Holy Cow
The first fictional novel in the Walk In Beauty series. Wish Me Luck follows.The Morgan family lives in the rural mountains of New Mexico, where they are working together to establish a self-sustaining farm.
The story is told through the eyes of Ramona Morgan, a fourteen year old who is skilled with animals and herbs. She feels unsure of herself and her quiet life until Daniel, a cousin by marriage, comes to spend the summer on the Morgan farm.
Daniel is also fourteen, dealing with grief over the death of his mother, and with the complications that arise from his stepfather’s alcoholism. He is charming and witty, but deep inside, Daniel is hurting more than anyone realizes.
The Morgan’s Navajo grandfather plays a humorous and inspiring role as both story-teller and wisdom keeper.
Lightening storms, horse races, ghost towns, Navajo rodeos, and the Morgan family all play a part in healing Daniel’s heart.
Ramona
I wish I knew all the answers, how to be perfect, attractive and witty. But Im just a human being with all the regular faults and it seems no matter …
Josephine
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about what I was going to wear when Daniel arrived. I got up and went through my closet and drawers …
Daniel
After the long, hot shower, I went to my room, wrapped in a robe and just stood there, looking out the window for a long time. I could see Josephine …
Eyes Opened
That evening after milking and doing chores, I saw Will coming back to the house with the rifle over his shoulder. Got the leader of the pack and wounded two …
Holy Cow
Hey. Will spoke from behind me as I stood on the kitchen porch, beating the eggs for breakfast. As I turned toward him on the right, he snitched an apple …
A Boyfriend and a Sick Cow
Josephine looks ill, Dad told me when I got to the garden. Would you go back inside and make her a medicated apple? I felt a pang of alarm grip …
Where There’s Smoke
After lunch, Grandpa came up from the valley and wanted to borrow Susanna for the afternoon to help him make green chile stew and tortillas for our dinner. 6 Mom …
Grandpa Tells a Story
Knowing what is on the menu makes you hungry earlier than usual. By five oclock that afternoon, we were all hanging around Grandpas cabin, waiting for him to announce that …
Losing, Finding, Keeping
The next morning, Grandpa was leaning out the passenger side window of our 1972 quad-cab Ford when I walked down the porch steps to put Anna in the truck. It …
The Ghost Town
It took us about an hour of leisurely riding to get to the old Agua Bonita ghost town. Our destination was a mountain valley where a spring of water surfaces …
Making a Milker
Good news! Dad announced as he sat down at the breakfast table the next morning. Mexico banned the growth of genetically engineered corn! 13 Are you serious? Mom exclaimed. Why, …
Boyfriends and Girlfriends
When Grandpa started coughing on the porch after lunch, I remembered the mullein I had gathered at Agua Bonita two days earlier. Mom jumped up to bring him his pipe …
Pizza Party
A couple of uneventful weeks went by filled with gardening and fence repairs. Daniel had proved to be a hard worker. He, Jake and Will were busy every day fixing …
Losing Control
It was close to midnight and Dad had driven all over the mountain in the rain and the mud looking for Daniel, only to come home again shaking his head …
Will’s Plans
Dad, Jake and Daniel left early the next morning. They were loaded down with packs full of food and gear. Daniel had his new boots on and I hoped they …
Boys Come Home
Dad and the boys still werent back by sundown on the day we expected them, so Will drove the truck down to the head of the trail they had taken …
Adobe Chicken Mansion
I ordered some Cochins yesterday, Mom announced at breakfast one morning. Theyll be here in about a week. Since you boys have finished the fencing, would you mind building me …
Looking for Answers
Time passes quickly in the summertime. When we werent busy weeding the gardens or making adobe bricks, we went riding. Daniel learned to ride a young gelding named Cricket and …
Changes
The next day, Moms Cochin chicks arrived at the post office. I heard the phone ringing in the truck and ran out to answer it. Hello . . . said …
Under Jake’s Disguise
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of a chicken squawking and running all over the place. What the heck? I said aloud. Miner never chases chickens. Ive seen …
Tomatoes and Adobe
The bricks are ready, Will told me one late summer afternoon when we were walking back to the house from the shop. Jake and Daniel had gone riding and Susanna …
The Rodeo
We spent a lot of time that week riding down in the lower pasture. Will helped us make a mock race course around the pasture that was wide enough for …
Goodbye . . . for Now
Does anyone want some chocolate pudding? I asked, standing in the kitchen door with the bowl in my hand. 26 I do! Susanna and Anna exclaimed together. Is it fattening? …
Six Months Later
It was late afternoon and the sun had just set behind the tall pines to the west of us. As always in the mountains, when the sun disappears, so does …
Note from the Author
I grew up on a homestead somewhat like the one described in this book and now, years later, I am working with my husband and children to get back to …
Notes For Further Study
About the Small Dairy in Thailand: Another dairy farm also in Northeast Thailand run by two sisters achieved high levels of production. Two out of five cows were producing over …