Lessons At The Gate
Gates on a ranch are as important as balls on a bull. They provide access to and from one field to another, they can keep out strays and keep livestock in their place. A gate can be a passageway to a new adventure, or it can be the boundary to staying safe. The lesson we learn as young kids on the ranch is to KEEP THE GATE CLOSED! That's the basic rule, without it you might as well cut the barb-wire and hang up a flashing light. It's amazing to me how a herd of cattle can spot an open gate faster than a hot knife cuts through butter.
Here's a memory of when I learned the lesson of the gate:
It was a typical Friday night at the ranch. A big gathering of family and friends for a country dinner was just about to take place. Food fresh off the grill just placed on our plates ready to add the fixins (that's sides for you city folk). A quick glance up from my plate caught a glimpse of two heffers and a young black bull that had decided to make a run for it. As I sounded the panic high pitch sh-reek of despair, all hands on deck began to run for the door. Now would be the time to tell you that spooking a cow with loud four wheelers and a jacked up jeep is NOT a good idea and it will ultimately lead to some very determined livestock to escape the chaos. Guess I forgot to put that message out to my kids and their friends. Lesson Learned!
The next 3 hours were sent peering into a thick stretch of woods next to the property. We were down to one lone rebel still on the loose, the bull. He was determined to make this his freedom run! As dark fell and we were now looking for a black bull in the dark of night through a thicket, I remembered the topic of discussion earlier in the day. Talk had been going around town of a panther spotted in the area. Here I was standing at the edge of the woods holding my cellphone as a flashlight watching for the guys to chase the bull towards me, when I heard a rustle just behind me. I moved a little closer to the parked truck, not sure what it was but certain being closer to the fender of the truck would make all the difference..... Then the rustling was a little closer to me and the presence of something was right behind me. A quick flash of a panther appeared in my head when I spun around only to see that the bull had circled back around and out smarted us all. I could almost hear his haughty snort as he trotted past me. Again, forgetting that calm is the best approach I started to scream, "he's over here". As he quickens his pace back up the road to the farmhouse and then right on past it into the woods on the west side of the farm, four wheelers once again rev up and start to circle. Here we are again, looking for the black bull in the camouflage of night. It is now 11:00 pm and we are exhausted! As I hang over the front fence looking into the woods, I wonder if we should leave him to his own demise and the rumors of the panther. Suddenly, I am curiously caught off guard by a small flicker of light bouncing across the open field. It must be a lightening bug caught in the beam of my dimming flash light. I watched it as it seemed to skip over the field with ease. Wait a minute..... that's a pretty steady flicker out there and it seems to have a rhythm of....... Of a black bull's eye caught in my light as it trots with arrogant attitude right back to the gate he left through 4 very long hours earlier. This time I quietly followed him through the yard circling him with calm resolution to open the gate, a sign of relief and an outburst of laughter.
There were several lessons learned that night..... like a calm approach to a problem is usually the best, determination and perseverance eventually pays off, a bull can sometimes outsmart a group of relatively intelligent people and for goodness sake always remember to SHUT THE GATE!
“Keep Living Life On the Line!”
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