Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Wide Open Spaces

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Its a really big place....2 million acres wide open! That is big like no other. Growing up we worked on 250,000 acres, this even blew my mind. Good horses are an absolute must, so is a motorbike, they were finishing up branding slicks, just a few and it had dragged on for a week or so putting it off as they had been getting rain everyday for quite a while. My oldest nephew is an absolute peach, well they both are in fact.....my nephew told me and I quote "I'm an American Cowboy, always have been and I always will be". I believe him.

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No corrals in this area, just move em up into the corner and construct a holding area with movable panels. Boy are my kids in for a surprise. Pip did not handle this well, she watched but a tear rolled down her cheek..."mama, the calves are just bawlin". Me hugging her "true Pip, but that is how it is done". Branding was a bit hard on Pips heart.

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"Sticky".....she is a sassy mare, and a good hand and good lookin to boot and she knows it, she is the cover girl for the day.

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Get r done.

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How its done.


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Workin Hands.
I am fascinated by workin hands....ranchers, farmers, mechanics, anyone really, they can tell a story all themselves.


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Nepalese sheep herder taking a snooze. Yes ya'll this way of life still exists, in our tech new age its kind of like a time warp I reckon for most. He has the simplest life, no worries but the safety of the sheep, his horse, dogs and himself.....in beautiful wide open spaces.

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While we were up there in the hills of Wyoming and right after this photo while I was reviewing it on the screen with my brother, the thought of environmentalist extremists wanting to decrease sheep production due to their methane output popped in my mind. Those extremists don't know squat about what is natural or not natural, I think they best come here to find out. This is ranching country, its dry and it takes alot of acres to raise animals. Nope sorry, soybeans and rice are not going to be growing here. Dang Cute little lamb, and wilder than a March hare.

Ranching life is a bit more simple than in most other places in the world. Its hard work, folks understand there are simply a few things in life you cannot change....best not to waste time and energy on it. Ranchers love what they do, its hard work and its a good life. While growing up in the country I thought it odd folks would take a vacation to ranch, I mean really, Its work!! As a kid I could have thought about a bazillion other things to do, like lying down on a sandy beach with not a care in the world. Now I know why. I have lived in the city for 20 years now, its not about paying to work. Its about going to a place so out of the ordinary of your everyday life to experience a different way of life or a different culture if you will. Life there was slower, it was simpler and it was good.

2 comments:

Suzanne said...

What a great post. You've stated the concept perfectly. I once received an e-mail from a guy in Morrocco who said, "You photographs are so beautiful and Illinois is so exotic."

EXOTIC???? Illinois? I came to understand that "exotic" is wherever you are not. Yes, a simple life filled with hard work is what helped build (and continues) this country.

- Suzanne

Val said...

True that Suzanne, kinda like the guy that says hard work and dirt on your hands keeps the mind clean.

LOL, I am sure Morrocans have never seen fields of corn such as Illinois.