Category: South Dakota Humor
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Harvesting Ivory in South Dakota
My husband collects teeth. Not just anybody’s teeth, but elk teeth. He doesn’t do anything with them he just likes keeping them and will get them out occasionally to show the kids, relatives, friends, or just look them over. Elk hunters know what I’m talking about and probably do the same thing. My dad inlaid…
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Keep An Eye On the Ball
Blue Heeler dogs are common on ranches because of their desire to have a job to do. Our dog Pepper is no exception. She loves to fetch. Pepper is a Blue Heeler/Border Collie tennis ball fetcher. Baseballs and softballs aren’t chewy enough and footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls are hard to retrieve. Our dog makes…
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Summer Commute
There’s a reason why we drive beat up little four-wheel drive pickups. Our summertime commute is not full-size pickup, sedan, or new vehicle friendly. Getting to stock tanks on summer range or to salt locations requires using Forest Service roads. The ones we frequent are a little more than a two-lane cow trail. Driving on…
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What Fairburn, South Dakota Means to Me
Every summer my husband’s extended family has a family reunion at a different location around the southern Black Hills; usually in one of the small towns where different relatives who volunteered to host, live or once lived. It’s always held in the summertime, oftentimes around the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.  This year family…
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The Face of Terror
Last Tuesday, the family spent the day moving our cows to a different pasture. Â We loaded up our horses and drove to our starting point to gather cows, which was a twenty minute drive from home. Our son followed in his pickup because he and my husband planned to gather up and move salt…
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Roads Less Traveled
On the road trip my daughter and I took while my son was at camp, I experienced some “lost and found†moments. My daughter and I spent our time getting lost and making discoveries. I intentionally picked rural routes to travel on in order to get acquainted with other farm and ranch communities in South…
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Cowboy Logic Camping
My husband told our kids once, “A campground is about as close to living in a city as you can get,†when they mentioned how much they liked staying at a campground. Considering the way we choose to live and the idea behind camping, I had to agree with him. Experiencing the outdoors and connecting…
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The Mother of All Branding Day Stain Removers
The mere sight of my son’s Wranglers would’ve killed a normal mom. To most mothers, the mixture of boy, mud, and calf wrestling would’ve rendered his jeans laundry mission impossible. Mud wants company and has a hard time being left alone. It likes a clean car, but loves a pair of boys’ good clean Wranglers…
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Sticking with the Tradition of Neighbors
A calf table is modern ranch equipment that’s safer, easier, and a more convenient way to brand calves without the need for extra people. That’s why they’re really boring too. We still brand the hard way—with the use of neighbors. Eliminating the need for people eliminates getting together with neighbors to drink beer and eat…
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Branding Day Protocol
If you’ve ever been to a western South Dakota branding that served Rocky Mountain oysters cooked on a branding stove, you may not think such an event requires etiquette but there are certain expectations that go with branding. According to an undocumented branding policy, if you want to help gather cattle, don’t be late. Special…