Mares exhibit great distress at the loss of a colt, much like what you see and hear about elephants upon the death of a family member in the herd. That is what came to mind as I observed the hoof churned soil around the silent prone body. Coco perplexed and distraught started her nervous head swaying from side to side, once in awhile making a full arching circle as we loaded the corpse into the back of a truck.

Each wished we had checked her just one more time during the night.

Scootin N Bootin and her new foal. We might call him Roller Derby if we can get the name. He had a stomach ache and rolled like a big horse on his back side to side, trying to relieve the discomfort. That is what told us he needed some help.

Mother nature wants to keep us on our toes here at the Vineyard Ranch just south of Contact, Nevada. It wasn't too bad until the breeze came up; the earth's early morning deep breathing exercises before getting about the business of the day. Animal and man will wait for the sun to return which will probably take a big wind to roll the storm on out toward the plains states.

Since the Gathering in Elko in late January I have spent considerable time contemplating how we slice and dice this man made invention called time. Our relationships, jobs, mornings, afternoons and nights are digested by the minutes and seconds that tick away as we go through our lives.

In the beginning I wondered why Blunt called the book Breaking Clean instead of Clean Break. After contemplating, breaking clean is a longer more painful and messy process than making a clean break. The image of a jagged-edged piece of broken glass, compared to a scored edge of cut glass came to mind. The jagged edge has the potential to inflict more damage, but if held up to the light the edges reflect more colors.

My experience marrying into another ranching family has been a much more positive one than that described in Breaking Clean. But one point that really struck home was the articulation that our generation of women are caught in a world of corporate ownership versus the partnership model of our parents. In contrast, we watched our parents participate as partners on the ranch, even if there were gender issues within that relationship.

May the peace and purity of a cold Nevada morning be with you today and throughout the year. Merry Christmas from the Vineyard Bunch

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Since September we have been shipping cattle, yearling steers and heifers that were either sold over the video auction or are being sent to the local sale yard. If not working yearlings, we have been gathering up the cowherd. Most wander home on their own but there are always those that prefer to stay out. They are the valuable ones, but we have to locate them and give them a push home with horse and dog.

In this land of plenty and privledge I've pledged to help Heifer International plant the seeds of peace. I chose a high goal by choosing to dedicate my efforts to project WiLD. WiLD recognizes that women make up 70% of the world's poor, produce 80% of the developing world's food yet own less than 1% of the earth's land.

Heifer International's project WiLD understands that rural women are often overlooked by government programs and educational opportunities and face a cycle of poverty, hunger and despair. In a world where many women feel powerless we rural and urban alike have the power through a simple gift to change the lives of others. By focusing on women we help struggling families and communities.

Please join me this holiday season and together we can make a difference in the lives of families around the globe.

]]> http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/robins/2006/12/remembering_autumn.html http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/robins/2006/12/remembering_autumn.html Sun, 03 Dec 2006 23:27:05 +0000 7:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

Fall is a time of reckoning. It is a time to reap the rewards of a years worth of work and husbandry. Shipping time is a busy time of sorting and classing up the yearlings into uniform groups for sale delivery. Running test lots through the scale house to see if the estimated sale weights set in June were accurate. Fall is a time to reckon the books, cattle sale tallies with expenses; that old cash-flow situation.

With the first skiff of snow there comes an economic and mental reckoning with the standing and stored feed that is on hand to get the cow herd through the winter. Sometimes that agonizing reckoning comes about mid-April on a cold, dry, windy day when all you can find is the beginnings of green on the south slopes.

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Fall is like middle age, you can continue to kid yourself or you can accept what is, make decisions to change what you can, and plan for next year.

Taki Telonidas, WFC; Phil Brick Professor, Whitman College; Steve Boies

The first snow on Elle and Dee Mountain means deer starting to move, playing Russian Roulete on the highway with the 2500 plus vehicles that pass by each day. Snow means the most spoiled of our predominetly black cows will be trailing down from the mountains looking for the psychological comfort of a haystack.

Photo by Robin Boies