SHEPHERDING OUTDOORS
THE ADVENTUROUS SORT B Y WA LT M E R R E L L
MY MIDDLE DAUGHTER, CAPE, IS THE ADVENTUROUS SORT. I used to refer to her as my “tomboy.” However, what was once a cute nickname for an elementary-aged schoolgirl quickly disappeared as she matured. She now stands 5’10 ½”, is a starting varsity volleyball and basketball player, and she is no longer a tomboy. She is, however … still very adventurous. She’s always wanted a horse. We are country 42
Cooperative Farming News
folks, but we are not horse people. I was raised in Baldwin County, Alabama. Where once was my dad’s pasture land and pecan orchard now stands mini-storage buildings. Where his cows and horses once roamed, there now sits endless rows of garage doors flanked by metal siding, gravel parking lots … and bay upon bay of frivolous excess, so valuable that it must be kept, but so worthless, it must be placed in storage. Such an ironic transition … America’s heartland lost to America’s new heart. In any event, I grew up a child of divorce on my
