May

May 21-27 Spring Gather

Monday, May 22, 2000
A hot day at the lower ranch! We were up and saddled by about 8:00am, headed up the canyon towards Deep Creek, and met up with my cattle partner Alan who was riding from his house. There were ten of us riding today: John from Colorado, Brian from Georgia, and Ronnie from Alabama. We also have Donnelly and Mickila from Germany, Paul and Cindy from Ohio, and Russ and Andrea from New York. We soon split into three groups all looking for 12 head that were in a 1200 acre holding trap. The country is rough and rocky with thick cedar and juniper trees as well as an abundance of cactus. My group quickly flushed a wild white cow and her calf and she disappeared into a canyon. I decided that it was too early in the day to run our horses out on one stupid cow so we went on. Soon we came across a cow, two calves, and two yearling heifers. I left two riders to watch them as another and myself went looking for the momma to the babe we had. We found her about a half mile away and soon had a mother and child reunion. We started them off the mesa and quickly met up with Alan and Tanya and the folks riding with them who only had two dry (no calves) cows with them. We pushed them about two miles to a corral and penned them and then looked for the missing cattle till about 4:00pm with no luck. The sun was beating down and the temp. was way up in the 90's. At this point a cold drink was luring us all home and we pulled in about 5:30pm. I sure can't wait till this spring gather is over and we can move up to the high country and get back to cooler temperatures. It should be only about 3 more weeks!

Tuesday, May 23, 2000
Another hot one! We trailered over to Ghost Ranch and were gathering by 8:00am, but still not early enough. The temperatures are running way above average for this time of year, but also the summer rain clouds are starting to build up, which is about 6 weeks ahead of normal, teasing us, but hopefully it will give in and rain. Boy, we sure need it. All the tanks and ponds are dangerously low and springs have dried up. By 1:30pm the temp. was right at 100 in the shade! We spent the morning brush popping down Vigil Canyon. A wide, steep wall and rocky streambed filled with mesquite, catclaw, cactus, and cedar. At times you cannot see cattle 20 feet in front of you and just keep track of them by the sound of breaking branches. We busted over 50 head out of the thickets and finally about noon broke out of the canyon into some more open country and made good time traveling the seven miles to the Alma corrals where we penned them. By 3:30 we took a vote and it was a unanimous decision to head back to the headquarters and not do another loop. All the horses seconded the decision. On the way back I stopped at the trading post and bought ice cream for all; you would have thought by their behavior that they had won the lottery.

My little 2 y.o. Chili is really coming along great. I was so proud of him when we were working drag on the herd and he started to bite the slow cattle in the butts and just pushed the calves along with his nose, he knew he shouldn't hurt the babies. He is a natural born cowboy and sooo damn cute too. With getting home and taking care of the horses done now, the tops of lots of beers have popped and gallons of lemonade have disappeared already. Suddenly everyone is a lot happier than they were a few hours ago when they were looking at the south end of a north-bound cow with sweat in their eyes. Another cowboy kinda day.

Wednesday, May 24, 2000
It sure doesn't feel any cooler today but I guess it is. Up to about 95 today...only. Breakfast and saddled by 6:30am, we trailered back to the old headquarters we call Ghost Ranch. We split into a couple groups, John one way, I went down the canyon, and Tanya took most of the riders with her. John found none. I found a half dozen in the thickets along the canyon bottoms. We saw so many pairs that we decided to brand the calves today. John and I got the branding gear pulled together and a fire laid, but no sign of Tanya yet. We were sorting and penning the cattle we had according to brands (John and Alan and I all have our herds and brands but we run our cattle together).

It was Chili's first day in the sorting pens and he did really well. He had no idea what he was supposed to do at first and spent most of his time looking at all the cattle surrounding him. John's horse Sug a 12 y.o., 16.2 jet- black gelding and a do-it-all kinda horse. Sug set a great example for Chili who was watching his every move. It was just a matter of minutes before he figured we wanted them in the pens but he could not understand why we were doing it so slow. He knew he could do it a lot faster.

