A new swing hangs from old chains. The live oak, which holds the swing on its stately branches, has already re-grown at least once from a stump. My daughter’s tiny hands hold fast to the same cold links her mom’s once did. Her blue eyes beam with the thrill, and I catch her again and push her gently forward. “I’m taller than you!“ she squeals, and in a way she is right. For a transient moment, thanks to that great big tree and her grandfather’s chains, a green toddler swing and a push of my arm, she is taller than us all.
This year, Ingel-Haven Ranch turns 100. Though many of you might know us as Magruder Ranch, our land, still named after the first two generations to call it home, is called Ingel-Haven. This year we celebrate its centennial, but as I push the sixth generation to live on this land on this new swing with old chains, I am not just thinking about the last 100 years—I am thinking about the next….
Read the rest of the article at Word of Mouth Magazine’s website…