Now that I’m beginning to see a few wildflowers poke their faces out of the winter grass, I’m forced to believe that spring has sprung. I guess I’ll have to change my wardrobe! Of course I’ll still be wear’n my high-top boots with attached spurs, and for a few more weeks my sweat stained, old felt work hat. And, well, I’ll still be pulling on the same old Levi’s. But at least I’ll be changing from heavyweight cotton shirts to lightweight cotton shirts. And I’ll probably find little need for the canvas-duckin’ blanket lined jumper and silk neck scarf. Yeah, I guess it’s true, a cowboy’s wardrobe don’t vary great deal with the seasons, unlike folks in town.

We’ll also be looking to start spring gatherings soon. That’s when we push up the cow herd, and rope out the calves to vaccinate, brand and eartag’em.

The “little boy calves” will get “brain surgery”

–and we’ll have mountain oysters for supper!

This year we’ve got to figure out how to deworm the cow herd. You see, gett’n cows with a four or five foot wingspan of ivory into a standard squeeze chute is a puzzle without an easy solution. Some infidel went so far as to suggest:

“why don’t you just dehorn’em?”

But, I think them antlers sure do dress’em up kind of purty!