March

March 4 - 10, 2001: Winter Ranch Week

Monday, March 5, 2001

Today was mostly over cast but warm, about 60.

A good group in this week, an even spit of men and women. We have Andy and Jill from Louisiana, and four others all traveling alone. They are Lynn from Kansas, Michelle from Chicago, Julia from Germany, and Charles from New York.

I had to stick around the H.Q. and do some office junk and a bit of outside work with Frank. Lyndsey, Tanya and the crew went over to the Ghost Ranch, caught and saddled there. They rode the Cabin Trap getting out about 20 head over the course of the day. Lyndsey found how they are getting in. Over the winter a cattle guard up on Sunflower Mesa filled with dirt from water run off. They had some big fun getting the cattle up the canyon through pretty thick stuff. Everyone got a bit of a handle on working cattle.

Everyone got along well with their horses and no one wanted to switch out at the end of the day. Andy is on Bud, Jill on Doolin, Julia on Rio, Lynn on Chico, Charles on Zeno and Michelle is on Butch.

Early this morning Alan came by with some bad news. A friend of ours was flying over the upper range and spotted a dead cow near Snow Lake with a wolf eating on it. He and John drove up to check it out today. They called with the report that it was one of John’s cows and that there was a mid size calf with it as well as a bull of mine. Some strays that I never found in all that lonely stray riding I did earlier in the winter. It’s depressing to know I missed one and it died because I did. So in the morning Frank and I are going to load up panels and head up there along with any guests who want to spend 6 hrs in the truck to see the snow and mud covered high country. John says the calf is pretty wild so we will ease the bull along with the calf and hope we can get them in a pen we will make out of the panels and get them loaded. If that doesn’t work we will have to push them back to the upper H.Q.

At least I get to see my wife for a few minutes.

Tuesday, March 6, 2001
We worked in two groups today. Alan, Lyndsey, Tanya, Lynn, Andy, Julia, and Charles worked the breaks looking for more of our cattle in there. There came up with a couple cows and ED. Ed is a 4 year old bull that Alan and I found as a 2 year old maverick. He’s a pretty brindle bull with horns that have a spread close to five feet. He is very impressive! He and the cows moved well and they got them into new graze. Then they went back out and rode Stout Mesa again. They came up empty handed but had a good ride and did some Alan bushwhacking. A new fella arrived from Texas today to try out as a hand. His name’s Colby, nice young kid of 19 from south Texas. He got here in time to ride with Alan in the afternoon. He grew up on a big flat Texas ranch and had never ridden a hill before. He commented on how steep it was and got the usual N- response

“you ain’t seen nothing yet”. Alan quietly told me it was little more than a ditch. He also had never seen snow before so he had to stop at a patch in the shade and check it out. He is a babe in the woods.

Frank and I went up top with Jill and Michelle. I wasn’t pulling a trailer, Frank was with the girl’s horses Rio and Doolin. On the way up Frank didn’t make one corner due to ice and slid back about 20 feet before stopping when the trailer went into the snow bank. We chained him up on all four corners and from there on had no problems. We met John at the upper H.Q. I grabbed my warhorse Gambler and Frank took Maggie’s horse Kitten, then we headed to Snow Lake. Jill being from Louisiana had never seen snow before. She was pretty impressed by the height of some of the drifts, which were well over 10 feet in the timber and canyons. The roads were deep with snow and mud and water, there is a big melt going on.

We unloaded at the campground near Snow Lake and found the bull within minutes. Frank and the girls pushed him up canyon about a mile to where John and I drove and set up a pen with the panels. We put some hay and salt in the pen and the bull went right in. We let him eat just a minuet then pushed him out so he would want to come back after getting a taste of good hay. He didn’t want to leave getting a bit grumpy and charging John. His big black horse Sug just pinned his ears and lunged at the bull trying to bite him. At the same time John whacked him over the head with his rope and that convinced him they meant business.

From there on he traveled well the 1/2 mile or so to where John had seen the dead cow and heifer. I rode ahead and saw the heifer and luckily found a splice in the fence, which saved a lot of time rather than going all the way up to the gate. Getting that open they pushed the bull through, the heifer saw him and came right over. She was pretty lonely and teamed right up with him. We pushed them back down to the pen with no problem. Everything was going according to plan, too well. The bull went right in the pen and started enjoying the hay. The heifer was scared of the pen and trucks and was nervous. We just eased around her real loose, stayed quiet, and slow. She broke and ran a few times but never went far as she didn’t really want to leave the bull. We eased her back and just keep things slow and remained patient. Finally she went in and we closed the pen. So far so good.

