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Cowpokes Who Cry Preview
I cringed, sympathy pain for the cow that was being lifted into the air by our HydraBed pickup. The chain hooked up to her allowed us to maneuver the cow who’d just given birth. A prolapsed birth. Her entire uterus was on the outside of her body now. The sex education I received on the…
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Be the bridge, not the gate…
It isn’t a question that the ranch shaped me into the woman I am today, but when followers first stumble upon my page I think there can be some confusion. I no longer reside on a ranch, and my husband and I work with people, not cows. But, that doesn’t mean we aren’t still a…
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Free Falling
Josh’s face was white, transparent… The look he gave me portrayed resentment and commitment…simultaneously. At the time, we had been together about a year and a half. I moved in with him after only three months of knowing him. Jumping out of an airplane was only one of many adventures he agreed to go on…
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The Unrelenting World
The cowpoke I became in God’s Country is part of my identity that I will never lose. This version of myself is with me as I walk the world, and she is always standing guard, waiting for the moment that I need her the most. The day my boys were born she cinched her britches…
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The hat that you wear…
The cowboy hat… Shade from the sun, protection from the elements, a symbol of the American west, rests on the heads of many cowboys and cowgirls. Cowboy hats come in different shapes and sizes, different colors and materials. The cattleman, the Gus, the half taco, the full taco, the gambler, straw, felt, wool, 4.5 inch…
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As long as there is love…
I perched myself upon a stool scooted up to the bar where the ingredients for poppy seed muffins were spread across the counter. They were one of Dad and I’s favorite desserts to eat, and I loved to help Mom bake. I waited patiently as she swept some dirt off of the old linoleum floor.…
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They’re Only Babies
Yearlings were our specialty on Rush Creek. The goal was to purchase the cattle young, use the land to our advantage to fatten them up during the summer, and sell them in the fall. When the rain was generous, thousands of these reckless youngsters filled the fences to the brim. We unloaded truck load after…
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God’s Country
I was raised in a place my dad considered God’s Country, a place where rolling hills and sagebrush were the only things you saw for miles. The horizon looked like the edge of the Earth. Dirt roads interconnected neighbors and small lifelines called towns. The closest Walmart was an hour away. Groceries were bought in…