Where's the song ~~ "Don't let your daughters grow up to marry a Cowboy" ?

​​​​​​​Life is tough! Requires hard physical work, long, long days of pain, dirt, and broken fingernails.​
​Days of frigid cold & scorching heat; through the dust & mud; daybreak into the darkness of nite~~​
​the heart & body becomes toughened & weathered replicating leather!​
​A forever constant factor for a real Cowboy's Wife is tons of sweat, oceans of tears and a constant 'drought' in the wallet!​
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​​​​​​​​​IF​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ she wants to spend anytime at all with her Cowboy, she must do as he does, you become partners!​
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​​​​​​Kick off your boots, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and envision yourself in my life!​
​... It really isn't that bad! There are many rewards to be had to make it a great lifestyle! ...​ ​​​​​​​


Friday, July 11, 2008

Yee...Haw...!!!

...Cowboy gets to go Cowboying~away from home!

It almost feels like Christmas to him! He is sooooo durned excited!

He needs this break, I agree. We just never get to leave home!
(Except MY trip to the Daughter's & Sister's..but that wasn't WE!
This time won't be WE either! It'll be HE!).
I'm so frugal and with gas prices the way they are, as far as he has to go, I was draggin' my feet. Then, ol' tight-wad me, stepped back & counted back to how long it had been since he left this place~over night~that was last August, for one night to attend my Uncles funeral. Now had sad is that!!! Feeling guilty, I went and opened up my private 'emergency purse strings'....
....Here ya go, Cowboy. Go and have a blast!

This time, every year, some good friends gather their calves for weaning, about 800 head, which they range in the North Cascades by the Canadian border. The terrain is rough & rugged. I used to help when we lived there, but my nerves, maybe it's my age :( would stop me now.
It gets really~really WESTERN!
If you have a GOOD horse & he can "read' cows, all you need to do is hang on! The Ol' Paint I used to ride was that way...scared the livin' begeezes out me many times! He had NO problem jumping the brush...like 3-4ft high stuff on a steep hillside nonetheless, if he figured that'd be quicker than the way I'd choose! And he was always right! Cajun would not let me look for trails going down rock slides or pine covered drops....Oh no!..He knew what we were supposed to be doing, what the job was & where these cattle were to go~he was NOT caring about any second thoughts I might be having in any given situation! He needed not, and he waited not for directions from me! Oh, yes, I was dumped a time or two (?) and it didn't hurt too much at the time but I'm sure it was pride and anger that'd get me through the rest of those days!
* * * * *
Hubby loves going up there..they have a cabin in the mountains, corrals, everything a Cowboy needs ...and they don't need plumbing, or indoor cooking facilities, or even running water....just bare minimum stuff. There is a cistern on the slope to provide gravity fed water to the corrals for the horses & stock, water for the makings of coffee, for a cool drink for the cowboys out of the troughs...and maybe even a good dunk if women folk aren't around! And always...provides for a welcomed cooling off for the stock dogs as there is little time for them to plop in a creek during the day. It is non stop for them!
It's a good thing Cowboys don't need much to survive! Because it ain't there!
Just lots of clean fresh air, tall tall trees and rock bluffs (even some mountain sheep if one has time to notice), timber rattlers (that'd be snakes in case ya don't know!!),
deep coulees, steep climbs, (or drops depending on which you are headed),
and spectacular views!
Oh how I wish I could go along...I could take some great pictures for you! (yea, yea...I know, my camera & I are not the best for that...don't remind me!) I do love the mountains, the fresh smell of the pines, the wildlife that traverses the countryside, except for the cougars & bears. I don't care to see them up close & personal! (These ranchers DO have problems with them).
We've been talking about going up there and staying several weeks. It would do us both some good, we say...get away together! That's all we ever seem to do is talk, and not act upon.
One of these days....we will...
Fall is a great time to be there! Cool, cool nights, warm days and the vibrant colors of the changing seasons are awesome!
Oh well, there is lots to accomplish before tomorrow arrives. He will be taking 3 horses, so they need to be shod which he's doing as I type:


(I just snuck out there to take this...he hasn't a clue I was there!)

...find, clean, pack the bedroll, saddlebags, even a winter coat, gloves & longjohns!! High in the Cascades...it's not too unusual to start a day with warm sunny skies & then have the temperatures plummet with a squal overhead! (It even dropped to 34* here last night! Yikes!) Clean the cooler, started making bunches of ice, dust off dutch ovens & re-season them. Raid the pantry & freezers, for a Cowboy DOES need to eat! And this particular one LOVES to eat!

(on the way back from getting the pix of him, I stopped & gathered these..guess what I'm making?? Yep...Zucchini bread, in small loaves so they fit in saddlebags for "on the run" lunch!)

