The little boy took a tentative step my way, and without a hint of apprehension, blurted out, “Hey, are you a real cowboy?”

Her dad shook her shoulder lightly. She slowly opened her eyes; the transition to the bright overhead light he’d flipped on was jarring. Then, she remembered with a quick rise of her pulse, it was Christmas. Had she slept in? Where were Clara and Ethan?

The Winecup Ranch is one of the iconic ranches in my home country. Situated near the Idaho-Utah line, it’s home to the Bedke family, and as near as I can tell, the fifth (or maybe sixth) generation of cowboys and cowgirls are now being raised there.

Now that you’ve filled up on all the holiday sweets, it’s time to ring in the new year. There’s that saying, “new year, new me,” right? It’s the time of year to set new goals.

With apologies to any Yellowstone fans, I’m hypercritical of anything out of Hollywood that tries to portray the Western, small town or agricultural lifestyle. Very rarely do they get much of it right.

When it comes to children being severely or fatally injured in farming and rural communities, the statistics are sobering. According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health (NCCRASH), about every three days a child dies, and every day around 33 children are injured due to agriculture-related incidents in the U.S.

I have thought quite a bit about Mary this Christmas season, especially the part at the end of the Christmas story we read in Luke 2: “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Christmas is a special time of year, filled with sharing memories of Christmases past and spending time with friends and family. Progressive Cattle staff and a few of our regular contributors share Christmas memories that have a special place in their hearts.

A refrain I’ve heard often from temperate climate dwellers is that they wish they lived in a place with seasons. I suppose we often yearn for what we don’t have, as I also dream of the continual warmth of mild days in San Diego.

The cowboy is one of the most romantic, enduring figures in the American consciousness, right up there with astronauts, muscle cars and George Washington.