Passing For Normal

I had a fantastic day!

It was Cattleman's Day at the not-quite-the-county-fair in Little Big City up the road, and real cowpersons, men and women who work with cattle in their daily lives (as opposed to competing full-time in pro rodeo) competed in events meant to mimic as closely as possible the tasks that these people routinely do in working with stock, like Team Doctoring, Trailer Loading, Team Penning, and Calf Branding (with chalk, not an actual brand), ending with a Working Cow Dog competition (link is to a YouTube video, not from today's event) for a fat cash prize.

The emphasis was on good stockmanship -- treating the cattle in such a way as to minimize their stress, working with them quietly with awareness and skill to get everyday ranching tasks accomplished with good teamwork and without trauma or injury to anyone or anything. Each task had a time limit, but it was not rushed, and faster was not considered better. Bonus points were given for doing it well -- i.e., calm, controlled, and at a measured pace. Rushing things almost always backfired and ended up costing points.

It was absolutely fascinating and I learned SO MUCH! And I got a wealth of information and ideas that I can apply to my due South Rodeo AU -- assuming I can ever get my writing mojo working again. (This is not a given, as my antidepressant meds, or lack thereof, have been the main factor. It's complicated.)

After talking it over with a few of the other participants, I decided to post a "teaser" for the Rodeo AU for the current posting weekend at alternate_ds_c6d, in hopes that it will help jump-start me. Said teaser is over yonder:

Untitled due South Rodeo AU teasers (WIP) (2840 words) by malnpudl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ray Kowalski/Stella Kowalski, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Francesca Vecchio
Summary:

This is the beginning of a big bang-length due South rodeo AU, with past RayK/Stella and eventual Fraser/RayK and Stella/RayV. There's a short prequel that takes place some years in the past, and the opening scene from the present day main story.