Are Your Ears Buzzing?

A few weeks ago I walked into one of our local businesses with a pretty common (for me) purpose. I was sent on a search for a very particular part, something needed to keep the guys going. As I approached the counter where staff and other customers were chatting I heard, “oh are your ears burning?” That is a Canadian expression, maybe elsewhere too, it means “we were just talking about you!” They got right back to the topic at hand and included me in it saying, “wouldn’t it be cheaper just to truck all those cows home?” The clerk said to me, “and wouldn’t it be alot easier on you?” I fudged my way through attempted answers to their points. I felt a little bit defensive and a little bit unprepared to tackle the question of why we do what we do and I was not sure if that was really being invited. I came home and talked with Russ about what had transpired.

A few days later, while Gina was home and just before Jill had to take off back to Regina the five of us went out for breakfast. As we walked into the Flying M diner in Carnduff, with many tables occupied, the place seemed unusually quiet. As we took our place one fella at the long coffee row table of regulars said, “well we were just talking about you.” Russ retorted very quickly “well was it anything good?” To which there was some mumbling mixed responses. That explains the quiet that prevailed as we made our way to the corner booth.

We have to expect that if we involve large numbers of people in our work, we post things on social media and we do things a bit abnormally we are going to be talked about. Its hard on me though, because once information gets out there its out of my hands and who knows how the facts might get fudged, bit by bit. I really like to be seen as appropriate and I want to be good business owners and humans. However, I am not confident enough yet as a rancher, maybe those who chat in coffee shops and parts counters know more than we do and we are on the wrong track. Thats part of the doubting and hard on myself narrative that runs in the back of my mind as my days unfold.

With these experiences happening so closely together and the fact that I am writing a book and I need practice saying why we do what we do, I want to address a little bit of the story of how this Bar MW Chase scene came to be what it is.

In the fall of 2000, after Russ and I had been engaged a couple of months I was enfolded into the culture of the Bayliss chase scene. At that time I was simply an observer. From the late 1960s until the early 2000s the Bayliss family had a large herd of Percheron horses. These were kept in their barns over the winter to collect their urine. It was valuable when the mares were pregnant. The estrogen in it could be removed and then sold for use in hormone replacement therapy for women. The mares and stallions spent their summers in pastures in various locations. These locations are quite far flung from each other and from the ranch, a result of where pasture was available to rent. This has meant that every fall, as is the case now, the Bayliss ranch is moving herds of animals down our country roads towards home. Over the years the nature of the herds has changed. As markets for hormone replacement crashed in the early 2000s the ranch was cut out of the horse urine collection business. The horse herd was slowly disbanded and our cow herd grew. No matter what the ratio of cows to horses was, every year there were animals needing pasture and that meant that come fall the Bayliss family was on the trail. With several hundred horses to get home in those earlier days there has rarely been a small Bayliss chase. Through the years if friends or family wanted to be on the trail it has always been the tradition here to try and include them. I opened up a photo album and found these pictures from 2003. They catch important themes.

Choosing to feature 2003, because those are the pictures I had easy access to meant that only Gina is seen in this post. I have slipped in a couple extra pictures to show Jill and Morgan in the saddle too. I believe each of them were two years old in these pictures.

I think the Bayliss family has always had an ethic of welcome. These pictures have revealed some of the ways that welcome unfolded. Russ and I didn’t start this way of ranching, we inherited it, embraced it, and continue to ponder what unfolds and the value in it. In continuing to welcome people to the ranch we are carrying on the legacy that Marlene and Walter left for us.

One thing is different……the way we do trail meals. Over the years things have evolved for very specific reasons. The picture below illustrates how lunch unfolded when Marlene was in charge. Marlene laid out a lunch of coffee, sandwiches, hot chocolate and fresh desserts on the tailgate of her truck or in the early days the trunk of her big car. Marlene was a great cook. Her sandwiches would feature fresh bread she had run to town to purchase the morning of a chase. The bakery at Spencers met her needs perfectly. She would sit at her kitchen table and laboriously work through as many as ten loaves of bread, assembling a variety of sandwiches using good meat and lots of butter. She was famous for her good desserts and would offer thick icing on her signature cakes. It was good food laid out casually and enjoyed as people stood around or sat in the ditch.

