tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124817719303145602024-03-06T01:12:33.531-08:00Mountains Beyond The CowsWelcome to our ranch in the West Chilcotin. Where calling the vet means hollering back at the house to bring your kit, new friendships are formed from the back of a horse and true fun for a five year old is getting a machete for Christmas. Where 'cutting the dinks off' has a totally different meaning than what first comes to mind, Muck Boots are a household name, a hand shake still means something and coffee is always on. Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-45960520290417389072020-01-07T22:53:00.000-08:002020-01-07T22:53:03.953-08:00Piling Up<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, if Mother Nature was as kind to us this summer, as she has been this winter, we would be in better shape. But, we will take what we can get. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Certainly there is plenty of feed around, even more than usual. Unlike many ranchers, those in the Anahim Lake area almost never struggle to find fall/early winter feed. The one thing we have is lots of ground. And when the swamps freeze over, the cattle can access what they could not earlier in the year. In a perfect world, we get a bit of early snow, which will actually protect the grass, and when they pull it out, much of it is quite green. As long as the weather is not too cold (they burn a lot of energy rustling and staying warm) or the snow too deep or crusty, they are fine. Horses will dig down through snow for their feed, cows (in general) do not. Due to the earlier wet, then lack of snow, the fall feed quality wasn't ideal this year, but there was plenty of it. And the best part, was that it was very close to home (the flooded hay meadows.....). We provided them with salt and mineral lick tubs too, which I'm not convinced are worth the money (the licks....salt is always important). They are so dang expensive, and once the cattle get on to them, they just about inhale them...... Cold and snow have always been the deciding factors in choosing the date to feed, not lack of nutrition. They do get a loose mineral once we start feeding. Anyhow we kept a very close eye on them, and moved them many times, but it was a nice break to not have to feed them as early as some years. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happily rustling the bottom end of the Five Mile hay meadow. This should have all been put in to round bales, but was under water all summer. No problem and good feed once the ground froze!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moving to new rustling grounds. The snow looks quite deep here, but there is actually only about 5 inches ...it is being held up on the bent over grasses underneath. Riding a snowmobile at this point is risky and slow....the rocks are just covered enough that you can't see them.... but they are there! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New Years Day, ice fishing at Eliguk Lake. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jen and Aron run a great place here and if you are looking for a true wilderness adventure, drop them a line. (www.eliguklakelodgeoutfitters.com)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Doesn't get better than this... a very happy four year old navigating her snowmobile impressively well!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look close, do you see them?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy cows, in for feed.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It took us a while to get all the groups together. Although we kept a close eye on them, we did let them wander between the ranches. The more spread out they are, the better. Until you want them back in to a pile, that is. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> At the end of re-rounding the cows up to feed, we were still missing 17 head. We knew they couldn't be "too" far away, but spend several days looking in every hidey hole we could think of. At the point of the photo, I was following one of Eli's snowmobile tracks down a not so pretty 'trail'. At this point, I had to stop the machine to hand drag the front end one way and the back end another, to get around some fallen trees. I saw Zip dog looking around to the side and this was the sight I saw when I looked around the tree. No zoom. Oh, hello momma moose! She actually took a few too many steps for comfort towards me before she got our full scent and turned with her baby to trot off. I was starting to scout potential climbing trees..... A mad momma moose is nothing to take for granted! I sure like seeing them around. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eli did end up finding the wayward moo's, not far away from the ranch house. Happy as can be, rustling in the deep timber and brush.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And yes, I do take my dogs on the snowmobile. With the design of our old one, Zip rides standing up in front of me with her front leg over the handle bars. She leans right forwards in to the wind and it makes me laugh so hard. She looks like Rose on the Titanic, and proud as punch of it! Brady is very good at laying sideways on the seat and pushing against me as she rides behind. On Eli's newer machine, I have a "Brady Box" on the back, which she really loves! Zip still rides in front of me of course....she is never quite happy unless she is leading the way. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They always run when I'm not travelling very fast and the trail is good. They get pretty keen to hitch hike though!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwyGUU5pJbgkuplAf8yOoTXEFZgcsSOg2btUfw_XCTfNrcBqTI4D01SsknSUSINRxy89Dnz7pKY8q23x_ebTuL0N-Qj3ZV7DdeVmsG6_O83Lb8ZbPCYtVx0HsxJCqN57Da5GgnyWMXaEE/s1600/20200105_185929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwyGUU5pJbgkuplAf8yOoTXEFZgcsSOg2btUfw_XCTfNrcBqTI4D01SsknSUSINRxy89Dnz7pKY8q23x_ebTuL0N-Qj3ZV7DdeVmsG6_O83Lb8ZbPCYtVx0HsxJCqN57Da5GgnyWMXaEE/s640/20200105_185929.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Part of Jackson's 14th birthday cake, by the Food Artist Amy of course!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How did my little fella get so old....and he is already considerably taller than me. Not much of a feat in itself really, since nearly everyone I know is taller than me....but still!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">January now, and lots of fluffy snow to play in!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We always have the younger cows separated from the older, main herd. They get the choice rustling areas, and best feed in general. Being young and growing themselves, they need the little extra love.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here we are bringing them to Five Mile. They are still kept separate, but doesn't take nearly so long to feed if they are all at least on the same ranch! And yes, there are a couple blacks in the red ribbon. :)</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cheers all!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-86972352475255974702019-12-14T21:02:00.001-08:002019-12-14T21:12:33.716-08:00Scenes of Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78vU75c0m1S4DJyDynWsIqJpd_4QEKzCcUIW5kw9ZZqJDDT0DCc6d7Mo_hkrrOB1JJxjP8jGbJVTvt4b3oZKsIyG2LdBQtry7NOJbTYvAVHTkId2kZy26shIYT0Wt96aVwC6HOn2g-XDs/s1600/20191128_155147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78vU75c0m1S4DJyDynWsIqJpd_4QEKzCcUIW5kw9ZZqJDDT0DCc6d7Mo_hkrrOB1JJxjP8jGbJVTvt4b3oZKsIyG2LdBQtry7NOJbTYvAVHTkId2kZy26shIYT0Wt96aVwC6HOn2g-XDs/s400/20191128_155147.jpg" width="400" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Newly weaned young'uns learning to eat grain with Daddy Red. Out of five babies, four are roans. They are from a light pink color to a dark brown/black. Beautiful....we have a pretty flashy string these days!</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7CTSbXUTTpcM3ahWA8D-kWV0S4ndF2_jEnAYB1XqYQOCOVSbZCIc6bGlDaiir-_voV4gdwuBgYcMMqjm9M33zo6xrBNykM1z0V96Pnit71A9kqfBsamVBD051Gnn7w521E2DBs72Cqfi/s1600/20191130_150222%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7CTSbXUTTpcM3ahWA8D-kWV0S4ndF2_jEnAYB1XqYQOCOVSbZCIc6bGlDaiir-_voV4gdwuBgYcMMqjm9M33zo6xrBNykM1z0V96Pnit71A9kqfBsamVBD051Gnn7w521E2DBs72Cqfi/s640/20191130_150222%25280%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>This was a beautiful day on Anahim Lake, skating with friends. Kappan Mountain is on the left and the Little Rainbows on the far right.