Ranch wife survival
by Julie
Carter
It's an old
story and an ongoing hazard for the ranch wife -- a husband that says,
"Hold that gate and don't let her by."
By her, he is
referring to a thousand pound, snot-blowing, completely irritated cow that has
every intention of going wherever she wants to and that will include through or
over the top of the very gate the little woman is holding.
In a couple
hundred years of cattle ranching, the bovine species has never gotten the memo
that when the ranch wife is holding the gate, you don’t really have to remove
it from its hinges.
When it comes
to ranch work, allowances for special treatment because of gender are non-existent.
When the operation is a "mom and pop" deal, mom has to pull her share
of the duty without regard to stature, age or any of the usual necessary
domestic duties.
As that
determined cow steam rolls toward the gate with an obvious determination to
exit at all costs, and the little woman holding said gate knows "this is
gonna hurt," --there is a flash of mental calculating that determines what
happens next.
With Herculean
strength, at least in her mind, she more often than not will try to hold her
own, ergo hold the gate, against the cow, steer or even a freshly weaned
500-pound calf. With a hope of the odds and perhaps angels on her side, she
prefers that option to the inevitable hollering or cussing she’ll get from
cowboy husband if she doesn’t do it.
She knows from
experience there are consequences if she decides to pitch the gate away and
run.
With any luck
at all, the results won't require a wild and bumpy pickup ride to the
"local" hospital emergency room a couple hours away. That would
really mess up a well-planned afternoon of getting some cattle sorted and
tended to before dark.
But sometimes,
the cow wins. Odds are she'll be a favorite cow, one that's raised 5-6 good
calves and has a healthier chance of living a long life on the ranch than the
wife does.
And although
she's a little on the cranky side even on a good day, her production stats
determine that she be given dispensation for her attitude and grievances
against the little missus.
And the
missus? Well according to the head cowboy, she needs to get a bag of ice on
that eye because come Monday, she’ll have to be presentable for her job in
town.
There are a
few tough gals who have learned quitting is sometimes a temporary option.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, taxes a ranch marriage like working cattle
together and especially in the corral. Husband and wife sign language flies
with enthusiasm and hollering comes in waves of some feigned attempt to control
frustration.
Worth
remembering is the story about the cowboy who, in his anger at his non-compliant
help in the corral, told his wife to "just go on to the house. I'll finish
up by myself."
Obediently she
got in the pickup and drove home. However, in his tempered state, he had
forgotten that they'd come to the pens together. That pickup she drove off in
was the only vehicle at the corrals.
It was an
eight-mile walk back to the house.
Julie, a purple-heart veteran of the
cow and gate wars, can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment