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Tag Archives: Red Desert

On the Trail Again

18 Apr

bringing the sheep to the gate

It’s that time of year again. After the ewes have spent the winter on the Red Desert, it’s time for them to trail south. Lambing is coming right up, starting about May 8th. Before that day arrives, the heavily pregnant ewes trail first to Badwater, then on to the lambing grounds north of Dixon where they will be shorn. In the meantime, the sheep have to cross under Interstate 80 and across the overpass above the Union Pacific railroad tracks. Oscar asked why we couldn’t just trail directly across the tracks. Crossing the overpass involves stopping traffic, flagging the sheep front and back, and risking someone wanting to drive through during crucial minutes on top of the bridge. It would be simpler to just cross the tracks, if it weren’t for the–wait for it–trains. The trains come fast and frequently. Years ago, we did have to trail directly across the tracks. It involved working with Union Pacific for several days ahead of time. They gave us a half hour window to be up and over the tracks while they radioed the trains from dispatch in Omaha to stop and let us cross. We appreciated it a lot. With the overpass, it is still easier and safer to cross on the highway. So here we are, again trekking south for several days.

through the rear view mirror

flagging

truck driver waiting patiently

over the bridge

heading off the highway through Rodewald’s gate

 
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Posted by on April 18, 2024 in Animals, Dogs, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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North to the Red Desert

01 Dec

sheepcamp at sunrise

It is time for our annual trek north with the sheep. Most of our ewes spend the winter on the Red Desert, on the Cyclone Rim and Chain Lakes grazing allotments. This didn’t work out so well last winter when we had record snow fall, cold and terrible wind.We had to evacuate the sheep at the end of January. This year, so far, has been on the dry side–hard to believe when I look at the photos from this time last year. My Dad used to say that more sheep have starved to death in a snowbank than on dry ground. Still, we need snow for the sheep to water on, and for next year’s grass. We are hoping for a Goldilocks winter–not too snowy, not too dry.

Here’s some pics from the sheep crossing from the Badwater pasture north to Creston Junction, where we cross under Interstate 80 and head north to the Red Desert.

the herd approaching the Rodewald gate

passing the fireworks store

 

heading for the underpass

trailing under the schoolbus

Jose

under I80

on to winter pasture

Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2023 in Animals, Dogs, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Hard winter, loading at Chain Lakes

27 Jan

herd of sheep on Chain Lakes allotment

We are experiencing the worst winter in decades. We trailed the ewes to their usual wintering grounds on the Red Desert, north of Wamsutter, Wyoming. We got there in early December, right on schedule.  Most winters, snow falls, then blows into drifts, leaving bare ground where the ewes can graze on dried grasses left from the summer. My Dad used to say that when that country is good, it’s great, and when it’s bad, it’s awful. Well, this year it is awful. It started snowing in mid-December. We were two days late putting the bucks into the ewes because the part of Interstate 80 we need to traverse, between Creston Junction and Wamsutter was closed. We normally just feed some extra corn or cake while the bucks are in, but we have had to purchase and bring in extra feed as the landscape has gotten buried in snow. All our neighbors in the region have been trucking their sheep out of their desert winter pastures to their home ranches. Sometimes in bad winters, it is possible to find a place to take the sheep where they can graze. This year, the bad conditions reach from Nevada to Nebraska. In mid-January, we brought four truckloads of sheep closer to home on the Dixon ranch, where we are already feeding some cattle. These were the thinner ewes. Since then, we have been trying to evacuate the rest of the sheep, but have been unable to line up trucks since they are busy hauling so many sheep. We are grateful to Sweetwater County Road and Bridge, and our neighbors who are plowing in the oilfield.

We were supposed to load the rest of the sheep all last weekend, but a major storm came in and closed all the roads, locally, on the Red Desert, and especially on I80, which has been littered with accidents every time they try to open it. Our sheep truckers are just waiting for the conditions to allow it. As soon as everything is plowed, we will load the rest of the sheep and come to safer grounds. We’ll still have to feed alfalfa and cake, but both the sheep and our herders will be close to home. Here’s some photos of the loading of the sheep in mid-January.

Here’s the semis coming in very early in the morning.

Ewes trailing in to the corrals

Meghan and Leo waiting at the corrals

ewes following truck

Sheep coming in, trucks waiting

getting the corrals ready

ewes on drifts

guard dog with the sheep

Three guard dogs, sheep, drifts

truckers

loading

sheep in corrals, drift behind

setting up the chute

oilfield tanker passing

Modesto, who went with with the sheep to Dixon

Meghan and Modesto

The team of Belgium horses that we’re feeding with at Chain Lakes

Eamon and Chandler

unloading at the Dixon ranch

Marty’s “Sheepman” truck

Fed Ex truck near Dixon

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2023 in Events

 

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Leaving the Red Desert, on to shearing

20 Apr

sheep trailing under Interstate 80

It’s time for us to leave the Red Desert, as we do every year in mid-April. One bunch a day crosses a day apart for three days. This year road construction started on the third day, which meant to sheep had to be escorted by the pilot car. Since the railroad overpass can be dangerous and difficult, we were glad for the assistance. The ewes only have to travel about a mile and a half on WY Hwy 789 before they enter Rodewald’s pasture. Our neighbors, the Rodewalds, let us cross their private land to get to the Badwater Pasture, Shearing starts soon! (Photo credits to Meghan Lally and Linda Fleming

 

off the highway and on to the right-of-way

 

trailing south

Pilot car escorting the sheep

crossing over the railroad bridge

through Rodewald’s gate

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2022 in Animals, Sheep

 

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Spring Scenes

18 Apr

Heifer with six calves at Powder Wash

 

Spring is finally springing. It’s been coldish with intermittent snows. Just when we think it’s going to warm up and grow some grass, another snow storm comes through. Luckily for us, we did not get the calf killing Holy Week blizzards that buried North Dakota and eastern Montana. We got an inch of rain  at the Home Ranch the other night, which took off our covering of snow. Finally, it’s warming up into the 60’s, which is good because we are expecting the shearers in the next few days.

