Living on a Ranch 'Set'

When living on a 'set' it important to keep your set authentic. Human nature brings the desire to change the set, but if you make any changes it is necessary to keep within the theme and to add only objects that will enhance the reality of said set – therefore, not spoiling the overall effect of permanence and existing reality. Continuity is key ... When walking onto the set it is natural to feel a bit out of time even though you sense you are living in real time or perhaps somewhere between reality and a previously scripted version of. Notice objects around you in order to get into your role, but do not become too attached to such objects as they ultimately belong to the prop department. It is wise to also be careful when cleaning these objects, as to not destroy their weathered look – a process that took much time. Be careful not to disrupt the elements by adding too much of yourself – remember, you are just part of the story – a visitor of sorts moving through a sequence of scenes from a long running drama. If you add or subtract too much and disrupt the essence, you will push the story off kilter and a total script rewrite will become necessary. The key is authenticity and that takes discipline. Your impact must be subtle, visually. When you are ready to step out of your role completely, and only then, can you leave the set and move into your next character.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

A True Grit Cowboy Mentor

Branding season makes me realize how years can fly by when in ranching mode and I think back to when I first got here. Luckily I have taken many photographs, or it would all be a blur. I showed up here on the ranch as a total novice - that is for sure. I rode some, for fun, as a kid but was no horseman or cowboy and had not really ridden for twenty years or so. I laugh sometimes when I think of diving in and working and riding alongside long time top hand and cowboy Lyle O'Bryan. Like when I first started roping and we decided to brand without a crew the first spring. If I roped all the calves (along with the winter's worth of work I did) then he would 'pay' me by giving Beau to me (pictured above) as my ranch work horse. Ok, it took a while for me to catch all of them. It was a dry year and Lyle had sold way down so we only branded 150 or so. I would hold them by the back feet while Lyle wrastled them down, by himself, and tied them up and branded and vaccinated them ... the best way to learn is to just do it!

Of course it takes time to learn to rope well consistently, but this was a good start. Another time, that spring of 2003, he tied my rope on hard and fast - meaning tie it in a permanent fashion to your saddle horn - we rode up north to doctor a sick cow. Lyle roped it by the head and said ok get the hind legs - I had never roped a cow before and guess I didnt really think about being tied on ... somehow I got both hind legs on the first loop and was thrilled. Lyle was also tied on hard and fast and stepped off his horse to give the cow its shot then took the rope off the head and told me to ride up and let the hind feet go. I had gotten so used to dallying that I forgot about handling my slack being tied on and got the rope under Beau's leg and down we went - I think I remember laughing about it - now I would probably freak out. Luckily Beau was ok and I didnt hurt his leg but it was a definite lesson on handling my rope. I realize things will never be like that again with everything being so new again. I can now enjoy moments when I realize I am getting better at certain things over the years.

One of the first times I rode on the ranch, in the Fall of 2002, I was helping Lyle work off heifer calves up north. I rode Beau, who was very green, and just the two of us gathered all the cows and worked the replacement heifers off. Beau was drifting to and fro as green horses do - the pasture seemed huge to me - the wind was blowing massively and blowing my hat off. I think at some point we traded horses. It took quite some time to get the job done but Lyle guided and instructed me throughout. I remember falling asleep later, after the ride, in the booth at the local cafe. A good days work for a real greenhorn. I had never experienced such full days until I started working on a ranch.

I rode and worked alongside Lyle - and still do - learning to do whatever he was doing from working cattle, to pulling calves, to doctoring calves, branding, feeding, haying, assisting in breaking a few horses by hazing, riding colts etc ... It would take decades of experience and more guts than I have to reach his level and I, by no means, compare myself to ranch women who have been doing it all their lives. I just do what I do and am who I am. Whatever came up - I wanted to experience it or at least try and learn from Lyle and the other cowboys I worked with. I sometimes remind myself to really listen when I hear him or other cowboys describing things. Such a wealth of information and such a gift -  pay attention and take note.

Landing on Lyle's ranch, as I have mentioned, was a bit like going back in time. It was all cowboy - no shortcuts. And I lived, seven years of my time while on the ranch, without running water ... camp in a simple bunkhouse with only a wood stove for heat and kept it real basic. We scoop cake onto the truck and off the truck to the cattle, we have pitched many large bails of hay by hand, rode everywhere on horseback with no four wheelers on the ranch etc ... It has been a good place for me to learn, being able to work alongside someone while hopefully being of help - big enough but not too big of a ranch for us to handle - well, really what am I saying - Lyle handled it on his own before I got here. And he learned to adapt to doing things by himself. Like tying the steering wheel on the truck then jumping out to scoop cake to the cows - doctoring calves and cows by himself etc ... just takes a little ingenuity and a lot of skill - like many other ranchers in the area.

I definitely didn't land on the set of "Legends of the Fall" or some Robert Redford movie (ha ha) ... no glamour but real true grit all along the way.  It feels good to know I can be of help here on the ranch and to our neighbors. I will never fill Lyle's shoes, or boots I guess, in my new evolving role as 'manager' but at least I will give it a try. Thanks Lyle. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

(Photo: Lyle on Stringy Holding Beau near Horseshoe Butte on the Badure Ranch)

LENSCRATCH

 http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/05/jean-laughton.html

Just back from a 5:30 AM branding on the Brunsch Ranch thirty miles south. Walked in and checked my email and had a nice note from ALINE SMITHSON of LENSCRATCH saying she had posted my story and photographs on her fabulous blogzine. It kind of reminded me, in a funny way, oh yeah I did those things on the ranch and took those photographs. Some days the work trumps art - well many days, and it is a good reminder that I am here to do both - to somehow try and preserve some of the moments and tell the story of the people who I work with. Hope you enjoy the story and be sure to check out the work of many talented photographers on the blog - it is a great site.

