Jeremiah Watt

Some folks travel a hectic circuit of trade shows and events in search of another order, the Invitational Art Show scene, the ranch ropings etc, and all for another order. It is no secret that I also attend a quite a few Shows with the product that we make..........but in truth, the VERY BEST remedy I have ever found that insures another order.

Photo by: Jeremiah Watt-2006

Quite simple really, I was given this advise many years ago by a saddle maker who's advise I still seek and cherish, his thoughts on this matter were to simply -stay home and build the order that you have as if it were your last and therefore you wanted to make it your best. Building just one nice saddle -on time - and built well, will return too you more orders than all the trade shows there are out there.
LIke you, I thought why heck it can't be quite that simple, and surely even he whom had given the advise had attended Shows in order to build his clientele, right? Yes, and no, are both to be found here. Over time I have come to understand exactly what he is talking about, its the catch 22 of our industry.
Are we staying busy looking for work by attending trade shows, or are we staying busy with the sort of saddles orders that we all strive for. If we get caught in the trap of having to rush an order out with less than our best workmanship, just so we can have a little travelling money...........then indeed we have started that cycle into decline.
On the other hand, if we choose to stay home a little more often, and take a little more time to do our best workmanship on this and the next saddle, maybe even take a day out of our schedule to deliver the saddle to the buyer. Yes I understand that you are missing the day in the shop, and it is all cost to you. Just consider the effect of goodwill , it's amazing in the longer run of your shop. I have seen a change in the type of customers coming into my own shop, many would be considered as quite novice in there level of horsemanship. In the event that this is your customer, your taking time to walk throught the proper placement of blankets, pads and saddle can be quite a confidence builder for yuor customer, it also reveals to them the sort of character that YOU have. You will never know how many times your name is brought up in conversations from that day on, but it is numerous, to that customer you will have attained Saint-Hood status, and very horse friend he/she has will know about you for what you have done..
SO, I stay home even though many of my friends tell me I missed a real good Show, and yes I do miss seeing many of these events. I am at home doing what pays the best......I am building another saddle!!! Being a
bit of a work-a-holic, makes it easier for me. I joke with my friends, I keep my shop 20 miles out of town, behind a locked gate, I have a dog that bites..........and still, I have too many interuptions through the day. For those of you with shops on main, I am not sure how you get anything done. Even for me with my hidden away saddle shop, I have to do a little work at night when there are no distractions to impede the saddles progress.
Evenings around here are a mix of many things. I often have to head over to the tree shop and assemble another group of trees so we can start the rawhiding all over again. As you see in the accompanying photo we have a larger group than usual to get hide on. I lost two hides in a row this spring due to weather, and now I play a little catch-up.

Photo by Jeremiah Watt 2006

Its hard work staying busy, but its the best remedy I know for poverty and boredom
Take care and live Blessed
till next time, Jeremiah

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:36 AM | Permalink

Most folks only know California by what they have seen of Disney Land, or maybe Fisherman's Wharf. They take a cultural swab of California's hinter lands while passing through on I-5 doing 85 miles per hour, conclude there is not much too see and all the time having missed this...........................

Title: Thunderheads over Panoche
Photo and retouching by: Jeremiah Watt

Painter's Paradise that I live in. Okay, okay, yes I was once one of those folks who thought very little of California. Matter of fact, I swore I would never live here......ever! We both fell in love with this state the first time we drove through it together, we drove over to visit with our friends the Nueberts while they worked on a ranch in Paicines Cal.
I was astounded at how beautiful it was once you got away from the hustle and bustle of the coastal urban areas, let me see if I can impress you with stats, I think it says that 72% of Cal's population lives within 55 miles of the coast. Leaves alot of room for me and cow don't you think.
If you can traverse California by car, taking the back roads and hitting the small towns, bring your camera or easel becasue the views will stun you. They are stunning in every season, no matter if you chase landscapes to paint, rural buildings, or cowboys at work..............we have plenty of all of it.
The seasons of California are great, mild and each has its intrinsic beauty. The greens of our spring rival anything that Ireland can come up with , especially a spring like the one we just had, our hills are covered with a thousand shades of green. I admit, it took a while, but over time I have come to love our golden season as well. That soft golden hue in evening light of dry grass on hillsides, dotted with the Oaks which are abundant in most areas of California.
Isn't it hot Jeremiah, they ask me. Heck yes its hot...............but ain't it cold in North Dakota. Simple cowboy logic, which do you dream of seeing your wife in, a bikini...........or a pair of Carr-Hart over-alls???

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 8:06 AM | Permalink

I thought that I should take a few lines and a little of my time to introduce you to my BEST FRIEND. Without this partner in life, I doubt that I would achieve a quarter of what I done to date. Truth is she makes this whole enterprise work, it is she that provides the strength to endure when circumstances seem to be mounting against us, it is she that most folks meet when our product is at a Trade Show. She, would be my wife Colleen.

Title: Mom on Fizzbomb
Photo by : Jeremiah

My wife Colleen, is a University of Calgary Graduate in Accounting whom prefers to be at home with me and too raise and school our children. Here degree means that she could get a great job in town, as she has in the past, but she chooses to sacrafice and stay home with us, and for that I am grateful.

