Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir

by Dan Aadland

Book Overview

A stirring ode to a year on a Montana ranch

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087605078X
• ISBN13: 9780876050781
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.8" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The year's round of seasons on a Montana ranch

Montana has produced so many fine writers. Here's another one. Aadland is the son of a Lutheran minister, growing up in south central Montana between the Beartooth Mountains and the Crow Reservation. His "memoir" is mostly about the present, with flashbacks to the past, which include stories of his wife's forebears, who emigrated from Norway in the late 19th century to set themselves up as ranchers. And there are memories of his boyhood, working as a hired hand, a tour of duty in Vietnam as a marine, and raising a family.The particular achievement of the book is its description of daily life on a modern-day ranch. Of the many books on ranching, this one conveys better than most the seasonal routines of labor from spring calving and breeding to fall roundup, sale barns, and feeding during the months of snow. There are descriptions of haying, fieldwork, irrigation, keeping machinery running, and visits from the vet. The book also describes well the evolution of ranchwork from when ranchers used horses and hired men to get the work done, and neighbors pitched in to help each other with harvesting. Today, much of the work is mechanized, ranchers work alone, and the undependable seasons, slow markets, and razor-thin profit margins require second incomes for both rancher and spouse. Besides raising cattle, Aadland and his wife are school teachers. He travels 60 miles each way to the high school in Bridger (pop. 724), and in winter months sees the ranch in sunlight only on weekends.He's also a horseman, raising and training walking horses, and much of the book is devoted to this subject. There are descriptions of patiently working his horses, including a team he uses to harrow a field for no other reason than to experience the pleasure of this old-fashioned method of farming -- no deafening engine to block out the sounds of the natural environment, or to damage hearing. He's a literate rancher, quoting Robert Frost and Thoreau, and both thoughtful and articulate. He's also informative. You learn about practices of breeding horses and cows and how a vet tests for pregnancy. You learn the tentative relationship between weather forecasts and the timing of cutting and baling hay. He has a steady eye and a sense of pacing that makes his book a graceful and unhurried cycle through the seasons. You become so intimately involved in Aadland's life that the sudden tragedy that occurs in the final chapters is both a jolting surprise and thoroughly heart-breakingIt should also be mentioned that this is a handsomely designed book, illustrated with many fine drawings of ranch life by artist Nik Carpenter. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in working ranches, the Big Sky country, horses, and the making of not just a living but a life. As a companion volume, I suggest "Some Horses" by Thomas McGuane, another Montana writer, as well as Linda Hasselstrom's "Windbreak," which recounts a year on a cattle ranch in South Dakota.

A moving memoir

Sketches From The Ranch: A Montana Memoir is an engaging compilation of the thoughtful writings of Dan Aadland. Sketches From The Ranch is about living on a western American ranch (which was founded in 1892), experiencing the turn of the seasons, rejoicing in the birth of colts and calves, embracing simple means of life even as Thoreau did at Walden. Superb black-and-white sketches by artist Nik Carpenter add a visual and emotional touch to this moving memoir.

An intimate and engaging view into ranching life

I am an unlikely reader of a book about ranching, a city professional within minutes of the Mall of America. Yet, Dan Aadland brought me intimately into his world and not only let me taste the experience of ranching, but like all good writing, let me feast on life. The sensual quality of the author's writing moved me to respond with my senses. For example, I found that I most enjoyed reading the book on my deck overlooking the woods, feeling the breeze against my face. It was in this setting that I read about cattle buying. Here is a subject I definitely would not have pursued on my own. But Aadland brought the scenes and participants to life and had me so engaged, it was one of my favorite "sketches." I relished his description of the feast he prepared on his private moose hunt. As he wrote about storytelling over Yukon Jack and grapefruit juice, I was compelled to pour my personal version: Cuervo Gold on the rocks with lime juice. I sipped as he told his stories. Dan Aadland not only illuminated the world around him. He effectively brought me into his private world of thought and emotion. I felt right with him as I read his disclosure, "I wonder what I would be psychologically without this space around me, shudder, and force myself to think happier thoughts." I shuddered with him. His emotional honesty was particularly striking as he describes an emotional catharsis toward the end of the book. Aadland's ability to expose the most private--and enlivening--aspects of human experience helped me to identify with him and feel less alone. This was particularly poignant when I recently experienced an emotional reaction similar to the author's. I called up the experience of the author and felt soothed. The isolation-breaking quality of Aadland's writing is a real gift to his readers. I came away from Sketches with a deep respect for ranching, and for a life well lived.

Another excellent book on western life by Dan Aadland.

Dan Aadland's memoir includes many wonderful stories of hard work accomplished in the beautiful ranchlands of Montana. I enjoyed learning about the true bravery required to bring a string of ponies hundreds of miles over wild terrain. The joys and sorrows of daily ranch life are artfully depicted, along with the history and culture of southern Montana. An excellent read.