Branding TIme Again on the Quarter Circle XL

It is branding time again on the ranch this Friday. It continues to be all about cows cows and more cows this week - getting things lined up. The neighbors will come and help up brand - and after that we can be stress free and enjoy going to help brand at ten to twelve of their brandings. It is a great time of the year.

We have a chuck wagon cook coming again this year so one less thing to multi task and look forward to his coffee cooked over a wood fire along with the other dutch oven food. Breakfast by the fire at 4:30 am and lunch on the prairie following the branding make it easy to feel like I am time traveling.

My thoughts rewind to when I first made my appearance as a total novice - before I got into 'character'. It is hard to believe this will be my 10th branding season. It still feels like I just got here although I have learned so much along the way and hopefully preserved some of it with my photographs. As I step into more of a manager position on the ranch I still look to my business partner and 'old' time cowboy for all the advice and depend much on our neighbors for spring and fall work. It is a good system around here and makes for a strong community - we couldn't get all the work done without their help.

Since I first set foot on the ranch, I have felt like I stepped back in time. I often ride around in daydream mode, thinking about the early day cowboys and brandings on the ranch and how the way we cowboy and brand is not much different from the 1800's. The cast of characters just changes over time. When you stand in the branding corral on the ranch you can see an indentation in the land just a ways away where one of the Thode's had a dugout where they set up camp in order to claim the land for the ranch when it was homesteaded around the turn of the 20th century. I feel I am surrounded by history while carrying on the cowboying tradition on the ranch. Thanks to my friend and business partner Lyle O'Bryan for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it all. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

GO WEST - GONE WEST

"Kid in Burwell, Nebraska" - GO WEST

Above is the scene from John Ford's "My Darling Clementine". This scene inspired me to get a backdrop painted and hit the road to photograph my GO WEST series (1995-2002). http://jeanlaughton.com/html/gowest/index.html

I didn't watch many Westerns but the fabricated reality of this scene and so many from silent movies lit a spark. I wanted to head West and document real people in their western 'costumes' of sort. To pull them out of their current reality into a constructed one. So I left my then home of New York City, starting in 1995, for several summers and meandered about the West in my Bronco loaded with backdrops and my beat up $75 4x5 camera - stopping at selected rodeos and events. To me, this was like walking onto a movie studio back lot with characters straight out of Central Casting - but with the twist of naturally occurring authenticity. This was the beginning of several years of experiences that would eventually lead me to my current ten year ranching adventure. What started as photographing the myth with this series lead to me actually inhabiting it with MY RANCHING LIFE series - stepping into a real life version of the backdrop scene and going beyond the role of spectator.

The GO WEST summers alone on the road were some of the best times - driving throughout the cinematic landscape of the West as an outsider with no ties, with a feeling of awe - watching a continuous ever changing 'drive-in movie' of the West through my windshield. They were such days of discovery for me and the first time I actually stopped someone to ask to take their portrait. Watching me set up my backdrop in the wind behind the scenes and go through the process of photographing each person with the 4x5 and talking at top speed was probably just as entertaining as the rodeo itself and I liken it to some sort of Buster Keaton silent movie scene from The Cameraman.  I mostly did one shot of the people I met in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. When I asked each person to step in front of my backdrop, it transformed into a miniature movie set and they became the leading actor from the countless legends of the true and imagined West of the past. Their look, stance or clothing evoked many a character from many a movie scene and made me aware of movie characters based on real life and real life based on movie characters and the blur between the two.

I realized that what started my thousands of miles driving throughout the West was a personal photography project, but that eventually morphed into me searching for something. As with many from the past, I headed West to transform my life - moving to the tiny Last Picture Show back lot of a movie set Badlands town of Interior, South Dakota and stepping into my current role.

I have GONE WEST.
©Jean Laughton

Unreal Reality

Riding yesterday inside a real life dreamy version of a Maynard Dixon painting ...Beyond the brushstrokes into what felt like a fabricated reality ... ©JEAN LAUGHTON

The Varying Script of this Ranching Serial

 My Calving Sidekick Cody and Me In Between Takes ...

I feel like I should be riding in a blizzard, out pulling chilled calves in on a sled behind my horse or stressing - like the flashback scenes from last year's calving drama (roll dramatic perilous music). The movie script material and the ongoing narrative in my head may be of a less 'edge of your seat drama' style this year, but I am okay without a repeat performance and am experiencing the versatility of character traits this role brings. It is somewhat mellow (so far) as I sit inside, for a moment, on my lunch break. Sitting in what feels like a three walled silent movie set of a one hundred plus year old ranch house on a vintage couch, with horse heads embossed on it, looking out the window over history laden pastures to a herd of black cows gathered atop a golden ridge munching hay. Of course there could still be a massive April blizzard - or as my old time ranching partner calls it, a real cow killer. Hopefully the script won't call for that particular scene. For now, with my costume of woolies and winter coat hanging as backup off stage, I will get into my role of enjoying the ongoing exterior shots of 70 degree days riding pasture with Cody and Henry - knowing that new born calves are not freezing to death in the night. Every day is like a script rewrite - with new scenarios to act out - all the while remembering to be totally unaware of the camera as I dive deeper into character. Most days enjoying the movie scene like reality while others wishing the reality were just a movie scene where I could yell 'cut!', call in a stunt double and retire to my trailer until the next scheduled shot. But the budget on this production doesn't allow for stunt doubles or stand ins - and my pony is kind of particular who he works with.
© Jean Laughton

And So, Calving Season 2012 Begins ...

