January 2, 2006: No Guests

1/2/06 Monday

Well now that Cassady has gone back to Ma. the holidays are over and it’s back to work.

Gambler and I headed out early tailoring out to Canyon Creek camp.

A couple days ago when Maggie and I hauled the trailer of stuff out there we swung up by Juniper tank to get the water. I was surprised when we got there to see six cows and three branded calves.

So I parked at the cabin and mounted up. Gambler was glad to be out and we set a nice jog up over Rattlesnake ridge and down to Juniper tank. All the cattle I wanted were right there at the tank and none of the twenty bulls in that pasture were anywhere around to mix things up.

The cattle headed off at a trot taking a direction toward the salt lick. Gambler was more than ready to head them off and get them to go thru the saddle under the power lines to the main road. There was one three-year-old cow with us that I had been running into off and on for the last couple months. Every time we gathered her up she would go along for a while then take off at a run. It had worked every time before, we always had to stay with the herd and let her go. She tried it once as we went thru the saddle and I turned her back in. When we came off the ridge towards the road she took off again, this was an exact replication of an escape she had made a month before. The rest of the herd were moving so slow I wasn’t worried about losing them so gambler and I took off after her. Oh she thought she was going to get away and she kicked up her heels in glee as she sped off at a full run. I let her go a bit just playing with her pea size brain, letting her get a big head of confidence. Gambler just knew this time I wasn’t going to let her get away with it. He was prancing and running in place like a horse in an arena-roping box. I let her get a hundred yard lead on us and then just touched Gambler lightly and he was off. He ran her down in seconds and we kept running her down. I didn’t try to turn her back to the herd. I chased that stupid ass all the way back to the salt lick and then finally turned her back. She was now ready to stop and walk and be a good cow. Naaa I was out to teach her a lesson so I ran her back over the saddle and all the way down to the little herd. All in all it was a bit over a mile I chased that knot headed cow. And you know what? She walked just as peacefully as a ten-year-old trail cow the rest of the day.

This was a slooooooow bunch of cattle it took almost three hours to get to the cabin. They never stopped moving but I swear at times I thought we were moon walking. Poor Gam had to walk ten feet then stop and wait 45 seconds, then walk then stop. All afternoon it was the same slow pace.

We got them in the corral; I sorted of the three calves leaving them in the small pen and went to load the cows. The cover on my trailer is split and has a big hole in it. The breeze was blowing and it was flapping so they of course were scared to go near it. I got off Gambler leaving him ground tied and went and got some hay from a bale I had in the truck. I put a couple flakes in the trailer and started leaving a breadcrumb trail from the trailer back to where Gambler stood at the entrance to the loading alley. Gambler is the best ground tied horse I’ve ever had but this was the true test. A line of fresh hay right to his feet and he never dropped his head or made any indication he was thinking of going for it.

Little Tex, the daughter of the first cow I ever bought was in the bunch and she was more than ready to go in the trailer now.

In minuets I had the cows in, the middle gate closed then calves brought around and loaded up behind the cows and ready to go.

I unsaddled Gambler and turned him loose to graze trusting he’d be there when I got back.

I hauled the cattle home and got back two and a half hours later finding Gambler was nowhere in sight. I honked the horn and he stepped out yawning from behind the one tree between the cabin and the corrals. He’d just been taking a nap on the sunny side of the tree. As I loaded my saddle in the truck he went and stood at the back gate of the trailer, which was open. Once I got the saddle in the truck I pulled his halter off the fence and slipped it on him flipping the lead over his neck. He then walked on the trailer. He knows you don’t go on the trailer without a halter.

When I came passed Snow Lake there were 200 Elk wading way out in the lake and grazing along the shoreline, a pretty cool sight.

I got home just as Maggie was finishing evening chores, perfect timing! Gave Gambler a big rub down and fed him in the fading light of the day. The weather was perfect; I rode all day in just a flannel shirt and a vest. Just a bit of a breeze with few gusts here and there after a low of just 30

1/03/06 Tuesday

Maggie went to Silver City to ship out orders and get some food. I spent the day working on the Dodge truck. The four wheel drive was grinding and crunching so I crawled under it and found the CV joint in the front drive line was worn out so I spent awhile taking that out and then while I was under there I went ahead and changed the fluid in the transfer case. Then I drove to town and dropped off the driveline to be repaired, it’s a bit beyond my limited skills.

I got home just in time to do chores in the daylight and Maggie got home a couple hours later with a pizza and ice cream! It’s not often we ever get either here.

Another fine and dry day. Hi was 47 and the low was about 19.

1/04/06 Wednesday

Maggie had brought home a ton of salt so I spent the day putting that out in the pastures.

