Lone Star Trail
Texas themed hunting and fishing interviews featuring experts and real tales from the field.
Lone Star Trail
Trapping, Tagging and a Bridge Wedding
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Codie Bannister joins the show to talk about a recent idea he had to track feral hogs with RFID on his ranch, the Draper Ranch. He’s all about education and engagement while honoring a legacy of those before him. He’s a former Marine dedicated to improving his world one post at a time. On House Rules, Dayton tell us about the two meanest things he ever did and why Ron ever get married on a bridge. Episode sponsored by Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Solutions and Ranch Pro Real Estate.
Thanks for stopping by and happy hunting.
Follow us on Facebook
Welcome to Lone Star Trail, a new outdoor show aimed at bringing you hunting and fishing updates and compelling stories from around Texas and right here at home. Get ready to join us down the trail. Now, here's your host, Nathan Smith.
SPEAKER_03Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of the Lone Star Trail. I'm your host, Nathan Smith. Glad you could join us for another episode. Have you ever thought about tracking hogs using technology? You probably have. Our guest today on the show, Cody Bannister of Draper Ranch, uh here close by to the Lone Star Trail headquarters, uh, has done just that on a whim. He bought a $70 piece of Amazon equipment, and uh he's using it to track hogs uh in his pastures. We talk more about that strategy and how the success is working for him. We'll talk with Cody about all things farming, ranching, wildlife. And Dayton House is back again with tall tales from a lifetime of hunting, fishing, trapping, and uh government work. And so we're gonna talk with him again on house rules. So pour some more coffee. Stay tuned. We'll be right back after the break. Whether you're looking to buy your next hunting property or have acreage to sell, you need Brian Clark and Ranch Pro Real Estate in your corner. They use the latest in technology to make listings easy for sellers to maximize value. In the market to buy that perfect ranch or hunting getaway, call Ranch Pro Real Estate at 325-642-3630. That's Ranch Pro Real Estate at RanchproRealEstate.com. The land is their life. Let's face it, whether you farm or ranch or raise wildlife, you've encountered problems with predators, no doubt. My friends at Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Solutions have the answer to your predator nuisance varmit problems. They specialize in taking care of those pesky raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, beavers, whatever wildlife issues you're having, Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Solutions is your answer. Call my friend Philip Wood at 713-208-3517. That's 713-208-3517. You can find him online at TFRWS.com. He's a professional trapper. He knows what he's doing. He has the right resources and the right techniques to get the job done. If you don't believe him, look at his website and see all the happy customers he's racked up over the years. Phillip Woods with Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Solutions. Give him a call. You'll be glad you did. Let them help protect your land and livestock. You're listening to the Lone Star Trail. We're glad you're here. Now let's get back to the show. Welcome back to the show. Uh today we've got a great guest. We've got Cody Bannister with Draper Ranch. Uh Cody, thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, sir. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_03If you are uh listening and you've not run across Draper Ranch on Facebook, um, first of all, and that's how I came across uh you guys and got in touch with you, Cody. But um man, you guys do some really cool video on Facebook on your ranch. Uh and you're actually not too far from us in in Brown County, and we'll talk about that in a minute. But um I'd encourage everybody to go look at uh Draper Ranch, and I'll have a link to the social media on our page as well. And so hopefully you can go and check that out. But uh one of the things that caught my eye was your work with feral hogs, and I want to talk about that first. Uh sorry before we talk about that though, I would really just kind of love to get some background from you, Cody, and and tell us a little bit about you and how you got into ranching and uh what what what you guys are doing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Um, so I've always kind of been into ranching uh growing up. Uh my grandpa was a sheet metal worker. We worked, he we were, I was born and raised in Irving, Texas. Um, he started a sheet metal company um in his mid-50s, started making decent money for himself, and said, I'm gonna go buy some land. He's always gone out to uh the Cross Plains area. And so uh he was kind of living in a kind of a smaller, not living, but he was out there visiting on the weekend, kind of weekend ranching for um 20 years, probably. And so when he finally retired, he said, I'm gonna build a house out there and I'm gonna move out there. And so that's what he did. My guy was my grandpa was a middleman. He never built, I mean, the house that he built was, you know, our houses are two by four studs, his are two by sixes, you know, everything's overdone. No tornadoes taking this house, no fires taking this house, no flood, you know. So that was his thing. And so we he started, uh, he bought the land before I joined