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Maggie went to albq. to pick up Alan from England this weekend while Brian and I stayed busy here at the ranch. We went to Snow Lake and took apart the branding pen we had there made of bull panels and horse panels, loaded them in the truck to take to Fence tank so we can set up or calf table. It wasn’t till our second trip that we got the job done. The first try we got chased home by thunder and lightning. It rained both Saturday and Sunday. Things are setting up for a great summer with all this early season moisture. Maybe we won’t have much of a fire season this year.
The guest camp remains a wreak, fence rails down, boardwalk full of holes, cover over the outside table half blown away, cookhouse roof peeling back, no water running in the shower house due to the traditional broken pipes. Good thing it’s two friends here and not new folks for it would surely scare them off.
This morning we got right to it, fortunately both these guys aren’t into a big breakfast so we set to loading more stuff for camp and finally having everything ready for Maggie to drive out to camp while we rode out from the H.Q. Brian was on Cooleye, Alan was lucky enough to draw Chili, and I took Dakota. Our plan was to clear the North trap then head out thru the T gates and started gathering the west side of the pasture getting the cattle closer to Fence tank where we will be working. Brian and Alan gathered ten head or so out of the trap, I met them at the gate and from there we went down Ewe canyon. Brian went to Nedra tank and picked up a few while Alan and I moved the herd and gathered some others we came across. In short time we had fifty head and went on to Elladeane tank seeing one wolf along the way.
We let the cattle drift into the tank where there were already a lot gathered, Alan and Brian went and got a few more in the area. When we pulled out of there we had 107 cows and calves and two bulls. Next point of travel was the dreaded T Bar Saddle. A very steep incline to the saddle makes it often a tough push. Today it was really pretty easy. Two good hands and cloudy weather we got them up after about 20 min.
From there we pushed down into T Bar Valley and on to the Intersection feeders where we let them drift to the salt while we headed on to camp. After a ten mile push we were ready to get out from behind a cow.
Maggie was at camp so our timing was just right, she had news that the shoers were coming on Wed. so I had to haul a load of horses home. Alan and Brian stayed in camp getting it pulled together and doing the initial set up of the calf table. I got back to camp about 9pm
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Hi was 60 windy a bit, after a low of 31.
5/1/07 Tuesday
We spent the first half of the morning working on the main corral around the tank making sure it was all tight and ready to hold cattle and then we worked on the calf table and chute driving posts then pulling them back out then doing it again. By late morning we were ready to give it a test run and see what else we had to redo and adjust.
We saddled up and rode down the valley a ways and quickly picked out several pairs. We pushed them back to the corrals and too easy they went in and on to the branding pen. Our trail run was just that, we got the calves branded but found we had more fine tuning to do so we pulled the posts again and reset everything then headed out for another bunch. We had a good set but when we got to the gates to the main corral it went bad. They wouldn’t go in the corrals and broke several times making us have to stop regather and try again at least 4 or 5 times.
My help are dang near professional cattle herders now but it’s time they stepped it up a notch and really start to understand the nuances of cattle. To be better they have to start reading the cows. It’s not easy, it takes a lot of time with them and serious effort to study a cows body language. Well I am NOT a good teacher, never have been. As usual I got pissed at the cattle, I was already really pissed at my horse. Earlier in the day he had tripped at a trot and went ass over head due to being a dork and not paying attention and then when a cow broke off and we went after her he wasted time by going into a bucking spell. Any way all that I managed to do was cuss my help and my horse and the cattle. I always embarrase myself doing that and just feel terrible. When it’s all over I try to explain why I yelled at the guys, and explain what could be done different or what ever but for all of us in the short quick action that is taking place there is no time for explaining till it’s all over. I should just get a piece of duct tape with a smile painted on it and stick that over my mouth before I hit the saddle, I think I’ll sign up with Alec Baldwin for anger management.
