Three days before the opening of the 2014 sharptail grouse season I had to make a trip to Bismarck for supplies. This is a bi monthly trek that takes me on a route around the city starting at Menards for hardware needs and ending up at Sam's Club for food supplies stopping for dog food in between and maybe a haircut if my patience holds out. God forbid I ever need anything from Walmart! It's still quite warm with the temperatures in the upper 70's so I left the Setters lounging in air conditioned comfort at home for this run. No complaints from them.
I've discovered no matter what's on my list as I travel from place to place a built in timer tells me when it's time to get the hell out of the city. The over exposure to the sheer number of idiots on any given day is the cause for my timer going off. So I try not to let my eyes focus on people to long or look at what's in their cart. This seems to help not feeling humanity is truly doomed and that there is really no hope! As for why I don't shop locally in my little rural paradise well that's a fallacy I don't buy into for the majority of my needs. After all what's the benefit to the consumer for being over charged? Do I get a Christmas card for the holidays or a hello at the Post Office? Hell no. I've nothing against anybody making money but also believe in spending it wisely and know the older folks that can't travel struggle with what are very high prices for the most part.
The phenomenon that I wanted to share on these days is one I've seen time and again. It causes me to pause and stare no matter how hard I try not to! Here's how it goes. This is cattle country. The culture and roles people play domestically is the subject of this post and observation. I could be anywhere and I see these couples time and again as I've said. They're ranchers husband and wife usually of retirement age I expect but most of them still actively in the business. These people never really retire it seems. Anyway as a couple there's a stark contrast as they walk along. The husband is the Cowboy of course always dressed to the hilt from head to toe. Fancy boots,new blue jeans,tooled belt and western shirt. Yes, of course there's the white cattleman's cowboy hat. Easily an outfit worth several hundred if not a couple thousand dollars if the boots are ostrich skin and the hat full beaver custom made which many happen to be. These older men are in remarkably good physical condition for having spent a lifetime ranching. Having come from dairy country myself I know any man that spends his lifetime milking dairy cows is lucky to be able to walk upright at this age! Most of them suffer from joint damage and chronic back ailments let alone have the cash to get decked out in such an outfit just to go to town!
In stark contrast walking usually a half step behind the Cowboy is his wife. Ma. The mother of his children. The keeper of the castle. The maid. The seamstress. The cook. His accountant. Seasonal field hand and parts runner. These old girls dutifully walk along with the Cowboys with a slight rock back and forth to their gait. Ranch life you see has taken a much harder toll on them. Legs bowed from worn out knees and hips wide these work horses seem mismatched to the man beside them ready to take any willing woman for a spin two stepping around the ball room. From sun up to sun down they have toiled their entire lives at the beckon call of the Cowboy. Most of what they have done all those years has been simply hard labor day in and day out. They're outfits are not the same. These women usually wear cheap tennis shoes,stretch pants and if they have one a nice car coat. It seems the only luxury they afford themselves is a regular perm at the beauty shop. The fact is that despite these efforts nothing can hide the toll their role in this culture has taken on them. Yet they dutifully walk along as the Cowboy struts.
So along side many of these Cowboys is a woman that works in servitude to this culture. That's what I see. What I know is that from generation to generation these roles have stayed the same in many cases but as more and more women work off the farm and ranch it's also evolved. There are many great partnerships that help to perpetuate this way of life. Willing participants in both roles. But the old school roles truth be told took a noticeable toll on the women. Coming from the large first generation homestead families they knew no different way of life. They value the place they came from and the values they lived by. That's why they dutifully walk, slightly rocking back and forth, a half step behind the Cowboy.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Bird Dogs, Day Lilly's, and Beautiful Women
From time to time I reflect on those things that I have spent considerable time and money on as I follow my internal compass leading me in the direction of my passion for life. To someone on the outside looking in often times it makes no sense as to what people occupy their time pursuing. So long ago I quit trying to explain my journey and just lived it only trying to make sense of it for myself and no one else. After all what else really matters? Well I have a good laugh about these things occasionally and the experiences they have brought me so I have to include this in my story.
From an early age I was attracted to dog's and have always had them in my life. They always seemed to sense my attraction to them as well so it was mutual from the start. There have been many in my life but none that have had such an impact as my current trio of beautiful Setters I've lived with for the past decade. I often think if I would had discovered them earlier in life many things may have been different. The reason being how they compliment everything about the sport of bird hunting and the beautiful places and experiences you have along the way. Quail hunting in the south. Grouse hunting in the foothills of Montana. Pheasants in the uplands and prairie birds on the plains. Beautiful sunsets and fresh tracks in the snow. People and places you'll never forget. So while I eventually made the decision to move to bird country I may have gotten here earlier than I did had things been different. It's interesting to speculate but there is no doubt about the impact the Setters had in my decision and the course my life took as a result of our experiences together.
I remember taking a horticulture class while in high school where we learned basic principles of gardening and plant physiology. I recall being surprised at how interesting I thought this was and had fun with the projects of starting our own plants in the small greenhouse. I grew marigolds and tomato plants and took them home planting them behind our house. Several years later I grew pumpkins on a large scale at our rural property. This was great fun and generated many anecdotal stories along the way. But then I visited a grower of hostas and day lily's one season and was taken by the beauty of the lily's. Always looking for something I could live with in terms of maintenance and success the lily's and I were a match. It took me several years before I came back to them once I lived in bird country and needed to landscape my yard that I discovered how they could become a great past time and learning opportunity. One thing I can attest to is that the process of learning at any age is vital to staying healthy and happy. It should never stop as there are a myriad of things to learn at any age no matter what your physical condition happens to be. Suddenly I had a few hundred plants and was hybridizing my own creations! My days of walking through my apple orchard with a cup of coffee at my rural Wisconsin property were now replaced by walking around looking at beautiful blooms day after day for weeks at a time during the growing season. Then on rainy days taking the best of the best inside to admire throughout the day and evening. A symbol of hope indeed as you can't help but be inspired by the beauty they bring to your world in stark contrast to the darkness that seems to be so prevalent everywhere these days. So why this obsession it would seem to some people? A key to another world I would say. A world full of incredible beauty and creativity just waiting for you and all of it right in your own back yard!
Women. Beautiful women. Every mans pursuit and folly. I must say I have spent my share of time in this pursuit over time which is not yet up I would add! But time once divided for someone like myself was always hard to allocate with interests taking me on singular experiences requiring serious commitment,time, and money. Then there was always the demanding job that created the cash to be able to be in a position to have it all. That being a beautiful woman, a family, a picturesque home and of course the bird dogs always there waiting for you to say lets go! So like the sirens in Greek mythology I was duped into thinking it was possible for a man to live in this ideal world enjoying his passions not having to pick and choose but having them all. I must say there were moments I believed it possible but then reality always brought me back to the realization I would eventually be forced to choose. So speculation with what could have been sometimes occupies my thoughts but then I always come full circle knowing I couldn't live without feeding my passions. It would be impossible to walk away always wondering and dreaming about what it would have been like to have taken a different path. So I made a choice to live a life the only way it would work. For me and the bird dog's!
It's no surprise then that I've been more successful with some things in my journey than others. But I can truthfully say I have never been bitten by any of my bird dog's. I have no scars attributable to them. Beautiful flowers while only blossoming for a short time are a true respite from the dark side of life on any day. Then there's women. Beautiful women.
From an early age I was attracted to dog's and have always had them in my life. They always seemed to sense my attraction to them as well so it was mutual from the start. There have been many in my life but none that have had such an impact as my current trio of beautiful Setters I've lived with for the past decade. I often think if I would had discovered them earlier in life many things may have been different. The reason being how they compliment everything about the sport of bird hunting and the beautiful places and experiences you have along the way. Quail hunting in the south. Grouse hunting in the foothills of Montana. Pheasants in the uplands and prairie birds on the plains. Beautiful sunsets and fresh tracks in the snow. People and places you'll never forget. So while I eventually made the decision to move to bird country I may have gotten here earlier than I did had things been different. It's interesting to speculate but there is no doubt about the impact the Setters had in my decision and the course my life took as a result of our experiences together.
I remember taking a horticulture class while in high school where we learned basic principles of gardening and plant physiology. I recall being surprised at how interesting I thought this was and had fun with the projects of starting our own plants in the small greenhouse. I grew marigolds and tomato plants and took them home planting them behind our house. Several years later I grew pumpkins on a large scale at our rural property. This was great fun and generated many anecdotal stories along the way. But then I visited a grower of hostas and day lily's one season and was taken by the beauty of the lily's. Always looking for something I could live with in terms of maintenance and success the lily's and I were a match. It took me several years before I came back to them once I lived in bird country and needed to landscape my yard that I discovered how they could become a great past time and learning opportunity. One thing I can attest to is that the process of learning at any age is vital to staying healthy and happy. It should never stop as there are a myriad of things to learn at any age no matter what your physical condition happens to be. Suddenly I had a few hundred plants and was hybridizing my own creations! My days of walking through my apple orchard with a cup of coffee at my rural Wisconsin property were now replaced by walking around looking at beautiful blooms day after day for weeks at a time during the growing season. Then on rainy days taking the best of the best inside to admire throughout the day and evening. A symbol of hope indeed as you can't help but be inspired by the beauty they bring to your world in stark contrast to the darkness that seems to be so prevalent everywhere these days. So why this obsession it would seem to some people? A key to another world I would say. A world full of incredible beauty and creativity just waiting for you and all of it right in your own back yard!
Women. Beautiful women. Every mans pursuit and folly. I must say I have spent my share of time in this pursuit over time which is not yet up I would add! But time once divided for someone like myself was always hard to allocate with interests taking me on singular experiences requiring serious commitment,time, and money. Then there was always the demanding job that created the cash to be able to be in a position to have it all. That being a beautiful woman, a family, a picturesque home and of course the bird dogs always there waiting for you to say lets go! So like the sirens in Greek mythology I was duped into thinking it was possible for a man to live in this ideal world enjoying his passions not having to pick and choose but having them all. I must say there were moments I believed it possible but then reality always brought me back to the realization I would eventually be forced to choose. So speculation with what could have been sometimes occupies my thoughts but then I always come full circle knowing I couldn't live without feeding my passions. It would be impossible to walk away always wondering and dreaming about what it would have been like to have taken a different path. So I made a choice to live a life the only way it would work. For me and the bird dog's!
It's no surprise then that I've been more successful with some things in my journey than others. But I can truthfully say I have never been bitten by any of my bird dog's. I have no scars attributable to them. Beautiful flowers while only blossoming for a short time are a true respite from the dark side of life on any day. Then there's women. Beautiful women.
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