Whew...just when you think it can't get any crazier...we add a kid! A GREAT Kid! We have participated in the Bear Creek High School Senior Field Studies program for five years. The seniors spend a week with us on the ranch learning more about our way of life, how their food gets to the table and more about agriculture in general. We have gotten the most wonderful students. They have all been willing to pitch in, do what needs done, and learn with OPEN minds! We have learned a thing or two from them too! This year was our first boy student and he was a blast! We even gained a new Easter Tradition from his family to ours (Thanks Romanos!). Like last year we had our senior guest blog for the ranch...here it is!
Hey, this is Nick Romano of Bear Creek high school in Lakewood Colorado. Obviously the fact that I’m posting here means that I have had some contact with the Villards out here in Craig. The truth is that through a program at my school called senior field studies I have been a guest living at their home for the past week so that I might simply experience a different life style than my own. And what an experience it has been. I literally walk in the door and am simultaneously attacked by the Villard’s four children, Kelton, Chloe, Rylee and Tess, and their four puppies, Freckles, Bolt, Rooster, and Az. And my very first thoughts were “Holy crap, this is chaos. I think I’ve bit off more than I can chew.” Between the feeding of sheep and horses, the sheep herding, learning to drive tractors, the manual labor and of course the ever present children all begging for my attention I think with hind sight I can say that I was 100% correct. I had bit off more than I could chew and I loved every minute of it.
I immediately liked the Villards if not because of how adorable their kids were than because of their incredible hospitality and kindness toward me. After all I was something of a “volunteer” servant here to work, and work here meant taking care of sheep. I being a kid of the suburbs of a big city have had a surprising number of experiences with sheep. However all these experiences involved the sheep being cut up into little pieces sitting on a plate next to barbecue sauce or woven into warm and comfortable socks. I had not up until this trip spent any time with living, breathing, bleating sheep. And the experience here has been incredible. Simply seeing the sheer amount of effort it takes to take care of these sheep astounds me. After all they have to be fed twice a day and every time a new lamb is born Albert and I would have to go and find the mother and make sure the lamb was feeding properly. And that was just for the few sheep located near his house. There are in upwards of 900 other sheep located a hour’s drive away that all need to be looked after, sheared and when the lambs are born in may the lambs will need to be castrated. Simply moving them from place to place is a pain. It took five hours or so to herd all these sheep three miles along the highway. Then on the way back I was able to see another rancher getting his sheep sheared. I heard that the most skilled sheep shearers could get the coat off of a sheep in one piece. Wow.
Overall I have truly enjoyed my time here and have loved helping out and look forward coming back and visiting sometime. But until then I bid farewell to Craig, goodbye.
Thanks again Nick and Mark at Bear Creek High School! We can't wait to see what next year brings! And Nick..."Keep Moving Forward"!
