New Beginnings

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

This week actually began with my arrival to the Ranch on June 15th 2024. I arrived that Saturday afternoon to extremely welcoming if skeptically curious hosts. Seeing as I am not the normal intern given my “ advanced” age and the length of time I have spent away from agricultural occupations.

Arrival and initial introductions concluded, and I found my way to my room and began unloading and getting settled. Still needing a few things, I returned to town to finish up final purchases and grab a bite to eat on my own. Upon returning to the ranch I noticed another truck in the driveway and was then startled, well rather extremely enthusiastically welcomed by the other intern as I entered our kitchen.
The rest of this initial week has been somewhat of a blur of new faces on differing landscapes, new livestock, pictures, instructions and firehose learning as well as relearning things that had long been forgotten by myself. From sorting cows and calves, to checking and fixing fences and water tanks and rounding up sheep to take to a branding this next week.

Many of these learning and relearning experiences have reinforced things I already knew but some of them stand out in my mind. The main lessons of this week have been to be creative, resourceful and flexible. There is always a way to get the job done even if the perfect materials aren’t at hand.

If it had not be for the assistance and patience of my hosts as well as my fellow intern here at the ranch it would have been a much more painful and unproductive week on my part and I cannot stress enough the importance of relying on others gained experience whether they are older or younger than yourself.
New landscapes and new experiences a bound as we push into this second week.

Submitted by: Cody Lancaster
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team