Cow Calling George Jones Duet ...

Caking Cows - March 2, 2012 - Quarter Circle XL Ranch
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Buddy Meredith & The Original Singing Cowboys

Local legend, BUDDY MEREDITH (center) along with award winner JIM LOVELL (on bass) and Chuck Biegler (accordion & keyboard) - THE ORIGINAL SINGING COWBOYS. Photographed here just down the road from Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer, South Dakota - 2006.

Buddy Meredith (born 1926) appeared with his band, The Kota Cowboys (Bob Haley, Stringbean Svenson and Lowell Sterling), every Sunday night on local Rapid City KOTA-TV's  Hoedown Jamboree during the late 1950's and early 1960's.

More Info on Buddy:
http://hillbillycountry.blogspot.com/2011/10/buddy-meredith-on-dixie.html

I first met Buddy in person at a Perkins (while having pie) after a traditional cowboy music show at the Heritage Center in Spearfish, South Dakota. He made a b-line across the restaurant to introduce himself and hand me his business card (it must have been my old time Stetson hat!). From there I met up with him and the band to take this photograph and then had a lovely time interviewing him and talking about the old days. He has since moved south but I do see Jim Lovell play now and then - carrying on with the traditional cowboy songs. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Calving Season Started a Little Early

 Calving is scheduled to start early to mid March but I noticed Baby did not come to eat when I called the cattle in (she stands out even among a couple hundred cows). So I went in search and found her down at the dam with signs that she was trying to calve or had calved. I figured she either had a calf in her backwards or had 'slunk' it. We had to trail her in and luckily got her and another cow loaded in the trailer instead of trailing them 5 miles home. After an inspection, of which I will not go into detail, we surmised she either had a calf, which was no where in sight, it seemed, or aborted it. Ended up finding a very early calf she had lost a ways from where she had been lying - at least we didn't have to take her into the vet and have a c section. I was hoping for a white faced miniature version of Baby. Guess that isn't very 'cowboy' but ...  Hope to do my best to take care of the animals while they are here on the ranch but realize I can't control everything that happens. More calving stories to come 'As the Prairie Turns' ... ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Percy "Bud" Farm Williams

Old time rancher, Bud Williams, (now 98 / photographed at 94) on his place south of Philip, South Dakota. Bud was nice enough to let me come over and take photographs and have a chat. We talked about his childhood, working cattle, breaking broncs in the Badlands, his wife of many years Birdie, his bronc riding brother-in-laws and more ... here is a small sample. Thanks Bud.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Ranching "Polaroid" of Baxter Badure

BAXTER BADURE BUILDING A LOOP. 
BRANDING DAY NEXT DOOR ON THE DEVRIES RANCH - A FEW YEARS BACK. 
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Preview of Possible Coming Attractions

 

Although calving is inevitably starting in a month - it may or may not be accompanied by snow. We shall see, as it is impossible to predict the scenarios that may arise. This snapshot, like a storyboard drawing come to life, was from a couple calving seasons back when we had several spring blizzards - turning drama to melodrama as we rode in near whiteouts and did our best to save new born baby calves. No second takes allowed. Pictured here is Lyle O'Bryan pulling a brand new calf in with Mama in hot pursuit. I can't say 'My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys' but they are now - the real ones anyway - and Lyle is the real deal. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

My Ranching Life - The Early Days

Heading out with the Crew on the old Double X Ranch - 2004 or so. The beginning days of photographing from horseback - before the big panorama camera. Early snapshot - early memory - just one scene from a never ending 'filmic' life on the Range.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Wrangling Horses on the Quarter Circle XL

This was back in 2005 or so, in the early stages of working on the ranch, when I had just started to photograph from horseback with my Noblex. Following along here as we wrangled horses one morning -  bringing them across the White River and into the corrals - then pulling two out to saddle up and get to work.

Wrangling can be a great way to start the day - just you and the horses. One time I was riding behind a small herd and looked up to see five bald eagles flying overhead. And another time, a single hawk perched above, watching as we trotted by. There is nothing like the sound of your horse and the others making their way through the tall grasses and across the river crossings.

Pictured here is Lyle O'Bryan wrangling off in the distance. He says the best way he would break a young colt is to get them started then start wrangling on them the next morning and just let them fall in and run behind the horses ... It is quite beautiful to watch. I can't imagine how many mornings and how many different horses he as wrangled and colts he has ridden in his 77 years ... and still going strong. Me, I prefer to stay out of a dead run and enjoy the view along the way. (Those old time cowboys are a lot tougher than me). ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Today

 There are a million beautiful places in the world, but this one happens to be it, for me, right now. Gorgeous way to end a peaceful day of feeding cattle and opening water for them. There is a solitude to the routine of winter ranching and taking care of the animals. Being a 'steward', of sorts, is a pretty good job. When you head into the pasture with a load of cake and several hundred cattle come running to you - you feel pretty loved. (even though you know it is just the cake) I still marvel at the way they respond to your call and come trailing in from half mile or more away and call back. Soaking up the view while waiting : hawk flying overhead, horses running on the ridge, big snow cloud moving in from the West, two coyotes running across the prairie and the complete quiet. You can really see the day progress and time seems to move slower. The fact that it still feels like I just got here, even though it has been several years, must be the result of experiencing life in real time or suspended from reality or in the midst of full reality? Whatever it is - it just is. I see all the events of the years playing in my head like a feature film but not sure I could ever convey how it was and really is some days when I stop to take it all in. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Lightly Dusted Cows & Badlands

Pre Cowboy - The Rehearsal Years

Well, I never I said I grew up as a cowboy, although I did spend a lot of time riding "the range" (later on larger horses ... ha ha) on my Grandma's farm in Iowa - on the edge of the West. Not exactly in cowboy gear here - for shame, riding Tony the Pony in flip flops in stirrups that are way too long - not to mention being out of western costume and looking to be about outgrowing ol' Tony. But, it was still fun. I will pretend my sister is holding this bucking bronc to keep him settled down until I do my 8 second saddle bronc ride (insert big laugh track). It was a good dry run and practice which I sometimes draw from for the Method acting version of my current cowboy role out West.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

©JEAN LAUGHTON

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Pony and Me ...

And here he is, the star of the show ... PONY ... Lifting his giant size champagne glass to make a toast for a Happy and Healthy 2012. Cheers to you and yours. May your reality be like a dream and your dreams become reality. Happy New Year from my superstar Pony and Me.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Cattle Calling Time Again

As someone who is motivated by cake (the chocolate frosted kind) I understand the cattle's excitement to come running for their cake. Today started the beginning of our winter routine of feeding. With a precise cattle call, by Lyle O'Bryan, they came from miles away to snarf it up. (sorry forgot my windbuster for my mic) ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Meanwhile, I am back at the Ranch ...

Back to the set, the back lot, the Western stage - after a short Thanksgiving holiday. Ready to get back into 'costume', rehearse my lines and step back into my reoccurring role. The supporting cast awaits in the pasture.
©JEAN LAUGHTON

Getting Ready to Ship Calves

 

Thanks to our neighbors (Al Badure, Baxter Badure, Brianna Badure, Kenny Fox and Wade Fox) for helping sort our cattle today - work replacement heifers off and get things prepped for shipping next week. (photo: Baxter Badure & Wade Fox) 

©JEAN LAUGHTON

"Just Part of It" (or "Shit Happens")

Last week I was trotting along on Cody on the Fox Ranch down the road doing a simple job of moving a few cows to another pasture. I vaguely remember the feeling of my horse going down and seeing his head very close to the ground and ... that was it ... I was knocked out ... I woke up a few minutes later with my cowboy friend Baxter Badure sitting with me and making sure I was covered up and okay while another neighbor Shawn Fox (who is now a cop) asked me if I knew where I was - no, who the president was - got that one after a minute or two. They wanted to be sure all was well so they called an ambulance which arrived a bit later in the pasture - we were in a pretty convenient location luckily - unlike many other friends who have had accidents. Ended up with a concussion and major soreness but luckily nothing broken. And after an overnight in the hospital I came back home to recover and take it easy for a while. The incident made me remember the good friends I have around here and how we can really get in some situations while cowboying together. I have to thank Baxter for staying with me - talking to me and riding in the ambulance with me to keep me distracted and calm - a true friend and for Shawn for putting his cop skills to use. Also funny to run into one of the EMTs at the hardware store and say thank you for his help - such is small town living. All in all, it sure could have been much worse. As my old cowboy friend usually says "it is just part of it" ... true. I figured I wasn't going to talk about it and did not want to appear to be fishing for sympathy, but realized it is part of the story and part of ranching. Just as a calf that dies in a blizzard is part of the story and having to skin that dead calf to help save another bum calf - just part of it - some of the many realities of ranching. And I am glad my story is a mellow one compared to so many stories I have heard from the guys I work with.

