January 1980 is a month I’ll never forget. It all started out about Jan. 7. The previous spring I had a big hand in selecting the bulls we were gonna use on Albert and Louie’s heifers.

“Say, anybody got a light? It sure is dark in hereAnd tighter’n the skin on Polish sausage.For nine long months I’ve trusted Mom, and now she’s pulled the plug.A pure and simple case of double-crossage.

In the movie “Forrest Gump,” the hero is a nice man with a low IQ whose simplistic reasoning usually made sense. His response to anyone who called him stupid was to say, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

A good cowboy should have three things; a good horse, a good dog and ————————. I left the last one blank so you could fill in your own. Some might choose a good woman, others a good banker, a job in town, a silver bit, a full can of Copenhagen or Saturday off.

It was cold this winter. How cold was it?

Have you read The Little Engine That Could to your kids or grandkids? Dr. Tom told me a story that brought it back to me.

I was reminded of Harry Johnson today. I’d been drivin’ down a long stretch of country road. The snow blowin’ up in the rearview mirror, a thermos of coffee in the seat, and the sun warmin’ the cab of the pickup.

People ask where I got my mittens, my saddle blanket, my wild rag, my dog’s muffler and my colorful selection of pot holders that hang in my tackroom. I always change the subject, but the time has come to confess.

In my travels, I have been on lots of family farms where the whole family is involved in the work. During calving season, it is not uncommon for the “rancher” to allow his wife to take the 10 p.m. heifer check.

According to a food scientist at the University of Arizona, more than 100,000 plant and animal varieties have become endangered over the last quarter-century. In addition, it is commonly believed that only about 100 species of crops and livestock provide most of the food in the world.