New Year’s dawning, cold,
winter branches reach skyward,
seeking the future.
Tag Archives: Sheep Mountain
What goes in must come out
The bucks have finished their winter work.
It’s a buck’s life. These boys only work six weeks a year, but it’s an important six weeks. Without them, we would have no baby lambs in the spring. Of course, it falls to the ewes to be pregnant for five months, and then to spend another five months or so raising lambs.
As for the bucks, they are ready for some rest. In a few weeks, they start looking for something to do, which usually involves trying to escape wherever we want them to be. They were glad to see the ewes on Cyclone Rim in mid-December, but now it’s time for them to leave the ewes and return to their bachelor ways. They go home the same way they left–one horsetrailer at a time.
Guillermo, Tiarnan, McCoy, Rhen and Seamus bringing the bucks up
up the chute
Oscar and Guillermo loading the trailer
Oscar and Guillermo and the loaded trailer
last buck jumping out
Home at last! Here are the bucks with fresh hay in the Mouse Pasture.
Adios, old year
from our Christmas tree
New Year’s Eve morning dawned bright and clear. We had a huge pile of wood to burn from an old building we had taken down. We had livestock to tend, bucks to work, and resolutions to make.
Ewes on winter pasture
Adopted wild horses eating hay at sheep camp
Hampshire buck saying “Put me in, Coach!”
Bringing the bucks up the chute
The All-Girl sheep moving crew–Taylor, Siobhan and Meghan
Meghan and Pat sorting
Rambouillet ram out the cutting gate
Meghan, Siobhan and Taylor with the bucks
McCoy checking things out
Pat, with his fire-tending assistants–Seamus, McCoy, Tiarnan, Rhen and Maeve
Sharon with the fire-tending crew (McCoy un-photo bombed)
Maeve, Seamus and Meghan
Out with the old, in with the new
Horses grazing with the last sunset of 2016
The first colt of the season
Dirte and her new colt
The weather is still trying to make up its mind. Is it Still Winter? Almost Spring? Spring? But Eamon’s mare Dirte made up her mind that it was time to deliver her colt. We still haven’t gotten close enough to determine whether it is a filly or a horse colt. The trees are trying to decide if it is safe to send out buds. In the meantime, the calves, lambs and colts are making their appearance. It must be spring!
Waiting for the green
cows with their new calves in the Big Meadow
more of Still Winter
Icicle and Battle Mountain
I spoke too soon when I said the winter was just about right, and that we wouldn’t need more additional feed on the Red Desert. We have since had lots of snow and wind. In the mountains, where we live, we have had LOTS of snow. On the Red Desert, where most of the sheep are wintering, we’ve had snow and wind. This is usually a good combination, since the wind opens up the underlying grasses, but this year we’ve had enough snow to cover up the feed. At the Home Ranch, we’ve had enough snow that the tractors have been getting stuck, making it hard to feed the cows. Today, Eamon hauled extra feed to the ewes, and we’ve had folks in to unstick the tractors. All the animals have been fed, thanks to lots of time of effort on the part of family and valued employees.
Sheep Mountain
Guard dog looking out for elk
feeding the Central Boiler
You can see where the elk have been lovin’ our haystack!
summer wagons under snow
Ladder Ranch
