Yesterday’s rain
runs in rivulets
towards the creek
across the shoulder
of the road
and growing traffic—
Pond Turtle shell
glistening still
with all the wild
totems we lay claim to
in our joint accounts.
Yesterday’s rain
runs in rivulets
towards the creek
across the shoulder
of the road
and growing traffic—
Pond Turtle shell
glistening still
with all the wild
totems we lay claim to
in our joint accounts.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2024, poetry, Ranch Journal
Tagged Dry Creek, photography, poetry, POND TURTLE, rain, TOTEMS
Mud from head to toe
before the bus to school,
how could I know
I’d never bring it home—
never be the hero
of black and white westerns.
But a lifetime chasing rainbows
has been enough
without the pot of gold.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2024, poetry, Ranch Journal
Tagged Dry Creek, photography, poetry, rain, rainbows, weather
Despite the advance of new scientific instruments utilized for weather modeling, this year’s Atmospheric River phenomenon for Central California hasn’t followed predictions. However, we have enjoyed beautiful weather and average rainfall standing currently at 10 inches with March and April yet to go. Last summer seemed cooler, fall and winter warmer with yesterday’s high reaching 71 degrees.
Robbin snapped this photo about the time the deluge was forecast to arrive yesterday evening, but it didn’t start raining until 3:00 this morning. I love the rainy days, almost always smug when the experts are wrong.
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged Atmospheric Rivers, forecasting, photography, rain, weather
Flash after flash above
a steely barrage of pellets—
an opaque torrent of gray rain
cut by the crack of thunder
as if the gods were falling timber
or sawing logs—
or just inebriated
in the mountains
playing nine pins.
Posted in Photographs, Poems 2024, Ranch Journal
Tagged Atmospheric River, Dry Creek, lightning, photography, Pineapple Express, poetry, rain, thunder, weather
With a couple of “burn days” between rain showers this week, we’ve lit the piles of debris and deadfall that settled here where the canyon widens that were brought down with last spring’s atmospheric rivers. With air quality a concern in the San Joaquin Valley, burn days can be hard to come by. Not only are we reducing hazardous fuel in the event of a wildfire, but eliminating the limbs, mostly sycamore that burn quickly compared to oak, we saved our watergap fences between pastures and neighbors when Dry Creek rises again. Lastly, we’ve eliminated a potential logjam at McKay’s Point where part of the Kaweah River is diverted to the St. John’s fork that ultimately passes north of Visalia.
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged Atmospheric Rivers, burn piles, debris and deadfall, photography, rain, weather
A bustling world of change
with all its shenanigans beyond
the renewed green after rain,
beyond the ridgeline that has stayed
the same for a thousand lifetimes,
ever since Tro’khud, the Eagle
and Wee-hay’-sit, the Mountain Lion
shaped a body from clay
and baked it in the house of tules
they had set afire. Then put a piece
of him in a basket and set it beside
Sho-no’-yoo spring to become his mate.
They made mistakes like paws for hands
they had to change—but for a moment
they were safe this side of the ridge.
Posted in Photographs, POEMS 2023, poetry
Tagged change, Dry Creek, green, photography, poetry, progress, rain, weather, Yokuts Creation Myth
I’s been a great week between Christmas and New Years with Robbin’s brother Joe here to help out cutting wood, splitting oak, hanging gates, cleaning-up the Horehound, Turkey Mullein and tumbleweeds along the driveway, not to mention vehicle maintenance while getting 0.34″ slow rain that has revitalized our green. We’ve taken time-out around the BBQ fire pit with Bloody Mary’s and a Mexican Coffee to celebrate our accomplishments.
Though I would have liked the rain to come a month earlier, the weather’s been perfect, rain spaced well with warm temperatures as the canyon has turned from blond dry feed to green. The cows and calves have moved to the softened ground uphill to get a bite of both as we watch the virgin Red Angus bulls, close-by, fumbled their way to breeding postures. As Robbin quips, “It’s a wonder we get any calves at all.”
This is what we work for, an uncertain future, and wish you all a joyful 2024 !!
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged celebrate, cows and calves, Dry Creek, green, new feed, New Year's, perfect, photography, rain, weather
A bower for sleeping bees,
the ground begs softly
beneath the burning trees
to foster cotyledons
and change the canyon green.
No cars on the road,
silence weighs heavily,
not a bird or bull’s bawl
to claim the open space
that’s come alive.
The gray sky witness
floats in a cloud-fog
damp and undemanding
as the long pause of winter
moves into a new beginning.
Posted in Photographs, POEMS 2023, poetry, Ranch Journal
Tagged bees, Dry Creek, fog, photography, poetry, rain, silence, sycamores, weather
A few blue clouds float
upon a light gray sky
above Barnaphy after
the surprise last gasp
of a cut-off low
cruising south to flood
California’s coast—
a warm forty hundredths here
brings a tinge of green.
Sycamores like torches afire,
not quite ready to undress
their long white limbs
intertwined, plump Rockettes,
our native chorus line
burns along the creek.
The cattle stay high,
all but a hopeful clutch
spurn the feed grounds.
Posted in Photographs, POEMS 2023, poetry, Ranch Journal
Tagged Dry Creek, Fire, photography, poetry, rain, sycamores, weather, Winter Solstice
The poem has been ricocheting inside my head as we reconstructed a portion of the Paregien corrals last week to accommodate a calf table to brand our calves. Roads impassable for a crew, we were unable to brand our calves last year due to last winter’s Atmospheric Rivers, so we borrowed a calf table to try.
I grew up with a calf table, pushing calves up the chute at six or seven to my Dad and one other man to cut, brand and vaccinate. Part of the poem is how I’ve come full circle in a 70-year span, with lots of branding pen bravado in between. There is no substitute to be a horseback and roping calves to brand, but I’ve outlived my dependable horses and my hands have slowed with age.
Part of the poem would be my excitement as a boy to be asked to help brand, even though my shins would be kicked with calf shit up the front of my pants. Details like my Dad’s red bone Case carbon steel stockman’s he constantly sharpened on a small whetstone that he carried in his pocket. The one he thought he left at the corrals after cleaning it, only to find it on the running board of the old International pickup after driving 20 miles to the corrals and back.
Thanks to the Fry family for their essential help with the reconstruction, and with yesterday’s branding—just before, we hope, will be our first taste of El Niño.
Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal
Tagged branding, calf table, El Niño, photography, Pregien Ranch, rain, weather