Saturday Encore ~ Bringin' in the herd

Today is National Day of the Cowboy, so it just seems fitting to share this story again, posted originally in June 2009.

I have a confession to make – there's something I haven't told you in all these many posts. I suffer from a chronic condition called punctual-osis, and there is no cure. No matter what the event, how far away it may be, or what the weather, I will arrive on time. Not a few minutes early, not a few minutes late, but ON time. Even if I try to be fashionably late, the fates will intervene and I will be there EXACTLY on time. It's a disease that I've learned to live with.

All of which is to say I arrived at the Carrizozo Cowboy Days round-up on time and was the first truck in the parking lot because, of course, everybody else hit their snooze alarm a few times.




Which was just fine with me because my Chevy got to size up the Dodge that parked next to her and try out her best pick-up lines.

And I had plenty of time to survey the scene and select the best vantage point for the arrival of the cowboys and the herd.

I'm guessing that about 150 cow/calf pairs were rounded up that morning. The cowboys worked slowly and quietly to move the herd into the catch pens. This cowboy was whistling ever so softly to keep the herd moving.

The crew tightened its circle around the herd and patiently waited while all the moms and their babies funneled through the gate. The youngest cowboy in the outfit stood out not only for his youth, but for his fashion sense.





The ranch horses were as quiet and handsome as the cowboys. They'd all been there and done that many times before, lived to tell about it, and had the scars to prove it.





What I will remember most about the round-up are the sounds and the biscuits and gravy. And the handsome cowboys. I can't begin to describe the symphony of moos. It was a loud and constant roar as the moms and babies called out until they found each other.






The round-up was held at the Spencer family's Bar W Ranch just north of Carrizozo. The current generation of Spencers is headed up by this cowboy. It was truly an honor to watch him work and lead his crew.  

Carrizozo's Cowboy Days are a celebration of cowboy culture, and I don't think you could find a better example of the breed.