Colleen comes from a family of school teachers, her mother was a school teacher many years ago in Saskatchewan and taught in a one room school house, grades 1-8. A little annecdote to that, Mavis, that is Colleens mother still gets letters from some of her students from some 60 years ago, now that is cool we think. All of Colleens sisters are teachers as well. So maybe Colleen should have been a teacher instead of an Accountant.

What most folks don't know is that my wife is the better cowboy of the two of us. I hate to be the one who brings you bad news, but this fact is true. Her patience allows her to get along with horses that I will only make worse, she reads a situation with cattle quite well, she doesn't rope worth crap but she slings a heck of a Dutch Oven.

Its tough, being married to a model wife who is a model in more ways than just one. She has modeled quite often for painters (YES, with her dang clothes on! ). She has been photographed quite a few times and we have found her face in places like Time Magazine, National Geographic etc. Her image has been used in books, on covers of books, and on an Album cover. None of this surprises me, heck I knew she was purd'y along time ago. I send my wife to quite a few of the trade shows and many folks have had a chance to meet her, all in all I think it gives our little Company a good showing........a pretty gal with a great attitude. Or as one of my friends once told me, It beats the hell out of meeting you Jeremiah!

Title: Flirting in the Feed Truck!!
Photo by : Jeremiah

She's Mom around here, and we all know how much we count on Mom to bring us through the tough times, for 23 years she has been my consistant best friend, and she just keeps getting better looking to me. It is a pretty good chance that when you call my house you will deal with Colleen first, she fills orders, she takes the orders, and she ships the orders. For those of you whom have not met here yet, well here are a few pic's that will give you a glimpse of Colleens real character.

Title: Just Mom
Photo by: Jeremiah

Thanks Mom, your the best!

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 7:07 AM | Permalink

Finally, my family has returned home. We spend so much time together that it becomes difficult to adjust when they are gone as has been the case for the last 10 days or so.

We build a line of tools and also saddle hardware for the leather trades, and because of that we also find ourselves traveling to various shows to represent our work. Between my wife and I we take turns at hitting the out of town shows, and we usually take one or another of our kids with us. Since we home school our children, it works out quite easy to take school with us when we travel, between the text book stuff and the local Museums in what ever town we are in it seems too work out quite well.

As parents we strongly encourage our kids to engage in capitalism.........there is no such thing as an allowance around this place. The rule is if you want some green in your pocket you need to get out and go to work on something to remedy the situation. So my daughter Nevada, is doing some stamp work on silver, such things as scarf slides etc. While my boy Pine, takes care of the larger items such as concho belts and conchos for spur straps. They have done quite well with it all, and have made enough at it to Bank a little. I think that they are about due to invest some of that money into the stock market now.

My kids both ride, although it is Nevada who is the real horse nut amongst them. All of us get horseback, my wife does a good job of getting the kids out on the horses. She will load up kids and books on the horses and then head into the hills to do a days school with them, sitting under the huge Oaks that dot the landscape of this area. Pine is an avid reader, and likes the big books that are thrillers and mysteries, the Tom Clancy type novels. Whiel Nevada tends towards the love stories such as Pride and Prejudise type stuff.........CHICK BOOKS we tease her.

All in all, nothing feels quite right when my wife and kids are gone, and nothing feels better than when they are finally backhome with me.

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I can't emphasise enough how badly I was wanting that chance to go to work on a large outfit, one of those often written about ranches that pulled a wagon out for it's spring and fall works. I admit, I was caught up in the romance of it, all that I had read, and all that I had seen thus far of actual ranch life was from a book.