Finally we got the cattle in the branding pen and Alan and Brian sorted the cows of as they did the first lot. They are getting pretty good at that now.
The adjustments we made to the alley paid off. Things went along and I got a bit handier at working around the table. Everything is different, different height, different angles and castrating in there scares the hell out of me. I have to put my arms between the bars and do do my work not really being able to see much of it. One back leg is held in a slip on cull by a chain to keep them from kicking but I just don’t trust that cuff and chain. Already it has been kicked off by several calves. And after a few breaks I’m kinda paranoid about my arms now. But we got six calves done in about 40 min. and it was a good thing too as there were thunderstorms all around and lightning flashing.
When we were done we decided a bit more adjustments and additions and we will have it working right. It is so much less stress on the calves and as I get better with it the easier it will be on them.
Partly cloudy most of the day, gusty wind off and on, high of 60 with a cool wind and storms in the evening.
5/2/07 Wednesday
A raw day on the range. The morning started out mild and pretty nice as we saddled up. So nice I left camp with no jacket. About half way down the valley the wind started up and it was cold. Clouds built over the mountains to the south and by 10am there was thunder in the distance.
I was cold and being a weenie I headed back to camp for more layers while Brian and Alan went up on T bar Ridge and drifted cattle down from there into the valley. I met back up with them near the entrance to T Bar Canyon. There were very few pairs around but plenty of dry cows and heifers so we moved about 50 down the canyon, around T bar tank and another mile or so and put them through the gate into Loco Mtn. pasture. But we didn’t stop there. Since these were the first cattle in the pasture I wanted them to establish a pattern for the others to follow so we pushed he cattle up the east side of the canyon to Loco Flats. Hopefully next time they will come to water in the canyon they’ll go back up the east side. It is a nasty steep rocky push up to the flats but all went well and we let them drift. A few others on the 7HL side had come off a hill to watch the parade going by so the guys went and real quick got them and put them on the Loco side of the fence.
We were up near Twin Tanks gate at this time and after a short break we headed back down to the valley and on to camp. Maggie came out catching up just before we were in camp. She was bringing more food and to tell me the horseshoers needed more horses. Luckily the herd had come in on their own to camp so we picked out the ones we needed. We had left camp six hours earlier planning on being home for a late lunch. Plans change so we finally ate about 5pm after nothing but saddle bag food all day. It sure was good to get in a warm cook wagon out of the wind and get some food and coffee.
Hi was 40, strong rock your horse wind all day. Spitting rain, a bit of hail, just a real nasty day. Over night low was 30.
5/3/07 Thursday
I had hauled horses to H.Q. last night and stayed there. It takes a bit over two hours with a trailer one way from camp to H.Q.
I was up a bit after 5am and sorting horses in the false dawn and light of a still up full moon. It was pretty chilly, 26 when I went out the door. I was headed to camp with fresh shod horses for the days work at 6:35.
We were in the saddle a bit after nine, I of course had to have more coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. The wind was blowing when we hit the saddle and blew hard all day. When we headed out we went north from camp into the timber and canyon country and looked over some cattle on the way, just dry cows. Then into a really pretty canyon for a mile or so and then out across 7HL valley. Cattle were scattered about but we wanted a good bunch of pairs. We drifted one bunch on Telegraph mesa but most of the calves were fresh born this morning. We split up and rode the draws at the south end of the mesa and in one I ran a big, big wolf off a dead 2 y.o. heifer. From what I read she was having a hard time calving when the wolves came upon her and killed her.
We met up in the T Bar valley and had a few pairs we drifted east along the creek and picked up some more as we went along. We got to the corrals with six pairs and a few extra. Got them in with no problem today. My guys were thinking. We took a lunch break and got out of the wind for a bit then headed back over to 7HL valley where we had seen some on the first loop. We rode to 7HL tank and worked our way back picking up eight more pairs leaving a lot of newborns behind. We went a new way to the corrals up and out the east side of the valley and it worked really well. We also got this bunch in with no cussing.
