Winter 2014

she overcame her “own personal liberal bias against guns,” she became an
avid shotgunner. And when she took to the field with Emry and watched
bird dogs work a covey of wild bobwhites, she became an avid quail hunter,
finding the pursuit rejuvenating. In 2005, she graduated as a member of the
state’s first QuailMaster class. The diploma is one of only four framed “atta
girls” that adorn her office wall.
Her burgeoning interest in wildlife put her directly in the path of a
group of passionate young female conservationists, including Tamara Trail,
Helen Holdsworth and Jenny Sanders, who were educators and advocates
for the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA).
“Those young women served as role models for me,” she said. “I was
in my 50s. They weren’t. I was just discovering an area and a passion that
they had dedicated their lives to. They welcomed me into their world and
encouraged me to be an active, engaged contributor.”
Today, Deborah is the chairperson for the Texas and Southwestern
Cattle Raisers Wildlife Committee. She recently, after a two-year hiatus,
reaccepted the role of State Membership Chairman for the TWA.
When she was discussing, with Emry, the latest opportunity to serve,
she relayed a conversation with TWA’s incoming president, who asked her to
return to the very time-consuming job. Emry, who had suggested she take a
break to spend more time on the ranch, considered what he heard and said,
“Well Debbie, what I think he is saying is that they can use your help.” And the
decision was made.
“Emry is the visionary expert on cattle, grazing, forage production – all
the things we have to consider and manage for our ecological and economic
survival,” Deborah said. “I’m the communicator. I work on what we – and
other people like us – have to consider in order to sustain productive, open
space land and our way of life.
She continued, “He is black and white. I’m color. But we’re partners.”
Photos by NEW STORY MEDIA
While Deborah still misses the multi-star
restaurants and really great grocery stores found
in big cities, she wouldn’t trade the life that she
now wears as comfortably as a favorite pair of
jeans. On the day we spoke, she gave me a
glimpse of her early mornings. The following can
only be described as a love letter to the land.
This morning, I was in my office reading the
Psalms, as the sky turned from dark into a brilliant
palette of orange and yellow tinged with pink. I
usually don’t quote chapter and verse because
that’s not my style, but today I revisited Psalm 65,
one of my favorites. Verse 8 jumped off the page,
“You make the gateways of morning and evening
shout for joy.” In the country, I’m part of that joy
every day.
In the past three days on my short trip down to our
pens, I’ve seen three coveys of quail burst from the
grass, evaded a multitude of deer that seem to be
intent on jumping out in front of me, laughed at a
momma raccoon and her babies trundling along,
and spotted coyotes slinking in the background.
This is just a normal part of my days.
Vistas. Sunrises. Sunsets. The natural ebb and
flow of life. Over time, I’ve been blessed by an
increasing intimacy with the land.
Sometimes I declare self-imposed periods of
isolation where I refuse to leave the ranch. I
simply want to breathe. I simply want to be.
I came to this land after a period of difficult
transition. The experience, epitomized by this
ranch, has taught me that bountiful opportunities
and peace often lie on the other side of hard,
trying times.
36 LandsofTexasMagazine.com