</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdt6BZV5w8hzCRNgS-iGd3N8EFq-vFO9VUEs3nKdHpifrcukO9O0rfrsCakMuy-3FDerqb4TVxSjtIqC5SoNtzpgZzMiFroszv4ASLaPj9CL-3qe3ObXJV09fynmah3yccfubBpDqLKd3/s1600/20191201_134052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdt6BZV5w8hzCRNgS-iGd3N8EFq-vFO9VUEs3nKdHpifrcukO9O0rfrsCakMuy-3FDerqb4TVxSjtIqC5SoNtzpgZzMiFroszv4ASLaPj9CL-3qe3ObXJV09fynmah3yccfubBpDqLKd3/s640/20191201_134052.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Jackson and his trust dog Rawsy, helping move cows to the bottom end of the Five Mile meadow. Cold but beautiful.</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7C8ZlmwmFc17ZsQOTfxOgbW-EQS7ckTXVrsbgZGwq6moI088k3fLKh0B5XYqezw1BxhBctLTdrwIE0VfXjHNBQF0kY9vBd5k884oQfqq8kPx9qqaob5gE_mYQnHNTb3GJcP86xBTG0ob/s1600/20191207_132300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7C8ZlmwmFc17ZsQOTfxOgbW-EQS7ckTXVrsbgZGwq6moI088k3fLKh0B5XYqezw1BxhBctLTdrwIE0VfXjHNBQF0kY9vBd5k884oQfqq8kPx9qqaob5gE_mYQnHNTb3GJcP86xBTG0ob/s640/20191207_132300.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Yep, that's the boss on a horse. Feast your eyes people, its a rare occasion (unless he is guiding a hunt). </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There were a couple of bulls spotted in a meadow a couple hours ride from home. I had tried to get them earlier in the fall, but the ground was frozen just enough to make the iced up mud horrible on horse legs and beyond the first sighting (I was walking my horse and spotted them from 100 yards away), I never saw them again. The second time I went after them, I came upon a few strays first....3 pair and an orphaned calf. I have no idea where they had been, but I'm pretty sure they were stuck in some nasty little swamp until the ground froze enough that they could get out to where I found them. They were healthy enough, but certainly no one was packing any extra meat on their bones. I tried very hard and carefully to get them to cross a frozen creek (that I had ridden my horse across) and head for home. But oh no! Despite the excellent entrance, and solid ice with a good skiff of snow for traction, they were convinced it was much too dangerous and would not go. At one point I finally had them all quietly tippy toeing across, proud as you like. Then my lead cow stopped to sniff at my horse track about 3/4 of the way across (it's not far, I could easily throw a rock across it!), slipped a foot just the slightest bit and that was it. Fully justified in their worry now, they all whipped around and panicked their way BACK to the wrong side of the creek. Sigh. Seriously. I got them re-rounded and standing in place again, all stubbornly staring across the creek and then left them to keeping looking for my wayward bulls. I eventually came upon them in a good spot and they acted calm enough that I was feeling pretty confident we were just going to walk on out of there, as we should. The best laid plans, right? The terrain in that area is tough, the trees are either so close together that you can hardly push through, or there is so much windfall you end up spending huge amount of time going around it, or trying too. Anyhow, they got a bit goofy and quick, which is not necessarily a problem if they are heading in the right direction. Which they were not. They ended up splitting up, forcing me to follow just one around in huge circles, trying to find the other.... It eventually got dark enough I was just hoping I'd get them to where the cows were. But even that was not to be, much to my annoyance. I can tell you that was a long cold ride home in the dark for the fun of it. We even walked the whole way as I wanted Schmoose to dry out (from the snow and sweating) as much as possible. It was -14C when I got home, so I even dug out a horse blanket because of course her outer coat was still wet. I'm sure the other horses made fun of her for it, but I'm equally sure she appreciated it! Brought back memories of her stable days! Haha.....how far she has come. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyhow....the next day, Eli ended up pushing and cutting his way through the huge amount of windfall along an old road to where the cows still stubbornly waited. They were sure happy to see the bale of hay and salt he brought them! A couple of days later, Eli, mum and myself all suited up and headed out again. This time we took the cows with us up to the bulls and very quietly held them until the bulls were happy to be part of the 'herd'. And then everyone walked back home (and across the frozen creek which had a bit more snow by then) as easy as you please. Eli has already warned me that he will not forget how he <u>had</u> to come help me 'cowgirl', since I couldn't get it done myself, and how easy it all went with his expertise along. (insert eye roll here...)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClcQfT8XN6kitlT2s7fyCzqyhsmcnS6wEsyp8xCqFs-6biL0eQKU9_Y5k8jaBgb-DWoNbJ3PRguYp39AowIbi6lrapnapZgRRnURK4_hhqzc4yD8qJqPqUN3WGsCE3v0WKf_IF7cPkCiu/s1600/20191208_162312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClcQfT8XN6kitlT2s7fyCzqyhsmcnS6wEsyp8xCqFs-6biL0eQKU9_Y5k8jaBgb-DWoNbJ3PRguYp39AowIbi6lrapnapZgRRnURK4_hhqzc4yD8qJqPqUN3WGsCE3v0WKf_IF7cPkCiu/s640/20191208_162312.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Five Mile sunsets are hard to beat.</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm82yqrVe4uzOe0EiKwbn8wxA38pJKhia9hg7ou-t4mULRmHjSs4RMo-itvwB5lZh0kcgpjVFK0tKXiYoSFZ4YjFJS-DW0Ud3rGYgzbjCz2oFzCsp2AUw48J8Nr6-U2JP0isS6y_TNSfuf/s1600/20191210_153526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm82yqrVe4uzOe0EiKwbn8wxA38pJKhia9hg7ou-t4mULRmHjSs4RMo-itvwB5lZh0kcgpjVFK0tKXiYoSFZ4YjFJS-DW0Ud3rGYgzbjCz2oFzCsp2AUw48J8Nr6-U2JP0isS6y_TNSfuf/s640/20191210_153526.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Moving some of the younger cows to new feed. I don't set out with intentions to ride in the dark, but the dang days are so short!! Everything is looking really good. There is plenty of feed for them and the mineral tubs we put out ensure they are getting everything they need. As long as the weather stays as it is (not terribly cold and not too much snow), they will be quite happy. Which is a good feeling considering how much hay we've already had to buy this year!</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIymfKdQGrOQqDBaX2f22tbO2ls7t_kyrzv64ErAm-ahDFkiOAnKx7l4ZOUdqggqPceDoPILrbPuDZnA3BWhWd6PmoF7srcGAdx5DEpq4jwBwOtZNig0qsDJWNEON4AzXZz_OGmFzAW5I/s1600/20191212_164115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIymfKdQGrOQqDBaX2f22tbO2ls7t_kyrzv64ErAm-ahDFkiOAnKx7l4ZOUdqggqPceDoPILrbPuDZnA3BWhWd6PmoF7srcGAdx5DEpq4jwBwOtZNig0qsDJWNEON4AzXZz_OGmFzAW5I/s640/20191212_164115.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Christmas Parade in our little town. Lots of fun, and well attended!</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEXI5itx5i1xEYP0fQMnvuDXcdyg6ev17DZ7DLwTmx8rr3__KWkw_hBZlor0IOg-VMPJPQVoBiA0r48SS8SxrK1yWiaUF2VoRseE7PJssRsA8Dwp9DreKrMzsorLBqZg48lC459mFFlBd/s1600/20191212_164520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1600" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEXI5itx5i1xEYP0fQMnvuDXcdyg6ev17DZ7DLwTmx8rr3__KWkw_hBZlor0IOg-VMPJPQVoBiA0r48SS8SxrK1yWiaUF2VoRseE7PJssRsA8Dwp9DreKrMzsorLBqZg48lC459mFFlBd/s640/20191212_164520.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Mr and Mrs Claus, some helpful elves and Gingy! Oh, and the Grinch, who may have been the cause of a few pretty spooked kids, but nothing a candy cane couldn't fix! </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM8YQeUHWTOzwldTHJxfA1XxCY1kJOHF1MhkaP6YlDOj_yg4oLJlrZCtApMEooDP3RvRATh2u5UdoLECmj_XjBqbwkxngZFDyj6kY7E_tWbtoazsbh3hr1zX3XdMFwQO7hDjvdzUtH7Ok/s1600/20191212_170950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM8YQeUHWTOzwldTHJxfA1XxCY1kJOHF1MhkaP6YlDOj_yg4oLJlrZCtApMEooDP3RvRATh2u5UdoLECmj_XjBqbwkxngZFDyj6kY7E_tWbtoazsbh3hr1zX3XdMFwQO7hDjvdzUtH7Ok/s640/20191212_170950.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The gingerbread contest. Ours (on the right) was based on our hunting cabin. Seemed like a good idea to do it all from scratch...but next time I think we will start a few days prior!