About the time we were done with that little bunch I could see dust rising up canyon. We all rode out to help but pulled up when we got to a rise and watched as five guests brought 60 head around the bend all lined out pretty as a picture. Tanya was last seen, they told us, headed into a brushy canyon with one other rider. We got out of the way and let the riders pen their herd. Just as they got done, Tanya showed up with another 20 head. John and I set to sorting as the others ate lunch. It took about 45 min. to sort them and by the time we were done Chili knew his job and we were both loving it. He is working with just ounces of leg pressure and knows that it's how I talk to him rather than using the reins. He learned to tip toe into the herd and ease a pair out and knows from my legs which pairs I want and he stays focused on them. The learning curve he is in is so much fun. John had a big cranky cow charge his horse and ram him. Sug of course stood his ground. As she charged a third time, Sug reached out and bit her in the face.

Finally we got everything penned and sorted and, as much as we didn't want to, we lit up the branding fire and set irons to heating. John gave a demonstration of heeling and then we cut the guests loose to try a hand at it...not as easy as John made it look. Lots of loops tossed and finally the calves started to get caught. The most entertainment comes when new folks try to throw or flank the little monsters. It is always good for a few laughs and grins. John, a guest from Co. about 55 years old was a madman out there, he was in on every calf it seemed. Rolling around in the dust of the corral, it was sometimes an even bet who was winning the wrestle but John was always on top when the dust settled. The sun blazed down and the fire made it even hotter as we worked our way through 40 calves. When I first counted the calves before we started and announced the number a few comments about how few there were or easy it would be were heard. By about the time 20 calves were done a few comments of "How many more?" were heard. One fella commented to me that he now understood how a 40 something year old man could have a 32 in waist. We did not get done till about 3:30pm and then we headed home to cold drinks and a shady veranda.

Thursday, May 25, 2000
Ahhh a reprieve!!!!! We all were at the breakfast table at 5:30am and in the corral saddling at 6:15. As we were loading the horses in the trailers a call came that we had cattle up on top in the Snow Lake campground. Alan and I flipped a coin and I won, and headed up the mountain with three riders, John, Brain and Don. I did not tell them where we were going until we got to the main road and turned the opposite way than the other trucks. They were excited to see the high country. It is about a two and a half hour drive to the upper ranch but it passed quickly as these guys are lots of fun. Finally we pulled into Snow Lake, quickly unloaded and within an hour had gathered about 30 head and moved them out and up a canyon to some new water. We were done with our day by noon so I decided since we were so close we would go into the Gila Wilderness area. We went down the middle fork of the Gila river about 6 miles, the guys marveling at the towering rock formations and the difference between there and the lower country. We got back to the trailer about 4:00pm and after a brief stop at the H.Q. we headed back off the mountains. The guys all agreed it was the best day so far. Brian who has been hunting and fishing all over the country told me it was the prettiest he had ever seen. We got home just as food was hitting the table in the chow house. Tanya had taken the other riders with Alan up to Roberts Park to get cattle out of there as we were losing water fast. They all told their stories over dinner of moving over 150 mother cows and about 125 calves down the long slope to the river.

Friday, May 26, 2000
It was a little cooler here today, just in the upper 80's. Up on top it did not get over 70!. Office work kept me off a horse today, for some reason my staff wanted to get paid. Seems they have should have enough fun! Everyone went with Alan and Tanya over to the San Francisco river and hunted up some strays. They rode about 9 miles of river and found 6 trotty cattle. A ride by the water under the shady cottonwoods was enjoyed by all. They got back here to the H.Q. about 5:00pm and after a hearty dinner the rest of the evening was spent on the porch swapping tales and lies and everyone laughing till the tears flowed. A good week was had by all.

May 28-June 2 Spring Gather

Monday, May 29, 2000
After a weekend driving around the state looking for horses to buy, it was good to get back home. Saw a lot of junk horses that the owners were real proud of. It's always frustrating to spend that much time on the road and come home with an empty trailer. This week we have two returning guests, Jim from Illinois and Walter from Maryland. Walter has been here 3 or 4 times. It is always great to have folks come back, it's just friends visiting instead of "clients". I hate that word. We also have Shelly from Houston, Raymond and David from Ga., Alan from Illinois, and John from here in New Mexico. In seven years he is just the 3rd New Mexican we have had. Tanya has a young friend from Wis. visiting by the name of Beth, a cute kid and good rider.