After a break to get a fire going we set to sorting. Or rather the guys did, they have been doing it all week. Today started out kinda jumbled as the others but suddenly things started clicking for them. They had about 30 adults to sort out and they did it as well as any two guys just starting to work together. It was fun to watch, you could see the moment it all started working. It was when they started cutting cattle and not just pushing the whole bunch around in circles. They are reading their cows and it really all came together.
Alan checked the time when the first of 13 calves came down the chute and then when we were done…one hour and five minutes to get them done. Not bad for three guys. The calf table makes it quick, much safer, less effort and most importantly less stress on the calves. Plus I can do them much younger so they are on the books and come year end we will have a more accurate count of calves lost. Some of these calves we have done have been just a week old.
Earlier we had cut off and loaded in a trailer a cow and calf I’m gonna sell along with a yearling bull. I just didn’t feel like the long drive to take them home so we left them on the trailer with food and they are going to stay right there till they get to the sale. She’s a mean old bitch, a year ago while walking past Pit tank she attacked me and dang near did me in
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The wind ruined a great weather day. It was about 55 or 60 but a hard wind blew all day till sunset. Over night low was 26.
5/4/07 Friday
We got a good early start on the day and so did the wind, it was blowing before we hit the saddle. We rode down the valley then up the draw where the wolf kill is. Today we ran four wolves off the carcass. From there we went up onto Telegraph Mesa and started gathering. There were a lot of the ones we had already worked, their stupid mothers had walked them all the way back up onto the mesa. When we got to the north end of the mesa we ran off three more wolves out hunting calves. It was really slow going with a lot of tiny calves and the ones were had already worked were moving pretty slow so it took several hours to get them to the valley. Once there we let them drift along the creek bottom while we hunkered down along a cut bank on the creek to get out of the wind while we let the cattle rest
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After about an hour of waiting in the cold wind we started out again. We sorted out the already worked pairs, dry cows and heifers leaving behind the unworked pairs. We had about 60 head when we headed down the canyon towards new graze. The push went well but lordy was it windy in the canyon, just like a wind tunnel. Some of the gusts were rocking our horses.
When we came back up the valley we gathered the pairs we had left behind and pushed them up to camp and with no problems got them in the corrals.
As I came into camp I saw the old mean cow in the trailer had gotten her horned head thru the rails on the trailer and had hung herself. From all appearnces as I went up there she was stone dead but then I slapped her in the face and she came to. She was really wedged in there with a steel rod pressing into her neck and she was suspended by it. I hollered to Brain to bring an axe, he tried running to get it to me but the wind blew so hard he looked like he was in a cartoon, running fast but going no where. When I got the axe I proceeded to use it to shatter the end of her horn and at the same time bend in the rail. It worked and she sprang loose collapsing in a heap on the floor but was soon up snorty and mad.
After a break for a snack and to get a fire going the guys started sorting. They were even better than yesterday and with a tougher bunch of cattle. There was one old cow I wanted left back to sell but of course she was the one always trying to leave when ones that we wanted out wouldn’t get out. The dang blowing dust made it hard to see and the wind made it impossible to communicate even right next to each other. But they got the job done.
We didn’t even start branding till after 5pm but we have it down! It was less than five minuets a calf to work. After we were done we loaded the old cow and calf in the trailer with the other three and headed home. When we pulled in to the H.Q. it was close to 8pm, a long 12 hour day.
An old friend of mine, Dustine from Maine had come back on Wednesday and had brought some lobster and scallops along with her. Oh my oh my did we have a surf and turf feast. Our one week a year neighbor who ones the place next door was there and visiting for dinner too.
It was a great week. These guys are just awesome, I couldn’t have hired any day working cowboys and gotten any more done. Besides the riding, cattle work, and chute construction they were great in camp. Brian did most all the cooking, Alan always handled the dishes and was up when I got up at 6;15 with coffee hot and ready. All in all we got about 115 cattle moved to new pasture and 23 calves branded.
