February 1st, '14
Big Pasture, Oklahoma Territory
Well it had to happen sometime, a really crummy day. Forecasted to be 50 degrees, we were greeted by overcast skies, , a temperature barely reaching 40, and a really brisk, chilly north wind. It was not pretty and although the sun peeked by Stage 6, the "embracing" wind kept everything pretty unpleasant.
We had an opportunity to show off Cowboy shooting to quite a few new faces and the weather just would not cooperate. The initial stages were universally "not representive" of the general ability of the assembled cowpokes. Cold fingers, cold brains, stiff limbs, made the first few stages interesting. More interesting than some expected, including Hebe Missing who pulled the first "grand slam" of infamy in recent memory with 6 misses, a procedural and a minor safety, earning him the infamous "Black Squirrel" He joins semi-distinguished crew of less than stellar performances. Welcome to the low side!
Now in defense of the indefensible, the weather was unpleasant, the stages, required memory and some physical exertion and he had lots of company. The ol'Gander, his o'n self, started the day off with cold hands, a poor grip and a slighly hign miss scaring some of his high flying relatives. It was generally indicative of the problems suffered by the assembled throng.
Capt. Allyn and Hondo Tweed managed to avoid the carnage and shoot clean. Redleg in good form, as usual, whipped up on the posse and took the overall.
A few slaps on the back for some real workers: Hebe Missing for building the new stands and the buzzards, Spuds for getting new cowboy steel and Okie Red for managing the water coolers.
Never-the less, a day shooting is always better than a day working or sofa watching.
Goose
