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Jeff S. - Desert Hills Ranch
The Desert Hills Ranch is 132 sections totaling 84,480 acres nestled back in the Upper Sonoran Desert close to Wickenburg Arizona. It is a Cattle Ranch raising Cross Breads, as Jeff S. the Ranch Foreman describes, “what ever does well in the heat.” At present he has about 160 head to look after. Jeff has been affiliated with the Ranch since 1996. He was born in Parker Arizona in 1973. His Dad and Grandpa have been in the cattle business all their life and even though he enrolled in a Vocational School to become a welder, after graduating from high school, he followed his family roots and became a professional Workin Cowboy, {that knows how to weld}.
Jeff is 6’ 2” tall, tipping the scale at 240lbs. The ranch has been home to him and his family for the past 15 years and listening to him talk, about and to his kids; I became aware that family is the most important thing in his life. After the day’s work is done, sports like baseball and football, and schooling the boys in the Cowboy Ways makes Jeff’s life full and rewarding. His work day is busy, picking up supplies and attending to everyday ranch duties. When he can’t get to where he needs to go in his pickup, a Chevy Duramax, his favorite Quarter Horse “Leggs” gets saddled up and heads out with his buddy “Dancer”, his Old Ranch Dog, trailing behind.
I am so fortunate to have Jeff as one of my Cowboys and am proud to introduce him to you wearing a “Great Stetson Hat”. The Workin Cowboy of years gone by is slowly diminishing but from what I have encountered, with men like Jeff, they will never completely disappear.
Updated Information
About a week ago, I was visiting another Ranch in the Wickenburg area, when by chance, I met Jeff buying a load of hay for his Cattle. His left eye was swollen and discolored. When I asked what happened, he told me he had been greasing a Hay Baler when one of the grease zerks blew out, splattering his face and “Hat” with grease and lodging a piece of steel in his eye. The doctor that cleaned and stitched the eye wasn’t a very good doctor because he missed locating the steel fragment. After suffering a lot of pain and double vision for nearly 2 weeks, Jeff found a “Real” Eye Doctor that located the steel fragment, removed it, and gave him antibiotics and pain meds. We are so thankful his sight has returned to normal as One Eyed Cowboys have a tough road to hoe.
