Sometimes I just need some wide open spaces. This photo was taken a few years back while traveling through a portion of the Canadian River country in the Texas Panhandle. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see cattle scattered in the distance.
It was early Spring, yet you see a good amount of dried grasses among the greening countryside. This ranch seems to be well managed and supports a large amount of wildlife along with the cattle. I often see Pronghorn and Mule Deer when I pass through.
It is an area once covered with American Bison and was a part of what was formerly the Comancheria -- home to the Comanche Indians. It is one of the last parts of our country that was "domesticated" by settlers. It was also a haunt of outlaws that raided the north-bound cattle drives during the late 1800's when The Trail shifted west to the eastern edge of the Panhandle.
Although you don't see it in the photo, this is a high-producing area for oil and gas. In spite of what appears to be land with "nothing" in it, it helps feed the country, fuel the country, provides a home for wildlife and is visually pleasing to this old eye. I don't think you can get much more sustainable than this.
In my mind I am horseback with my feet just clearing the grass and trailing west....
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