I live on the frontier of Wyoming. I love this state because of its natural beauty, ruggedness, big open spaces, wild animals, its authentic Western heritage, and the fact there are only 530,000 of us lucky enough to live here. It’s lonely, and I like it that way.
The following is an actual job opening that I read on our local Landertalk email listserve a while back. I love it. It describes so many of the hard-working people who are my neighbors and friends. And regardless of the monetary compensation for performing the listed duties, I have a feeling — a pretty certain one — that the individual who fits this position will be compensated well. For the compensation — shall we call it, fulfillment — received for doing hard work on the frontier does not only come in the form of monetary currency.
This job posting was written by local ranch owner/operator Nannette Slingerland, who gave me permission to publish it.
I am looking for an amazing person who is honest, considerate and excited to be a jack-of-all-trades: Someone to fix fence, make a gate that opens without always buying a new powder river one, repair old barns and sheds in a manner in keeping with their character, understand how water flows through a ditch and across a meadow;
run a tractor or a skid steer, chain saw, shovel, backhoe, four-wheeler; how to look under the hood to see if there is oil, battery, radiator and wires or if there is air in the tires; someone who just likes being busy and doesn’t mind working alone; someone with common sense and the sense to work safely; someone who understands that all life on a ranch is not depicted in a Marlboro commercial;
someone who likes working in an environment that takes pride in maintaining room at the table for everything that calls the ranch home, such as beaver, cougar, bear, red angus cattle, eagles, blue herons, churro sheep, trout, ancient cottonwoods, sage, willow and cedar, mule deer, coyotes, dung beetles, hummingbirds, and pigmy owls along with an assortment of chickens, ducks, turkeys, peafowl, snakes, voles, and an old apple orchard that desperately needs a bit ( an understatement) of pruning so we can make cider again and endless apple pies.
I am looking for a magic person who is as patient with an old cow that can’t see the wide-open gate right in front of her as they are with the pick-up that decided not to start this morning of all mornings; and who appreciates animals as well as himself and his tools; a person that doesn’t mind an occasional day in the saddle. (Pay and benefits are negotiable for the right person.)
(Thanks to my friend, Scott Copeland, for use of his Red Canyon photo.)
Click HERE for my last Frontier-Related blog post.