I had my first wreck the first year I was working here, back in 2003. But that was different, I was naïve and had much time to think and be scared on a runaway horse for three quarters of a mile. He took off after some horses we were wrangling flew into high gear. The wind was noisily blowing on my face like being on my motorcycle speeding down a back road, as the horse gained full speed. It would have been a great time to yell “cut”or call for a stand-in or stunt double but unfortunately that was not an option. I was definitely playing a part I had not rehearsed enough. As the horse first took off I remember giggling, but changed my tune when I could not get him to respond to me. I had visions of those guys in the movies stepping off a horse and heard stories of local cowboys doing so - but had no clue how to orchestrate such a move at such a speed - being at the very beginning of my cowboy ‘career’. Pulling on his head did absolutely nothing and I am sure my panic helped accelerate his pace – I guess I fulfilled some fantastical dream I had about running a horse across the prairie, but this wasn’t exactly how I had imagined it so romantically most likely while walking down a busy street in New York City. I so wanted him to turn left, away from a barbed wire fence and slowly decelerate while loping in a controlled circle, but he insisted on in a blind run forward, heading toward a corral where I could see my new baby colt Henry standing on the other side of the fence. It was like I was going to crash through the fence as through a gate to another realm to some rebirth amidst Henry’s newness. Just as I thought we were about to crash through, Foxy made an abrupt turn and sling-shotted me into the fence head and shoulder first. I remember seeing what looked like gray shag carpet in my vision and plunking headfirst onto the ground. I don’t think I was out for too long but woke up in a hyper panic trying to walk it off. I walked all the way back to the ranch for a couple miles with my old cowboy friend riding beside me leading my horse. Not the best feeling. Definite initiation for a new comer. I remember happily downing a beer to try and take the edge off. And then went to have things checked out at the hospital. I know that is not the usual routine around here but glad I did, as it dispelled some worries. That day, the movie scripted scene had become reality, at least temporarily, and I was no longer living just in a daydream - somewhere in my time travels to the past. I didn't talk about it much until a year or so after, somehow trying to hold back the tide of fear of thinking of the possible realities of my new job. It sure affected me for quite a while, but I got back on that horse a couple weeks after the wreck. Although I wasn't in a hurry to wrangle horses on him, as he still has those tendencies. But my cowboy friends would have gotten back on immediately - they have been at it much longer than me and have a history of doing it all - quite different than my story. But my story is just my story, I never said I really knew what I was doing but sure wanted to dive in and try. The experience made me want to hold back for quite some time but remember feeling free when I finally let go and let my other horses run.

It's funny but early on when we were wrangling the horses, following at a slower speed, I had a thought of a friend I had seen recently in New York who had looked through me with some concern as if he were watching this event unfold in a preview and warned me to be careful - strange how the things connect.

I heard that two other crew members went down with their horses this week - got rolled over etc but are okay - no knock outs or major injuries. So, maybe we are done with that for a while ... I think of all the miles I have ridden and time running full out after a cow across the prairie and feel lucky to have stayed upright for almost all of it! Onward ...and yes, Cody is just fine - no injuries, he just stepped in a hole I was told. We will be back to work together in a week or so. I am feeling much better after a week and all will be fine. Onward. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Recent "Daily Diary" Entries

October 23, 2011
Another gorgeous fall day to work cattle - golden grasses surrounding the herd held in place by a few cowboys with a big painterly sky as backdrop - worked steer pairs off - chased a few that tried to get away ... trailed the rest of the pairs to white butte pasture - counted them through the gate and pointed them to the dam ... rode back for lunch through rolling yucca covered riverbanks ... nice way to spend the morning in Cowboy Country ...

October 26, 2011
Chilly early morning gather on the Badure Ranch - rode toward the back of Porcupine Pasture and into the rising sun - the crew split and gathered the expansive yucca covered cowboy movie looking pasture - multi colored cows and calves coming from the northeast met with crew and cows coming in from the southwest - trailed across Blackpipe Creek and golden pastures onto the road for a few miles to t...he headquarters - Weened and worked the calves to the background noise of many bawling cows ... pit stop in the house for lunch and a photo slide show from the past 8 years ... time flies ... the archive of stories grows ... much work to do to prepare for shipping and the inevitable winter to come ... such is the endless cycle of ranching life ...

October 26, 2011
Coyotes first evening howls as the sun sets behind a bank of purple clouds - Pony glowing white way off up in the hills - Henry and Flaxy eating their hay in the corral - a sudden rush of wind as the sun disappears then silence again ... soaking up my last couple of weeks and the view out in the Scotty ... time to start stocking up on firewood for my move back into the bunkhouse ...

October 28, 2011
Woke up to a dark starry sky & saddled up my pony -pre dawn drive to Stanton Anderson's ranch for shipping day - view of Badlands silhouetted against the pink sky - big buck crossing the road in front of me - Rode with the crew south from the ranch for several miles to gather a herd of mixed breed & longhorn cattle some belted some spotted making for a pretty sight as we trailed the Hollywood type herd several miles back to headquarters - did the usual penning, sorting and loading and off to market ... great lunch with the crew - gorgeous day for a ride across the prairie and Badlands ...

October 30, 2011
Colossal orange crescent moon hanging so low over the Badlands it looks to be resting on top of them and within my reach ..

©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Farewell to the Cowboying Couple

Farewell to my friends and ranching neighbors Chris & Diana Elwood who have been a cowboying together for over thirty five years. Things will not be the same without this hard working, salt of the earth, cowboying couple in the area. After 16 years on the nearby old Double X Ranch - starting as hands at the Pines Camp then moving up to excellent managers of the Double X & 7 Cross, they will be hitting the trail back to Montana. Nothing lasts forever, I know, but sometimes you sure wish it would. Words and photos cannot express friendships formed on horseback while cowboying together and all the gorgeous rides on the Old Double X.  I will miss working together and helping each other out - they were a big part of the crew south of Belvidere, South Dakota. I feel lucky to have got in on some of the years while they were here. Thanks for keeping the Double X a true cowboy ranch and for all your help over the years and of course friendship and laughs. I know I speak for many when I say - you will be missed.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU ...

