COLD WEATHER, COWHANDS, AND CATTLE COUNTRY by Marisa Masterson

November started out feeling like January here in Michigan. The cold wind and blowing snow sent shivers down my back as I looked out the window. It was nasty weather to dart from car to store when I needed to shop for groceries.

Fall of the Cowboy by Frederic Remington

The cold started me thinking about cowboys and the winter weather. Here I am in my cozy, warm house. What about the cowhands?

Not every cowboy stayed employed year-round. The ranches required fewer hands after the fall cattle drive finished. The cattle still might wander during the winter so some hands were needed. Also, cowhands were kept busy cutting holes in ice so the animals could drink or checking on the herd as rustlers might strike, even during winter.

Waiting for a Chinook by C. M. Russell

One winter was particularly historic for the cattle industry. During 1886-1887, freezing temperatures and blizzards killed up to 90% of cattle that had been left to graze the winter range. No wonder that winter is also know as the Big Die-UP (a play on the term round up).

Prior to this winter, life had been relatively easy for ranchers with extremely mild winters in the previous two years. The summer of 1886 was brutally hot and dry which didn't allow for any hay to be harvested and stored in the winter.


That terrible winter began the end of the traditional cowboy way of life, at least that's what I've read. Ranchers faced foreclosure along with a range dotted by carcasses and live cattle that were far from healthy. (To read more about this, check out https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1887-blizzard-changed-american-frontier-forever-1-180953852/.)

Here I sit, much more than a century later, in my warm house kept warm by central heat. A little early winter might not be such a terrible thing after all compared with the life of a rancher or a cowboy in winter.

A man might homestead, but it takes a woman to turn that place into a home! This matchmaker will settle the West one couple at a time.

Under suspicion after his wife’s murder, Elias Kline  heads west. It seems a fine way to start over, but he’ll need a wife to raise his son and cook his meals. 

Reading the widower's letter, Ruby Hastings aches for the little boy and seizes on this chance to be a mama to him. It should be a convenient arrangement. 

What happens when danger follows him from Mills Bluff? Will Elias be able to keep his family together? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YBK98P8

Christmas, 1921

Victrolas, flappers, and a rooming house where two lonely people live. Good thing for them that Mrs. Klaussen, their landlady, has Christmas magic at her fingertips.
Del Peale and Josephine Withers have both loved and lost. That is why neither has pursued their mutual attraction. A newborn left on the front steps brings them together. A cold house forces Del to face the home he shared with his wife and son. Is it enough to let them see that love is still possible if they share that love?
Will strange twists and an abandoned baby be enough to lead them to a Christmas wedding? Perhaps Mrs. Klaussen will need to step in with a miracle and a very special Christmas ornament?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081PBQCFY

WEATHER HISTORY - SNOW, COLORADO

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

Most people have the vision of snow-covered mountains and skiing when they think of Colorado. That is true, but there is a lot more to the history of snow in the Centennial State.

If you take a look at the history of the state and the snow, some interesting and scary facts come to light.

The Pueblo Daily Chieftain of Dec 31, 1892, printed this piece.



The Telluride Journal of Feb.4, 1899 spoke of a major blizzard that stopped train traffic.

In the snow. View shows man and 3 horses in the snow. Colorado. June 15, 1873.
usgs photo

The Daily Journal (Telluride) of April 13, 1896, wrote of a 'statewide' blizzard.





The Colorado Weekly Chieftain of April 11, 1878, had the following news from Fairplay, CO.

"The coach from Colorado Springs which was duo here last evening, Is not within twenty miles of town yet, owing to the snowstorm and heavy roads."

In the early days as now, Colorado has its share of unique and sometimes catastrophic weather. I guess the best way to explain it comes from the Greeley Tribune of Feb. 9, 1893, and the town of Eaton, a town nearby.

" Eaton. Feb. 7. —We in this vicinity experience changeable weather as well as the rest of you; February this year is acting very peculiar; sunshine, wind, and blizzard all in the same day."

So when you think about or write about Colorado, studying the weather can be a fascinating rabbit hole to go down. The weather, along with gemstones were a part of my novella, "The Gift of Forgiveness".

Here is a short excerpt:

 A cold wind blew through the door as Ila and Albert came in carrying the pail of fresh milk from the goats. Snow had fallen two days ago, melted, but the sun had yet to warm the night's air.

"Good morning, Mother," Albert greeted her, setting the milk pail, with the help of Ila, in the pantry.

At seven, Albert was growing up too soon. "Good morning to you, too. Why so formal?"

"John says a man should always be respectful of a woman, especially your mother," Albert replied unwinding himself from his coat and scarf.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Nettie laughed, uneasy, yet pleased that Albert had taken to the strong, silent man. In her heart, Nettie realized Albert was missing his father, and John had been a friend to her and the children.

"Yes, ma'am he did. He also said I was to help around here," Albert said proudly. "I'd like to go exploring after breakfast," Albert continued, for all the world like a man.

"Do you also remember you have schoolwork to get done?" Nettie asked, proud, yet frightened for her young son. The way he was always exploring, he'd probably leave the moment he had the chance to go exploring the rest of the world. A knot formed in Nettie's stomach, for she had the same dreams as a child.

Purchase from Amazon

 Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

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