The Yard Sale

The home ranch at one time was leased to a couple of yea whos from the Lone Star state.  They were unbelievable wheeler-dealers from the get go.  One of them moved into the main house with part of his family; the part that was a wife, a (still nursing) 3 year old son, and a couple of older kids from one or the other's other marriages. 
We were raised to be good stewards of the land and the animals in our care. Not these guys, they were just look'n for the next buck. They were running bred dairy heifers some sorry sucker had bought for them to calve out. I have a feeling that several sorry suckers had bought the same cattle, but that's only hearsay. Keeping one's mouth shut about the way they ran their outfit was difficult at the best of times. But, we were leased to them with the ranch, so lip biting about the cattle became the norm.
We always seemed to get shipments of cattle late at night, something we tried hard to never do with our own cattle.  If they come in late at night they don't have a chance to walk the fence to see where the boundaries are, or locate water and food.  Himself and I spent many nights riding thru the new cattle to show them where the feed bunks and water troughs were, and doctoring sick ones.
How did I get so far afield of what I started out to say?  I was laughing when I started as I had been over at K8's reading about her bra buying experience and remembered The yard sale. So now that I've got the ugly out of my system I'll get to it.
The Texas boys decided that the wheelly deally wasn't working out too well in this part of the country, so they started pack'n up to move to greener pastures.  The wife said she wasn't moving some things again and would have a yard sale.  Hello, we lived 15 miles from a small town, the last three miles of which was rough gravel road.  I just couldn't see people beating a path to her door, but what did I know. Not much it seems. The day of her yard sale arrived.  I had to go into town to get a part for Himself that morning, so missed the setting up for the event.  As I headed back to the ranch there did seem to be a lot of traffic, but it couldn't be for a yard sale, could it?  When I crossed the last cattle guard the whole area was full of trucks, cars, and people.  She had set up the big BBQ, a bar, and had country music blaring from a stereo.  The front lawn was full of tables of yard sale wares, a junker's paradise.  The piece d' resistance was a large tree in front with bras hanging from every branch, not just any ol bras either, they were Huge bras. (She'd had a home business in Texas selling bras for really large women and this was the overstock.)  We were all laughing so hard, you just had to buy one.  Her yard sale was a Huge success and she made a killing on that bra tree.

Maxwell The Wonder Cow Dog

The best cow dog around passed away recently, after being our sidekick for many years.  Maxwell The Wonder Cow Dog was a Border Collie, McNab cross that was given to me as a yearling. Cute as could be with his black and white coat, one blue eye and one blue/brown eye.

He had had no training on working cattle, but was schooled on basic commands.  

Everyone he met loved him, as he was ever the gentleman.  After he got the hang of working cattle he was amazing to watch.  He could handle just about anything.  
One time, moving cattle from one large pasture to another, with the gate on top of a knoll, the Cowman sent Max to gather the pasture, push the cattle up the hill, thru the gate, and turn them in the right direction.  Not an easy task for anyone, let alone one dog. As the Cowman was watching Max, and giving commands, up drives a fellow. 

"I've been watching your dog work for a while, would you be interested in selling him?"

The Cowman had been down this road before with people, "Well I couldn't take less than $5,000 for him" thinking this would end it.  The guy never batted an eye, and asked what form, cash or check, the Cowman wanted the payment in. 

The Cowman replied, "You know by watching him that dog is worth any three cowboys, so I don't think I will be interested in ever selling him."

The guy said, "Here's my name and number, if you ever change your mind give me a call, he's a Great Dog."

He was a Great Dog, he greeted you with gentleness and a wagging tail, he loved to work cattle in the pastures or the corrals, he could fetch and look after grand babies, he was a constant companion, he could make you laugh with his cow skiing trick, and a thousand other things. 

Gentle, wonderful Max, I miss you dearly.

~~~

Roll On

Spring, the wild flowers blooming, thunder boomers coming by to visit. A breeze off the water flows over you and if you close your eyes feels like water skiing at Tahoe.  Fresh cut clover and timothy hay smells drift across the meadow. Saddle leather creaks and groans, or maybe that's me.  Horses and dogs are sweaty from working cattle.  Warm days, cool nights. One spring I tied notes to tumbleweeds rolling by, never heard back.

The Best Part

The annual Roundup rodeo has come and gone for another year.  Thanks to one of my brother in laws, my Dad and I had great seats in the family box.
As I hadn't been in many years it was great fun, and a bit of a trip getting to see friends from long ago.  
The younger generation is continuing this annual family tradition, which is a good thing.  What a great bunch of kids and grandkids.
I have some terrific memories of the old Roundups.  It has changed a lot over the years, Dad and I both liked the old version better, possibly because we were more involved.  Spending time with family and friends was and is the best part.   

Not Go'n Anywhere

This wet spring brings to mind the year we decide Himself would go back to college to finish his degree.  We saved for a year, sold some cows, bought a good pickup, packed up our meager belongings, one horse, and the baby and headed out to the university.  
Surely we looked like a slightly modern version of folks from the Grapes of Wrath.  What with the borrowed wood slates on the back of the pickup, everything we owned piled in, a mattress tied on top, and a ratty old horse trailer behind.  Geez, Himself loved that horse of his, there was no way he was leaving him behind. 
A good pickup was a necessary purchase, as we did need dependable transportation for the long journey south.  Besides we got a heck of a deal on it as it was two shades brighter than school bus yellow and the dealer realized that no one else in three counties was going to be interested. 
We lived in an apartment in town for a short time, but it was too pricey, so we moved over the hill from campus to a small ranch.  The ranch was owned by an elderly couple who needed someone to care-take the place.  In exchange we got pasture for Himself's horse and a small house.  Actually a very small house, only three rooms, the main room with kitchen on one end and living area, with the only source of heat a tiny Franklin stove, on the other. Oh how I hated that tiny Franklin stove, it smoked, and was a bear to cook on when the electricity went out, which seemed to happen frequently. Have you ever tried to heat a baby bottle in the middle of the night by putting it in your armpit.
The little house sat with the front door facing a small river and the back door smackdab against a steep hillside.  You had to travel about a mile on an old road beside the river to get to the "main" road. 
Things were going along ok until it started to rain, and rain, and rain.  It was one of the wettest winters on record there that year.  The river was running high and fast, just like the little creek running in the back door and across the not so great room and out the front door of the house.  There was no stopping it, so I just put sand bags on either side of it.  It's funny now to remember stepping over the little creek running thru the middle of the house, to put wood in the stove, not so much at the time.
Himself decided it was getting a little too dangerous to stay, so he loaded up his horse and moved him to a horse ranch on higher ground. After more rain he thought it might even be too dicey for us to stay, but by this time the old road was under water.  A friend got concerned, and walked in to check on us.  We packed up what we could carry, put the baby in a sling on my back, and started the long walk out to the main road.  We hadn't gotten far when Himself called a halt, he had to go back for something.  After he got back to us we finished that long walk on the steep hillsides, in the rain, to the main road.
It was wonderful to be taken in by another college couple. It was heaven, especially since they had central heat and electricity.
After hot showers, a hot meal, and a few glasses of wine.  I asked Himself what he had gone back for at the house.
 "After all our hard work to buy that pickup, I'll be damned if I'll let the river take it.  So I got the biggest chain I could find, wrapped it around the biggest oak tree, then around the axle on the pickup and padlocked them all together. That pickup's not go'n anywhere."