It’s Just Ranching – By Scott Wiley
I have had one of the most wonderful of my many days,
It was one of the best, in oh so many ways.
Went out to do some fencing, a job that I abhor
Just got to do what you have to do, it tests you to the core.
The elk can do some damage, I forgive them for that,
The things that they make me do, that is where it’s at.
I get to see them, wild and free in and on the run,
Reminds me of me, free and easy is how life should be done.
My lunch time was spent, sitting with my wife on a big ole rock,
We eat our lunch when we want to, we don’t have to punch any time clock.
I could of sat there all day, listening to the sounds and things that I hear,
Spending time with the things I love, things that I hold dear.
Can see so much of God’s land that I am blessed to take care of
Can see so much of this great land, I have so learned to love.
Can hear the peepers and toads, singing their mating song,
Almost makes me to want to join in, and make me sing along.
There are some crocuses, some buttercups, and an occasional shooting star
You could smell spring was in the air, no matter where you are.
Almost makes a job that no one wants, to be a big part of
End up being a thing that reminds you, of the real job that you love.
The life that we live asks us to give, and then give a little more of us,
I have that tidbit to say, that we should not make up any fuss.
We have what most people would want, if they could be a part of our way of life
They have no reality of our daily strains, nor do they know of our daily strife.
Living the life that I love, forty miles from the nearest town or store
Makes me appreciate the solitude, even love it even more.
People who do not live this life will probably never understand
The things that we do, those of us who take care of God’s land.
Spending the hours and the sacrifice, the things that we go through
The only reward we get, is feeding the rest of you.
Saving that baby calf, when the temperatures are sub zero cold
Putting up with the droughts and floods, can get really old.
But we all do it, for the satisfaction that it can bring
That is why the days like this one, can make you want to sing.
I get to do with my life the thing that I love the most
And God and Mother Earth, they are my gracious host.
–Scott Wiley, Rancher from Musselshell, Montana