By Sherry Danekas

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.
Then quit, there’s no point in being a damn fool
about it.
~W.C. Fields~


I always thought the older I became, the more I would understand things and folks, but unfortunately I’m sad to report that the opposite is true. It seems that I’m confronted daily by small minds, developed by bitter attitudes, whose intellectual capacities quit expanding at age twelve. I’ve gradually weeded a lot of those individuals from my life but unfortunately it seems there are those you can’t escape and they just keep re-appearing right back at your fence-line.
This spring and summer all I want to do is catch my breath. After a long winter, and a fall filled with an overdose of “have to do’s” and “drop dead deadlines,” all I want is a time out. Spending days checking calves, irrigating and tending my gardens would be the best remedy, but regrettably life doesn’t always work the way we want it to. My deadlines aren’t going to fade into the horizon and the snarky people will always continue to exist. The best I can hope for is to just plunge forward with grace and hope like heck that it all turns out for the best.

There are some things that I can control, and that is the speed at which I move through my days. I refuse to take the freeways to some of our other pastures. Yes, I could get there in half the time, but I would so miss the story that the back roads hold for me every single day. I’ve come to know the tractors and the farmers who are out with me each morning at 6:00 am. I enjoy watching their fields change from week to week as planting and harvesting takes place. Every morning brings some special moment all its own - if it’s not a flock of wild male turkeys with their feathers in full regalia, it’s a beautiful sunrise coming through the clouds. I know where to slow down to avoid hitting the covey of quail taking their morning stroll, and which berry bushes contain the largest rabbit families, waiting to dash out in front of my wheels.

It’s the speed of things in everyday that I can control, and I have definitely shifted into low gear. What is at high gear is the volume and quality of the articles being assembled for this year’s July-August Big Bull book. I can promise some eye-brow raising pieces - some that will have you sharing with your friends, and of course every single article and word we put pen to paper are those that reflect your lives and your business. So stay tuned and pay attention to your mailboxes come July, I promise once again you won’t be disappointed.

The May-June issue you’re holding in your hands is one you won’t be disappointed by either. It may be small in size, but it does pack a wallop of good reading. We all know how important the ranch horse is to many operations, and we bring you two excellent pieces on the care and feeding of the ranch horse. From the North American Limousin Association comes a piece that I’m sure will attract your attention. And just to make sure that you find something to smile about, Hooter and the Bull Board are waiting.

It is said that Spring is the season of promise, and as I look around my gardens and orchards the promise for flowers and fruit are abundant. It is also written that Summer is the season of growth and light, so I’m going to work on growing a thicker skin and enjoying the long days of warmth that the season yields. The thicker skin will help me handle those folks that I can’t seem to shake and I’m going to use the light to stay on those back trails a little longer and enjoy all they have to offer.
The trail is going to warm up quickly as we turn the corner into July, so take a few moments to catch your breath and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you…..Happy Trails.