Soapweed
Well-known member
This is from Flying S's post on "Time didn't change." Didn't want to sabotage the original post so here is a new one.
You raise some interesting observations. I admire your high ideals, and strive for these high ideals myself. Unfortunately they don't always come to pass. As I get older, I try to not let the little things bother me quite as much as they did when I was younger. It is more beneficial to keep the big picture in perspective; in other words we shouldn't let the trees keep us from seeing the forest.
When I was in the National Guard, there was a somewhat graphic picture on the bulletin board. The caption read: "It is hard to remember that the object was to drain the swamp when you are up to your ash in alligators." How true. :wink:
Many years ago when I was still helping my dad on his ranch, we had lost quite a few calves one spring. It was starting to bother me almost enough to want to find a competely different occupation. I was voicing my grievances to my dad one morning, and he said, "You mean you'd throw away the whole opportunity to ranch because of a few dead calves?" It kind of got me to thinking, count the live calves not the dead ones.
Back in the 1980's, there was a real perfectionist rancher that raised very good Angus cattle, both registered and commercial. He kept immaculate records, and was an astute operator. Unfortunately his financial situation wasn't in as good of shape as the ranch records, and the bank sold him out in August of 1984. Neither the rancher or the lending institution used much judgement by selling spring pairs in August. Another two months of summer feed would get the pairs to where they could be split to bring more money. I attended the sale and was pulling a ten-foot stock trailer. There were four two-year-olds with calves at side that came through the ring, so I bid $520 per pair and got them bought. They just barely fit in that ten-foot trailer, but they made it home alright. In October (two months later), the four calves were sold for $300 apiece and I only had $220 into those nice bred coming three-year-olds. All four of these cows stayed in the herd for another ten years. All the records in the world on these nice young cows didn't do the original producer a bit of good in the long run.
Back to fencing, I admire a straight fence as much as anyone. It really isn't all that hard to make a fence straight, and if the original corners and a few posts are in the right alignment, the rest of the fence just falls into place quite easily. Kenneth, the man that night calved for us a few years ago, and then stayed the summer to fence, was a real perfectionist. Once I was complimenting him on a new fence he'd built, and he said, "I rather have a pretty fence than a pretty woman."
To each their own.
Kenneth did an outstanding job building new fence, but he wasn't very good at fixing old fence. His way was to lay it all down and start over. If it didn't end up perfect he didn't want to do it. There is a time to be a perfectionist, but there is also a time to use what is already there to its best advantage.
Studying people, it is interesting to discover that what bothers some folks doesn't bother others at all. This holds true in all aspects of life, from fencing, to automobiles, to wearing apparel, you name it. God made everyone to have a little bit different outlook on life, and that is what makes it so intriguing. Different strokes for different folks.
flyingS said:It's not that I need to know what time it is. I just can't stand the small details. Maybe a little anal!!!!
flyingS said:Don't the little things ever drive any of you nuts. Like putting in a fence and knowing that it is not straight even if you can't see it from the road. Or having to put a splice in a new gate. I could go on forever. I have a hard time with the "If it gets the job done, It's good enough" process.
You raise some interesting observations. I admire your high ideals, and strive for these high ideals myself. Unfortunately they don't always come to pass. As I get older, I try to not let the little things bother me quite as much as they did when I was younger. It is more beneficial to keep the big picture in perspective; in other words we shouldn't let the trees keep us from seeing the forest.
When I was in the National Guard, there was a somewhat graphic picture on the bulletin board. The caption read: "It is hard to remember that the object was to drain the swamp when you are up to your ash in alligators." How true. :wink:
Many years ago when I was still helping my dad on his ranch, we had lost quite a few calves one spring. It was starting to bother me almost enough to want to find a competely different occupation. I was voicing my grievances to my dad one morning, and he said, "You mean you'd throw away the whole opportunity to ranch because of a few dead calves?" It kind of got me to thinking, count the live calves not the dead ones.
Back in the 1980's, there was a real perfectionist rancher that raised very good Angus cattle, both registered and commercial. He kept immaculate records, and was an astute operator. Unfortunately his financial situation wasn't in as good of shape as the ranch records, and the bank sold him out in August of 1984. Neither the rancher or the lending institution used much judgement by selling spring pairs in August. Another two months of summer feed would get the pairs to where they could be split to bring more money. I attended the sale and was pulling a ten-foot stock trailer. There were four two-year-olds with calves at side that came through the ring, so I bid $520 per pair and got them bought. They just barely fit in that ten-foot trailer, but they made it home alright. In October (two months later), the four calves were sold for $300 apiece and I only had $220 into those nice bred coming three-year-olds. All four of these cows stayed in the herd for another ten years. All the records in the world on these nice young cows didn't do the original producer a bit of good in the long run.
Back to fencing, I admire a straight fence as much as anyone. It really isn't all that hard to make a fence straight, and if the original corners and a few posts are in the right alignment, the rest of the fence just falls into place quite easily. Kenneth, the man that night calved for us a few years ago, and then stayed the summer to fence, was a real perfectionist. Once I was complimenting him on a new fence he'd built, and he said, "I rather have a pretty fence than a pretty woman."


Studying people, it is interesting to discover that what bothers some folks doesn't bother others at all. This holds true in all aspects of life, from fencing, to automobiles, to wearing apparel, you name it. God made everyone to have a little bit different outlook on life, and that is what makes it so intriguing. Different strokes for different folks.