Tanya took 3 riders with her today, met with John at his house and moved about 50 head up to Ridge Well, about a 7 mile push. It was slow going as the temp. was back up in the mid 90's and the calves were giving out. The said the cactus was really starting to bloom out there. I lucked out and Alan and I took the other riders up on top into the cool mountain air. We again had cattle at the campground harassing campers so we got them out and put out some salt and patched a little fence. We then rode up into Snow Canyon and to our surprise came out an hour later with about 150 mother cows and 100 calves. We pushed them about 2 miles to Snow Lake and left them there enjoying the beach. We then ate a quick lunch and headed down to Willow Creek. There we found a bunch of cattle in the recreation area. Most belonged to our neighbors but there was one bull of ours in there. Alan spotted two yearlings that were obviously his long horn bred cattle wearing the neighbors brand. This really got us hot as it could be no accident cause they run Hereford cattle and these were black and white paints. We took them up canyon and on the way found another bunch of cattle and in with them were three unbranded yearlings, funny how things happen like that. We pushed them all onto our side of the fence and cut back the neighbors. We ended the day feeling a lot better after that. As we were riding back to the trucks it RAINED!!!!!! Just enough to dampen my shirt but at least we know it can happen. The heat is 6 weeks early and it seems that the rain is trying to start early as well. Lord I hope so, it will be the saving grace if it did.

Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Up at 5:30, eating at 6:00, and saddling at 6:30, we got a heck of a good start on the day till we had to change two flats on trailers before we could go. Yesterday Tanya had three flats so it was almost par for the course. Finally we got things fixed and made the long pull up to Roberts Park. There we spread out and started riding. We had gathered the pasture last week but had left behind cows with real little babies as they would not be able to make the push off the Mountain. Today we had 24 pairs, 3 heifers and 4 dry cows in the corral by just afternoon. John and I loaded up cattle in our two goosenecks and headed home with them as Tanya and the other riders rode over Fox Mountain and down to the Ghost Ranch looking for any strays in the thick brush on the mountain side. We made a plan to meet on the other side when we got done hauling. It sometimes amazes me where we drive and the roads we use. Not too many years ago I would have been nervous just driving a pickup down off some of these roads. Today we came down a 7 mile, steep grade of switchbacks and 300 ft drop-offs. Loaded with 10 cows and 10 calves the trailer is weighing in at probably 15,000 lbs. of course we have no brakes on the trailers. So it's a slow gear-grinding trip with brakes smoking and cattle rockin'. We made two trips and got them all down and corralled along the river. I got back to the meeting spot just as the others came riding in. They had moved two pairs and a bull down their side of the mountain. The temps were up high again, I would guess we broke 100 today. Though now as I sit out in the shade of my tent I see good thunderheads up over the mountain tops so maybe it is raining at the upper ranch.

I rode Ben today, a nice, large, horse mule. He, as most mules, has a great personality, and is really a pleasure to ride. He works cattle as well as any horse. I loved every minute of it and wondered why I don't ride him all the time. Especially after yesterday with Chili who bucked off and on all day, throwing temper tantrums because he wanted to eat the knee-high green grass along Willow Creek and I was being mean and not letting him. He doesn't get hard on it but enough to really kinda annoy ya. He did it once as I had my canteen to my lips and I managed to ride out his bucks as I screwed the top back on. It seemed to impress a few riders, but it was really no big thing. A smooth bucking horse is fun to ride, I have always enjoyed it. Heck that's why I rode so many green horses over the years, I love the fun and the adrenaline rush, but now at 40+ I can't handle the "twisters". These are the rascals that buck and hop and spin and turn themselves inside out. Those are the ones I don't want to ride anymore. I know I should have ridden Chile today but it is just too dang rocky and we had no time to be monkeying around with a bucky horse. We had to get those cattle out because that pasture as of today was flat plumb out of water.