5/5/07 Saturday
Maggie drove Alan and Brian back to Abq. And stayed over to pick up Victoria who is coming for a visit from Dallas. Dustine drove with me all over the ranch. First we went to camp and hauled four horses with us to turn out on pasture and we picke dup the portable air tank.
Then back by H.Q., changed trucks and drive out to canyon Creek camp to get another camp trailer. An hour there unblocking it filling tires and hitching up then a long drive home blowing out two tires but luckily they were on opposite sides and different axels so we got the rig home.
The wolf investigators were at H.Q. so it was then a drive out to the kill spot and the usual time spent there investigating. They said it MIGHT be wolves. MIGHT my ass.
Finally got home about 8pm, drove all day and never left the ranch. Again it was cold and windy.
5/6/07 Sunday
Woke to snow again! About an inch and thick fog. I was up early changing tires then Dustine helped me repaint the trailer. We will use it for the guys coming in next week. After that was done I headed to the shower house to fix the last leak there and found while we were gone over the last week the pump had frozen and the case shattered.
Maggie and Vic got home about 5pm and but still no sign of this weeks crew.
Finally about 9pm Russ from Md. and Joe and Andrew from Mo. Arrived, they had driven in from Joes place in Co. I was getting worried I had no help this week.
5/6/07 Monday
Usual Monday morning stuff getting things ready for Maggie to haul to camp. It was a late start, almost like the old days. About 11am before we rode out.
Our mission was to gather Feathery Valley so we headed across the North trap and went through the upper gate to Holy Shit ridge.
It gives a good vantage point of the valley so we made a plan to go North to the top of the valley and work every thing to Elladeane tank. Other than some radio problems the gather went well and we had about sixty head when we got to the tank. I held the cattle there while the guys went to the south fence line and brought back about a dozen head. From there we gathered everything we had and pushed to T Bar saddle. The push up the slope went well but when we go to the top things got tough. I wanted to push straight down to t Bar tank about 500 feet below us. We have never done this before as we usually side hill across the ridge above the tank and come out in the valley east of it. The cattle did not like the change in routine and spread out refusing to get down. It took a lot of pushing and shoving but finally we got to the bottom of T Bar valley and from there things went well as we pushed the cattle down through the gate into loco pasture. The weather was a bit grey and raw in the afternoon with rumbling thunder and a couple sprinkles.
We headed to camp getting in a bit before 6pm.
Maggie had not yet gotten to camp with the supplies and the new bunk trailer she was hauling but about 7pm, just as I was getting worried she’d had more flats than spares she and Victoria pulled in making a good night with an already made meal of Jumbalya. The left about 9pm and we were all soon headed to the bunks.
5/7/07 Tuesday
feeding horses at 6:15am and in the saddle about 8:15am.
We headed up towards Telegraph Mesa crossing T Bar Valley to get there.
Along the way I commented that it looked like a summer sky, blue with puffy clouds building and a gusty breeze off and on. When we got to the Mesa Andrew and Joe went along the east side while Russ and I went to the west. After a recon I sent them all to work the only cattle we had seen and told them to move to 7HL valley then south to T Bar Valley. They gathered up a couple groups and had about 35 head when they came off a ridge and into 7HL valley. On the way down they all broke and ran turning north and galloped about a mile up to 7HL tank. Once a cow had water on the mind there is little to do but let them go get it. The guys did this and regathered them and pushed down the entire three miles to the intersection feeder.
While they were having their stampede I had ridden south off the mesa after gather a dozen head and went into T Bar Valley. Along the way I had watched the sky turn black over the wilderness area and then hail and rain began to fall there obscuring the peaks from view. It was coming our way.
