The Endless Prairie Wind

Now we move into spring. Both the Ides of March and the Vernal Equinox have passed. Dawn comes a little earlier each morning; the sun eases itself little-by-little northward in the eastern sunrise sky. The prairie winds blow and whistle and sometimes howl. But, if you are going to live on the prairie, you will live with the winds.

The ranch headquarters are about halfway down the bluff that drops toward the Cheyenne River. We face the river valley, which lies to the southeast of us. This location gives us a southern exposure for the winter sun, a great view of the river valley with a couple of main tributaries that help to feed the river, and a very welcome shelter from hard-charging, northwest winds of winter. So with our backs to the wind and our faces toward the sun, we guesstimate what the day will hold for us and try to plan our activities accordingly.

Regular chores come first. This can be the easiest part of the day or sometimes a pain in the butt. For example, dogs and horses never leave anything alone. I have watched the dogs bring in old bones from the pasture and deposit them everywhere. It doesn’t matter to them that someone else will have to pick them up and dispose of them. I have seen the horses surround the bed of my pickup and empty it of tools (pliers, hammers, fencing tools, bags of wire clips, etc.); anything they can pick up, they will and anything they can knock over will be on the ground. I have yet to be successful in my attempts to have them straighten things out and put them back where they belong.

The wind is a lot like the dogs and horses. It too never leaves anything alone. It whips panels off the windbreaks, rips roofing tin off the barn, and it brings tumbleweeds from miles away and deposits them along the fence line. If these winds are followed by snow, it will gather in drifts along the tumbleweed fence line and bend it to its will.

The wind can cut like a knife in winter and make the cottonwood trees sing in the summer. But mostly, it never ends, and the work can’t wait for it to stop. If you’re a fencer, the wind is job security, but if you’re a rancher, it’s a never-ending spring job. And, no seasonal element can stop the production.

Dressed for the conditions, we hunch up and keep our heads down to keep the dust, snow or rain out of our eyes. Posts are straightened. Nails are driven. Wires are stretched and fastened into place. Once the pasture is secured to hold buffalo, we can step back and take pride in a good, honest day’s work. Wind or no wind.