All I think of now is that there is only a week to ten days more work down here then I won't see a 90 degree day again till next May. At the upper ranch it is a predictable 80-85 degrees every day with cloudy afternoons and thunderstorms about four days of the week for an hour or two every evening. It is why I live up there. It goes along with the reason I give to everyone who asks how I came to be here from Virginia. I tell them I was sick of heat, humidity, ticks, chiggers, fences, and grumpy neighbors.

Wednesday, May 31, 2000
Another long day! Got an early start this time with no flat tires. We were at the Ghost Ranch and in the saddle by 7:00am. We headed out and rode the Indian Spring trail about 7 miles up and over Fox mountain to Fox mesa. Here we found a lot more cattle than I had expected to. Most were around Waterman tank, but I saw a couple over on Smoothing Iron Mesa. across a real nasty canyon. It was a decision to ride two miles around to get them or go across. I had never been brave enough to take a horse across but today I had Ben the mule under me so I told everyone to go gather everything else and hold them. I headed Ben into the canyon. I tell ya that mule is a magnificent animal. We got through ok and found the cattle. That's when the fun started. Instead of a couple I found 11 pairs and 3 dry cows and they all wanted to go someplace different as soon as I headed them into the canyon. Ben and I had some hot times getting cattle out of the brush and rocks and headed up the other side. The mule is great on cattle! I had heard of good cow mules but had never seen one. He started working off my legs smooth and easy and made some great cuts and turn backs in the nastiest places you could ever hope not to be. At one point a cow was on the other side rim heading back the way we had come, a 35 foot rock ledge separated us as I was still in the canyon bottom. The ledge had a series of two to three foot steps climbing it. It was the only chance so I rode over to check it out, all the time crashing through the cedars. I decided that even a mule shouldn't be asked to go up something like that. Ben also saw it was the only way, and he volunteered as I turned him away from it. So I let him have his head and he bounded up, jumping from step to step with no room for error. I lost my canteen on the way, but I was not going to pull him up. When I got to the top he never broke stride and headed at a trot after the renegade cattle. I took a quick look back to where I had last seen my canteen and knew I was not going to walk down that cliff face to get it. I believe it will rest there a long long time.

I finally got them all on the other side after only losing a few inches of flesh from my face on tree branches. When I got to the tank where the others had the cattle I hollered at them 'cause they were all off the horses having a picnic as the cattle drifted off. We got everything pulled together and headed along to the north picking up a few more bunches. When we got lined out over Vigil Mesa I counted 63 pairs, 17 heifers, 9 dry cows, and two bulls. I had not told the group what was next...till the last minute when I cut the lead cattle down into the worst sort of canyon and yelled instructions as I went ahead to stop them at the bottom near a little water hole. Oh what a tough time coming down! I sat on my mule and listened as they swore at cattle down the steep, rocky, brush covered canyon side. Finally, after 30 minutes they were all at the bottom and we let the cattle settle a few minutes and pair up. Everyone was congratulating each other till I allowed as how they had seen nothin' yet. I didn't lie either. We then had to push them down over rock outcroppings with a single tough track over it. I rode ahead to turn the cattle back up a trail which led out of the canyon. I got in my place and watched as the cattle balled up on the rock face and jammed. The riders swore and hollered and threw rocks, finally David waded into the middle of them and started shoving. It was the only thing to do. They were slow and frustrating coming over and it was 30 minutes before the main herd was through. I turned them up the side of the canyon, a steep, steep trail, and we pushed and hollered ourselves hoarse getting them up the long grade. Once on top it was about 2:00 and the temp was high and cattle had given out so we let them drift. My main objective was to get them across the big canyon so they would be that much closer to H.Q. That done I told them all they could now congratulate each other cause it was a job well done in the worst sort of driving conditions, it gets no tougher than what they went through. We then headed along on the short 2 hour ride to the trailers and then a quick stop at the trading post for a well deserved ice cream.