There were about a hundred head scattered along the creek so I set to sorting out pairs that needed branding from the ones that had been worked and the dry cows. Dakota worked perfect, as he had yesterday as well. I had to take back all the cussing I did on him last week. We eased through a lot of cattle with our herd going as we went. By the time I got to the intersection feeders I had about twenty pairs. Pushed these up towards camp and went back to meet the guys. They had let their herd drift till I got a chance to look it over. They had a mixed lot of stuff so as thunder boomed and lighting flashed I sorted out stuff we didn’t need then they moved the 25 or so that I left behind on down to T Bar valley then turned east catching up with the ones I had drifted up there. It was a slow push to the corrals with wore out kids some just a few days old if that. We finally got in about 3pm with tired horses, tired calves and a steady rain falling. No branding today.
We jerked our saddles and headed to the cook wagon where a hot cup of coffee thawed out our fingers. The rain got heavier and lasted till about 6pm.
We spent the time playing poker and shooting bull as the rain hammered on the tin roof.
When it let up Andrew went out on the four wheeler looking for horses to use in the morning. I had looked before we rode out this morning and had no luck. He had no luck, coming home cold and even more tired than the 7 hours in the saddle had done him. I went out awhile alter and found them up on T Bar Ridge above Pit tank. They saw me and lined out at a run down that long slope. The shadows were long and mist in the air, they appeared like phantoms floating above the ground. In a couple minuets they were a mile away and headed to camp. They guys knew what to do and by the time I got there they had them in the corrals. We quick sorted and feed both horses and cattle then headed inside where it was warn for a meal and more talk.
High was 55 low was 38, good long soaking rain.
5/9/07 Wednesday
I tossed and turned all night worrying over whether the cattle were still going to be in the corral when the sun came up. It was really quiet out there all night and I was sure they had broken out. But when the sun came up they were still there.
We weren’t in a rush to get things going, we were enjoying a really nice morning in camp. But we finally roused ourselves and saddled up about 9am and spent the next half hour getting the cattle in the sorting pen then Russ and Joe did all the sorting. When they were done we had 24 calves to brand.
These guys fell right into the routine, Andrew being the youngest worked all the calves up the alley to the chute. He did a great job, there was always a calf ready as soon as one left the chute. All the while he was getting kicked and shit on, his new chaps look abit more cowboy than they did before.
Joe worked the outside of the chute, keeping the fire hot and fed, dealing with the tags and numbers, helping Andrew when he could. He was like the head nurse in a surgery. What ever I needed it was right there and handed to me in a position ready to work. Russ was at the chute with me doing a number of jobs, holding while I branded and castrated, changing the bars according the size of the calf, putting in and removing the tail gate and helping get the calf off the table. He was a busy guy, heck we all were. We were like a well oiled machine. We got 24 done in a bit less than two hours.
When we got done we took a lunch break while a light rain fell briefly then we rode out to gather T Bar Ridge. We only came up with 11 cows and four calves which we put through the gate in Hidden Valley then we rode around the ridge in loco pasture going back in through Twin Tanks gate. We saw a lot of cattle way over the valley on the north side but we decided to do a big loop in the morning and headed on back to camp. The guys enjoyed a long lope down T Bar valley making a quick trip home.
We set our horses out and went in for coffee and an hour of cards. Maggie and Victoria came out for a short stay to deliver messages and some food. We sorted our next day horses at dusk and then cook some steaks.
Other than a brief shower it was a nice day of about 55 and partly cloudy. It was cold over night about 25 with ice on everything from yesterdays rain.
5/10/07 Thursday
We got an early start planning a big loop gathering everything we could find. We first went up behind camp and worked the little mesa there getting about a dozen head out of there leaving them in 7HL valley while we went up onto Telegraph mesa. Working from the top we gathered about forty head, most all the calves had been worked. Over the next few hours we gathered the little draws as well as T Bar Ridge. It’s good having Joe along, he grew up with cattle and I’m confident that he will gather the right stuff and not split any pairs. I send him off to an area with Andrew or Russ which makes life easier and the work go faster being able to cover more country.
