Western Wednesday
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Welcome to Another Addition of Western Wednesday!
I once mentioned that sunsets and old board corrals make me a bit sappy.
And… they do.
Sunsets close on the day, good or bad.
(Because I never met a sunset I didn’t like.)
Old board corrals have held together and confined
a family’s lifetime of memories of brandings, cattle gatherings,
and cowboys’ bronc rides.
If only they could talk…
and tell their stories.
I grew up on a ranch where we had lots of old board corrals.
In my memory, there was nothing more fun
than climbing those old boards and looking over the fence.
Sometimes I think I’ve been looking over the fence my whole life.
What are corrals?
You might ask.
My definition of corrals is a collection of old
(sometimes new) boards nailed together
to create an enclosure to gather cows, horses, and other livestock.
I recently learned that the word corral comes from the Spanish word corro.
Corrals are used to capture domestic and wild livestock.
These are some long horned cattle gathered for processing
and branding their calves.
Corrals support the usage of horses and cows
in ranching and sometimes other activities.
Old board corrals become great branding traps
used by the working cowboys/ranchers and buckaroos to hold
cattle during branding seasons.
They are also great for capturing western scenes.;)
Sometimes old board corrals are attached to old squeeze chutes to process cows.
For strength and stability old board corrals were attached to pipe/metal panels.
Story Telling Time On The Old Board Corral
Welcome to the top rail where two young cowboys
tell stories of roping steers,
riding wild broncs,
and how they’ve become real top hands.
Boards for Shipping
If old Shipping chutes could talk, what would they tell?
Of cattle sorted and loaded on trucks and big fat calves weaned in the fall?
Oh, these old boards!
With sometimes chipping paint, great graying color and patina
from being weathered and baked in the sun.
An old cow feeder.
With old board’s graying patina, and
crusty knots in the wood comes a little Rustic and Refound.
A bridle rack built from old corral boards.
A DIY rustic candle holder built from an old corral board.
I love the nostalgia of old boards from corrals.
Old board corrals inspired me with their perfectly imperfect distressing.
Their silvered and worn appearance. Used and abused.
Just loving how each board is different in texture, finish and distressing.
Thanks for hanging with me today on my Western Wednesday.
A little wild west stylin’ for a little wild west livin’.
~Tammy