Windbreak House

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Q: How can I contact Linda?
Send me an e-mail using the link in the left-hand column of this website or write to me at the following address:

Linda M. Hasselstrom
PO Box 169
Hermosa SD 57744


Q: I am anxiously awaiting your new schedule for 2010! I am hoping, and planning on coming to a retreat this year!
The 2010 List of Available Retreat Dates is posted on the retreats page.

Now that I live at Windbreak House full-time, I am willing and able to host retreats year 'round.

If you're snowed in by a fall blizzard, we don't charge for the extra day or two you may need to stay until roads clear out.



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Remember that any comment left here will be available for public consumption so flavor it accordingly.
Linda may post a reply or she may merely read it, smile, and then delete your comment, so check back in a few days.

If you prefer to send a private message to Linda, use the e-mail link in the left-hand column.


A COMMENT FROM LINDA:
To the woman who gave me the gift of the sage grouse feathers after my reading April 22 in Sturgis:

My mind was not working clearly, because I should have asked for your name and address, just to know who gave me such a wonderful gift. I meant to say that I have sharptails here, but not sage grouse. I meant to say thank you more fervently-- these are the kinds of exchanges that keep me writing, that remind me why we do all this. I wanted to frame them, but I wanted them to move, so they are in the corners of two frames above my desk right now. When I walk in the room, they move gently in the breeze. And I didn't learn until later you had driven from Gillette, and needed to get up at three in the morning; I hope that my words somehow were with you on that dark drive home, and before sunrise. I will think of you often, doing your work. For the grouse, and the grasslands.



Note: The following comment and reply refer to Linda's essay "Let There Be Less Light" which appeared in the March/April 2010 issue of South Dakota Magazine, illustrated with gorgeous night-time photos by Greg Latza.

COMMENT: Linda, I read your article in the South Dakota magazine on light pollution. Excellent! I am a member of the IDA [International Dark-Sky Association] and put together a primer on this subject which I gave to the county commissioners for Lawrence, Mead and Pennington counties [counties in the northern and central Black Hills of SD]. This was four years ago but never heard anything from any of them. Didn't really expect to but hoped it might get them thinking. I also gave information to the P&Z in Spearfish, SD, and it was used in one of their new developments. If we get 10% thinking, we might change things in time. Thank you again for an excellent article. The SD dark skies are awesome and are a resource that is not being used by our tourism board. Later, Tim


LINDA'S REPLY: Hello, Tim. Thank you so much for your note. If you'll send your email address, I'll send you a digital copy of the article which you can pass along to like-minded people who might use it to bring discussion of this idea around again. I've already heard from folks in Hot Springs, Deadwood, Lead, and Sioux Falls (in SD), and Kansas, besides your note. The more of us who speak up, the better this can be. A lot of people simply aren't aware of the effect their lights have, or that there are alternative forms of lighting.

Here's a quote I love--

"Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television."

From a commencement address by Paul Hawken to the Class of 2009, University of Portland, May 3, 2009.


For more information:
South Dakota Magazine website
Greg Latza Photography website
International Dark-Sky Association website



COMMENT: I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed "Leaning Into the Wind". I moved to Kentucky from Montana some 10 years ago when I retired, but grew up neighbors to one of the book contributors in Kirby, MT and knew, or knew of, several of the other contributors. It was a way of life I will never forget and that part of the country will always be "home". -- Sharon Michael


LINDA'S REPLY: Thank you so much for that comment, Sharon. Even on days when other things aren't going well, we three editors (Nancy Curtis, Gaydell Collier and I) are proud and happy to have been able to collect the writing in LEANING and the other two Wind Anthologies. I consider getting the writings by those western women into the world to be one of the best jobs I've ever done. I'm glad you enjoyed the book.


For more information:
The Wind Anthologies page on this website
Information about Leaning Into the Wind, Woven on the Wind and Crazy Woman Creek


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Q: Do you have pets?
I couldn’t have pets when my mother and I lived in Rapid City, so when I moved to the ranch I began adopting the ranch kittens. I tried to adopt the working ranch dogs, but they weren’t interested, and my father didn’t believe in having “livestock in the house.” So I didn’t have pets until I was an adult. I love cats, and have had one most of my adult life until I moved to town in 1992. A cat’s natural life involves hunting outside, but in town that’s too hard on the neighborhood birds, and too dangerous for the cats themselves, so I chose not to have cats there. I’ve had various dogs, including a Scots Terrier, and a total, so far, of six West Highland White Terriers. Right now I have two Westies, Toby and Cosmo, both adopted-- names and all-- as adults through various Westie Rescue Leagues.


