One of my Texas buddies was talkin’ about stockdogs “down south” being different than those “up north.” I agreed, depending on where you draw the Mason-Dixon Line. I describe those coming from the cooler climes as “suave, smooth, nervous and quick.” Think of hockey pucks, machine guns and playing zone defense. Border Collies, Kelpies and Aussies fit that description. The handler continuously moves his canine leaf-blower into position to “blow” the sheep through the gate. It’s almost like opposing magnets dancing.

It was a late Saturday afternoon when Donelle glanced out the front window and saw a cow, one lone cow, standing on her front porch. She did not look docile or friendly like some cows do. This one had a wild look in her eye. Donelle was pretty sure the cow came from a bunch that Mr. Mark had unloaded into a nearby pasture near the Mariposa County fairgrounds several weeks ago.

I was talking to Okie. He’s the farm dog. He doesn’t care to go out on the range with the cow dogs. His job is mostly guarding, barking and putting up a big front. He does it well. I found him under one of the trucks. He’d dug a little bed in the dirt. It was in the shade. He seemed to be pondering. “So,” I asked, “what are ya thinking?” “School,” he said, “maybe goin’ to college.”

You don’t have to hang around the cattle business long to realize how many women are running their own farms or ranches. Often they are widows who have taken over the operation with the help of their children and made it work. More recently, these women-farmers are daughters who have come home after schooling and become part of the family team. And there are occasions when women decide on the occupation and buy their own place.

Dear Mr. Black, I’ve enjoyed your columns, but I disagree with you about animal rights activists and the ACLU. I find it hard to find much fault with an organization that dedicates itself to ethical treatment of animals and one who protects our civil rights. I wish you the best.

Jerry had what was called a suspect herd. His next-door neighbors had Brucellosis problems and since Jerry shared a common fence, he too, was required to be tested. The neighbors sold out and let the land set the requisite time. Meanwhile Jerry brought in 20 half-Gertrudis heifers to his place. He evaluated them and concluded two out of three had no brain.

I was talking to Okie. He’s the farm dog. He doesn’t care to go out on the range with the cow dogs. His job is mostly guarding, barking and putting up a big front. He does it well. I found him under one of the trucks. He’d dug a little bed in the dirt. It was in the shade. He seemed to be pondering.

The Earth recycles naturally. Plants give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. Animals take up oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Animals eat plants, digest and deposit it as fiber, minerals and nutrients which the plants use to grow. Many examples exist in nature. However, when man steps into the relationship, even for good reason (food, clothing and shelter), he upsets the cycle. He does it knowing there will be consequences. In rural communities where livestock live, we have learned how to handle the huge amounts of “animal waste” that are produced by our cattle and hogs. Farmers have been recycling since Adam discovered that fertilizing his garden made things grow better. It is part of the cycle of nature.

If there are any heroes in the abandoned/neglected/abused horse quagmire, it is the BLM Wild Horse Program. The “unintended consequences” of Wild Horse Annie’s dreams have taken the pendulum of reasonable “wild horse” management … to the extreme. No one who personally contributes their money or time toward the care of these animals doubts that, but many have been caught in a trap of their own making. One of the most obvious contributors to the demise and destruction of the status and value of The Horse, wild or tame (remember they are both domestic animals), are the animal rights groups.

Smoke in the air. Every summer we watch hundreds of thousands of acres of forest burn. As I listen to folks anguish and wring their hands, I have to remind myself it is all part of nature’s cycle in the West. Granted, we try and blame the Forest Service, the BLM, the pine-bark beetle, untended campfires, tossed cigarettes or arson.