Turning off a busy highway, semi on my heels, and onto a two-track road I had little idea what to expect. Northern Colorado is a landscape of low mesas, dry grasses, and distant Rocky Mountains. The rolling hills are punctuated by the characteristic hogback rock formations that follow the Front Range. A series of dry hill tops and lower valleys make it a mysterious country where each pocket holds its own secrets.
I had been invited to branding day at Lehi Ranch. Owned and operated by Zach Thode and his family, Lehi Ranch operates across many acres of owned and leased land. Upon exiting my truck, I was first struck with the sound. Hundreds of cows mooing as babies are sorted away from the herd for the inevitable. Many people and cows had gathered around for this annual festival, and we were all expectedly waiting for the next step.
Ropers on horseback began the process of catching calves by their feet or head and pulling them from the others. From there, depending on the size of the calf, a couple people would work together to get them off their feet and onto their side. We held the calves down to be tagged, vaccinated, marked pink and green for each shot, castrated if a male, and two brands on the left side. This all happens in one to three minutes.
I could talk about how this process is not for the faint of heart, or the rough cowboy grit, or the rustic beauty of a timeless event. Sure, that is in there. But the real story is community.
More people than not had grown up in this area. These are the locals. This is local food. There is a familial aspect as many people related who had brought them to the festivities. The process is intrinsically intergenerational. Fathers showing sons the nuances of holding down a cow safely. Daughters and sisters vaccinating and marking. The branders and ropers, clearly the most experienced of the crew, working the hot metal and horses. Cutters showed a level of skill and clarity that transcends most daily activities. The fact that you can have people of all ages holding several hundred-pound animals and then using knives, red hot metal, and syringes without any serious injury shows the talent.
Branding day is a annual tradition. A reason to get together on a beautiful day, enjoy the work, food, and each other's company. I kept hearing, this is the most fun day in ranching, and I can see why. Not only is it practical, even required for legal ownership of cows, but enjoyed by all ages. Those wrestling, tagging, cutting, branding, vaccinating, or simply overserving had a role and there was no pressure to fill a spot. Jump in if you want, take a break when you need.
It goes to show that when you get people together, who care, amazing things can happen. I only participated for a few hours, but we moved through 300 calves, with still more to go. Community based around action, being helpful, and looking out for one another is a beautiful thing.
When you purchase meat from Zach or anyone else that is producing the product you only get a glimpse. There are so many involved hands that grace the food we eat. More than we can imagine. Buying that steak supports a community and a way of life. It supports all generations interacting with food production from young to old. To really understand and witness the hands it takes to bring food to market is a rare pleasure.
I consider my own circumstances. When you buy a bag of salad not only did the farmers seed, plant, weed, and harvest those leaves but someone did the same process to produce that seed. The powerful cycle of life propagating continuously to provide food is a miracle to behold and not to be taken lightly. For thousands of years humans have stewarded plants and animals forging a deep relationship and interdependence to one another. Cyclical in nature. This is a story of doing the work, of building and growing a community, and of regeneration through production.
If we could realize that with each bite, we contribute to an enormous system behind that food. That each choice we make has a ripple effect able to degrade or heal. Who you see at the farmers market or a logo on a grocery shelf is only a product of a much larger and repercussive world. Our support matters.
We cannot always act in ways the foster regeneration. Sometimes the process can feel like two steps forward and one step back. Like extra effort without clear benefit. Growing a new world is showing up for people who ask, taking the risk of invitation to be apart of something unknown. We all face the mystery of the future, let me tell you it is better to face this unknown with a group rather than alone.
I had to leave the event earlier than the work was finished. As I was heading out a group started serving sloppy joes. I jokingly turned towards Zach’s wife and asked,
“Is the beef local?”
We all know the answer.
Farm News
I have been saying July is not the time to question, wonder, or think deeply. Now is a time of action, of surrender, and trust. Trust we are working hard to set up for a tremendous fall. Trust that we are grateful for each fruit of summer coming from the field. Trust that this produce was raised with integrity, seed to seed.
Farm Stand Hours: 10-6pm Wed-Friday, 10-4pm Saturday and Sunday
Hopefully stocked this week:
Colorado Fruit: Organic Sweet Red Cherries, Rainier Cherries, Organic Apricots, Organic Peaches
Greens: Hearts and Souls Salad Mix, gem lettuce heads, summer head lettuce, chard
Roots: Grilling onions, beets, carrots, and fresh garlic
Veggies: Cherry Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers
Herbs: Oregano, mint, thyme, sage, parsley, basil
Plant Starts: Annual flowers now $4 each. We also have a full rack of herbs ready for the garden or kitchen counter.
Perennials: Gallons are now $10 each. We currently have columbine, foxglove, sedum, elderberry, elecampane, daisy, goldenrod, gaillardia, lavender, mint, thyme, sage, mountain mint, lemon balm, and echinacea. We also have 4.5” perennials for $5 each! Now is truly the perfect time to plant.
Lehi Ranch, High Point Bison, KREAM Kimchi, Jodar Farms Eggs, Rey Atelier Home Goods, Bread Chic Sourdough, Fox Den Coffee, Owl Tree Farm Worm Compost, Bee Squared Apiaries Honey, Abuelita’s Hot Sauce, Christie Leighton Jewelry, Life’s A Buch Kombucha
" The real story is community "
Love it.