By a bit after noon we had about a hundred head and started down the canyon. It was a slow push as we had a couple newborns with us that couldn’t travel too fast. It was about 3pm when we got them through the gate and into loco pasture to drift. It had been a long day, nine hours riding and lots of miles gathering. We headed back to camp, unsaddled and relaxed over a game of cards.
5/11/07 Friday
The guys rode home after helping me pull camp together, they got in about 2pm and were quick to get on the road as they had a long trip ahead of them.
With the help I’ve had the last two weeks I am in really good shape as far as branding and gathering go. We have 56 calves branded, all the cattle moved to new grass with only about 40 strays left in 7HL pasture. I sure hope Alan, Brain, Joe, Russ and Andrew keep making this a regular spring visit. Thanks guys!
5/12-19/07
The last week has been busy. One day Maggie and Victoria helped me gather the Ewe canyon area. We got in about 30 head, along with them was a pair where the momma was an old cow with now groceries on the shelves. The calf was about 3 days old and pretty thin and hungry but full of life. When we got the cattle in the north trap Maggie and Vic rode home to get a truck while I waited with the calf. Once they got back I dropped a loop on the calf and they trucked it home while I pushed the cattle down to the corrals. So we now have our first bottle baby of the year.
Another rday some folks came out to look at horses wanting to buy one. I spent the whole day with them here at the H.Q., out at camp then out to Canyon Creek looking at every horse I own. By the end of the day I had written them off as Hoof Pickers {the same as a tire kicker}. They surprised me by writing a check for both Kit and Whiskey.
The rest of the week was spent in the truck doing four trips to Albq. hauling cattle and horses to the sale barn. All the trips were one day turn around 11 hour drives. Two trips I didn’t leave till late afternoon getting me home about 2am. I am selling all but two of my mares and we also took all the yearlings but one. So in the last week I have cut our horse number dramatically, by the end of summer I want to be down to 15 good solid mounts.
Peg from Ma. is coming this week to help with the last of the strays and to ride the wilderness fence.
I’ve decided not to set camp at Wolf gate this month. I hadn’t driven out there since the floods last summer, the roads are pretty much gone. So I will be living out at the cabin in Canyon Creek for the rest of the summer. Not a bad place to spend the summer.
Week before this past one Peg was here, and what a champ she is. It was a scattered week with some biz things going on. Monday she rode on her own and opened some gates for me while I spent the day bouncing around in a truck with a cattle dealer looking at the ranch. He is thinking of going in on some yearlings next year.
On Tuesday we went out and rode and worked fence in Loco pasture. We rode the fence along the Wilderness area and a good thing we did. There were gates open and wire down and broken. We must have gotten off and on our horses fifty times, I was wishing I wasn’t riding tall Gambler. We got about half the south fence worked and were tired when we got home late in the evening.
Wednesday
We trailered to Snow Lake and found some cattle in Schoolhouse Canyon, some I had been trying to locate for weeks. These we pushed into Loco then we went back and rode Quaking Aspen Canyon. There we found about ten head and followed sign of more until they went into a nasty part of the canyon we couldn’t get horses in.
We took what we had and pushed them into Loco. When we got to the gate we found about 30 more cattle trying to get to water in T Bar canyon so I had Peg move all 50 head we now had down to the lake while I went and got the truck. She had a tough way to go over some deep draws and up some steep hills but she did a fine job of it and got to the lake with no problems. She earned her solo cowboyin’ badge.
Once we got the cattle to water on the shore of the lake we called it a day and headed home getting in bit earlier than the day before but not by much.
Thursday
First thing we did was head out into Loco pasture to put out some salt and just see where the cattle had drifted. This wasn’t as simple a trip as it sounds. We bounced over miles of rough two-track road, some I hadn’t driven on in years and I soon remembered why. We took one of the ’71 fords and it was the perfect truck for where we went. Peg commented that she had never seen as many elk as she had this week. It took about four hours to make the loop around the pasture.
