Tag Archives: branding

SULPHUR PEAK 3,448′

Posted on February 26, 2023 by | 9 comments

 

Your robe’s frozen sleeve

reaches the creek once again,

my unending friend,

 

you carry both storm

and heaven on your shoulders

when I reflect up—

 

face unwavering

beneath sun and starlit night

always in the morning.

 

______________________________________

 

It’s been interesting weather, now half-way through our rainy season, over 18 inches of rain after a decade of drought.  Already whispers from the loudest drought complainers for relief as these hills leak crystal rivulets again. 

 

We lost a month in time in January to the Atmospheric River during branding season, and now with nearly 3 inches in the past 3 days and 3 inches more forecast for the next three, it will be at least a week before we can get to our upper country to brand the last bunch, putting us close to the middle of March.  These calves will be big, a handful.

 

The Paregien Ranch ranges from 2,000 to 2,600 with its own light blanket of snow now, time-released moisture soaking into the clay and granite ground that leaks down the smooth rock waterfalls of Ridenhour Canyon, adding to Dry Creek that peaked at 684 cfs last night, that probably washed out some of our watergaps replaced after January’s peak flow over 3,500 cfs.

Job security, but patience until we can get there—you can’t fight Mother Nature, just try to adapt and face the consequences—fully enjoy her luxuriant and persistent presence after so much needed moisture.

 

9 Comments

Posted in Haiku 2023, Photographs, POEMS 2023, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SMALL WORLD

Posted on January 24, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Small world here, an eddy

in the cutbank of a raging stream

            like Roaring River

before it dumps into the Kings—

Río de los Santos Reyes,

            or like Cloud Canyon

our honeymoon camped

            upon soft needles

            in the moving shadow

            of a huge Sugar Pine—

            Cement Table

apart from the foaming current

and thunderous cascades

of man’s designs.

 

Small world here making circles,

gathering cattle to brand

around the weather,

putting crews of neighbors

and meals together

for a picnic:

            bring your horse

            for a slow dance

            of wide loops,

            tight ropes

            and camaraderie—

            we are family

            chasing seasons

            for a lifetime.

 

Small world here in the darkness

of a moonless morning, stars

like glinting diamonds set

in black velvet, a universe

unfolding beyond reason.

Leave a comment

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2022

Tagged , ,

Winter Solstice – Wagyu X Branding

Posted on December 22, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Though no one dares complain about the rain, we’ve been working towards a branding between storms as the corrals dry out.  Yesterday began cold and foggy as the sun broke through occasionally.

With an exceptional crew of neighbors, it was fun and relaxed for our first branding of the year, a good opportunity for Allie (Fry) Fox to sharpen her skills.  She’s been part of this ranch since she was a baby.

 

It’s always a pleasure having Douglas Thomason in the pen bringing his quiet and calm expertise to the party.  Bodie, his young son below, looks ready to follow in his footsteps.

What a great day!  Robbin and I are thrilled. Thank you all!  With wild and varied predictions of rain (Atmospheric River) through New Years beginning this evening, we’re ready to enjoy the holidays. 

Leave a comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , ,

MENTORS

Posted on January 5, 2021 by | 2 comments 
The old timers built traps
with limp ropes
in small branding pens
 
before the team ropers showed
to take their place,
as time overtook them
 
and their steady horses.
Almost anyone can catch 
two feet going slow and easy.
 
Homer, Earl, Dave and E.J.,
I can picture them now
roping just like me.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021

Tagged , , ,

HERE TO HELP

Posted on April 6, 2020 by | 3 comments

 

 

Watching the corrals from a distance:
young men a horseback dancing in the sort
of cows from calves before branding

amid a discordant chorus, the same
plaintive song of years worn thin
that holds the heart in place as the eyes

fade and the mind wanders a far
ridge searching for the first split
in the trail that leads to this short

moment of chance and circumstance—
apart and beyond the world’s fear and all
the raw conflicts that feed it senseless.

