Monday 3/1/04

Four inches of snow fell overnight.

Today I hauled the bad-eyed cow to Silver City to have her eye removed. It was pretty gruesome deal, but she's a lot better off than she was. She is due to calve in June or I would have just hauled her to the sale. She's one of my oldest cows and I get pretty attached to them when they have been here producing for me so long. I owe it to her.

It was a long day I got home about 8pm. The day had been sunny so the snow really melted and made the drive way a muddy mess. I got stuck right at the gate to the corrals; close enough to get her unloaded but had to walk the rest of the day home.

Sunny hi 40, clouds overnight and light snow by midnight.

Tuesday 3/2/04

Gambler and I headed out to drift some cattle east out of Ewe canyon getting them towards Pitchfork pasture. It was a sunny morning but a stiff wind blew making it pretty chilly. As soon as we got to the canyon we found a lot more cattle than I expected to. Within a mile we had fifty head in front of us and there were more on the hillsides around us. I couldn't leave what I had to go get them so we just passed them on by. They lined out well and things went smoothly, an hour later we got to Elladeane tank, there we found about thirty more. I let my bunch drift in for water and a little rest.

About ten minuets later I started them all east again, down into Feathery valley and then began the climb up the ridge. As usual they didn't want to climb that hill. Gambler was on the muscle and he was awesome. Back and forth we went behind the cattle, I was hollering and he was biting. It was a tough go but half an hour later we had them over the top. I stopped on top and let Gambler catch his breath and I cooled my throat after breaking up the frozen water in my canteen. We sat and watched the cattle head down the trail into T Bar Valley. They were moving slow and it didn't take long to catch back up with them. We raised up fifty elk from T Bar tank, of course they ran right through the cattle stirring things up a bit. When we got to the junction feed station we gathered another twenty head. I had a pretty good herd ahead of me now. It took another hour to get to Fence tank, there I pushed them through the gate into Pitchfork pasture and let them drift.

After Gambler had a good drink we turned back west and started the long ten-mile trip home, into what was now a hard wind. I hadn't seen it while we were headed the other way but now there was a thick bank of angry looking clouds gathered up over the mountaintops and heading our way. The wind was brutal, it rawed my face and forced Gamble to walk with his head down. When we got to the top of the ridge above T Bar tank it dang near blew us off.

I saw sheets of snow headed our way and within an hour we were in it and it was coming down hard. It was small pellet snow that stung and froze us. I just put my head down and closed my eyes trusting Gambler to get us home. Another hour later he did and we were both glad to get into the shelter of the barn.

I stripped the saddle, rubbed him down well and poured a ration of grain in his tub. What a damn horse!

It was just about dark; Maggie had already done chores for me and had a hot meal and big fire waiting. I've got the best wife in the world.

Hi 35 lo 14, wind chill 15.

Wednesday 3/3/04

The snow was off and on all night, accumulating about 3 inches. It continued a light set of snow squalls all day. I drove out to Fence tank to check and pull my traps in. I had one big male coyote in one and another was tripped but empty. It took half the day to get them in and back home again then I was happy to spend the afternoon helping Maggie in the studio.

Lyndsey got home in the evening from Santa Fe. She had been up there a couple weeks helping her mom out who had some surgery done.

It really started snowing about chore time and as I went to bed it was piling up fast. I didn't sleep well, I just tossed and turned as I heard the wind howl and knew it was a lousy night to be an animal out there. I finally gave up trying to sleep about 3am and got up, the moon was close to full and the snow was heavy making a strange white glow. I just had a feeling that something was wrong out there.

Thursday 3/4/04

At dawn there was a thick, wet, heavy foot of snow. I was out feeding early and to my disappointment a cow came in dragging after birth but with no calf. I went and got Lyndsey and we quick saddled our horses and headed out. The snow was still falling, large wet flakes just the kind you like to see this time of year. We were able to just make out the cows blood trail and followed it about a mile and a half to a grove of trees where we found where she had calved and could easily make out blood patches in the snow surrounded by the depressions of coyote or wolf tracks. There was no way to tell with the snow falling so hard. We headed back home feeling no good. On the way we passed the cow who was headed back out in a vain search for her calf. It was then we noticed it was one of Lindsey's cows. She only has six cows so this represented a 20 some percent death loss in her calf crop already for the year.

The rest of the day was spent inside, the snow tapered off about noon but it was cloudy all day.

Hi 30 lo 28 total 15 inches of new snow.

Friday 3/5/04

Light snow was falling as we did chores in the morning. While I was feeding the cattle I saw one old cow about ready to calve so I saddled up Gambler and pushed her into one of the upper corrals. When we were headed back to the barn I saw a cow out in Bearwallow pasture behind the guest camp. I went and got her in. She was one of Don and Jeanie's, in kinda poor shape she was so I put her in with my expecting cow and tossed her some hay. She seemed pretty happy to be in there. The next two hours were spent getting water to them. The hydrant was frozen so I had to truck it down. First though I had to clean the tank on the truck getting the molasses feed out. That was a job, and a wet one with the snow coming down.

After lunch I worked in the shop cleaning my traps and doing other odds and ends as the snow kept falling by nightfall we had another seven inches.

Hi 30 lo 25.

Saturday 3/6/04

The snow finally stopped overnight and a bright sunny windless day dawned. I loaded up the dump truck with hay and chained up all four corners and headed out to 7HL to feed the cattle there. A solid 30 inches was on the ground making the going pretty hard. No other truck of ours could have made it through. When I got to the main road I saw truck tracks mostly filled in.

What kind of fool had been out I wondered. A few miles farther I found out. There stuck in the road was a new Dodge pickup. Two twenty some year old guys got out and waved me down. They had been out jerking around thinking that they could go any where with their monster tires and lift kit. All they got out of the adventure was an unplanned campout overnight. I hooked my five hundred dollar truck to their 45k truck and pulled them out slick as you please.

I then went back on my way. At one stretch I had to get out and walk down the snow so my tranny wouldn't drag and finally got out into the open country where the snow had been blown by the wind and wasn't as deep. Those cattle out there were sure glad to see me. They came running and bucking into to get the hay as I tossed it out.

It was a great day; the temp rose to 45 and the sun did its thing. By the time I headed home four hours later mud and water flowed in the roads. At least a foot melted before the sun went down. Lyndsey helped Maggie in the studio; she is on a rush to get her orders done. Tomorrow we head off for three weeks to Florida to meet Cassady and see grandma and do the Florida thing. Universal Studios, Seaworld, and some fishing are on our list of activities. It will be the longest I will have been away from the ranch in the 12 years I have been here. I am pretty nervous about being gone so long but I have a good hand here in Lyndsey and a whole list of instructions. I know she can handle things just fine but still I worry.

At evening chores I was late feeding and the horses were pissed off. Just as I was getting done at dark Son of a Bitch Dakota ran Creek into the fence and just raged on him forcing him over the wire. He really got torn up pretty bad. On one leg from his knee to his ankle he lost all the skin, almost clean to the bone. The worst was in his armpit where the wire cut deep and ragged into the muscle. Neither wound was anything that could be sewn up, there was no skin to sew on the leg and the armpit was too ragged and any stitches would just get pulled out when he moved. With the light from a flashlight we bandaged him up, gave him some Bute for the swelling and pain and some antibiotics. Poor Creek he has really had a tough year. He's just the best patient and nicest guy around.

Hi 45 lo 20 sunfactor 55.