Up close & Personal with Angelika
at home on Highview Angus Ranch
July 6, 2021
Click on image to view large picture
I was responsible for everything from in bringing the herd safely across the road, leading cows down the alley, marking cows with breeding dates, releasing cows from the chute, to getting him a bottle of water to make his life not only a little easier but safer.
My departure from being able to be there for Jeff 24/7 comes with mixed emotions. Although I will enjoy wearing pretty dresses again at my part-time job at the Sports Corral in Joseph working with friends and the public, I will miss the hard work that, according to Jeff, added immensely to reduce his daily stress.
Indeed, I quietly shed some tears when I hollered out tag numbers to Jeff for the last time this morning during sorting. Like never before has the intricacy and difficulty of Jeff’s daily work not only allowed me to continue my cattle learning experience, but it also got Jeff and me closer on a profoundly personal level.
In the end it is not me, but Jeff
who should be given recognition for getting up at dawn, eating dust in blistering temperatures, while getting little sleep!
Not only does he handle his cattle with perfection, but he also farms to grow the feed for his Angus herd. Endless and brutal hours in tractors night and day, irrigating fields and pastures, rake, bail, and hauling one-ton hay bales take without a doubt a physical and mental toll.
His relentless passion and dedication to improving his Angus herd are untamable. His love and commitment to maintaining a mentally and physically healthy herd are unbreakable.
His type of cattle business is not one of the “good old romanced western style” like John Wayne overlooking his herd from afar in Chisum. It is an extraordinarily up-close and personal experience that requires unparalleled skills and knowledge to stay safe [and] alive.
Hence, when the “boss” gets loud and straightforward with me or anyone else, it is never a personal affair; it is a matter of safety for all and the protection of his herd. This precise approach derives from his unchangeable objective: The less you talk, the slower you walk, the safer the job! Therefore, I will always appreciate Jeff’s important and sometimes intense prerogatives to reduce unnecessary stress on his cows and calves to maintain their physical and mental health at peak.
While the sun rises early and sets late during the hot summer season, I am closing with this: Yes, I would do it again in 2022! I would do it not only because of my love for cattle but especially for the love of my Highview Angus Ranch FAMILY & JEFF!!!
I am more than proud to be a part of a family that has dedicated their lives to producing exceptional quality beef for our Nation and beyond while adhering to five-star cattle management 24/7 and 365 days a year!
ANGELIKA URSULA DIETRICH, owner and publisher of Wild Horses Thunder and Wild Horses Media Productions, is a professional Photographer, Videographer, Publisher, Writer, Social Media Consultant, and Website Developer.
Angelika’s photography work has been displayed on the front cover of Idaho Magazine (2022), the Nimiipuu Tribal Tribune, Cowboy Lifestyle Network (2021), Cowboys & Indians (2016 & 2018), and in various Oregon and Washington entertainment and vacation publications, Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Program and website (2012-2020), at Art Gallery Festivals, private businesses, as well as for display advertisement for many clients in and out of Wallowa County including the Wallowa County Chieftain (2003-2007). Between 2007 and 2009, Angelika worked in radio as the news and sports director for owners Lee and Carol Lee Perkins at KWVR Radio in Enterprise, Oregon. After the station was sold, she created Wallowa Valley Online, an independent online news magazine publishing and writing news and engaging in photojournalism. After ten years of Wallowa Valley Online, Angelika decided to concentrate on her professional photography, write more human interest stories, and volunteer at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland.
Regarding my writing: “As a grandchild of post-war Europe (ethnic ancestry Bohemian/Austrian/German) and former Army spouse, I have lived and visited many places across the globe. Wallowa County, Oregon, has been my home since 2002. I am the daughter of a mom whose country violently vanished post-WWII. Her family was forcefully removed from Bohemia in 1946 when she was only six years young and sent to West Germany in cattle wagons. Her life story has tremendously impacted my own and formed my views on humanity and, at times, the lack thereof.
My formal college education is in the nursing field and psychology, which finds itself in my work as a writer and photographer. I am a humanitarian by heart and soul.” ~Angelika Ursula Dietrich
