It was springtime and the Wells Ranch had never looked more beautiful inside or out.  Outside, the herd had welcomed 27 new calves, the fields were awash in a vast array of colorful flowers and the river was running high with icy, clear water from the mountain range up north. 

The sun was just barely starting to peak over the eastern horizon as Hank Wells readied himself for the day.  He’d been getting up at 4:30 every morning his entire life without any trouble.  That’s the way it was when you lived and worked on a cattle ranch.  There were always chores to be done and the earlier he started, the more he could accomplish.  The only difference in the day was where on his family’s 50,000 acre ranch those chores took him.

His name was Wells. Hank Wells.  Hank was the real thing … a cowboy straight out of the old west.  It was a lifestyle he’d grown up on, as he’d helped his mother and father on their Wyoming cattle ranch all of his life.  He couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  His hat bore the sweat stains from years of hard work, his jeans and flannel shirt were his uniform and his boots were well worn and meant for business.  Come rain, shine, snow, heavy winds … he could be found riding the range on his favorite steed, Jack.  Jack was a handsome brown and white American Paint Horse, standing an impressive 16 hands high at 6 years old, filled with energy and awareness of his surroundings.  Jack and Hank cut a striking figure on the range and the cattle were always eager to follow wherever the pair led them.

I have absolutely NO doubt that some readers of this blog post will be upset, angry, perhaps livid (all over-reactions, IMO) and - truthfully - that will not bother me in the least. Why? Because this blog is about MY personal take on the topics. I read, I research, I form my own beliefs based on what I've read and learned. Sometimes, when opposing ideas are shared thoughtfully with evidentiary backing, I have changed my mind (stop laughing .. it has happened!). Having said that, I introduce today's topic ...

The school year is coming to an end in a couple of months and lots of high school seniors are going to be taking next steps in life and, perhaps, education. So, of course, the debate about college vs. trade school has started rearing its ugly head. Did you know that not every person wants to go to college? Take me, for example.

Since the dawn of social networks, users have been able to portray themselves as who they really are or they could hide behind a version of themselves they designed.

I wrote this back in June 2018, about three months after relocating from the Denver metro area to northeast Wyoming. It was originally published in a local, now-defunct magazine. 

Worked on building a metal cabinet for my craft room / office a couple of days ago. I worked on it with my fiance. He is, without a doubt, one of the most patient people I have ever known. And that is important, because, well, ME!I guess you should know that I'm used to leading projects. I typically will have a rough idea in my brain of how the process will go [because I've read assembly instructions or have done a similar project in the past, etc.] and I sometimes struggle with deviating from that if it seems that my way should work.

Ah, the brand new year! A chance to start over. A chance to start something new. A chance to set resolutions for what you want to accomplish. Did you write down all your goals and ambitions for the new year? No? Me neither.

We've cooked our great big turkey.  We've sung our fa la la's.

To paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare, To Have or Not to Have – that is the question! To be clear, I’m referring to the tattoos people get that had some thought behind them, NOT the ones that only had a drunken night out with the guys or girls behind them.

It’s a difficult thing to grow up in a world where expectations are set for you at an early age.