Category Archives: Photographs

‘Here today and gone tomorrow…’

                          And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today                           and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you?
                                                               Matthew 6:30 (New Living Translation)

Minature Lupine

Minature Lupine

After the last two strange little poems, I thought we were due for some photos. Perhaps it was Linda Hussa’s email that instilled the wonder and worry of an image of the Mercy Planes that fly low over their ranch house near Fort Bidwell, or at my desk this past week accounting to Uncle Sam. Words and math conflict in my head, come from different sides of the brain, for there are no shades of gray with numbers, no room for possibility or supposition.

As a special treat to myself and quite weary with spreadsheets, I took my camera and macro lens along to change my irrigation water yesterday afternoon until the light had all but disappeared. I’ve also included more photographs in ‘March Bloom 2013’ under the ‘Wildflowers’ tab above.

Bird's Foot Trefoil

Bird’s Foot Trefoil

Johnny Tuck

Johnny Tuck

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Bird’s Eye Gilia

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Common Roadside Wildflowers

Fiddleneck

Fiddleneck

Common Brodiaea

Common Brodiaea

Popcorn Flowers

Popcorn Flowers

Mustard

Mustard

Young Bucks

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Putting out salt and mineral yesterday, I met these guys at the gate.

Manzanita

Manzanita

For more spring flowers, see ‘March Bloom 2013’ > ‘Wildflowers’.

March Bloom 2013

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Greasy Branding 2013

This gallery contains 8 photos.

Gallery

Kenny & Tony

This gallery contains 10 photos.

Earl & Pinky

Still dark, the sound of a little rain is a welcome relief. We planned to brand this morning, but pulled together a last minute crew of the neighbors to brand our last bunch yesterday instead. Always pleased to have Earl McKee’s help, especially in his corrals in Greasy, we’re doubly pleased today. Let ‘er rain!

Greasy Creek, March 5, 2013

Greasy Creek, March 5, 2013

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Branding the Belle Point Bunch

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One in a Half-Million

One never knows what lies ahead, where or how we might be blindsided by a turn of events.

Robbin and I have just returned from Santa Cruz where my daughter Amanda lives with her husband and two children, one of which is four months old. Stressed and overextended physically, Amanda, with her immune system weakened, contracted herpesviral encephalitis http://www.encephalitis.info/information/recovery-and-rehab/ a serious, 1 in 500,000 chance to contract this disease and its debilitating effects, including death. ‘Day-5’ since her seizure, she is still exhausted, but recovering well in the hospital, much-improved and retaining almost 100% of her cognitive and physical abilities. We feel extremely fortunate and blessed, thankful for all the prayers from those who knew her situation.

Lance, Amanda & Cutler - March 21, 2010

Lance, Amanda & Cutler – March 21, 2010

February Snow

Sulphur Peak

Sulphur Peak

Pogue Canyon

Pogue Canyon

There are no weekends off this time of year as we juggle days around the weather, neighbors’ brandings and our own, trying get the work done. Low snow down to about 1,000 feet with the last cold front that brought 0.62” of welcome rain, we gathered the Wagyu bulls yesterday for their return to Snake River Farms in Idaho, for their TB tests and Health Certificates before they leave California.

Roads into the foothills are impassable, corrals too muddy to brand, neighbors try to reschedule plans to mark their calves, often with cattle gathered on short grass. This time of year, one day runs into the next until we’re all done.

Greasy watershed

Greasy watershed

Though hard on our cows who have endured nearly three months of abnormally cold weather, we’ll gladly take the snow, any kind of moisture with less than eight inches of precipitation this season, well-below normal. The snow melts slowly, retreating only 500 feet yesterday, to saturate the ground beneath like a time-released prescription. We are still feeding hay in the Greasy watershed each chance we get, but it will be next week, after three more rescheduled brandings, before we can get another pickup load up the hill.

Though I know we’ve had cold winters before, I don’t remember one with such a devastating impact on our cows. One day at a time, and before we know it, we’ll have wildflowers and then be complaining about the summer heat.

Robbin and Bart

Robbin and Bart