</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAedrwbqUfRNrHZ3HORnFfh0G2fmlii_htaMgujrgfOXg1Y6YvySpVdCGODdJY6YbpaIMh72AdGd7yMl2cngYWbU9B1NBKz8W_6VEFpPM2dRVtzJczj_EXRoiPZA3c2_CzSnhfaRboNhx/s1600/20191213_154629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAedrwbqUfRNrHZ3HORnFfh0G2fmlii_htaMgujrgfOXg1Y6YvySpVdCGODdJY6YbpaIMh72AdGd7yMl2cngYWbU9B1NBKz8W_6VEFpPM2dRVtzJczj_EXRoiPZA3c2_CzSnhfaRboNhx/s640/20191213_154629.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Every old horse dreams of having a little girl of their very own, right?</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH_WNzAF5dEXhdGVjKouyjSD4RyrvLylWseNR8UcBxYIBMD9GQ-k6ojEGLnerBuWZ3RXtthiOPJZAjDTwP3s_Bqi2nQrf5DGdySIEwnQnIHMz2S_ZSXAJPP216kTnLFMEht6V_QtiAs_F/s1600/20191213_154722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1519" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH_WNzAF5dEXhdGVjKouyjSD4RyrvLylWseNR8UcBxYIBMD9GQ-k6ojEGLnerBuWZ3RXtthiOPJZAjDTwP3s_Bqi2nQrf5DGdySIEwnQnIHMz2S_ZSXAJPP216kTnLFMEht6V_QtiAs_F/s640/20191213_154722.jpg" width="606" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Dreams coming true, times two!</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>A pretty awesome pairing for our retired friend Tiffany and our favorite four year old! </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Merriest of the Christmas Season to you all!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cheers,</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Punky </span></b></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-267183435175120082019-11-20T23:58:00.002-08:002019-11-20T23:58:47.317-08:00Fall Riding and Shipping Out <b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yeah, it's been a wet ones. Wettest anyone can remember. But you know all that, I've complained before. Thought I'd share a few photos tonight of our fall round up. It has gone very well actually, which is a real blessing. With this much water around, if we had gotten a wack of cold weather, we would have been in trouble. The cows won't travel and the horses can't. As it was, Eli and I did more hiking than either of us would prefer, simply because taking a horse wasn't an option, as it usually is. And no doubt we ask more of our horses than most. They spend more time than they would prefer breaking through ice and slugging through frozen mud. Incredible animals, again, I'm grateful. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In any case, the weather temperature is decent enough, though it still hasn't stopped raining. Our driveway......ugh, let's talk about something else.....</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ah, but the calves look outstanding, and I think even better than usual.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;">A month has passed since I started this post.....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Well, it still hasn't stopped raining, but I'm done talking about that. Pretty redundant. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Instead I'll find some photos for you, and maybe there is a story in there somewhere too. Although it is likely a wet one. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEm2qb5xHLfxc4ONwHfpnoqa-cephjenKtLGfv-Nj9FjfAjz9oP7WL9oNhDPJ9a27ceAH3JybRYakloZX2-KDwiETeRGS_LA1zXijaAJVnOuFpCwlQjCueC5TJS4QU8O2Hm8WFjaKtMnec/s1600/20191005_143017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEm2qb5xHLfxc4ONwHfpnoqa-cephjenKtLGfv-Nj9FjfAjz9oP7WL9oNhDPJ9a27ceAH3JybRYakloZX2-KDwiETeRGS_LA1zXijaAJVnOuFpCwlQjCueC5TJS4QU8O2Hm8WFjaKtMnec/s640/20191005_143017.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Nice photo of Kelsey doing a good job riding a young horse on the range.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXug4oceB88LK6_6bW1RWhb6w3o81zcpwnqsjqi4Hdzk_PaoWgp6eWdNPPjGg9BXYM3hV5xXVrXjtSJv3hgIFfFfgBofUIkc1o-rF5VqLvlcHx4RK_xKmSscTLyB9xP1VG3MjL8afKM2C/s1600/20191011_174340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXug4oceB88LK6_6bW1RWhb6w3o81zcpwnqsjqi4Hdzk_PaoWgp6eWdNPPjGg9BXYM3hV5xXVrXjtSJv3hgIFfFfgBofUIkc1o-rF5VqLvlcHx4RK_xKmSscTLyB9xP1VG3MjL8afKM2C/s640/20191011_174340.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Bringing a few more stragglers in. We were sure lucky with the weather for gathering this fall. It stayed warm, for the most part. It's so incredibly wet that even a little ice is a huge problem for the stock to travel. Nothing wants to move, and rightfully so....</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>That's a large number of moo's right there.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>This last photo was taken as we were doing the final gather from the hay meadow to bring them down to start sorting in the corral system for shipping. This means separating all the calves and cows, separating the steers from the heifers, separating the replacements from the heifers to be sold, separating anything that won't go because of lameness etc, sorting, sorting sorting. I can't begin to explain what a huge morning/day that is, but I do know that I dread it. As we need to do so much in such a small time period, we try and be as organized as possible, and anticipate any problems, fixing any broken rails, prepping paperwork ahead of time etc. Knock on wood, generally everything goes very well. But it is still super stressful and so many decisions need to be made too quickly. So much potential for disaster...and when your whole years paycheck is bawling in the pens, as well as the potential for coming years, you best be making sound decisions. And quick, since those trucks are not cheap and get paid by the hour.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>With the mud this year, it was extra difficult. We had some exceptionally good help and sure appreciated the expertise they brought. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I have to mention that on several occasions, I also appreciated the amount of time and effort we put in to having easy handling stock. When you are nearly knee deep in cement like mud, there is simply no possibility of "quickly getting out of the way". You can't hardly get around at all, having to consciously move each leg to just get across the alley. If you did move fast, it would be one single move, leaving your boot behind (or just flopping to the ground with your feet still in place), and then you'd be stuck again. It was truly unbelievable, utterly exhausting and honestly, pretty darn dangerous. Having cattle that are quiet but responsive and that respect your space made that day even possible. I was sure glad when all the animals were loaded and out without incident to them or us. To be sure, we all slept soundly that night, with no one feeling the need to head to the gym. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>On a more positive note (besides that we got through shipping without anyone getting hurt) is that I found my radio after loosing it in that mud in the alley way. Can you imagine? It had about a hundred cows run over it and several hundred calves before I happened to notice just the antenna sticking up.... I realized I'd lost it earlier and stopped the whole operation to look, but no luck. When I did find it, my delighted amazement turned to sorrow when it appeared to be working but I couldn't hear what was being said, even at full volume. Then I realized the speaker was chock full of mud, cleaned it out and...haha! All good! Icom's are tough, I'm hear to tell ya.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Our calves were very well received at the sale yard and sold well for the most part (although I wouldn't be a rancher if I didn't wish prices were a tad bit better....like they were the week before.....) The weights were near a record high for us. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Fall riding. Usually my favorite time of year. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Ah, who am I kidding.....my favorite time of year is the view between these ears.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5Bs8GzQpZKR9wZR9XxSLggsFEiGrhOwKJZWYGwbyLf-SC48j_HQRagsJBHw4cSZ8E1Uim1ovFXs3zNWulXS0GD-Jlkf1veAKZ1TD0JJRPOWGO1_eHzUszoHhTDImuqdY5732QnM6LGsH/s1600/FB_IMG_1571835795429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5Bs8GzQpZKR9wZR9XxSLggsFEiGrhOwKJZWYGwbyLf-SC48j_HQRagsJBHw4cSZ8E1Uim1ovFXs3zNWulXS0GD-Jlkf1veAKZ1TD0JJRPOWGO1_eHzUszoHhTDImuqdY5732QnM6LGsH/s400/FB_IMG_1571835795429.jpg" width="257" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Alright, just another goofy meme but I nearly blew coffee through my nose when I saw it. This.....my kids. They laughed nearly as hard, and agreed with me.