John backed his trailer up, we set gates and he and I went in the pen as the others stayed outside around the fence to keep her from jumping through. Again slow and easy we pressured them just a bit. The bull jumped right in the trailer, he wanted to go somewhere. The heifer tried to be stupid, charging John a couple times. He made one nice matador move as she charged past. But within a couple minuets the heifer jumped in and the gates closed. John and I expressed our wonder, the plan had been devised, carried out and completed without having any problems and not having to work our way to plan R.

It was a very good day cowboyin!

The weather was pretty good, mostly cloudy but warm with the smell of more moisture coming in from the west. Temp below was a bit over 60 and up top was about 50.

Frank and the girls headed back down after dropping me and our two horses off. I spent about and hour putting out more hay, then had dinner with Maggie. I had to drag myself away wanting to stay with her by the fireplace. But after an hour I finally did and made a quick trip back to the lower H.Q. seeing Deer, Elk and Javelina on the way down.

Another hot poker game going on again tonight. Andy was the big winner last night.

Wednesday, March 7, 2001
The day started out grey and got worse. Tanya and Lyndsey took the whole crew on a recon ride, checking to see where all our cattle are. We haven’t seen but just a few of our 700 head of cattle anywhere so they went out and did a big loop to see what they could see. They went up over Vigil mesa to Vigil Tank. Then all the away around to Fox Tank. About mid day the rain started to fall a bit and the mountains disappeared in a veil of snow. The rain got heavier and the temperature dropped as the day got longer. By the time they came over Fox Mountain they were a bunch of wet cold riders who had seen a lot of miles and pretty country but very few cattle. That’s all part of range riding. We now know where they aren’t.

Lyns and Charles have both ridden a few different horses. Lynn tried Creek today and Charles swung on Newboy who had caught his eye. Everyone else was happy with the ones they started the week with having partnered up.

I stayed around the H.Q. feeling a bit under the weather and seeing it was going to be a lousy day, I decided I didn’t need the practice. Frank worked with the new hand Colby fixing up the corrals and some general maintenance stuff around here.

The crew are some die hard poker players this week. They broke Tanya the first two nights and corrupted Michelle who had never played before.

Thursday, March 8, 2001
We all trailered out to the Ghost Ranch to ride out from there. The roads were pretty slick from the rain and the river is getting pretty high. The ford over the river is a little scary. Good thing we had horses in the trailers or they definetly would have drifted. We rode to the east end of the Horse Pasture then split up there. Lynn, Charles, and Julia went with Tanya to move some strays in the wrong pasture to the right. Andy, Jill, Michelle, Lyndsey and I went for a casual couple hour loop just looking things over. We started out over a sandstone rim to Ridge Well. The rim made Michelle a bit nervous. It was slick with an 80 foot drop off inches away but we got across with no problems. Five hours later we had bushwhacked through canyons and up mountains dealing with thick growth and sloppy footing. These horses are amazing if I say so myself. It was a long hard day for them grinding through those conditions. We saw some pretty country and had awesome views of the snow covered mountains all day.

We finally got back into familiar territory when we rode down into Roberts Park. From there we headed north across the park, over Fox Mountain and down the Pipeline Trail to the Ghost Ranch where the others were, having only been in a few minutes. The most improved rider of the week award goes to Jill. Monday Doolin was in charge doing his job but doing it his way. Tuesday I gave her a few hints. Wednesday they started clicking and today she was a pro. I’m sure she had never dreamed she would be riding stuff like we were in; she’s a fast learner. We saw cattle all day which made me feel better, probably saw at least 150 head over our meandering loop.

The cattle workers had a fun day moving a dozen head off the graze we are saving for spring gather. Charles and Newboy got along so well Charles bought him today.

The roads back were a little better, but still kinda greasy. I had left Frank and Colby to do some more work around here. When I got home Frank was back to a one-man show, Colby having high tailed it back to Texas. I had told him before he came and after he got here that we had a few weeks of fix up stuff to do then he would be riding more than he ever had in his life. But he left after two days unwilling to pay his dues to earn his saddle time. It’s just the way we sift out the chaff.

