The South Dakota Cowgirl

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Atlas Blizzard – The Aftermath

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The writer of this poem, may not ranch. But he’s certainly no stranger to the ranching community. His wife is a photographer and they live about 80 miles west of us. He wrote this poem to explain to his kids (who were having trouble grasping what happened), the devastation.

Epitaph For Atlas
By Mark Peacock

The clouds are getting dark now, mom, and the rain is coming down.

There’s lightning and there’s thunder now, and snow falls all around.

The air is getting cold now, mom…and my coat’s not set for snow.

The wind and sleet, they hurt my skin…where will we cattle go?

We huddle all together, mom, to keep the cold away
but now the painful, stinging snow has pushed us in harm’s way.

First through one fence and now through two, I’m pinned against the wire.
The barbs are ripping at my skin; the snow is getting higher.

My hooves are buried in this mud that’s cold and dark and deep.

The other cows are crushing me, and you’re falling asleep.

The storm is getting worse now, mom, the weight’s pulling me down
with fifty others just like us now frozen to the ground.

Why leave me when I need you most? My tears freeze as I weep.

You told me we’d get through this storm…a promise you can’t keep.

I don’t know if there’s heaven, or where we cows will go
but if there is I pray to God to save us from this snow.

A week ago in better times, we grazed this prairie lawn
but now I’ll close my eyes and join one hundred thousand gone.

Yes. It made me cry. Does barbwire actually tear cattle’s hides you may ask? Not as a rule. Those girls will rub up on a fence in the spring to help shed their coats. Cattle are pretty thick hided.

On to happy ways to help the rancher, now that we’re all in tears:

You can now, thanks to the generous donation of time from a gal named Tandi, purchase a hooded sweatshirt that talks about the impact the storm had on the ranchers here. The proceeds from the sale go to the Rancher Relief Fund (RRF). She even put a quote from my friend Ryan Goodman on the back. He’s a smart one this Ryan!

rancher relief fund, rancher relief hoodie, help south dakota ranchers

rancher relief fund, rancher relief hoodie, help south dakota ranchers

There seems to have been some confusion among folks as to where the best place to donate is. I thought I’d take a moment to clear that up. There’s only one “official” fund: The Rancher Relief Fund. All various off-shoot fund-raisers are sending the money to this fund. The Ag-Chat Foundation is running their own campaign, and will donate to the RRF when it’s over. The Ag-Chat Foundation is their own Non-Profit so the donations are still tax deductible.

If you’re interested in donating, please go here for details.

Hopefully by the end of the week this week our website will be live, with a listing of events, and breakdown of the fund-raisers we’re sponsoring/aware of, so you can legitimately make sure your money is going to the ranchers affected.

Happy Trails!

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.

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Comments

  3. Nancy says

    Wow what a poem! Made me cry……amazing what must have been going thru them all as they perished. I love the sweatshirts!

    Reply

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