Q: Do you really make a living from your writing?
Probably not in the financial sense, but I don’t calculate how much income I make from various sources unless I’m forced to do so. I live frugally and have several additional small sources of income besides the rental of my ranch land and of a house I own. I don’t create a budget, I just follow my father’s dictum, “Never spend any money” as fully as I can. If I can buy something second hand rather than new, I do. I enjoy cooking-- it’s a good time to think about what I’m writing-- so I rarely buy food that is conveniently fast, expensive, and tasteless.

But I’d rather interpret this question another way: writing is a big part of what makes my living worthwhile and challenging. Writing makes me see things I wouldn’t notice otherwise, makes me more patient with people because, even if they are completely obnoxious, they may inspire me to write. George used to say, “When Linda’s not writing, she’s not happy, and when Linda’s not happy, NOBODY’S happy.” Nothing is wasted on a writer; anything that happens in my life may become material for my writing, and thus become part of furthering my understanding of what the heck I’m doing on this planet. So in that sense I do “make a living” from my writing.



Q: Who is Linda's first husband?
My first husband was Daniel George Lusk.



Q: What are your favorite charities?
Heifer International: I love the idea of giving people animals from which they can find ways to improve their lives. Every year I choose a different batch of animals. Several years I’ve given batches of bees in honor of my friend Margaret, for example. [See the story "Beekeeper" in my book Feels Like Far.]

I also regularly give to, and buy recycled goods from, the local Salvation Army, Cornerstone Rescue Mission, Goodwill, and Boys Club Thrift Stores which fund various local projects.

My favorite kind of giving, though, is anonymous and personal: finding ways to offer help that may not be obvious, may not involve money, and will remain my secret.

For more information:
Heifer International website
or call 1-800-698-1692 to subscribe to their uplifting magazine World Ark.


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Q: Your poetry is about the west, but do you consider yourself to be a "Cowboy Poet"?
Good question. A few years ago, I would have said “Definitely not,” since my poetry rarely occurs in iambic pentameter or rhymes.

Today, I’d say, “Yes, but I do not usually write in traditional cowboy poetry form.” My poetry, like that of most of the best traditional cowboy poets, is about the daily working life of the rancher and cowboy, the people whose work helping to preserve America’s once-vast grasslands by raising cattle here.

For the rest of the story about whether I'm a Cowboy Poet click here to read my blog posting for May, 2010 on this website.

For more information:
Cowboy Poetry website
Cowboy Poetry website page where I am featured.
You can read a sampling of my poetry ("Hands," "Keeping and Eye Out" and "Rancher Roulette").



Q: Do you get grants to support your writing, or your retreats at Windbreak House?
The South Dakota Arts Council funded at least one special issue of my arts magazine Sunday Clothes (published in the 1970s). And I received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for poetry in 1984. I used the money to take time from other work so that I could concentrate on writing. I think that is the purpose of artist development grants from the federal and state arts organizations. I had harsh words for a former professor who used grant money to remodel his bathroom.

But once I began publishing, I decided I should be able to support myself and my work without taxpayers' money. Such grants, I think, should go to beginning artists and to organizations that need a little help to establish themselves. I don't make enough money to even reach middle class, so I teach enough to pay for time to concentrate on my own writing. I'd be embarrassed to apply for an artist development grant at age 66 after being a published writer for 25 years.

So far Windbreak House Retreats has been able to pay its own way, because it operates with extreme frugality. I might some day apply for grants to help writers attend a retreat. Still, most writers are eligible to apply for individual development grants from their own state arts councils.

If a writer has applied for a retreat at Windbreak House and been accepted, I'm happy to write a recommendation to the relevant granting body.



Q: When Linda is bored does she ever start to think about writing a book?
I'm never bored. If I'm not working I like to read, take walks with the dogs, cook, spend time in my gardens, and camp out in the woods away from anything with a motor on it, like the "July" part of my book Windbreak. Often when I'm reading or doing other things, I'll think of something about a piece I'm writing, or get a new idea, so I consider that I'm working at writing-- collecting ideas and observations-- all the time, even when asleep (since I sometimes dream ideas.)

For more information:
For an interview excerpt about my next book click here to go to the Non-fiction Page of this website.



