Branding Time

Historical reproductions by Dick Perue

By Roy Welton

Branding time was special… 
The work – the food – the fun –
Riding and roping calves.
And a good meal when you’re done!

Wrestling calves and vaccinate… 
Smoke from good hot brands –
The smell of burning hair – just being there,
A cowboy understands!

Being ready to roundup the herd… 
In that four-in-the-morning air –
Made you ride and rassle hard.
O’ the fun of being there!

All the jokes about cowpokes…
The mud – the blood and plop –
Makes you think of the old days.
You could work and sweat till you drop!

The bawling cows and calves… 
You could hear a mile away –
The de-horned calves with red necks,
Are part of our memories today!

The ride back home when you’re tired… 
Your saddle felt so sore –
Wasn’t it great – to get to the gate,
And rest till you do some more?

This poem was written in the 1950s by Roy Welton, a Saratoga area rancher, inventor, businessman, promoter and local character. It was presented to Dick Perue for publication in the Saratoga Sun in the 1960s.