A man rides by the seat of his pants,
pockets of memory that reach for the rhythm
of a horse collected, the singing twine.

 

3 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2020, Ranch Journal

Tagged , ,

My Birthday Branding

Posted on April 5, 2020 by | 4 comments

 

 

Through the cerise redbuds and wildflowers awaiting sunshine to fully bloom, our slow hour’s drive up Dry Creek, then descending a curvy 245 to the entrance of Woolley Canyon, we arrived to brand the last of Kenny and Virginia McKee’s calves yesterday, despite concerns of Covid-19. Social distancing is virtually impossible in the branding pen.

Virginia had soap and wipes available and Kenny had prepared a concoction of 90% alcohol and witch hazel to spray on our hands that I used several times. It took the dirt off as well. Though apprehension varied among us, there was none of the normal hugs or handshakes, most keeping a noticeable distance when possible. But when it came to the groundwork and vaccinations, the work was necessarily close.

My separate apprehension on my 72nd birthday centered on a horse that I had roped on only once before. Robbin and I have outlived our dependable mounts, and I have had to borrow horses to get through this year’s branding season. By the end of the day, “Twist” was beginning to overcome his cutting horse breeding and he and I were having fun. After a couple of more brandings next year, he’ll be reliable at brandings.

Though everyone was given the option of not participating, we were there to help our neighbors, a cultural exercise we all prescribed to despite the risks. Not unlike workers tending and harvesting crops, it’s what we do this time of year. Not branding is not a viable choice in Woolley Canyon.

Working together with neighbors for a few hours on a beautiful day was a luxurious diversion from the news as we await a forecast rain.

 

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , , ,

2nd Branding Greasy 2020

Posted on February 14, 2020 by | 1 comment

 

Despite warm temperatures and no rain for nearly 30 days, the calves have grown since we branded last in Greasy on January 9th.

 

Father and daughter, Garth and Audrey Maze pose before we start.

 

 

 

 

 

With a great crew, we made short work of big calves and were down the hill by noon. Thank you all.

 

1 Comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , ,

Somewhere the Sun

Posted on January 8, 2020 by | Leave a comment

 

 

On the edge of fog, we’ve been gathering Greasy to brand Thursday, while the forecast for rain varies from from a few hundredths to a quarter-inch from a half-dozen Internet weather sites. Above the fog, we shed all the jackets it took to get there, a true inversion layer. Time to fish or cut bait.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , ,

Brandon Branding

Posted on January 3, 2020 by | Leave a comment

 

 

As of one of two old men among some good young cowboys at Tony Rabb’s branding yesterday, the importance of bringing young men along was self-evident. Schooled at home before the branding pen, a young man must ride, rope, roll a calf, dally, slide slack and stay out of trouble. This was Brandon Huntington’s first branding on New Year’s Day and he managed to do it all!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged ,

Branding: Paregien Ranch 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019 by | 2 comments

 

 

Despite local forecasts for rain, we made the trek up the hill with our neighbors to brand our first bunch of calves for the season. Over the years here, we’ve dealt with fog, rain and snow, but yesterday the sun broke through the gray to complete a beautiful day.

 

 

Additional hazards are these two Blue Oaks that Effie Hilliard incorporated when she built these corrals many decades ago, one of which is now a casualty of our 4-year drought. Though we’ve threatened to remove them, consensus has been that they remain.

 

 

Though we see one another individually throughout the year, the first branding of the year is always a special get-together for all of us.

 

 

One of the benefits of trading labor is that everyone knows how we want the job done, whether a horseback or on the ground. You just can’t hire any better help than our neighbors.

 

 

And one of the drawbacks, as we age, is that some of us have now outlived our horses. Finding a replacement gentle and trustworthy enough for old men is not easy, but Tony Rabb brought a young buckskin mare to the branding pen for the first time with impressive success. Robbin and I thank everyone for helping us get the job done.

 

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , ,