Life at the End of a Dirt Road
by
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The critical time in ditch frogging is when you have achieved grab range with respect to your target frog. Frogs seem to know when you are within grab range, and many a frog has taken a preemptive hop and escaped before I could make my move. When you make the transition from stalking to grabbing, it must be a fully committed, rapid, single movement. Remember to keep visual lock on your target frog, and don’t try to grab just the frog. Grab for the entire area that surrounds the frog. In a successful grab you will usually come up with a frog and a handful of mud and moss. All you have to do then is separate the mud and moss from the frog, and you have your prize. In all probability, both hands and at least one knee will have ended up in the ditch, but that’s what it takes to become an expert ditch frogger. If the frog was on the far side of the ditch, the collateral soiling of your person and clothing will be greater than it would be if the frog were on the near side of the ditch.
Once you have captured your target frog, keep a tight grip on it and move away from the ditch. Too many times I have had a frog slip between my fingers and jump back into the ditch. The first thing you have to do with a captured frog is to show it to someone. You have expended considerable time and energy to capture this wild animal, and you deserve recognition for the risks taken and skills exercised. It has been my observation that mothers tend to be more impressed with frogging skills than fathers or brothers.
I have found that frogs are intellectually rather dim and hard to train as pets. I wish I could list 101 uses for a captured frog, but I can’t. After playing with them for a while, I usually let them go in the horse-watering trough or shoved them into my pocket to save for another day. Frogs dry out rather fast in your pocket, so don’t expect much entertainment value from your trophy frog after a day or so in there. Although Mom applauded my frogging exploits, she mentioned more than once that she did not enjoy the removal of dehydrated frogs—along with string, rocks, and toys—when she emptied my pockets to wash my muddy clothes.
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About the Book
This book is available in two formats and price ranges. Both versions include the same text and over 100 images. This 9 X 6 version is filled with black and white photos and ends with a series of photos from the Nelson family album depicting life on the “ranch at the end of a dirt road.“
“Life at the End of a Dirt Road” is a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant but always interesting view of life on a working cattle ranch. With wry humor and insight, the author recounts a vanishing way of life played out on a 1,700-acre ranch in Northern California during the mid 20th century.
Mostly written from the author’s perspective as an impressionable ranch kid, the book vividly describes how he learned to gig frogs, craft slingshots, milk cows and execute chickens. The reader will peer over his shoulder as he faces hair-raising perils, both real and imaginary, whether it’s fetching a jar of jam from the creepy, spider-filled cellar; fending off werewolves with a shovel while irrigating after dark; or negotiating the bewildering customs of a box social at school.
The reader also will meet unforgettable characters, both critters and humans, from Shep, the mighty ranch dog and his obsessive, doomed pursuit of porcupines, to Mrs. Salvadori, the wife of the previous owner, who reportedly motivated her husband to build her a new house by burning down the old one. The result is a humorous, illuminating and richly illustrated account of life at the end of a dirt road.
About the Author
In 1947 at 3 years old, Chuck Nelson moved with his family onto a remote cattle ranch in Northern California. While growing up there, he developed a deep appreciation for the natural wonders around him, which led to a keen interest in nature photography. Featured in these pages and in national publications, his photography showcases the stunning Shasta Valley landscape. Today he is retired from a 34-year law enforcement career, continues to expand his photo essay of Nelson Ranch and showcases his photography on www.chucknelsonphotography.com. He has one daughter, four grandchildren and lives with his wife in Castro Valley, California.