Many of you who know me well know that I grew up on a farm/ranch. My dad dabbled for about 10 or so years in cattle and my grandpa has always had an excellent herd. I grew up country and then moved onto the city. As a young girl, starting out at 5, I had my first job with Grandpa branding cows. They would always hire the hard working Murdock brothers and several other tough men from the Land of Milk and Honey to throw the calves down but most of it was a family affair. My first job was putting the white talc powder on the de-horned calves to stop the bleeding. The smells the sights and sounds, such fond memories, all came back to me today. As I watched my little Gap Cowboy muster up all his courage to slowly work his way to this thing called branding. Pop, my dad, sent him a "training manual" on how to be a real cowboy(book on how to be a cowboy) and a John Wayne video , because Pop, even though his girls have made him dress "citified," is a true cowboy in my eyes. For a few weeks the Gap Cowboy has been talking about this day, with such excitement and every wish and dream came true.
Wish One: Wrestle a Calf Down For Branding....
Even though he had a lot of help, he held on tight!
Wish Two: Help a Real Cowboy Brand....
So he didn't actually brand but he did help "real cowboys brand!
Wish Three: Ride a Cowboy's Horse...
Thanks Mandi, Greg, Russ, Sandra and Ty! Each of this little boy's dreams came true today! One day I hope he smells that same smell and memories of his first branding come flooding through his mind as did I. Those were happy times with my family, especially my Grandpa and Grandma, and I am so glad he is getting to experience a part of my happy past!
7 comments:
Such fun childhood memories! The farm life was great! Glad they had a good time and they got to experience Cowboy life :)
Ahhh...the spring....you gotta love it.
Thanks for bringing back some fond memories (with the exception of Rocky Mountain Oysters) to this old ranch girl....gone New Yorker.
Neat stuff Holly! Thanks for sharing your memories as a 'cowgirl!' I always love reading about your adventures with your cowboys. :)
I am shocked that Jayson wanted to be that close to a branding, seemed like it would be too stinky and gruesome for him, he is sure getting big and brave! I gotta admit, putting powder on a bleeding stump seems like a terrible job for a kid, but I am a city girl through and through. The thought of bleeding and yelping animals makes me shiver. Maybe thats why I am still such a sissy. I like the picutre of him on the horse, what a great place for a cowboy in training!
that is awesome! you are awesome!!
How fun for him! I bet he wakes up with a smile on his face everyday cuz you are his mom!
Sooooo are you in your house yet? I need to visit that blog.... I haven't for awhile.
What a sweet post! I love hearing about all the things you did in your childhood! You had quite the experience!
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