Marie, Pat and Sharon Christmas 2015, Hobe Sound, Florida
Pat’s Mom, Marie O’Toole, will turn 100 years old in May 2016. She still lives in her own home in Florida. Pat and I spent Christmas with her, conveniently missing some minus 20 degree temperatures at home. We are trying to talk her into moving West, but for some reason, she thinks Wyoming is too cold!
Pepe and Sharon with Dunkin
I am sad to report that Dunkin, a sheep of much renown and many adventures, has gone to that great pasture in the sky. He led a long and interesting life, especially for a cross-bred, parrot-mouthed wether. Here he is with his patron, Pepe, who found him as a newborn lamb at the side of his dead mother. He was a friend to dogs, sheep and people, and will be missed for his skills as a bellwether.
Cows following the hay feeder
We now swing toward the winter solstice. Days grow shorter and nights grow longer. The time for caring for livestock is well and truly upon us. The cows need sustenance to nurture the calves growing within them. For the ewes and rams, it’s the breeding season, and good nutrition is essential. All of us–man and beast, domestic and wild–are hunkered down and hoping for a “just right” winter. We need snow, but not too much. We need wind, but not too much. We need sun and grass and corn. We will rejoice when the world turns and the days grow longer.
The cows grazing at the Powder Flat headquarters
McCoy chopping ice for the cows
McCoy striking a blow while Marley and Belle watch
winter cows
ewes near Ace in the Hole
Romance is in the air
Rhen and Gael washing dishes–McCoy supervising at El Rio Restaurante in Baggs, Wyoming
bucks in their working clothes
Jumping out of the trailer
The bucks have been waiting all year, or at least since February, to hang out with the girls again. They spend most of the year hanging out with each other, and plotting to escape from the buck pastures. At long last, breeding season has arrived and they can find romance. We sprinkle their wool with red powder to make it easier for the herders to count and identify them, load them into the trailer and take them to the pasture where the ewes are awaiting them. For the ewes, it means a very brief moment of passion, five months (less five days) of pregnancy, and four or five months of raising lambs. They probably find their lives to be a lot more interesting!
on the run
Filo gets ready to move the bucks
 | Martha on Lambing days are here |
| Martha Kennedy on Floodwaters |
 | Ladder Ranch on The Last Lament (hopefully) |
| Ladder Ranch on The Last Lament (hopefully) |
| Martha Kennedy on The Last Lament (hopefully) |
Ladder Ranch