Sometimes, a fellow has to head back home.
I could not imagine anything I could say that would ease the pain, but I knew if I got on a plane, flew 1,500 miles, then rented a car and drove another 200 miles, he would know I was pulling for him. It would mean more than anything I could say. So, I asked the Queen of Hearts (otherwise known as my bride of 32 years) to book me a flight and a rental car at the other end, and a few days later, made the journey home to where I grew up.
It was a good funeral; a celebration of her life. Lunch followed for everyone and then a supper for closer family. It is a funny thing about times like that. There is sadness about the person who has passed on, but those of us who are still alive are somehow reminded to value even more our relationships with each other, so there is a lot of happy conversation and visiting all day long.
My folks sold their beef and grain operation about twelve years ago and moved to Alberta. I stayed with my old friend Alvin. We've been friends since we were toddlers and he's probably the closest friend I have, other than my wife. Alvin never married, so we had lots of time to talk in the evening. Invariably, our conversation will shift around to old leverguns. He has a modest collection of old Winchesters, all of which he has acquired from Old Timers in the area who have passed on. Since we knew those old fellows, those old Winchesters have a lot of nostalgic value to us. He has a fine old octagon barreled Model 1894 38-55 from old Mr. Bennet, long gone. The rifle is 99 years old this year. He's also got a very nice vintage Winchester 1894 30-30 rifle and a matching one in 32 Special. He's working on getting a 32-20 and a Savage Model 1899 in 300 Savage.
There is an ancient log cabin that was old even when we were kids. Everyone calls it the Hunters' Lodge. It is on the Carmichael brothers' property (though both of them have passed on). One of the Carmichael boys took an interest in collecting old shell casings from beside the old cabin where the hunters would sight in their guns, using the opposite bank of a nearby creek for a backstop. Alvin has that collection now, part of which is arranged on the sill of one of his living room windows. It is interesting to see what kind of guns those old timers used back in the day. With the exception of some 30-06 and 303 British casings, almost all the rest all old levergun calibers, such as 25-35, 38-55, 40-65, 40-82 and even the rare 38-72. Alvin and I would sure like to know what Old Timer owned a 38-72!
The next morning, Alvin and his brother Ken, needed to vaccinate a few cows that had come down with foot rot. They have a lot of cattle and disperse them out to a number of different pastures. We loaded up three horses and headed several miles over to one of their pastures, a half section (one half square mile) with a small herd on it. The initial plan was for Ken to rope each cow and we would give it the needle right there. Keep in mind these cattle run pretty much wild from May to November, so they don't cooperate as well as a fellow would like sometimes and they can put up a good fight once you snag one. There was a bit of a breeze, so the herd was on the move grazing into the wind. My job was to keep them bunched up and out of the bush .... a relaxing job for the most part. Ken did most of the roping and Alvin did the vaccinating. Here's a shot I took from my horse while keeping the cattle more or less bunched and out of the bush ....
Here's a shot of one of the cows letting the horses get some exercise ....
Here's another one of Ken getting ready to catch him a cow ....
And here's one of a cow that Ken has just snagged .....
These animals were not very docile and even with one horse on the neck rope and another on a rope around the hind legs, they put up a good fight, so it was real slow going, especially once you tried to get near them on foot with the needle. We eventually decided to move the herd a half mile through bush and grassland to a small corral on the other side and do the rest of them there. Once we got the ones we wanted into the corral it was quite a bit easier. As soon as Ken got a rope around a cow's neck Alvin or I would wrap it around a post, while Ken would drop a loop around the back feet. Here's a shot of the Old Geezer snugging one up during a lull in the thrashing ....
And here's Alvin loading up the syringe ....
Horses taking a break ....
When it was all over, we headed back to the other side of the pasture and loaded up the horses ....
It was sure good to be back home again. When I was a teen, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd actually be glad to work with cattle again, but given what I do now, getting back home and in the saddle again and wrestling with a few cows, was sure a refreshing break.
Alvin enjoys old lever guns, cattle horses and draft horses. Here is a shot of some of his horse drawn equipment. In the foreground is a sleigh he uses for hauling wood and other stuff in the winter. Behind it is a seed drill that he still uses ....
Later than day, I drove the 200 miles back to the airport and climbed aboard the plane, feeling that it had been good to be back at my old stompin' grounds for a short while, even if it was for a sober occasion. My cousin will have a hard row to hoe over the next couple years. I'll be checking in on him from time to time just to remind him that I'm pulling for him and praying for him.
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