One of the Hard Parts
Death is an inevitable part of life. Especially life on the ranch. From the time I was a little girl I’ve watched animals die. My favorite childhood horses: Spur, Clip Clop, Josie, Lacey. The bum lambs I played with and helped my mom feed. The goats I helped my great grandma take care of. My mom’s old dog. Our old milk cow, Dot. A puppy. A lamb I suckled and built a fire for to keep alive, but it died in my arms anyways. Many lambs. A frozen calf. A cow named Horny. Too many
Marie
May 165 min read
Sheep Ranching with my Floridian Friends
Two years ago a retired couple from Florida came out to a Wyoming sheep ranch for the first time. Chris and Katia spent a week with me in the heat of the fall work in September. We spent long days cutting sheep, trailing lambs, mouthing and bagging ewes, and a side-by-side adventure gone a little hairy… where Chris learned that we don’t lock vehicles around here, especially on the side of a mountain! After a week of working together, Katia and I both cried when we had to say
Marie
Apr 44 min read
The Power of Prayer
Things are often lost around here. A pin, my wallet, an important paper, and of course sheep. We were always taught to pray to Saint Anthony for his intercession in finding our lost items. This time he came in clutch BIG TIME! Thursday morning when I drive the tractor out to feed the Rambouillet ewes, there’s a lamb! He’s born about a week early so I am surprised to see him. He’s big, up, and running with his mother on her way to the feed row. He must have been born Wednesday
Marie
Mar 203 min read
Change of Plans
The everyday reality of a rancher
Marie
Mar 73 min read
