First, you tie some sheep legs to a large tree, using heavy cable, burying the spring to the snare at the base of the tree. Then you gingerly set thin steel strips and wire mesh in the snare so the animal will feel some support as it puts its foot into the snare. Next, add …
Tag: Ranching
Companionable cowbirds
It’s always a pleasure to watch the cowbirds as they pick for bugs and seed heads in wool, even as the wool remains on the sheep. Most of the sheep don’t mind their presence at all, and the birds fly/hop from the back of one sheep to another. The fattest brown-headed cowbirds I’ve ever seen …
Something good
Now that I’ve done a depressing post with nothing good, here’s one with something good. I’ve spent lots of time in the sheep pasture lately, and have been toting my camera around to document everything that is occurring. Have I mentioned that burros are very nosy creatures? I have pictures that prove it! Rena the …
Nothing good
Our predation issues are still not resolved. First we had two big lambs killed and entirely consumed, in one event. Then things were quiet for a full week. Last Friday morning’s early sheep check led me to a just-killed 90-pound lamb – nothing much eaten but the liver. Once again the scene was so fresh …
Quiet night
Everything was quiet in the pasture this morning, with no signs of further predation during the night. The animals were all calm, and the guardians all seemed content. Although some may see the fact that two lambs were killed as some fault of the guardian animals, Jim and I disagree with that view. We shudder …
Predation
I swear any time I change my schedule, something goes really wrong. I drove my son Cass to Laramie yesterday to move him into a dorm for his freshman year at the University of Wyoming. It was a fun but stressful day as I tried not to think about the fact that my son just …
Naturally
I have been simply flabbergasted by the controversy I’ve been reading about dog husbandry and the nit-picking crap described by Steve and our blogger friends in several recent posts. After reading the animosity represented, I suspect that some folks would have me put behind bars since our lifestyle doesn’t conform to their rigid standard for …
Bold supervision
Hay harvest on our ranch started this week. Part of that process involves getting all the equipment greased, gassed, tuned up and ready to work – including machinery that hasn’t been touched since hay harvest ended last year. Our two tractors are kept in a fenced stackyard next to the south meadow, and the other …
Evening in the pastures
Final check of the day today was beautiful, with stormy skies and a breeze. The sheep and their burros were down by the river, munching on greasewood and bluegrass. Never got a photo of the guard dogs, since they were getting fed at camp nearby. On our way out of the pasture, flushed two red-tailed …
Beaverslide
My post of draft horses yesterday included a photo of what we call a beaverslide, which is this wooden contraption used to stack loose hay. Beaverslides dotted ranches throughout the West until the last few decades and its modernization/mechanization of hay harvest. Nowadays, most outfits use gas or diesel-powered balers, but there are still ranches …