the Marine Corps right when I got out of high school. And then he actually broke ground when I was getting, I was actually in Afghanistan. And uh he built that. And then um by the time I got back and was starting to get out of the Marine Corps, it was just, you know, let's build this ranch. It was just nothing but woods. And if you look at it on the Facebook now, you see the view and you see kind of the stuff that we've built over the years. And uh it was just, you know, I worked in the city, I was trying to make a name for myself down here in the Metroplex DFW. And so every weekend, man, I was just hallbutt out there with him, and we just work and he'd teach me the ways, and then uh it got to be where it was like every other weekend, then it was every weekend, then it was like, you know, four days, four days a week kind of thing. And it just I fell in love with it. And then um, when he passed in 21, I inherited the ranch from him, and which you know sounds awesome, but it definitely comes with uh it comes with a lot of responsibility, especially when you when you think so highly of you know your grandpa like I did, and uh he left me with a list of things to do, and he said, This will get done, you know, like almost like I'll be back to check on it, you know. And so so it's been one of those things we're like, all right, so we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, and um poured a lot of money into it, you know. And his biggest thing was, you make this your own. While I'm here, it's mine. But when it's yours, you make it your own. If you want to do this, and then you know I wouldn't like it, I don't care. Make it your own. So we've redid the corral, that was one of his things, and redid the well house, and we've just constantly been building stuff and you know, messing with pigs and clearing places. And I had a couple buddies who were, you know, not not it's a bad thing, but the city slicker buddies, and they're all like, Man, why don't you record this stuff? You know, and I'm like, I don't know, maybe one day, you know, and so then I've uh because of the drought, we lost about 50 cows that we had to sell off. And so I said, I gotta get my numbers back up. So I said, What? As long as I have a reputable Facebook, you know, 5,000 followers, 10,000 followers, that'll boost my cattle sales. I'll be able to sell cows and trade and do all this stuff, and that'll help me look like a real cattleman, make me feel good, whatever. And so um then all of a sudden I posted a couple hog videos and it just it's just taking off. I mean, I just started it two and a half months ago, and it's just I mean, it's just constant traction and constant questions, and I didn't realize how um how curious the the public is with this feral hog stuff and ranching. So it's been great. It's been really great.
SPEAKER_03Well, I want to talk uh a little bit about the the uh succession plan that your grandpa left, because that's a pretty unique story, and and I think it's it's one that you know as we look across this country, as we look across Texas, uh somebody wanting to get into production agriculture today, it's it's very tough. I mean it's very tough to say um starting from scratch. And uh it was tough for your grandpa when he did it even. But uh the fact that he he was able to to leave you this land is I guess is a a great thing, but also um it's also a challenge, as you said. I mean, it comes with its own with its own uh pressure. And man, uh like you said, this guy you look looked up to so much, had a lot of respect for. Um I understand that feeling of not wanting to let them down in in in the way you take care of it. And um one of the cool things about what you guys do is you you you are about education, uh engagement on Facebook with the uh typical consumer and and then other producers to check it out and and see what you're doing. But uh you don't do it in a way that's real condescending, like has been done probably in the past, because you're right, you're really just about just documenting what you guys are doing on the ranks every day.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And we and you know, we have you know, I would say 80% of the public's just like this is great. And then the other 10 or 15 is like, man, thank you for showing what we do, and you know, as ranchers. And then the other five percent, you know, is just you got no clue what you're doing. You're oh I got you know, whatever. And it's like, you know, it's it's okay. And that's how I respond. It's like, hey man, it's okay. Like everything is fine. You do what you want on your ranch, I'll do it on mine. And and you know what? If I have something to learn and I and I see some old timers comment on my stuff and they're kind of being, you know, kind of jerks about it, I'll be like, well, well, teach me, man. I'm I'm 37. Teach me, teach me the ways. What what could you what do you see that I could do better? You know, and I'll PM them, you know, PM them and you know, at the end of the day, I don't I don't you there's so much controversy on social media, it's like let's we'll talk, let's talk about it. You know, instead of arguing about it and right I'm I'm bigger, I'm stronger, you're not what let's just talk about it. That's kind of my been my entire you know, some people are impossible to talk to, but for the most part, everybody's very kind and supportive, and it's been a great community building. I had no idea that uh it would be like this and the support, it's been amazing.
