Dust, Grit and Grace: My Life Lessons on the Ranch

In honor of Dale's 70th birthday today. I wanted to share some of my favorite things about having had this place an integral part of my life. It 100% shaped me in ways that I am so proud of. I did so much growing and learning and stretching of myself while I lived and worked at the ranch in Big Valley, AB. It was the first place after I left home that made me realize the beauty of the simplicity that I had experienced growing up on the farm in Saskatchewan. I worked here full time for 3 years. And I go back to visit as often as I can.

How did I end up here? Well, I’m glad you asked...

A boy I had dated, and remained friends with, was working at the ranch and one day he was teasing me; “yeah, you wouldn’t last a day peeling logs” (it was a log home building outfit as well as a buffalo ranch). I didn’t fall for Mike’s trap, I chose to dive head first into it.

My response was as predictable to him as it was to me; “oh yeah? Where is this ranch??”

I showed up a few days later at 8am (a 2 hour drive from Calgary, where I was living at the time) and did aaaallllllll the things the boys could do. Which was just 2 of them. Dale, the owner, and Mike. Small operation.

I went back to Calgary that night exhausted, but so happy. So happy to work outside, use my body, and accomplish something that I could see. I felt alive and resilient and capable after just one day.

I called Dale the following morning and said “if you got some work for me, I’d come back.” And he did.

Dale most often does things the old fashioned way including peeling 50 foot logs with hand held peelers. We wore chaps to protect our legs from meeting a misguided blade. To this day he uses ropes to tie gates when many have switched over to easier and faster alternatives. And his little cab-less International Tractor that I used to rake during hay season is still running :)

Those were some of the longest, hardest working days I’ve ever worked in my life. And I loved it. The simplicity, the land, the Buffalo, the insane amount of new skills I learned, the heart of it all that made me feel so deeply connected to Creator without really knowing at the time what that even meant. But now I do. It’s the reason I'm capable of feeling so connected to the land and spirit of place where I am right now at the Wildcraft Forest in BC.

Hard to believe that was 20 years ago. I was a 23 year old punk trying to impress a boy, but boy did it turn into so much more.

Things I learned from Dale (other than how to drive a stick, run a hydra deck to load and roll bails out for animals, how to run a 25 ton rough terrain crane, run a chainsaw, drive a 2090 Case Tractor, how to rake during hay season...);

• The importance of regenerative farming and conservation and how to stick with it even when you are a black sheep in an entire community.
• The importance of using both sides of your body equally to make sure you are strengthening each side, and it provides a bit of a break too!, whether it be peeling logs, sanding, using a chainsaw...switch hands! The coordination definitely improves in your non-dominant side and it's good brain exercise too! I do this today with sweeping, mopping and things like that.
• That almost anything can be fixed with a pocket knife and a piece of bailer twine :)
• That long hard days can be some of the most rewarding.
• That earning your sleep is a thing - when you feel like you've earned your sleep you appreciate it more and sleep feels better.
• Always add finesse whenever possible. Doing this takes ordinary activities and makes them interesting and extraordinary. Not to mention fun. We did this when cutting firewood, swinging hammers, tying rope gates, jumping and balancing from log to log.
• Some of the old ways of doing things are the best ways. Still.
• To this day Dale talks about the importance of relationship to the land and animals because it’s a small step to treating your fellow man poorly if you disregard nature.

Dale is not your average rancher - he is waaaaaay outside the norm, he has "No Hunting" signs to protect wildlife and to keep his promise that the place is a refuge for them, he values native grasses, he's paid wages to hired hands to build bird houses for song birds, he understands local ecosystems and has relationships with plants and animals who live here like no other rancher I’ve ever known.

Some of my core memories at the ranch;

• When I first started writing songs I sang one for Dale on the way to a work site. With tears in his eyes he said; "That's pretty good, kid".
• Receiving my buffalo robe Christmas present which is still my favorite treasure.
• Very often after a long day of work me, Dale and Leon (one of our favorite intermittent helpers) would fire up the karaoke machine and take turns singing. I sang Reba, Dale sang Elvis and Leon sang Conway Twitty.

And more.

So many more memories :)

This ranch will always feel like home to me…

Happy Birthday, Dale

I'm happy we are soul family.