And old one

But still just as true today, other than the temps.

The Gift

It had been bitter cold, for three long days
The wind blew sharp and swirled snow
So I bundled up, with lots’a clothes
‘Cause I had somewhere I needed to go

I caught and harnessed my work mares
The harness was so stiff, it wouldn’t bend
I warmed up the bits, ‘fore I hung ‘em on
On a cold day, you’ll do that for a friend

And them ol’ mares, are good ol’ girls
They give me, everything that they’ve got
Not too many friends would go willingly outside
Then line right out, in a trot

Those hungry cows was sure glad to see us
They went right to work, on their hay
You know, when it’s 24 below and breezy
You ain’t just feedin’ them cows for the pay

At least not the pay that the bankers loan out
But there are rewards, in the job that you do
So I drug out extra feed, ‘cause it’s Christmas eve
And I hummed a Christmas carol or two

When the cows were fed, we jogged on home
I poured a good feed of grain for the team
Most folks wouldn’t enjoy my kind of lifestyle
That’s okay, ‘cause I’m livin’ my dream

And I think about a babe in a manger
As I fill my manger full of hay
I think about all the people in the world
And how they all celebrate this day

Some folks enjoy Christmas, because of the gifts
And I sure don’t think that’s all wrong
But most’a the gifts they give and receive
Are forgotten, ‘fore the New Year comes along

The gift that I’m most thankful for
Is gettin’ to ranch, not punchin’ a time-clock
And strangely enough, goin’ out in the cold
With a good team to feed my hungry stock

Robert Dennis 1993