©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Gathering Porcupine Pasture - Badure Ranch

 Woke up to the sound of a pack of nearby coyotes. Put on my 'costume' for the day and stepped out of my Scotty camper ready for the day's cowboying ... Headed out on horseback just before sunrise on the Badure Ranch next door ... The Crew: Baxter Badure, Al Badure, Brianna Badure, Colter Carlson, Joe Pavlis, Chris Elwood, Bob Fortune, Charlie Fortune, Kenny Fox, Wade Fox, Lyle O'Bryan and Me ... Watched the sun come up over the yucca covered hills as we rode towards the back of the cowboy movie set of a pasture ...  camera-ready silhouetted cowboys riding the ridges above me ... multi colored cows and calves trailing down the draws... riders decked out in full cowboy gear spread out for miles across a large pasture trailing several hundred head in from all directions ... like an endless reel of iconic cowboy movie scenes come to life one after another ... my mind absorbs the day in a series of 'storyboard' images ... I know this isn't a movie but it sure feels like a celluloid day dream ... Once gathered, we worked the heifers east and the steers west in a dance of cow and calf, horse and rider ... cutting pairs out one at a time while holding the rest back ...with a little chasing now and then making for some great action scenes ... a few cowboys trailed the heifers to Horseshoe Butte and the rest pushed the steers across to Black Pipe ...  Back to a house packed full of vintage beaded gauntlet gloves, antique guns, and old time saddles for lunch in a museum-like setting ... One of the best times of the year- Fall ... one of the best parts of my job - helping the neighbors and riding with the crew from south of Belvidere, South Dakota.
©JEAN LAUGHTON

Sale Barn - Philip, South Dakota

Paul Wearing Fancy Gloves

Paul Scherf looking a little "William S. Hart"
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Baxter and Paint

Baxter Badure and Paint a few years back ... ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Lyle and Flaxy

Lyle and Flaxy stopping for a minute so I could take a quick snapshot - we were heading out to gather a big herd on the Badure Ranch next door - Monday August 15th. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Custom Made by BAXTER BADURE

My Ranching Life portfolio - made by the ever talented cowboy / artist Baxter Badure. We are doing a chick version next. By the time I get finished here I am going to need fifty of them to fill with ranching photos and stories ... Coming next, the autobiographical custom saddle - planning on over the top design with every inch of leather tooled and carved ... sort of the Nudie suit of saddles ... stay tuned. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Another Fall Ranching Season Begins

And so begins another Fall season of cattle work - one of the best times of the year. Awoke at 4:30 AM to a million watt moon that lit my way to the old log barn. Henry was finishing up his oats when I walked into his 'dressing room' backstage to get him saddled up. Loaded Flaxy and Henry into the trailer and Lyle drove us to the 'location' for the day's scene. Beautiful drive as the sun was thinking of rising to our left while the enormous moon was glowing pink and setting to our right. It all felt scripted as if the sun and moon had rehearsed their timing. I felt keenly aware of soaking up every minute of it all as we arrived at the Pines Corral on the old Double X Ranch to join the rest of the 'cast' and crew to begin our day.

A small crew of cowboys headed out on a sunrise ride - Chris Elwood, Baxter Badure, Al Badure, Lyle O'Bryan, Charlie Fortune, Joe Pavlis, Colter Carlson and myself. We trotted a few miles through tall lush green grasses (a rare sight in November) to a distant pasture. Cowboys spread out to the back of the pasture to gather several hundred red cows. Baxter, Charlie, and I stopped at the edge of the pasture and looked down and out across an adjoining Badlands pasture - making for a grand view from the saddle. Once gathered, we strung the pairs through a gate and trailed them back to the corrals under an endless sky - all the while feeling like I was riding in a John Ford movie scene - being followed by a cameraman on a dolly. My mind wanders from the cinematic daydream to the reality of the work I am doing as I ride along side the herd pushing them onward.

Penned the pairs and started the choreographed work of sorting the cows off the calves - horses and cowboys working in a sort of rhythm - holding the calves back while funneling the cows out the gate. Ran the calves through the alley and gave them their fall shots along with pirate-like patches for a few with pink eye. Then ran the cows through and poured them and reunited them with their calves - (roll heart warming soundtrack).

Trailing the herd back was equally as picturesque with an epic view from the back of the herd. We counted the cows and calves through the final gate - turning them back out to graze. Rode the few miles back to the corrals listening to stories along the way along with the sound of jingling spurs, horses trotting and their hooves moving through the tall grasses. Ended with lunch on the prairie. (roll ending credits) ... Another long glorious take to add to the 'reel' of memories from my last eight years here.

(the photo is from the same work done on the same ranch back in 2005 - photographed from horseback with Noblex 120 (film) camera "Putting Pairs Back out to Pasture on the Old Double X"- from the series My Ranching Life - Archival Pigment Print 20" x 48") ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Lyle O'Bryan & Cody (2010)

Lyle and Cody by the old log barn on Lyle's Quarter Circle XL Ranch. Cody is one of the many horses Lyle has broke and trained in his lifetime, so far. I love to hear him and his cowboy friends tell stories from their early cowboying days, remembering each and every horse they rode by name. The respect and relationship between horse and cowboy. Lyle talks of his days working on the nearby Double X Ranch in his 20's and getting a horse started then jumping on him the next morning to wrangle horses and really getting him broke - he might buck and really run, of course, but Lyle has the reputation for staying on and says he just fell in behind the herd he was wrangling and rode it out. He also recalls 30 below zero mornings and heading out to ride the big circle on the Double X Ranch. Making the rounds to feed cattle from the cake shacks scattered throughout the rugged Badlands pasture. Riding alone on a bronc that was assigned to him and never completely sure that he would make it back alive on some days. You were given a string of horses to break and ride and you just did it. That is a different kind of tough - that is Lyle's cowboy life ... Cody was a colt in training when I showed up here and he has been one of my main horses the past few years and well broke, thanks to Lyle. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Polaroid 665 "Relics"