I saw two more newborn calves out there I need to go get before they get eaten. I saw all four of the Luna wolves near 7HL tank.

Sunny and warm, about 45 with a low of 14.

1/05/06 Thursday

I was out early filling the feeders leaving just after sunrise. It sure was pretty out there. A thin layer of high clouds that were lavender as the sun came over the mountains. Elk were everywhere; I sure wish I were feeding as many cows as I am elk.

I got home about 2pm and started shoeing the riding horses. We have six horses in for winter work. Gambler, Dakota, Cooleye, Chili, Shane and Zane. I got Gambler and Dakota done before the sun went down, they are the easiest to do.

I was working in just a denim shirt, it was just perfect. Hi was 45 after a cold night of 9.

1/06/06 Friday

I started back on the shoeing and did the other four horses. I got done about noon. I then saddled up Gambler and tailored out to 7HL to look around and try to find the two small calves I saw last week. We rode till dark and I never found the calves but it’s a big pasture and I just went to the water holes and the feed stations. I did see the wolves up on Telegraph mesa. I got home about 7pm, Maggie was worried to death, she always is when I’m out late by myself. This week especially, we had a murder here in the forest. A rancher on the south side was coming home from getting a load of hay and called his wife letting her know he’d be home in an hour. When he wasn’t there two hours later she went looking for him. She found his truck running with the lights on. He was dead from a gunshot. They figure he stopped to help someone on the road or see what someone was doing. This is the sort of thing that has never happened out here. I must say I felt nervous but was comforted by the fact Maggie wasn’t alone at home. She has her two dogs and I know without a doubt that they would never let anyone near the house much less in it. I was also comforted by the weight on my hip.

On the way home from dropping off Cassady last week I was listening to my new Sirius radio {if you don’t have one get it} on one talk show they were talking about gun control and I was amazed at several callers who stated they would rather die than take another human life. I just can’t understand those people.

It seems natural human instinct to protect your life and your loved ones.

Another warm day, hi was 45 after a low of 11. It sure is nice not having mud and snow but if some weather doesn’t come soon we will really be in a world of hurt next year as far as tank water goes.

1/07/06 Saturday

I was planning to get a load of hay today so we decided to rid our selves of some of the 50 some barn cats we have. Judd at the hay farm had asked me to bring him a few so we set some sardines in our cat traps and caught 8 in about 15 minuets. I loaded these on the truck and headed out.

When I got there he sure was happy to see the cats. We opened the doors on the traps and those cats flew out of there heading up into the highest corner of the huge hay barn. He showed me where the rats had eaten holes in the plywood walls. Those cats will have plenty to hunt but I fear one hell of a fight on their paws judging by the size of the holes I saw.

We loaded 200 bales of cow hay, which will last about 15 days and I headed home getting in just after chores were done. Once again perfect timing.

On the way home I ran into two of my neighbors from the east side. Don and Jeannie were the first. They told me that they only have water in about half their tanks and have one pasture that no water in it. Then a few miles down the road I stopped and visited with Jim Haught. He said that he was getting low on water on his place as well. If we don’t get some moisture soon it will be a really tough spring. We have gone dry at Nedra and White tank, the others have dropped but they were totally full in the fall so It may make us through till the summer rains.

It was a bit windy today, a cool front moving through.

Maggie reminded me that I had failed to mention in my last log that I was now a member of the Polar Bear Club, you know those fools who cut a hole in the ice and jump in every new years day.

A couple weeks ago we were trying to get the calves that had drowned out of the tank. The ice had melted thin with the warm days so we got a rope and a hay hook and were trying to lasso and drag them out. Tac was there and she was walking along the edge breaking through about every step but being the dumbass she is she didn’t figure out to stay off it. We were involved with the calves when we heard a splash. There she was way out in the middle of the tank trying to claw her way out. I got on my belly trying to distribute my weight and slid out. I reached where she had broken through and just as I grabbed her collar I broke through also. I sank like a rock, my boots filling up and man it was cold! The water was just over my head, I was able to get my head above the surface and yell for Maggie to throw the rope. Already my words were slurred but she was already in action. Her first throw was perfect; I grabbed the rope and then the dog. It’s a good thing she’s a fit, six foot tall gal. She was able to pull us both to shore. If I had been alone I surely would not be writing this. That damn dog just shook off and then started walking back out on the ice. Fortunately Cassady was on the other side of the dam playing with Townes and didn’t have to watch the ordeal. Maggie was kinda shook up. I was cold. I went home and took a hot bath.

