the horses heading to the Lemmons Meadow
Tag Archives: Little Snake River
Later that same day: bucks crossing the river
Pat and Siobhan
After we rescued the misguided GPS traveler on the morning of July 4th, we moved on to rotating the bucks to a new pasture across the Little Snake River. Even though the grass is greener on the other side of the Little Snake, the bucks were not enthusiastic about crossing. It did not involve any swimming (although shorn sheep can swim). This was not, so to speak, our first rodeo, and we knew that eventually they would see it our way. It took a lot of whistling, throwing of sticks, calling back the dog, roping and pulling a couple of bucks across to serve as a “draw”, but we eventually prevailed. Our crew included Pat, Meghan, Bridget (on loan from Arizona), Siobhan, Bubba and me, plus Belle the Border Collie.
Bubba pulling the buck across the river
Siobahn and Pat
Siobhan, Meghan, Bridget and Bubba trying to convince the bucks
Bubba across the river
more persuasion
Meghan supervising the crossing
crossing
Success!
Lions on the Little Snake
The other day, Meghan looked up and saw a mama mountain lion and her kitten in a tree. We know we have lions, but I always say, “We don’t see the lions. The lions see us.”
This time, she got lucky.
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
Why did the bear cross the river?
Why is the bear crossing the Little Snake River?…
to get to…
the other side!
Winter from the air
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
Wild horses at four o’clock (not in a Horse Management Area)
the Headquarters at Powder Flat
Here’s the Chivington Place being “reclaimed” after O&G
Eamon, as we come into the snow-covered runway
Meanwhile, back on the Red Desert, Meghan and Pepe were digging out the corn pile!
Ungulates Gathering
Today, Pat spotted deer, antelope, elk and cows all hanging out together near the River Bridge
Battle Creek structures
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
Confluence of Battle Creek and the Little Snake River
Ladder Ranch
