July 17 – 26: No Guests

Saturday, July 17, 2004

The guests left on time and the staff was right behind them. Lyndsey went to spend a few days with her mom in Santa Fe . John and Nina went to see his folks back in Iowa . Maggie did the long drive to Socorro, dropping off her truck at the mechanic and picking up mine, which has been there a week. This was the second time in a month they have had it, just hope it’s done this time.

Cassady and I worked in the shop all day. As usual every tool which has been used in the last two months is now scattered on the bench along with various other things in heaps and piles. We cleaned and organized for six hours. Cassady got the age-old kid job of sorting nails, screws and bolts into different jars and cans.

We had planned on going out and checking out the area I saw the trucks last week but got rained out by an early thunderstorm. The shop was a good place to spend the day.

Hi 79 low 44. just 1/8 inch of rain.

Sunday, July 18, 2004

Another early shower today just a light rain but every little bit helps. This place now looks like Switzerland , it’s so green with flowers of all colors everywhere. Late July and August are the whole reason we live here, while so much of the country is sweltering with high temperatures and humidity we enjoy bug free picture perfect summer days. Sorry to rub it in.

Cassady and I spent the morning cleaning and test firing the paintball guns for next months Posse Week. This is Cassidy’s favorite job around here.

In the afternoon we saddled up and gathered in a couple pairs out of the south trap. They are ones with big calves that need to be weaned. I hung back and let Cassady do all the work. At one point in the midst of a holler he turned and asked “ Dad are you going to do any work today?” It just cracked me up.

Hi 77 thunderheads all around but no big rain.

Monday, July 19, 2004

Cassady and I went to Glenwood to pick up some new tents that had been dropped off at Johns house. Man was it hot down there, 101! I couldn’t live in that heat. When we got home we spent an hour or so setting up the tents, they are huge, 20 foot by 12 foot by 8 foot high with two rooms. Cassady and I of course had to spend the night out in one, we got a good rain for several hours but we were snug and dry.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Maggie and Cassady and I were up and out early headed to Snow Lake to move some cattle. There were a lot more there than I expected, about 60 head. It took no time at all to gather them up, which was a good thing as a big thunderstorm was heading our way. We got them through the gate into Loco with no problems. The rain was just starting so I sent the two of them back to the trailer while I continued the half-mile push down to the lake. The wind and rain really started up as I left the cattle along the shore and headed back to the truck. Dakota was feeling a little spunky what with the hard wind and rain up his tail. I had him in a trot as we headed down a small draw. I knew he was going to do it before he did. He hit the bottom and broke in two. Bucking and twisting as hard as he could. I had his head up and a deep seat as I kicked him into a lope up the hill on the other side. He did it just for fun, he had no plans to get me off, just playing around the little shit.

We got home about 2pm and were unsaddling as the storm was coming into the H.Q. Hurrying we scrambled to get the horses rubbed down and turned out. Just as I let Creek go Cassady yelled” Dad our tent!” I looked down to the house in time to see our new huge tent rolling across the pasture, then up over a fence hearing a big riiippppp. We ran down and got it stopped but not before it had broken six legs and got a three-foot tear in the roof.

Rain all afternoon and evening amounting to a bit over a half inch.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Another trip to town. It had been three months since I had been to Reserve now I’ve been twice in one week.

This time it was to pick up a Jeep. I friend in town really wanted an elk tag for a client of his. I get a couple every year as a landowner. He had a Jeep I had my eye on the last couple years and when he called wanting to buy the tag I told him his money was no good but his Jeep would get the tag. Well a couple days later he called and told me to come get my Jeep. I was tickled. It’s a dandy, a 1977 CJ5 with only 71K miles on it. Cassady and I drove it home through the light rain and mountain chill. It was great, it’s got no doors and just a shade top so the wind is in your hair and the mud flies by.

When we got home we all headed out to Gwen tank for a little fishing. Over the last couple years we have done a bit of fishing at Snow Lake , Willow Creek, down in Florida , but Cassady has never had any luck. This past school year his Big Buddy at school is an eighth grader who is an avid fisherman and has told him all kinds of tales of his catches and filled his head with dreams of the big one. On the way there he talked non-stop of how much he wanted to finally catch a fish.

