This week, we return to a conversation I had with Matt Barnes. Matt lives here in southwest Colorado. He’s been a rangeland scientist for years and has also worked as a ranch manager. In fact, this moment that we recorded is from a time several years ago when he was up in the mountains, working with cattle.

Between a close encounter with a grizzly bear (which we hear about a few segments ago) and this one, I can say, “Matt, I’m glad you’re still here, man!”

Matt told me he got Lichtenberg figures on his thigh from the lightning strike – these are weird, feathering or fern-like marks formed by the transmission of electricity along the superficial blood vessels in the skin. They went away eventually, he said.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us at awenice.com.

Our music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link to his music and a donate button on our about page.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.

This week, I interviewed Vicki Taussig. Vicki lives in Kremmling, Colorado. She narrated A Brutal, Beautiful Life, which is a short documentary directed by Beau Gaughran. I served as writer and a producer. We just learned it will be part of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour next year, which is pretty exciting.

Vicki ranches with her daughter, Caitlyn, who was my first interviewee for Awe Nice.

Here, Vicki shares a moment with her draft horse team of Push and Pull, two big beautiful Percherons. The pair spent their whole lives together and helped the Taussigs haul hay out to their livestock every day in the winter, when the cattle were on various pastures within a few miles from the house. Temps regularly get down to 30 below in the winter and Vicki laughed in recollecting that the mares were more reliable than their tractor.

Vicki is not quite five feet tall, so imagine those gentle giants lowering their heads as she harnessed them each morning.

She said Push was the smaller of the two and the brains of the team. When they were ready to give that first effort, to get the sled going, Push would make all the motions of going but she’d wait until Pull, bigger and stronger, would take that first step.

It’s moments like these that give me such joy for this project, even if it means grabbing a Kleenex from time to time.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us at awenice.com.

Our music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link to his music and a donate button on our about page.

I want to thank the folks who have rated and reviewed Awe, Nice! on podcast platforms. It’s great that the word is getting out about it. Thanks so much!

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.

Welcome to Awe Nice, that’s a-w-e-n-i-c-e, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors.

This week, I interviewed Matt Barnes. Like me, Matt lives here in southwestern Colorado. He’s been a rangeland scientist for years and has also worked as a ranch manager. His focus, as he mentions briefly and as has been shaped by his observations and experiences, has been hewn to how can we all get along on this planet. Specifically, how can us humans, especially those working the land, coexist with wildlife and choose practices that benefit not just us as well as domestic animals, but the land and wildlife? For this segment, Matt describes a dicey moment when he was working in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho, not far from British Columbia, Canada.

Matt shared a few more recollections, not grizzly encounters but still great and which we’ll feature in upcoming segments. So stay tuned!

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us here.

Our music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link to his music and a donate button on our about page.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.