Shook me all night long

I do not know what time of the day this will get posted but I will admit it was pre written. I needed to have this one ready for Saturday because it is going to be a busy day. Hopefully there will be no major issues or problems today. I have most of the day free but tonight it is party time. Tonight is the Franklin County Cattlemen’s annual banquet. This is one community gathering that I would put up against any in the country as for fun and general amusement.

Picture this, a whole county worth of farmers and ranchers gathered one night a year for a party. These are the men and women that on any given day might be seen in overalls, chaps, irrigation boots and/or well worn hats. These are people with calloused hands, wind and sun kissed faces, determination unmatched and a faith that the land, the animals and Mother Nature will provide them with a good life for themselves and their families regardless of financial standing at any given moment.

These are the people that will put in a cow for their neighbor. The people that will harvest a crop for someone else in the community if they are injured, sick or otherwise compromised at the time. These are people who are just as comfortable driving a 2010 Escalade as they are driving a 1961 Ford one ton truck. People who teach their children the difference between right and wrong and the value of a dollar. The people who will spoil their kids yet make sure they learn a work ethic so they will have a better future.

The party will start at 5:30 pm with a social hour. Drinks cost a whopping $1 and the “pour” is a good one. The bar will close at 7 pm for dinner which always separates the newcomers from the veterans. The newcomers will be in a panic and wonder how long the bars will be closed; the veterans will walk to their table with both hands full of drinks! Dinner will be salad, prime rib, baked spuds, and some other kind of side vegetable, rolls and an array of desserts to finish. Once dinner is completed the bars will re-open and the live auction will start. No where else on earth will you be able to buy a lamp with a Pendleton whiskey bottle base and Franklin county brands on the lampshade for a mere $500. All the money raised goes to support local youth programs throughout the year.

Once the auction is over the band will crank up with a wide range of music from traditional country like George Jones all the way to AC DC’s “Shook me all night long” at which time most of the men will be staring at the girl with the shortest skirt that is “knocking them out with those American thighs”. The women will all be alternating views between their smitten husbands and that girl with the short skirt who in their minds is obviously some drunken tart. While the dancing is going on many people away from the dance floor will be talking about how calving season is going, the rising price of a manicure in Connell and other pertinent issues.

At around 12 a.m. the band will stop, the bars will close and people will stumble to the full course breakfast buffet. This is where we will support the beef industry by eating scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns. When breakfast is over people will go to their rooms to sleep, argue about looking at the tart on the dance floor or maybe watch one of those movies that has a title that will not appear on your hotel bill. After three to seven minutes of watching the movie people will get frisky then pass out or pass out first and then dream of either getting frisky with the tart that was on the dance floor or dream about choking her dependent upon gender. I can’t think of a group of people I would rather spend an evening with or be neighbors with. Cheers to Franklin County and the great people that live here.

Today’s real environmentalist species is the Green wing teal aka Anas carolinensis.

Today’s picture is of the same calf I searched for yesterday up close before tagging.