When we got back we worked around the H.Q. We have a couple mares close to foaling so we had to get the fence around the horse pasture repaired from the fire and flood damage from last year. We stayed hard at it all afternoon setting new posts, splicing wire, it isn’t the most entertaining work in the world but it sure was pretty back there. The grass is so green and thick after the fire and the black trees made for a beautiful contrast.
Peg became a pro at clipping the wire to the posts, which is the most pain in the ass job there is.
Friday
First thing in the morning we set to sorting and moving horses around. We now have the four stud colts in the night lot. What a wild crew those four are! All they seem to want to do is beat on each other. Gambler, Juan, and Scout are there with them and they hate the little bastards.
We then got the mares moved up near the house and turned out with Saint our stallion. He was sure glad to see his gals again.
I had to spend most of the day waiting for phone calls so Peg went out on Juan with her mission to locate a couple young horses we were missing and to check a couple gates. While she did that I worked on the cross fence in the horse pasture so we can move the riding horses down and get them away from the stud colts. Late in the day we caught the three horses to move down and of course as we were doing it a thunder storm blew in with lightning all around as we walked the nervous horses to their refuge from the wild ones. I kept expecting a big flash and bang but we made it before it really cut loose.
Peg was the perfect hand to have for the week. More than happy to do whatever. She rode, worked fence, helped with chores, cooked, washed dishes you name it.
Thanks a bunch gal!
The weather was great all week, highs in the low 70’s nights still cool, a couple frosts.
Saturday
Maggie took Peg back to Albq. making a one day round trip of it. I went out and worked the rest of the Loco fence taking old Margie the mule along to pack my gear. That old mule is a sweetie. I hadn’t used her for years but she was ready and willing to do what ever. She had a long tough day of it but did just great. I don’t have to lead her she will follow along about 50 feet behind and when I stop and get off at a bad spot in the fence she hurries up and stands by ready for me to get what ever supplies I need.
I got home after Maggie did and also there was Dustine back from a road trip to Mt.
Sunday
I spent the day working on the horse pasture moving rock that had been washed in from the floods. As I rode the tractor it made me think of all the Memorial Days I had spent in Va. riding a tractor making our first cutting of hay.
Maggie and Dustine started working on Nates old house. They are redoing the interior and it’s gonna look great with fresh paint and new flooring. We will use the house for family and winter visitors.
Babe had her foal last night, a nice sorrel colt with four high stockings and a wide blazed face. Looks a lot like his brother Scout, I hope he turns out to be as good.
Monday
I was up early and I went out to 7HL pasture to get in a couple strays we had left there earlier in the month. I was going to go to Fence tank and gather one of those horses from that bunch to ride but at the last minute I decided to take Gambler in case I came across something to deal with before I got to Fence tank. It was a good thing I did.
As I came out on Telegraph Mesa I was greeted by a disturbing sight…cattle everywhere. Not a few, but lots and lots and they were scattered all over the pasture.
With the Holiday weekend some one had opened a gate some where. All the cattle Brian, Alan, Joe, Russ and Andrew had moved out were back.
Gambler and I started gathering. Each bunch we pushed off into T Bar valley. I’d push a bunch and then go get another bunch. I couldn’t have done it with out Gambler. He was amazing! We hammered away for hours, up and down the ridges and draws until I had all I could handle. The gate into Loco was only a mile away but I knew that if I put them in they would just be right back again so I decided I would push them the five miles back to the north trap and then truck them to Big Loco tank which has the best water and grass and is as far away from the north fence as I can get them.
So we started gathering everything into one big herd and headed over T Bar saddle and into Ewe canyon. It was a big job getting them all up the hill to the saddle, as they lined out I counted 119 adults and lots and lots of calves. It was the biggest bunch I had ever moved by myself. It really went pretty smooth, Gambler traveled a lot of miles but the day was perfect and the cattle lined out well once we got over the saddle. It was a glorious day to be a cowboy.
