Category Archives: Ranch Journal

First Angus Calf

Posted on September 14, 2021 by John | 1 comment

We record the first Angus calf of the season as part of our Age and Source Verification process. These two are about 3 days old born to cows 3292 and 3305 on the Paregian Ranch.

1 Comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged Age and Source Verification, first calf

Red Sun At Dawn

Posted on September 14, 2021 by John | 1 comment

Behind the smoke, the KNP Complex, last Thursday’s lightning strikes that sparked the Colony and Paradise Fires in Sequoia National Park threaten both the Giant Sequoias and the community of Three Rivers. #tularecountysheriff https://news.yahoo.com/knp-complex-fire-threatening-sequoia-220907319.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

1 Comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged Evacuations, Giant Sequoias, KNP Complex, Three Rivers, wildfires

THE LIST

Posted on September 11, 2021 by John | 2 comments

After the lightning

igniting fires, after the storm,

a new day dawns

with hope

and a hint of change

from the blistering summer heat

with the equinox knocking

at the door, I think

of all the jobs earmarked

for years—our growing list

of work we’ve saved

for rainy days.

The prognosticators

are unusually quiet,

don’t dare say

when to expect a rain.

I keep adding to a list

that will outlive me.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged clouds, dawn, fires, lightning, rainy day jobs

ALMOST UNSEEN

Posted on September 3, 2021 by John | 2 comments

Out of the blue

the space between us

rings like a bell

as I become

a curious diversion

for two young bucks

oblivious to the perils

of the outside world

swirling around us all.

How I envy such innocence,

rejuvenated for a moment—

yet I lay down to look

through dry stems of feed,

my horns lost in branches,

almost unseen.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged experience, innocence

AUGUST MONSOONS

Posted on August 13, 2021 by John | 3 comments

Out of the Gulf to rest upon the spine

of the Sierras, run aground on the Kaweahs,

animal shapes spill overboard

after marking months of blazing days

since April showers, we watch clouds

and wonder if it rained on Arizona friends,

or if it’s pouring now on the Kings

or in the Roaring River Canyon, Rowell

Meadow darkened beneath them.

Despite hot monsoon gusts that lift

and twist the dust across the pasture,

pregnant cows sequestered to the shade,

we dare to breathe relief as the sun slides

south—split redwood and Manzanita

waiting ready near the woodstove.

3 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged Drought, hope, rain, weather

IDES OF AUGUST 2021

Posted on August 11, 2021 by John | Leave a comment

Dust trails behind

plodding black cows off the hills

to water, bellies stretched with calf,

while we drink coffee—

and we are proud of these cows

who grazed uphill to bed

while we drank Tangueray and tonic,

slice of grapefruit instead of lime.

An acquired taste, raising cattle

through years of drought—

a bittersweet love affair

with the ground that sustains us.

We know her every crease

and wrinkle, and which leak water—

all of her magic spots

forever branded in our brains.

Second Life

Posted on July 29, 2021 by John | Leave a comment

Robbin brought in and armload of (4) Striped Armenian Cucumbers early this morning that neither the rabbits nor squirrels have bothered this summer. More work, of course. This will be her umpteenth batch of crunchy dill pickles. The Bombay bottle has found a second life, filled with citronella now to deter the flies.

Bulls to Water

Posted on July 25, 2021 by John | 4 comments

Our country is dry and short. We’ve pulled the bulls off the irrigated pasture to make room for our bred heifers due to begin calving by the middle of September. We will have to feed the bulls in this pasture where Allie and Terri were driving a few to water last week. Even though we’ve sold 25% of our cows, we continue to step up the amount of hay we’re feeding with no idea of when it will end or whether it will pay for itself in the long run. But if we have to sell more cows, we just don’t want them to be thin.