Thursday, June 1, 2000
A comfortable day, clouds built up in the mid morning as we rode back up to the area we had left the cattle yesterday. They had only spread a few miles so by noon we had them all bunched and headed towards Indian Spring. It's a steep rocky grade down into the spring, and when we finally got everything down, there were at least a hundred other cattle in there. We sorted through them all and headed out of the canyon with the 50 or sixty we wanted. John was waiting at Ghost ranch for us and as the crew took a lunch break he and I sorted and penned a bunch to haul up top this weekend and cut a few off to brand. By the time we had a fire going and cows cut off from the calves it was complete cloud cover with a high of only about 75. Still plenty hot when you're working hard but such a pleasant relief from the last few brandings. We ended up branding 25 calves, a couple were close to 400 pounders so that put some fun in it.

Of course we had our usual ice cream stop at the trading post, I sure will miss that treat when we move up top. We pulled into the corrals at about 5:00pm. Just another 12 hour day. As I sit in my tent writing this (yes I get the pleasure of living in a tent 3 months a year) I can hear a few drops of rain on the canvas as well as the riders on the porch laughing over the branding pen antics. The one thing we always hear is "It sure isn't as easy as the guys on t.v. and in the rodeos make it look."

Friday, June 2, 2000
A different sort of day. About 6:15 this morning as we were about to pull out I got a call from Lyndsey at the upper ranch. The ranch next door, the only place within 50 miles of us, was on fire! She went to the fire base and roused out the firefighters who were all sleeping in, then opened all our pasture gates so if the fire got to traveling our horses could get free. I headed up there pronto and when I arrived an hour later there was nothing left of the main ranch house or the bunkhouse. Both had been built a hundred years ago out of huge Ponderosa pine logs. It was really a sad sight to see. Fortunately it did not start the pastures on fire and our place was safe. I headed out about mid morning and after a few errands got back to the H.Q. late in the afternoon. The riders had gone off in several groups doing several different things. Some went to the little town of Glenwood about five miles south of here to get a couple cattle out of someone's back yard. Another group went into Harve Gulch and gathered a few head that showed up in there. And the last group went to Ridge Well to load up an old cow that had gotten down and was too weak to get back up. Everyone covered a lot of miles and all agreed they had ridden plenty for one week. It is such a good feeling to know everyone has had a great week and many say it was the best vacation they had ever had. With the number of people we have coming back I know we must be doing some thing right. The weather was great today, over cast highs in the upper 70's, a few sprinkles of rain. It looks like one more week down here then we will be done and can get moved back up top.
Monday, June 5, 2000

Off to a good start this week, out of the corrals by 7:30am. we had all men except one woman last week and this week is seven women and two men. One of the guys, Chris from Va. is here for his 3rd time and brought a long a friend Jeff. Then there is Rhonda from Pa. Linda from Idaho, Chris from New Mexico, Kristen from Ca. Beth from Wi. Monique and Heidi from New Zealand.

Alan and I took four riders up on top and we moved about 70 head down to Snow Lake, then went to Willow Creek and got three head out of the back of the canyon, penned and hauled them to Burnt Cabin Spring. All day the thunder heads built up and by noon was spitting lightning around sparking up a fire about a mile north of the lake, I always worry with the first storms of the season, especially as dry as we are now. They never have enough moisture and too much fire. About 6:00pm as we drove off the mountain is rained lightly for about 20 min. Heck that's a start.

Lyndsey took five riders and met John at the Ghost Ranch, there they pushed about 50 dry cows and yearlings to Charlie Moore spring about 7 miles and then moved 22 pairs back to Ghost Ranch so we can haul them up the mountain. Both groups got home about 8:00pm, moved a lot of cattle and rode about 15 miles, a lot of miles at a cows pace. Lyndsey's group said they roasted while most of the day my group was chilly. We saw elk, deer, javalina, bald eagle, antelope, red tail hawks, herons, and a porcupine.

When I retired everyone was in a hot poker game on the porch trading tales of the first day. I think it is going to be a fine week.