Villard Ranch

01/02/2026

10/30/2025

Oh yeah...our second least favorite time of the year!

Don’t forget starting this weekend you get less daylight 🫤

09/18/2025

Until today... I thought we had trained working dogs. 🐾
We are now reconsidering just what that means.

Off to the tractor supply store to buy "Thank You treats" and re-evaluate our training protocol.
🤔 I wonder if I could get them to get Albert to answer the phone from time to time?! 😂🤣🐾

So I roll into this farm in North Dakota to deliver a grain bagger. Place is massive. Roads everywhere. Houses, barns, shops... basically a whole city but with tractors instead of traffic lights. I call the farmer and say, “Hey, I’m at your main entrance but I got no idea where the hell to go.”

Farmer goes, “Oh crap, you’re here already. I’m busy, so I’ll send my dog.”

Me: “...your dog??”
Farmer: “Yes sir. He’ll bring you right to the shop.”

Couple minutes later this dog comes flying out of nowhere, pulls up to my driver’s side door barking his head off. I roll the window down like, “Alright Lassie, what is it? Timmy in the well again?” Dog barks once, turns, and bolts down the road. Every hundred feet he looks back, barks, then keeps going.

So now I’m in a semi truck following a farm dog through a maze of barns and dirt roads like it’s the world’s most redneck GPS. Left turn. Right turn. Zigzag through a field. At this point I’m wondering if he actually knows where we’re going or if I’m about to end up abandoned in some cornfield with Scooby Doo laughing his ass off.

Sure enough, boom... there’s the farmer with his tractor. Dog trots over like, “Mission complete.” Farmer hands me a dog treat and says, “Give that to him. Thank him for bringing you.”

Apparently this happens all the time. Guy just sends his dog to fetch truckers and lead them to whichever shop he wants.

Best damn day of my week. Also... if your farm dog isn’t trained to guide semis like a four-legged Uber driver, are you even farming?

And as always this post is proudly sponsored by

Ruff GPS — because screw Garmin, just bark louder

E-I-E-I-O Taxi Service — now offering left turns, right turns, and the occasional cornfield detour

Bark Directions — “recalculating route” means the squirrel ran by

08/16/2025

Let’s return the forest to its natural state,
trust me boys this will be great!

We’ll shut down the loggers and cut back the cows,
this will leave more room for wolves and spotted owls.

We will build little roads for ATV’s,
and big old camps for boats and RV’s.

We will lift all restrictions of fire laws,
let no loggers in with axes or saws.

Yup, we are goin green that’s what they said,
send your cattle our way,
we’ve got wolves that need fed!

We will put riparian areas for the elk to eat,
then make them cowboys keep our fences neat.

We will measure the grass, mark all the trees,
we will count all their cattle and collect our fees.

Those loggers make our forest bare,
make it look like a mans head that ain’t got no hair.

That’s what they said many years ago,
and in takin action they wasn’t too slow.

So the grass grew tall, the forest got thick
and cowboys and loggers, it made them all sick.

Now we sit here in a smoke covered town,
Forest Service trucks runnin’ around.

This coulda been stopped, but it wouldn’t be heard.
Those greenies didn’t listen, guess they’d rather it burned.

As humans we’ve failed to protect our land,
so Mother Nature stepped in and gave us a hand.

But it coulda been stopped by fallin some trees,
and that, I think, now everyone sees.

So there you go, it’s in its natural state,
but don’t cry now, it’s already too late.

You wanted a green forest, you wanted it seen,
well take a good look cause black’s the new green!

- Carson Lee
📸 = 2025 Nathan Wendland

08/12/2025

The forest can't protect itself if we keep it in a constant state of stress.

Manage it for stress or it will stress us.

03/28/2025

01/18/2025

Sounds about right!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18C7Pf29EU/

11/29/2024

Thankful and Blessed!

10/28/2024

Fun from MINIATURE CALENDAR

https://miniature-calendar.com/2024/10/

Artist: Tatsuya Tanaka - [IG]

10/09/2024

Join us for a free workshop to think through options in the aftermath of fires that have affected businesses. The instructors will use facilitative tools to identify, explore, and prioritize options for ranchers and farmers. This informative workshop will help operations move forward and not repeat mistakes that commonly occur after a fire has affected an area.

The workshop will take place at the Johnson County Fairgrounds Community Building