
Jack’s Blog
Read about everyday ranch life and the ramblings and pondering of an 80-something year old rancher, Jack Varian
…and occasional news from the rest of the family.
10:51 P.M.
That’s what time it is according to my iPad. I’m cozied down in my Lazy Boy recliner. Having just downed a glass of Gatorade and a T.V. dinner, I’m ready to tell you all about our last four and one half hours. Tomorrow I’ll be harvesting eight of our grass-fed bevies using a mobile harvest trailer that allow cattle to be harvested at the ranch with a USDA inspector approving of the process.
WE NEED TO UBER-IZE AGRICULTURE
I was reading an article in Time Magazine this morning about a fellow named Travis Kalanick ( The Disrupter) who has recently ascended to Silicon Valley’s billionaire nobility for recognizing a need and filling it. The basic idea as I see it, was that a lot of people would be willing to make the family car double as a taxi for hire to supplement their income.
A HORSE’S POINT OF VIEW
I have been around horses for most of my life on a daily basis. My wife Zee spends most of every day working with our herd of horses. She trains the young ones, exercises others, and plays nurse to any that might need some TLC.
WHAT’S IN A SMILE?
I was never much of a school yard scrapper. On the other hand, I have always had a fair amount of confidence. Some would call it “cocky” that I wore on my sleeve. That made me a target for some of my classmates who found much joy in school yard scrapping.
PISTACHIOS SHOULD BE GROWN BY THE ELDERLY
What else takes about 7 years for the grower to harvest his first nut (this guy is nuts) and 10 years to be able to start paying some bills? Just think, if a person wants something to look forward to, why not a pistachio? Yes, there are other options out there, like wine grapes, which take as few as 3 years to come into production.
ME AND THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Well, what were the parallels to the Seahawks, if any? The Seahawks got to go home with heads held high ready to take on another foe of equal ability next year. As for me, I get to lick my wounds and stack the odds in my favor by setting my sights on the quiet side of life by getting back on my “bullet proof” horse Fuzz… even if he happens to be standing in the mud.
YOUNG AMERICANS NEED TO PADDLE THEIR OWN CANOE
I just finished watching the democratic candidates debate the issues of the day. I am going to confine my remarks to only one part of the debate. The candidates were asked how they would solve the problem of the epidemic use of heroin by the youth in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
The time is November, 1961. A new, wanna-be cattleman and his wife who would like to raise cattle and a family on a piece of land located on the Little Cholame Creek in southern Monterey County, California are in the local title company office dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s that will make them the new owners of what will become The V6 Ranch in 1965.
WHAT YOU THINK OF ME
I hope the exposé to follow will be helpful to those out there who have struggled with unreasonable fear that diminishes joy and quality of life. I hope you will find comfort and strength from some of my struggles so that you might better deal with your demons.
MY BLADDER IS NO LONGER MY FRIEND
I guess this is just one more part of my old body that these days thumbs it’s nose at me and makes me have to “go” at some of the most inopportune times. I guess this is payback for all the times that I made you wait, dear bladder.
I’M RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
By the way, the name of our nation that I would like to preside over is Cholame (a Yokuts Indian word meaning “The Beautiful One”). Add in a motto to live by– never yell whoa in a bad place– then throw in a song to brighten your day (Oh What a Beautiful Morning from the stage play Oklahoma) and you have my platform.
A NEW COWBOY IN TOWN
Today I came in touch with the latest that our tech world has to offer to make my live easier or more complicated; I’m not yet sure which. I’ve heard of “drones,” but this is the first time I got to watch one in action. John and Barbara Varian were hosting a week-long Photographic Work Shop at the V6.
TRYING NOT TO BE DEAD
I want to be either dead or alive. The middle ground of life would be pretty boring. That’s why I planted pistachio trees 10 years to full production and started a cow herd this past Tuesday.
THERE’S MAGNIFICENCE IN MISERY
Webster’s New World Dictionary defines magnificence as a state of richness and splendor. Now I don’t know what I would find if I did a Google search for the definition, which I don’t know how to do anyway, so I’ll just stick with what Mr. Webster has to say on the subject.
WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD FENCES
I love words that draw pictures in my mind. As I lie here on my comfy mattress with memory foam that never forgets how a mattress should treat a fella, two words come bubbling to the surface of my consciousness: chaos and tranquility. Part of Mother Nature’s grand plan for governing our little speck in the cosmos is chaos and tranquility.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT? JUST ADD WATER
Of late there certainly has been a lot of print delegated to how much water farmers and ranchers use to provide town folks with three meals a day. I think my urban friends who are suffering along with those of us in agriculture in this interminable drought are beginning to be inconvenienced enough to start lashing out at the hand that feeds them.
FIRE WILL ALWAYS IMPACT OUR LIVES
Reading from Bloomberg Businessweek: Last year, the federal government spent $3 billion putting out fires. This is five times as much as 20 years ago. California expenditures have doubled since 1998 to $1.6 billion.
SAVE WATER WITH COMMON SENSE, NOT NONSENSE
I was reading an article the other day written by the generic name of Mr. Ecology. His opening paragraph about how important it is to save water to help California get through our present drought is very noble. Every right-minded person would surely want to be part of the solution.
THE GOOD EARTH NEEDS A VACATION, TOO
Have you ever wanted to tell somebody something that you thought was important but your choice of words might fall short? Well that’s where I find myself right now. Trying to create a picture in the mind of others on how Mother Nature would like us humans to care for her planet Earth.
HAZING AT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL
My dad upon seeing me and seeing I was non the worse for wear started to laugh and said “welcome to starting at the bottom.” The other parents also agreed that this was a right of passage. So ended one of many fond memories at Palo Alto High School.