“If you are going to walk on thin ice,
you might as well dance.”
~Anonymous~

It sure seems like the cold has arrived and isn’t about to budge from our doorstep for the some time. Breaking ice on the water troughs is a bit of a novelty for us here in my part of California and breaking thick ice for several days in a row is definitely the coffee shop conversation down at the local café. I managed to attend the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado when the chill blew in and I have to say it may have been the coldest stock show ever in my personal history. Denver temperatures were barely moving away from the zero mark, while at home our California pipes were rebelling against temperatures in the twenties. We headed over to Steamboat, Colorado and cow country where the temps plunged even lower, on our final morning in Colorado we traveled in thirty three below zero temperatures. Getting home to California and morning temps in the twenties actually didn’t seem so bad in comparison. Of course there were those pipes to repair and an interesting slab of ice on the driveway that still hasn’t completely disappeared to keep us on the run and warm.

Something else keeping us on the run these days is the new Western Cowman website at www.westerncowman.com. It is a continuing work in progress and next month we hope to launch our new blog page “The Porch”. It will be a new way to communicate what’s happening in our industry in an instant and hear what our readers think on a variety of subjects. The Western Cowman writers will weigh in from week to week and I hope to keep a running correspondence going that will spark everyone in some form or another. We will also run a blog column in the magazine and publish those particular blogs that we feel, over the month, offered outstanding advice or delivered a message really worth hearing. Yes, we’re really getting technical around here. I truly depend on our amazing staff to keep me up to snuff on everything technical, because prior to my lesson on “blogs”, I thought a “blog” was something you didn’t want to step in.

This month’s issue is a great one to kick back with near the fire or stove in the evenings and hunker down with some very remarkable articles. We continue the series on the Black Tide where we examine the various issues that arise when one breed becomes so dominate over others; it’s a fascinating piece that continues into next month as well. We have the last of the series in “Reads for Ranchers”, this is a superb article that will keep your library shelves stocked for months. We also have a great installment on calf health from Heather Smith-Thomas that is a must read for everyone. This is one of those issues that you’re going to enjoy settling down with.

As you head off on the trail this romantic month of February, don’t forget that partner on Valentines that really deserves something special. I know that I always look forward to a special thought out fax on the morning of the `14th from whatever hotel my spouse is staying. Stay warm, stay safe, and keep it spicy. Happy Trails…..