A Ranch Mama’s Heart
Welcome back to Women Honoring the West! This month’s guest has a heart of gold. She lives in Wyoming and owns her own company that includes retreats for women.
So, let’s get to it and meet Jayme H. Mansfield.
“Never, ever fall in love with a bull calf.”
Wise advice, but hard to follow, especially when long-lashed, big eyes stare at you during the third bottle feeding of the day. Ranch logic blows away as quickly as a tumbleweed when the calf you raised over a year ago still trots across the meadow to greet you when he hears his name called – Tucker!
Sure, we ranch women are tough—dirt on boots and tangled braids. Mucking stalls and driving an old truck with an inch of dust on the dash. Serving up hefty meals for hungry hands and spreading hay for even hungrier four-legged friends.
But, we’re soft.
Beneath weathered skin from full days in sun and wind, there’s a tender spot—that constant and steady heartbeat for the animals and people on the ranch. It’s an unwavering loyalty and tenacity that’s etched in our bones to care for what is family, both man and beast. That’s what makes a Western woman a true breed of her own—a mama to all.
A little story . . .
With each new day, one never knows what calling will unfold on the ranch. After spotting this lone little guy for a few days in the meadow and then tucked in willows along the river, it was clear he’d been bumped off his mama, and was most likely a twin.
For close to an hour, my husband and I attempted to catch the calf — alternating on foot and driving the pickup through the soggy meadow. With a too-long and too-flimsy rope, and no horse at hand, the calf had us running in circles and chasing him in tangled thickets along the muddy riverbank.
Clearly, he had outwitted and outmaneuvered the humans. I’m pretty sure James and I looked like rodeo clowns!
Just when it was nearly “mission failed”, Millie, the Undercover Cow Dog, could no longer watch her pathetic owners concede defeat. With the sacrificial love of a cuddly, tennis-ball obsessed Golden Retriever who longs to be a herding dog, Millie accepted the zap from the Invisible Fence and ran into the meadow — circling and herding the calf like a pro.
With the calf distracted (and most likely confused by this new “furry friend”), I finally lunged from behind and roped the little guy’s neck. James got him down and we hog-tied the calf in a most unconventional manner — hey, two hooves work just as good as three!
With gentle ear scratches and lots of sweet talk, off to the barn the calf went on the pickup tailgate. Over the next several months, he thrived on plenty of love and bottle milk, and I dare say, became part of the family. But, the question loomed . . . what would be the fate of this little calf?
Now, over a year later and the proud mama of a nearly grown calf, I graciously take the friendly jests and jabs from the cowboys for falling in love with a bull calf. We all know that a seasoned Western heart has to harden a bit to accept the quick and ever-spinning circle of life on a ranch, even when tears are hidden under the brim of a hat. In turn, we understand what it means to love and commit deeply, even when joy is mixed with hurts—especially when you have a mama’s heart.
So, my heart goes pitter-patter when my grown calf comes running, ready for a sudsy bath on a hot summer day. I’m okay that I fell in love with a bull calf. After all, he’s just another one of the kids—held in a mother’s heart.
About Jayme
Jayme H. Mansfield is an artist, author, speaker, and educator. She is the founder of Cowgirl
Publishing, a self-publishing product management and consulting company. Having lived in
Colorado for a long stretch with her husband and now three grown sons, Jayme leads dedicated
writing and art retreats (along with horses, of course!) on the Wyoming ranch where she and her
husband live. Her favorite journey is pursuing her dreams, finding adventure, and passionately
painting and writing with an ever-present artistic flair.
Her award-winning books, Chasing the Butterfly, RUSH, Seasoned, and Portrait of Deceit, are
book club favorites, with genres spanning historical, contemporary, and literary suspense. Each
of her stories reveal the transformational power of art and faith. As always, Jayme’s writing is
filled with vivid imagery that stirs the human heart and gifts the reader an abundance of hope and
joy. Admittedly, she is a “happy-ending” author as the world needs a great deal more of that.
She loves to connect with art, literary, and horse lovers!
Connect with Jayme
www.jaymehmansfield.com
www.CowgirlPublishing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaymehmansfield
Instagram @JaymeMansfield
Jayme loves to hear from readers. Would you like to know more about her retreats? Her books? Go ahead and ask. Leave your questions in the comments.
