Foodlore Library

Montana rancher: Kim Summers, cattle rancher from Gold Creek, Montana.

 "Wake up Jenie, it's time to milk the cow." Was I dreaming, or did I just hear my high school friend waking me in the wee hours of the morning to milk a cow? In the night, did the sleep fairy visit, endowing me with bloomers, a gingham dress and bonnet? Have I become Laura Ingalls Wilder? Am I on the prairie?

I rubbed my eyes and recalled my trip to Gold Creek, Montana to visit Penny, one of my best friends in high school and her hilarious children and rough-and-tumble cowboy hubby Kim Summers who manages a ranch in the middle of nowhere Montana. 

Penny's life reads like something out of Little House on the Prairie or another grade-school novel about a genteel pioneer woman falling in love with a cowboy and getting drawn into the life of a Western ranch gal; a life that's more raw and rugged than anything she'd ever imagined. My friend explains it this way: 

"My mind wanders back to a little gathering at my friend Jenie's house a couple of weeks after high school graduation (1989). A bunch of us freshly graduated know-it-alls were discussing what kind of man we were going to marry. In all my 18-year-old wisdom, I informed the group that my tall basketball-playing-lawyer-of-a-husband would be such a great guy. We would live in our beautiful home at the end of the cul de sac."

Cul de sac my butt. Penny was destined for greater adventures than any of us could ever fathom:

Wild buffalo stampedes, saddle soreness, copious amounts of animal blood, rope burns, milking cows, churned butter, manure, hay, feral cats, rowdy kids in wranglers, muddy boots, spurs, dead rodents, barn mice, adventures in mending her hubby after being kicked by a wild buffalo, stage coach rides, cooking grub for dozens of foul-mouthed cowboys, hunting and slaughtering wild critters, doctoring horses, calving season, Montana wind, crockpots and casseroles, branding days, roping, riding, breaking mustangs, bucking bulls, bruises, sprains, cursing, hot tempers and cold montana nights.  (Note: this is NOT the definitive list)

Miss March: Miss March and me. Summer, 2009. Gold Creek, Montana.I've always loved visiting Penny and her family on the ranch. The last Last visit, her husband Kim let me ride a newly-broken mustang. This trip, Miss March was my trusty steed.

Riding Miss March: Here I am galloping in the arena by the barn. Fun, fun!

Kim has worked as a rancher for years at the 6-C ranch, a swath of wild grasses and big sky close to the Clark Fork River. He raises his family this way. For him, it's much more than just a job, it's a way of life. And it's a way of life that has been threatened lately, because of the economic downturn and other factors, ranches are selling off. While visiting Penny and Kim the vet had come to take blood samples of the mares in preparation for selling them off.

Penny invited me to come back and help cook for the cowboys during the preconditioning, when the ranch rounded up the cattle and gave the cows medicine before selling them to feedlots.

Penny laments the sell of the ranch because it means her family might need to find another ranch to manage and 6-C has become their home. 

"It's like watching my husband sell off his dream, one piece at a time," she said.

Kim's an untypical ranch boss;  he is such a sucker for the cute little bovines under his care. He takes care of them when they are under the weather, like a father would a sick child. 

He does much of the doctoring himself, fusses over his cattle and his critters, where some might ranchers call for a veterinarian.

Doctoring horses: Kim Summers doctors one of his horses. Summer, 2009. Gold Creek, Montana.

 He's got a gift for reading when a cow's sick. Can tell if one has an ear infection by the way his ear crooks. These cows need more TLC than you'd imagine. While wandering the woods close to the ranch, sometimes the cows get sharp or thorny things lodged into their hoofs, which if undetected, can turn into infections. Kim keeps an eye out for these signs.

Kim's got a hilarious sense of humor, a secret passion for the old ladies who line the back row of the Mormon chapel (who giggle like school girls when he uses his terms of endearment), and has the kind of work ethic and integrity that most don't even come close to approaching. He wakes in the wee hours of the morning and comes home near dark. And what's more, he absolutely loves his job; loves working the cattle, riding horses and being a modern cowboy doing things the old-fashioned way.

He could do things easier, it's true. When it's time to give the cattle medicine during preconditioning before they are sold to the feedlots, he could just run 'em through narrow shoots like many ranchers do, trapping them in there until the deed is done. Instead, Kim and his cowboy friends gather together in a field to rope the cows, like ranchers did traditionally.

Love on the Ranch

Kim and Penny are kind of an unlikely couple, but they're perfect for each other - a great team.

Their relationship has a flavor of loving mischieviousness. You can see this in Kim's eyes in the photo below. Not soon after this look, he grabbed Penny and sort of tackled her.