For my wife and I our first real chance came in Wyoming at the Padlock ranch. I was hired for the spring branding season and told to head to Harding,small town in Montana that was the northern most end of the Padlock. I was elated, scared and eager all at the same time. I had spent most of my time on a farm in Manitoba and cow work meant working on foot, nobody even considered branding anything and a wagon was something you seen at the local fair. I know, its a heck of a thing to have to admit, but its the reality of it all. So to get ready I read, thats right read.........matter of fact I had about wore out Faye Ward's great book that documented the life of a working cowboy. From camp etiquette to the various loops thrown and positining yourself on a drive. I think I wore out two long ropes and at least one saw horse in my nightly ritual of roping practise, from every angle and every distance that I could imagine having to cope with.
I was prepared.........and not prepared all at one time. I was fortunate to have met Bob Douglas before going up to work, and his sage advise stayed with me " a good man can go along ways with his eyes open and his mouth shut". He was right, the opening nights conversation was a mix of brag and boast, combined with tales of bronc's and long throws..............all of this was followed the next day by the stark reality of who was really a hand and who among us was a little greener than the grass the cattle ate. I am sure glad that I already knew what color of green I was.
It took time, as all twleve of us congealed into a descent crew, we had our minor infractions with authority, slight differences of personal opinion. 3500 hundreds calves later we were all the best of friends , we knew what each done well and what would present a problem for some. By the very nature of an intuitive cowboss and a little time for us to bump our heads together a bit, each of us knew his place and had respect for the other.
Having spent time studying the book did not hurt me at all, nor did is misguide me, matter of fact it set me up very well in many instances for an understanding of what was to be done in the bigger scheme of things. I would be unfair to say that I was the worst roper in the crew, nor by any means was I the best. I simply held my own very well amongst many fellas who had grown up doing what I had only dreamed of doing.
There are situations and things that come up that no book can prepare you for, such as the temperment of the horses. They are as unique as each of the cowboys that recieved them. How they would react to various events like running cattle of flushing deer, proved quite interesting and seat of the pants thinking has to take place or you end up walking, but even worse is when you have to get one of your friends to catch your horse while you figure a tale worthy of having you on foot. Books always emphasise the right way to catch and drag a calf, the right loop, the right position..............poof, like magic it happens. I haven't seen the chapter yet that tells a green crew member what do to do when he accidentally catches the cow instead of the calf, and doesn't Murphy's Law always come into play here. It will be a sloppy single front foot catch every time if its a honky horned cow that you rope.........and the rest of the crew is quite relaxed watching you deal with it.
Books can paint the picture with words, and poems set a stage with prose, but reality and appreciation become one when it is a personel expierience. There are NO words that can aptly describe the sunset that YOU have ridden home in, no prose can better describe the size of a Montana sky than the one YOU have ridden under. NO long since dead poets scralled lines will ever describe how bad I wanted that first chance, no ballad will ever capture the fondness of my memories of that first chance....................to work a wagon job on an oft written about ranch. Thanks Cleve!

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:21 AM | Permalink

Photo by Jeremiah
Jeremiah and Colleen in Texas.

There is no doubt in my mind that the country and its adversities play a large part in the shaping of a mans character. Harsh land does not as one may think form harsh men, but rather it forms up men who are patient and willing to work with what has been dealt them. Men who make thier living out at the wagon in this grand vista that we call America know all to well..............

Photo by Jeremiah Watt
Dugway Canyon Colorado

They know all to well that the land can only serve up so much and in accordance with the season, so we huddle in the cold, we sweat in the sumer heat and bask in automns glory, taking each season , each year in stride.

I have been blessed, as has my wife to have been made welcome on several large ranches in USA, all the places that we sought employment were outfits that ran wagons and spent the season out with the cattle. A typical season would run from beggining of Feb with recieving cattle in and then brand and process the cattle, by first of March we would be ready to take the cattle out to the desert and the first grass of the season. This meant that we had to load up the wagon, get the horses shod, as head our cattle out into the juniper to make our way down the steep canyons into the desert so far below.

We would ride with this group of cattle until fall, trailing them across the desert first then up a little higher into the juniper break country when summers heat burned the desrt grass off. From the junipers we would ride higher into the fringe of scrub Gamble Oaks that belt the mountains highest points, this was miserable country for the cowboys and great for the cattle. Miserable becasue it tore the hell out of your gear, not to mention your own hide, it was difficult at best to know what direction you were going and who was with you on a drive because nobody could see one another. The cattle loved it, they got grass fat in a hurry and wilder than march hares because they figured out all to quickly that we could not keep up to them in the scrub Oaks.

It would be near the end of August and we are ready to move right up to the top of the mountain at some 10K feet in this case, the Aspens were just beginning to turn, before long the Elk would start bugling and heards of cow Elk thier "mewing. The mountain tops are great huge grass filled basins with Aspen, Pine and Fir scattered within, grass is high and cattle fat quickly.By the 15th of September we would begin our gather and ship days, and these would go on for 10-12 days. Each day would start at 3am for the cook and the horse wrangler, and 3:30 for the rest of the crew. The cook would have a full pot of black coffee over the fire and breakfast coming on, the cook tent would be a warm place to hold till the cook was ready. By 4:15 the wrangler would arrive with the horses, for those of us in the tent we could easily anticipate his arrival by the tinkling of the bells that the horses wore. By 4:30 every one would be saddling horses and taking a little air out of the humpy ones if it was needed, and before old man Sun could paint his color on a rock or tree top on the mountain we would be at a long trot out through it tall grass and sage to find our cattle to ship.

The time has come to do a little backriding into the lower country and look for strays before the winter begins, the cattle down low are smart and in small groups, they use the rough country and the heavy tree cover to make a gather difficult, so go back day after day till we have them all. As the daily gather gets to be smaller and smaller, we break up and use binoculars to glass the lower country around water holes that we know of and little grass meadows to look for strays. We spot several groups and form a plan on going back down into the Oaks to make another gather. By now, it is mid October, hunting season has started and winter is trying to lay its icy hands on the mountain top, we are almost gathered and ready to move lower.

BY the 5th to 10th of November my wife and I would be the last to leave, snow would hamper our departure and cold would invade our tee-pee tent no matter how close I held her at night. She and I woulkd trail the 45 horses off of the rim and head for the headquarters....................I will tell you more a little later, for now I need to shut this down.

Posted by Jeremiah Watt at 6:00 AM | Permalink