SPEAKER_03You know, you think about people today, especially, and it's like we've lost the ability just to communicate with each other and and disagree with each other. Yes, yeah. It's like and and if you listen to the media and you do nothing but watch social media, I think we can easily get distracted and get led into this this lie that is well, we're all so different and we're all opposed and and we're all are divided. But really, when you're able to have a conversation with somebody and sit down and ask questions or you know, have a real honest conversation with people, it you find out people are a lot we're a lot more alike, we have a lot more in common than we than we want to believe.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely. I tell my son all the time, he's 15, he's about to be 16. You know, it's time to start having we've been having big boy talks, you know, more and so it's like I tell them all the time, it's like doesn't matter, man, what color you are, what gender you are, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, 99% of people just want to retire, be surrounded by family, and live up on a hill somewhere with a view. That's it. That's what everyone wants, you know, for the most part. And so um, and so it's like if we all want the same thing, we're all going after the same thing, like, well, dang it, let's let's talk about it, let's have fun with each other, let's stop hating each other. So that's kind of that's my thing, is like I told my wife, I said it's now transferred in from a like wannabe cattle business to now, man, I might actually be like a quote unquote content creator or influencer or something. And if that's the case, then I just want people at the end of the night to log in, see wholesome, just family wholesome stuff that go, man, this is nice to see. We smile and they click off. And it's not hate, it's not I versus whoever, it's nothing like it's just wholesome content, you know? And that's my goal.
SPEAKER_03Well, that's a great goal, and and you guys do a great job of that. So it's it's really cool to see. And again, we're gonna post links to everything uh after the after the show's uh posted as well. But um, and and going back to your service as a Marine, thank you for for what you've done for this country and for your service. How long were you in the Marine Corps?
SPEAKER_01I was in for four years. I did four years. That's all I could do, man. I did uh 2000 2009 to 2013, and I was in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012.
SPEAKER_03Those are so many heavy years out there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I mean, I it's the it's some of the most memorable times. It doesn't even, you know, it doesn't even feel like that was actually me. It feels like a you know alternate life that I lived, but um compared to what I'm doing now. But um, I mean I wouldn't take it back for nothing. That built me into the man I am today.
SPEAKER_03So yeah. I want to talk a little bit about what the the first post that I saw from you guys, and it hasn't been that long ago, and so I want to talk about uh what you did in this video, and then also kind of get an update since then. What really caught my attention is that you know, if you've listened to the show, we talk we talk all the time about feral hogs and the impact. We talked about the science and data behind them. We uh Dayton, you know, he's an he's uh uh avid, he's an avid hunter, and uh Dayton House with house rules that we'll have a segment here later today on that as well. But um we've covered feral hogs in in in short, we've covered it. Something that you guys had done that just kind of blew me away, and I don't know why I've I've never thought of this because there's GPS collaring and all kinds of animals and uh all kinds of other ways to track, and you know, thermal drones are becoming even more popular now. And so you guys in a video, and we'll show this in a second, but you guys have um uh caught a hog in this video, and you tag it with an RFID tag, and then you release it with the intention of that hog going back to the the herd, the sounder, being able to locate. What what what gave you that idea?
SPEAKER_01Man, uh I I don't know. I really don't know. I drive in my truck and the music sucks, and I'm just thinking about pigs and ranching and whatever. And so like I was just I I have a couple of uh cop buddies, some guys that are police officers, some guys that are marines and stuff, and I said, and every once about once a year they come out with me and we're always doing something with pigs or trapping or whatever. And I said, I just sent them a message, I said, dude, what do you what do you think about putting a tracking beacon on one of these things? We can then find the sounder and then track it, and then you know, whatever. And then it kind of turned into, well, what if we left it out there and then we just kind of like tracked its movements and saw, okay, you know, this is the surrounding, or do they hit a creek bed and they just bounce and you never see them again? Or how does this work, you know? And so then it kind of just turned into something like, you know what, we're doing this. And so then that weekend I caught a pig and uh took her into the shoot and tagged her and then released her. And that was on the that's what's on the video.
SPEAKER_03So it's been a couple of weeks since then. Have you been able to to get any data from from that hog?
SPEAKER_01A little, so a little bit. It's spotty. I didn't realize how bad. So I well, one, I was a little nervous. I was new about there's you know, there's anywhere from $40 to $1,000. So I was like, this thing's on this thing's on um Amazon. It's got it's $70, you know. I could live with if this thing rips it off on going under a barbed wire fence or something, you know. And so I was like, well, let's do the $70 one. And so it's like, you know, ten dollars a month or something. You buy you you pay for the year, you get a discount, whatever. And so you track it, but it's very spotty. It's still like it'll be one place in one day, and then it's way far, like you can't. I was really hoping this where you could actively watch it move. You know what I'm saying? Um and so, but it it it it almost like it knew exactly where it was going. When I let it go, it beelined right in front of the house, went through the woods, went to the next ranch over, which is about four or five hundred acres, went through that ranch and then stopped two ranches away. And I was like, really? Okay, so it knew that was wild. Well, then it kind of hung around that area for a while, and now it's kind of working its way north. So I don't have enough data yet to tell you because for about a week it just stayed in the same spot, and I was thinking, great, I'm gonna pretty soon I'm gonna see it get on the county road, and it's gonna end up in my mailbox because the rancher who shot it right is bringing it back to me, you know.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01But uh, but it stayed in that area for a week and then now it's starting to move north again. So I don't know if I'll ever get it back. Uh, but um so we'll just have to see what happens. The battery's getting kind of low too, and I didn't think that far ahead, I guess is what I'm trying to say.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's a good start. I mean, it's something you could, you know, you could work from. And if you if you wanted to invest some more time or energy or money, then it's it it's like I said, it's a good start.
