Drove from Casper home after fishing thursday, woke up at 4am to drive down to cattle country for a traditional branding with @GoldNBoy. I arrived when the cowboys had left to round up the herd, so I had enough time for my daily yoga session. I have become semi-professional at deflecting questions about how I have met my farm friends, but not this time. Waiting on the herd, one of the riding horses had snuck off a bit and I volunteered to go get her. I grew up around horses, but it's been years since I've ridden. I figured it'd be easier to get laughed at when the real cowboys weren't around, but I didn't fall off.
Introductions were made, hands shaken, warm greetings, coffee and doobage. It is astounding to see how hard those men work, how smart and hard their horses are, all of it. It was amazingly overwhelming and something I won't soon forget. There was a colt that needed to be cut, I'm going to butcher the name of the knot but double scotch bonnet sounds close. I am unable to describe what happened after, but holy cow. Or horse. It was a bit tense but the professionals were professionals. I realized when the horse got up off the ground that I ended up with the bucket of tools and the bucket with the balls. I'm pretty sure that horse was giving me shifty eyes.
There was more but not for here, the meal was glorious, and the best bits always happen when the work is done. This was no different, and it was special to be a part of. It was overwhelming but positive.
I don't know how you guys remember, but my food blog would consist entirely of pictures of empty plates. I worked off about five pounds of sweat but ate double that. I think that math works. To say it was a special experience doesn't do it justice.