On Sunday, we lost a good friend, Bill Sweigert to his battle with lung cancer. Bill was a campmate of mine on the Sonoma County Trailblazer treks, as well as being a great friend to the Martin clan. I had the pleasure of visiting with Bill in October, when he presented me with a pair of his spurs. I treasured the conversations we had around the campfire and breakfasts in March at the Two-Niner Diner, the morning after the SCTB Hog Feed. I am a truly better person for knowing Bill, and I will miss him.

 Read more about Bill’s Life HERE

Bill was also a great fan of cowboy poetry, and I wanted to share one of his poems he wrote and gave me a copy of, referring to the Cowpoke Fall gathering in Loomis, California.

“It’s Cowboy Poetry Time”
by Bill Sweigert May 2007

Where the Hell did the year go?
Cowboy Poetry Time is here.
I ain’t even washed my Wranglers
The ones I wore last year.

I better practice recitin’
I’m kinda rusty, ya know.
I don’t want to stumble or mumble,
Or let my bloopers ruin the show

The verses should flow like a river,
Smoothly steady and strong
So the audience begins to resemble
A smilin’ buckaroo throng.

Why do I keep on recitin’?
This is my 20th Year.
It’s just cuz it’s so darn excitin’
And at my age it’s great to be here.

It’s a thrill to be center stage,
Especially when you’re on a roll
You feel lots less than your age,
Cuz cowboy poetry’s good for the soul.

This weekend, while the rest of my family was out hunting blacktail deer , I performed with Scott Gerber at the Gravenstein Apple Fair.  I had committed to perform on this date months ago and didn’t realize it fell on on the opening weekend of the A-zone Rifle season.

 Scott sang his original songs from his album “Cowboy Songs”, while I performed selections from my book Ranchers Rhymes.  We did a one hour set to a crowd that ranged from 4 years old to 92 years young.  We performed on Stage 1 under a big oak tree that shaded about 100 seats, which consisted of 2×12 boards laid across straw bales.  In fact the atmosphere was one of the old time country fair. 

We went on stage at 2:00 pm after the apple pie eating contest, but BEFORE the caramel apple eating and apple juggling contests.  As you can see we were sandwiched between a couple of real draws!  But seriously, there were musical acts throughout the weekend fair that provided some great sounds.  From The Buzztones, to a Mariachi band, the Gravenstein Apple Fair offered up the diversity that the community of Sebastopol is known for. 

While I was disappointed that I wasn’t in the hills chasing blacktail bucks this weekend, I at least had a check in my pocket, and an opportunity to speak to a diverse crowd about the value of Agriculture to Sonoma County.  I actually opened our act with a poem that has been requested a number of times that speaks to the reason we stay in agriculture, called, A Farmers Invocation.

We’ve spent a year working Lord, with our stock and with our crops
Watching our herds, fields, and vineyards, as the market rises and drops

We use the technology available and work some mighty long days
But all of us see Your work in our products that we grow and raise

From a newborn calf to a yearling lamb, or an apple wet with dew
We put in the time, money, and sweat, then hope for help from you

To create this bounty before us, live our way of life we enjoy still
that has come from our stock we tend and the ground that we till.

Please know that we are thankful as we sit at our table here tonight
and bless our work as a group with good humor and foresight

It is never an easy path finding our way to Opportunity’s door
But bless the entire world that we grow our abundance for

With Peace and Love and Goodwill, us farmers wish it dear
For making food for the world is the reason we are here.

For booking information or copies of Ranchers Rhymes, or Scott Gerber’s  Cowboy Songs:

Spear Six Cattle Co.
8060 Valley Ford Rd.
Petaluma, CA 94952
spearsixcattleco [AT] cs.com (replace the [AT] with @)

My apologies to Bob Seger for hijacking his tune. I was packing for a Mule deer hunt in September of 2005 while his song “Turn the Page“ was playing on the radio. I love the lyrics, music and always thought it was quite a moving song that anyone who has to overcome obstacles to achieve success can relate to. These words came to me as I was making last minute preparations and the anticipation was getting to me! I ended up getting my first Wyoming mulie on that trip.

Through the Sage
(to the tune of Turn the Page - Bob Seger)

On a high lonesome mountain, west of the divide,
There’s a couple basins back there, about a half day’s ride.
You think about bucks you saw and blown stalks the day before
After scouting for eternity, checking country that is new,
Topo maps and GPS, Forest Rangers too.
You’re on the trail before daylight, you will hunt til day is through.

Here I am, on the ridge again, there I am, glassing the sage.
Here I go stalking the buck again
There he goes, through the sage.

Well you glass the distant hillside, lookin’ for bucks or does
You know they’re out there, as you shiver from the cold
You don’t let it bother you, cause that’s the way it goes.
Some times you see ‘em first at least you hope you can
Glassing basins, ridges and fingers with the lay of the land
No matter how your eyes ache, it’s better than a treestand.

Here I am , spot and stalk again. There I am out of my cage.
Here I go . Fifty yards again.
There he goes, busted in the sage

When you find him in your spotting scope, a couple miles away
You hustle through the coulees, gotta get to him today.
As the sweat pours out your body while crawling into range
Later in the evening, as you are rolling out your bed
With visions of a Booner running through your head.
You build your last campfire, remembering what you said

Here I am, packing out a buck again. There I am, smelling of sage.
Here I go. Full pack again
There I go. Coming of age

Here I am, on the ridge again. There I am glassing the sage
Here I go, down the trail again..
There I go, there I go.

Here is my daughter Erin’s rendition of a high mountain mule deer buck. Quite a bit better than my 2005 buck, but it gives me something to shoot for.