Here's Why Ree Drummond Loves Country Life

Ree Drummond wears a lot of hats. From writing cookbooks to being a mom of four to opening up her own restaurant and bed and breakfast, Drummond has her hands full. All those titles aside, being the wife of a cowboy and cattle rancher is her favorite. However, that doesn't mean it's always been easy. Despite growing up in Oklahoma herself, Drummond explained she still faced "all the bumps in the road" when she left her Tulsa city lifestyle for rural Pawhuska, home of the Drummond family cattle ranch. 

"I lived in a nice town, took ballet class, and went to the opera with my mother," she recalled of her childhood on ABC Action News. Drummond had also experienced life outside of Oklahoma (she moved to California for college) and had big dreams of moving to Chicago for law school prior to meeting her husband, Ladd. Obviously, cupid had other plans for Drummond, who ended up scraping her big city move for a life completely opposite. Drummond said that adjusting to "the whole country girl thing" has been anything but easy. "Getting up when it's still dark outside, that was hard to get used to," she remembered." She added that "hearing noises at night that I'd never heard before and trying to figure out how to ride horses and work cattle" was tough and not something she learned overnight. Nonetheless, she wouldn't change her country life for anything.

The country, cattle rancher lifestyle isn't for everyone, and Ree Drummond will be the first to say it. The born and bred Oklahoman has been acclimating to life on rural green pastures and having farm animals as neighbors for well over 20 years. While she understands waking up before sunrise, herding cattle, and maintaining acres of greenland may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's what feeds her soul. In an interview with Parade, she explained that those interested in living this kind of life have to understand what exactly they're getting themselves into. "There's no skyscrapers; there's no traffic. That isn't all life is, hustle-bustle," she began. But for Drummond, it works. "For some, it would drive them crazy, having the silence and the clear view. But for me, it's what my soul needed."

That's not to say farm living is less "hustle-bustle" than city living. According to Parade, the Drummond family cattle ranch cares for and attends to over 2,000 cattle. What does this entail exactly? Everything from feeding, vaccinations, branding, breeding, castrating, herding, selling, and more. Drummond and her family also own four dogs, a cat, and several wild horses (via Food Network).