The weather was great today, mostly sunny, a few drifting banks of clouds. Temperature was about 60 with a bit of a breeze but not too much. Clouds hung low over the mountains hiding the tops most of the day. Maggie said there was three more inches of snow up top and clouds drifted through the yard all day.

Friday, March 9, 2001
A long day riding with Alan. He had been told some of our cattle were on the neighbors range to the north so we all headed out about 9:00. Almost as soon as we got on the neighbors we found three head of our cattle up on a steep slope which we pushed off and through a nearby gate. After that it was a long ride around Mulligan Basin, down into Long Canyon, along the base of Round Mountain, down into Devils Creek, up and out over Wild Horse Mesa to the H.Q. We rode over 6 hours, covered about 11 miles of really rough and steep country and never saw another cow. It was a bit more of a trail ride than we usually do but that’s the way it goes a lot of the time. The day was partly sunny but cool, only about 50.

Sunday, March 11, 2001
Went to Albq. over the weekend. Dropped one of our 2 year olds off at Lee, our vet’s, place in Socorro. It was Smoke, a real nice dapple grey colt. One of his clients fell in love with him and bought him. I went onto Belen and Los Lunas looking at other horses I had gotten calls on. Looked at four, came home with two. One a 7 year old sorrel about 15.2 named Roscoe and a 6 Year old Grulla about 15.1 and very stocky. They called him T.J. So we sold two this week and bought two this week.

Snowed behind me all the way up yesterday. Maggie got 3 more inches up top. The snow followed me all the way back today also.

I got pulled over by the state police Saturday. I was running down hwy. 12, a very nice stretch of road with virtually no traffic. I was rolling along doing just over 85 in a 55 when he came by. I had seen him coming and didn’t think a thing of it, we run that fast by police all the time. Well he turned around and pulled me over. I saw it was a trooper I knew from a search and rescue we worked a few years ago. Turns out he just wanted to ask me about a horse for his teenage son. We chatted a half hour or so and he never once mentioned my speed.

March 11 - 17, 2001: Winter Riding Week

Monday, March 12, 2001
A beautiful day to start the week! Sunny, high about 65, no wind. Small crew this week, Peg is back for another week. She spent the last week driving around the west enroute to visiting her son in Salt Lake. Then we have Bruce and Brenda, a brother-sister act from the Chicago area and that’s it. They went out with Lyndsey and Tanya on an all day shake down ride into Devil’s Creek. It’s a good day trip with lots of views and lots of ups and downs. While down in Devil’s Creek canyon where they stopped for lunch they found an old corral and foundations. Bet they could tell some tales.

Everyone got along well with their horses, Peg was on Chico, Brenda on Zeno, and Bruce rode Rio. Tanya rode the new sorrel horse Rosco and decided he had never seen rocks before. This is a hell of a place to learn. Lyndsey rode Newboy and came home moaning the fact he was sold.

Frank hauled the two year olds to the upper ranch where they will be turned out for a few months then go to work full time in the late summer. I spent the morning in the office doing my usual Monday stuff, which I dread and bores me to tears. Then spent the rest of the day making two trips out to the Ghost Ranch getting horses and hauling them back here. We wanted them here for Doug, the farrier, who is coming Wednesday. We now have 28 head right in the H.Q. corrals and pastures. A lot of the horses hadn’t seen each other for months, it was a lot of fun to see them greet each other. Also there are a lot of new horses that didn’t know everyone so we also watched the pecking order get established. There was lots of running, rearing and spinning going on. Just wished we had the video camera out.

Tuesday, March 13, 2001
A great day! Sunny, high of 70. The crew went with Lyndsey to track down Ed the Bull who was seen where he shouldn’t have been. I headed to the upper ranch along with Frank. I’m going to Florida tomorrow with Maggie and Cassady to visit Micky World. So the writings will all be hearsay from Lyndsey.

Wednesday, March 14, 2001
From what I hear the crew got Ed in where he belonged and he was none to happy about going where some human wanted him to go. Giving them a hard time and tossing his 4 foot horns all the way. The day was another beauty as the temp was about 70 again and little wind. All the horses are now shod and those who just recently got shoes are being ridden by Tanya and Lyndsey a bit so the old backs will start to toughen up.

