Life on the Ranch
Similarities in raising puppies, children
Here at the ranch, March goes out like a lion, but it came in as a snow bunny. Sometimes people drive too far up the canyon and get stuck in the mud from the drifting snow. Earlier this month, on...
Here at the ranch, March goes out like a lion, but it came in as a snow bunny. Sometimes people drive too far up the canyon and get stuck in the mud from the drifting snow. Earlier this month, on...
7 months ago | 0 
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Picking the right bull is all in the details
Last spring at the ranch, our neighbor Dave helped us choose a bull. One might think this would be done by visiting a corral to see which of the yearlings was the biggest, broadest, burliest, and...
Last spring at the ranch, our neighbor Dave helped us choose a bull. One might think this would be done by visiting a corral to see which of the yearlings was the biggest, broadest, burliest, and...
8 months ago | 0 | 9 |
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Pastured cattle and grass-fed beef
Here at the ranch, we’ve turned the new calves and their mothers out into a large pasture. Last year’s crested wheatgrass is pale yellow and still standing and there is some green growth undernea...
Here at the ranch, we’ve turned the new calves and their mothers out into a large pasture. Last year’s crested wheatgrass is pale yellow and still standing and there is some green growth undernea...
8 months ago | 0 | 8 |
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Multiples, adoptive moms at calving time
Calving at the ranch has started all at once because half the cows were bred on the same day last spring by the miracle of artificial insemination. We expect them all to calve this week. Unlike o...
Calving at the ranch has started all at once because half the cows were bred on the same day last spring by the miracle of artificial insemination. We expect them all to calve this week. Unlike o...
8 months ago | 0 | 6 |
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Fear of snakes causes irrational behavior
This week, beware of paraskavedekatriaphobia — fear of Friday the 13th. Raised in the desert, my father had ophidiophobia — a deadly fear of snakes. It wasn’t a fear in the sense of cowering in th...
This week, beware of paraskavedekatriaphobia — fear of Friday the 13th. Raised in the desert, my father had ophidiophobia — a deadly fear of snakes. It wasn’t a fear in the sense of cowering in th...
9 months ago | 0 | 8 |
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A ranch by any other name — or direction
Today I’m writing from a new location on the ranch that is 5,684 units east of our old location. Well, its not really a new location because I’m sitting in the same ranch house at the same persona...
Today I’m writing from a new location on the ranch that is 5,684 units east of our old location. Well, its not really a new location because I’m sitting in the same ranch house at the same persona...
9 months ago | 0 | 10 |
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Winter allows for cowboy reading
To my way of thinking, winter is a good time to catch up on some reading. I’ve got to tell you about some things I’ve learned. I love reading histories that can change the way I look at life. Her...
To my way of thinking, winter is a good time to catch up on some reading. I’ve got to tell you about some things I’ve learned. I love reading histories that can change the way I look at life. Her...
10 months ago | 0 | 17 |
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A blue heeler Christmas
This year the ranch got an early present: a puppy dog. Not that we don’t have a dog, we’ve always had one around, but we thought it would be nice to have a dog that serves a function — a working d...
This year the ranch got an early present: a puppy dog. Not that we don’t have a dog, we’ve always had one around, but we thought it would be nice to have a dog that serves a function — a working d...
11 months ago | 0 | 15 |
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Christmas trees on the ranch: the hunter and the hunted
Yesterday, as the snow was falling and I had just picked up my 14-year-old son from the bus, I decided it was a good time to chop down our Christmas tree. Usually, this is done ceremoniously with ...
Yesterday, as the snow was falling and I had just picked up my 14-year-old son from the bus, I decided it was a good time to chop down our Christmas tree. Usually, this is done ceremoniously with ...
11 months ago | 0 | 13 |
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A roaring blaze on a cold wintery day
Finally, a real snow that sticks to the ground. I love snow and the warm fire in the stove that it inspires. Here at the ranch, we use different types of wood for keeping our house warm through th...
Finally, a real snow that sticks to the ground. I love snow and the warm fire in the stove that it inspires. Here at the ranch, we use different types of wood for keeping our house warm through th...
11 months ago | 0 | 14 |
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To be able to command wind and rain
When you live out on the land, you soon realize Mother Nature runs her own show. Due to her whims, balancing expenses with income can be tricky on the ranch. You need good bulls, fat mother cows,...
When you live out on the land, you soon realize Mother Nature runs her own show. Due to her whims, balancing expenses with income can be tricky on the ranch. You need good bulls, fat mother cows,...
11 months ago | 0 | 15 |
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Large tame bucks and wild turkeys
This morning I checked on the heifers and then fed the dog and cats. During the rut, the bucks get big necks and stupid. Most of the year, the big guys are rarely seen around the fields until afte...
This morning I checked on the heifers and then fed the dog and cats. During the rut, the bucks get big necks and stupid. Most of the year, the big guys are rarely seen around the fields until afte...
11 months ago | 0 | 16 |
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A cool drink of water in the desert
It snowed today — a real blizzard. We sure need it. I’ll wait to see if it storm blows over before I go outside and work on the new fence beside the “Boat” mountain — so named because it looks lik...
It snowed today — a real blizzard. We sure need it. I’ll wait to see if it storm blows over before I go outside and work on the new fence beside the “Boat” mountain — so named because it looks lik...
12 months ago | 0 | 15 |
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