Life as a Cowgirl

Howdy again!

Yesterday was a typical cowgirl day. Ran out to the ranch to ride my horse and I was shanghaied into helping gather, sort and rope 50+ hiefers. Since I was riding my trusty mare, Mini, I decided I could donate an hour or two of my time and lend a roping hand.

Well...I should have known by the surprise invitation that this was kind of a last minute preparation on the cattle owner's part and nothing was organized! The weather was calling for high winds (not so good for roping conditions) and they started gusting about 10 minutes after we had gathered all the beasts from the grassy pasture into the dry, dusty lot. Dirt was certainly going to be on the menu and also a spa version of dirt exfoliation was due. Why did I say "yes"? Remember, I live in Southeastern Arizona. No big trees, very dry (especially this year after a sad little monsoon season) and not much to stop the wind once it starts blowing! Dust devils can completely shroud you and your horse for up to a minute! So, again...why did I say "yes"? Hmmm...

One or two hours work turned into 7 hours of hot, dry, dirty, difficult roping. We had to wait for other cowboys to show up (also invited right then) and the ear tags to be purchased in town and delivered. Then the wind really picked up and made the roping part very slow going. Did I mention these were mostly 450lb replacement heifers that had to be headed and heeled in order to not kill the ground crew? At times the cattle were completely obscured in the huge dust clouds and it was hard to see who had a rope on and who didn't! Not exactly as safe an environment as I like to rope in, but conditions are what they are and some things have to be endured.

Surprise, surprise! No cooler full of frosty drinks, no snacks or lunch available. It was pretty minimal. When the two Mexican cowboys helping out starting talking about Cervesas while we were out there roping I wanted to abandon ship and head to the first bar! A frigid Corona with lime sounded mighty fine! Instead we just called a time out and all lined up at the hose to try and quench our thirst and wet our faces down enough to remove the layers of dirt in our eyes.

My horse and I survived. All the heifers got their proper ear tags put in and they were turned back out in the green, moist pastures once again.

As soon as my horse was put up and fed I headed out! I had dinner to consider and only an hour to make it happen! Darn! I was counting on a whole afternoon at home to research options and start something special since the forecast had been so crappy. So much for planning!

Well...cowgirl ingenuity prevailed. How about some leftovers? That made my life much easier and I felt much improved once I was able to shower and remove the sandblast from my face and other body parts!

That is the life of a cowgirl....