drycrikjournal

So Far, So Good

Posted on July 10, 2017 by John | 15 comments

Last Friday, I underwent knee replacement surgery. I was able to walk with a walker by Saturday. Rehabilitation will undoubtedly be slow and posts to the blog may be less frequent.

15 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged Dry Creek, photography

Watercolor

Posted on July 7, 2017 by John | 2 comments

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs

Tagged photography, water, wildlife

SUNFLOWERS

Posted on July 6, 2017 by John | 2 comments

In the fenced and ungrazed barn lot
where water rests before it rises
when it rains to find the culvert,

a thatch of summer flowers tall
all face the dawn—a photograph
to match with Calflora—

I’ve learned the names
of most wild and local flowers
that have survived our occupation.

Fifth generation in the same place,
I don’t care that these are non-native,
these immigrants established

year after year, flashing color
‘midst the bland and blond dry grasses
as they chase the sun down.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2017

Tagged photography, poetry, wildflowers

HEREFORD EYES

Posted on July 5, 2017 by John | Leave a comment

On the edge of irrigated green
grazing toward morning shade,
she’s on vacation, calf gone

as another stirs in her belly
to fulfill the appetites of a reckless
race she’ll never know.

Behind the barbed wire, safe
beyond the thistles, she’s content
to gossip days with girlfriends,

to contemplate a moment
for undisturbed hours—perfecting
poetry within her heavy skull.

METAMORPHOSIS

Posted on July 3, 2017 by John | 1 comment

Bullfrog pollywogs
leap to gasp warm July air
prior to croaking.

1 Comment

Posted in Haiku 2017, Photographs, Poems 2017

Tagged photography, poetry, wildlife

AT THE GATE

Posted on July 2, 2017 by John | 2 comments

On the other side,
senses tuned
to the endless spectacle,

I have not time to waste
on unresolved plotless dramas,
soap opera sideshows.

Disbelief and bad acting
have held me paralyzed
at the gate—it’s time

to turn away
and let my mind graze
on its own.

for Ted Waddell

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2017

Tagged photography, poetry

JUST

Posted on June 30, 2017 by John | 4 comments

Another ant
in the anthill,

another bee
in the beehive,

another cog
on the treadmill—

I was bred to like work,
crave approval, but
make do with feeling good

about a job done better
than the last time—
an inclination to improve

the world around me
if I don’t stray
too far from home.

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2017

Tagged artichoke bloom, bumblebee, photography, poetry

Cowgirls

Posted on June 28, 2017 by John | 4 comments

It was 63 degrees when we started in the dark yesterday to gather our replacement heifer candidates for processing, to meet the vet (Ken Fiser) for their Bangs vaccinations at 6:30 a.m. Cattle work goes smoother when it’s cool, but I can’t ignore the feminine influence of our cowgirls on our cattle.

I was raised in this business with a pretty good dose of testosterone, loud and wild, the camaraderie of men at a high lope in the brush and granite, tension and challenge, it seems, with every tick of a useless clock. It’s not surprising that our cattle were on the shy side. We didn’t know any better.

This photo says it all to me. Done with processing by 8:30 a.m., Robbin, Terri Drewry and Allie Fry are taking the cattle back to their pasture, just following really, as the girls spin their own brand of yarns. Most of these heifers have been away from their mothers for a month or less, yet they are relaxed because we treat every gather, every time we’re around them, as a positive training day. A pace that has slowed to one of cooperation, and I like it.

Always moments, nonetheless, when convincing with a little loud testosterone may be called for.