RIDING DRAG / HAYING TIME (BUFFALO GRASS)

The rains this spring and summer have made for good grass this year. We find ourselves gathering bales and putting them in storage instead of scrambling for hay as we have the last few years. The pastures are full of round bales scattered across the land like buffalo grazing in the evening light.

 Buffalo Grass

The round bales stand, heavy and grand,

  it’s been a good year for hay.
Up the hill I walk, to sit on my rock,
  as master of all I survey.

It occurs to me, this used to be,

  part of the open plain;
Before you and me, before cattle was king,
  the royal Buffalo reigned.

Clouds edged with light, day eases to night,

  dusk plays tricks with my eyes;
Into visions I drift, shapes start to shift,
  Night-hawks sing a lullaby.

The moon rises low, shadows come and go,

  I see shaggy beasts in the haze.
They come as I sleep, give me knowledge to keep,
  I watch them content as they graze.

They ramble on in, I call them kin,

  I awake to find them not there;
But it’s not been a dream; I still feel the steam,
  of their sacred breath in the air.

The water still flows. The wind still blows.

  The bluestem waves tall and green.
And I see them each night, when the moon is just right,
  the Buffalo of my dreams.

I breathe a prayer, while I’m standing there

  and hope it’s not too late;
To save the earth, for what it’s worth,
  or we’ll suffer the very same fate.

I’ll heed their call…Pray for us all,

  ask God “Where do we go?”
When the moon is pale, I’ll stand near the bales,
and pretend...they’re Buffalo.

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For more information on Debra Coppinger Hill go to AlwaysCowboy.com.

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RIDING DRAG with DEBRA COPPINGER HILL is featured each week at ALWAYS COWBOY where Debra is a Resident Western Poet. Join her and her Cowboy Friends for Cowboy Poetry, News, Events. http://alwayscowboy.net/debra_coppinger_hill_poetry.html

RIDING DRAG / ESCAPE!

I knew it wouldn’t take long; I went to the laundry room on the back porch and when I came back to the living room he was gone. Home only three days from the hospital where he had his kidney removed and he had escaped! I went to the open front door where I saw him, followed by our six year old grandson. He was headed to the west corral.

When I asked him where he thought he was going he simply said “I need to see CiCi. I need my horse.” My grandson (very wise for his age) said “I’m here MawMaw. I got this.”

I cannot argue with either one. I have been there. I know the healing power of horses. I watch them, consider and let them go. God speed.

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*For more by Debra Coppinger Hill go to AlwaysCowboy.com

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RIDING DRAG with DEBRA COPPINGER HILL is featured each week at ALWAYS COWBOY where Debra is a Resident Western Poet. Join her and her Cowboy Friends for Cowboy Poetry, News  Events. http://alwayscowboy.net/debra_coppinger_hill_poetry.html

RIDING DRAG / WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT AMERICA

We had intended to have the barn painted by this time. The plan was to have a big American flag painted on the north side facing the county road as a tribute to our country. My great-nephew Brandon came to spend the summer with his Mamo Angel and work part-time on the 4DH. He was going to paint the barn and help me paint the flag. But you know what they say about best laid plans.

God made it possible for Husband to take a spill and in the ensuing doctor's appointment they found the tumor in his kidney. Surgery has gone well and though he has a long road of healing ahead things are looking up.

In a time when the news is filled with so many stories about criminal youth, I would like to share about those kind of kids who never recieve the attention they deserve. Brandon is one of those kids. He came to spend the summer doing a few chores around the ranch, do a few projects for his great-grandpa and the rest of his time would be spent having fun. We planned lots of afternoons in the pool and many sightseeing excursions.

Then Husband had surgery and great-grandpa needed more help and Brandon's part-time work turned full-time. He has helped Chief and our kids around the ranch with feeding and watering, hauling, caring for horses, cattle and pets, as well as mowing and hauling hay. He has also been working full days all week in the warehouse at Tucker Janitorial Supply. Has he complained that this was not the summer he bargained for? No.

