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Tag Archives: Battle Creek

Fall Work

Cows in the JO

 

I once told a cook that we were only really busy in the summer. As the year wore on, he commented “I didn’t know summer lasted until November!”

So here we are in November, and it seems like  the fall work just keeps coming. Here’s some pics of cows, calves, ewes, lambs, dogs, horses and folks who help us out.

in the corral

Eamon and dogs at the ready

Casey and Bubba

Eamon, Bubba and Casey having a meeting

ewes and lambs in the Dixon corral

lambs onto the truck, Nevada bound

sea of sheep

Meghan and the loaded truck

beaver dam across Battle Creek

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2022 in Animals, Cattle, Dogs, Horses, Sheep

 

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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

 

 

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Battle Creek Reflections

Fall’s first reflection
of Julie in Battle Creek,
Seasons in motion.

 

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2020 in Animals, Horses, Nature and Wildlife

 

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Take the bull by the horns

Kids at the confluence of the Little Snake River and Battle Creek

The kids have been swimming a lot this summer. Even though the water is low, due to drought, we have still made frequent visits to our swimming hole. As Battle Creek flows into the Little Snake, it scoops out a pool where the water is fairly deep and remarkably still. The other day, I was in Murdock’s and saw a “floatie” which was an “inflate-a-bull”. The object is to ride the plastic blow-up bull while your buddies shake the intertube attached to it. It looked like the perfect activity for the grandkids. Here’s a shout-out to the brave young man who climbed up to retrieve the last one which was blown up and hung high on the wall. The kids wasted no time in talking Megan into blowing it up without the benefit of a pump, and talking her into taking them to the swimming hole. The “Inflate-a-bull” was a big hit.

The week before, the kids devised a game in which Tiarnan and Rhen were “humans”, Maeve, Seamus and McCoy were mermen and -maid. The humans could capture the merpeople by hitting them with big globs of moss, which were abundant due to warm water temps. I was the “Queen of the Sea” and they were not supposed to throw moss at me. That part didn’t work out so well.

School has started and we had our first freeze this morning, so we’ll be lucky if we can get in another swim.

Tiarnan riding high

Rhen gives it a go

the bull awaits the next go-round

 

 
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Posted by on August 30, 2018 in Family, Folks, Nature and Wildlife

 

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New Flume on the Salisbury Ditch

Meghan, Pat and Cora checking out the new flume

Tiarnan and Battle Creek

Rock structure with headgate

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2017 in Dogs, Family, Farming

 

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Flyfisherkids on Battle Creek

Maeve with her first fish.

 

Our friend, Flyfish Randy, was a recent guest. He arrived with the mission of teaching the kids to fish, preferably one at a time. Here’s photographic evidence of his success!

McCoy showing off his Rainbow trout.

Tiarnan’s fish was “this long”!

 

Rhen with the very fattest fish.

 
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Posted by on July 29, 2017 in Folks, Friends, Nature and Wildlife

 

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High water on Battle Creek

spring rains over Battle Mountain

spring rains over Battle Mountain

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2016 in Events

 

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National bird

Bald eagle over Battle Creek photo by Steve Smith

Bald eagle over Battle Creek
photo by Steve Smith

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2015 in Animals, Nature and Wildlife

 

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Battle Creek structures

rock structure in Battle Creek

rock structure in Battle Creek

We have worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife program to improve the habitat for fish in Battle Creek. The structures, which are engineered to guide the flow of the creek through high water and low, and to prevent erosion. The structures also help with our flood irrigation system which also provides habitat for birds and other wildlife.

waterfall

waterfall

Confluence of Battle Creek and the Little Snake River

Confluence of Battle Creek and the Little Snake River

 
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Posted by on April 17, 2015 in Nature and Wildlife

 

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Helping fish and irrigation on Battle Creek

the sun shines on Battle Creek

the sun shines on Battle Creek

We have been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners Program for a number of years. The Partners Program, along with several other partners, have helped us in a project on Battle Creek that includes a number of structures that enhance habitat for fish, especially Colorado Cutthroat Trout, and provide improved flood irrigation for our native hay meadows. This, in turn, benefits the wetlands that support our bird populations. The structures also protect the stream banks against erosion during spring runoff. The structures got a good test during the high runoff years of 2010 and 2011. We saved a lot of meadowland, but some of the structures took a beating. We had a Colorado structure that failed and was causing erosion. Thanks to NRCS and the Fish and Wildlife Service, we were able to repair and enhance these rock and log structures, and are good to go!

 

 

 

It takes big machines. Thanks to our very professional crew!

It takes big machines. Thanks to our very professional crew!

New double drop structure near the headgate

New double drop structure near the headgate

dripping water as the wood is placed in the Creek

dripping water as the wood is placed in the Creek

This operator can grasp a toothpick if he chooses

This operator can grasp a toothpick if he chooses

Preparing the floodplain

Preparing the floodplain

Seamus checks out the trackhoe bucket

Seamus checks out the trackhoe bucket

McCoy and the dogs check out the new structure

McCoy and the dogs check out the new structure

Val reflects upon the project

Val reflects upon the project

 

 

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