Friday, March 15, 2001
From what I hear everyone had a great week. And another N- horse is headed down the road. Bruce and Brenda it seems will be taking Rio off to Illinois. He deserves it, he has been here four years and has worked well every day. He’s one of my best rock horses though and we will really miss him. I just hope they have a chance to put him on a cow every now and again, he is one of the best little cowponies around.

March 18 - 24, 2001: Winter Riding Week

Friday, March 23, 2001
Well I went to Disney World! We all had a great time, I didn’t realize there were so many people in world! Saw my mom for a few days, the good son that I am. We got back last Thursday and it sure was good to get home.

I got down here to the lower ranch and met the crew for this week and was wishing I had the whole week to spend with them. A great group of guys. There was Chuck from N.C., Chuck has been here several times and is here for two weeks this time. The rest of the crew consists of Jim from Ma., Mark from La. and Brent from east Tx.

The main job of the week was to find the remaining heifers that I had bought from John so we could re-brand and tag them. Also looking for large pairs. We are planning on sending a load to the sale this week. By law we have to have the weaning age claves sold or weaned by the 1st of April. After that time they are considered a new animal unit so our fees would go up.

They did a great job. Riding all over the ranch they got to see a lot of country. They got out to Charlie Moore, Roberts Park, Sunflower Mesa, and all through the River pasture and Frisco pasture. They found 11 heifers, I only needed 6 more. But it sure was a good thing there were extras, a few of them were pretty damn wild. One jumped through and broke the heavy boards at the Alma corral when we had gathered them for branding. With the extras I was able to pick the 6 most gentle ones, gentle being kinda relative in this case. The 5 wild ones will be on the load to the sale this week. The temps all week have been in the upper 70’s. Friday it got to 80. Sun, sun, sun.

Wednesday Brent and Mark were casually lounging around the Ghost Ranch corrals after penning that days gather. Admiring a big zebra stripped Brahma cross bull, they noticed at the same moment he was eyeing them with fire in his eyes. He charged them and they cleared the fence like Olympic vaulters. Brent was seen to be running on air like a Wylie Coyote does right before he drops off the cliff. I’m sure it was a good heart check. Never trust a bull!

Thursday I rode down Vigil canyon with Lyns, and Chuck. The others went with John and Tanya out toward Ridge well. We found a few head in the canyon but also a cow of mine with a broken leg. It must have just happened, I know the cow well having her in the corrals at the upper ranch a few winters ago. I had found her that year in the dead of winter with two other yearling heifers. They all were poor so I had kept them up and feed them a few months. She had really grown on me, a pretty red cow, very gentle and sweet. It broke my heart to find her in such a way. She had a big calf with her and always produced strong handsome bull calves. So we eased her along slow and got her in the River pasture where we let her stay the night as she was tired and I am sure in pain. Lyndsey and the others went and got her to the river on Friday. She too will be on the sale truck.

Though they are big, stupid, stinky, animals, they too have personalities. It is a pleasure to watch a herd grow as I have. I started with 30 cows and 2 bulls. Buying some here and there, keeping my own heifers, I have watched the generations roll by. I have cows that I have known their great, great, grandmothers, close and distant cousins, aunts, sisters, and brothers. They are all family. They are members of our community. As with any community there is a constant cycle of life and death. Old cows and horses die every year, it is sad but you know life had been good. Then there are all those cute as can be calves and frisky foals that take their spots. It’s the accidents and tragedies that bother you, no matter how long you’ve been around it. Like that cow breaking her leg as a five year old, in the prime of her life. Or my great cow horse Mangus dying at 11. Tomorrows are not guaranteed for any of us.

March 25 - 31, 2001: Spring Gather

Monday, March 26, 2001
Boy the weather has just been great! Over the weekend it was almost 80 down below and close to 70 up top. I went up top and visited my wife for the short weekend. On the way up I swung over to Jim Blair’s ranch, our neighbor to the east. His place is about an hour from ours driving but only 20 miles as the crow goes. I really like his stud horse, a black Q. H. by the name of Sneaky Sox. He is a Two Eyed Jack line, which I’ve always really liked. I’ve bought several yearling colts and fillies from him over the years, whenever he decides to let a few go, which is not often. He always calls me and lets me know when he’s ready to sell, he knows I’ll pay his price with no haggling. Plus he likes to keep track of his kids and hear how they are doing.