2003 Polaroids : Cowboy / artist / snake loving Baxter Badure made these one of a kind, opulent, studded, over the top, magnificent, 'snake' chaps. They are quite a sight to behold as he goes galloping across the Great Plains - glamour and glitter amid sagebrush and Badlands. (L to R : Baxter / Chris Elwood / Baxter's Chaps) ©JEAN LAUGHTON

And Now For Our Feature Presentation:The Ever Alluring 'Baby'

Pony's Co Star - the "Veronica Lake" of the cattle world - the "Lillian Gish" of the Great Plains in her first 'talkie' ... she takes direction well and always hits her mark ... take it away "Baby" ...
©JEAN LAUGHTON

Cooling Thoughts on a Sizzling Day

On this 105 degree day, I reflect back to riding during blizzards at calving time. Here, Lyle and Foxy - along with Cody and me - are heading out to check on the newborn calves - Spring 2009. There is something fantastic about riding in a snowstorm - like being in a giant snow globe - in a private ranch world - very present in the moment and very aware of nature and it's power. Trotting along on my trusty Pony, making the first tracks in the fresh snow, feeling as if I have stepped into a dramatic movie scene with wind machines blowing fake snow until my imagination brings me back to full on reality with no camera crew, no fake props, no stand-in and no one yelling 'cut!'.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Pony - isms

"Diary" excerpts ...

"Sugar coated candied orange moon hanging so low over the Badlands I could almost reach up from atop the Badlands and take a bite out of it ... maybe if I stood on my Pony's back ..." November 10, 2010

"Pony standing in the glowing snow under a half moon lit sky ... on this Western soundstage - his mane blowing in the howling prairie wind - awaiting his next scene ..." January 23, 2010

"Rode home under a full moon ... quiet and beautiful ... my horse and I casting a shadow on the prairie ... my grey Pony was glowing in the moonlight waiting to greet me when I returned - good ol' Pony..." March 28, 2010

"Big moon - vast sky - Quiet night - Pony's sleepy sigh ..." May 25, 2010

"It is one silent night here with beautiful light snow falling like painted white cornflakes on a Capra movie set - the perfect set dressing for Pony's prairie 'stage' ..." December 20, 2010

"Orion's celestial accessory hanging vertically above the eastern horizon ...Millions of twinkling stars up above Pony so high ... like 'brilliant cut' diamonds in the sky ... If they should fall I wish they may I wish they might bejewel Pony's silver mane tonight ..." November 1, 2010

©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Gone West

The backdrop from my Go West series (1995-2003). A portraiture series I photographed during summers while traveling West from New York City in my Bronco loaded with backdrops and 4x5 - setting up behind the scenes at rodeos in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. A series that took me on a journey of sorts in search of photographic subjects, a cinematic form of reality, the past, my future, a new identity out West perhaps - and eventually led me to the Badlands and to the ranch where I now work and live my life "beyond the brushstrokes" of the painted backdrop - if you look real close you can see Pony and me riding around inside the Western scene. Or as my good friend Tom so eloquently put it ...

"I get the sense that where you live is beyond here or there. Maybe it's not in the place the photograph depicts...not really in the photograph either, since we rarely see you there. The backdrop and the film are your frontier and the real range you ride. Perhaps the camera lens, which pulls together inner and outer worlds, is where you are. You've fashioned a cocoon of scenic, romantic immensity within the reflective, ground-glass eclipse that somehow manages to avoid reflecting cliche, triviality or exploitation. You've manifested a suspended dreamtime that is more real for you than the physical scene. When details intrude, it shatters the reality of the magic. You are like Alice and the looking glass. Somehow you've gotten through the surface of the tintype and beyond the brush strokes on the backdrop. You've time-traveled through the yellowed wood pulp and fading black ink of old newspaper clippings. The dust and the trail you were riding became the silver nitrate and celluloid of a silent western and you and your pony have somehow sunk into it and remained whole. Your presence in the real physical scene is only an artifact of your true presence inside the surface. We know where your heart lies and why it lies there. We realize we can't get there. This is the ache of beauty and longing and why that ache sustains us. It is no accident that you've built the portal from whence you travel in a place called 'Interior'." (Tom Havran 2010)

©JEAN LAUGHTON 

The Supporting Cast

Heading out to cake the cows last winter - Buster Keaton Style.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Wade Fox in a 'Billy the Kid' Pose

Wade Fox, neighboring rancher and all around cowboy. Wade grew up on his family's ranch (Kenny & Roxie Fox) ranch just down the road and has been at it since he was a small kid. Wade is just one of the many of the 'cast of characters' I neighbor with who respect the cowboy heritage of the past and carry on its traditions with their cowboying and attire. One day Wade will be one of the old timer cowboys in the area with many a tale to tell of his days riding the range. Good to have some young blood in the crew for now - he can hustle and get the job done and also cracks a mean whip - yeehaw.
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Ethel Thode Haying on the Ranch Back When