Q: You spend a lot of time helping and teaching others about writing. Are you still a writer?
The last time someone asked that question, I noted that a lot of years had passed since the publication of Between Grass & Sky in 2002 and I had not published a new book in some time. My latest book, No Place Like Home, was published in 2009 by University of Nevada Press.

And yes, I’m still a writer. This is simply the way life is for most writers these days. The delay between books is not just the economy, though that plays a part. Presses are more cautious, and there’s always more competition for the publication dollar.

But this is also a good illustration of why a writer has to be persistent, and not worry about perception. I’m writing or thinking about writing at least 12 hours a day, but my book publications may not show it. (Though I regularly have essays in publications such as South Dakota Magazine or the syndicated "Writers on the Range" for High Country News.)

Writing is like ranching. Most products are made and priced by the producer. If the "consumer" wants it, he or she simply pays that price, which reflects the production costs plus some profit.

In order to sell a cow, the producer has to put it on the open market and depend upon what is offered by buyers that day-- which may be less than the price of raising that cow.

In order to sell an essay or poem or book, the writer sends it to one or several potential markets, publishers of magazines or books. The writer waits and waits and waits while the publisher asks various readers (usually busy writers) to decide if it's worthy of publication. Then the writer revises it if that's the condition of publication, or submits it elsewhere and waits again for a decision.

So a writer may be "producing" reams of excellent writing, be busy and engaged in thinking and research, and still not be able to point to published pages or volumes.

So every morning when I get up, I work FIRST, before my shower, before breakfast (though usually not without coffee), on a couple of poems. I'm a writer, and that means I keep right on writing and I encourage other writers to do the same. If your work does not get into print and you want a response from others about it, figure out ways to get that: hand it to friends, send it in letters, publish it yourself, read it to the local writers' group. But keep writing.



Q: Do you have a favorite among the books you've written? A least favorite?
My favorite is Windbreak because it was first, and because it is personal, and a journal record of my life just as I’d gotten organized and become very very happy-- before I had to learn to live all over again.

My least favorite? I am pleased and satisfied with all of my books in their finished form, though the actual writing process was easier for some than for others.

I think Feels Like Far has some excellent writing in it-- some of my best. But it was difficult to write because of the subject matter; I wrote and revised some scenes hundreds of times to try to present the absolute truth about what happened. And it was torture in the editing phase because the editor didn’t understand-- didn’t have the least glimmer of understanding-- of what the book was really about, and kept offering suggestions that reflected his ignorance, like "take out the women."

A runner-up might be Roadside History of SD. For an essay about my feelings on writing this book, click here.



Q: Are your books really true?
They are as true as I can make them. I try to tell exactly what happened as well as I can remember it. If someone else was there, I ask that person how accurately I have remembered-- and sometimes they see the scene differently. When I’m not sure, I try to insert a phrase like, "I believe that..." or "This is how I remember it..."

For more information:
Click here for my archived Home Page essay on truth in writing non-fiction.
Click here to read on this website some Q&A about what events were changed-- and why-- in my book Windbreak.



Q: How did you get started writing?
At nine years old, I moved to the ranch because of my mother’s marriage, and almost immediately started taking notes on things I saw in the pastures and wanted to remember: the way an antelope stamped his feet and snorted, or how a hawk flew over us.

I started thinking about publishing in a high school creative writing class, which I dropped after a couple of weeks. But it was the spark, and an English teacher encouraged it, showed me how to submit work to Pasque Petals, the South Dakota poetry magazine. I submitted under several pseudonyms (“Scott Lance”) but it was great to see my writing in print.



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Q: Can you read my manuscript and tell me if it's good enough to be published?
First I have to be clear that I can't read your manuscript for free. Sorry. Part of my writing income comes from my Windbreak House Writing Retreats and from the Writing Conversations By eMail that I offer, so you'll need to apply for one of these, or come to one of the workshops I may teach in other places. See "Where in the World is Linda M. Hasselstrom?" on the Books & More Page of this website for a list of my workshops and appearances.

Second, this question is too complex to answer completely in this space, but here's an overview: I might read your manuscript and tell you if-- in my opinion-- it might be publishable.

We can discuss how much good you have done yourself by writing your story, whether it is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and celebrate that achievement.

Then we can analyze whether you want to learn all the intricacies of the separate, and difficult, job of submitting it to a series of publishers in an effort to see it in print. We can discuss whether publication might best be achieved by self-publishing, or by submitting it to an independent press, or an academic press, or a larger press, or perhaps even a major national publisher. We can also discuss whether you need an agent, which depends on how much of your work has already been published.



