Weather: Single-digit days return. Forecast to be short-term.
LS (11): Second and third day of weaning going without to much mishap. Lot of adaptive in the moment decision-making to ensure everyone is fed and stays apart. Clearly a hybrid fence line weaning.
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Weather: Winds shift and sharply colder.
LS (11): Carlyle and I weaned the cows from their calves by ourselves at the home corrals. Long immersive day in the practice of patience and challenged stockmanship skills. Sammy after long day yesterday of helping move cows to the corrals unexpectedly and sadly passes this morning with Dana supportively standing by. Kind, quiet and loyal. She came to us with compromised health yet enjoyed her working days at the ranch. Resting protected on perched sandstone. Weather: Strong westerly winds all day with highs in the 30’s.
LS (11): Cows trail into corrals and then to first split in LS (11). All day working on prep fencing for weaning that will begin tomorrow. Weather: Light wet snow during the morning then clearing. Temperatures dropping slightly.
EG (10 on west side): Dropped cows into west side of EG 10 ready to trail to corrals. Weather: SW winds continue and with above average temperatures the snow is now almost gone.
EG (8): Cows mostly in EG-8 with a large split to accommodate cows while Carlyle and I are gone for part of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Weather: Winds are up and down while snow continues to settle and melt.
EG (9-10): One more split in 9 and another partial split in paddock just to the north to top some old wolfy crested wheat. We are blessed to have this moderating temperature arrive over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Carlyle leaves for 6 days of break. Weather: Finally, some melting of snow. By evening it is calm with puddles in front of the house filled with water bathing chickadees.
EG (9): Two splits again as we get an effective harvest of standing coarse crested wheat. Natalie and Paul leave and head back to their respective homes and work. She arrives with warmth Moving cows like yesterday Has anything changed? Weather: Gusty SW winds persist. Just not warm enough to cut into the snow.
EG (9): Two splits today. Cows getting a clean graze on standing crested wheat. Fun day, great meals, and a warm grateful time shared by all. Weather: Gusty cold winds shift from the NW to SW. Measurable wind chills increase. Slowly moderating temperatures over the course of the day.
EG (9): Arrived in the morning with cows tucked into windbreak shelter. We moved to a fresh paddock just SW of the shelter that we grazed last May. Cows quickly left shelter to graze the fresh feed. Engaged a small flock of snow buntings along the county road when returning from cows the second time. Goldfinches, juncos, pine siskins, and chickadees sharing the bird feeder over the day. Natalie and Paul arrive for a long-awaited weekend visit. Weather: We wake to uncomfortable NW snow-drifting winds. Colder temperatures deepen throughout the day.
EG (8): We push cows out of the windbreak to 70 acres of fresh grass left in EG-6 at the crest of the ridge. After a quick mile trail, it’s satisfying to observe the cows comfortably settling into fresh feed for the remainder of the day-especially a cold day. Cheerful chickadees attend to feeders within our view from inside the house. |
Bill Milton
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Milton Ranch LLC | Daily Ranch Journal |