He had two colts and two fillies I could pick from...but I could only have two of the four. Whichever two I didn’t take he was going to keep. Well I’m not in the market for fillies right now so it was the colts I was looking at. One was a tall lanky sorrel yearling who is going to end up being really big. When I look for a young horse for this country I want as short a cannon bone as I can find. Besides low knees I want low hocks as well. This guy was all stretched out. I passed on him. The other was a chocolate brown and white paint with the cutest head a top a real nice compact body. I brought him home. Now, when you buy from Jim they are fresh off the range and pretty wild. We worked him down an alley to the trailer and with a gate squeezed him in the trailer. I was wishing he had a traveling partner but he made the trip home ok. I looked all the mares over at home. Have a few within a couple weeks of foaling. Always fun to anticipate what we may end up with.

Came back down here to the lower range Sunday afternoon. Drove a truck everyone around here calls Death Wish. It’s a 1979 Chev. 1 ton, four door, dually flat bed. I love it. It’s got a 454 C.I. V8 running out thru headers into straight pipes. It sounds like a pair of Harleys. It’s a little tricky to drive but once you get the hang of it she works really well. It only goes on the highway twice a year when we drive it from ranch to ranch.

Got a good group this week. Chuck of course doing his second week. Then there’s Alan and Richard, a father-son team from England, they are 2nd time crewmembers and good to have them back, loaded with English humor and laughs. The others are women making it an even split week. They include Julie from Alaska who is traveling on her own. As well as Deb and Joyce from Ill. who came together.

Monday after the usual morning get it together which went rather fast, everyone headed over the Ghost Ranch and spread out from there looking for big pairs. Trying to get as many found before we load up for the sale on Wednesday. They had a long day finding a few pairs as well as getting in some branding. They didn’t get home till 7pm. So much for an easy shake down day to start the week. I had business in town which kept me away from the fun.

Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Deb, Joyce, Lyndsey and I loaded up and trailered over to the Ghost Ranch where we met John.

Tanya, Chuck, Richard, Alan, Julie and our Alan rode out from here. All of us looking for pairs. We did a big loop in some pretty rough country. Saw a lot of cattle but none we needed. In the afternoon we gathered the River pasture, which is where we have been putting our finds for the last few weeks. So we had a pretty good bunch that we pushed into the Alma corrals. There was one big unbranded bull calf that we branded and left a bull. He will grow up to be a handsome devil. These are all calves that were born too late last year to sell in the fall so now at 8 to 9 months old they sure look great. After walking through them I decided I was going to keep almost all of my heifers and buy a few of Johns as well.

We are meeting at the corrals at 5am to load for the sale and at that time I’ll cut off what I want to keep and haul them back here to the H.Q. where we will corral them and feed hay a few weeks before we turn them back out on the range. Alan’s group rode a lot of miles and saw very few cattle. Then right as they got back close to the H.Q. they found a bunch of about 10 pairs and corralled them, cut the calves off and hauled them over to John’s H.Q. where they were put with the rest for the sort and ride to the sale in the morning. Now we have the momma cows whose calves we weaned all around the house bellowing up a storm. So much for quiet country nights.

Wednesday, March 28, 2001
Light rain most of the night, low about 30 with a bit of ice coating everything.

The day started early for me, up at 5am, quick cup of coffee and headed out the door to go sort calves at John’s corrals. First thing I do is slip on the ice covered cattle guard next to the truck and almost seriously injure myself. I slide in the truck turn the key and nothing happens. It’s too dark to really see what I’m doing, so other than jiggling the cables I really do nothing. I head to Death Wish, after some groaning it fires over shattering the still of the dawn. I scrape ice off the windshield with a Coppenhagen tobacco can. The wipers don’t work. Ready to go I find the lights don’t work. I crank down the window and hang my head out. The light comes on pretty fast around here once the sun breaks over the mountains so by the time I get to the pavement I can see except for the problem of no heat or defroster so the inside of the windshield is now glazed over and I drive the five miles to Johns scraping the inside as I go. Get to John’s, he’s already sorting. I go in take a spot at the gate. We have been working together so long we don’t have to speak. Second heifer we cut runs and jumps so high as it goes by that it kicks me in the neck. Good Morning! Wake Up!

