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Tag Archives: Bakers Peak

Shipping lambs

10 Nov

lambs in the corral

In the fall, we send lambs to the feedlot. These are the lambs that we have nurtured in the womb throughout the cold winter months. These are the lambs that we saw into the world in a cold wet spring. These are the lambs for whom we fended off coyotes and ravens and bears. These are the lambs who followed their mothers and grew on sweet summer grass.

Some of their numbers fell to predators. A few fell to the hundreds other hazards that await the creatures that we care for. Now we sort out the ewe lambs who will stay with us and become mama ewes. The others go to feedlots where others look after them. In a few months, they will go to slaughter and provide sustenance, by-products such as insulin, and pelts for all of us. The income they bring helps us continue the cycle  of husbanding livestock and caring for landscape.

sunrise

lambs loading at Cottonwood

Raul with a lamb

onto the truck

Meghan supervixing

 

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2019 in Animals, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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The Centennial Livestock Express

02 Apr

Luis looking for the drys

We are almost done lambing out the purebred ewes (one left to go). We have a few ewes who need to go to the auction because they were dry (not pregnant) or otherwise not likely to produce a lamb next year. Here are Meghan, David and Luis catching the ewes who will go on the Centennial Livestock Express. Here also are lots of successful moms and cute baby lambs who will grow up to be our replacement ewes, bucks and 4-H lambs. It is starting to green up, so the ewes are eager to get out of the corral to chase after those early sprouts.

Luis stalking the elusive dry ewe

Davis and Meghan consulting

David and Meghan checking for milk

David with the sheephook

some Hampshire lambs

ewes and lambs with Bakers Peak

guard dog with blackface ewe

 

Seeking green grass (on the future site of the transmission lines)

 
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Posted by on April 2, 2017 in Dogs, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Clouds in fall

20 Oct
Lucky Butte and Squaw Mountain

Lucky Butte and Squaw Mountain

 

We got our first snow at the Home Ranch, and dramatic clouds there and at Powder Flat.

Baker's Peak from the Powder Flat Portal

Baker’s Peak from the Powder Flat Portal

 
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Posted by on October 20, 2016 in Events

 

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New Year’s Day at Powder Flat

03 Jan
Winter cows at Powder Flat

Winter cows at Powder Flat

Pat and I celebrated New Year’s Day by visiting our employees, cows, horses, dogs and birds at Powder Flat (the sheep were a little father out). We could do this because we spent New Year’s Eve partying hardy with Pat’s Mom Marie, 98; Maeve, 8, McCoy, 4; and Rhen, 2. The cows are enjoying the bounty brought by last summer’s rain. They are still grazing, and looking fat and happy in spite of a couple of 30 below nights. We also admired two–count ’em two, litters of Livestock Guardian Dog puppies–seven each. That means puppies for sale! We also visited with last summer’s colts and a lot of birds who are enjoying the corn and hay.

Antonio and Tiarnan check out guardian litter number one

Antonio and Tiarnan check out guardian litter number one

Four noses: Tiarnan, Antonio, guardian dog Mom, pups--litter 2

Four noses:                                                                      Tiarnan, Antonio, guardian dog Mom, pups–litter two

Antonio, Pat, Oscar, Tiarnan and Eduardo at Powder Flat

Antonio, Pat, Oscar, Tiarnan and Eduardo at Powder Flat

Mother and child reunion

Mother and child reunion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Future cavvy

Future cavvy

Birds of a feather

Birds of a feather

 

 

 

Battle Mountain and Baker's Peak from the west

Battle Mountain and Baker’s Peak from the west

 

 

 

Baker's Peak and Mount Oliphant

Baker’s Peak and Mount Oliphant

Winter grazing at Powder Flat

Winter grazing at Powder Flat

Powder Flat headquarters with Powder Mountain to the north

Powder Flat headquarters with Powder Mountain to the north

 

And on the way home--the ones that got away, from the hunters

And on the way home–the ones that got away, from the hunters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2015 in Animals, Cattle, Family, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders

 

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Spring storm

14 May
Squaw Mountain

Squaw Mountain

Sure enough–as soon as we finished shearing and started lambing, a cold, windy, snowy storm moved in. While we are happy to see the much-needed moisture, we have scrambled to try to save lambs. We estimate we lost about 150 lambs due to the severe weather. Our lambing grounds on Loco got a foot of fresh snow and we couldn’t get in there for several days. The herders were well-provisioned but couldn’t do much except get the ewes into sheltered areas.

This is the first year we have lambed ewes through our new shed on the private land on Cottonwood. We had preg tested the mothers of the replacement ewe lambs in March, and we sorted the mothers of twins into a bunch to be shed lambed. Our crew piled the straw bales to create wind breaks at each end of the shed, and were able to save most of the new lambs in the shed. We lamb later than most of our neighbors, and it is always a gamble.

Lambing shed with straw windbreak

Lambing shed with straw windbreak

Ewes pregnant with twin lambs sheltering in the shed

Ewes pregnant with twin lambs sheltering in the shed

Ewes huddled behind tarp windbreaks

Ewes huddled behind tarp windbreaks

Baker's Peak

Baker’s Peak

Battle Mountain

Battle Mountain

Sheep Mountain

Sheep Mountain

Horses at the lambing shed, with Muddy Mountain

Horses at the lambing shed, with Muddy Mountain

Siobhan and Tiarnan in the mud

Siobhan and Tiarnan in the mud

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2014 in Animals, Events, Family, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Fall again

01 Oct
Winter gold

Winter gold

October 1st is a day of transition for us. It is the off-date for the cows and sheep who have spent the summer grazing on our national forest permits. This year, it is also the date that the Farm Bill expired, and the government shutdown started for everyone except Congress, which continues to dither along. No budget, no Farm Bill, no Immigration Bill, no plan. After a dry spring and summer, we finally received blessed rains,  a lot of our ponds and reservoirs have filled, and the springs are flowing. After foreseeing a dry fall, we have blessed water.  The leaves are finally changing colors–the latest I can remember. The first freeze came on the day of the equinox. October 1st is Rhen’s first birthday. Last year, the trappers killed a bear who had been killing rams. We said, “Bear in the morning–baby in the afternoon!”

Round bales ready for winter

Round bales ready for winter

Eutemio's wagon at Dudley Creel

Eutemio’s wagon at Dudley Creek

Switch horse Daisy and her colt Lulu on the Savery Stock Driveway

Switch horse Daisy and her colt Lulu on the Savery Stock Driveway

looking West to Muddy Mountain

looking West to Muddy Mountain

rainbow over Sheep Mountain

rainbow over Sheep Mountain

Siobhan trailing cows off the Routt National Forest

Siobhan trailing cows off the Routt National Forest

Battle Mountain from the government corrals, Savery Stock Driveway, Medicine Bow National Forest

Battle Mountain from the government corrals, Savery Stock Driveway, Medicine Bow National Forest

97-year-old Marie O'Toole with six of her nine great-grandchildren

97-year-old Marie O’Toole with six of her nine great-grandchildren

Rhen eating cake on his first birthday

Rhen eating cake on his first birthday

deer crossing Cottonwood Creek north of Dixon

deer crossing Cottonwood Creek north of Dixon

Seismograhic helicopter flying over Battle Mountain during deer hunting season. They hope to drill next year.

Seismograhic helicopter flying over Battle Mountain during deer hunting season. They hope to drill next year. Don’t like.

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2013 in Animals, Cattle, Events, Family, Folks, Horses, Nature and Wildlife, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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