Over the years, my passion for all things bovine, mixed with the opportunities I’ve had to write a story or two, have combined to lead me to cherished friendships with people across the entire country and spectrum of the cowboy and ranching world.

Many of us live in places where the weather may change at the blink of an eye. We may have four layers on in the morning, but by afternoon, we have shed three of them: our “I’m warming up” layer, our “It’s past midmorning” layer and our “Dang, it’s a different climate” layer, which leads to …

We’re fully into spring season by the month of May, and many operations are kicking out bulls or possibly preparing to artificially breed their herds, specifically potential replacement heifers.

While spring brings new life to pastures in the Southeast, as we enter the late-spring time frame, we often encounter drier conditions.

As the bus rolled up to the high school gym on that cold, late-February Saturday night, I cracked my aching joints and unraveled myself from the nonexistent comforts of the third seat behind Russ, the ever-patient driver of Cassia County Joint School District bus number 9.