WHAT KIND OF AN OUTFIT YOU RUNNING? A tall, lanky, slightly bowlegged cowboy stopped by to visit our church. After the service he introduced himself as being new to the community. “I jist thought I’d mosey up here and see what kind of an outfit you were running,” he explained. I’d never heard of a […]
A HOLLOW HORN HOTHEAD I parked my rig at the hardware store, planning on buying ten pounds of zinc 16 penny nails. But the explosive activities of a car next to me diverted my attention. A hothead of a man about 35-years-old had quite a hassle trying to get one of his babies fastened into […]
The Lowly Nighthawk Security You know, some names just have a good ring to them. They sound impressive. Take the term nighthawk, for instance. Why, that sounds like a sleek, fast, ferocious sportscar or motorcycle or high tech surveillance equipment with infrared scope. But on the cattle drives in the Old West, the nighthawk security […]
Prairie Bob Trucking His Hog Back I sat with an insurance salesman at the local coffee shop when Prairie Bob came in, covered from hat to boot in oil and grease. “Ain’t got time to eat dinner,” Prairie Bob reported. “I bought that truck on Saturday and didn’t even make it home. Nossir, I ain’t […]
Foxfire Sunrises & Storms Outdoors you see a whole lot more of the splendors of God’s creation than if you spend most your time inside buildings. One ten degree fahrenheit morning I ran around a frozen lake about daybreak. The sunrise started out a deep purple and orange. As those colors mellowed, bright pink clouds […]
More Power to Jerky Did you know that jerky helped settle the West? For mountain men and prospectors, surveyors and cowboys, a handful of jerky provided critical nourishment. This in a time of no preservatives or refrigerators. Didn’t matter whether the jerky came from beef, deer, elk, or buffalo. All retained their flavor and value. […]
Hunkered Under the Old Chuck Wagon For those who live in forests or among trees, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to hunt for shade. We spend the better part of the year searching for sunlight. But in the Old West chuck wagon days, plenty of times cowboys longed for respite. Out on the […]
Which Side to Mount the Horse? In 1976 a revolutionary thing happened in the rodeo event called calf roping. A 21-year-old cowboy named Roy Cooper jumped off the right side of his horse. He then ran down the rope and flanked and tied the calf faster than anyone had before. To those who watch rodeo […]
Water Barrel Cowards Some of the most colorful phrases coming from the Old West were localized in geography and era. They’re totally meaningless today. One of my favorite taunts, “I’ll shoot through the barrel and drown you.” This strange sounding epigram called someone a water barrel coward. Used in the right crowd, it guaranteed a […]
VIEW FROM THE BARN, Cowboy Christmas Poem by Stephen Bly I’m a peaceful man by nature, hopin’ all things settle down. Never one to pitch a fit, play the fool, or act the clown. I like a muffler on my tractor, and horses that seldom buck; children that behave themselves and chickens that don’t cluck. I like […]
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