SPEAKER_01Yes, for sure. And I and and to clear things up, so I had a I had one of my other posts get reported by uh some very strong animal rights person. She was complaining that my rack my pet raccoon and my pet German Shepherd were stressed, and so they were being abused. And so she recorded it. Well, I got a phone call from the game warden because a uh raccoon is involved, and it's the local game warden in my county. And uh so what's going on, man? We talked, and I said, dude, he said, I just want to let you know, you know, raccoons are illegal to possess. Yes, sir. I said, Well, I got you on the phone. Uh is there anything illegal at all about tracking a pig? And he was like, No, huh? No, not at all. You know, like he was kind of like, huh, we may have to get it, kind of came across like we may have to get back with you on that one. We may have to partner up. So, you know, there was some people online who were saying, This is really illegal in Arkansas and this is this. And so I wanted to clarify, you know, like, hey, there's nothing illegal about because they said, you know, you catch a pig to re re-release an invasive species is illegal. And I'm like, well, that's it, yes, if you transfer it counties and release it onto you know into that in the city of Dallas, yes, that's illegal. But on the same ranch the same day, no, it's not illegal. So clarify that one.
SPEAKER_03Good good point to clarify. But yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, as you know, I mean, you struggle no matter if you own a hundred acres or a hundred thousand acres in Texas. I mean, uh, feral hogs continue to be such a huge problem for us. And you know, what you were saying about the data points where the location of that hog was from day to day, and it's it hung out in one area for a week. I mean, I see that on game cams on our place. It's like you'll think you'll think the hogs for whatever reason have moved on, whether you've put enough pressure on them or whether the drought conditions, whatever. And then you know, in in two and a half months on a random Thursday night, you'll see a group of 30 come through where you haven't seen them in in months. And so it's man, it's they're very hard to predict unless you're just doing like what my friend Dayton does and sits up, you know, all night where you know one is coming in or two are coming in. Um he has you know, he kills a lot of pigs that way. But for those of us who can't do that or don't do that, you know, it's we're always looking for some kind of tool that we can we can identify them. Now you guys trap and you also haul uh live hogs to to sell.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's the main that's our main push. So we have uh in the county that we're in, there's a couple different buying stations. And that's what a lot of people say is like, why are you getting in the traps with those pigs? You know, and it's like, well, you have to. I I I built an old trailer, I loaded that trailer up, you load it up and you take them. Well, if you take one pig, two pigs, it's not worth it. They give you five cents, fifteen cents a pound. If you catch 2530, you know, you can get a you know, 500 to a thousand bucks. And so um, you do that a couple times a year. It kind of helps offset the cost of uh, you know, just damages and fuel costs of replowing fields that they destroy and fence, you know, fixing fences. That's the biggest thing is they just they will just destroy a fence. Absolutely. Then you got cows gallic, then you got smaller cows running away, you know. So um that's our I love doing that where we sell them because you at least kind of get the you get the bot, you get the live body off the ranch. You don't have a pile of 30 pigs dead somewhere on the ranch where other scavengers and predators are gonna come eat, and it's just they're gone, you made your money, and then you leave, you know.
SPEAKER_03Right, trying to recoup some of that cost, like you said.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03The other thing is that uh these hogs, and I didn't know this, but they a lot of them get turned into dog food, commercial dog food.
SPEAKER_01That's what this guy does with them. Yeah, he hangs on to them for about two or three weeks, and a big 18-wheeler comes in, like the cattle trailer, he loads them up, pays him by the pound, and then uh yeah, I think uh Purina, I don't hate to you know name drop, but that I think that's who buys them and does that. Uh so yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well that's a great use. I mean, they're not just being wasted, they're so prolific. I mean, yeah. I mean that's what we should do. We should start our own dog food plant.
