A Hundred Years From Now
Life has always been a balancing act between the haves and have-nots. Less populated industrial countries use the major portion of fossil fuel while third world countries still farm by hand and recreate. The world...
Baxter Black: Farm Animals In History
Mankind from prehistory to space exploration has always depended on animals for help in their quest for advancing civilization. Granted, often as bait or as guinea pigs but we have depended on them, nonetheless. After...
Baxter Black: Gypsy Cow
I was just about to cull the cow when the boss sees me swingin’ the gate. “Hold it there, Doc, for a minute yet, ‘cause I’ve not quite decided her fate. There’s somethin’ about this...
Back to Nature
Harold has been dismantling his feedlot. He built it over 40 years ago and eventually achieved a 30,000 head capacity. You can imagine the accumulation of steel, rubber, railroad ties, nails, car bodies, pipe, chains,...
Baxter Black: In The Doghouse
It’s not easy being a missionary distributing religious pamphlets door to door. Home-owners will go to extremes to avoid listening to you. Audrey and her husband, Walter, have a ranch in British Columbia around Fraser...
Baxter Black: Rich Farming
If wheat gets up to seven bucks I’ll hoard it, yessiree Till the grain bin’s overflowin’ Or it gets back down to three. There’s too much ridin’ on it To sell it right away, The...
Baxter Black: Trolling for Buffalo
Buffalo Bob took the call on his cellular phone. I caught the last of the conversation, “and if that don’t work try a shot. No . . . not a tranquilizer, a 30-30. At least...
The Lost Chicken
Lynne parked her car in the little lot behind Cookies Du Moi. It was an odd little corner of Salt Lake City mixing pawn shops, liquor stores with barred windows and an invasion of upscale...
Baxter Black: The Feedlot Hand
Life is just a bowl of cherries to a first rate feedlot hand, All the gates swing free and easy, every day’s precisely planned. The boss is always pleasant and lavish with his praise. And...
Baxter Black: Talkin’ Dirty
In this column I have often mentioned scours, abscesses, big tits, bad bags, cancer eyes, foot rot, slurry pits, afterbirth, retained placenta, castration, heat cycles, sheep pellets and snotty noses. Over the years I have...
Baxter Black: Cowboy Wedding
When one of my cowboy friends tells me he’s getting married, my first question is “Does she have a job?” This particular wedding took place in the pines of Arizona. I thought that I would...
Baxter Black: Good Dawg
Every genuine or would be cowboy’s pride and joy is his ‘good dawg!’ One of the highlights at a Stock Show is the stock dog trials. Now, allowin’ for the fact that all my exposure...
Baxter Black: Ol’ Rookie
Old dogs. They write songs about’em and watermelon wine. They have sayings about ‘em learning new tricks. They even name feet after them, i.e., “My ol’ dogs are shore tired!” In a dog’s lifespan they...
Baxter Black: I Guess You Forgot
This year we recognized the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the end of the 2nd World War. Europe had been completely conquered except for England, an island about the size of Wyoming. President...
Baxter Black: The Cow Committee
Once upon a time at the start of all creation Angels sat upon a cloud. An odd conglomeration Of buckaroos from near and far but not there from the city. Their job; to build a...
Baxter Black: A Cowboy Parade
You gotta hand it to cowboys. They can turn a birthday cake into a four-alarm fire! Many years ago the Napa Valley (California) County Fair and Rodeo wanted to do something to attract attention to...
Baxter Black: Training New Neighbors
In rural America, farmers and “rural lifestylers” are often neighbors. Seeking a place to better raise their children, to retire in peace, or to escape the continuing anxiety of the city, they move to the...
Baxter Black: Foreign Language
A medical doctor friend of mine was recounting his experiences in Africa as a volunteer for a church missionary program. He said it was very satisfying for the soul but his biggest problem was communicating...
It’s What I Do
A cowboy is the way he is because he works with stock. He’s learned it’s best to ease along To find the rhythm in their song And not to fret if days are long ‘cause...
Baxter Black: Three Wheel Roping
I’ve always sorta figgered the reason there is more cowboy poetry than there is farmer poetry has to do with horses. Most cowboy poetry is about wrecks. One person plus one cow equals a wreck...