As he threw out his first cast he was mustering to himself “ I want to catch a fish, I want to catch a fish…” His line settled just a moment then the water swirled and the line went tight. “I got one’ he cried. He set the hook and started reeling in. I could see it wasn’t much of a fish but for his first fish it was just fine. Then the line went slack and Cassidy’s face did the same. “ He got away!” he moaned. But instead of getting mad or frustrated he screw his face up with some attitude and stated he “was going to get that stupid fish”

He made a pretty cast, {he’s had a lot of practice casting} and let the line settle. And then…nothing. I told him to cast again and he said he was going to wait a bit longer. He gave the rod a couple twitches and suddenly the water boiled and the line went tight, then the line started screaming out as a nice fish made a run. Cassady was concentrating hard on reeling in but the fish took the line faster. “Dad! Help!” I told him it was his fish. “But I can’t reel it in!” I told him to let it run awhile and the fish would tire out, just keep him under control. He did a great job and had a lot of fun. It was a nice fish! When he got it landed he was so dang excited. “I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it” he said over and over “And it’s huge! It must be the biggest fish in the pond” On that he was probably right, it was a fat ten-inch Rainbow trout, anyone would have been proud of it.

It had started raining but we didn’t notice with all the excitement but it was quickly really starting to come down so we all headed home with a glow.

Hi 72 lo 46, rain all round, all day, heavy in some place, 1/4 inch at the H.Q.

Thursday, July 22 2004

For the last several years Maggie has been after me to build a new chicken coop. The chicken situation here has gotten out of control, chickens everywhere, pooping on everything and hiding there eggs all over the place. When you find a hidden nest you have no idea how old they are so ya can’t use them. Well today I finally dragged out my tools and gathered up some lumber and started on it. I am enclosing two of the horse stalls in the main barn so it will be pretty easy to get done. There are already three walls and the roof so I just have to frame and wire a 24-foot wall and then set up nest boxes and such. I worked on it all day and got most of the framing done.

The farriers are here for three days, they brought along their 8 year old so Cassady spent the day playing around with him. They both “helped” me for a while but soon got bored with it.

Heavy thunderstorms came in the early afternoon so only four horses got shod, Doug’s usual is nine. Hope they can get them all done in the next two days.

Hi 70 lo 46 3/4 inch of rain and lots of lightning close by.

Friday, July 23, 2004

A cool rainy day. The farriers could only work in between the thunderstorms, which were in and out all day. They did manage to get nine done but what a mess it was. The corrals are deep in mud and the horses were skittish with lighting hammering all around.

The big pine between the old cabin and Lyndsey house got hit, the third time in its life it’s been struck so don’t believe that old wives tale about lighting never striking twice.

I spent the day working on the coop; I was under the barn roof so the rain wasn’t a problem but working in an all-metal barn made me worry. They say an American male has a one in three thousand chance of being struck. Us males are higher because we are dumb enough to try and get one more round of golf in or one more cast from the aluminum boat, or one more board nailed up. Maggie came out at one point and told me to come in, that I was increasing my chances to about one in ten. Of course I had to get one more board up.

It was so chilly this afternoon we had to build a fire in the fireplace. Just how many other folks were looking to gather around a fire on a July afternoon?

Hi 66 afternoon low 48 overnight 44. 1 inch of rain.

Saturday, July 24, 2004

More rain, more lightning, more horses shod but not enough. I now have the coop enclosed and a door hanging on it. Tomorrow I will work on the interior. The chickens are in and really pissed off. They charge the door whenever it’s open and you have to kick your way in and out.

Hi 74 low 50 3/4 inch of rain.

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Finally finished up the chicken house! It took all day but it works out well. Eight nest boxes, three roosts, and plenty of room. We put the rabbit hutch on the ground in there and opened the door so they could get out and roam around. So far they want nothing of that big world out there.

More rain, I wish it would stop long enough to get these horses shod. Doug rearranged his work calendar so he could stay another day. It has taken three days to get 23 head done and another eleven that have to be shod before they leave.

Hi 71 lo 48 1/2 inch of rain.

Monday, July 26, 2004

I was out early in my new Jeep scouting for next weeks Pathfinder Ride. We are doing a totally different ride than the one we did in June. This time we are starting in Pietown , New Mexico which is about 110 miles north of here as the horse walks. We are actually starting at a place I use to live back in my mustang breaking days.

Three days we will be traveling along the Continental Divide Trail which runs from Mexico to Canada , The other two days we will be bushwacking it across country. The days on this trip I hope will be a bit shorter than last time, the country for the most part should be a bit easier as we will start out at the top of the mountains rather than climbing up them.

I located all five camps, the first nights camp is nothing to brag about, just kinda along an old dirt road in a sage flat but the rest are really nice, high in the tall timber country.

I just hope the rain stops for awhile, or at least the lightning.

The farriers finally got every horse shod and headed back down to hot Socorro.

Hi 78 lo 49 thunderstorms off and on.