January 16 - 30, 2006: No Guests

1/16/06 Monday

The last week my computer was down waiting for a new battery.

I spent a couple days riding and a couple working on trucks. Seems like that’s all I do now a days. If it’s not one thing it’s another. I went to fill feeders the other day and saw a puddle under the front differential of the feed truck. I opened the case and it was empty. I made a new gasket and filled it up. Then the four-wheel drive on the Dodge went out so a full day was spent dealing with that, replacing the U Joint on the driveline.

Then the batteries in Maggie's ’01 F250 went dead. A short under the dash was finally found. She said the radio had been turning on and off by it’s self for a few weeks.

I saw wolves every day I was riding. Found a dead cow on the 15 th. A 4 y.o. that I suspect was a bad calving. I could see the nose of a calf but who knows if she died during birth or the wolves killed her while she was down. They had been feeding on her as well as the coyotes and the eagles. There are bald eagles everywhere this year. There were 11 just on that one cow.

The weather has been sunny every day and cold at night from –5 to 5 above.

We need snow!

1/17/06 Tuesday

Lyndsey got home last night. She’s back to work at half pay for doing chores and such. Half pay and a house, utilities, gasoline, and a heck of a beautiful place to live.

Gambler and I were out checking cattle in 7HL but got a late start. I only got to T Bar Valley. Every thing looked ok. There are about a half dozen close to calving cows I need to get in. We got home just before dark and were frozen. The wind howled all day. It really sucked. It wasn’t bad when I left home so I wore a cowboy hat. A couple hours later the wind blew so hard I had to take it and shove it in my coat since it wouldn’t stay on my head. When I got home my hair was standing up like spikes, my face was wind burned, I was a mess. But my oh so fine wife had me a hot meal ready and soon I was soaking in a steaming tub. Ahhhhhhh.

Hi was 35 sunny wind chill was about 5.

1/20/06 Friday

Maggie and I have been in Silver City the last two days.

She had Dr.’s appointments and we had a ton of laundry to do. We also did errands to the hardware, feed, and auto parts stores. We brought home six, two hundred pound protein tubs for the horses out on the range, and enough groceries for a couple weeks.

1/21/06 Saturday

We had been doing chores about a half hour when I came out of the barn and looked out in the horse pasture and there was a wolf. It was only about 80 yards from the barn and Maggie was between it and me feeding the weanlings. The two dogs were with her playing with each other. None knew the wolf was there and the wolf didn’t care about them. Dakota knew it was there and he and the wolf were walking towards each other while the other geldings watched. I guess he had been volunteered to deal with it. I trotted to Maggie's truck and grabbed her pistol from between the seats and ran through the corral. Maggie hollered asking what was wrong and I hollered back “WOLF!” She called the dogs to her and I went to the fence and fired as Dakota was now just 30 yards from it and was all pranced up like he was going to charge it. The wolf ran at the second shot and went into the timber on the hillside. I walked out and emptied my clip into the trees. After chores I drove up on the main road and could see where he had run across the road. It was a lone wolf; no other tracks and they are tracks I have never seen. He did have a collar on but looked to be only a yearling. Another wolf they let loose and didn’t tell us about. They think they are sneaky and that we won’t find out but the wolves always seem to come here to the house. They are use to people feeding them. Some of the wolves they are going to release this spring are coming from a place in up state New York. That makes sense.

I spent the rest of the day filling the feeders up on Telegraph Mesa and putting out salt. Hi was 35 sunny, not too windy, low was –1.

1/22/06 Sunday

I spent the day working on the Dodge. Lyndsey had picked up a back window for me at a junkyard so I spent the first half of the day putting that in. A real pain in the ass! When the truck had been wreaked a few years ago it had a ton of feed on the bed that came through the window in the crash. It also bent the metal at the bottom of the window so I had to deal with a big bow. I beat it out as best I could but it still wasn’t great so I made a rubber shim two feet long to fill the gap. Seems like it will work well now. The afternoon was spent changing the fluids in the cases and giving the inside a good hosing…cats were using it as a condo. Yep, real pleasant.

Hi was 30 sunny and windy. Low was -2

1/23/06 Monday

I left early and took the F550 and the flatbed trailer to get some hay. It was as usual an all day deal but fortunately with no breakdowns or anything to slow me down I got home at 5pm with 200 bales of cow hay to feed all these little pairs we have here at the house. An expense I wouldn’t have if the wolves weren’t here.

Cold sunny day hi was 20 after a low of -6

1/24/06 Tuesday

I took the four-wheeler out today loaded with fence mending stuff and started working along the South trap fence working toward T Bar Canyon. It was all mostly stretch and splice work but a lot of it. I spent all day on it and finally got to the rim rock along the top of the canyon where it ends with the canyon taking over being the fence.

