![When I was five we lived on a ranch
still forty miles and five years
away from electric power
We only got to eat ice cream
when the hail lay deep enough on the ground
to be scooped up in the old hand mixer
Many a hot evening in August and July
five of us sat on those hard ranch steps
looking out at the Western sky
Watching the black clouds and the grey
building and rolling our way
Silently praying our Protestant Hail Marys
four for and Dad against](https://i0.wp.com/www.neilmeili.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Home-Made-Ice-Cream-5.jpg?resize=600%2C600)
Home Made Ice Cream
![When I was five we lived on a ranch
still forty miles and five years
away from electric power
We only got to eat ice cream
when the hail lay deep enough on the ground
to be scooped up in the old hand mixer
Many a hot evening in August and July
five of us sat on those hard ranch steps
looking out at the Western sky
Watching the black clouds and the grey
building and rolling our way
Silently praying our Protestant Hail Marys
four for and Dad against](https://i0.wp.com/www.neilmeili.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Home-Made-Ice-Cream-5.jpg?resize=600%2C600)
Author’s grandfather with Baby (Uncle Bruce) on Silver. Author’s mother standing alongside – circa 1926
According to the Farmer’s Almanac: “The June full Moon got the name “Strawberry Moon” from a number of North American native tribes, since the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) reaches peak ripeness and is ready for harvesting in June. The berry is widespread throughout the lower 48 states, Canada, and Alaska, and is a popular and important spring edible as one of the earliest ripening berries.”