Bald Eagle soaring
harbinger of this springtime,
portending seasons.
Leaving the Red Desert, on to shearing
sheep trailing under Interstate 80
It’s time for us to leave the Red Desert, as we do every year in mid-April. One bunch a day crosses a day apart for three days. This year road construction started on the third day, which meant to sheep had to be escorted by the pilot car. Since the railroad overpass can be dangerous and difficult, we were glad for the assistance. The ewes only have to travel about a mile and a half on WY Hwy 789 before they enter Rodewald’s pasture. Our neighbors, the Rodewalds, let us cross their private land to get to the Badwater Pasture, Shearing starts soon! (Photo credits to Meghan Lally and Linda Fleming
off the highway and on to the right-of-way
trailing south
Pilot car escorting the sheep
crossing over the railroad bridge
through Rodewald’s gate
Spring Scenes
Heifer with six calves at Powder Wash
Spring is finally springing. It’s been coldish with intermittent snows. Just when we think it’s going to warm up and grow some grass, another snow storm comes through. Luckily for us, we did not get the calf killing Holy Week blizzards that buried North Dakota and eastern Montana. We got an inch of rain at the Home Ranch the other night, which took off our covering of snow. Finally, it’s warming up into the 60’s, which is good because we are expecting the shearers in the next few days.
Heifers at Powder Wash reservoir
Heifer babysitting baldie calves
Hamp lambs at Powder Flat
last days on the Red Desert
ewes ready to trail to the shearing pens
A murder of crows
A murder of crows
Seeking garbage, guarding trash,
St. Francis keeps watch.
North to Cyclone Rim
moonset at Powder Wash
The yearling ewes have wintered in the Powder Wash country. We decided to move them some 100 miles or so north, where the running age ewes have spent the winter. We need to have everyone (almost) together for next month’s shearing. We had to start early in the morning to get the trucks loaded and one their way.
loading the trucks at Powder Wash
ewe and lamb near the Bob Terrill corrals
yearling ewes waiting to load
rider keeping an eye on the yearlings
guard dog and yearlings, Powder Mountain
a girl and her dogs
horses and guard dogs, moving too
unloading at Cyclone Rim
yearling exiting the truck
making themselves at home at the Cyclone Rim base camp
the guard dogs are happy!
March lambs, and homecoming cows
Hampshire ewe and lamb
It’s March, so it must be lambing season at Powder Flat. We raise our own rams, and have a farm flock of Hampshire and Rambouillets–known as the “early lambers.”
Here’s a look at this busy time. We are glad that our intrepid Peruvian crew is on the job. Several of them just came back from a few months at home.
It’s also time for the cows who have spent the winter in balmy Laramie to come home.
Ladies in waiting
Hampshire and Rambouillet ewes
twins!
Tiarnan practicing child labor
whiteface ewe with crossbred lambs
bring in the cows
cows at Powder Flat
lambs, lambs, lambs!
Horse Power
Chief and Commander
Today would be my Dad’s 101st birthday, He’s surely smiling down as Eamon and the boys harnessedup this team to feed the heifers. We have a lot of snow, but it’s been warm, making the snow “boggy.” We got tired of stuck tractors, so Eamon found this beautiful team of Percherons, Chief and Commander. We still have harnesses from the days when we used to feed with Fran and Chub. Eamon, Bubba, Chandler, Tiarnan and Rhen harnessed them, hooked them up to the sled, and fed the heifers, just like in the old days. They didn’t get stuck! Happy birthday, Dad!
Chandler and Bubba harnessing, Rhen supervising.
Commander
getting ready to go to work
Chief
Eamon driving across the Battle Creek bridge
heifers following the sled
outriders Chandler, Rhen and Bubba
Rhen
In Like a Lamb
Hampshire ewe with her triplets
Baby lambs arrive,
new mamas lick and snuffle.
The season begins.
Hampshire with new twins
Rambouillet mama with baby
More Heifers to the High Country
Cowboy crew (Chandler, McCoy, Tiarnan and Rhen) waiting to unload
More heifers came in and we were there to unload. Since it was a Saturday, McCoy, Tiarnan and Rhen were mounted and ready to help.
off the truck and heading for groceries
Tiarnan, Meghan and Chandler counting the heifers off the truck
one heifer headed the wrong way, of course
Rhen and Jake on the job
Ladder Ranch
