Verna Wright from Kole Creek Bison Ranch near Hixon created her own twist on T'was the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore to tell a tall tale geared for her grandchildren.
T'was the night before Christmas - Santa didn't know what to do
Most of the reindeer had come down with the flu
This will be the worst Christmas ever Santa sighed with a dread
"The reindeer are sick? Who'll pull my sled?"
"I'll pull the sleigh," said dear little Vixen.
"I'll help with the toys and whatever needs fixin"'
"My sleigh is too wide and too long and too deep
We must visit the whole world in one night while they sleep"
"No, little Vixen. You are too weak and you are too small
I need something strong and fast. I need something TALL!"
Santa thought for a while "m... m... m... I must take a chance,
I'll call my friend Vern at Kole Creek Bison Ranch"
Vern listened to Santa's sad tale of woe
"Your reindeer are sick?! You need my buffalo!"
Santa was so happy! He harnessed up Vixen
He loaded the sleigh and they flew down to Hixon
So, Vern harnessed up Josie, Leelo and Emma
He was so happy to help Santa with his terrible dilemma
Next came Elaine, Blackie and Kay
Fernando - of course - was leading the way
This Christmas there was NO prancing and pawing of each little hoof
When those bison crashed down onto everyone's roof!
The timbers, they shivered - it felt like a quake!
Pots rattled and clanged - they made everything shake
Their big hearts were beating. Oh! They were fast!
They streaked 'round the globe with that sleigh like a blast
In a flash all stockings were filled. Time to return;
For a well-needed rest and a hay bale from Vern
Vern checked out the sleigh to make sure nothing broke
'Cause Santa was dizzy. He thought he'd suffered a stroke
Santa will never forget - as he flew home with Vixen
The Christmas he whizzed 'round the world with those bison from Hixon!
Christmas at the bison ranch
Long ago on a cold winter's night the fence along the south quarter needed mending on the 400-acre Kole Creek Bison Ranch just north of Hixon.
Where the buffalo roam below-freezing temperatures, a snow storm and dwindling daylight made fence mending more daunting but it didn't stop the ranchers from completing the task.
"As I stood along the fence line shivering in my boots, Vern told me he'd only be a few more minutes and to go sit in the truck," said Verna Wright, talking about the catalyst for her creative thinking a decade ago. "I was still shivering but to take my mind off the cold I started thinking about bison and Santa's sleigh because it was close to Christmas and when I realized Vixen rhymed with Hixon I was off."
Verna wrote a poem with her own tongue-in-cheek twist on Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore to tell a tall tale to her grandchildren.
The key members of the bison herd, including Fernando the bull, are the stars of the poem as Santa's whole team of reindeer, except, of course, Vixen, got sick and couldn't fly.
"T'was the night before Christmas - Santa didn't know what to do
Most of the reindeer had come down with the flu"
And so the adventure begins.
Verna is a locally known poetess who wrote a poem about moving to the ranch as well her holiday poem and continues to entertain the troupes at the local Elder Citizens Recreation Association with her witty word play as she creates posters for special events, contributes to the newletter and sings in the choir.
"My neighbour Earl kept telling me I needed to submit my Santa poem to The Citizen but I kept putting it off," Verna said, her kind eyes smiling. Earl has since passed away but finally Verna decided to venture into the new location of the Citizen office recently to see if there was any interest in her poetry.
"And now here we are," she laughed as the camera shutter clicked away, capturing special moments during the interview at the buffalo farm earlier this week.
Vern's dream to own a bison farm began in the 60s when he read an article in a prominent magazine about a successful 5,000-head buffalo ranch in the states but back in the day bison came under the wildlife act in Canada and no one could commercialize bison, he explained.
So he put the dream away for a while.
Traveling the province as an insurance claims adjuster, Vern came upon the 400 acres he and Verna live on now and made the purchase in 1998. The couple moved from Nelson and all those they knew and loved in 2000 after they built their house. Vern was in semi-retirement for a couple of years so he and Verna could make the transition to full time farmers.
There is now 320 acres that are fenced and cross fenced for their 51 head of bison and the 80 acres across the road is logged off in preparation for a hay field to make the farm that much more self sufficient.
Vern is bison's best ambassador, talking about how the meat is more lean than other red meats, with a lower cholesterol count and grass-fed bison, like the Kole Creek herd, even contains essential omega 3s as an extra perk.
"This meat is great for the health-conscious and that's the direction the public seems to be going," Vern said. According to statistics offered on the Canadian Bison Association web site, there were reported 119,314 bison on 975 Canadian farms and ranches in 2016. The BC bison industry is relatively small with provincial government statistics showing 53 licensed ranches and 7,250 head of bison, according to the information offers on the BC Bison Association website.
Fernando the bull has been the sole stud at Kole Creek for the last 18 years. Recently he was replaced by his son Kole as both Vern and Verna decided that seeing him deteriorate and get injured because of his weakened state as an aging bull was not the end of life Fernando deserved. The breeding plan at the ranch has changed and Vern said Kole will have six years and then be replaced by newcomer, two-year-old Rambo.
Vern sells long yearlings, which means the bison are sold on the hoof at 18 months when the heffers weigh in at about 550 pounds and bulls come in at about 700 pounds. And then, of course, there's the baby, who was born in October and still has the sheen of auburn that is characteristic of youth. As the bison mature their coats get darker, so in the field it's easy to see the wee one as he keeps close to his mother.
In the past Vern used to sell the meat to restaurants and individuals as special orders, but as the details and demands got more complicated, he decided to simplify the process and just ship the bison to an Alberta company, where the meat is distributed internationally and nationally.
He remembers the early days when the slaughter took place on the farm. Vern quickly realized as bison are herding animals and relationships are strong among them, having a slaughter specialist come into the field with a rifle was causing some trauma amongst the mothers. After doing some research he found the right place to sell the bison on the hoof, which means they are transported live.
Vern said he's been complimented on the calm nature of his beasts and many shippers have commented that his herd is easy to load onto the trucks. Vern believes in keeping the stress level as low as possible on the farm and deliberately keeps close to the herd at feeding time and even treats them to alfalfa pellets on occasion to ensure the human to animal relationship is positively maintained.
Verna has never felt comfortable around the big brutes and when she startled No. 46's baby when she tried to shoo him back from the gate, the big breeding cow (who Verna refuses to name because of the bad blood between them) has had it out for her ever since - and that was about a decade ago. Apparently buffalo grudges hold fast.
"When I'm on the ATV, in the little truck or even the big truck I always have to look over my shoulder to make sure she's not coming after me," Verna visibly shudders at the thought.
"Oh Verna, she won't come after you, it's just that you are watching out for her," Vern laughed with affection for his wife.
So why is she on a bison farm if she's scared of the big creatures?
"I have to support my husband and his dreams," Verna said with conviction in her eyes.
As the group of people walks out of the sunny house to see the group of bison, Vern turned to make sure Verna was safe and comfortable and bends from his steadfast rancher's posture to lean over and quietly say something.
"I never would've been able to do it without her," he smiled.
