The South Dakota Cowgirl

Life on the Ranch Through My Lens

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Dusk After a Rain

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While the rest of the country suffers from a heatwave- or so says the internet headlines (I don’t really watch the news- I prefer to read it), it was about 75 here yesterday and threatened rain on and off. This past week we began to cut and bale the alfalfa fields, which are right across the gravel road from our house- so we were perfectly fine with the threat of rain once that little task was completed. The boys worked round the clock, literally, to get it done. You must bale alfalfa when there’s dew on it, in order for it to be at its best. There were many sleepless nights for both Zach and his brother Bud. They’d work from midnight (or later) until the dew was no longer wet enough to hold the hay together. Then they’d sleep if they were able.

Needless to say, when they finished and we’d managed to stay relatively rain-free (there was one teensie shower while hay was down and not baled), everyone breathed a sigh of relief. And then yesterday we had a passing, summer shower. The pictures from the aftermath are just beautiful, and really, even the camera couldn’t capture the scenes.

On either side of the field was the end of a rainbow- the skies were too pink and cloudy to see its massive arch above, but you could see either end of it.

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Happy Wednesday!

XO

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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Gina at CTG Ponies says

    Really lovely pics. It’s crazy hot here in Pennsylvania – 103 degrees yesterday. And the farmers are baling here too. If we don’t get rain soon, there won’t be another cutting of hay and the prices will go through the roof.

    Reply

  3. Kristen says

    gorgeous pictures. We Kansans are getting a little break from the heat too, we’ve managed to stay in the 80’s and until this week the humidity wasn’t even too bad! It’s been that rainy gloomy type of weather here since Saturday though!

    Reply

  4. Brenda Berndt says

    Thanks from the Higher Authority!
    Gonna rain here buckets-so they say. Flash flood watch from Wed. night till Friday. Whoopee,
    if stalls don’t flood.

    Reply

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