leanin' H
Well-known member
It was a crisp, chilly morning Friday but a fine day nonetheless. Time for the yearly trip across the desert with the cows so they can winter at my cousin's place for the winter. Ya'll probably get tired of seeing the same pictures year after year so I apologize if this is dejavue! We started early as it's 20+ miles on day one.
The goal for the trip is behind the Intermountain Power Project where ya see the steam. That'll be sometime Sunday evening.
We trailed them down a road a ways and then cut across country a ways. Stringin' out and headed south.
My cousin's daughter was along for the day. She's a wonderful girl who is going to be an agriculture teacher in the near future. She's married to a fine man who's family runs cattle in southern Utah. So they stay busy helping on both ends!
We started them out through the brush along an old two track. But they just moseyed along looking for grass sticking out of the sage and the snow.
My Dad was the truck shuffling specialist and the chuck wagon. While the temps were in the teens and 20's it never got cold. Still the thermos was empty by the end of the day. Looking back toward the ranch at the 1/4 point.
Phil and "Bandit" pushin cows through the Allinson Knolls. It's pretty winter range for the MC ranch. Wish it was pretty winter range for P/M Livestock! :wink:
Desert Mountain is getting closer. It usually does when ya ride toward it!
The thistle, grass and winter fat make fine feed for an ol' sister grazing the buffet of the desert. "Doc" was listening to the shutter on my camera.
The thistle is tall in spots. The snow softens it up and the cows love it. Wonder what the feed value of it is?
Just this side of Desert Mountain we took 20 minutes to eat a sandwich and off load some Pepsi byproduct. :wink: Cows scattered a bit but we managed to line them out again.
How'd that mountain get so dang close? 4 hours ago it was a long was off!
Phil and Melanie and a poor photographer were the hands on the drive. We enjoyed a good visit as we put on the miles.
Over the pass we go! Not much of a pass as far as pass's rate but atleast it wasn't a tunnel.
As the leaders crested the top.......
The drag was draggin' along in the back.
The snow is considerably less on the south slopes. The cows were starting to tire a little and would lick snow now and then. But they trailed along pretty well.
Before long the snow had drifted away to nothing! Grass looks great too!
It was a beautiful day with high clouds and blue sky. I sure pity the folks who go their whole life with out the chance, the priviledge, of sitting a straddle of a good horse riding behind cows.
About a mile and change to the corral where they'll spend the night. By this time they were a nicely trail broke bunch of south bound bovines.
Desert Mountain granite topography and migrating cattle.
The goal is finally in sight!
That guy right there owns some dandy horses, as nice of a bunch a cattle as you'll find, has a beautiful family and happens to be one of my favorite people on this planet! I'd ride up to the gates of hell and dab a loop on the devil if Phil asked me to! :wink:
I rode up to keep the cows from trying to walk the cattleguard when they went through the gate and into the corral. They sure looked pretty stringin' along in the early evening light. We get dark about 5 and we shut the gate at 4:30.
113 head of tired, hungry and thirsty cattle. We put them up at the finest lodging the desert has to offer with some oat hay and three tanks of water. Last year some of ya'll growled at me for making them wait til day three to water them. So we caved in to peer pressure and trucked water 40 miles on day one!!! :roll: Sure hope ya'll don't pressure me into anymore bad habits! :wink: Hope ya enjoyed the ride! I took today off to go see a doctor. It was only 8 miles today so i figured they'd be alright without me! :wink: Tomorrow we'll go close to 20 more. Hopefully I'll be here tomorrow night with the pictures. Have a great evening!
The goal for the trip is behind the Intermountain Power Project where ya see the steam. That'll be sometime Sunday evening.
We trailed them down a road a ways and then cut across country a ways. Stringin' out and headed south.
My cousin's daughter was along for the day. She's a wonderful girl who is going to be an agriculture teacher in the near future. She's married to a fine man who's family runs cattle in southern Utah. So they stay busy helping on both ends!
We started them out through the brush along an old two track. But they just moseyed along looking for grass sticking out of the sage and the snow.
My Dad was the truck shuffling specialist and the chuck wagon. While the temps were in the teens and 20's it never got cold. Still the thermos was empty by the end of the day. Looking back toward the ranch at the 1/4 point.
Phil and "Bandit" pushin cows through the Allinson Knolls. It's pretty winter range for the MC ranch. Wish it was pretty winter range for P/M Livestock! :wink:
Desert Mountain is getting closer. It usually does when ya ride toward it!
The thistle, grass and winter fat make fine feed for an ol' sister grazing the buffet of the desert. "Doc" was listening to the shutter on my camera.
The thistle is tall in spots. The snow softens it up and the cows love it. Wonder what the feed value of it is?
Just this side of Desert Mountain we took 20 minutes to eat a sandwich and off load some Pepsi byproduct. :wink: Cows scattered a bit but we managed to line them out again.
How'd that mountain get so dang close? 4 hours ago it was a long was off!
Phil and Melanie and a poor photographer were the hands on the drive. We enjoyed a good visit as we put on the miles.
Over the pass we go! Not much of a pass as far as pass's rate but atleast it wasn't a tunnel.
As the leaders crested the top.......
The drag was draggin' along in the back.
The snow is considerably less on the south slopes. The cows were starting to tire a little and would lick snow now and then. But they trailed along pretty well.
Before long the snow had drifted away to nothing! Grass looks great too!
It was a beautiful day with high clouds and blue sky. I sure pity the folks who go their whole life with out the chance, the priviledge, of sitting a straddle of a good horse riding behind cows.
About a mile and change to the corral where they'll spend the night. By this time they were a nicely trail broke bunch of south bound bovines.
Desert Mountain granite topography and migrating cattle.
The goal is finally in sight!
That guy right there owns some dandy horses, as nice of a bunch a cattle as you'll find, has a beautiful family and happens to be one of my favorite people on this planet! I'd ride up to the gates of hell and dab a loop on the devil if Phil asked me to! :wink:
I rode up to keep the cows from trying to walk the cattleguard when they went through the gate and into the corral. They sure looked pretty stringin' along in the early evening light. We get dark about 5 and we shut the gate at 4:30.
113 head of tired, hungry and thirsty cattle. We put them up at the finest lodging the desert has to offer with some oat hay and three tanks of water. Last year some of ya'll growled at me for making them wait til day three to water them. So we caved in to peer pressure and trucked water 40 miles on day one!!! :roll: Sure hope ya'll don't pressure me into anymore bad habits! :wink: Hope ya enjoyed the ride! I took today off to go see a doctor. It was only 8 miles today so i figured they'd be alright without me! :wink: Tomorrow we'll go close to 20 more. Hopefully I'll be here tomorrow night with the pictures. Have a great evening!