Q: I have a completed manuscript but it needs the grammar cleaned up. Will you do that?
In the course of working with writers at Windbreak House or through Writing Conversations By eMail, I help with grammar as well as other writing errors. But you are describing the job of a hired editor. Several organizations have set professional standards for this work. Search online, at colleges, libraries, and writing groups for more information. You’ll need to be precise in describing what you want done, and expect to pay well for the services of a good editor.

See the Writing Help Page of this website for a sample of the kind of comments I write on manuscripts, both at Windbreak House and in e-mail exchanges.



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Q: Are the writing retreats only for women?
Homestead House, where the retreats are held, was built as a one-family house, not as a hotel. It has three private bedrooms but the bathrooms and other living spaces are shared.

To encourage a creative and comfortable atmosphere, I prefer that everyone attending a retreat be able to relax enough to discuss poetry while eating ice cream in the living room at midnight. Traditionally, I’ve found women are most at ease when they aren't worrying about how they look, i.e., when men are not present, so at first I did limit the retreats to women only.

Now, however, I’m willing to consider all applicants. Though I would never schedule a man and a woman to share a retreat if they didn't already know each other, I’ll accept applications from men or mixed-gender small groups who apply to come together. A husband and wife have attended retreats together twice in the last year. And applicants who are under 21 may attend with an adult chaperone-- as several have done.

My Writing Conversations By eMail, of course, have no gender or age restrictions.


Q: Are you tough when you critique writing? I'm kind of intimidated to have a professional read my stuff.
I ask each writer to tell me what she hopes to achieve with her writing, and concentrate on helping her reach that goal: whether it’s writing a movie that will star Meryl Streep or completing a family history. My first rule in evaluating someone else’s writing is to determine how I might help that person make of her writing what she wants.

I try not to use the words "good" or "bad" to describe writing, since they are so subjective, and such simplistic evaluations. Instead I encourage writers to ask questions in evaluating their own or others' writing. What lines or images provide a clear word picture? Is there anything that seems out of place? What do you like best or least about the writing? Are there any grammatical errors?

Perhaps you have heard stories about writers and teachers using critique sessions to downgrade other writers. This will never happen at Windbreak House.

You may want to read commendations by previous retreat participants, to see what others have to say about their experiences at Windbreak House.


Q: You describe your place as a prairie. Are there trees? I couldn't live in a place without trees.
Because the prairie is arid, trees are rare here. They grow slowly, and are often pruned by the wind or naturally stay low to the ground. Some have grown along creek beds or roads by accident, but most have been planted by settlers and ranchers as windbreaks around buildings.

The house where I live, Windbreak House-- as its name suggests-- is partly sheltered by a grove of trees my husband and I planted in 1981-2 as well as some bushes and trees I’ve planted since then, mostly juniper, chokecherry, and buffalo berry. Because of the danger of fire, and so that the view wouldn't be obscured, these trees are several hundred feet from the house.

Homestead House, where the retreats are held, is near a natural drainage which means the soil is richer and holds more moisture. The trees surrounding Homestead House are much larger trees-- cottonwoods, juniper, pine-- and those trees are much closer to the house. They block the wind and give substantial shade.

Here’s a quote from my book WINDBREAK about the wind and the reason for windbreaks:

"Prairie winds, which blow almost constantly, may vary from gentle breezes to eighty-mile-an-hour, roaring, twisting terrors, accompanied by lightning, hail, and pounding rain-- all in the course of one spring day. In winter, wind piles snowdrifts behind every building, every clump of grass, every pebble. We often say that a wind came all the way from the North Pole and there was nothing in the way to slow it down . . .
"A windbreak is a precious thing. It is a promise in fall, a lifesaver and a place of warmth in winter, a sign of hope in spring, and a place of loveliness in the dry heat of summer. We all need a windbreak."
-- Prologue of WINDBREAK, Barn Owl Books, 1987.



Q: Do I have to work on writing if I come to a retreat? Or can I just relax and hang out with you?
My business, Windbreak House Retreats, was established to be a writing retreat, not a motel. Writing is my preferred full-time job, and I try to keep prices reasonably low so that writers of modest means can afford to come because their stories are important. I’d love to have the retreat serve as an inspiration to artists of all genres, though I must maintain certain conditions and observe restrictions to comply with state laws and my insurance and liability requirements.