Alan arrives just about that time and lets me know that I have two tires going down on my trailer. We finish cutting and separating our go to sale stock and I pick out 8 heifer calves I want to keep. Get everything else loaded onto John and Alan’s Gooseneck trailers and get them on the way to the sale about three hours drive. I change my two now very flat tires and load my heifers and head back to the house. Getting there I find the farriers already at work and do some quick horse swapping because some of the horses we are using this week have to be shod. I am also informed Ben the wonder mule is lame for the 1st time in his life. Lyndsey thought he had bowed a tendon, we were happy to determine it was an abscess. We decided to brand and tag the new heifers. We get that going and are a calf or two into it when I see Amy coming down to the corrals. This is never a good sign, it means someone called with a problem. Sure enough John called he was 50 miles down the road and one of his trailer tires had come off and passed him on the highway. I sent Lyndsey down with another trailer for him, Deb and Julie went along for the ride. Everyone else helped out in the corrals and we got the rest of the branding and tagging done in short order, considering we were using a 40 year old squeeze chute. These heifers were just too big to rope and throw.

About mid day Tanya headed out with Chuck, Alan, Richard and Joyce onto the mesa to the north. They were looking for pairs, and just looking. Tanya wanted to find some elk horn. Bull elk loose antlers every year about this time. Elkhorn hunting is big biz around here. Lyndsey, Deb, Amy, and Julie went down to the Catwalk for a little exploring and I drove out to Charlie Moore camp, and Roberts Park corrals putting out loot bags and just looking things over. We all got home about the same time. Everyone having had a good day and Tanya with a nice big Elk horn.

Thursday, March 29, 2001
Kinda cloudy most of the day, high about 60 after a light frost. We trailered over to John’s and branded one big calf then doctored a couple cows that were in the corrals there. One pink eye and the other was just poor and got a vitamin shot. Then we gathered the fields around his H.Q. and crossed the river into River pasture, which we gathered as well. Most of the cattle were found close to the river so most of the crew moved them along the road towards the gate into Frisco pasture. Chuck and Deb rode the south side and found a few pairs meeting us at Hope Tank. We left all those cattle there, Lyndsey and Chuck and Joyce rode up to Ridgewell to hide a loot bag for next week. The rest of us rode about three miles into the Horse pasture. There we stopped for a lunch break and during it the joke of the week started when Deb went behind some bushes and almost peed on a jack rabbit which ran out just in time so save itself, scaring the heck out of Deb. We then swept through the pasture to get out cattle that had drifted in. The east end is pretty thick all the way along the bottom and most of it is a streambed so it’s rocky as hell. We spread out and busted our way through it only finding a couple head. Of course when we got to the Ghost Ranch corrals there were 30 head waiting for us. We gathered them up and pushed them a bit over a mile and hoped that they would continue on to the spring.

I had gone back and gotten one of the trucks after we dropped off the first bunch of cattle and driven it to the east end of the Pasture, so some of us rode short back to that rig and the others rode about 7 miles back to the river to the other truck. It’s The ol’ chevy Death Wish which we wouldn’t take across the river because it’s getting pretty deep and we worried the gas engine in it would flood out. The diesel engine can take a good soaking before they will drown. The water across the ford is really moving fast and getting higher every day as the snow in the mountains is really starting to melt.

Friday, March 30, 2001
A spectacular day, 35 at 6am then 55 at 7:30. It went up to about 80 without a cloud in the sky. I sure am hoping that it stays warm for next week.

Today Lyndsey, Chuck, Richard and Alan did a big loop out to drop a loot bag at Fox Tank. It will be a 20+ mile day when they get done. At this writing at 5pm they are still not back. Tanya had a play day with the girls Deb, Julie, and Joyce. They did a short ride then came out to where Frank and I were setting up Posse camps, then they headed off to some ruins along the river to look for pottery and arrowheads. Then down to Glenwood where Deb had seen an art print she wanted.

The morning was delayed a bit by some Forest Service reps. coming over to look at horses to but I didn’t want to sell any to them so I high priced them all. But they are still probably going to buy Rocky a cute little 5 yo Palamino who is really working well for us after finally deciding he had to work for a living.

I will be heading up to see Maggie for a night tomorrow, also to unload a flatbed load of hay, it will be about 16 tons. Uggggghhhhhh I hate hay.

Spring is coming on fast here; things are really greening up. Fruit trees are budding, Cottonwoods are leafing out and the Irises are blooming.Went over into Roberts Park the other day. All winter it has been almost empty of cattle but they like to go there and calve as it warms up. There were about 60 head there and I saw 5 newborn Calves. Love this time of year but soon we will be bitching about how hot it is.