SPEAKER_01That'd be awesome, man.
unknownYeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I don't know that I want to do that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I've been to some nice little dog food plants and it's it's pretty rough. Sure it is. The smell is pretty rough, but yeah. I think it's really interesting. The the I've got a good buddy of mine traps and and we'll haul him in, uh, actually takes him to cross planes sometimes uh when he gets enough, like you're talking about. And it's interesting the you know, these hogs, as tough as they are and as as adaptable as they are, as we talk about on the show a lot, they're also pretty fragile once you get them contained. And there's a video of you guys spraying them down, and it wasn't even really that hot yet whenever you guys are doing that. But it's uh you really have to uh you'll you'll lose all those hogs in a trailer if you don't uh keep them cooled down.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. They stress out and they will just literally fall over like a tree and die. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Cody, when we come back after the break, I want to talk a little bit more about uh faith and family and some of the things going on in your life, and uh we'll be right back after these messages.
SPEAKER_02Stay tuned, right here.
SPEAKER_03Lone Star Trail will return after these messages. If you follow the podcast, or if you're new, either way, we talk a lot about trapping. You're gonna find that out. Uh we've got our own predator issues out here in Brown County we try to mitigate, but I want to talk a little bit about Texas Farm Ranch Wildlife Solutions. My good friend Philip Woods out in East Texas. Uh, he's an expert when it comes to managing predation on Texas farms and ranches. If you've got trouble with coyotes, with bobcats, with uh beaver, if you've got nuisance predators impacting your bottom line, you need to call my friend Philip Woods, 713-208-3517 is his number. That's 713-208-3517. You can email him at woodscattlecompany at gmail.com. Uh, Philip Woods out there in East Texas, he does a great job, but he's statewide. If you got problems in South Texas or the Panhandle, uh, professional trapping services, Texas Farm and Ranch Wildlife Solutions, that's who you need to call. Call my friend Philip. Whether you're looking to buy your next hunting property or have acreage to sell, you need Brian Clark and Ranch Pro Real Estate in your corner to use the latest in technology. To make listings easy for sellers to maximize value. In the market to buy that perfect ranch or hunting getaway, call Ranch Pro Real Estate at 325-642-3630. That's RanchPro Real Estate at RanchProRealEstate.com. The land is their life. Welcome back to Love Star Trail. We're here with Cody Bannister with Draper Ranch. Cody, thanks for being with us this morning.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_03So in our first statement, we talked a little bit about your background. We talked about uh the way you came by the ranch. Uh you and your family uh operate this ranch as a as an actual working cattle ranch, and we talked about the feral hog issue that everybody who ranches or owns property faces today in Texas. Um I wanted to talk a little bit about um uh your faith component in this. You know, you could have essentially the ranch was yours. You could have uh you could have sold it, you could have um leased it out, you could have done any number of things, probably had less headache and maybe less stress in your life. Um it was kind of a it was kind of a leap of faith to continue uh what your granddad had started. Talk about that and how your faith kind of plays into your day-to-day activities and what that means to you.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, yeah, sure. Uh not to get, you know, I mean, not to get too personal, but I didn't I I never got to meet my dad, so I didn't know my dad. My mom's kind of a mess. And so my grandpa was my like rock of my world. Uh he just uh if it wasn't for my grandpa, I'd probably, you know, maybe be in jail, dead. I don't know. I had kind of a rough past when I was a kid, you know, younger teenager and stuff. And so my grandpa was always that that that solid you know component in my life that kept me somewhat going in the right track, you know. And so yeah, uh, and then the and then obviously Marine Corps really helped, and then I got out and uh so for to watch my grandpa, you know, anytime I was going through bad times or hard times when I was a kid, or I, you know, wasn't being hurt, or you know, all the you know, our generation is full of childhood traumatic stuff, but uh anytime I get to go to the ranch with my grandpa, it was like I was free. This is where I'm supposed to be. This is this is I finally get to be a kid, I finally get to learn, and I finally get to have a dad that I can look up to that's teaching me what it takes to be a man. And so whenever as we've grown, as me and him grew older together before we pass, obviously, um I just I fell in love with it, man. I don't know. I just fell in love with that. I saw his vision, I could see it, and it's like, okay, you know, if if my grandpa can put X amount of money into this land, like you're talking about, you know, he's but he bought it for $600 an acre. Well, shoot, dude, that's unheard of. You can't do that anymore, you know? And so it's like, so it's like, okay, he buys it for this, and then now I have it, and then now I'm I'm gonna babysit this land until it's the next person's. And it's like, you know, people talk about generational wealth and businesses and city and stuff, and and that's exactly what this is, but it's a you know, ranch wealth. Um, and it's just something that our kids, you know, just I watch our children just completely thrive in a in this setting. And so that's that's the most important part to me. I got a great wife that's super on board with that kind of thing. And it's just uh, you know, giving that giving our kids a better life than what we had, and then them giving a better life than they, you know, they had. And that's kind of that's been our that's been our main motivation. And that was kind of, you know, my grandpa was on his deathbed. He just said, whatever you do with the ranch is is up to you. I'm like, no, it no, it's not. You know, I'm uh you were a babysitter of this land, and I'm gonna be a babysitter until I'm gone, and then it's the next ones, you know. So that's my been my motivation.
