At the ranch

This morning I woke up....Yeee Haaaa....another day.

Weren't nuttin but clouds all day yesterday but we got sunshine this morning. Someone said we was expect'n rain, but I don't see none...yet.

On the agenda for today it looks like I gonna be "do'n nuttin". Still have a problem with start'n the engine...turn the key...it might start or it might not. Battery voltage is OK. Hmmmmm....what the hell wrong now. Hold on....gonna check it again this morning. Ah ha.....I lied. The battery voltage is low. Now how comes that??? With that said... I have a project....fix it or buy a new battery.

When Pancho rode up to the ranch he was all red faced and mean looking. He had just rode in from the Birchfield ranch after coming across the border from Mexico. He had stopped off to "shoot the breeze" with William Perry and apparently their visit wasn't a good one. "Birchfield is a sum bitch, Piepmeier is a good man". That what he said. Seems he was watering his horses and William Perry didn't take to that without his permission. Run Pancho off with a double barrel shot gun.

Mr. William Perry Birchfield was a hard old man. A cattle baron from west Texas. With close to 30,000 acres of ranch land and thousands head of cattle, he had to be tough. Even to Pancho Villa. He had 3 mines in them mountains, the Floritas....mean'n flowers, where he spent many hours "think'n". An Indian cheif attempted to steal his favorite horse Snorter one evening, but about the time he climbed up on Snorters back, William Perry whistled and Snorter throwed that Indian to the ground, feet in high gear headed for the mountains. Mountain lions came to the ranches look'n for a quick dinner of what ever was around. Dogs, cats and small newborn cow puppies. Skunks and badgers were a frequent sight. My aunt Evelyn come out the outhouse call'n "here kitty, here kitty" Great grandpa John shot that "here kitty" dead on the spot full of buckshot.

Life was hard on the ranch. Grandpa plowed up a piece of land with two old mules and planted corn. While driv'n around the corn field in his Model T pick'um up truck, grandpa got stuck up in a mud bog. He was dig'n out the tires when off to the south, here come Pancho Villa and his crew. Pancho laughed at the predicament grandpa had got himself into what grandapa got so mad he threatened to yank him off'n that horse and whoop his ass. Pancho and his crew broke out ropes what they tied to that old Model T pick'um up and pulled it slap out that bog. Then they sat on "da porch" and sipped a cup.

I still go visit the ranches on occasion although there is nothing left but dry land. Cattle still roam the area...big cattle....bigger than Texas Longhorns. Walk'n the ranches take me back to a time when cowboys rode horses and fended off outlaws and Indians. To stand on the spot where Pancho Villa and Grandpa sit sip'n coffee and jaw'n. Make ya wanna live.