View from the Flat
Tag Archives: Powder Flat
Along the spring sheep trails
looking east from Powder Rim
We have started trailing from our wintering grounds to spring country where we have shearing and lambing in our future, and theirs.
The ewe lambs have spent the winter in the Powder Wash country. Yemerson has started them along the Powder Rim trail. In a few days, they will arrive at the Badwater Pasture, where they will hang out until early July.
In the meantime, the ewes who wintered on the Chain Lakes allotment on the Red Desert have started south. Their destination is the Cottonwood lambing grounds. In a few weeks, we’ll have wool in the bags, and lambs on the ground, God willing.
ewe lambs watering on the Powder Rim trail
nooning at the reservoir
leaving the Red Desert
between I80 and the railroad overpass
Pepe giving an early lamb a lift
catching a ride
over the Union Pacific bridge
almost to the Rodewald gate
Timmy–ready for green grass
The Centennial Livestock Express
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)
Lambs on the ground
Mama ewe on the alert
It must be spring! We’ve got lots of baby lambs on the ground. We lamb the purebred Hampshires and Rambouillets in March at Powder Flat. These babies grow up to be rams and replacement ewes, and a few will even become 4-H lambs.
Thanks to our great crew–Edgar, Luis, Uribe and David for all your hard work and long nights. Now we pray for warm rains and green grass.
Home on the hay pile
morning in the corral
Rhen with a crossbred lamb
Rhen watching Luis on the run
NOT wanting to lie down with the lion
Waiting for the green
Cows at Powder Flat
Waiting for the green
Snow melt seeps and soaks the roots
Of summer’s bounty
finding the burrs
plenty to eat
Fog instead of shearing
Shearing shed in the fog
The time has come to shear the early lambers. We raise our own bucks out of our purebred Hampshire and Rambouillet ewes. These girls lamb in late February and March, so we like to get their wool off before lambing is well underway. Of course, we have some babies on the ground already.
The shearing crew showed up right on time–well maybe a couple of days late due to weather, but that is actually on time. We had to haul the shed into the Powder Flat Headquarters with a tractor due to mud. We managed to get a half day in, and shear most of the whitefaces. We were ready to start bright and early the next morning, but…fog, in February. This meant that the ewes in the wool were, not exactly wet, since it was 17 degrees, but frosted. We knew that with some sun, and maybe a breeze, they would be dry enough, after lunch, to start shearing. But no. The fog didn’t burn off until afternoon, and the air was absolutely still. Finally Meghan said, “I’m calling it. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
Ewes coming in for feed
ewes on the run
bringing in the sheep
Catching a ewe who has just lambed
Frost on the wool hanging from the fence
Heifers with more frost
This bull is glad he doesn’t need to be sheared.
In the meantime, the bulls came in for water.
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!
Still Fall
Bringing the heifers to water
We should be under snow by now, but we’ve only had a few skiffs, so in our book, it’s still fall. As much as we need winter, we are taking advantage of the relatively warm dry weather to keep catching up on fall work, and even getting ahead on some spring work, such as plowing. We are happy to have our good child labor, like McCoy, helping us out.
McCoy and Eamon at the end of the day.
McCoy helping Meghan water the horses
Prince and the feral horses checking each other out
November plowing in the Big Meadow
Hawk with snake
Hawk with rattle snake
Pat was at Powder Flat the other day and saw this young hawk with a rattle snake nearby. Our friend Brian Rutledge thinks that it’s an immature red tail hawk.
Hawk on a house log
Branding Time
calves in waiting
Branding season commences. We have most of our baby calves on the ground. We have to pick the right days for branding–after the calves are big enough to not be too stressed, but not so big that they will cause the branding crew too much stress. These calves have reached that “Goldilocks Moment”. In the last few days, we have branded one set of calves on the Home Ranch, and one set of calves in the desert at the Powder Flat Headquarters. We even had a photographer from the Library of Congress, Carol Highsmith, to document the great American branding. As usual, we had child labor on hand.
Nikki roping calves
Mike Buchanan, McCoy and Rhen ready to go to work
Cow and calf–at the ready
Rhen and Mara, on the job
Meanwhile, back at the Powder Flat Ranch…
Nikki holding the calf
Nikki, Megan, Mike Pierce and Jill wrestling a calf
Eamon with the irons
Mike B. and Mike P. branding a calf with help from Kate
Carol taking pictures of Mike B.
Carol with the cows
Ladder Ranch