Hmmm...aside from shoeing the horses...think the rest is my job!
How's that always happen? I don't recall him packing and readying my bags when I left.... ;)
T'is... Ok... though, because I get to witness the child-like glee in him!
It has been a year since he's gone anywhere for more than one night (which like I said, was last August)....He did get to help them gather last year, same place, same time, doing the same thing ...imagine that!
He deserves this trip, the time with friends & doing what he loves best!

Am I excited??? For him Yes...for me? No!
Let's go back a bit.....
* * * * * *
............to be Continued
(need to go get the Zucchini breads going...)

13 comments:

Greyhound Girl said...

It sounds like a great trip and a total cowboy experience- manly! And good for you to find the $$ for him to go- I hope he has a grand time! Sometimes a little time away is all anyone needs! And the zbread sounds yumemrs!)

LL said...

That's fun? Whooboy... he'd have an absolute blast around these parts...

Hope you get to enjoy yourself too these next few days.

The W.O.W. factor! said...

Prof~ Hey, I ain't 'manly' ! I used to love those gatherings too! LOL! yea, I know, the $$ thing...needed WD-40 to get those string undone... :)

LL~ Invite him on over! If'n you're in the Rockies or Cascades, no matter to him! They are both Mtns he loves~esp gathering cattle!
Enjoy myself the next week? That is Part 2!

Mrs. Mom said...

Ohh Barb... I do so hear you about the WD-40 and your purse strings. I am the same way. My Dear Husband likes to say I will pinch a nickle until he poops. (I think thats accurate there...lol)

The Zuch bread has my mouth watering away here... have to dig out my recipe and see what I need to make a batch. That is some of the best stuff!!

Cant wait to see part 2 here... and I am glad that HOW gets to go have man /cowboy time away from home. Sounds like he has healed up well too, from the unruly colt.... whom I can only HOPE has gone far, far away from y'all....

Rue said...

Hi Barb :)

That sounds like so much fun. I just read an article in Country Living about a trail ride for 4 days in the Tetons and I would really love to do that sometime. I'm itching to get on a horse and jump something LOL
Campfires, horses, camping, fresh air.... love it!

I am SO adopted! LOL

Oh and I love Hershey Kisses ;)

rue

Sarah said...

Hope your Cowboy has a hoot.

I get excited for Josh when/if he gets to go anywhere but man I miss him when he's gone.

Hope you don't get too lonely! Wish we lived closer...you know, so I could drop my children off...then you wouldn't be lonely! :)

Take Care,
Sarah

Midlife Mom said...

This outing sounds just like something out of the movies! What a blast! I hope he has a wonderful time and that you aren't too lonely. It does them good to get away occasionally. Can't you send a camera with him??????????

Jenn said...

Tell 'em to c'mon down here and trim my horses to! Can't get a damn farrier to save your life down here and I am just to damn old and fat to do it anymore.

You will have fun with him gone! Take a long hot bubble bath and let the worries flow down the drain. Sprinkle some of that fresh lavender in the water and have at it!

Renie Burghardt said...

Wow, your cowboy will have an exciting time, while you can relax a bit and when he returns, greet him all gussied up! That lavender bath is a great idea, by the way.

What an enjoyable post!

Renie

Greyhound Girl said...

Okay, maybe "manly" was a bad choice of words!!! It's sounds very western! :) And "outdoorsy."

Jeannelle said...

Really interesting to read about he calf gathering event. Yes, it sounds VERY western. Not a thing like that going on around here ever. Hope your hubby has a great time! And you can enjoy some time to yourself. Honestly, I would love that......my husband NEVER goes anywhere, and we NEVER go anywhere. That is the life of a dairyman. Enjoyed your post very much!

Train Wreck said...

Well, are you going to go find a cabana boy? No working! You need to relax and kick back! I know how you feel about the packing!! I have that assignment also! We just had a 3 day/3 night "fiesta"(as my friend Meg said) I cooked and cleaned the whole time, I only took a few pics! I am exhausted! Can I come hang out with you?! Yum homeade zucchini bread!

The W.O.W. factor! said...

MrsMom~ Yep..I haven't heard that Pinch the Buffalo on a nickle for years! But that'd be me!

Rue~come on over! I'll share the hershey kisses with those adopted!

Sarah~ what's that saying?? Can't live with them & can't live without them! Thank goodness for our wonderful guys, huh!

MidlifeMom~ he DID say he'd get a dispoable camera...but sure that was forgotte before he ever got on the main road!


jennyC&F~soak in Lavender? would be great if I could. That one hot water tank that blew out a month ago...has yet to be replaced! It supplies our bath WITH a tub. The other one supplies upstairs bath and only shower!

Renie~ Plan on relaxing..as much as this life will allow..going to do as little as possible!

Prof~ That's better! Outdoorsy!! LOL!

Jeannelle~pretty much the same for a cowboy...this time tho, he gets to have fun while still 'working' those 3 horses he took

TW~ You betcha! Come on up and we can hang out in the water trough..I'll even scrub it, set in the sun to warm up...and then I'll drop a whole levender plant in it!!! I would need a glass of wine too tho.