Heifers at Powder Wash reservoir

Heifer babysitting baldie calves

Hamp lambs at Powder Flat

last days on the Red Desert

ewes ready to trail to the shearing pens

 
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Posted by on April 18, 2022 in Animals, Cattle, Sheep

 

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January ewes on the Red Desert

16 Jan

ewes grazing on Cyclone Rim allotment

 

Today was a Goldilocks Day–not too hot, not too cold, and not windy at all. I took our banker, Kim Brown, from the Yampa Valley Bank in Craig, Colorado out to the Red Desert to take a look a the sheep. Conditions were perfect, with enough snow for the ewes to water on, but not so deep that they couldn’t access the dried grasses which we count on for winter feed. Everyone looked happy–the ewes, the bucks, the dogs, and Pepe, Leo and Guillermo.

Pepe unloading dog food–we buy a pallet a week

guard dog checking us out

a curious Hampshire ram lamb, also checking us out

the last of the corn

sheep on the skyline at Chain Lakes

guard dogs on the job

Guillermo, Kim and Pepe in Cyclone Rim

 

 
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Posted by on January 16, 2022 in Animals, Dogs, Folks, Friends, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Winter Romance

15 Dec

Leo with his herd of Border collies

It’s that time of year again. December rams mean May lambs. A sheep’s gestation is five months less five days, and usually we put rams into the ewe flocks on December 15th. A big snow storm was predicted for the 15th. Since some of the roads are scary, especially I80, we decided to haul bucks on the 14th.

The rams wait all year for these winter weeks. A ewe’s heat cycle occurs every three weeks, so we leave the bucks in for six weeks or so. The rest of the year, they are bachelors (except for the lucky few who get to hang out with the early lambers in October). For a few weeks, it’s all romance, all the time!

ewes on the Red Desert

loading the trailer, llamas supervising

rams in their working clothes

Meghan and Pepe unloading the Hampshire bucks

Meghan with Leo’s horse

looking for the ladies

ready to go to work

Guillermo watching the sheep

Guillermo, Meghan and Pepe

Pat, Pepe, Leo and Meghan

 

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2021 in Dogs, Family, Folks, Horses, Llamas, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Southering

20 Apr

Ewes ready to leave the Red Desert

We are heading south from the wintering grounds on the Red Desert. The first leg takes us to the Badwater Pasture. The shearing crew has assured us that they will be here in a couple of days, which means we can shear the pregnant ewes at Badwater. This is better for the ewes because they can trail the last 40 miles to the lambing grounds at Cottonwood without ten pounds of wool on their backs. It also means they are shorn well before they start lambing. Some years the shearers are late due to weather, equipment or misadventure, and we see lambs on the ground as we are trying to shear. With luck, all will go well. Stay tuned!

 

Seamus opening the gate

heading under I80

truck above, sheep below

passing through Creston Junction

between I80 and the railroad overpass

the orange flag alerts oncoming traffic

Joel bringing the ewes over the Union Pacific line (the trickiest part)

through the gate and into Rodewalds’ pasture

Pepe and John at Rodewalds’ gate

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2021 in Animals, Dogs, Events, Family, Folks, Folks who help us out, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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January on the Red Desert

05 Feb

ewes at Chain Lakes

The past two winters have been hard winters by anyone’s standards. Conditions were especially harsh on the Red Desert north of Wamsutter, where we winter our sheep. In 2018-2019, the ewes and bucks were snowed in on the Cyclone Rim allotment for weeks, and we couldn’t even get to the Chain Lakes allotment. In 2019-2020, the winter started early, so we found frozen sugar beets in the northern part of Wyoming and trucked the sheep to farms.

Now we are in drought. We have received around 65 percent of normal moisture so far this winter. An easy winter is easier on both livestock and herders, and on us as we drive back and forth to the sheep camps. The sheep depend upon snow for water for most of the winter. We’ve had several days of wind and thaw, which takes the snow and leaves bare sage and steppe. We now wait for a good winter storm, which we hope will bring much-needed moisture. Winter snow brings us spring grass.

Enough snow. Not too much. Not too little.

Joel with guard dog puppy.

Sentinel ewes

Pat and Pepe at Cyclone Rim base camp

 
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Posted by on February 5, 2021 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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From the Red Desert to Badwater

22 Apr

The sheep are making our annual trek from wintering ground on the Red Desert to the Badwater Pasture, where we will shear the sheep before heading on to the Cottonwood lambing grounds.

Seamus and Cora getting ready to cross under I80

heading for the gate

under I80

Fireworks, anyone?

map of the checkerboard

heading for the Union Pacific railroad overpass

the dogs trail too!

some can ride

!

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2018 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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