Keep On the Sunny Side Life

The hints of a changing season have began to surface on the ranch. The flocks of wild Canada geese have grown in size, representing the summer’s goslings preparing for their first migration. The blackbird’s chorus echoes in the evening air, as they gather in nearby trees. The currant bushes now boast burgundy tipped leaves, after being kissed by cooler temperatures. The native grasses are bleached dry by the heat of the summer sun. Our hay meadows appear as a green oasis, telling of the power of irrigation water. These tender grasses are beckoning, tempting the cattle still grazing on the sagebrush fields nearby. Every week, we gather those cattle who have answered the calling, crawling thru fences to taste the savory greens. We promise just a while longer, just a few more weeks, and the cattle will be home for the fall season. They reluctantly trail back to their respective dry pastures. We are blessed this season to still have dry grass to graze. So many of our neighbors have had to bring cattle home early, the grass gone before expected. I remind myself it will make a difference in our hay consumption, this coming winter.

The cooler days have been welcomed by the little cowboys. They are no longer confined to the house, during hot afternoons. The mosquito population has receded for now. The resident swarm, no longer greets us as we step outside. School work is the only inference in their daily play. There is much motivation to complete their day’s assignments, in a timely manner. The swing set, bicycles and trampoline are kept in constant motion. The diving bats’ nightly arrival is the signal to come inside. We have somewhat welcomed the earlier sunset schedule. It ushers us inside earlier, allowing for longer sleep patterns.

The end of summer is filled with mixed emotions. The failed attempts to grow a garden are now rescheduled for next year. The plans of how to improve plantings are in full swing. The labor of irrigating fields and putting up hay is almost done. Then comes the excitement of seeing all the cattle, grouped together, grazing near home. The anticipated fall work, weaning calves and pregnancy checking cows, is coming soon. A chance to see the fruits of our labor, for the past year. The calm before the storm of feeding winter hay. The relief of more mild temperatures after summer’s heat waves. Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the normal mundane things. I know once the first snow comes, prompting the feeding of hay, we will wish for the tall dry grasses of fall. The spring mud season, leaving us yearning for a dusty, dry place to walk. The heat of summer, hoping for cooler days that require a jacket. For now, I am going to try to focus on the present. Trying to find the positive in each day. Whether it’s the noise of flocking birds or a morning sunrise with a cup of hot tea. Most important of all, the opportunity to spend each day with my favorite boys, taking care of livestock.


Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.