What’s important is that we humans decided to throw common sense out the window and not use forest and rangeland experts and those who live in these fire-prone areas to help our lands. Instead, we choose to follow a cartoon character that has now rallied several generations of people into believing that our forests are okay and that it’s up to “we the people” as the only ones that can prevent forest fires which couldn’t be farther from the truth. His name is Smoky Bear and his legacy in California alone, in the last decade are millions upon millions of acres up in smoke, plus thousands of homes and a couple of towns gone and some folks who didn’t get out of the way in time.

I awoke this morning and remembered that it was Zee’s and my 64th wedding anniversary. What came and went in a matter of a minute or so was the idea that Zee and I would go to dinner in Paso Robles then take in a movie. But our daughter Lilly called to say that she was fixing dinner tonight for our anniversary and all of our family, which if the total were to show up there would be about 20.

“I’m just an old lump of coal but I’m going to be a diamond someday.” A line from an old western song but thank god that’s not going to be my fate.

If not, why not! And how does one know if the land is smiling?

…if you want to go to the next dimension and if you're feeling a little less than chipper and need more joy and laughter in your life, go find a shovel and dig up a shovel full of damp dark brown soil, now take a handful and bring it to your nose and as you inhale something happens that you don’t expect the scent of love arrives filling the air and wonderful things begin to happen to your outlook on life.

Bull riding is pure Americana and everybody and all the Bulls who dazzle us with their weekly eight seconds of crowd pleasing dangerous athleticism came away thoroughly satisfied with the way they spent their day.

So here we are. You and I we’ve been unceremoniously plopped down on a planet called Earth. It’s about 24,000 miles in circumference and has had life in one form or another for a few billion years.

I would like to introduce to your readers my wife of 63 years Zee Varian. If you're looking for a cowgirl that was a champion in the show ring for 40 years, who raised and trained all our ranch and show horses, and did most of the cow work on our 20,000 acre ranch, all the while, having and raising four children that have in turn given us nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren, then I’ve got a story for you.

Believe me when I say it’s a lot more fun when you can put the fear of death into a corner of your mind so you know it’s there but it won’t be the determiner of how you spend your day.

Most of us think of magic as the kind you see in Las Vegas where card tricks leave you saying “that’s not possible” and disappearing acts that defy any logical explanation are very popular. Well I want to tell you all about a different kind of magic one that refreshes the body and soul of a person. You need to know a little history of Parkfield.

The other day I was having lunch at the Parkfield Cafe. It was the first Saturday of our New Year and because of my Cowboy style of dress and with a notepad and pen in my shirt pocket. A tourist that was eating his lunch upon seeing me, he got up and wandered over to my table and asked if I might be able to answer a few questions like how long have I lived here, do I own a ranch, the usual questions. But then, he asked if I didn’t mind him asking: “How do you manage your ranch?”

The other day I was having lunch at the Parkfield Cafe. It was the first Saturday of our New Year and because of my Cowboy style of dress and with a notepad and pen in my shirt pocket. A tourist that was eating his lunch upon seeing me, he got up and wandered over to my table and asked if I might be able to answer a few questions like how long have I lived here, do I own a ranch, the usual questions. But then, he asked if I didn’t mind him asking: “How do you manage your ranch?”

It’s time to pay tribute to my livestock trailer who I have undying respect for, for never yelling “whoa!” in a bad place and always being able to show up. But at the age of 52 years, my accountant thinks it’s time for him to be taken off my depreciation schedule.

I know the ideas that I have found to be valid come from my ever-stronger belief in Mother Nature’s management style. I want to give my thoughts on the direction the V6 should be traveling in the future as I find myself in a position philosophically where I no longer own the ranch but the V6 owns me.

I think that risk-taking is inherent in most humans.

In an ever increasing wild and woolly cattle market, I decided that the V6 Ranch needed to diversify.

What we need for the survival of humanity is a paradigm shift (a fundamental change in approach or understanding) towards a more ethical treatment of land. A more community minded interest in the health of the ground around us.

When I speak of the big four I’m talking about the four biggest meat packing houses that harvest 85% of the beef we eat in our country. With this kind of leverage they are able to strong arm you the consumer and me the producer at the same time.

My dictionary says that logic is a way of reasoning that can be correct or incorrect by the use of faulty information. So, where does a steward of the land look for the truth, when there’s so much misinformation that has to be sifted through, to find a logical beginning place?

I think bare ground is first and ranch roads are second in line for their ability to change the face of a ranch from beautiful to ugly. I believe that if a steward of the land treats his or her roads as “what a nice blessing to have, I can drive over every square inch of my land,” you are no longer a steward but a lazy oof.