1/8/06 Sunday

I loaded some food and Dakota and tailored out to Canyon Creek camp. I spent the day riding and glassing the entire pasture. I saw nothing but bulls. And of course Elk, Turkeys, Coyote, Deer, Hawks, Eagles, Antelope, Ravens, Pinon Jays. Tracks of Bear and Wolf also. I was out till just before dark, I took my time with the knowledge that I didn’t have to hurry home. Dakota was great all day. He was glad to get out and I would ride awhile from vantage point to vantage point then stop and let him graze for twenty or thirty minutes while I watched and glassed. He did have to work pretty hard getting to some high spots but the reward was worth the climb.

I unsaddled as the sun went down, you could feel the cold air roll down off the mountain and fill the canyon. I gave Dakota a big rub down while he ate his grain from his nosebag then flaked out some hay for the night. I went into the cabin, built a fire and set water to boil. I opened a can of beef, dumped it in a pot with some green chilies and onions and set them to simmer. When the coffee was done I filled a cup and went out and sat on the porch. There wasn’t a breath of breeze, it was dead quiet. The stars were brilliant and it sure made me feel good. Dakota was munching away a couple hundred yards away but it sounded like he was only a few feet away. I heard rocks clatter up the canyon as some animal went down the side. The sounds of a cold winter night are different than those of a summer night. There were no night birds, it seemed that the night was constrained, that anything out moving was aware of how quiet the world was and tried not to make noise. Some time I want to have a few weeks where folks can come out and experience life in camp during the winter months.

I was in bed early and of course up early.

1/9/06 Monday

It was cold last night. I fed Dakota just after the sun came up then made a bowl of oatmeal and had a whole pot of coffee while I waited for him to eat and the world to warm up a bit.

Yesterday there were no ravens around the corral, all fall every morning there were twenty or so picking over the left over grain the horses spilled. This morning one flew over and started cawing as he flew away. Within minuets they started arriving. I have long noticed that each morning Raven leave the roost and go out in singles or couple and scout around. When one finds something of interest they let the others know.

I put a few cans of food in my bags and tied on my small sleeping bag with my plan to be to ride through Incognito gate into Pitchfork pasture where I think there are still a few strays and end up at Fence tank camp for the night.

Dakota was feeling good so we jogged the two miles to the gate. There the country gets pretty rough around Incognito so we slowed it down there. Incognito tank was dry and had been a couple weeks. There were cow tracks but nothing new so I went to Dead Horse where I went up the ridge and glassed for a while. I then started riding the fence to the north and had lunch at Hay tank, which was still full, but no fresh track. We crossed T Bar Valley and went up on T Bar Ridge. We spent the next hour glassing from up there and just as I was about to give up I spotted one cow on the rim of Steve canyon. That was on the other side of the valley about three miles from where I was but close to Fence tank. Dakota and I headed over there. We picked our way down the ridge then trotted down the valley and up Steve canyon. The sun was getting low; the bottom of the canyon was in shadow when I got to the tank. I did a loop around that area of the canyon and as I went to the edge where I’d seen the cow I found nine others. I quick gathered them up and pushed them to the tank where we watered then we went down the canyon, which comes out right at Fence tank. We put the cattle through the gate. The day worked out just about perfect. I unsaddled Dakota and rubbed him down and fed him with feed I keep stored there. That’s about the only thing out there; I kept meaning to get a stove and some pots and pans but haven’t done it yet this season. So I built a campfire and opened a can of stew I had brought along. It didn’t take too long to heat and I ate it sitting on the dam of the tank looking down valley, which was dotted with the dark shapes of a hundred cattle grazing. I wish I could draw or paint.

1/10/06 Tuesday

It was #!X*$# cold last night! I went to bed early knowing I had a meeting with the Forest Service at 11am today. The camper out there is missing a couple panes of glass and the door doesn’t close without a three-inch gap at the bottom. There was no lantern or heater to take the chill off. I had my small bag, which is rated to 20 degrees. I use this one when I’m horseback since it rolls up really small. I brought in my saddle blanket and put over me and thought I’d be warm enough. I was wrong. I had forgotten just how long a winter night was.

I was feeding when it was real early. While Dakota ate I built a small fire and put some water in my stew can, boiled it and tossed some coffee in. I missed my Baileys.

Dakota was more than ready to go since we were headed home. He jogged most of the ten miles home. I got home just after 8am. Maggie was glad to see me and made a big breakfast for me while I tended my horse. It wasn’t long before I had to leave for my meeting. It was my annual meeting to set grazing rotation. The administration there right now is the easiest to get along with. They understand we know better how to use our range. I planned it expecting a dry spring and early summer.

We are going to stay in 7HL longer and then graze in the opposite direction than we have the past couple years. We will stay in 7HL until May then start branding at Fence tank putting the worked cattle through into Pitchfork pasture where they will stay until late June when we will go into Canyon Creek and finish the season in Loco Mountain pasture.