SPEAKER_03That's pretty uh that's pretty heavy, and that's pretty uh amazing story there. And uh thank you for sharing that. As you as you think about you know, future generation, because we talk a lot about that on the show too. We talk about getting kids outside and all the benefits that that are uh proven from from having kids outside and being uh in the dirt, I'll call it. We uh you know, and and those who have heard me talk about our kids, we've got four kids, young kids, they're they're out. I I joke with people, how are the kids? And I'll say they're feral, you know. They're they're wild and and uh they enjoy being outside to the point where this is this is their life and they love it and they recognize the the value that there is out here. How what are you guys doing with your with your kids? I know you have an older son, but what are you guys doing to to kind of open that world up for them and and and kind of show them hey this could be uh something that you're involved in pretty soon? What what do you guys do? How do you do that?
SPEAKER_01Well, so I'm gonna steal a line from Jordan Peterson. Um, you know, let your kids do dangerous things carefully. When I heard that, I was like, yes, that's what you just put my thoughts into words, you know, and so that's our thing is we've you know, uh we can't you and I can't go climb up and stand on a table somewhere, or we can't go and jump off of, you know, we can't just we we can't act a certain way, right? We're always told no, and you can't do this, you can't do that, you know. And so for our kids, it's kind of been um something that we there's a line there, obviously, right? We're not we don't raise, we're not raising heathens, but we're raising feral children, you know. And so there's that line that, you know, all dad has to do is give that snap or that look or slightly apply a pressure point if it gets too out of hand, you know. It's like, and so um that's our that's our biggest thing is just you we see these kids in the city, we have a lot of friends in the city, we have a house in the city, and um, so we we see these kids, you know. I heard a statistic say something about kids are on their on screens up to seven to nine hours a day, not including school, you know, and it's like, and then I watch I see this and I'm just like, this is a this is a pandemic, you know, this is really bad, you know. And then kids will come out to the ranch, our friends' kids will come out to the ranch and watch them like, no, no, just let them go, you know, like let them go. If they want to climb on that fence, if they want to climb up on ginger or horse, and if she's standing there and they jump on her back, it's okay. Let them do it. If they, you know, whatever happens, it'll be fine, you know. And that's kind of been our um within reason. That's been our uh mindset of everything. You know, I had a I posted something with my son. He said, I want dad, it's uh let's go knock down the um wasp nest. So we're up, I have a video of it. We're up on our roof, and he's climbing up on the roof in cowboy boots, and he's it's a dual-pitch roof. So he's climbing up and he's knocking these wasp desks down and then he's throwing them off the roof. Well, the the one part's like almost flat as the ground, and then the other part's slick. So he'll climb up and he slides down to the flat spot. And I posted that, and of course, most people loved it. And there are some people who are like, This is child abuse, and it's like, no, it's not. You know, like this is this is great. This is he is loving life. He loves this, you know. And how will this our biggest thing is what will this lesson here, what will this do here for his future later on? How is this building his confidence? How is this building his mechanical capabilities? How he understands how things work and and most importantly, the why. Why are we doing this? And that's what we you'll see in some of my videos as well that I'm big about explaining. Why are we doing this? What are we doing? And then, you know, talking to it through with it with the kids.
SPEAKER_03I think the why is a huge component, you know, and my yes, my wife's grandpa, he was uh he was a um he was a real cowboy, uh old school cowboy, and uh great roper and team roper and welder. And uh he built some amazing things that we still have on the ranch, and the way he was able to innovate with some stuff was pretty amazing, but he was not big on explaining, it was a one thing at a time, and the big picture was not really explained. And uh something that she and I kind of joke about now is is uh when we were talking to our kids about whatever it is, you know, and trying to explain the why is is huge.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Yes, exactly right. I think that's just part of it, right? Like you you talked about like how we talked about you know, you got a lot from that man, and then now you're like, okay, well, here's where he messed up a little bit, and then now I'm gonna do that. I'm not gonna mess up in that section for the kids and teach them the why. And then so what will my grandkids be like, you know? So that's kind of that's perfect.