I don't encourage people to "hang out" at Homestead House, because they might fill a spot that might otherwise be used by a legitimate writing student. Or they might relax in such a way that they disturb other writers who are there for a retreat.

If you want to come to the retreat for some other reason than writing-- and I do encourage painters, photographers, musicians and other artists to use the retreat house-- send an application. Explain why and how you want to spend time here. Convince me that you will be a responsible resident, and explain how much of my time you expect to want. We can negotiate a fee based on the number of nights lodging and my time involved.

Homestead House is also potentially available for solitary writing retreats, where a writer spends time alone without daily personal consultation with me. If you're interested, send an application. Fees are based on the number of nights lodging. I'll give preference to people who have already attended a writing retreat since they are familiar with the house and surroundings.


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Q: Hi, I have no experience with ranching. I am in college and have chosen to write a research paper on why ranching is essential to our American West. My focus is on how good ranching practices benefit the land. There are many argumetns for and against this belief. My question to you is: What do you feel is the most important reason to keep ranching around, particularly grazing, for the future American West? Thank you for your time.
I'm delighted that you are working on such a serious and important topic, and of course support your viewpoint.

I'll quote a prominent authority on land use, Dr. Gary Paul Nabham, University of Arizona, author of Where Our Food Comes From, Renewing America's Food Traditions, Cultures of Habitat, Enduring Seeds, Gathering the Desert, The Desert Smells Like Rain, and many other books. I took these notes while listening to him speak at the Quivira Coalition meeting in Albuquerque this past November, 2009, so these are not precise quotations, but I spoke with him later to be sure I had the correct interpretation of his words.

1. Ranching keeps large wild ecosystems intact, dynamic, and hererogenous, as well as providing safe food for American consumers. Surveys show that ranchers pay more in taxes to the counties they live in than the county spends to provide services to them. This is not true of settled areas-- cities and subdivisions-- which cost the county more for the services provided to them than they pay in taxes.

2. Working landscapes harbor more wild biodiversity and generate more of nature's services--clean air, water, and wildlife-- than settled landscapes or national or state parks. In the case of more than one-half of endangered species-- mammals, plants, birds-- 80% of their populations are found on private and tribal lands, NOT in national parks. Private ranching land feeds wildlife, keeps the landscape beautiful and open. We should give financial incentives to farmers and ranchers to keep their land in private hands.

3. Grass-fed and grass-finished livestock production (for beef, pigs, chickens and other meat animals), has a smaller carbon footprint than grain-fed feedlot beef or other factory-farmed animals. More carbon is sequestered in perennial grassland, savanna, and woodland than in cornfields or annual forage.

He added this important point: Food security is homeland security.

As for books to read for your major question: look at Gary Nabham's books mentioned above; at the Quivira Coalition website and the information there on the Radical Center. I recommend my own book, No Place Like Home, which addresses this question directly; my book Windbreak has considerable information on how ranching is done, and how ranchers operate, as does Going Over East.

Wendell Berry (Another Turn of the Crank) writes about the importance of local economies and the value of locally produced foods.

Dan Daggett (Beyond the Rangeland Conflict) discusses solutions to land-use issues and how ranchers and environmentalists can cooperate.

I understand your time is limited so if you read only one book, read Pasture Perfect: The Far-Reaching Benefits of Choosing Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-Fed Animals, by Jo Robinson, published by Vashon Island Press and available from www.eatwild.com, the national clearinghouse for accurate information about pasture-based farming.

Thanks for your good question, and I hope your research goes well. I'd be interested in knowing where you are, and for what class you are writing this paper, and seeing the outcome if you care to send it to me-- but that's certainly not necessary. Good luck in your work.



Q: I am in the fourth grade and have to dress up like you and act like i was in your footsteps. Do you have any siblings? Thanks, -- Klaire K., Rapid City,SD.
Hello Klaire. That sounds like an interesting school project. To learn more about my life, including a bit about when I was in the fourth grade and moved to the ranch, you can read my biography on this website. It has photos of me including one when I was 10 years old, on my first horse, Blaze.

There is another photo of me, with my horse Rebel, on the See What You Read page that was taken when I was about 14.

No, I don't have any brothers or sisters. As my bio explains, at the age of nine I started carrying little notebooks and writing in them. Perhaps the lack of a sibling to talk to was one reason I expressed myself in writing. I had close friends in grade school, but our lives began to diverge as we went into high school.

