Cowboy Claus?

It was 20 below with snow on the ground when we went to move the cows
My boss on the bay with me on Studly; they were to be on swath grazing now.
But after moving them he pulled out a touque and a camera and calmed his horse down,
Said, "We're making a Christmas card with Studly and you, chasing a longhorn around."

As it was heading to Christmas with good cheer and such, he'd decided to send out E-cards,
And wanted to make them personalized, with horses, and cows, by his yard.
So he'd brought out a digital camera, and Santa touque for me to wear,
And though my pride wouldn't let me wear the hat, I took him up on his dare.

There's 2 trophy longhorns in the herd that travel wherever it goes,
I picked out TJ, trotted him out, and chased him around in the snow.
"Take him right by me, and I'll get the shot", my boss shivered with a grin,
"Circle him up, and chase him around, but hurry, so we can go in."

So I chased him by, then by again. I went by fast and slow,
but it's hard to be in just the right spot for the camera, and my horse was starting to blow.
Then I circled him up, then again, and again, the camera batteries were no longer good,
And Studly was tired, my boss was cold, and TJ was in a bad mood.

But the picture was taken, and a few weeks later, an E-card was in my inbox,
Showing me and my horse, chasing a longhorn with snow right up to his hocks.
Looking back now, it was worth all the effort, a story that i could tell,
but I get twinges of guilt for not wearing the touque. After all, it wasn't a fake belly and bells.

Sorry, Boss.

the feisty red head

i'm sure she's really a sweet thing
and all her friends would agree
she shares her food commitedly
and loves life and her family.

she's probably a Big Sister
and leader of girl scouts
she probably likes flowers
and rarely ever pouts.

she's short and is a red head
has the cutest little ears
her small but shapely body
is a credit to her years..

but she climbed into the bale feeder
and promptly got hip locked
and when i humbly freed her
she hit me! bam! to the ground i was knocked.

just goes to show you, kindness is not always returned in kind.

Go Fer It

i'm tired of the cold
it's making me feel old
but amidst all my whining
there is a silver lining

there's been no roping all winter long
our cutting pen is snowed - that's wrong
all the ponies are long-haired and scruffy
being inside makes me feel stuffy

my dog wants to work but i have no sheep
i'd ride thru the cows but the snow's too deep
i want to rope calves but the cows haven't popped
and the weather man says the white stuff ain't stopped

so i ask myself where is the ground hog now
is she dead? sleeping? forever underground?
the shadow she casts... can it not be seen?
is it forever white, and never again green?

and yet...

i heard a story the other day
about a gopher running in the sun's ray
on february second it was loose on the streets
in small town saskatchewan - now that is a feat

a shadow i do not know if it saw
nor if it knew the shadow-spring law
but as it was looking for something to munch
a dog grabbed it up and ate it for lunch

i pondered this story - was spring finally here?
then remembered the wonderful part of winter
even on days when the cold seems to eat me
a beautiful ground hog is at home to great me.

cabin fever ain't bad if you live with the gopher.
happy belated birthday blog, hot girl.

she comes out at this time of year
to see if its cold enough to shed a tear
without freezing in the wind and the snow
or if she shivers as the wind does blow

but the question we all want to know is clear
did she see her shadow, its blackness near
will we be freezing for 6 weeks more
or will will there more winter be to us bore

well you cannot expect me to tell you the truth
for i'm not the groundhog, or sayer of suth
but ask her gently so she will not be scared
of your shadow as over her it becomes bared

just give her an e-mail, letter or call
and say hey, is it winter, springtime or fall
then wait very patiently for her reply
she'll say i'm not a groundhog, i'm cheryl, you idiot!

happy birthday, hot girl.