The wind blew like crazy and it was cold out there. The only thing that wasn’t cold were my feet. Our buddy Ben, AKA…Fred Whitfield… from Alaska sent me some boots he uses in the gold mines up there. They are rubber and have two layers with an air chamber between them. They sure are warm but man they are heavy. I wouldn’t want to walk too far wearing them.

I saw elk, Bald eagles, deer, coyotes, red tailed hawks, kestrels, jays and of course the ravens were all around checking out what I was doing. NO WOLVES!

Hi was 28 sunny and real windy, low was –3.

1/25/06 Wednesday

SNOW!!!!!

It started about 6am and snowed off and on all day amounting to about 5 inches of real wet thick wonderful snow. I had been a bit worried about the fire danger that was building and this sure was the kind of snow to help that.

I spent the day inside putting down new floor in the kitchen. It’s the same as I put in the living room last winter. I have just enough left in the barn to put in the hall next time it snows.

Hi was 28 after a low of 28.

1/26/06 Thursday

I took the Jeep out for a big loop through the ranch just checking on things. With the fresh snow it was the right time to see what all kind of critters are around and what they are doing. As I was coming up towards Elladeane tank I saw a coyote and stopped to jump and shoot. The damn dog got over a rise before I could get a shot off and when I got back in the Jeep lo and behold it wouldn’t start. I spent an hour or so messing with it and all I came up with was there was no spark getting to the plugs and suspected the problem was in the distributor. I wasn’t that far from home so I decided to take my time walking back and do some hunting. I went over towards the cow carcass near Nedra tank and took a ridge, used my call a couple times then sat back and enjoyed the sun on my face. I’d glass every few minuets and after about 15 I spotted a coyote wandering my direction up wind from me. I called again and he perked right up and came trotting over to me. As the aerial hunters say “Mark one”. I had spotted some cattle up near the Silver gate so I walked that direction calling every ten minutes or so. About half way to the gate the sun was low and I looked behind me. I saw a light spot up on the rim of Ewe canyon about a short mile away. I got my glasses out and looked at it. The alpha male of the Luna pack was sitting there watching me. He is one big son of a bitch.

I continued on my way glancing back now and again to see him sitting right were he’d been. I got to the Silver gate and found 13 head on the Negrito side of the fence. They of course freaked out when they saw a human a foot and ran off a ways but when they saw me open the gate they came trotting back and went through into 7HL where they belong.

I cut across the south trap coming on a herd of about a hundred elk scattered along through the trees in the draw that leads to the spring. I made it my challenge to move around them without being seen. It took about 45 minuets but I did it having a lot of fun. A couple of them I could have hit with a stick. I got home just after dark.

The high was 39 not too windy after a low of 0.

1/27/06 Friday

I helped Maggie in her studio in the morning. She’s under her Valentines rush so I did some polishing for her.

After lunch I drove out to Canyon Creek to check the bulls and see how frozen their water is with these cold nights.

Little Loco was frozen solid; I beat on it with an axe and could tell it was solid to the bottom. It’s not a real deep tank. Over at Juniper tank the edges had melted and 17 bulls were standing there. They were fine and happy so I headed on to the cabin. Along the way I saw four cows, all four are ones I had hauled home with their calves a few weeks ago and weaned the calves. They must have walked all the way back here looking for them, about 25 miles and four fences. The power of motherhood.

When I got to the cabin I saw wolf tracks going right up the driveway and followed them finding one male had pissed on my lumber pile right next to the cabin. The tracks were just a day old. It must be part of the Saddle pack. I spent some time putting locks on the doors, something I have been meaning to do a long time then headed home. As I came past Snow Lake I saw 23 cows there just as happy as could be. Where they came from I have no idea but I’ll have to get them soon and push them back to 7HL. It’s a rotten tough push from the lake back to there.

Hi was 39, a bit windy, overnight was –2.

1/28/06 Saturday

I headed out on Dakota today, riding out from the H.Q.