SPEAKER_03Man, and what a you know, as as dads, what a uh awesome responsibility it is, you know. Um my gosh, yes. And you know, I I I think about that sometimes. I try not to get too boggy on it because it can be a little overwhelming when you think about the responsibility. And you know, the failure. I was like, man, I I fail every day as a dad. And you reflect on that in the evenings or whatever, mornings, whatever it might be. And it's like, I've got to do better, I've got to do better. And I think that's the that's the goal is we we want to do better, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yes, all the time. Be a better version, be a I'm gonna be a better dad tomorrow than I was today. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03Well, the outdoors, farming, ranching, hunting. I mean, I think I just I kind of beat this horse to death, but it what what a great teacher out uh nature is, and and God's you know, creation is such an awesome teacher if we'll just have the sense to recognize it, you know, change the system. The soil health, the ways the plant grow, the way the ways that the animals behave and act, and it's just uh you know, genetics as you're raising as you're as you're uh raising kids and you're raising cattle, it's it's just so uh it's funny because I will, you know, my wife grew up ranching and raising cattle and obviously knowing just basic genetics and and things about that nature in terms of livestock, and it's funny when you look at your own kids and you think, yeah, that one's mine. Or yeah, that one's yours for sure. Uh-huh. Same way with cattle.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, that's great.
SPEAKER_03Cody, I mean, I we could talk for for hours probably. We need to get together again really soon. I want to talk before we leave though, uh, you guys have have in the way that you always explain things or are great about explaining things in your video, you also bring a lot of humor into it. One of the most recent videos I saw was you caught a small pig. How much was that pig that you're you're babying around? What was it 20, 30 pounds, probably?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, probably maybe most 40. Yeah, most 40, yeah.
SPEAKER_03So in this video, you're rocking this pig like a baby. And the option says what people think I should do with these hogs. Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01I've had I've had some I've had some death threats. I mean, just so angry with Vic that I jumped on that hog, you know, that one that tried to attack me in the video or whatever. And so, yeah, uh, I I we were transferring those pigs from one trailer to another, and uh I picked it up and I said, Hey, Brody, look. I was like, This is how the internet, and he was recording, and he said, uh, and I said, This is how the internet thinks and whatever. And I started going, shh, and I rock him, you know, like a baby, and of course it's squealing, and it's like, and this it and then I post that and I even get a comment on there that says, I can't believe you treat animals this way. And I'm like, What? What the what else do I do? You can't wait for losing. Yeah, so it's it's it's funny, you know, and I know that there's gonna be people out there that hate on what we do, but at the end of the day, you know, um, I think it's our right or our job as humans to get rid of you know a potential pandemic of you know invasive species. So we're gonna keep rocking and rolling on it and trying out the next best thing.
unknownCool.
SPEAKER_03Well, Cody, thank you so much for being here on Draper Ranch. Uh if you've not looked at Draper Ranch on Facebook, especially, go and check it out. We'll post links on our stuff to to Draper Ranch. But uh Cody, thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. And uh you also have a very big thriving business in the Metroplex with uh involving landscaping and tree cutting. And so I know you're worn out after a day of taking trees out, but thanks for thanks for taking some time to visit with us, and uh we'll be in touch again soon.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, man. Yeah, next time we'll do it in the living room of the ranch.
SPEAKER_03You bet, I'd love to.
SPEAKER_01Okay, buddy. Well, you have a good night. We'll talk to you later.
SPEAKER_03You're listening to the Lone Star Trail, and it's time once again for House Rules with Dayton House. Dayton is a retired government trapper, a firearms expert, an outdoors enthusiast, and a true Texan. At 76 years old, he's still going strong and enjoys sharing his passion of the outdoors with others.
