On The Farm
Target practice at the ranch
By Kevin Merrill
It is nice to be able to go outside and see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air we are accustomed to here along the Central Coast, now that the La Brea Fire is contained.
Ash fell over the vineyard in Los Alamos, leaving a blanket of gray and white particles on car hoods and grapevines. I don't think we will see any effect on our fruit, as the winds helped keep some fresh air circulating around the vineyards.
There was a small fire that started a couple of miles south of our vineyard, across the highway from Palmer Road. We could see the flames as the fire made its way down the brush-covered hills. There was a quick response from the firefighters as equipment and manpower were diverted from the La Brea Fire.
I watched from atop our reservoir as the huge planes carrying fire retardant swooped down, dropping their loads near the fire's edge.
The wind was blowing in our direction, and I was a little nervous, thinking an ember might drift over and catch our hills on fire. By 4:30 in the afternoon, the fire crews and airplanes had the blaze under control, and I began to feel much better.
As the weekend rolled around and the smoke cleared, the kids asked me if I would take them with me to shoot some cans with my .22-caliber rifle. This was mostly Clayton's idea, but Kathleen wanted to be a part of the activity.
My grandfather, Sam, gave me many of the guns I have now, and he taught me how to use this very same small rifle when I was around 8 years old. Sam was a very good shot and seldom missed his target. He used to hunt quite a bit while he was living on Rancho la Vega near Buellton.
Sam made sure I understood a very strict set of rules before he let me shoot at a target for the first time. A year or two later, both my brother, Dana, and I were pretty good shots.
There were a lot of woodpeckers around the ranch at that time, and they used to love to peck holes in the wooden boards near the eaves of the two-story adobe my grandparents, Sam and Eileen, lived in, then fill the holes with acorns. They were darned pests, ruining the outside of the house.
Sam knew we liked to shoot our .22s, so he told us he would buy the shells if we could help get rid of the woodpeckers.
Off to Carl Sides' Hardware store in Los Olivos we went. Sam bought us each a few boxes of shells. Dana and I used to wait under the huge oak trees that once surrounded the adobe and wait for the woodpeckers to land high up in the branches. We got a few but never really made a dent in their population.
Years later, when Dana was around 17 and I was 13, Dana bought a single-shot .22 Winchester from our cousin, Brian McCarthy. I don't remember how much he paid for it, less than $50. You could not miss with that rifle, even with its open sights. I was still using the short .22 Remington Sam let me use, and it was no match for the single-shot Winchester.
One afternoon, Dana was getting ready to go on a date but did not have any money. He became more desperate as the afternoon went on. I don't remember why he didn't just ask Mom or Dad for the money, but lucky for me he did not.
He found me and asked me if I would buy that Winchester rifle for $15. By a miracle, I had the money and jumped at the chance.
I still have the single-shot Winchester, and he still has the girl he was dating - his wife, Marsha.
The kids and I did go out last Sunday afternoon to shoot some cans. I found myself going over the same strict rules my grandfather made me follow anytime I was near a gun. They both listened attentively and were very careful. With dad's help, they even hit the target a few times.
All part of growing up on the ranch. What a blessing.
Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management in Santa Maria and president of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. He can be reached at
kmerrill@mesavineyard.com.
August 30, 2009
