The Cowboy Corner Edition 13 Vol.2

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Welcome to the Cowboy Corner
Howdy, I’m Connor McCauley. I married into a fifth-generation Texas cattle ranch—and these are my stories. You’re getting my perspective, week by week, as we juggle cattle, customers, and whatever else this wild life throws at us.

It’s been a minute since you’ve heard from me in this format, and there’s a good reason: Helen and I took a big trip with my parents to Ireland. I won’t dive too deep here, but it was a meaningful one—especially for my dad and me. As McCauleys, we’ve always dreamed of visiting our roots, and Ireland didn’t disappoint. Beautiful land, kind people, and memories I’ll hold onto forever. It was also a rare two-week stretch we got to spend with my parents, who live up in Pennsylvania.

Back to the Grind
Getting home meant jumping headfirst back into ranch life, but truthfully, it wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped. There’s always that “re-entry turbulence”—trying to shake jet lag while the to-do list stacks up. Helen and I were on totally different rhythms at first. She was immediately buried in customer service, bills, and everything else that keeps the business wheels turning. I had a quiet start… until all the marketing and content deadlines caught up to me fast. Before we knew it, the chaos had reversed: she was caught up and I was buried. Add in a mountain of fulfillment orders from the two-week break, and let’s just say—it wasn’t exactly a soft landing.

But Then, Rain
If you’ve read this newsletter before, you know I talk about rain like a rancher talks about gold. And sure enough, while we were gone, the clouds rolled in. The land soaked it up and came back to life. Our hay fields are almost ready to plant—just waiting for the ground to dry a bit more—and the timing couldn’t have been better. Why? Because this time of year, right after a rain, the wildflowers explode.

Faith and I grabbed our cameras and set out to capture it. If you haven’t checked out our YouTube channel, now’s a good time. Even if you’re not a “YouTube person,” I promise it’s worth a watch. You’ll see the real deal—our land, our animals, and us being us. This week’s episode was going to be about shed hunting for elk antlers… but nature had other plans.

From Sheds to Petals
We started out under some intimidating storm clouds. The wind kicked up as we rode into the pasture, and I wasn’t too worried—except for my camera gear getting soaked. Sure enough, it started to rain. We faced a decision: head home or wait it out. Faith, being the optimist, said we should stay. So we found a dry patch near one of our water tanks and settled in.

That’s when we noticed something: a gorgeous bouquet of wildflowers had sprouted around one of the floats near the tank. Cactus blooms, bright petals, and green stems tangled together like nature’s own centerpiece. We filmed it as the storm passed and the sun broke through.

We Tried for Elk Sheds, We Got a Wildflower Parade
Once it cleared up, we got back on mission: hunting elk sheds. We flew the drone low along the fence lines—where deer and elk often jump and leave their antlers behind—but spotting anything from the air proved tricky. Between the resolution and the zoom, it just wasn’t worth it.

But something else caught our eye: wildflowers. Everywhere. Red, yellow, purple—blanketing the land like a quilt. Turns out, there are so many wildflower species near Palo Duro Canyon that no one’s officially counted them all. So we shifted gears and filmed a full wildflower montage, which made its way into this week’s video.

Two Last Things
Before we wrapped up the day, we ran across a fence stacked high with tumbleweeds. Might not sound exciting—but for folks who’ve never lived in the Southwest, it's surreal to see in real life what most only know from cartoons. We got a great drone shot of that too.

Then, before heading in, Faith and I filmed a little interview—talking about the ranch, our routines, and how it all works. It turned out better than expected, with the scenery rolling behind us as we drove along in the Ranger.

What to Expect Going Forward
From here on out, these newsletters and YouTube videos will be running about a week behind real life. That gives me time to edit, plan, and make each story worth your while. I’d love it if you kept tuning in—reading the emails and watching the videos. They work together to paint the full picture, and I promise, there’s more good stuff ahead.

Next week, we’ll dive into what’s going on in the fields—because farming never sleeps.

Until then, thanks for riding along.

—Connor