Tag Archives: rain

Winter Solstice – Wagyu X Branding

Posted on December 22, 2021 by John | 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.

RAINBOW

Posted on December 17, 2021 by John | 5 comments

A promise from forgotten days of rain,

bold whites and blues and greens

flush the flesh clean as a hawk’s cry

in spring. When we were children

here, we walked within our dreams

of endless rivers crashing and cascading

from the Sierra snowpack into the Valley

ditches and furrows, row upon row

to fill the cornucopia of the world.

But we have pumped the ground dry.

Is this a harbinger of better times, or

have the gods returned to say goodbye?

5 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged corporate ag, Drought, gods, rain, sustainability, water, wells

Rain and Snow

Posted on December 15, 2021 by John | 4 comments

2.16” of rain the past two days and snow down to about 2,000 feet yesterday have been a game changer for Robbin and me. So long dry, it’s not been easy to think in any other terms than drought, but we’re getting there as the south and west slopes fill in with green. Forecast for more rain on the way through Christmas.

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged grass, rain, snow

DECEMBER 14, 2021

Posted on December 14, 2021 by John | 2 comments

I’ve worked hard on my imperfections:

hobbled anger to the point of giving up

my passion. The drought has beat me up

into a zombie retracing small circles

from house to barn for hay to cattle

and back home for years, it seems.

I gathered ghosts and local wild gods

to hope upon a waxing moon for rain,

for a superfluous verdancy to untrack me,

clear the air and make mud of dust—

it’s beginning now, a standing ovation

of applause upon a metal roof.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged rain

JUST IN TIME

Posted on November 9, 2021 by John | 4 comments

Gray silver rain,

burnished coins

upon the green—

first leaves of filaree

like faces waiting,

hands open expectantly.

The ground sighs

just in time and we,

with wood stacked,

breathe freely now

as cows down from ridgetops

collect babies waiting

for breakfast

and old enough to listen

for their mother’s voice.

She slipped easily away

under clouds like these.

I hear phrases now—

her knowing

and all her demons

haunt me delightfully,

words that fit

and suddenly

become my own.

She would be pleased for us,

gray silver rain

upon the green.

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged babies, grass, green, Mother, rain

LIKE ALWAYS

Posted on November 6, 2021 by John | 1 comment

Beneath clouds

the forecast rain peters out

to a light mist, heavy dew, a sip

to hold greening hills a week—

like always, I’m disappointed

wanting more

security for cows.

Today, we’ll cut skeletons

of brittle manzanita

into woodstove lengths

to bring Blue Oak coals

to flame each morning.

We’ll take the dog,

put out salt,

check cows and calves—

stack the brush

load the Kubota

and let her sit between us

all the way home.

Through the years

we have worn cow trails of our own.

Like always, we’ll see something

we’ve never seen before.

1 Comment

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2021, Ranch Journal

Tagged cow trails, cycles, dog, habits, Manzanita, rain, woodstove

Stampede

Posted on November 2, 2021 by John | 2 comments

A week after our 2” rain event, everyone is feeling pretty good. Yesterday as Robbin and I began scattering hay to our first-calf heifers, their Wagyu X calves busted loose across the Flat. The iPhone photo is but a portion of the 60+ head on their return trip to mama and the feed grounds.

2 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged green, rain, Wagyu X Calves

1.97″

Posted on October 26, 2021 by John | 2 comments

After nearly 2 inches of rain, everything is clean, having traded dust and smoke for mud and puddles, we’re delighted and relieved. Though we’ll be feeding hay for another 3 weeks or so, we expect our hills to be green this week. Though it feels like a drought-buster, long-term forecasts point to a developing La Niña with only a 10% chance of this year’s rainy season being wetter than last.