I am lazing away in this wonderful long Indian Summer. It was warmer this week , in the northern Rockies, then in Texas, New Mexico, and nearly everywhere else down south!
And we make the best of the few warm sunny hours we get. I’ve been ramrodding cleaning the coop, working on the Jeep, prepping the horse feeder, fixing some fences to keep the neighbors steers home, considering a new fence, straight up the mountain I think.
We are getting a winter spa ready for the ducks – a real waste, I think, since I’ve seen those strange birds frolicking happily in icy water.
As I lay in the sun, overseeing the work, I think about the rural dog’s job. I’ll never claim it, but nowadays, that may be called the “Homestead Dog.”
It sounds odd to me, to hear so many people proudly calling themselves homesteaders.
We are ranchers, farmers, gardeners, horsemen, cow whisperers maybe. 
But this old cowdog believes homesteaders were those people I see in old faded photos, the boss’s great-great-grandparents.
And their canine partners of course.
Those people struggled across a harsh unforgiving country. They carved out a sparse living in barren land.
They struggled along from Kentucky, to Nebraska, finally on to Montana. There were babies born along the way, and a few loved ones buried by the trail too.
Those folks gritted it out and worked their short, hard lives building something. Now they were homesteaders!
That was the Homestead Act of 1862, signed by Abraham Lincoln.
It seems now anyone who lives outside the city limits, with a large yard and a raised garden, are called homesteaders. Most learn online and have a page or blog with the name Homestead in it.
They would no more survive the pioneer life than a perfect hybrid tomato would in a rough Miles City garden.
There have always been people seeking to live a rural, self-sufficient lifestyle, from the time Adam and Eve left the Garden and had to make their own way.
It’s easy to see how taking responsibility for at least some of one’s own needs has always been crucial to success and survival, as well as restorative.
There have frequently been movements that encourage people to leave urban areas and adopt self-sufficient lifestyles, farming and living off the land, tracing back to various agrarian movements throughout history, in various social, economic, and political contexts.
There was interest in such experiments in the early 20th century, and before in Europe. 
The entire country got behind victory gardens in the 1940’s. Even the president grazed sheep on the White house lawn.
WWII brought a resurgence as people sought to reconnect with nature and escape urban problems.
Often through history, some hardy souls saw a loss of basic knowledge, then redefined success in a simpler manner.
The 1960’s – ’70’s saw a big back-to-the-land trend; every generation found a new name, but still sought the land.
I am a Heeler, who knows how to work in all aspects of ranch life – whether I’m chasing cows, running the creek, keeping an eye on the chickens, or herding wild turkeys. It is not a trend, or homesteading around here. It is just the way we live, and have for generations.
We teach the little kids, who will grow up knowing how to grow food, manage cattle, hay and the land. They will know how to hunt, fish, build and survive. I’m happy to report even the 3 -year -old knows a mint plant from a pepper.
Call it what you want, who doesn’t appreciate home-baked bread, jars of canned food in the pantry, knowing how to make cheese [and that last one is especially dear to this cowdog’s heart!].
I think maybe the urge to have a little space, live with animals and dig in the dirt is strong, because life began in a garden.
