February 1-4, 2005: No Guests

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

I had to go to town again today. I went to see if the banker would lend me a little money using my horses as collateral.

He decided I was no good for the money citing my recent bounced checks. I hadn’t bounced a check in over ten years till now. All I wanted was 5K, for 30 days. I was putting up over 100K in collateral. But he sent me down the street feeling like a bum.

That took all day. What a waste of time!

Snow and sun off and on all day just making more mud.

Hi was 33 lo was 11

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Another trip to town. This time to attend a county commissioner meeting concerning the county canceling the contract with the U.S.D.A. Predator Control agent. This is the guy who flies and takes care of coyotes and investigates wolf kills. He’s one of the good guys. Well I got there and put in my two cents and was then told they would take it up at another meeting some time in the future.

Another long drive over lousy roads. The truck is still down in that curve, I guess it will be there till the roads clear enough to get a winch truck in there. If they tried now it would just pull the winch truck down the hole. I stopped at one point to clear some rocks that had fallen in the road and couldn’t get going again even in four-wheel drive. I had to go to the bank and shovel some dirt onto the road in front of my tires.

I got home about noon and after lunch went to shoe Gambler. It was cold, snowy and windy. It took all afternoon to get front shoes on. Most of the time was spent welding mud caulks on the shoes. They turned out pretty nice but were a lot of work. It snowed the whole time I worked on him, blowing sideways, hard pellet snow that really stung.

Gambler is so easy to work on, at one point I had his foot on the stand and realized I didn’t have my clinching tool. I left him on the stand and went in the barn to find it. Took a couple minutes and when I came out he was still there with his foot on the stand. I was too tired to do his rear hooves so I just clinched them down and called him done.

When I came down to the house I saw Townes run by with a chicken in his mouth. I ran her down and that chicken whopped her up side the head a few times with my help and then I tied the dead chicken to her collar and told her harshly she was the most pitiful chicken killin’ dog I had ever seen. She spent the next several hours tied up looking miserable with a dead chicken as her new compadre. Billy the Cat laid into her the other night and now he struts around teasing the poor dog.

Hi 18 windy lo was 9, three inches of snow.

Thursday, February 3, 2005

Gambler and I headed out on a big loop this morning. We cut across the South trap and into Negrito pasture headed east. Negrito is a mostly timbered pasture so there was a lot of snow in it, some places over Gamblers knees. We then went into the Riparian area along T Bar Canyon. We stayed up on top along the rim of the canyon. I was looking for cattle Maggie and I had seen a month ago through binoculars from Snow Lake. About half way down I came across pretty fresh track and rode them out. They took me down off the end of the ridge to the three-way gate at the Snow Lake trap. There stood seven cows right at the gate. I put them through into the trap and headed up the bottom of the canyon. The canyon is pretty narrow in spots, no more than twenty feet wide at the bottom. The creek was frozen all the way through there and Gambler hates crossing frozen water, I really can’t blame him. Some places he could jump across others we had to walk the ice. It was pretty slippery and scary; several times he broke through and panicked a bit till he got back on solid ground. It was awful damn cold down in there, very little sun ever gets down there.

When I came out of the canyon into T Bar Valley the wind hit me, clouds were building up over the wilderness and I could see the snow starting back in that country. Gambler asked if we could just go home, I didn’t take too long in agreeing with him. I got home mid afternoon it was just starting to snow when we got there.

The only thing that really gets cold on me these days is my feet. I just can’t seem to find boots or socks that keep them warm. I think it has to do with blood flow. Seems the longer I just sit there in the saddle the colder they get so the blood must not move down there too well. Usually when they start getting really cold I’ll set my horse into a trot, that seems to get things flowing but lately the footing has been so bad trotting is dangerous.

I checked the temperature when I got home and it read 18 degrees, with the wind I’m sure it was well below zero.

Friday, February 4, 2005

Woke to seven inches of snow this morning. I tell ya this place is so damn beautiful in the snow. It had been windy all night so the snow was plastered to everything. About mid morning the sun broke out and it was soon melting making more mud. Just what we need. It stayed cold though, never got over 15 after a low of 3. But that’s what this great New Mexico sun is all about. 15 degrees and the snow was melting and the water running. The creek in the horse pasture is now running about thirty feet wide usually it’s only three feet. We can hear it at night as we lay in bed, even with the windows closed.

I did nothing outside all day other than chores. The wind blew and the mud and slush just made walking a drain on my body. It really makes me appreciate what my horses have to go through when I ride them in conditions like this. I put off riding so they don’t have to go through it.

My financial situation was saved from dire straights today by the completion of the sale of Annie to a friend in Texas. I really hate to see her go. Having known her from the minute she was born and being a sweet endearing horse she sure worked a spot in my heart. But she is going to waste here. I put off using her a lot this summer because of her being a mare and us camping so much. Having her camped out with all the boys would have just caused problems. Too many of those guys become studs when there’s a gal around, typical of us all I guess.

Then there’s the problem also in the summer when her dad comes back from California. We then have to set her up in a separate corral so he doesn’t breed her, he has no morals.

And the fact I really needed and injection of cash. The hay pile is getting low, the bill pile is as big as the hay pile use to be. But I have to deliver her to Texas.

Congress might get a chance to hear about C.O.O.L. again this year. We all need COOL, Country Of Origin Labeling.

A very simple and no brainer law. All meat products would have the country where they originated on the label. This covers beef, poultry, pork and lamb.

You the consumer should have the right to know where your meat is coming from!

Is it from New Mexico, Montana or Florida? Or is it from Canada, Brazil, Argentina, or some third world E Coli country where you have no idea as to their process or inspection laws, or if those laws are enforced and the safety of the product is a concern.

Why do American ranchers and farmers want and need it? Of course it has to do with the bottom line of more money. The cheaper imports drive our price down. But beyond that it’s a matter of pride. I take pride in the fact I produce food for you. I try to produce the best product I can.

Who wouldn’t be for this law you may wonder. The big meat conglomerates, like Amour, Excell, and Tyson. The way the laws are now they can buy meat cheap from other countries and mingle it with U.S. meat and call it Made In America.

It’s not right. It puts you at risk and is putting the small producer and family farmer out of business.

The big meat companies’ have bought out the Nation Cattle Ass. who do not support COOL so congress only hears them.

Their stand is that the American consumer is not willing to pay 8-12 cents a pound more for exclusive American meat.

I think they are wrong.

R-Calf is a fairly new group that speaks for the small rancher and farmer and your welfare. They are getting stronger and someday may have the money and clout to fight the big boys for all of us. If you care about your health, the small guy, and want Made In America to mean something then please write your congressman and tell them to support COOL! While you’re at it tell them to keep the Canadian border closed to cattle imports. It is due to open any day and they just had another case of mad cow. Once again it’s the big boys and money behind it and no concern about you.

Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now.