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May June
We’ve been doing a lot of branding; we’ll gather a pasture and brand whatever is in there. The gathering takes longer than the branding usually. It’s been pretty dry so we are still doing some supplemental feeding. It’s also been windy. On one of the windiest days, I stashed my hat so I wouldn’t have to chase it, but Jerry managed to keep his on. I asked him how he did it and he said, “ I pulled it down real tight and folded my ears up.”
Monsoon season will be here soon—most folks believe July 4 is the day we start to expect the rains. Many of the cactus plants out here have already bloomed or are blooming right now. The chollas are putting on a good show this year, but most things are waiting for the rains.
The colt that was born two years ago is now away from his mother and is in the home corrals where Jerry has started his training. Right now, the colt is learning to give in to the pressure of a rope. Jerry says he’s coming along nicely. March-April We’ve been busy with all sorts of things: feeding cattle, gathering and sorting for branding and shipping, shoeing the horses. On one of our round-ups, Jerry passed along this advice: “The idea is to get the cows to do what you want, but to let them think it’s their idea.” Seems I’ve heard that same idea used as a way to manipulate people too. One of these groups is being insulted, but which? On a sad note, we had observed a first year heifer standing over what appeared to be a stillborn calf one morning. She was still there later in the day so we drove her in to get a drink. She went right back to her dead calf and stayed with him long after the ravens had gathered around them. I told Jerry that I usually didn’t feel sympathy for cows, but that this one deserved something. I think he agreed. I eventually wrote a poem about her. Sort of a tribute to her handling of her loss. Write me and I’ll send it to you. The weather has pretty darn nice except for the days when the winds blow hard. I’ve learned it takes about two days to get the sand out of your eyes for every two hours spent out there in that kind of wind. Gets in your ears and nose pretty good too. On a good blustery day, it can take three men to shut a barbed wire gate!
February
January I’ve been riding Whitey Man a lot and remarked to Jerry that he seems to be enjoying the work a lot more lately. “Are you putting something extra in his rations?” I asked him. “No,” he replied, “I think it’s the cooler weather.” We’ll be enjoying the milder weather for awhile and it will be nice to have an eager horse under me.
December.
The weather has been unusually warm and we finally got some rain, which is always a blessing down here. In an average year, the ranch gets about 15 inches of precipitation. In some of the pastures we’ve seen filaree and a little blue loco weed; seems early, maybe because of the weather. We’re also seeing some new calves so we’ve got some branding to do when time allows.
The ranch’s resident kit foxes are putting in regular appearances at their den site and we always look for them when we go by. And I’m pretty sure I saw a pair of phainopeplas near the buildings; these are neat birds with crests on their heads that are not very common around here. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them and see if I can confirm that.
October-November We began our Fall cattle work in mid-October and that means gathering up the cattle and bring them in bunches to a corral so we can vaccinate the cows and bulls. As we process those animals, my boss, Jerry, will check some of the cows to determine if they are pregnant and how far along they are. There is some sorting going on and some of the cattle have been moved to different pastures. We are also weighing the yearlings and Jerry hopes to sell some of them yet this fall if he can.
The weather has been fantastic; in the morning when we ride out, it’s cool enough to want a jacket, but by 10:00 AM, we are down to long-sleeved shirts. By noon, the lizards are out. We see quail and antelope every day, and this week I’ve seen a Golden Eagle a couple of times. We could always use some rain out here; I hope we get some before the cold weather gets here.
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