By Stacy Barnes
Contrubuting writer

Drummer Randy Ragsdale knows life on the road. He spent much of the past 13 years on a bus touring with the popular country band Cross Canadian Ragweed. But a growing family back in Oklahoma beckoned the Yukon native home, so he is putting away his drumsticks and picking up a shovel.

“I decided it was time to come home and be a dad,” said Ragsdale, who has a 10-year old son and five-year old daughter. “I didn’t want to miss out on any more of that than I already have.”

Ragsdale is going back to the only other thing he knows: landscaping. His brother, Robby, moved up from Texas and together the pair opened Ragsdale’s Red Dirt Landscapes in June. They are currently serving customers in Mustang, Yukon and the surrounding areas.

Working outside is a refreshing change, Ragsdale says. He and his brother do all of the work themselves, which benefits their customers because they are not handing the job off to a crew.

“We know the job. We do the bids and the work ourselves,” said Ragsdale, who gets to spend a lot of time outdoors with his new company, and that’s exactly the way he wants it.

“I spent all that time on a bus, and it feels good to be outside again,” he said.

The Ragsdale brothers offer a variety of landscaping services from tree trimming to putting in retaining walls, but their specialty is designing and installing custom beds.

“That’s what we like to do,” said Ragsdale. “If we could do that everyday we would love it.”

While this company is new, Ragsdale is an experienced landscaper. When he was trying to get the band started, he says, landscaping gave him the flexibility he needed to work and still be able to practice and play shows until the band eventually became so successful that they began to travel. This time around, he plans to build it even bigger than before. During the off-season, Ragsdale says he and his brother will be available to hang Christmas lights.

To schedule an appointment or for more information, call Ragsdale’s Red Dirt Landscapes at 405 350-0066 anytime Mon. – Fri. 8a.m. – 5p.m. Their website, ragsdalesreddirtlandscapes.com, is currently under construction, but will soon be up and running with pictures and helpful information so be sure to check it out.