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Read MoreSpring Branding on a Texas Ranch
Why Brand? Every spring on cattle ranches throughout rural areas, cowboys and cowgirls gather the cow/calf operation herds for branding. A few have modernized the process with the addition of four-wheelers and electric squeeze chutes, while others follow the same age old traditions practiced for over 150 years. Using...
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Read MoreBook Birthday Bash
It’s a Book Birthday Party and you’re invited! Help me celebrate two new books in my Rescue Animal Series. Friday, June 1 10:00 AM to Noon Canyon Area Library 1501 3rd Avenue Canyon, Texas It’s time to sign...
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Read MoreMore Rescue Animals!
These two will gallop right into your heart! I love stories with happy endings. One of the reasons I felt inspired to write the Rescue Animal Series is to shed light on a group of people who are extremely generous and dedicated to giving animals a second chance. My...
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Read MoreLooking for a Great Book?
Here’s my recommended reads from the past several months. So many new discoveries and a few old favorites. Enjoy! For Fans of Horror ONE MURDEROUS WEEK by Nandy Ekle Congratulations to one of my writing critique partners, Nandy Ekle, who has just released a collection of short stories. This thrilling...
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Read MoreField Trip – Roswell
Roswell, New Mexico As a member of Amarillo’s Association of Desk and Derrick Club for over 25 years, I make an effort to attend the Regional meetings, not just to see the many friends I’ve made through the years, but also because of the field trips to job sites....
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Read MorePower of the Purse
This week a hometown friend invited me to the Tenth Anniversary celebration and fundraiser for Power of the Purse, which features a purse auction to benefit the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health. Over 1,000 women attended to hear former first lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, talk about the efforts...
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Read MoreChecking Cows
Checking Cows After moving eight miles from town and down the road from my in-laws, I wondered at my father-in-law’s compulsion to drive through his cattle every single day, sometimes twice. My husband did the same. We drove through the steers he fed out on leased grass most every...
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Read MoreCowboy Gear: BOOTS
Cowboy boots, high-heeled boots, custom-mades, short tops were pee-wees. The early version of boots seen in the West did not always have high-heels, which has become synonymous with the American cowboy style. Early over-the-counter boots were plain with a lower heel and cost around $15.00. Cowboys began to wear...
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Prairie Purview
WHERE YOUR BEEF COMES FROM
A year’s worth of work on a Texas cattle ranch leads up to one day: shipping day. The signs of Fall in the Texas Panhandle signals the time to gather the herd, wean the calves, and ship the to market. Last year our calf crop sold through Superior Livestock Auction and brought the highest price in the nation on the day of sale. A valuable herd is made possible through the year-long efforts of our Ranch Foreman, reliable day...
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Finding Inspiration on Route 66
I spent a lovely Saturday morning several weeks ago with my writing critique group on Route 66. We’ve discussed working together on a project for many years. This time a topic was suggested that had definite appeal to all of us. With a main theme of Route 66, OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66, is a collection of fiction stories set for publication in 2018. To set fire to our story settings and characters, we journeyed along I-40 to visit...
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Cowboy Approved Potato Casserole
By popular request, here is the potato casserole recipe that was served at this year’s branding. Belinda Sursa is a former team roper, all around ranch hand, and as part of being married to a New Mexico cowboy, she can cook too. She has fed day workin’ crews for many years. She told me that her New Mexico guys were never fans of the traditional cold potato salad, so she came up with this hot potato dish as a...
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Cowboy Gear: Chaps
Chinks. Leggin’s. Woolies. Batwings. Hair pants. Shotguns. “Humans dress up but the cowboy dresses down.” Short for chaparejos, the Spanish term for overalls or leather breeches, chaps are an important part of the cowboy’s wardrobe. Northern cowboys used angora or sheep pelts for warmth; “woolies”. Texas cowboys were identified as wearing the wider legs so they could be put on without removing spurs, called bat wings or buzzard wings. The plainer leather chaps with fringe were...
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