Back in the Saddle

Hello, friends! I’m glad to be “back in the saddle,” with the keyboard at my fingertips once more.

Several have asked me why I stopped writing. The simple answer is that there was no shortage of writable subject matter — actually, I had the opposite problem.

On the ranch, we struggled through winter. The temperatures were moderate, which meant that instead of snow and ice, we got rain. Lots of rain. The pastures became mudholes. Almost daily, either myself, or one of the ranch hands got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out with a tractor.

I still had the desire to write but I lacked the creative energy. At days’ end, I was mentally fatigued. I would type a sentence, hate it, shut my computer, and go to sleep.

Spring came, and the sun shined for a couple of days.

And then it started raining again.

This year, our spring calves have suffered a high mortality rate. Two newborn calves were killed by wild dogs, one choked on a piece of litter, a few died during birth, and a group came down with pneumonia. It was depressing. For a period of time, I cringed at incoming calls from the ranch-hands, fearing the news of another dead calf.

How can nature go so wrong? Well, when conditions are right, it can create a perfect storm.

I mentioned in a previous post that weather plays God in the ag industry….the year, weather has apparently played the devil!

My heart breaks for the many ranchers and farmers in Oklahoma and Arkansas who have lost everything in the recent historic floods. I feel fortunate that although things are soggy here, we’re not underwater.

We’ve had a break from the rain for a several days. The summer sun is shining, the grass is growing tall, and the wildflowers are out in full force.

Thank you to those of you who have encouraged me to start writing again. I hope to have some good stuff coming your way before too long!

xx,

Nina