We started last weekend on the annual gather to get calves ready to ship home. The cattle have a good scatter on this time of year and it's always a pleasure to get them started down off the tops. Riding in the fall is just about as good as it gets for me. Great company, great horses, pretty scenery and chilly fall days make for a fine ride. Here we go up through the quakies.
Phil and Melanie and one slacker snapping pictures as well cleared the thick stuff and started for the top of our world. The cows work the ridgelines chasing the grass and then come back down into the canyons for water. That gives us the opportunity to ride it all!
Once on top we scattered out to check all the draws and ridges where they like to hide. Lookin' into little valley but it was bovine free.
I did spot 2 pair on the rough ridge between Spring and Joe's canyons. So i swung over to start them toward the old horse trail that runs alond the top of the mountain.
Phil and Mel brought a little bunch from their direction to meet mine. Lots of country but the cows were few and far between this trip.
We got ourselves gathered back up and started for the head of Joe's canyon. A mite rocky and well shod ponies are a must. The cows managed to go barefooted alright. :wink:
Phil looped over a ridge to the east to check for cows but came back all by himself.
The leaves are starting to fall off pretty quick nowadays but there is still a little color on the ridges. You ever stop to think why the leaves HAVE to change color? I'll bet they could just stop growing and fall off when they were green. But my theory is that our Creator wants us to enjoy ourselves and this amazing planet. Thus the fall color is simply His way of letting me know I need to smile when I see them!
We started our little bunch down the road toward their destination with Melanie behind them. I swung up through the oakbrush to knock 2 more pair off of a low ridge. I walked a lot as it was steep and thick and made for a tough ride. Heck, I needed the exercise anyway right? "Reba" approved of my walking.
I did jump a nice buck out of the draw I went up. My hunting is finished this year so I just shot at him digitally as he skylined.
We finished our day with 16 pair and a couple strays pushed into the homestead. We'll get ahold of our neighbors and make arrangements for them to pick up their cattle when we finish the gather. We started again yesterday with the horses peeking at me in the predawn.
My Dad has been at the ranch for a week now. He'll ride a horse one day and then scout on the wheeler the next. He has got a lot of use out'a that slicker this week as the rain has really fallen.
We rode a little lower on this trip as we pushed stuff up to corral them and vaccinate the calves. The clouds were hanging up high and heading our way. But the morning was nice weather-wise and we started finding some cows.
Stringin' through the cedars as we work our way west in the light rain.
The rain stayed pretty steady and the clouds got a little lower. But I kept finding cattle and nudged them along.
The cottonwood trees along the creek in the bottom sure were pretty in the rain.
We got 90 odd pair corraled and sorted the cows off. Phil vaccinates and gives a nasal shot prior to shipping the calves home in a week. The light rain had turned into a steady deluge but we were past the point of turning back. We had a corral full of calves waiting on us.
We worked them in an old set of corrals that still do a great job at holding cattle. We just add a panel alley and head-catch and it works nifty. The burrdock on this calf will add pounds to the scale in a week or two! :wink:
Raingear was a needed accessory to a persons outfit. It was a might soggy.
The moisture made for slippery footing for both man and beast.
I don't know how much water we got, but it was sure a bunch. How can you cuss moisture? :wink:
There have been many folks that have written information on working facilities for cattle and what works best. This old round stockade style corral is probably close to 100 years old and it was built and used before most of the experts became experts. It works as smooth as butter for working calves into an alley. My ancestors must'a knew what they were doing!
Here were the two we were lookin' for...... the last 2!
And, of course, what happened twenty minutes after we turned them back with thier mothers? The sun came out and we could see the sky for the first time all day. :roll: We are still out 33 pairs which we hope to get this week. The weather report looks plumb gloomy with more rain and snow called for and a cold front where the bottom drops out of fall. We will get back after it Tuesday. Until then, enjoy your evening!
Phil and Melanie and one slacker snapping pictures as well cleared the thick stuff and started for the top of our world. The cows work the ridgelines chasing the grass and then come back down into the canyons for water. That gives us the opportunity to ride it all!
Once on top we scattered out to check all the draws and ridges where they like to hide. Lookin' into little valley but it was bovine free.
I did spot 2 pair on the rough ridge between Spring and Joe's canyons. So i swung over to start them toward the old horse trail that runs alond the top of the mountain.
Phil and Mel brought a little bunch from their direction to meet mine. Lots of country but the cows were few and far between this trip.
We got ourselves gathered back up and started for the head of Joe's canyon. A mite rocky and well shod ponies are a must. The cows managed to go barefooted alright. :wink:
Phil looped over a ridge to the east to check for cows but came back all by himself.
The leaves are starting to fall off pretty quick nowadays but there is still a little color on the ridges. You ever stop to think why the leaves HAVE to change color? I'll bet they could just stop growing and fall off when they were green. But my theory is that our Creator wants us to enjoy ourselves and this amazing planet. Thus the fall color is simply His way of letting me know I need to smile when I see them!
We started our little bunch down the road toward their destination with Melanie behind them. I swung up through the oakbrush to knock 2 more pair off of a low ridge. I walked a lot as it was steep and thick and made for a tough ride. Heck, I needed the exercise anyway right? "Reba" approved of my walking.
I did jump a nice buck out of the draw I went up. My hunting is finished this year so I just shot at him digitally as he skylined.
We finished our day with 16 pair and a couple strays pushed into the homestead. We'll get ahold of our neighbors and make arrangements for them to pick up their cattle when we finish the gather. We started again yesterday with the horses peeking at me in the predawn.
My Dad has been at the ranch for a week now. He'll ride a horse one day and then scout on the wheeler the next. He has got a lot of use out'a that slicker this week as the rain has really fallen.
We rode a little lower on this trip as we pushed stuff up to corral them and vaccinate the calves. The clouds were hanging up high and heading our way. But the morning was nice weather-wise and we started finding some cows.
Stringin' through the cedars as we work our way west in the light rain.
The rain stayed pretty steady and the clouds got a little lower. But I kept finding cattle and nudged them along.
The cottonwood trees along the creek in the bottom sure were pretty in the rain.
We got 90 odd pair corraled and sorted the cows off. Phil vaccinates and gives a nasal shot prior to shipping the calves home in a week. The light rain had turned into a steady deluge but we were past the point of turning back. We had a corral full of calves waiting on us.
We worked them in an old set of corrals that still do a great job at holding cattle. We just add a panel alley and head-catch and it works nifty. The burrdock on this calf will add pounds to the scale in a week or two! :wink:
Raingear was a needed accessory to a persons outfit. It was a might soggy.
The moisture made for slippery footing for both man and beast.
I don't know how much water we got, but it was sure a bunch. How can you cuss moisture? :wink:
There have been many folks that have written information on working facilities for cattle and what works best. This old round stockade style corral is probably close to 100 years old and it was built and used before most of the experts became experts. It works as smooth as butter for working calves into an alley. My ancestors must'a knew what they were doing!
And, of course, what happened twenty minutes after we turned them back with thier mothers? The sun came out and we could see the sky for the first time all day. :roll: We are still out 33 pairs which we hope to get this week. The weather report looks plumb gloomy with more rain and snow called for and a cold front where the bottom drops out of fall. We will get back after it Tuesday. Until then, enjoy your evening!