I went through Snake gate and over Feathery Hill stopping there for a while to glass the country. After about 30 minuets I mounted back up and rode down across the Valley and onto Telegraph Mesa stopping to glass again. About 15 minuets into my glass I saw some movement way, way off to the south near Ten Dead Canyon. It was too far even with the good glasses I have to make out any detail but something was running around and not just a little bit. I swung up on Dakota and went back off the mesa and headed at a lope down Feathery Valley. About a mile down I swung up on a rise to get another look. I was close enough now to see three wolves chasing a black cow around in circles. I swung back up and this time sent Dakota off at full speed ahead. It’s a good rock free trail we were on that wound it’s way down the valley. Low ridges alternate cutting in from one side to another so you are always going around a curve so I couldn’t see what was going on with the wolves. It seemed like just seconds we came around a curve and there they were ahead of me. They were right at the base of the trail that goes over T Bar Saddle and right at the mouth of Ten Dead canyon. There is a cut bank there and it was obvious the wolves were trying to get her against the bank so she would be trapped. It was a 3-year-old cow but she had sense enough to know what they were trying to do and was doing her best to stay away from it. She was foaming at the mouth and steaming, legs shaking, and losing the battle. I pulled my pistol and fired. I had no time to think about the fact that I had never shot off Dakota. He wasn’t bad about it, he spooked and jumped but I was easily able to hold him up while I took a couple more shots over the wolves. I had startled them when I showed up but they hadn’t moved they just kinda stood there as if to say, “What are you lookin’ at?” The shots sent them running up the two track towards Elladeane tank. I stopped and checked the cow. She had no bites or blood so I am sure the wolf folks would say that it wasn’t a real attack. They were just playing. The cow was pretty much in shock from fear and stress. I didn’t want to make it worse so I headed the direction the wolves went. I found them above Elladeane tank and shot a few more times making them head through the fence to the south. I then went back to Elladeane and gathered six cows there and pushed them to where the black cow was now lying down. I left them there for her comfort and moral support.

I went over the saddle and rode through the cattle in T Bar Valley, there were about two hundred scattered through there and among them I saw seven newborn calves I will need to get in to the H.Q. soon.

I headed home the same way I had come and checked on the chased cow again. She was in the same spot and only one cow was still there with her. Good old Tex, the first cow I ever bought was standing over her.

Not a bad day, a bit windy hi was about 38 after a low of 9.

1/29/06 Sunday

I did things around the H.Q. today. Most of the day was spent burning the dump. It had been a long time since it was done and with all the stuff we had cleaned out of the barn and all the winter clean up junk from everywhere else it had become a pretty dang big pile. With the light covering of snow it seemed a good time to get it done. I dosed it with a couple gallons of diesel and gave it ten minuets to soak in and work its way down into the pile and then lit it up. Boy oh man did that crap take off!

For about twenty minuets I had flames fifty feet in the air.

It took till lunchtime before it burned down enough to leave but I still stayed nearby while I pulled wheels and tires off my dead F350 and put them on the Dodge. I had just put new tires on the 350 a week before the tranny blew. It took along time with only one jack. Raise one truck, take the wheel off, put one on, let it down and move to the other truck and do the same thing. After eight tire changes I was kinda tired out. The little bit of the rest of the day left was spent walking the dump and poking around the remains making sure it was cool enough to leave for the night.

Day was perfect for burning, cool about 35, sunny and a moderate breeze. Overnight was 11

1/30/06 Monday

Lyndsey finally decided to come give me a hand gathering some small pairs out of 7HL. We trailered out and I let her and Cooleye off at the Intersection feeders while I went on to Fence tank to park the rig. I swung on Gambler and headed back to where she was. Gambler was full of himself, as we trotted down the valley he jumped and ducked at every thing he could.

I worked the feeder area and checked some cattle on T Bar Ridge, gathering one old cow to sell and one cow that was close to calving. When I got them down Lyndsey showed up with a pair and two big steers. We headed towards Fence tank and picked up a couple more pairs along the way. It was already enough for a trailer load.

We got every thing penned and smooth as could be Gambler had the young stuff sorted from the older ones and we loaded the front putting the calves on the back. There wasn’t room to get the steers on so we left them for the second trip. I offered Lyndsey the drive home but she declined worried about the muddy roads. She headed out to hunt more small pairs and I took the load. The roads weren’t bad, just a few spots that were kinda slick now that the sun had warmed things up. I got back to H.Q. and put the cattle in a pen and headed back to Fence tank. Lyndsey wasn’t there so I woke up Gambler who was sleeping in the warm sun and mounted up. I met up with her at the Feeders finding she had found another big steer this one still nursing his mom. He had no vaccination tag so we hadn’t seen them in a long time. He wore a number 6 on his tag meaning we branded him in early May.

We found nothing else we needed, the cattle were scattered wide and far enjoying the fine day we were having. I most wanted to check on the black cow that the wolves had chased the other day but didn’t see her.

It was about 7:30 pm when we finally got home and horses tended to.

The day had been the best of many good ones. Temp was about 45, and no wind! Overnight was 10.