If you’ve followed me long on here or over at my blogs on Progressive Cattle, you know I’ve got two topics I talk about on repeat.

My grandpa was a teenager during WWII. It wasn’t an easy time to grow up. His older brother was off to war, and he found himself doing the work of a grown man at an age when most boys are just entering high school. But, to ask him, he didn’t mind it much, especially when that work was cowboy work.

For the first blog of the year, I thought I should include a few jokes – you know, for kits and gaggles. It’s been a tough year, and I think we could all use a few “calfs” (I warned you – watch those puns). I’ve been hearing a lot of jokes about sheep I thought I could share. I started telling them to my dog to test them out, but she’s “herd” them all. I tried telling them to the cows next, but they were just “laughing stock.”

About this time every year, Craig and I decide it’s time to find ourselves something new to watch. From November through March, we find time for TV. It’s dark-dark by 6 p.m., the kids are in bed by 7:30 p.m., the wood stove is burning and the TV is on. Last winter, we watched all six seasons of Longmire. Craig loved it enough to put up with my commentary, and I liked it enough to keep watching. This year, we started watching Yellowstone, per the recommendation of Amazon Prime.