Tag: ranch wives

  • SNOWBOUND

    *NOTE: My family does not have cable or local television for regional news, but since posting this earlier today, I learned from friends who traveled across the state and from relatives, the devastating toll this weekend’s snowstorm took on ranches and livestock. I had no idea how severe the storm hit other areas. I have not been…

  • The Modern Day Ranch

    America’s ranches may have gone through some changes over the last 150 years but ranching is still going strong and continues to be a great part of western Americana.  From the start of most of America’s ranches, hardy women have been a crucial part of the operation and women have contributed in numerous ways. I…

  • A Very Taxing Job

    Being a bookkeeper for our ranch is not one of my strong points. I would rather spend my time outside dealing with cow-related problems but the IRS won’t let me use that as an excuse. Much to my relief, my husband and I recently got our taxes done and it will likely be another year…

  • I Feel Like a Ranch Wife

    My husband feels like he’s truer to the cowboy way and a better cowboy when he’s saddled up to get a cow in, and I can relate. The way a person goes about doing an activity or job can invoke certain feelings. In her song, “Man! I Feel like A Woman!” Shania Twain feels like…

  • Time to Change

    This year’s haying season’s been full of changes. We’ve had big and frequent rains, tall, thick forage growth, and a record number of bales on our hay ground compared to the past eight years. During a haying frenzy, my husband and I were trying to get a couple of fields baled before it got too…

  • Sponsor A Ranch Wife

    If you are looking for a worthwhile, trustworthy charity to donate to, consider the benefits of sponsoring or donating money to a ranch wife (me—and I’m flexible on either method). Since ranch wives don’t get a paycheck, regular days off, or even a safety award for being injury free, accepting charitable donations would be a…

  • Ranch Life Suits A Gemini

    Horoscopes seems hokey to me, but I find ranching and my Gemini characteristics perfectly suited for each other. Both are chock full of the unexpected and our unpredictable lifestyle is well-matched to my mercurial nature and penchant for adventure. Work on a ranch takes place outside and requires a lot of physical activity—a Gemini’s dream…

  • Grease Rags

    Wednesday my husband had been up at the hayfield fixing on equipment all afternoon after he made a morning run to Rapid City to get parts first. When he pulled into the yard that evening I walked out to the shop to find out how his day went and if his fixit work put him…

  • Glutton for Punishment

    I’m a glutton for self-induced punishment—we took in another branding on Saturday and I thoroughly abused my body again wrestling calves. The next morning, I noticed which muscles I hadn’t used in a while, and felt sore from my shoulders to the grip of my hands, to my rear end. Although I’m not sure why…

  • Rekindling Branding Day Romance

    The romance between my husband and me began in springtime. We’d only been dating a couple of months by branding season and he introduced me to his family on their branding day. We spent that day, and the rest of those May weekends helping neighbors gather cows to corrals horseback, and wrestling calves together. Our…