SPEAKER_02I'd like to tell you the meanest thing I ever did, and it was while I was trapping. This was the early to mid-80s, before we had cell phones. I was had been promoted from a trapper to a troubleshooter, and troubleshooters were able to go anywhere in our district, and the supervisor would oftentimes call and on Monday morning, well, I need you to go there. Supervisor's name was Jan. Sister was Judy. Judy worked in the Tyler office. She did urban work only. Jan would go anywhere, and oftentimes would like to go with us guys. And I was out at my mother and dad's house near Center City, and Jan called and wanted to meet me at Montag County, and we were talking about getting reservations at the motel. And I said, Well, just get one room and we'll share a room. We were on Pradem, and if we shared a room, we could save a little bit or make a little off of the Pradem. And oh, Mama overheard that conversation and she got fighting mad and uh when we hung up, well, she cornered me and says, What is this that you're gonna spend the week with Jan at a motel in the same room? She said, Aren't you ashamed of yourself? And just on and on about how that could lead to fornication and an adultery, and I explained to her how we'd save money out of it. And she said, The very idea, I'm gonna call your state director and get this straightened out. And I told her, No, no need to do it. We've been doing this for years. And she said, Well, what about your wife and kids? Aren't you embarrassed to do that? And I said, No, they know what we're doing and where we are, and said, We've been doing it for a long time. And the next week I got a letter in the mail from her, and she'd quoted eight or ten scriptures, and she was famous for writing letters. Anything she didn't like, well, she'd write the company. When Coca-Cola changed their new Coke to New Coke, she wrote them a letter, and they gave her a six-month supply of three-liter Cokes. And anything she didn't like, well, she'd write it. And I got this long letter, and I wished I'd have saved it, but I didn't. It was so comical because uh she didn't know what she was talking about. And so for years she was mad at me because of this incident. And this is your mother. That was my mother, and she died believing that Jan was a girl, and Jan's name was Jan Earl Loving, uh, a man, and his sister was Judy, but now you see why it was comical. And I deliberately deceived her, although she I well, no, I didn't deceive her. I let her believe what she assumed, and that was probably the meanest thing I've ever done. Oh man.
SPEAKER_03And I I doubt that uh This is the same same woman who drove you around with you on the hood of the Ford car while you were shooting rabbits in the bar ditch?
SPEAKER_02That's correct. Okay. Five, six years old, I'd ride on the hood and shoot rabbits, and uh daddy'd take the three brothers in the Chevrolet and go to the rodeo. Mama didn't like the Chevrolet dealer, so she'd buy a Ford car and Daddy liked him and did she write him a letter, you think? I don't know. I never heard about it, but uh that's the meanest thing. Now the second meanest thing was involved a wedding on the swanging bridge at uh Colorado River. Now, this is the dividing Colorado River's dividing line between Mills and Cinsaba in our area. And for anyone that uh watches the uh Texas Country Reporter, they see that bridge two or three times during the show, and it's one of the famous landmarks in Texas. Maybe one of two remaining bridges, swinging bridges that you can drive across. And this has a long history. It's been flooded several times and twice, I believe it uh wiped it completely out, maybe 33, 34, I don't remember. I wasn't around then, but uh they redid it uh let's see which maybe George Bush was in governor at that time of the year. Yeah, whenever that was. But this wedding was a few years prior to that, and the couple was little Richard Sphinx from Mullin. He and Tommy Green and Sammy Smith were all in the rodeo club and they perver provided and furnished the bulls for a lot of the rodeos. And they traveled all over the area, and he met a girl that was named Sherry. She was a uh disc uh disc jockey, radio disc jockey in Bridgeport north of Fort Worth. And they fell in love and she came down there and that's the first time I'd met her was at the wedding. And they wanted the wedding performed on the swinging bridge, and this was before it was restored in ninety. And it had the old wooden boards were some places three and four inches apart, and you could literally put your foot between the boards, and it was kind of dangerous. And it was on soft cable, and you could rock your car back and forth, and the old bridge would move and probably four feet up and down, and it wasn't very stable. Uh years ago, uh some of the journigans were driving cattle across it, and the bridge clapped and killed a little journal that was 15 years old. So this was about the third bridge then that they'd put up there. But I warned them uh don't pass the rings from the best man back and forth because there's a danger you might drop the ring. And so I put the ring in my pocket, and unbeknownst to them, I had a penny in my pocket. And when I went to give the ring to the little Richard, I dropped the penny, and Sherry's eyes just got big, and you could tell she was about to explode and mad as she could be, but didn't say a word. And the best man reached down and picked it up and gave it to him. But after the ceremony, she slapped me on the shoulder and said, Don't ever do that again. And till the day she died, every time I saw her, she slapped me on the shoulder, never in the face, but that was probably the second meanest thing that I've ever done. Oh man. And while we were doing the ceremony, we had to move over twice and let cars come by. There were only six of us there, the bride and the groom, and uh Josh and his wife, and my wife. And so it was real easy to move the wedding party over. Let somebody go by. But uh Sherry's passed away now, and uh uh always enjoyed ribbing her about her wedding.
SPEAKER_03Well, that's all the time we have for this week's episode. Thanks for stopping by. Me and old Hank the Gardog will catch you next week at the same time, same place. If you can't join us on a local station, find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts. Also, you can connect with us on Facebook and share your hunting and outdoor photos and stories with us at Lone Star Trail Radio at gmail.com. Until next time for all of us here at the show, so long.
