Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #21: The Great Outdoors

As everything we do, think, or say is centered around COVID-19, I’m increasingly thankful for my work as a beef producer.

I look around and see people extremely scared of this unseen enemy. And I understand and share, to varying degrees, that fear. But the one thing I can do that so many in the urban centers of this world cannot, is go outside.

Of course, even before this pandemic hit, the great outdoors ranked as one of the top reasons to be a cowboy. The beauty, open space, and connection to the created world gained from working on a ranch are true and good in any time. It’s one reason we sacrifice more lucrative careers in town.

As stewards of livestock and land, we learn, in the words of Tom McGuane, the cadence of grass. Borrowing more from the literary world, Michael Burton’s 1975 song, “The Nightrider’s Lament” might perfectly encapsulate the benefits of an outside life:

“They’ve never seen the Northern lights
Never seen a hawk on the wing
Never spent spring on the Great Divide
And they’ve never heard old camp cookie sing.”

Cowboys know the tendencies of weather and wildlife. From sunup to sundown, their lungs are filled with fresh air with each breath. Trotting out to the backside of a pasture might reveal thousands of details about the day and the land, where the deer are bedding down, which grasses are sprouting when, the direction the wind is blowing and what it will bring, how much water is flowing in the creek, and how the cattle use the resource. They understand what will spook a horse and what will make a mother cow fight to defend her calf. Even mundane chores like building a fence reveal the depth of moisture in the ground, and plowing snow helps him understand how the winds affect the drifts.

And the necessity of those duties has not faded despite the changing times. While many in this world are physically confined to their 800-square-foot apartments (people are literally being kicked out of parks) with only limited trips for supplies, a cowboy’s circle is only limited by the size of the ranch he works.

It’s a blessed life, and sometimes it takes a global health crisis to show us just how good we’ve got it.