The cougar crouched fifty feet from the camera tripod. Moving closer would tempt fate, life. #AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #imaginationoverdrive #15wordstory #photowritingprompt #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography #annedallrobsonbooks #flashfiction #wordwritingprompt #temptfate
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Temperatures drop, snow swirls into wind-driven hard-packed drifts. A song worms itself into the brain, “The weather outside is frightful.” Water troughs become blocks, haystacks drift in. Bundled in insulated clothing, plow snow to get feed, open water, plow to get home, repeat. Calving time is hell. Wrecking weather takes hold. Momma cows get moved to where babies can be born, kept warm, without too much worry about little ears and tails freezing. Sleep, eat, and check stock done in shifts by the keepers of this lifestyle. No days-off, no snow-days. This is their life. 99 WORDS...AND A LITTLE BIT MORERanching and farming take on their own meaning of a glorious life. One that is far removed from the portraits painted on television and in the movies. It’s a lifestyle not all can endure. The heartache of losing stock to weather and predators, seeing crops shrivel away to nothing because of lack of moisture, and work days and nights that meld together as one, becoming a complete year in what seems like a blink of an eye. Yet, ranchers and farmers find a way to dig deep within to survive this way of life. It is ingrained in their souls. It is what they do and have been doing for a long, long time. They might come off as being gruff, standoffish and maybe even snobbish. But let me tell you, they are far from this exterior shell that paints them as an unapproachable person. The ones I have been privileged to know in my lifetime are kind and respectful. But, they usually don’t have the time of day for anyone who doesn’t have a lick of common sense, or put it into practice. Looking after the well-being of their animals is a priority before they think of their personal health. They are stewards of the land, and they are the first to step up to help a neighbour in need. They are the kind of person any one of us should be honoured to call an acquaintance, better yet, a friend. Unfortunately, as modern life takes hold of generations, there are families who question keeping history alive. For years, young adults moved away from the ranch and farm life. Yet, as I write this, I am also seeing the trend of them returning to their roots. Brining with them knowledge to enhance and grow the lifestyle of the generations that came before them. Diversifying what is already there to move forward and keep the family ranch/farm alive. It saddens me to hear people talk about farm and ranch land as if it were a commodity to be used for other reasons besides farming and ranching. This might fall under the ‘lick of common sense’ heading. They might even be the ones who think their food comes from the grocery store and it begins with a truck bringing said food to the store. There are people who have no idea about who really feeds us. They don’t care about the ranchers who have been out all night helping a cow have her calf only to lose one or both. They complain about food prices yet have no empathy for the farmer who ponders what crop to plant next year after seeing this year’s grain fields annihilated beyond recognition by hail days before a bumper crop is to be harvested. They don’t realize that the owners of a farm or ranch quite possibly take on outside work to make ends meet, and yet continue to put food on our table. With the hardship of farming and ranching comes a sense of accomplishment, too. Cattle selling at good prices. Hay fields with bales so close together the abundance gives way to another avenue of revenue. Looking over the land, seeing what the hard work has brought, they humbly know it has happened because of who they are. It doesn’t matter where you live, or where you come from, we depend on our ranchers and farmers. There is all kinds of modern technological resources to read on this life, but not many will take the time to educate on what really matters…the people behind the industry, the rancher and the farmer. Thank them, appreciate them, get to know them if you can, and especially become knowledgeable about what they do for us.
#AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99WordStories #FlashFiction #ranchtradition #makingmemories #graveltravel #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #TheOldWays #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography #winterstorm #thankarancher #thankafarmer January 16, 2024, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that unfolds during wrecking weather. You can set the story anywhere and use any genre. Who are your wreckers? Your targets? Your merchants? Are there difficulties to overcome the weather? Go where the prompt leads!
99 WORDS...AND A LITTLE BIT MORE
Most of us work the majority of our lives for someone else. I am no different. Yet in the background, behind the day to day humdrum of getting up, going to work, coming home, I spent hours, days, weeks, slowly creating and preparing for a life I thought I needed. The words, “Life got in the way,” was never an excuse. Let’s face it, life travels on for all of us regardless of what happens on a day to day basis. That journey became part of the bigger plan. Learning curves and collecting a bounty of knowledge in a plethora of topics. I will be the first to tell you that all of those topics were not necessarily high on my radar of doing or sharing. However, they are now in my mind encyclopaedia, available for me to draw on to enhance the areas I am passionate about. All of the years I was employed in the corporate world, I gathered information, became knowledgeable and proficient in as many facets of running a business as possible. Everything from accounting, logistics, dealing with difficult people, and finding the right suppliers. Believe me when I say decades of working for someone else paid off about fifteen years ago when Steve and I decided to start our own company. The what to do and not do in the corporate world of small business was already ingrained within the grey cells. Stepping away from years of others determining when I could take time for me was fairly easy. I brought with me experiences and knowledge that can never be taken away. Old school, work every time ways that migrated over the years to technology makes it easier ways. Behind our backs, there is a younger generation shaking their heads at our old fashioned tactics of doing business. They can laugh all they want because at the end of the day, I can provide a set of corporate books without the use of a computer program. We slowly maneuvered the ducks into a row, building the foundation of our own company. Although there are still times it’s more like trying to herd cats, but that’s what keeps it fun. Is retiring from the so called real world a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire? Maybe so, but now it’s my door to unlock and my fire to fuel or snuff out. The hours I work and projects I work on, became my decision to make. I am happy to embrace at least part of the life I thought I wanted, needed and envisioned so many, many years ago. There is so much to look forward to when you escape from the corral through the gate of, ‘Here I Come’. Every brings thoughts of projects I am working on - shall I spend the day writing, reading, baking - try something new - maybe some gravel travel. Now that makes me laugh, because any day, other than when we are entertaining a blizzard or 40 degrees below zero, is a good day for gravel travel.
#AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99WordStories #FlashFiction #ranchtradition #writingprompt #revcoverlife #movingon #familyhistory #smallbusiness #familybusiness #familytradition #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #TheOldWays #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography January 9, 2024, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a recovery story. What instigated the recovery? What is being recovered? Data, athletes, illness — expand the idea of recovery and find your story. Go where the prompt leads!
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Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life. "Capturing moments others may never get to experience.” Archives
March 2024
99 Words
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