Cause and effect

Cowgirl Sass and Savvy
by Julie Carter

If you have not been in the cattle business, owned a cow dog or been married to a team roper, you may not believe this.

You know, however, that I am a basically truthful person and only arrange the facts when it seems appropriate.

Any head-of-household person who has managed to live a cattle-free life should be aware though that if ever anyone in the house would happen to take up team roping, it would encourage better housekeeping.

There is a connection to that train of thought and here it is as told to me.

"Today we went up the road to buy some fresh roping cattle. We sorted through what the Corriente man had on hand and came up with six that were more or less suitable

"We finally got them all in the trailer and set out for home quite happy with our purchase. Once at our pens, we set all the gates with double-baling wire applied for safety and let these little darlings out into a very small catch pen.

"I have made the same mistake thousands of times and it never fails to result in disaster. I forgot to secure my cow dog. Ritadammit, the newer version of her name, takes her job seriously and decided to break the new steers into the routine around this outfit.

"Ritadammit becomes exclusively my dog at feeding time and any time she needs to be caught. Head cowboy's part is to yell at the top of his lungs, in very clear language, while I gather my pet.

"I got a little exercise in the pursuit but finally put Ritadammit in the cattle trailer. Now, this was a safe place for her. She was out of harm's way, couldn't get out and we could finish what we had started with the very wild and frightened new cattle.

"All was going quite well until I let Ritadammit out of the trailer. Completely insulted by her imprisonment, she made a beeline to the house.

"I thought that would be all right. She could just go sulk by herself while I washed out the trailer. These cattle were completely un-recovered from a current bout of scours. Took a while to clean the trailer but I got it done.

"When I went to the house, I saw the problem. It seems that Ritadammit had gone to her 'sulk' through the kitchen, through the dining room, through my office to see if there were any snacks on my desk, down the hall, into the bedroom and was lying in the middle of the bed.

"While in the trailer, she had become intimately involved with a good bit of the second-hand grass from the cattle. Actually, she had it on her feet, all over her coat and in her ears. This she had managed to track all through the house, on the tile and carpet and was doing a pretty good job on the bedspread.

"Consequently, the remainder of the day was given over to shoveling out the worst of it and mopping. I have to be honest and say it needed it anyway.

"This is just a word to the wise for people who have not been in the cattle business. Those of us who have will understand that this is no big deal.

"Just another day in paradise."

Julie’s Web site is www.julie-carter.com. Visit her blog, updated weekly and if it’s your first visit, be sure and check the archives full of photos that roll onto the pages week after week.

© Julie Carter 2007