One fall there was a weekend that Russell and I were totally in charge of lunch for the first time. I think Walter and Marlene were attending a wedding out east. We wanted to do this right and purchased good sandwich meat, enough we thought for two days of lunch meals. We spent $70. That number is stuck in my head, because I was shocked when, in 2010 or so, $70 of meat was not enough for the sandwiches we needed to make. So we cooked a roast, boiled eggs and fried up bacon to make enough supplies for the second days lunch. As my Mom and I assembled sandwiches I remember feeling frustrated. As a culture we had become used to Subway. What if someone did or didn’t want mustard? What about mayo? Were our guests going to be satisfied? On top of that, the process of making ten loaves of sandwiches was just plain boring. I wondered, if we were going to spend $120 on sandwich meat what else could we create for that kind of money? As a result of this weekend experience we started sharing the cooking with Marlene more, and using crockpots of chili, hamburger soup, etc. This tinkering with the meals just never really stopped. We started experimenting more and more and discovering what the menu items were that made our riders really happy. Taco in a Bag has become an absolute fan favorite and this year I added a potato soup that people loved. Its made the process more fun and more importantly ….rewarding. I have been the main cook for about 10 years now I think and the words of thanks and compliments given after a good meal on the trail have kept me motivated.

I think being a cook for big meals has helped me learn about myself. It has become clear to me that I am frustrated by lack of space. Perhaps this explains the big dining room we designed in our home and the purchase of tables for laying out food. One day after we had our tables we were really able to up our game when we discovered fold up benches for sale at Costco. We tried one. It was good. We bought three more. As a result we roll in and set up a fairly complicated arrangement for a trail meal. Who is the we? I have helpers, family and friends who come alongside and make my part possible. This year some mechanical trouble put the Chuckwagon out of service but usually we open up the back doors of that Powell gift van and start unloading. With a garbage can, water for the dogs, wash water for the “kitchen” , dishes, etc. my packing list is extensive, it includes tylenol and advil just in case. I know this set-up is what feels a little over the top to onlookers. Despite the extra effort, for me it feels easier, that doesn’t make sense but its true. I love it that people can sit and relax and huddle and just enjoy a break.

People are good about pitching in and getting things set up and taken down afterwards. Our truck driver Sharon is always a wingman in getting things tidied and stowed after the meals.

Getting back to the ears burning conversations that started this……Yes it might be easier to truck the cows home, yes it would be less work for me not to oversee cooking all those meals. Yes. But what about the kids? What about all the lessons? What about all the friendship? What about all the chances to show love through food? What about the vivid experiences of teamwork? What about the jokes? And what about the cows? Russell says that having all this time on the trail with them allows familiarity that means they handle pretty well at other times of the year (mostly!). In addition, Russ gets to see up close and personal the condition of the herd and concerns we need to address become clearer. He sees very vividly the cow calf pairs and which cows are giving us the most healthy calves. Russ feels really strongly that this cow familiarity is a perk of the way we handle all this.

So much of everything I have pondered was captured in a text I got from Cowboy Patrick. He gave me permission to share it. He wrote, “Thank you Kathy for all you and Russell do for everyone here. It is very much appreciated! You and your family bring so many people together and provide amazing opportunities for so many that are young and old. The countless stories that are shared to laughs and tears are priceless. The bonds that are made and the sense of accomplishment achieved by so many. I know its not always “easy” but please don’t ever stop what you guys do….it has benefitted so many including me and my kids. We look forward to this every year! Thank you”

Patrick said “young and old”, our youngest rider this year was 5, the oldest helper on the trail, helping us get trucks moved from the starting pasture to the end one was 86.

We have heard more than one person say, “this is the highlight of my year.” We say that. As my kids prepared to all be home, and visitors were heading our way, it felt like Christmas and I said so. Gina will not be home for the holidays this year because she made ten days of chase season a priority for her vacation time. Morgan just said he thinks he looks forward to this more than Christmas.

This long story I have told you means there is no quick way to answer the clerks and coffee shop patrons who make our ears burn, except to say, “its worth it.” It is getting clearer as our society changes that If we don’t have a sense of community we don’t thrive. It seems we have a part to play in rounding out people’s lives.