Category Archives: Ranch Journal

SPRING DAWN 2015

Posted on March 1, 2015 by John | 13 comments

Just short of heaven,
dust and ashes come alive
to color hillsides.

Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged death, Drought, Dry Creek, haiku, photographs, poetry, rain, resurrection, weather, weekly-photo-challenge, wildflowers, wildlife

HOMECOMING

Posted on February 26, 2015 by John | 2 comments

On the low, rocky ridge,
a Roadrunner moans for a mate
in declining octaves—first awake

February mornings, ever hopeful
for a better day of circumnavigating
barn and garden. Then returns

to hear his song carry to the creek
that has found the river now
for the first time in years, tying

dry ground, this canyon together—
breathing easier, whole again,
it spreads coolly through us

as Wood Ducks skip upstream
to feed beneath the canopies
of old oaks and sycamores.

We have learned the call,
draw him closer with an answer
only more rain can bring.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged birds, Drought, Dry Creek, garden, photographs, poetry, rain, roadrunner, water, weather, wildlife, Wood Ducks

BABY BLUE EYES

Posted on February 25, 2015 by John | 4 comments

Nemophila menziesii – February, 24, 2015

Delicate patches
along the creek, they flourish—
mother’s favorite.

4 Comments

Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged Baby Blue Eyes, Drought, Dry Creek, haiku, photographs, poetry, rain, weather, wildflowers

NEVER ALONE

Posted on February 24, 2015 by John | 9 comments

Easter 2013

I made a joke of it:
attending funerals
as the price of survival—

saying goodbye, adios
as their souls ascended
to meet eternity, look

down occasionally
on our plight
of being human

and whisper in our ears.
With no wants,
they must envy

the depth of our passion
and its sensitive
entanglements, our pride

erected and dedicated
for their inspection.
We are never alone.

WPC(3) — “Rule of Thirds”

9 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged death, Dry Creek, funerals, photographs, poetry, rain, rainbow, saying goodbye, water, weather, weekly-photo-challenge

ALMOST MARCH

Posted on February 21, 2015 by John | 4 comments

Thin veil of snow on the Kaweahs—
granite shows on peaks undressing.
The creek slows and disappears

as the thirsty earth drinks miles
from the river, puddled behind a dam
that will not fill the Valley’s furrows.

Tan medallions, last spring’s leaves
quiver from brittle fingers of oak trees
sprinkling green hills, giving centuries

of rainfall back as decomposing homes
for smaller survivors. It is not over
despite a forecast chance of rain—

dry seasons last, leave evidence only
years of floods can erase. Almost March,
the buzzards have returned early

circling an easy harmony of generations
gone—each clear voice rising,
we hear assurance and good advice.

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged birds, Blue Oak, buzzards, Drought, Dry Creek, Great Western Divide, Kaweah, Kaweah River, photographs, poetry, rain, water, weather, wildlife, Yokuts

LIKE CATTLE

Posted on February 20, 2015 by John | 6 comments

February 15, 2015

                         the green growth the mind takes
                         from the pastures in March;
                              – Wendell Berry (“Goods”)

Like cattle filling bellies
becoming whole to bloom,
resting early in the shade of limbs
awaiting leaves, the pastures pulse
with goodness for as far as I can see.

How spring seemed so much longer
when I was a boy, the world wider
as the hills came alive, breathing
easily as apparitions danced
upon the green between rains.

And it becomes us to overwhelm
all else—renewed proof and hope
for mankind—pattern and possibility
yet on this earth that we absorb
like grass. And we feed upon it.

6 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged "Goods", Calves, cows, Paregien Ranch, photographs, poetry, rain, Wendell Berry

WILD HYACINTH

Posted on February 19, 2015 by John | 2 comments

Wild Hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum)
February 16, 2015

No perfect flower,
yet we hunger for beauty
greater than nature.

2 Comments

Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged Blue Dicks, Dry Creek, haiku, Niggertoe, photographs, poetry, Wild Hyacinth, wildflowers

EARLY SPRING

Posted on February 18, 2015 by John | 5 comments

Goldfields – February 16, 2015

Warm hillsides melting
the Ides of February
in puddles of gold.

WPC(4) — “Symmetry”

5 Comments

Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs, Poems 2015, Ranch Journal

Tagged Drought, Goldfields, Greasy Creek, haiku, photographs, poetry, weather, weekly-photo-challenge, wildflowers

Journal: February 2015 — Seven Pix

Posted on February 17, 2015 by John | 9 comments

Robbin and I went to the Paregien Ranch Sunday to check the cattle, feed, and rain gauge since the storm on the 7th, 8th and 9th. An 1.43″, which was more than anywhere else on the ranch. We’re still trending warm and dry with wildflowers blooming a month earlier than normal, the poppies above and below in Ridenhour Canyon.

Despite the lush look of spring, there is no rain in the forecast for the rest of the month with temperatures in the mid-70s. We’ll be needing another rain soon or it will be a short grass season. Nevertheless, the cattle are doing well, both cows and calves, taking advantage of early and strong feed.

Looking ahead, we shut the cattle out our new gathering field to give the grass a chance to grow before we wean, which is normally in May — but it may be March or April if it doesn’t rain.

Checking on the Windmill Spring, we were greeted enthusiastically by our independent ‘Little Buddy’ who can be seen helping us cut firewood Here and helping me plumb a trough Here before he was branded and tagged in December.

Though it appears that we’re both having a drink, I was blowing on the overflow pipe to unplug it. Of course, our ‘Little Buddy’ was well aware of the hay in the back of the Kubota.

9 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged Calves, cattle, cows, Paregien Ranch, photographs, rain, rain gauge, Ridenhour Canyon, water, weather, wildflowers

Ode to the Crew 2: Six Pix

Posted on February 14, 2015 by John | 3 comments

Branding calves is an acquired art, not to be confused with the timed rodeo event of team roping. The idea is to get the calf to the fire while making it as easy on the calf, horses and ground crew (in that order) as possible. Douglas Thomason above times the rhythm of his loop for a long distance shot, catching the calf before it knows it’s caught, half the job done with no stress and little fuss.

Though the camaraderie is an essential part of trading labor, the branding pen is not a place for recreation. Robbin and I appreciate the care our neighbors take with our calves, as this 450 pound bull calf above would bring about $1,100 in town today. We hope that by June that he’ll be a 650 steer and bring in the vicinity of $2.50/lb. An injured calf, or ones overstressed and susceptible to sickness can become expensive.

Followers of branding pictures on this blog will recognize many familiar faces. On the ground, everyone has a job to do, an orderly process of vaccinations, castration, branding, dehorning, earmarking, tagging and recording–in the branding pen, it can become a dynamic dance.

Yet in the midst of it all, there are moments that might be forgotten if not captured in a photograph, whether a daughter recently returned home having a moment with her father,