. That is almost 100 years of legacy. In dedication to my Paw-Paw I leave you with a song he used to sing to all his grandchildren.
- Old Hogan's Goat
- There was a man.
- Now, please take note.
- There was a man
- Who had a goat.
- He loved that goat.
- Indeed he did.
- He loved that goat
- Just like a kid.
One day that goat- Was feeling fine,
- Ate three red shirts
- Right off the line.
- His master came
- And beat his back
- And tied him to
- A railroad track.
The whistle blew.- The train grew nigh.
- The poor goat knew
- That he must die.
- He gave three shrieks
- Of mortal pain,
- Coughed up the shirts
- And flagged the train.
Purple Ranch, From Dreams to Reality
The above picture is my Mom. Since I am a marketing guy I started blogging because that is what the pros do to get hits. In this process I realized that I am creating a digital history of my family and the events that happen at Purple Ranch. You all know we are preparing for numerous festivals and expos. That is happening every day. I thought giving some of our history as a family would be of interest to some of you. It might even inspire you to reach deeper and go farther than you ever expected. I dedicate this series to my parents Cliff and June Hand for giving so unselfishly of their time and efforts. I could never work enough hours or do enough at the Ranch to even come close to paying you back for all you have done. It only seems fitting that I would start with my mom, June Hand, owner of Purple Ranch. Below is her story.
MOM'S DREAM
Mom's dreams have always been larger than life. For many years she had dreamed of owning and running my own business. She loved all the aspects of selling and believed she could make a success of every dream she conceived. Over the years, there was jewelry to be acquired and sold, aqua bonnets for fitness centers and spas, and gemstones to be found, polished and reformed into works of art to be sold. Her interests were varied and widespread and were never deterred in her pursuit of that one dream that would begin as a seed of an idea and literally blossom into a flourishing endeavor. That dream is alive and living at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. Until next time, Lavender Up!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Purple Ranch Showing Signs of Spring
We have been getting ready for the Royse City Business Expo for the last couple of weeks. Jon my youngest son loves plants and everything that comes with them. Like bugs. I have seen this love for bugs since he was barely walking. He and his brother Jake loved to flush the toilet. They would sneak in the bathroom and flush it for hours. I kept waiting to get a letter from the utility company for exceeding our mandatory water usage. Once a year, living in Texas we have the infamous plague of crickets. The Egyptians had locusts, we have crickets. Jon would carry a wooden spoon around with him and stalk these crickets. Pop them with the bottom of the wooden spoon and then scoop them up and flush them down the toilet. So who needs an exterminator when you have a two year old with a wooden spoon. This became quite popular with him since it involved his two most favorite things, bugs and flushing the toilet. Well, Jon has gotten older and now he loves bugs. Every once in a while he and I will do bug adventures and take photos of bugs on the ranch. I hope you enjoy this one. This lady bug reminds me that Spring is coming and the lavender will soon be showing it's color. I hope this Spring you will find time to stop and smell the lavender. If you don't have lavender of your own we'll be happy to let you borrow some of ours. Until next time, Lavender Up.
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