January 27-31, 2005: No Guests

Thursday, January 27, 2005

It was drizzle and fog all night, started snowing about 6am. When we went out for chores it was really coming down. I left the house about 10am to fill feeders at the Intersection. I figured even with the mud I had a good base of snow; there was about four inches then. Just about the time I got to the top of the drive it stopped snowing and the sun broke out. It was a glorious sight.

The feeders were just about empty; it took the usual hours to fill the three of them out there. By the time I was done just about all the snow had melted in the noonday sun. I started out and realized I had a mess on my hands. The two tracks of the road were running water and the mud was soft. I wished I had put on chains but it was one of those deals where I couldn’t stop now. If I did I was never gonna get going again. I tore the road all to hell. I hate doing that and go to great lengths to avoid it. Today I was just caught out there by the unpredictable turn of weather. We will be paying the price all summer as our trucks and trailers bounce in the deep ruts. Only wild life I saw was a couple antelope.

I got home about 3pm.

Lyndsey left for Sante Fe to house sit for her mom for a couple weeks.

Hi 37 lo 30 snow in the morning, sun in the afternoon.

Friday, January 28, 2005

I was out just after light headed to the Telegraph Mesa feeders trying to beat the thaw.

It was uneventful all morning, sunny but cold and a bit of wind.

I have to agree with Cassady that filling feeders is boring. It was tough today because of a lot of cattle were around the feeder so I had to stand out there and guard the pipe ensuring it didn’t get knocked out of the tank. The ground was muddy; around the feeders where the cattle had beaten the ground down there were three-inch deep puddles of water and manure. So I spent hours standing in cold, icy, nasty water or sitting on a cold steel tail gate with my butt going numb looking at cows. Pretty romantic cowboy stuff.

The two-track road to the feeders passes through a campsite people started using a few years ago. As I was coming though there, just about to the main forest road Blam! Tire blows. I get out to check it and see not one but two tires flat. Both on my right rear. I walked back a few feet and found a piece of aluminum trim off a camp trailer in the mud with long screws sticking out. I once again cussed the hunters. I got out my high lift jack and some boards and started jacking thankful that I didn’t hit it on the way in when I had a full load of feed on it. Then I realized that it made no difference as I watched my jack sink in the mud. I tried again with three 2x6 pieces of lumber under it. Still it sank.

I had no choice but to ease the truck out to the main forest road, which had been regraveled last summer. I set up the jack again and again it sank but not as far. I reset the jack several times putting more and more wood under it till I got to frozen ground. I was getting the wood by dismantling the feed tank support in the truck.

I took one of my good tires off the left side because of course my spare was flat. Then I went and started the whole damn jacking routine over again on the right side, finally getting both those flats off and putting the one good one on. This whole deal took almost three hours!

Maggie left midmorning to get our new dog in Silver City; we are both pretty excited about it. She got home about 9pm and in came the prettiest German Shepard you’ve ever seen. A blonde and black about a year old and sooo sweet.

Barney and Jack ignored it; Billy the cat climbed to the top of the bookcase and spent the night up there glaring at the intruder.

Hi was 35 lo 32

Saturday, January 29, 2005

This morning while I was doing chores Maggie took our new dog for a walk on a leash to see how it was around animals.

She named the dog Townes, the folks at the S.P.C.A. told her they found it wandering the highway so she named him after Townes Van Zant who wrote some great songs about life on the road. While I was up feeding the winter workers they came walking by. The six horses up there all forgot about their breakfast and ran to the fence to see the new dog, then they took of running and bucking enjoying the excuse to be goofy.

After chores I walked with them a bit and saw Townes squat and pee. “Why is he squatting like a girl” Maggie wondered. “I think she is one” She had gone into the S.P.C.A. telling them she was looking for a female Shepard, they told her all they had was a male. It was so cute she adopted it any way. All the paper work said Male German Shepard but some one there needs to take a biology lesson. We got what we wanted anyway.

I spent most of the day filling feeders in the South trap and Ewe canyon, I got home mid-afternoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the hydraulics on the feed truck, the bed wasn’t rising up. I found the fluid was real low and a return hose had a small leak. A little duct tape and it was good as new.

Hi 38 lo 16 mostly sunny

Sunday, January 30, 2005

As I was having my morning coffee next to the fire I looked out and saw Jack was taking Townes on his morning rounds.

I guess he just couldn’t resist her, she is the prettiest gal he’s ever seen. Of course the only other gals he ever knew was his sister and old Maggie. He’s led a pretty sheltered life, has never been off the ranch. When I went out to do chores they were running and wrestling together. She brought the pup out in that 13-year-old guy.

Gambler and I were out checking the yearlings early this morning before it got too muddy. Yearlings, yearlings, where are you?

I found 6 in the South trap where close to a hundred should have been. I found the T gate knocked down by elk and hundreds of hoof tracks headed through it. I rode out into Ewe canyon to see where they went. I hadn’t gotten out here in two days so they had gotten a good head start. I found a few pretty quick and put them back through the gate but then nothing. I rode all the way out to T Bar Saddle and from there I glassed the country. They were all over the place, from Telegraph Mesa to T Bar Ridge. I also spotted two wolves prowling around in the bottom of Ten Dead Canyon. I sat and pondered what to do about this wreak. The grass was better out here in the big open country. The South trap has a lot of timber thus a lot of snow still in it. I decided for the time being they were fine out there. I am sure a few will hook back up with their moms but hopefully they are all dried up by now. The worry will be when the cows start calving that the big calves will take the milk from the newborns when it starts flowing again. We will have to get them separated in the next six weeks or so.

It was really muddy out there and on the way home Gambler lost a front shoe. He has a bad hoof from an old wire cut. It grows loose and crumbly and this of course was the one he lost. I knew the moment it came off. Gambler started walking like he’d lost his leg. He is a bare foot wimp. We got home and I promised him I’d get a new one on in the morning… fat chance.

I took the afternoon off and did nothing for a couple hours till chore time. When it started snowing. It stopped a couple hours later leaving three inches.

Maggie is at wits end over this new dog. Townes is extremely smart and extremely uneducated. Just as sweet as a dog could be but pretty much out of control. She doesn’t know anything at all, not “come” not a thing. She shows an inclination to chase horses, chickens, cats and anything else that moves or might move.

Maggie is going to spend some time working her on a leash but I sense trouble ahead.

Hi 36, lo 14 sunny with a bit of wind.

Monday, January 31, 2005

I had to go to town today and make a quick trip to the bank. This is the tough time of year for a rancher. I’m sure not the best book keeper in the world either and I overdrew my bank account…a lot. I didn’t know that they automatically take money out of savings to cover it. Maggie had gotten the mail the other day and it was full of bank envelopes. My meager savings account was wiped out before I ever knew there was a problem, that’s the problem with only getting mail every ten days or so. I was rushing a small deposit to try and stop the bad checks.

On the way back from town I saw skid marks in the snow on one of the many sharp corners. I slowed down and looked around then saw a white truck down a 40 foot bank on the inside of the turn. It had gone down backwards, must have been a hell of a ride! But there wasn’t a dent on it, some how it just missed a dozen big trees on the way down. I saw footprints walking the way I was headed and a couple miles later saw where a truck from Rainy Mesa Ranch had picked the person up at their driveway. How they are going to get that truck out I have no idea.

Hi 26 snows off and on all day about four inches. Lo was 18.