As I am preparing to write this week’s column the sun is shining and it is a balmy 14 degrees Celsius. These warm days belie the inevitable. A day will come soon when the ground is freezing and work on the land will be halted, probably until spring.
I am preparing to grade the road into the ranch hoping to have enough above freezing days to allow the disturbed roadbed to settle and pack, otherwise the softened dirt will be soft mud come Springtime. There are fence line improvements, especially on the wetter soils, which must be done sooner rather than later.
Much of this is to say, “same old, same old,” always juggling priorities and then missing opportunities for planting crops or renovating pastures for next year. This gives rise to the often remarked: The Cariboo (and most of ranching country) is Next Year Country: if it isn’t done this year, it can or will be done next year. Good luck.
I have been putting off or not getting some projects done because I am no longer the main perpetrator of the ranch operations. On the other hand, I don’t have a lifetime ahead of me to fulfill dreams.
But I can say, “I really want to accomplish such and such or to see so and so.”
More and more these kinds of things are not “work,” but rather play. This is poignant when one realizes that there has been a huge, never-ending workload. Play has been secondary to working towards sustainability or profitability in the ranch land and business.
Constant review of life’s offerings makes it possible to keep a good perspective on daily demands. One only lives once and one can’t take it with you, that is, the material accumulations.
Cultural accomplishments on the other hand, probably will win out over the things we have in life’s pushes and pulls.
Appreciating and being grateful for what we have and letting others know we are grateful for who they are and what they offer, wins over whining about shortfalls in expectations of ourselves and others.
Help with sharing fall tasks like firewood making and harvesting the remainder of the garden, and perhaps making a start on next year’s garden, will be the most satisfying of the day’s activities.
For us, a large thanksgiving family and friends’ dinner was too big for all to speak of their gratitude. But what was said by our host summed it up like this: “We are grateful for the room full of friends and family, the food and, not incidentally, grateful that “so and so is still with us.”
READ MORE: RANCH MUSINGS: Resilience in human resources
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