Tag Archives: wildflowers

COWGIRLS AT WORK

Posted on February 27, 2015 by | 1 comment

 

IMG_2987

 

Crossing into spring
to move the low cattle up
to let the grass grow.

 

1 Comment

Posted in Haiku 2015, Photographs

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

BABY BLUE EYES

Posted on February 25, 2015 by | 4 comments

 

Nemophila menziesii - February, 24, 2015

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 , , , , , , , ,

REAL LIFE

Posted on February 23, 2015 by | 5 comments

 

Whitetip Clover (Trifolium variegatum) - March 24, 2013

Whitetip Clover (Trifolium variegatum) – March 24, 2013

 

In the dark I hear the heartbeat
of another world on this planet
the newscasts miss, we overlook

amid conflicting calculations
with new angles on the numbers
to chart a course to reverse them—

eyes spinning within a slot machine.
Light applause on the roof
answers with one more encore

wrenched from early morning’s
black sky, each green blade,
thick as dog hair in these hills

puddled with brightly colored petals
already reaching for first light.
In the dark I hear the heartbeat

of wet ground growing stronger,
inhale its sweet breath
all-around me releasing life.

 

 

WPC(2) — “Rule of Thirds”

 

5 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

SMALL TOWNS

Posted on February 19, 2015 by | 8 comments

 

There is no hiding within
rural communities, the gossip hubs
of small towns team with news

at the doughnut shop, the feed store
trading in common tragedies:
DUIs, divorces, suicides.

We learn to live with guilt, grab
hold to stand beside the twisted
truth of being human, wear

the shame of each unpolished flaw
to endure self-inflicted tortures
until we escape this flesh.

No one is anonymous, no passing
face on the street. But sometimes
all the imperfections bloom

beyond the anguish, each petal
turned skyward to drink up the sun
and rain—and we are whole

for moments that no one has words
to describe, or time to take
to indulge in such nonsense.

 

8 Comments

Posted in Poems 2015

Tagged , , , , ,

WILD HYACINTH

Posted on February 19, 2015 by | 2 comments
Wild Hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum) - February 16, 2015

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 , , , , , , ,

EARLY SPRING

Posted on February 18, 2015 by | 5 comments
Goldfields - February 16, 2015

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 , , , , , , , ,

Journal: February 2015 — Seven Pix

Posted on February 17, 2015 by | 9 comments

IMG_2770

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.

IMG_2902

 

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.

IMG_2800

IMG_2863

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.

IMG_2833

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.

IMG_2880

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.

IMG_2886

9 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

OF GODS AND GODDESSES

Posted on February 8, 2015 by | 3 comments

IMG_2622

 

In her nearly ninety years,
Nora Montgomery couldn’t remember
hillsides as solid with poppies

as the golden spring of 1978
after two years drought,
cows calving in dust.

Slopes alive, fences leaked
lovers and photographers
from all over—

a glorious reward
for enduring a dry nightmare
early in my career,

the foundation
of a young man’s confidence,
the religion he lived by.

 

img_2936

 

3 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015

Tagged , , , , , , ,

WAITING TO BLOOM

Posted on February 7, 2015 by | 6 comments

IMG_3009_2

 

In the darkness, I listen to a light strum
upon the roof, visualize the size
of raindrops, calculate the hours

necessary to quench the earth’s thirst
for a week or two before going back
to dream of hillsides too wet to climb,

cattle fat come May – nothing I can do,
but hope and pray for some release.
Sucked dry, we still hold on to a chance

for a verdant spring, grass bellyhigh
and sprinkled with wild colors
from all the old seeds waiting to bloom.

 

6 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Poems 2015

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Ranch Journal: February 6, 2015

Posted on February 6, 2015 by | 4 comments

IMG_2597

 

The wildflowers were trying to bloom before we left for Elko on January 24th, primarily the ubiquitous Fiddleneck and Shepherd’s Purse, but yesterday as Robbin and I went to the Paregien Ranch, we could add Foothill Poppies, Purple Lupine, White-veined Mallow, Popcorn Flowers, Scorpionweed among others—all 30 days earlier than normal that may indicate an early, and perhaps short, spring, especially with record breaking temperatures in the high-70s the past two days.

As we enter what appears to be our fourth drought year with only 5.47” of rain to date, it could be worse. Last year at this time we had only accumulated 1.6”, a year in which we had to feed hay from August through March with a total rainfall for the season of 7.78”. Our 9-year average, including the last three dry years, is 14.36”.

Fortunately, some rain is predicted for this evening and Saturday that may linger into Sunday. Our south slopes have been stressed for the past three years, showing mostly brown with no cover of old feed to hold moisture or offer protection for the new grasses.

Additionally, there is little snow in the Sierras to supply surface water demands from Valley farmers. Water storage in flood control and irrigation facilities is at an all-time low. Half-way through our rainy season, it’s too late for any snow the Sierras might receive to freeze, thus we have lost any time-released benefits farmers might ordinarily enjoy, leaving us more susceptible to spring floods if the Sierras get any amount of snow for the remainder of the season.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look good.

 

Fiddleneck wilting - 2/5/2015

Fiddleneck wilting – 2/5/2015

 

4 Comments

Posted in Photographs, Ranch Journal

Tagged , , , , , , , ,