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS2qu6XLaTGpfODmLFWjVJELNJmZjB-kYk5XT0ZC4luFyoW15mwZeIgU06YGXptbS3gQnWmb3OTa1_CNAXFlG9Ow0xG5F4yPl4srflwtT9cCFxdkUXRZ-bK7rQ5N4_NonYngBjpsOjuIt/s1600/20191104_123438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS2qu6XLaTGpfODmLFWjVJELNJmZjB-kYk5XT0ZC4luFyoW15mwZeIgU06YGXptbS3gQnWmb3OTa1_CNAXFlG9Ow0xG5F4yPl4srflwtT9cCFxdkUXRZ-bK7rQ5N4_NonYngBjpsOjuIt/s640/20191104_123438.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Forced to sell. These girls are on their final trip from Five Mile to Six Mile to be loaded on the big trucks. Selling them will allow us to buy enough hay (along with what we were able to get up) for the rest of them.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwPO9hK5b_xP7pXy65CCGl_Qv0X6l1-DX35Q1LiWiL1Pzym11YZqXPtjpiUG_F7mU-g50NRbfYotDhVuY9ZbJG4brZ0Ql6AwPpXk1Rrq16fpZhYxpUZaDjrvL_G3vXTrxwEVw9sEd1Qbv/s1600/20191106_120615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="1600" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwPO9hK5b_xP7pXy65CCGl_Qv0X6l1-DX35Q1LiWiL1Pzym11YZqXPtjpiUG_F7mU-g50NRbfYotDhVuY9ZbJG4brZ0Ql6AwPpXk1Rrq16fpZhYxpUZaDjrvL_G3vXTrxwEVw9sEd1Qbv/s640/20191106_120615.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Country girls in the big city.</i> </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I missed the best photo when all the cows were looking up at the auctioneers as though a grain bucket was being shaken. So strange and funny, this never happens. Almost like they were saying "make sure you tell potential buyers about...."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Was sure sad to see them go, but I know the majority went to good local ranchers who will benefit from having them. We've already gotten several compliments on how quiet they are. I have to mention....there MAY be one or two in there that are not so quiet. <span style="text-align: center;">"Bye-bye Cleo.....I won't miss </span><u style="text-align: center;">you</u><span style="text-align: center;">!!"</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cheers all,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-71642392569549135052019-10-13T22:49:00.000-07:002019-10-13T22:49:32.884-07:00A couple of video links for you<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PWeloT2j9WQAnCYuYJtco8fVEwvq_lKuiThVIW-cwr-y30vWqGfUQBPXYZfhAuGx_s-3AJh2d05h9w12rcOjBFKPbIitxQARrXPw7166n9ZklxWjGJAxtIB49a66CyC4AoIk0aulYxSP/s1600/20190917_193644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PWeloT2j9WQAnCYuYJtco8fVEwvq_lKuiThVIW-cwr-y30vWqGfUQBPXYZfhAuGx_s-3AJh2d05h9w12rcOjBFKPbIitxQARrXPw7166n9ZklxWjGJAxtIB49a66CyC4AoIk0aulYxSP/s640/20190917_193644.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>So as I mentioned in the last post, we got our nice warm rains in June and then e</b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">arly July brought massive flooding. About the time the irrigation was all coming off, Mother Nature turned on the tap and did a much better job of soaking us than we ever could on purpose. The amount of water was staggering, and slightly terrifying. With every puddle, pond, creek, spring and swamp filled to the max, even a little rainfall over the summer would put us back in to flood mode. (And there was plenty of rain!) </b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We thought 2016 was bad....this year we are not even able to drive a tractor on to more than 50% of our hay land, let alone create a bale. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I'll show you a video..... </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3xoD94EkNQ&t=7s" target="_blank">Anahim Lake Hay Meadows 2019</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>What does this all mean? Buying hay and selling cows. Not really the position one wants to be in when building up a ranch. But it is what it is.....</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCsqy6yY_pavH0EZyx4eXbaVvEPXwulS8SYL3e1yTBm2DY726fuj8bhJub_rp709lo1M5n5Jdc6lgqBQjkpWs6dhxwObmvRBd00YYAiwABcrkcUO_TYWVxd40qXIbWRv9q4YW_zD8KVGB/s1600/20190422_095741_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCsqy6yY_pavH0EZyx4eXbaVvEPXwulS8SYL3e1yTBm2DY726fuj8bhJub_rp709lo1M5n5Jdc6lgqBQjkpWs6dhxwObmvRBd00YYAiwABcrkcUO_TYWVxd40qXIbWRv9q4YW_zD8KVGB/s640/20190422_095741_005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Boys being boys </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKEk-SuDjEOtzPzlXKFps5QLMwp0Ns0CwWPVfHzy_nHMJMqc18wtqQqWoF8CZKqMbPVu_awZmkjX-EvAZjldzRNOMaibrDAScGTTdEgDV00e96LHxBNnRShghOTU69zsnQZ07Fs5STsvQ/s1600/20190906_100051%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKEk-SuDjEOtzPzlXKFps5QLMwp0Ns0CwWPVfHzy_nHMJMqc18wtqQqWoF8CZKqMbPVu_awZmkjX-EvAZjldzRNOMaibrDAScGTTdEgDV00e96LHxBNnRShghOTU69zsnQZ07Fs5STsvQ/s640/20190906_100051%25280%2529.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Ah, but it's not all bad and we have much to be thankful for! Here is another video link to our calves for the season. I make this video every year and it is shown in the auction ring while two loads of our steers are sold. They won't actually be delivered until later in October, when we will sell the heifers and the rest. So sadly, we will also be forced to sell the majority of what we would normally keep as replacements. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>But they look amazing, don't they?! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVw-zu7zMzM" target="_blank">2019 Cattle </a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The big upside to the summer was another great season of trail riding with wonderful guests, repeats and new. Overall, we were quite lucky with the weather in the mountains, although a person didn't want to get too far separated from their raincoat.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6U93XKrmmnAwuM6xvPi7PWHFSVlarGZ9GLDcL2HMqJKtOz8w-linC9d87BCBXO4YOW0VupKIqOaMXaQUVOKhmGybyXaIsRqKcEj16HGf9J5kPF3yCvSOM_nHaUXV0SNhKr90ah5vSsO0/s1600/20190816_103244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6U93XKrmmnAwuM6xvPi7PWHFSVlarGZ9GLDcL2HMqJKtOz8w-linC9d87BCBXO4YOW0VupKIqOaMXaQUVOKhmGybyXaIsRqKcEj16HGf9J5kPF3yCvSOM_nHaUXV0SNhKr90ah5vSsO0/s640/20190816_103244.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We did have a really crazy trip down in to Pan Valley the one day. The weather that morning started out good enough, we didn't even put our rain coats on until about an hour in to the ride. But as we got to the top of Pan Pass, the thunder crashed and boomed and lightning flashed. Like seriously....it could not have picked a worst time. Things got worse before they got better, the britchen on a young horse broke (a piece of equipment that drops over the horses hind end to keep the packs/saddle from going to far forward), and things were about as exciting as you could dread, headed down a narrow shale trail in a thundering rain storm. Everyone held it together, the britchen got a temporary fix with my knotted bandana and we started off again. It's a steep rocky trail to get down and not a lot of fun at the best of times. I would prefer to walk my horse down, as the guests do, but that's pretty much impossible when you are leading three packhorses. Usually I'm riding a colt too, which brings a whole new level of fun. Haha. This time I was riding a seasoned champion, Vicky, who is normally used for packing. I was really happy to have her solid body under me, especially with my dogs both in a near panic and trying to climb up in the saddle with me with all the thunder slamming around us as we skidded down the trail. Anyhow, I started this story out just to mention how incredibly beautiful the ride was, even during the storm. The rain brought out all the most vivid colors, and the sun shone though to bounce the craziest light off the rocks. I really regret not digging out my camera at the time, but I knew that in reality, I really didn't want to take on one more challenge at the moment. Unfortunately, I think everyone else was thinking about the same, so opportunity lost. (But everyone arrived safely and smiling at the bottom (as the rain stopped!) so it was a win overall. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>All for now, </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-36882874629316438182019-09-10T22:12:00.000-07:002019-10-13T22:46:12.280-07:00Photos <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe9cl9SZQcErWgODPqqsRIXumf1Xd0H4XtGAYKm0LuFRLCrLJA4FklqvJzEcwpTqLs_4IAWiXcj4viy9vAh-55aLjM4xCBigdWrhhTy2FAR8M6z71XzQjP-WoUy6mj4n8ysBvaXfjdPsK/s1600/20190430_081921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe9cl9SZQcErWgODPqqsRIXumf1Xd0H4XtGAYKm0LuFRLCrLJA4FklqvJzEcwpTqLs_4IAWiXcj4viy9vAh-55aLjM4xCBigdWrhhTy2FAR8M6z71XzQjP-WoUy6mj4n8ysBvaXfjdPsK/s640/20190430_081921.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Such a great calving season for 2019. Felt like we'd finally caught up after the nasty rains of the 2016 season, which caused us no end of grief. Finally the cows are on a good cycle again (we had a huge percentage of our herd calve out in just too weeks! Lucky the weather cooperated!!) Dry ground (for Anahim Lake!), good help, minimal sickness and healthy momma's producing plenty of milk. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We sure appreciated the difference in calving out all our own cattle, as compared to the year before when we had bought heifers. Good attitudes, lots of maternal instinct, and healthy, correctly sized calves. No complaints! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKIlOFenrZYiq6hK108wL_65lAaxknZf2vCEqe6bDswOZpJQ1lqHr2ydpisE4x3Ix0Dk19cAoH8BY1fUm4Qg_eLhkHkDUymAxuF0ljBL_GwEtmz4Ehe0CjcJ_tjaKxEUz4kskk-Rqa98S/s1600/20190515_180905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKIlOFenrZYiq6hK108wL_65lAaxknZf2vCEqe6bDswOZpJQ1lqHr2ydpisE4x3Ix0Dk19cAoH8BY1fUm4Qg_eLhkHkDUymAxuF0ljBL_GwEtmz4Ehe0CjcJ_tjaKxEUz4kskk-Rqa98S/s640/20190515_180905.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Pocket and her wee filly, just born that morning. Nothing sweeter. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw40zu9dUtrEbwiAZp8ZhRat0xSSnWD1FRqoIK3SAHtzXIsq5Dg83dJRvchLzoyk9Qh_ZewFjaGyY1AfZjYMS8OPlA4OYXs4OPTPNpUaWeDMY6EaZLTtbsBBR6-vzXR2kKniFqjbmWpCE/s1600/20190519_163717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw40zu9dUtrEbwiAZp8ZhRat0xSSnWD1FRqoIK3SAHtzXIsq5Dg83dJRvchLzoyk9Qh_ZewFjaGyY1AfZjYMS8OPlA4OYXs4OPTPNpUaWeDMY6EaZLTtbsBBR6-vzXR2kKniFqjbmWpCE/s640/20190519_163717.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Going through photos to do a blog catch up, and I couldn't resist posting this one. This is the decorating on a CAKE....everything edible and delicious. By Amy of course, the Food Artist. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEn8AF2sgA4nCsG5WFiYBlLeTOg8ZTNtOyrCy7yzCZ0U4BEE95-5WSAuwq-GkjAzL9tB-9desom0h7UvkxUH0qD5dTcyipt4yM7ZKrVd1q-qfT4PCFYOkHkN08adxTNL5qK_ZhIXojhzI/s1600/20190521_202807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEn8AF2sgA4nCsG5WFiYBlLeTOg8ZTNtOyrCy7yzCZ0U4BEE95-5WSAuwq-GkjAzL9tB-9desom0h7UvkxUH0qD5dTcyipt4yM7ZKrVd1q-qfT4PCFYOkHkN08adxTNL5qK_ZhIXojhzI/s640/20190521_202807.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>After quite a dry spring, the rains finally came. A series of massive downpours really flooded us in early July. And the rains kept on a coming.... in fact, they are still coming. That's not meant to be a lake in the distance....that's our hay meadow. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnffOCCiPX1q_yeGlTwJv14dkA-4vOvWI20P6VhfyCOq1m0Z6J_N-aOu2FlK8k9WrBTonm2uwpmdiou_oeqnaofwbEXxXXuJ3SDuJHiJ5VDwvnoYBQmw7Dno1DFQkIMS0GZsQKh6TaVEli/s1600/20190603_133921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnffOCCiPX1q_yeGlTwJv14dkA-4vOvWI20P6VhfyCOq1m0Z6J_N-aOu2FlK8k9WrBTonm2uwpmdiou_oeqnaofwbEXxXXuJ3SDuJHiJ5VDwvnoYBQmw7Dno1DFQkIMS0GZsQKh6TaVEli/s640/20190603_133921.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Beautiful hay crop on the way at Four Mile.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbpMEifgTDtjDLcs6a14WTi7ebS-ziRCJioOM1izg8d3xYnz6XOqXZTJRCkCjFq6vN6c_GUfRoWPhE7Q39OZA1v0SylKJQ2lebKFwTSKovfESjQ1mRHJQVmnEEKWm8apvVJRZfju2PcZr/s1600/20190604_214520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbpMEifgTDtjDLcs6a14WTi7ebS-ziRCJioOM1izg8d3xYnz6XOqXZTJRCkCjFq6vN6c_GUfRoWPhE7Q39OZA1v0SylKJQ2lebKFwTSKovfESjQ1mRHJQVmnEEKWm8apvVJRZfju2PcZr/s640/20190604_214520.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The one thing I have to say....we do get the most amazing sunsets here!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizn3nXp76nrgahqhkq5wPZl6wTx0YXAlZg49ZKlaEzxmOn_kjPCxC8B7_lT5DVMl_7q2r96N6YT5JLBWXxHfCBmPWybnQvZl-CjCBO_ZDYfXSyPF6SHSye_A2VAQv5cKEIs0qrIMfZ6_Dn/s1600/PSX_20190612_070110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizn3nXp76nrgahqhkq5wPZl6wTx0YXAlZg49ZKlaEzxmOn_kjPCxC8B7_lT5DVMl_7q2r96N6YT5JLBWXxHfCBmPWybnQvZl-CjCBO_ZDYfXSyPF6SHSye_A2VAQv5cKEIs0qrIMfZ6_Dn/s640/PSX_20190612_070110.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Photo from our colt starting clinic in early June. This is Howie, a real nice little two year old. He came with us to the mountains for a couple of trips this year and was a rock star. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2x3G76n7mjA30nHL2c0LJc75aOs3bmA23k53lcET1JQJ1t_hDN4wiUS1qNqlfcWPIekJ-CZ1CpWKmYd7Q6ehroO66k6jjIgNVsiHV1EaPQcG391XRuUvlQSrFU7Q-L_42ziWQNnFBYxE/s1600/20190617_134549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2x3G76n7mjA30nHL2c0LJc75aOs3bmA23k53lcET1JQJ1t_hDN4wiUS1qNqlfcWPIekJ-CZ1CpWKmYd7Q6ehroO66k6jjIgNVsiHV1EaPQcG391XRuUvlQSrFU7Q-L_42ziWQNnFBYxE/s640/20190617_134549.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Zip keeps a close eye, as usual. As much as I love and appreciate her, she is a true example of how border collies always need a job and/or to be super active. She never, ever, quits. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDY6TnODrToL6JApgo24nNxWpk7FGAqkBo4T_WyfoUT2GdOvOrPlGTtMOd8ifWxXDSqEyc8L22kJV2SW0qeEPDt5ivcI8NfOfmsHRoRHGV5dq4gESVkha3DUZ7PPMfLESgE95rxNBw4wz/s1600/20190624_141821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDY6TnODrToL6JApgo24nNxWpk7FGAqkBo4T_WyfoUT2GdOvOrPlGTtMOd8ifWxXDSqEyc8L22kJV2SW0qeEPDt5ivcI8NfOfmsHRoRHGV5dq4gESVkha3DUZ7PPMfLESgE95rxNBw4wz/s640/20190624_141821.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Pocket's baby is growing up, plus another new addition.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW2sssp5sVfkbG2Y4ElLXRgxV5RYWNIYCg0uOsQ2LtPftfXkmPzOK-nGjyjUsvj5dCMJGFajp_rdWTh6KxJH6rlhBZ8WvETZiQr26w616FWCb8MG4voeUvMHQIIWQNhhU4hqUlFnNKSwL/s1600/20190624_144907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW2sssp5sVfkbG2Y4ElLXRgxV5RYWNIYCg0uOsQ2LtPftfXkmPzOK-nGjyjUsvj5dCMJGFajp_rdWTh6KxJH6rlhBZ8WvETZiQr26w616FWCb8MG4voeUvMHQIIWQNhhU4hqUlFnNKSwL/s640/20190624_144907.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Kelsey supporting the newly started four year old "Hudson" after getting him to climb aboard a rock. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVdz-oU5DdU5U9SfYNfj1r1oNB_M3kKiOmCqKg9ficn51ITfdiW-6CulAHLdMvNNwv4TEZmGL4a8lGNT4RGrBOfhDeHgmK06-ABWEV1ZrlS8NBu4RMpOljbWoOvN0XrQWh0r_geRMDOc9/s1600/20190626_110104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVdz-oU5DdU5U9SfYNfj1r1oNB_M3kKiOmCqKg9ficn51ITfdiW-6CulAHLdMvNNwv4TEZmGL4a8lGNT4RGrBOfhDeHgmK06-ABWEV1ZrlS8NBu4RMpOljbWoOvN0XrQWh0r_geRMDOc9/s640/20190626_110104.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Taking cows to summer range up the side of the hay meadow. Now, if the damn rain would stop and let things dry out.......</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1yLFEkECVB4hVoBYQW37njGrY91swgl0wK6rWWaGNF6cAnaJQkVRkx89SBdAr2SaFYBqpl8OhhboAGPNqVXG6kXOsLPquXWWySIToUADIDONmYmc7EnTcPBF5qFzER6VtHhCXDAejaka/s1600/FB_IMG_1562652606977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1yLFEkECVB4hVoBYQW37njGrY91swgl0wK6rWWaGNF6cAnaJQkVRkx89SBdAr2SaFYBqpl8OhhboAGPNqVXG6kXOsLPquXWWySIToUADIDONmYmc7EnTcPBF5qFzER6VtHhCXDAejaka/s640/FB_IMG_1562652606977.jpg" width="640" /></a>Rodeo Time! <i>Photo credit to Steven Dubas</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We had another incredibly busy but very successful rodeo this year. All of us organizers felt better about it (we learned some lessons last year!) and it was a good weekend all around. Might even do it again next year.... </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Well, this was a wreck. As you can see, some sick and sad heifers. They have been eating (we think) a shore buttercup, which has caused contact dermatitis (blistering their noses, tongues, throats) and causing photo sensitization in some. Crazy they were eating it at all, with tons of lush green grass around. The offending buttercup is a low growing plant....they almost had to search it out. But did. We've never seen anything like this before, nor had anyone we knew. They were pulled from the pasture and offered the barns and plenty of timber for shade. They all came around eventually but it remains to be seen how the preg check will go. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Summer Range</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cheers all! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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<br />Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-44699438419583546202019-04-15T05:40:00.000-07:002019-04-15T05:40:46.402-07:00On the Front Page<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I haven't left the ranch for weeks, literally. Calving came on hard and fast this year (yay!) and there was time for nothing else. More on that later. Then came a meeting notice (via Facebook) regarding caribou management in BC and I happened to need to renew my drivers license. The calving had slowed so in to Williams Lake I zipped (a mere 3.5 hour drive......) A quick (and always expensive) run around afternoon and then the meeting started at 5:30. It was an interesting meeting, informative and frustrating, and the topic has certainly has generated some heated conversations all through BC. </span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A couple days later, I'm on the front page of the local newspaper and mum and I were both quoted. Yuck, no where I want to be. </span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the resulting letter. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I recently
attended the Caribou Recovery meeting in Williams Lake (along with several
hundred other people), but have found myself quoted and on the front page of
the Tribune. I’m generally a low profile
kind of person and public speaking is not my forte. I’d prefer to tell my own story however,
rather than be quoted without the context maybe being clear. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I first want
to comment about the poor prior notice of both the meeting and intentions of
the meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having two businesses that
we run out of the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park (guide outfitting and trail riding),
having range tenure in the immediate area, being a director of the Anahim Lake
Community Association, member of the Anahim Lake Round Table and secretary of
the Anahim Lake Cattlemens, one might think that a notice of meeting might have
made it my way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no, I found out on
Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with the frantically “shared”
announcement of the meeting were many comments, mainly the general public
panicking about what kind of new restrictions and closures were going to be
announced and what that would mean for both recreation and industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were (and are) spooked and angry, and rightfully
so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Needless to
say the cliché talk at the meeting of “collaboration with local government and
stakeholders” was not well received and there was more than one horse type
snort in the crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the meeting
was better announced on government websites…..oh but never mind….our own Caribou
Chilcotin Park Supervisor didn’t know about the meeting until the Friday before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly there needs to be some more work on
the whole “collaboration and transparency” piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I also want
to clearly point out the wealth of knowledge available from people who have or
currently are living on the land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And
not everyone has Facebook.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realize
the information is ‘anecdotal’, but it is very relevant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The history that has been passed down and
been lived is interesting and important, especially since any official studies
and statistics from this area (and much of Canada) are relatively recent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cannot be stressed enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local knowledge should be sought out, not
brushed by or ignored all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What I write
now is in regard to my own experiences in the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park region as a third
generation rancher, mountain trail riding guide/packer and big game guide
outfitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot speak of other
places where the herds are threatened and I would hope the government will look
at each area individually, and LISTEN to the residents, rather than blanket us
all with new policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When I was a
kid growing up out here, there were 120 plus students in the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were many small holdings in the area,
just big enough to support a family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
everyone, including First Nations people, had a few cows, plenty of horses to
get around and make hay with, trapped through the winter and often guided in
the fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People lived off the land because
there was no choice, and made do with what they had (which often wasn’t
much).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone ate moose meat and
caribou.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there were plenty of
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was usual to see 40 to 60 moose
and that was just in our main hay yard, not even the neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the mountains, we got so used to seeing
hundreds of caribou as we rode through, we’d hardly bother to stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What there wasn’t lots of, was wolves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wolf control program was in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to a trapper or hunter, wolf pelts were
prized and was worth good money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were still wolves around but they were shy and rarely made a presence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So now our
human population is way down, with less than 40 kids in the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although we have our share of ‘feral horses’,
the numbers are actually down from the working herds that once were
common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few people live ‘out in the
bush’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bigger ranches have taken over
the smaller holdings, but the actual cattle numbers are similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is next to no trapping done anymore and
of course the guiding outfitting is essentially gone too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caribou hunting has recently been shut down
all together (although even the experts agree that harvesting the mature bulls
per regulated guidelines makes zero impact to the larger herd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moose are becoming a rarity and many people
having given up hunting all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have fewer snowmobilers than ever before and these days we can ride endlessly
in the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park and area and not see another human or horse
track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Increased human presence is not
one of the local challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What we have
seen is a steady increase in wolf sign, remains of wolf kills and literally
wolves everywhere, including in my back yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the meeting, someone made some very interesting comments about humans