Penny and Kim: Summer, 2009. Gold Creek, Montana.

Penny and Kim: Yes, it looks like she's in pain, but it's all in the name of LOVE. Summer, 2009. Gold Creek, Montana.

Penny always had a great mane of hair in high school; more like a lion's than a humans. 

Kim made a special bridle for breaking horses with some of Penny's thick hair. How's that for romantic? 

 While I was on the ranch visiting, one day, Kim sported a cool pair of jeans with a very large patch that Penny said she stitched "K + P" on,  a cute little gesture to show her love and remind Kim's cowboy buddies that her husband was not too cool for public displays of affection.  Here's Penny talking about it:

"Romance at the Summers' Ranch is not your typical run-of-the-mill flowers and chocolate. Kim was going on a three day cowboy trip with all the cowboys in the area. They were going to help one of the neighbors. (By the way, when I talk about all of Kim's rough and tumble cowboy friends, I call them 'the gal-pals'. I don't know why, it just makes me happy.) Anyway a 3-day trip with the gal-pals and he needs his pants mended.

So I mended them. Then in a moment of complete brilliance ( or just plain silliness) I stitched K + P on his patch. I thought it would be funny for the gal-pals and a tiny embarrassing for Kim. He loved it! He wears them with pride---a lot! And it makes me happy and that is one of the reasons I love him!"

The whole ranch crew

In Their Glory: This photo finally turned out when Penny told her kids, "look like bankrobbers!" Photo by Penny Summers. Summer, 2009.

 Each of their children have a special relationship with their parents.

According to penny, here's the team:

one teenaged rodeo star; another 12 yr old trumpet player; one 9 yr old sissy pants; one 6 yr old sassy mouth and one 5 yr old heathen

Let's start with the youngest: Kort.  He's indeed a lady killer, even as a five-year old. This kid is a future bull rider, I can see it already. He's got the grit and the dig-his-heels personality sure to win rodeos. He's also a hilarious little guy. He's already reached fame at his tender age when quoted in the Billings Gazette about the ranch's white buffalo.  "Her's the boss!" he told the reporter.

Ranch kids riding: Montana summer, 2009. Photo by Penny Summers.

Little Buckaroo: Montana summer 2009. Photo by Penny Summers.

There's Kassidy, one of the sweethearts of the clan. She's a great helper in the kitchen when mom is making gingerbread cookies. She's a little timid around the animals, but is warming up to them. Someday she'd like to be a yoga instructor like her mom's high school chum, Jenie, the wandering gypsy.

"Kassidy is very brave yelling at the cows when there is a fence between them and her," says her mom.

Ranch Sweetie: Summer, 2009. Photo by Jenie Skoy.

 There's Kennedy, who's obsessed with horses, has the whole cowgirl get-up complete with belt buckle, checkered shirt, boots and cute hat.  She is a smarty-pants that can out-read even the local librarian.

Penny's daughter with Saddle: Penny's oldest daughter is putting a hawk feather that I found in a saddle.

 And then there's Kade who wants to be a volcano scientist someday, who has a yen for cooking obscure dishes. He is a little chef. He's also great at spooking the cattle into the milking barn with his Frankenstein-like impersonation: Check out this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAhgsyM_c9s

Kade bucking hay with the fam

Then there's Dakota who now works alongside his Dad as a cowboy and can ride a buckin' bronco like it's nobody's business. Hard working and responsible, he's a rancher in training and is the nicest kid you could ever meet. . .  soo helpful and polite.

Abby, Bessie and Gilbert Junior: Please share a moment of silence with these young bovines for their calf friend, Elvis, who didn't make it. Photo by Penny Summers.

 Lest you think motherhood and ranch mama is all Penny does well, check out her photography -- very talented indeed. Ansella Adams? Look at these wonderful photos:

Glamour Mare: Photo by Penny Summers. Blog: http://pennysposse.blogspot.com

Ranch kids at the Branding: Photo by Penny Summers. Summer, 2009. http://pennysposse.blogspot.com

 Before I leave, Penny offers to give me the white buffalo (they named Snowball) that's part of their herd. This buffalo has assumed rockstar status: newspaper articles have been written about her and Native Americans have come to the ranch over the years to pray and bless the buffalo and just be around the critter. Penny doesn't care about all this anymore. It is one of those mean critters like the one that kicked her husband in the head, almost killing him. She's sooo over all the fuss about Snowball.

"If you want that white buffalo, we'll just strap it up there on top of your car and you could go on down the road," said Penny.

Read more about Penny's ranch adventures at http://pennysposse.blogspot.com.