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!

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!

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.

Thanks Paw-Paw for all the fishing trips and stories of the one's that got away. And for letting us eat the one's that didn't. Until next time. Lavender Up!

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!

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.