Ryan Taylor
Ryan Taylor welcomes comments about his column. He can be reached at 1363 54th St. N.E., Towner, N.D. 58788; e-mail: cowlogic@ndak.net. Taylor, who ranches near Towner, is a columnist for Agweek.Contact
The will to endure
TOWNER, N.D. — I’ve done a few things in life that might seem a little out of the ordinary for a cowboy and a rancher. I ran a marathon in Chicago, I went to a Black Eyed Peas concert, I heard a symphony perform in Carnegie Hall in New York and I once ordered a fish sandwich at McDonalds. Not typical cowboy stuff.Agweek, 03/12/2012
Driving with confidence
TOWNER, N.D.—When I was learning how to drive, Dad started me out with the pickup in the hay field. Keep it in first gear ‘til you get the hang of it, he told me. The only obstacles were some duck sloughs and hay stacks.Agweek, 02/27/2012
Running for head and heart
TOWNER, N.D. — After a long hiatus from my old running days and marathon training, I’ve decided to lace up the sneakers and start pounding the gravel roads and trails around the ranch again. Why on earth would a guy run when there are so many other perfectly good modes of transportation out there?Agweek, 02/13/2012
That one paycheck
TOWNER, N.D. — The past year had its ups and downs, but luckily for the family, one of the ups has been the cattle market. Having just sold last year’s calves and having close to 20 years of cattle markets to compare it to since I came back to the ranch after college, I can say I much prefer selling into an up market than a down market.Agweek, 01/30/2012
Historical weather
TOWNER, N.D. — After a few years of having winters we’d like to forget, this year, we’ve gotten a winter we want to remember . . . so far. On Jan. 10, I did chores wearing a vest instead of a jacket and there wasn’t a speck of snow on the ground. It was so nice, I even had my earflaps tucked up inside of my cap, and that doesn’t often happen in January in North Dakota.Agweek, 01/16/2012
Tracking things down
TOWNER, N.D. — I think the key to having a few spare parts around the shop for the next breakdown is remembering where you put them so you can find them when you need them.Special to Agweek, 11/07/2011
The things you can’t have with kids and cattle
TOWNER, N.D. — “I guess we can’t have nice things.” It is a saying most of us have heard from a deflated mother at some point in the rearing of inadvertently destructive little people. Or an exasperated, “I have nothing nice left anymore!” when one her little angels has smashed the last of the nice dishes or knocked some other fragile heirloom off the wall.Special to Agweek, 10/24/2011
That looks a little like work
TOWNER, N.D. — Enjoy what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life, or so they say. So I guess work is defined as anything we don’t enjoy doing. But I know guys who don’t enjoy leisure activities, so is that work? I don’t know. It’s more debate about words and semantics than I care to ponder.Special to Agweek, 10/11/2011
Getting to know the lay of the land
TOWNER, N.D. — There’s something to be said for generational knowledge of a piece of ground — when you can steer around a boggy spot because your dad warned you about it when you were a kid driving through the field, or go right to a little-known patch of Juneberries because your mom let you in on the secret of where to find them.Special to Agweek, 09/12/2011
Family bonding on the great American highway
TOWNER, N.D. — There’s nothing like 3- or 4,000 miles together in a minivan to bring a family closer together, but you do have to get out of the van once in awhile or you’ll surely be driven farther apart.Special to Agweek, 08/29/2011
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