Cow Camp

Come on in and hunker down a spell!
I get visitors here once in a Blue Moon which makes you more than welcome!
All the poems have been driven down to Horse Feathers and there isn't much to do here but listen to the wind play with the eaves of this old line shack. For the folks who had their poetry posted on this site, we made sure your poems were re-posted on Horse Feathers and we provided a clickable to the Horse Feathers site a little further down the page. For the folks who had poetry on both sites you still have your poetry on Horse Feathers.

All that is left here now is a few of my poems that did'nt make my online book, Poetry For Cowboys, which can be read by visiting the Horse Feathers site.
What does Horse Feathers have to offer besides my on line book?
Poetry from folks like you and that is important because Horse Feathers has about the largest selection of submitted poetry from cowboys around the world and we welcome your submission!
The Toppenish Poetry Society who is sole owner of Horse Feathers has a commitment to archive the contributions of cowboy and western poets from around the globe and preserve a sample of their work for posterity. I stole that last line from old Bucky! Will they be able to achieve this lofty goal?
If not it won't be for lack of trying!
Visit Horse Feathers and read poetry from more artists than you can shake a stick at. Then contribute your own work and join the ranks in the modern cowboy/western poet archive. While your there polish up your lingo with the Cowboy's Dictionary.
One last thought here on Horse Feathers.
The Horse Feathers site is completly free! Like Cow Camp they offer nothing to sell. All links they except from other sites are free gratis to the site owners and all of those sites are free to visit but they may have something to sell on their site.

I'm the honorary cook here at Cow Camp for this month until some of you cowhands send me a recipe of your own to post.
There is a qualifier here though.
In less the victuals are just too good to pass up it should be a recipe a man can prepare around the campfire or in the kitchen.
Why?
Because I want to bring cowboy cooking to the forefront and preserve a tradition built around cooking on the trail.
The What's Cooking button will take you to a recipe for some delicious cowboy stew and biscuits. You will also find a recipe for Chocolate Cowboys that will delight any youngster from three to eighty. Providing that youngster doesn't have a heart condition or diabetes or high blood pressure. I also posted a response to a food related email you should find interesting reading.

I also have a sight, or site of the month featured here at Cow Camp.
This month it is the site of Hilma (Volcano) Volk. Her site (Manure Happens) is a must see.
She also has an ezine you can download for free each month. A must read in my book.

I have a poem for you now that I wrote a while back called...

Another Old Cowboy Has Died
By Ben McKenzie

Sit down on that old saddle,
Put all your doing aside,
I only rode out here to tell ya',
Another old cowboy's died.
I know its getting hard for the taking,
All those empty saddles hanging off the corral,
I like to think of them in heaven,
But you know there'll be cowboys in hell!
His death sorta' got me to thinking,
Of everyone I ever called friend,
That have already gone to the Great Beyond,
And I'll never see again.
Cause they were the right kind of fellas,
And heaven is where they belong,
I treated them right in my passing,
And mourn for them now that they're gone.
Our trails will never cross again,
They'll rope a different spread.
They won't remember this outlaw,
Or see me again when I'm dead.
I hold no remorse for the things I've done,
That cut me out of the herd.
I always played the hand I was dealt,
And never went back on my word.
Now I ain't just jacking my jaw bones,
A man can't deny what's true!
I just got to thinkin' it won't be long,
Till you'll be going too.
That's why its such a welcome sight,
To see you standing there now,
With that old pitchfork in your hand,
And the sweat beading up on your brow.
I remember the times we throwed together,
And a lot of things best left unsaid.
I rode the trails again with you my friend,
Last night while I lay in bed.
There was Curley Joe and Toothless Pete,
Sam, Sunny, Kindle and Tex.
Talking as though they was still in the go,
Reliving life's little wrecks.
I thought of the day they'll lay you away.
I'm ashamed to admit that I cried.
Then I just rode over to tell ya',
Another old cowboy's died.

I sent this poem to a pard of mine David Kelly and he wrote a response to it that well bears reading. Click on the Horse Feathers banner to find a link to David's site. David's site is well worth a visit on it's own merits and he posted another poem of mine I won't post here to try and tempt you to visit his site and while your there visit the Rafter L site of Bob Lewis another pard of mine from there. I see I could keep you riding the ridge line forever here so I will put in Rod's poem and those clickables I promised you. Want a little more of my poetry there is a clickable to that too. Thanks for dropping by!

E-Mail