Yumm. On Friday, husband Jim had to make a run to Farson for some small hay bales to use to make a den for a pregnant livestock guardian dog (we feed big bales to the sheep). Our friend and beekeeper Jim Hodder made us a great trade – one of my wolf books for a …
Author: Cat Urbigkit
Beauty, and its opposite
Many of the most pleasant parts of my day involve encounters lasting only a few seconds, and sometimes as long as a few minutes, but they all involve beauty found in nature. The snowy grouse (Greater Sage Grouse) were out nibbling on sage along the Wind River Front near Boulder while we were hauling hay. …
Spiked collars
We’re going to experiment with a variety of spiked collars on our livestock protection dogs, but these leather collars we had made locally are a good start in protecting dogs during a wolf attack. We saw various versions of the leather collars used in Spain. For livestock producers who want to give them a try, …
Dear dog: Please break the rule
This cold and blustery day started with me letting Hud the herding dog puppy outside to find a dirty-headed bald eagle sitting on the power pole, watching the goings-on in the yard. Okay, so I put the big dog out with the little dog as a precaution. Morning proceeded, and I noticed Rena the guardian …
Dog wrestling
No the man is not about to be eaten by the dog! That’s our Aziat Rant, giving husband Jim a love tap while they were wrestling around on the ground after we fed the sheep today. A look at the muscling in his front legs demonstrates why these dogs are famous as wolf wrestlers. Rant …
Air Force
Snapped this shot on the fly today. It’s a hard winter in western Wyoming with deep crusted snow, and mule deer and pronghorn are starting to winterkill. Carcasses of big game animals are immediately targeted by avian predators. A weak rough-legged hawk landed at Jim’s gravel pit yesterday, so he called state wildlife officials. Poor …
Carving history
Kolyo Stayko shows the head of his shepherd’s crook as his sheep and goat herd grazes one morning on the mountainside near Chepelare, Bulgaria. Many herders in Bulgaria carve ornate heads on these ancient tools that are used to ensnare the leg of individual animals for capture and handling. The serpent symbolizes the earth, and …
Girlie guns
My comment to an earlier post that “As for me, I herd with a firearm”generated the question of what exactly I carry. The two pistols and two shotguns in these photos are my regular companions, so please ignore how dirty and scratched they may look – these aren’t collector’s items, but are tools like shovels …
Reducing carnivore conflicts
Many Q readers are familiar with my family’s varied efforts to keep large carnivores from preying on our domestic sheep, and of my firm belief that we wouldn’t be in the sheep business without the use of livestock protection dogs. This time I’m going to share a story of the efforts of family friends, the …
High tech herder camp
One of these days I’ll post some photos of the inside of a sheep camp, but meanwhile, enjoy this high-tech camp. The herder uses a solar panel to power his radio. This camp is parked in the Upper Green River region of western Wyoming, thick with grizzlies and wolves.