The Vilisar Times

PAIN VERSUS GAIN; DOZER DOLDRUMS; COWBOY’S LIFE NOT ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS;
Saturday, 15 October 2005

Pain versus Gain

I am hurting! I don’t think anything is broken. Where my right arm bone connects to the collar bone (“And your collar bone connects to your head bone; Oh, hear the word of the Lord!”), it is extremely sensitive to the touch. From the ribs under my right arm through the shoulder to my neck behind the ear, I have aching bones. The muscles are becoming very stiff. As long as I remain still I only have a dull ache from ear to belly button down the right side. But if I move at all, even to stand up or sit down, to lift my coffee cup, I get an ARGH!-inducing stab of pain. Cindy, our Ranchera, is a professional athlete, rock-climber and mountaineer; she thinks that probably nothing is broken but that it is all going to take quite a while to heal. After falling off a bicycle a few times (correction: thrown), I have some idea about how long this all could take.

The problem is getting back to Vilisar and all the physical work involved with operating a traditional sailboat. It only just begins with rowing out to her from the dinghy dock. And what about getting up sail and pulling up the anchor. As the psycho-therapists say, “Well, just put into the third space and let it float around for a while.” Cindy and Bob have both urged us to stay longer, permanently even. But, although we still have some sailing to do in our lives, we might consider staying till mid-week. We want to meet Bob, my friend from Kingston, Ontario, at the end of the month in La Paz. But we could still do that if we left the rancho next week.

Bob, the Ranchero, asked me if I would like to ride out to one of the more beautiful corners of Rancho el Nogal with him today. We are having wonderful early autumn weather with very cool nights and bright sunny days. I initially said yes if he would saddle a quiet horse for me. Alazan, the beautiful sorrel or chestnut stallion, is slow and comfortable to ride; Spot the big and tame Appaloosa would be fine too; we would be walking the mounts the whole way anyway given the rough ground. Bob saddles Spot. But I am unable even to get my boots on without help so I decide to take a pass and just stick around here today, taking it easy.

The big cattle drive to which I had been so looking forward is to take place tomorrow. We shall be driving some 17 head of cattle about 15 miles down the ranch road to Yepachic where the cattle trailer is parked to take them on to Chihuahua and the cattle market on Tuesday. It would be better for me to ride a quiet horse than ride in the pickup. On the other hand, the least pain would be if I just stayed at the ranch and chewed aspirin. Third-space stuff.

Dozer doldrums

The dozer monster sits at the bottom of the ravine. The ranch road is still in bad shape. To get the cattle to market, Bob has to be able to drive the Ford diesel out from here to Yepachic where the cattle trailer is parked. There are three very bad spots and Simon and Dutch have gone out with picks and shovels to get them ready by this evening.

So why isn’t the dozer doing the road-grading? I won’t go into the gory details, but there has been a major knartsch between the Wigginses and the Rancheros. Of course, a lot of it has to do with money and who owes what to whom. In the end the differences could not be resolved and Bill dropped his tools and left with his family. To be fair, he waited until the dozer was down in the ravine and he worked on it so it is now ready to drive again. The family also left the bunkhouse down on the river meadow clean and tidy before they left.

Kathleen and I shall miss them and the children had become friends during the several weeks that the family was at the ranch. We wish them all the best. “Maybe we’ll see you again downwind,” as the bluewater voyagers like to say.

Someone else will now have to be found to get the dozer out of the ravine via the streambed and to grade the road. Bob however thinks that he can inch the Ford diesel out if the three bad spots have been repaired. Tomorrow the big day. The cattle markets are attractive and, of course, in an asset-intensive operation like a ranch (lots of money tied up in land and livestock), it is important also to have a regular stream of cash coming in to pay for help, buy feeds and equipment, etc.

A cowboy’s life not always what it seems

A cowboy’s life is apparently not all, or even mainly, about cattle and horses. Only recently has Dutch been doing more typically cowboy things like riding the ranges and checking fences, counting cattle, checking on their wellbeing. For the next couple of nights while the moon is full and the cattle prone to acting a little loco, he will actually be staying out overnight on the ranges.