If you have other questions that need to be answered to help you with your school project, send me an e-mail-- use the link in the left-hand column of this website.


Q: Hi Linda, As you see i am Klaire K. again! My grandma wants one or more of her books to be published along with knowing what it is like to be a writer. So if you could tell me that would be great! Thanks again.
Hello again. I've answered some of this question under the heading Will Linda help me with my writing?

A writer can also go to the public library and look in the most recent Writers Market (a new edition comes out each year) for information about writing and publishing, as well as a list of publishers of books and magazines.

Of course there is also an enormous amount of information about writing and publishing on the internet.



Q: Hello, I'm a student in an English class. The essay "A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun" is one of several assigned. I'd like to know two things. Why would you travel at night to the store? Granted that's anyone's perogative but it raised the probabilty of danger from occuring. Secondly, is this a subtle advocacy for women to purchase guns?
Yes, I go to the store and other places, all the time at night, but I don't always go armed. I pay attention at all times to my surroundings, and try to avoid danger by a variety of methods-- but mostly alertness. Pay attention, whether the danger is a blizzard, a drunk driver, or a bad guy, and as I said in the essay, quoting my large husband, your best defense is your feet: put one in front of the other as fast as possible.

There is not supposed to be anything subtle about my views in that essay. I have no way of knowing how the editors of your particular textbook may have edited-- and thus subtly changed the meaning of-- the essay as you read it in your textbook. Some editors have removed significant explanations when reprintintg the essay. For the full version, see my book, LAND CIRCLE. The essay is intended to discuss why one peaceful person decided carrying a pistol was a legitimate form of self-protection, and intended to encourage anyone concerned about safety to consider taking handgun or other weapons courses from qualified instructors, learn to handle the weapon of choice competently, and carry it with calm confidence to be used only in emergency. If a person is not comfortable with using a weapon, he or she should investigate other forms of protection or self-defense. I do not believe everyone should be armed. If you are going to carry a weapon, you must be willing to take the responsibility for using it in self-defense-- that is, willing to risk killing someone who is trying to harm you.


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Q: Do you still run a cow/calf operation?
A cow-calf operation still exists on my ranch, and many of the cows are descendants of the ones my father and I raised and I wrote about. But the owner of the cows is a neighbor who leases my land.


Q: Don't cows wreck the environment?
Come to Windbreak House and tour the grasslands and see the answer for yourself. You’re welcome no matter what you think of cows either before or after your visit.

Meanwhile, read my books, as well as up-to-date information on how cattle grazing can help preserve not only a healthy grasslands, clean air, and open space, but our ability as a nation to feed ourselves rather than depending on food imported from other countries. Beware of uninformed slogan-screamers (“Get cattle off public lands!”) who don’t live in the West. Intelligent management of grazing species, including cattle, can help the Western prairies maintain the intricate and balanced web of plants that evolved with the help of grazers including antelope, deer, and bison. Check the reading lists in the back of my books for further reading on the subject of cattle and the environment, and read what the people who are active in grasslands management in the West are learning about the benefits of sustainable cattle ranching.

The Quivira Coalition (www.quiviracoalition.org) is a good place to start.

See the answer to this next question as well.


Q: What wildlife do you see on your ranch?
I’m glad you asked. I don’t see all of these birds and animals every day, but I’ve been keeping a list for twenty years or so-- and remember, cattle have been grazing this land during all that time.

Click here for a complete list of birds and wildlife seen on various parts of my ranch.

That same article has information about how I'm improving bird and wildlife habitat in a pasture that borders Battle Creek, with the help of the
Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (www.rmbo.org).


Q: Do you allow hunters on your ranch?
A qualified yes. I don't allow hunters of animals such as coyotes or rattlesnakes or plants such as purple prairie coneflower (echinacea). Nor do I allow lazy or destructive hunters who drive everywhere, crushing grass, chasing down prey, and shooting from their vehicles.

I am in favor of hunting species that are not endangered, in order to keep their numbers in balance with the available resources. I'm against trophy hunting; I think (and have enforced this on several friends) you should eat what you shoot. My husband George was a bit distressed to find this included marmot after he uncharacteristically blazed away and killed one on a lovely autumn day. Made a lovely stew with chicken. He was a little less fond of eating the prairie dogs he shot, especially when he got covered with lice while skinning them, but a rule is a rule.

And hunters must ask permission for specific times and places to hunt from the man who leases the land. I’ll be happy to provide contact information if you ask.


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