Jeff Buckingham:
CLASS OF 1976
Glastonbury High SchoolClass of 1976
Glastonbury, CT
Jeff's Story
Life
2006 Greetings from The BuckinghamÂs
We just want to let you all know that you didnÂt miss our housewarming party. ItÂs just that the house is not done yet. Reviewing our past Christmas letters we have predicted for the last 3 years that this was THE year that we would move into the new house. Well this time we really mean it. In case we are not sufficiently motivated the County of San Luis Obispo has made it clear that the house has to be done by June 2007 or else! A few times this year we actually thought should we just tear it down and be done with it. But the fact is we really love this house and a lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into it, so we are going full throttle to finish.
One of the most special features of the new house is a fireplace built with the many beautiful multicolored volcanic rock that we have collected all over the ranch. We had accumulated quite a pile of rock over the years but when Steve and Paul arrived this summer to build the fireplace we spent every available minute scouring all corners of the ranch to make sure that the most perfect rocks were used. It was fascinating to wander the fields and creeks, crowbar in hand, sure that the most beautiful rock was always around the next bend. We would haul each load of rocks to a spot for power washing and this was where we were amazed as natureÂs beauty revealed itself. We can stand for hours and look at the finished fireplace and we can remember where many of the rocks came from. Collecting rocks has become a bit of an obsession for Jeff & Joan they just canÂt help themselves, we will have to build a rock fence or BBQ or both to handle all of them.
We are at the end of calving season on the ranch and new life is everywhere. We have 46 calves with one more to go. Some of the older calves are venturing off by themselves for a few hours and they have the same look that our children do when they are free of their parents. Looking across the fields we see...Expand for more
long legs kick high in the air, head butting contests, and races to the next grazing spot with each young contestant sure that they are the fastest bovine on the planet. The joy of new life is often shared with the end of life and the ranch is no different. One of our favorite cows, 9185, died suddenly while calving and we miss her beautiful face & gentle personality. Another favorite cow, Darla, had stillborn twins for the second year in a row. Once again we were able to present Darla with a new calf by taking the hide from one of her twins and secretly binding it onto ÂPrincessÂ, and orphan calf we are raising for a friend. Cows donÂt seem to notice any other differences as long as the new calf has the scent of the original. (probably more than you needed to know.)
This summer JeffÂs brother Jonathan, his wife Roberta, and their children Julian & Catherine came all the way from Cuba for a visit. It was very interesting to get a first hand impression of how life really is in Cuba. JeffÂs parents also were able to be here to share the fun. We found it amazing how much Julian and Lochlan were alike growing up so far away from each other, yet shared so many traits. (Must be those Buckingham genes.) We absolutely fell in love with Catherine; she is such a mature little lady! We found ourselves wishing we all lived closer. Jonathan and Roberta have a beautiful house in Umbria, Italy and we hope to be able to visit them there next summer.
Leslie took her Jersey cow Daisy to the fair again this year, and Lochlan took Candee, his year old Holstein. This was LochlanÂs 1st year showing a heifer and he did very well. Leslie and Daisy came in 1st place. We got home just in time to get ready for a vacation. Our friends volunteered to take care of the cows, and milk for us, so we were able to actually relax and enjoy our time away. We went to Shasta Lake, wow what a beautiful place. We ventured out on a houseboat pulling a ski boat. Yikes! Once or twice Jeff forgot that t
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