Dutch has also done a lot of carpentry work around the ranchhouse complex including building a new “Dutch” door for the kitchen, preparing a new pigsty, building fed bins and mangers, etc. And he has spent hours repairing farm machinery. The intention, for example, is to plough some of the river-meadows and sow them with grass seed for winter silage. But so far the ancient Allis Chalmers tractor has resisted all attempts to make her work smoothly. The gas tank has rust in it and this gets all through the engine. Dutch has pulled apart the fuel lines, carburetor, fuel filters, etc. to come to this conclusion. Oh yes, the tractor has a flat tire as well. He hasn’t even looked at the plough and harrow yet. He may have to spend some time on that.

Did I mention that Dutch also spent a week near Creel with Cindy, the Ranchera, and Alex and Simon building a car-tire house? Since he's been here he has become the chief “chicken-plucker” as well; when we are to eat one of the henhouse roosters, it is usually Dutch who gets the job - catching, beheading, plucking, gutting, cleaning, and cooking his delicious soup (we tried roasting one of these birds once; let me be the first to tell you: Rancho el Nogal cocks are as tough as leather. Totally inedible!) And of course, a cowboy has to do his own housekeeping: doing his laundry, cleaning his bunkhouse, repairing his boots, mending his shirts and jeans.

Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Cowboys ain’t easy to love & they’re harder to hold
They’d rather give you a song than diamonds or gold
Lone star belt buckles & old faded Levis
and each night begins a new day
If you don’t understand him & he don’t die young
he’ll probably just ride away

Refrain:
Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don’t let ‘em pick guitars & drive them old trucks
let ‘em be doctors & lawyers & such
Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys
They’ll never stay home & they’re always alone
even with someone they love.