It has been one the wettest years in some time around here - so we have been stopping and starting haying for weeks - working around the rain. The mosquitoes are horrendous but the calves will be fat this fall and the cows will have plenty to eat with all the abundance of lush green grass. It seems the rain has been falling mainly on the plains - great plains that is. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Interior Ranch Rodeo July 2, 2011

Craig McKenzie (Murdo, South Dakota) staying on during the wild horse race at the Interior Ranch Rodeo - real working cowboys from area ranches competing. The event consists of a team of four cowboys catching a bronc, saddling it, getting on and riding the bronc ride to other end of the arena. Best part of the rodeo by far. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Chris Elwood - The Other Half of the Cowboying Couple

Anyone would have a hard time keeping up with Chris - he is one hardworking cowboy managing two ranches. Always on the go, on a good horse, which he broke and trained. Late in 2010, Chris experienced one of the risks of cowboying - his horse stepped in a hole and fell on him - breaking his pelvis badly. It was a tough time for him and his family, but I am happy to say he pulled through and was 'back in the saddle' several months later. You would never know he had been injured to watch him work and to see him cut a rug on the dance floor. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Diana Elwood

Diana has been ranching most of her life. She and her husband Chris are the cowboying couple who manage both the old Double X and 7 Cross ranches just down the road (now Rapid Creek Ranches). Diana is the kind of cowboy that can handle what ever needs to be done: riding miles of pasture, working cattle, roping, calving, and also doing double duty cooking dinner for the crew. Don’t mistake her small stature - she is chocked full of heart, integrity and courage. ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Pony's Debut - In Full Costume

Pony's Debut - In Full Costume from Jean Laughton on Vimeo.

Interior, South Dakota Rodeo Now & Then

In the 1920's the Interior Rodeo was one of the largest in the world. I love to think of Leonard Stroud riding his paint trick riding pony just down the road from my house or Kittie Canutt siting comfortably astride a bucking bronc.
Left: My Photo July 2010 Right: Doubleday, back in the day

Baxter & Paul Posing for Me

Neighboring cowboys Baxter Badure & Paul Scherf sit for a portrait on the Badure Ranch.

©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Living Amongst the Cowboys from the Past

This ranch was once the Thode Ranch and home of the TL cattle company. Earl Thode, one of 12 Thode Children, grew up cowboying, breaking horses and riding broncs down here. He went on to be the first cowboy to earn the title of World Champion All-Around Cowboy in 1929 as well as World Champion Saddle Bronc '27,'28',29',31. He entered his first rodeo in 1920 - down the road in White River and won all around and was on his way. My Pony and I cross his path daily and mingle with thoughts and memories of cowboys from the past. ©JEAN LAUGHTON 
(photograph by the fabulous Ralph R. Doubleday)

Lyle Bringing the Horses In

The Ranch in 1938

This photograph shows the cowboys from the nearby Tom Berry ranch trailing 500 head of steers up a draw through what is now Lyle O'Bryan's ranch. They are taking the steers to Belvidere to load them on the train to go to market. I ride up this draw every day during calving season and every time I ride to the north pasture. The land remains the same but the cast of characters changes.(photographer unknown - from 1938 Belvidere State Bank calendar) ©JEAN LAUGHTON

My Ranching Life - A Cinematic View From the Saddle

Images from MY RANCHING LIFE  Traveling Exhibition which consists of large scale B&W prints from 36" to 72" wide - exhibited in frames made from reclaimed wood - see my website for details & exhibition photographs :  http://www.jeanlaughton.com

Henry : Then and Now

Henry's transition from child actor to handsome leading man ...
(photo credits: L:Lyle O'Bryan -R: Roxy Fox)

On A Movie Set of a Ranch

"Movie Still" from 'Gathering cattle on the Old Double X Ranch' back in 2004 or '05 ... Acting Credit: Paul Scherf .... no stunt doubles ... ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Bringing Cattle in on the Old Double X Ranch

Bringing Cattle in for Branding at the Pines Corral on the old Double X Ranch on a cinemascope kind of a day with a cast of many cowboys ... Circa 2005
©JEAN LAUGHTON 

Double X Crew - Circa 1962

Vintage Cast of Characters :Crew with Chuckwagon on the Old Double X (Berry) Ranch just down the road ...
Left to Right: Burrell Phipps, Baxter Berry, Charlie Larson, Ray Hunter, Lyle O'Bryan & Art Thode ... everyone in the photo has passed on to the 'big ranch in the sky' except for Lyle who continues his role as cowboy extraordinaire and his friend Ray Hunter ...

Baxter Badure - True American Original

Baxter Badure : Next door neighbor, good friend, good neighbor, hard working cowboy / rancher, saddle maker, artist, leather carver, antique gun collector, beaded gauntlet glove collector, vintage saddle collector and Custer enthusiast. The first time I worked cattle with the neighbors, Baxter came riding up over the hill and it was like a scene out of Custer's last stand (of course with a better ending!)... flowing long coat, studded chaps, full on cowboy gear with style, gun in holster .... and I thought, YES! I will always have someone to photograph who will be in full 'costume' for every ride ... ©JEAN LAUGHTON

Early Photography From Horseback w/ Noblex

An early view 'from the saddle' - unscripted - back when I was getting the hang of the Noblex and riding my trusty photo pony, Beau ... (circa 2005)