Johnny
My creators have asked me to share my life with you.
Ranching is in my blood. It’s all I know. I’ve been a rancher my whole life, and
the only thing that matters more then how much cattle you have is how you brand
them. It’s a busy time of year,
because you can’t possibly brand your cattle on your own. Instead, all the
neighbors get together and help out.
The
night before we brand, I can’t sleep.
Energy is running through my veins and I toss and turn waiting for the
anticipation of the day. The rest
of the house, those who are sleeping, will be woke up the next morning with pancakes,
eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy and strong black coffee. Breakfast has to be hearty to keep you going all
day long. The smell permeates your
nostrils telling you it’s time to get going.
Neighbors,
friends and family come poring in and nobody shows up late. If you do, you won’t
get any grub. The weather is
usually nice, so we generally sit outside to enjoy our breakfast. The ground is littered with patches of
snow at times. Hot coffee always steams up my dad’s glasses as he takes a drink.
After
breakfast the neighbor women and my mom work to clean up. It’s a tradition that no one argues today. Lucky to, because
lunch is always the most amazing chili, homemade with peppers, beef, red beans
and onions. There are some special
family ingredients but we aren’t allowed to share that.
Now
comes the exciting part. The
actually branding. My family’s
brand is the infinity signature, with a capital V for our last name. Each ranch has their own. The cows are moved into the branding
area. Everyone gets into
place. My dad is going to brand,
my nine year cousin is going to hold their tail so that they don’t move, our
closest neighbor Sammy will inoculate them and then Frank, another
neighbor up the road, will put the tags on. Putting a tag on a cow has been compared by others as
piercing a human’s ear.
This
is a day of blood, sweat, some tears and mud. Everyone is dirty by the end of the day. At one point in time a cow will rear up
and try to run out of the shoot.
Everyone yells chaotic instructions to try and keep him in, because no
one wants to have to chase him down.
However, extra family and neighbors are on horses close by, ready to
lasso them in case. When the day
is finished we eat dinner. An all
American dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, deviled eggs and home
made apple pie. A fire is started
and everyone will stay up late swapping laughs, memories and the good old
days. This is a time to remember
and for a young rancher, like me, well, it’s in my veins.
