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The Last Lament (hopefully)

sheepherder on the horizon

I haven’t put up many posts this winter, mostly because it has been so overwhelming. 2022-2023 is one for the record books, not just for us, but all the way from Elko, Nevada to Rawlins, Wyoming. All of Wyoming, and parts of surrounding states were hit pretty hard. Interstate 80 was closed 55 times between October and early March. It seemed like every time they opened the interstate, someone died.

As this blog shows, we had to evacuate our sheep in January and early February from their usual wintering grounds on the Red Desert to safety on our hayfields north of Dixon. Normally, they spend December to mid-April grazing on the Cyclone Rim and Chain Lakes allotments before heading down the trail, first to the Badwater Pasture south of Creston Junction, then on to the lambing grounds near Dixon. Often we are worried about finding enough water and snow drifts along the trail. If the shearers show up on time, we usually shear at Badwater. If they are delayed, we set up the traveling shearing sheds on the lambing grounds. Sometimes a few lambs show up by the time we finish shearing.

This year our cows wintered on a friend’s ranch near Laramie. Who’d have guessed that Laramie would have a relatively mild winter with not much snow.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we were buried. The Snowtels were measuring record snowfalls. The story that the Snowtels (measuring devices for snow and water content located high in the mountains) didn’t tell is the amount of snow falling in the lower country. The wildlife normally spend the summers in the mountains where there’s lots to graze. That’s where our cows and sheep spend the summers as well. In the fall, we all move down together.

In 2022-2023, the snowpack was “inverted.” It piled up in the lower landscapes where the deer, elk and antelope can usually dig down to dried grasses and be sustained through the winter month. Usually, especially on the high desert, winds blow the snow into drifts and leave bare ground for grazing. This winter, it started snowing in mid-December, then warmed up briefly allowing the surface to turn to liquid, then ice. This formed a solid layer which the animals couldn’t  penetrate with their hooves.

We usually turn our rams in with the ewes on about December 13th. We were worried because we had to wait a few days since the roads were closed. I said, “Well, if it’s a stormy spring, we’ll be glad to be lambing a few days later.” Little did we know how prescient those words would be.

As chronicled in earlier posts, the ewes spent the winter on full feed on our snow-buried fields. We have brought in truckload after truckload of alfalfa to keep them alive. Family, employees and friends have done an heroic job. Some of the neighbors fed elk alongside their cattle, and we even had Greater Sandhill Cranes picking alfalfa alongside the sheep.

Deer and antelope are not very adaptable in their diet. They cannot digest hay and alfalfa, and we have watched them die. Now that the snow is finally melting, we find their emaciated bodies alongside the roads and piled under Juniper trees. Some few deer have survived by staying in town and foraging there.

It has been a slow warm-up so far. This is generally good because it slows down the flooding, but much of the snowpack is still in the mountains. We pray for warm days so the grass will finally come, but not too warm so we’re not inundated. Water managers in the Lower Basin States of the Colorado River are happy as they anticipate the runoff. However, Mother Nature is taking her due, soaking runoff into drought-dried soils, and evaporating into the sky. Even so, we hope to see significant rises in reservoirs large and small.

Today, I was in the feed store in Craig. An older gentleman, there loading up bags of feed, said “It sure is a nice day.” I agreed. It made me look around and appreciate it.

I went inside to sign the ticket and chatted with a young lady, there to pick up calving supplies.

We commiserated and told war stories about the winter. She told me about the scores and scores of dead deer, antelope and elk that she had counted along the roadside.

She said that she and her husband had thrown valuable alfalfa to antelope sheltering in a draw near their home. “They’re all dead now,” she said.

Finally, finally, most of the ground is bare and we are seeing a green sheen on the pastures and hillsides. The surviving deer, antelope and elk are looking a little better as they are able to forage. Most of them will make it now.

As for the sheep, they too will look a lot better once the green grass comes.

I hope now to spend the next months posting about sunshine, grass, lambs and great weather.

barn in late March

Tiarnan trailing the horses home (Rhen, Siobhan and Trevor helped too!)

Sheep Mountain and Flattop in late April

brush hedged by deer and antelope

winter-killed antelope

more winter kill

three more dead antelope

Sandhill Cranes on the Dixon Ranch–better days ahead!

 

 

 

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Which one of these is not like the others?

One antelope hanging out with a herd of deer–go figure.

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2017 in Nature and Wildlife

 

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Winter from the air

Almost sunset over Battle Mountain

Almost sunset over Battle Mountain

 

Today, we set out by air to look for missing heifers. The runway at the Dixon Airport hadn’t been plowed, but the pilot, Justin, did an amazing job of taking off and landing in quite a bit of snow in what looked to me like the Volkswagon Beetle of small airplanes. Unfortunately, in spite of several hours and lots of miles of searching, we did not find said heifers. We did see a lot of amazing country, elk, deer, antelope, wild horses, sheep (ours) and cattle belonging to our neighbors. If you see heifers with a JO brand, a red eartag and a white eartag, please let us know.

 

 

 

 

Elk hanging out on the Little Snake River, below the River Bridge

Elk hanging out on the Little Snake River, below the River Bridge

Wild horse at four o'clock (not in a Horse Management Area)

Wild horses at four o’clock (not in a Horse Management Area)

the Headquarters at Powder Flat

the Headquarters at Powder Flat

Here's the Chivington Place being "reclaimed" after O&G

Here’s the Chivington Place being “reclaimed” after O&G

Eamon, as we come into the snow-covered runway

Eamon, as we come into the snow-covered runway

Meanwhile, back on the Red Desert, Meghan and Pepe were digging out the corn pile!

Meanwhile, back on the Red Desert, Meghan and Pepe were digging out the corn pile!

 
 

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Critters on the Move

Winter sheep on the trail

Winter sheep on the trail

 

The bitter cold and deep snowfall during the past week has seen critters, wild and domestic, on the move. We decided to trail our yearling ewes and old ewes from the Chivington Place to Powder Flat , where they are closer to the haystack. Likewise, the deer, elk and antelope are all on the move. Here’s some of the migrations we saw today.

Yemy heading up the county road

Yemy heading up the county road

Yearling ewes and old ewes heading to Powder Flat

Yearling ewes and old ewes en route to Powder Flat

The guard dogs have their back

The guard dogs have their back

Yemy is keeping his adopted wild horse warm!

Yemy is keeping his adopted wild horse warm!

McCoy, Sadie and Cora moving the sheep

McCoy, Sadie and Cora moving the sheep

almost there

almost there

Feral (unadopted) wild horses on the feed line with our cows

Feral (unadopted) wild horses on the feed line with our cows

Wild horses with the cows

Wild horses with the cows

Elk near Sandman Mountain

Elk near Sandman Mountain

Buck deer west of Baggs

Buck deer west of Baggs

Does IN Baggs

Does IN Baggs

Some of several thousand antelope on the move

Some of several thousand antelope on the move

 

 

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2017 in Events

 

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Ungulates Gathering

Today, Pat spotted deer, antelope, elk and cows all hanging out together near the River Bridge

Today, Pat spotted deer, antelope, elk and cows all hanging out together near the River Bridge

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2015 in Animals, Cattle, Nature and Wildlife

 

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Deer season has closed

looking forward to another winter

looking forward to another winter

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2015 in Animals, Nature and Wildlife

 

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The watcher

deer in Cow Pasture

Mule deer in the Cow Pasture

 
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Posted by on July 22, 2015 in Animals, Nature and Wildlife

 

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