With what has seemed like monsoon season coming to an end here in Texas, it’s time to get my pastures ready for spring and summer. As winter grasses and legumes give way to established summer grasses, I’ve got one pasture that seems to produce weeds as much as anything else. This year, I’ve decided it’s Read More >
Standing at the window, the old rancher takes a sip from his third cup of coffee. “Finally” comes a silent thought; “it’s light enough.” As dawn breaks each morning, before I don my boots, hat, and jacket, I count. First one pasture, then the next; I count cow-butts each morning. Not a glamorous job, especially Read More >
Any rancher will tell you, “Fences are almost always in need of repair.” The reminder to build my fences bull strong and horse high came to mind while I worked on fencing this past weekend. I think the original quote, of unknown origin, is “Build your fences bull strong, pig tight, and horse high.” Given Read More >
“It’s okay; I know where I’m going.” I’ve heard my brother speaking this in my heart for the past month. More than any other, that sentence sums up my brother’s life of faith. With all the panic, craziness, misinformation, and mischief going on in this world over the past month, it’s easy to understand how Read More >
I’ve learned a lot about farming since I retired. Much has come from reading and studying the science of farming. When I combined that learning with the common sense guidance of many “old timers”, it has helped me to produce some amazing harvests. Take winter wheat for example. Managed correctly, you can use it to Read More >
Runt, throwaway, cull, lung-er, reject, discard—all words that speak of little worth in this world. Ranchers use these words to describe calves born with defects or challenges that will require extra care, and sometimes still result in death. “Rowdy”, born just a few weeks ago, is one example of that. After being born with a Read More >
When my family settled in Texas in 2013, I quickly began learning lots of new quaint sayings and pronunciations. For example, we didn’t move to Texas, we moved to “Taxes”; and we don’t reside in Cooper (Coo-per), we reside in Cooper (kupper), using a short /u/. Among my very favorites was when my new friend Read More >
My friend Mr. Del and I have worked together in the defense and aerospace industry for almost 20 years. I’m certain he’ll agree that he’s become an expert at pulling me off the ceiling from time to time. If he reads this, he’s laughing and nodding his head right now. When I’m working a multi-million Read More >
“I don’t know Honey; the odds are stacked against this little fella. He will need to be a real fighter to survive.” The stiff breeze combined with the dampness created a wind chill in the 20s. “Lulu Belle” was the first Cross-Dubya born heifer to calve. I thought to myself, I wonder if there is Read More >
Our friend Mrs. Cathy Baker (www.cathybaker.org) responded to one of my January posts, writing “Pride is one of those parasitic sins because it just pops up unexpectedly in our lives.” The honesty of her comment floored me. As I thought about it, I likened it to how hard I fought to rid my pastures of Read More >