Upon reflection,
sky becomes a cooler blue
and the hills less steep.
I was about eleven years old when the US Army Corps of Engineers began construction on Terminus Dam, named, I presume, for the end of the Visalia Electric Railroad line where a resort of sorts was established at Terminus Beach for local music and all-night dancing during the summer. There was also a nine hole sand golf course in the area of this irrigation pond, north of the river, that was accessed by a footbridge across the Kaweah during the 30s. All was erased during the 1955 Flood. The family was embroiled in a Condemnation Action with the Federal government shortly thereafter. Construction was completed in 1962.
Currently at less than 25% capacity because of the drought, it was unnerving for me as a teenager working downstream when Lake Kaweah was full.
Over boulders, we pick our way for months,
pressing cobbles into sand like pavement,
two trails under wheels with bales of hay
when the creek dries up. But when it rains
enough to fill the channel, we must feel
our way through loosened rocks like braille.
Seldom better or worse, no smooth progress
holds, just a spot where we can cross
the creek—a steady equilibrium stirred
for years—we begin again, our presence
beneath killdeer circling, forever crying
overhead, erased—each season fresh.
Flowers beautiful,
but seeds can kill, or leave you
talking with the gods.
Flower Friday
Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Poems 2015
Tagged Datura inoxia, Devil's trumpet, flower-friday, Indian Apple, Jimson weed, loco weed, lovache, moonflower, nacazucul, scared datura, Thorn Apple, toloache
We ended a busy week at the Tulare County Cattle Drive Beef Boosters dinner last night to support the local 4H an FFA programs for kids. We bid on and brought home this one-of-a-kind hand woven wool saddle blanket designed and created by Linda Hayden, our Three Rivers cattle neighbor. She spins her wool, then collects and harvests plants from nature and boils these materials over an open fire to obtain the endless array of colors she uses to create her blankets. The water is then strained and the wool is submerged and soaked for several hours. At this time the wool is “cooked” over a slow simmering fire then left to soak for another 24-hour period. After the wool absorbs all the color it is washed several times and left to dry.
Supporting only a few non-profits, Robbin I believe that the Tulare County Cattle Drive Beef Boosters is an investment in our future, not only for the cattle business, but for all of us by offering youngsters hands-on experience with livestock, work and responsibility, early in life. If you’re willing to wait two years for a blanket of your own, it’s $750–visit the link above, or if you want to bring one home, attend next year’s Beef Boosters dinner and bid against the crowd.
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged Linda Hayden, saddle blanket, Tulare County Cattle Drive Beef Boosters
the second day of weaning, the steer and heifer calves will be going opposite directions next week. Steers weighing 700 pounds will go to town and then onto a feedlot before your plate. The heifers will be sorted to their own pasture until our weaning is complete, and from them we’ll select our replacement heifers to hopefully enjoy a long and productive life on the ranch.
This morning, the fourth day of weaning, we, and the Kubota with alfalfa hay, have replaced their mothers completely. Perhaps the gentlest bunch of calves we’ve ever raised, they’ve known us since they were born and have no reason to distrust us.
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged Paregien Ranch Calves 2015, weaning, weekly-photo-challenge