Instead he has pitched in and done more than expected. What a truly remarkable sixteen year old! He will never get the credit he deserves. He will never be on the nightly news or make front page headlines; but he should. And so should all those other good kids out who make America Great.

This Independence Day please take the time to tell a Great Young America how proud you are of them. They are the future and salvation of this country. Thanks Brandon, for being a good example of what every kid should aspire to be!

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For more information on Debra Coppinger Hill go to AlwaysCowboy.com.

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RIDING DRAG with DEBRA COPPINGER HILL is featured each week at ALWAYS COWBOY where Debra is a Resident Western Poet. Join her and her Cowboy Friends for Cowboy Poetry, News  Events. http://alwayscowboy.net/debra_coppinger_hill_poetry.html

RIDING DRAG / MY SOAP BOX

Now, more than any time before, we must celebrate Independence Day. We must celebrate before it is gone, before the next generation forgets.

Have you passed on any traditions today? I am not talking about hot dogs and fireworks. I am talking about taking your family out around the flag pole and raising the flag and pledging allegiance. Have you stood and told them about family members who have given up their time or even their lives to defend freedom? It doesn’t matter how many generations back, they deserve to be remembered. It is our duty to tell their stories and make the next generation understand that it is their sacrifice that enables them to live in a country that is still free.

Tell them about the Constitution. Tell them about voting and encourage them to register if they are old enough. Tell them what they no longer tell them in school; that honesty and hard work will pay off and that it is better to stand for the values this country was based on no matter the cost, than to live in chains.

I know that I am a little preachy standing up on this soap box, but I love America with my whole being and I am angry that career politicians are selling us out. I am disappointed that people care so little about voting. I am horrified that our children are not educated about the Constitution and they start their school day without the Pledge of Allegiance or Prayer. I also realize it is my responsibility to not keep my mouth shut! I must stand upon my box and share my love for the United States of America. I must tell my Representatives what is not acceptable and not with one phone call a year, but as a part of my regular routine.

I am an American and I will not be silenced. I will shout out my love for my country every day; before it is too late, before there is nothing left to celebrate. Join me, please.

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For more information on Debra Coppinger Hill go to AlwaysCowboy.com.

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RIDING DRAG with DEBRA COPPINGER HILL is featured each week at ALWAYS COWBOY where Debra is a Resident Western Poet. Join her and her Cowboy Friends for Cowboy Poetry, News & Events. http://alwayscowboy.net/debra_coppinger_hill_poetry.html

RIDING DRAG / GETTING EVEN

Back in 2000-2004 I had cancer. Fortunately for me I was blessed with a team of Doctors and Nurses, many of whom I had known most of my life and who I called friend. My best friend gave up his time, his hobbies and sleep to care for me. He is my husband and I cannot tell you all what all he did for me during that time. It was his love and care that saved me. It was he who carried me out to a lawn-chair among my horses. This one thing helped me with my healing more than any other thing done on my behalf.

This week we were hit with the news that he did not have back pain from a spill he took several months ago but pain that was brought on by a cancerous tumor in his right kidney. We are presently putting together a plan of action with his doctors for his surgery next week. Do we know where this is going? No. We simply pray for healing and prepare to accept it. We beg the patience of our friends and co-workers as we go down this path.

I write this column each week and I talk about what goes on with the critters, the members of the 4DH Crew and our friends and neighbors. I have tried over the years to always stay true to the goings-on of ranch/farm life. At this moment I am at a loss for words. I can only tell you this; God in His wisdom allowed me to go through cancer so I would know who loved me as much as He does. Now He is affording my husband the same chance.

I am finally going to get the opportunity to get even with my husband for all he did for me. I already know where I am going to place that lawn chair for his ‘equine therapy’. 

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For more information on Debra Coppinger Hill go to AlwaysCowboy.com.

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RIDING DRAG with DEBRA COPPINGER HILL is featured each week at ALWAYS COWBOY where Debra is a Resident Western Poet. Join her and her Cowboy Friends for Cowboy Poetry, News & Events. http://alwayscowboy.net/debra_coppinger_hill_poetry.html