I got the cattle into the north trap just after dark where I let them drift for the night and I went home and fed and rubbed down one great horse.
Tuesday
Juan and I went out and gathered the cattle out of the North trap early. The cattle were scattered all over and it took several hours to get them together and in the corrals. Then we started cutting and sorting. There were a few old cows I want to sell and I am also selling any cow that is going to calve late.
Then I sorted out lots of 12 cows and calves which is what my trailer holds and set them all in corrals so I could just start hauling and not have to sort every load as I took it.
It was a slow job of sorting with so many in the corrals and so many calves. You have to be sure you have the right momma and the right calf on the same load.
About 3pm I was done and Maggie made me a quick lunch then I started hauling. I took four loads, driving till 11pm when I finally wore out.
Wednesday
Maggie's Birthday!
I was loading cattle at 6am and started hauling. On my second trip as I was coming home I spotted some cattle in Negrito pasture. They were the ones Brian and I had hunted for and the same ones Peg and I had followed tracks of into the dark canyon. I knew I had to get them now or risk not seeing them for weeks so I gave up the cattle hauling, grabbed Scout and loaded him up and went back to where I had seen them.
Only an hour had gone by but they were gone. I rode circles for an hour around the area before I came on their tracks. I caught up to them pretty soon but they were kinda wild. They took off for the cover of the canyon again but we got them turned and lined out north towards home. Scout is no Gambler but he did really well. It was a big job getting them through the burn area, there is so much grass they kept spreading to graze and Scout had to work in a trot most of the way home. We got them in the corrals about 1pm and I went back to loading and hauling. Next trip out I blew a trailer tire on the steep hill down to Snow Lake. I couldn’t stop and change it then so by the time I got to the bottom I had shredded the tire. Changing a tire on a loaded trailer is no fun. The cows are rocking it around and shitting and pissing and it splashes off the fenders and goes everywhere. I was using the old ’96 Dodge which has been leaking oil a bit from the rear main seal for a year but now I am using almost as much oil as fuel.
The next couple trips went with no problems then on my last trip about 10pm I blew a radiator hose. With the light of a near full moon I was able to cut the end off it and get it back on but I had to walk about a mile each way to the lake for water which I carried in my canteen and several old plastic bottles I got out of a trash can at the lake campground. It was a long night.
Thursday
I had cattle to go to the sale, cattle to be hauled still and a promise to Maggie that we would go to her favorite B&B for her birthday. So I was up at 5am hauling cattle again. I used the ’03 F250, which doesn’t pull as well as the old Dodge but has good tires. The ones on the Dodge are bald and I am amazed are still holding air. This was not the day I had the time to mess with flats.
I hauled the last three loads with no problems other than realizing the throw out bearing in that truck was getting bad. I got done at noon. Maggie was packed and ready to go so we loaded the cattle going to the sale. Once the cattle were on we heard a tire leaking so I had to change that.
We were about 20 miles from the sale on the interstate running about 65 mph when I felt a rumbling and shaking. I looked in my mirror and saw a lone tire passing me on the right. My axel had broken and the tire, wheel and whole hub had come off.
I had just replaced both axels last year because they had both broken and the man doing the repair had said he had never seen anyone break a torsion axel much less two. So he had replaced the old 8k axels with 12k and assured me I wouldn’t be able to break them.
I got a chain and used it to tie the axel up off the ground and made it the rest of the way into the sale barn where I left the trailer and we went to the B&B for a relaxing night in luxury.
This morning I called the trailer repair guy whose shop is next to the sale bar and told him to go take a peek at my trailer. He called back and told me he would fix it but that the warranty had run out. I didn’t expect anything else.
We did some errands and then headed home leaving the trailer there till next week. Maggie and I figured with the hours I had driven this last week I could have gotten to Maine. Heck of a cowboy life just ridin’ a pickup.
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