posted by rjb,
2:30 pm

<$BlogRSDURL$>

		News From Ron and Kathy Bird__
For more pictures of Ron and Kathy Bird and the Vilisar, see these beautiful photos by Albert Pang Click here to e-mail Ron Click here to e-mail Kathy Archives January 2004 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 February 2007 March 2007 Vilisar Translation Expert German-English translation available; business and finance our specialty. SachverstÃ¤ndige Deutsch-Englische Ãbersetzung; GeschÃ¤ft und Finanz unser Spezialgebiet.	Saturday, October 15, 2005 PAIN VERSUS GAIN; DOZER DOLDRUMS; COWBOY’S LIFE NOT ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS; Saturday, 15 October 2005 Pain versus Gain I am hurting! I don’t think anything is broken. Where my right arm bone connects to the collar bone (“And your collar bone connects to your head bone; Oh, hear the word of the Lord!”), it is extremely sensitive to the touch. From the ribs under my right arm through the shoulder to my neck behind the ear, I have aching bones. The muscles are becoming very stiff. As long as I remain still I only have a dull ache from ear to belly button down the right side. But if I move at all, even to stand up or sit down, to lift my coffee cup, I get an ARGH!-inducing stab of pain. Cindy, our Ranchera, is a professional athlete, rock-climber and mountaineer; she thinks that probably nothing is broken but that it is all going to take quite a while to heal. After falling off a bicycle a few times (correction: thrown), I have some idea about how long this all could take. The problem is getting back to Vilisar and all the physical work involved with operating a traditional sailboat. It only just begins with rowing out to her from the dinghy dock. And what about getting up sail and pulling up the anchor. As the psycho-therapists say, “Well, just put into the third space and let it float around for a while.” Cindy and Bob have both urged us to stay longer, permanently even. But, although we still have some sailing to do in our lives, we might consider staying till mid-week. We want to meet Bob, my friend from Kingston, Ontario, at the end of the month in La Paz. But we could still do that if we left the rancho next week. Bob, the Ranchero, asked me if I would like to ride out to one of the more beautiful corners of Rancho el Nogal with him today. We are having wonderful early autumn weather with very cool nights and bright sunny days. I initially said yes if he would saddle a quiet horse for me. Alazan, the beautiful sorrel or chestnut stallion, is slow and comfortable to ride; Spot the big and tame Appaloosa would be fine too; we would be walking the mounts the whole way anyway given the rough ground. Bob saddles Spot. But I am unable even to get my boots on without help so I decide to take a pass and just stick around here today, taking it easy. The big cattle drive to which I had been so looking forward is to take place tomorrow. We shall be driving some 17 head of cattle about 15 miles down the ranch road to Yepachic where the cattle trailer is parked to take them on to Chihuahua and the cattle market on Tuesday. It would be better for me to ride a quiet horse than ride in the pickup. On the other hand, the least pain would be if I just stayed at the ranch and chewed aspirin. Third-space stuff. Dozer doldrums The dozer monster sits at the bottom of the ravine. The ranch road is still in bad shape. To get the cattle to market, Bob has to be able to drive the Ford diesel out from here to Yepachic where the cattle trailer is parked. There are three very bad spots and Simon and Dutch have gone out with picks and shovels to get them ready by this evening. So why isn’t the dozer doing the road-grading? I won’t go into the gory details, but there has been a major knartsch between the Wigginses and the Rancheros. Of course, a lot of it has to do with money and who owes what to whom. In the end the differences could not be resolved and Bill dropped his tools and left with his family. To be fair, he waited until the dozer was down in the ravine and he worked on it so it is now ready to drive again. The family also left the bunkhouse down on the river meadow clean and tidy before they left. Kathleen and I shall miss them and the children had become friends during the several weeks that the family was at the ranch. We wish them all the best. “Maybe we’ll see you again downwind,” as the bluewater voyagers like to say. Someone else will now have to be found to get the dozer out of the ravine via the streambed and to grade the road. Bob however thinks that he can inch the Ford diesel out if the three bad spots have been repaired. Tomorrow the big day. The cattle markets are attractive and, of course, in an asset-intensive operation like a ranch (lots of money tied up in land and livestock), it is important also to have a regular stream of cash coming in to pay for help, buy feeds and equipment, etc. A cowboy’s life not always what it seems A cowboy’s life is apparently not all, or even mainly, about cattle and horses. Only recently has Dutch been doing more typically cowboy things like riding the ranges and checking fences, counting cattle, checking on their wellbeing. For the next couple of nights while the moon is full and the cattle prone to acting a little loco, he will actually be staying out overnight on the ranges. Dutch has also done a lot of carpentry work around the ranchhouse complex including building a new “Dutch” door for the kitchen, preparing a new pigsty, building fed bins and mangers, etc. And he has spent hours repairing farm machinery. The intention, for example, is to plough some of the river-meadows and sow them with grass seed for winter silage. But so far the ancient Allis Chalmers tractor has resisted all attempts to make her work smoothly. The gas tank has rust in it and this gets all through the engine. Dutch has pulled apart the fuel lines, carburetor, fuel filters, etc. to come to this conclusion. Oh yes, the tractor has a flat tire as well. He hasn’t even looked at the plough and harrow yet. He may have to spend some time on that. Did I mention that Dutch also spent a week near Creel with Cindy, the Ranchera, and Alex and Simon building a car-tire house? Since he's been here he has become the chief “chicken-plucker” as well; when we are to eat one of the henhouse roosters, it is usually Dutch who gets the job - catching, beheading, plucking, gutting, cleaning, and cooking his delicious soup (we tried roasting one of these birds once; let me be the first to tell you: Rancho el Nogal cocks are as tough as leather. Totally inedible!) And of course, a cowboy has to do his own housekeeping: doing his laundry, cleaning his bunkhouse, repairing his boots, mending his shirts and jeans. Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys Cowboys ain’t easy to love & they’re harder to hold They’d rather give you a song than diamonds or gold Lone star belt buckles & old faded Levis and each night begins a new day If you don’t understand him & he don’t die young he’ll probably just ride away Refrain: Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys Don’t let ‘em pick guitars & drive them old trucks let ‘em be doctors & lawyers & such Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys They’ll never stay home & they’re always alone even with someone they love. posted by *rjb,* *2:30 pm* Comments: Post a Comment
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Saturday, October 15, 2005