hunting wolves throughout history and thereby helping to control numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As human pressure on them has decreased, so
their numbers have increased, and quickly. They are a very efficient and
effective killer, and are thriving in this new world where they are king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same can be said for the grizzly bear,
but we are not going there this time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So in the
near past, with the wolves under control via a program and human pressure, the moose
and caribou flourished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With no control
program, easier access and little human pressure, the wolves have thrived and
moose and caribou numbers have dropped accordingly and alarmingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sorry folks, but it’s hard not to
understand that math.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m well aware
that there are other underlying issues, some we may not even know about
yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the basic facts ring loud and
true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now don’t
get me wrong in this, trust me, I’m the original bleeding heart, often to the
disgust of my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who else do you
know that nurses coyotes back to health, or relocates baby beavers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even I can figure out that the cold hard
reality means reducing wolf numbers and regulating predators in general.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Because what
other “changes, restrictions or closures” can be done out here, with already a
smaller population and much less individual human activity on the land for both
recreation and living?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly there
is local impact from the pine beetle epidemic and fires. Certainly, logging and
subsequent lack of road closures have made big changes in many areas,
increasing access where there was once none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thoughtful land use planning is essential for multiple reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there is still plenty of excellent
habitat and protected areas here, and our numbers continue to drop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Controlling the
wolf population DOES make a difference for the caribou and moose populations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has been proven by both history and
science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I realize and appreciate
that it is unpopular and may not be the ideal single long term plan, it <u>is</u>
what needs to be followed up on first, while we still have something to
protect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><s><o:p></o:p></s></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">And that is
the point I was trying to get across with my bumbling and mumbling at the
meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> :)</span></span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Terra
Hatch </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So there you have it. My opinion, for what it is worth. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the homefront, we are looking at the tail end (no pun intended...) of our calving season. Overall (knock on wood), it has been a good one. Cows and calves are healthy and happy and we have had good luck in general. I'll get back to you with a story or two in the near future. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best to you all,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Punky </span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span>Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-50938543475975327312019-02-25T22:00:00.000-08:002019-02-25T22:00:29.063-08:00Another Cycle<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes when I'm thinking about writing, I feel like I could just re-post from my first year of blogging. I was pretty dedicated for one thing, and really, the seasons just keep going around. This time in 2015, I was writing about sorting cows for calving, vaccinating and retagging the first time mommas. And you'll never guess....but we are in the midst of it all again. The biggest difference is that we are on "D" names now, instead of "Z" names. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>At the grain troughs.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But not to start off on a sour note! All is well as can be. Mother Nature could certainly do her part and turn up the thermostat (!) but overall we are in good shape. The cows are in excellent health, strong and sassy. The feed has held out well and proven to be of excellent quality (hence a strong and sassy cow herd). We are nearly plowed out around the ranch, barns are prepped and we've got good help lined up. The first and second calvers are sorted and processed and ready to go. Tomorrow we will move the main herd up to Six Mile and start sorting them. Not a quick or easy job there. We will pull off the ones we feel are closest to calving, and keep them at the ranch site. The others will be taken back out to the feed grounds. This process happens at least once a week during our calving season. It's time consuming but well worth it as, for the most part, we are able to have all calves born in a clean dry area, with access to help from us if necessary. </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQuz7tPc2z-acRRUd9vCD2U_I4sskcuyuy15jhiOJfABLQ1ZYaCfsceB8Z7ADhGn6HWuQFvYVzdWZxcZ-WjyfDuzi6PuYTcQwim6XlR2tk6RY2rNO1iOTSUiHCyptWyb5ctW2S2p4Sgs4/s1600/20181228_120446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQuz7tPc2z-acRRUd9vCD2U_I4sskcuyuy15jhiOJfABLQ1ZYaCfsceB8Z7ADhGn6HWuQFvYVzdWZxcZ-WjyfDuzi6PuYTcQwim6XlR2tk6RY2rNO1iOTSUiHCyptWyb5ctW2S2p4Sgs4/s640/20181228_120446.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For now, I'm consciously enjoying each full night of sleep in my own bed. That will all very soon come crashing to a halt as these last few days will be the calm before the storm. </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVpBWXScQWv3y5RSxac1r9SqnCnj15Kr1DueI8dmj6lSxGs_pIOMOY7OvY8XSn80w4xmlIcE-cbswYJtI-GePEMEbUG2nmqSb6WMMMqI8DYAbUxlzdfkS9b0v0S245PObjBJBha3muMbW/s1600/20190217_174849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVpBWXScQWv3y5RSxac1r9SqnCnj15Kr1DueI8dmj6lSxGs_pIOMOY7OvY8XSn80w4xmlIcE-cbswYJtI-GePEMEbUG2nmqSb6WMMMqI8DYAbUxlzdfkS9b0v0S245PObjBJBha3muMbW/s640/20190217_174849.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This is our first wee fella, born much earlier than expected. Luckily mum spotted his momma starting to calve when she was feeding. We snuck her in to the hay yard and waited until she finished the birth and had a few short minutes to clean him off. The wind was howling and it was about -15. I took him back to the house, got him good and warm and fed him some colostrum. Once relatively dry, I snuggled him in the blanket as shown and we rode the snowmobile back down the meadow to his mother. He was super happy to look for some breakfast, but quickly started to freeze up again (temperature was dropping fast), so I wrapped him up and took him back in to the house for the night. The cats were utterly disgusted, especially when he got free of his makeshift pen and walked into the kitchen while we were making breakfast.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All right folks, speaking of my bed....it's time. Never know when the next full nights sleep will happen. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cheers and stay warm!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Punky </span></b></div>
Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-75997667413240043272019-02-09T22:21:00.000-08:002019-02-09T22:21:18.146-08:00There and back again<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Well, the Hatch family has safely returned home. And home sweet home, it is. (Despite the fact that it was -31 last time I checked and still dropping.....)</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I won't go in to all of the details as I do have to get some sleep tonight, but I will touch on a few major points. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We went to Disneyland. That was cool for the kids for sure. Not positive it was ever on my bucket list, but it is now surely off. Perhaps the best part is that it was raining buckets both of the full days we were there. Some may consider that bad luck.....we considered it PERFECT. Because there were virtually no line ups at all and we did all our favorite rides at least twice. We went with Eli's sister and family, and that was also a huge part of the success of the time spend. They have gone several times and know all the 'in's and out's', best rides, places to eat etc. All in all, it was good fun. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Then off to much more my style of holiday. We had rented an airbnb home about 3 hours from Los Angeles. Oh, should I get in to a traffic report about that city? Ugh, no....let's not. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Anyhow, the home we stayed in had plenty of room for everyone (9 for a couple of nights) and we enjoyed cooking for ourselves. The area is absolutely fantastic and literally impossible to describe. I'm pretty sure that only had we landed on the moon, would it have been more opposite from our home. We spend several days in the Joshua Tree Park and I would highly recommend it. The rock formations are incredibly cool and fun to hike around in. The climate wasn't super warm (they were having a 'cold spell'), but it was pleasant enough. As an added bonus, the rains really got the desert blooming. Perfect all around. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Anyhow, for tonight, I'll just add a few photos. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzwWk7Az6Ff35OAVucVonXSeYZvoC-lyj0BQ-9xBpdECUAkYS72LNuVZc7VhtvUouuKjnnJoQDOWSB7UoTl3xLnzcyTO3gcUP1G82KJQ2XmanXha_V2pYr1sT4Bk_jLHML4QOWf2oZFSI/s1600/20190119_122929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzwWk7Az6Ff35OAVucVonXSeYZvoC-lyj0BQ-9xBpdECUAkYS72LNuVZc7VhtvUouuKjnnJoQDOWSB7UoTl3xLnzcyTO3gcUP1G82KJQ2XmanXha_V2pYr1sT4Bk_jLHML4QOWf2oZFSI/s640/20190119_122929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvOcY508D8zNRCez0hyphenhyphenpALQ_Rj9TedU8iXAX8yLKd8j56gEQpdUyqa_ZzrMZFHE6_pOShjTbRw6XrEOC3iQ_djMo6rn9Sd8TmBT7WLBk3DJ2pR99qrk9xgAywVUlLnQNFoBYVYk9Tq9Y6/s1600/IMG_6473.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvOcY508D8zNRCez0hyphenhyphenpALQ_Rj9TedU8iXAX8yLKd8j56gEQpdUyqa_ZzrMZFHE6_pOShjTbRw6XrEOC3iQ_djMo6rn9Sd8TmBT7WLBk3DJ2pR99qrk9xgAywVUlLnQNFoBYVYk9Tq9Y6/s640/IMG_6473.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03HZ_Iix9MRKEIzlNrbs87tr5p2c3b4ObGjnd3SrpIxss-qbmmqiAXRTvKIY4P6lgXIDKXZ7J2hC2B-7uYgQ3V6XQQMC38g11CPxSAIXlK-bifYScwhESTK1uvS8Rl_D_b4yyPoDH_QIF/s1600/20190120_100350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03HZ_Iix9MRKEIzlNrbs87tr5p2c3b4ObGjnd3SrpIxss-qbmmqiAXRTvKIY4P6lgXIDKXZ7J2hC2B-7uYgQ3V6XQQMC38g11CPxSAIXlK-bifYScwhESTK1uvS8Rl_D_b4yyPoDH_QIF/s640/20190120_100350.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>These photos are all from the Joshua Tree Park. Such an incredible place.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HQ4-WDaxj8OWvqVCiWPDZPo2OLJPABzt_ugeJ-5csH2ol1clhckaAqnvelnMe3RSdigRNcuAfKqpMOm3AD1QPy7EPOc7eH_1WqOdfk1VIs06C1svFXEjsiRog7YDSVC3XeQVsvj4hAs_/s1600/20190122_122629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HQ4-WDaxj8OWvqVCiWPDZPo2OLJPABzt_ugeJ-5csH2ol1clhckaAqnvelnMe3RSdigRNcuAfKqpMOm3AD1QPy7EPOc7eH_1WqOdfk1VIs06C1svFXEjsiRog7YDSVC3XeQVsvj4hAs_/s640/20190122_122629.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The desert began to bloom.....</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIblswgIFdosC7P9Q0K2rOJ8StvbDuVcpqbhq15Dphel0NSQ0Uzo4IBxEZvOgkr320cSf-Z8aPCamhIqVl_PjCPHOi_1kTB4W5gtxyz63XZIGl5FsdfvSyMmrsA9D2_3xnbdjYFt2BtO5/s1600/20190122_142444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIblswgIFdosC7P9Q0K2rOJ8StvbDuVcpqbhq15Dphel0NSQ0Uzo4IBxEZvOgkr320cSf-Z8aPCamhIqVl_PjCPHOi_1kTB4W5gtxyz63XZIGl5FsdfvSyMmrsA9D2_3xnbdjYFt2BtO5/s640/20190122_142444.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A truly incredible place, The Painted Canyon</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VXsmCQ6QXAMyENnvRm11Ws9I3hvhrN1vsrCuBSqMYrdqI6Q6Y-NKiA0hLUrGUH8tQeOLkKIdxtnOOgj5ZpsMETQ2v-upmtz-x6YAA47oZ6grAHk2zUZDrEEudWDc5or7nzBUGkuox2VN/s1600/20190122_143916_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VXsmCQ6QXAMyENnvRm11Ws9I3hvhrN1vsrCuBSqMYrdqI6Q6Y-NKiA0hLUrGUH8tQeOLkKIdxtnOOgj5ZpsMETQ2v-upmtz-x6YAA47oZ6grAHk2zUZDrEEudWDc5or7nzBUGkuox2VN/s640/20190122_143916_001.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Ladder Canyon Hike. You literally used ladders to crawl up through the rocks and walk along through narrow paths cut and carved through the centuries by water.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Probably the most unique place I've ever visited.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarM6uvRny4EbdwOPJy23WIV_vflr9v_n_kOvZ1Byqi8xFCacYzr1NvahNZ9G4PRUymjUyZFHMCZzocNAE2c-vXPP2AyF884t0AYyA3sQNxpgf41vXqQu5oAOCj2zeLw6Ups_oYKIjwlWr/s1600/20190122_153615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarM6uvRny4EbdwOPJy23WIV_vflr9v_n_kOvZ1Byqi8xFCacYzr1NvahNZ9G4PRUymjUyZFHMCZzocNAE2c-vXPP2AyF884t0AYyA3sQNxpgf41vXqQu5oAOCj2zeLw6Ups_oYKIjwlWr/s320/20190122_153615.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iGP4ze4Nx6Pk2m_Hi73C2zVSwgdvRNm2SnWm9wnrxMJiA3GR_KyIEY7NrZ7PePScKf_7bZ3aMpJ_ambpAL470O4-VrPjMHvgCw2mSXzrW8lK6ZOPBEMLsGLJSOa1oGa19nBqWJdIC9Am/s1600/20190122_152939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iGP4ze4Nx6Pk2m_Hi73C2zVSwgdvRNm2SnWm9wnrxMJiA3GR_KyIEY7NrZ7PePScKf_7bZ3aMpJ_ambpAL470O4-VrPjMHvgCw2mSXzrW8lK6ZOPBEMLsGLJSOa1oGa19nBqWJdIC9Am/s320/20190122_152939.jpg" width="180" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfUT6zDLEjkKcnxzEqhhaoA8idGjhVTiTUe7V2zjF6wkPj88lMK0SUrucOZYrrHwcTqXm1pybIxfedIiipFoThmp2Bs-V5DsTN63u6CjZbeXJgT_muaKRHTlt7o5z3AzbnqhysUjZQlst/s1600/20190123_134244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfUT6zDLEjkKcnxzEqhhaoA8idGjhVTiTUe7V2zjF6wkPj88lMK0SUrucOZYrrHwcTqXm1pybIxfedIiipFoThmp2Bs-V5DsTN63u6CjZbeXJgT_muaKRHTlt7o5z3AzbnqhysUjZQlst/s640/20190123_134244.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Exploring the Lava Tubes of Pisgah Crater.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNxGCNS8CRYvnhGqzeMSU0UWmwDnLI5rpQED5vh0lV-clfpuwyEFLAcDRhoYOt3us1pZY7MHq0UvvDcaD62X1uYO16HeYIGC68JrxsuqtdD0PJOHvyDftCeYYN2spjADM7SO6tJ_k0Cng/s1600/20190123_134435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNxGCNS8CRYvnhGqzeMSU0UWmwDnLI5rpQED5vh0lV-clfpuwyEFLAcDRhoYOt3us1pZY7MHq0UvvDcaD62X1uYO16HeYIGC68JrxsuqtdD0PJOHvyDftCeYYN2spjADM7SO6tJ_k0Cng/s640/20190123_134435.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We were fortunate to have our good friend Cheryl join us for part of our trip. Do you see a smiling face underneath her? </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QnBghRLWcxxK3nxyyTwIhyphenhyphenAWd_OrpFzMs4DneKC8vZ4xKuNbHpmA35GztGspsnORnX2CMjiOIdKDU7bE-rIX71qLNFHJiPSivbGxJPYyDs5DGoy8eE-7Vqsm58nyl_Ul0K19yYkYPsAV/s1600/20190123_134834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QnBghRLWcxxK3nxyyTwIhyphenhyphenAWd_OrpFzMs4DneKC8vZ4xKuNbHpmA35GztGspsnORnX2CMjiOIdKDU7bE-rIX71qLNFHJiPSivbGxJPYyDs5DGoy8eE-7Vqsm58nyl_Ul0K19yYkYPsAV/s640/20190123_134834.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wild.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi431S1kzOvx1kG5RQBGnN6h87qJiAywtepnrxtuSGL50aEiD-J6C7MJFsRHHsct9innE1z5WqW1ZjGf-1brzE3Df_IbAaNwINgmT32PU9DB63wT-FmfT3a0AJP5Km3m1LH8dQfqAH8C2gR/s1600/20190124_152555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi431S1kzOvx1kG5RQBGnN6h87qJiAywtepnrxtuSGL50aEiD-J6C7MJFsRHHsct9innE1z5WqW1ZjGf-1brzE3Df_IbAaNwINgmT32PU9DB63wT-FmfT3a0AJP5Km3m1LH8dQfqAH8C2gR/s640/20190124_152555.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Another hike in the Joshua Tree Park.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpabn7NWHZzv0iJuKFIQM4D7RiDnXTojLIsF9-8JleymPTAQB9t_c3etiZJetmo6L1aX2lyJldcbjXYlv-6O0kbUq6gyXUywb8frfotFGnOzODxTTj0ug9901aseHtwujOjX5LMqxstTM/s1600/20190119_130027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpabn7NWHZzv0iJuKFIQM4D7RiDnXTojLIsF9-8JleymPTAQB9t_c3etiZJetmo6L1aX2lyJldcbjXYlv-6O0kbUq6gyXUywb8frfotFGnOzODxTTj0ug9901aseHtwujOjX5LMqxstTM/s640/20190119_130027.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The famous Skull Rock.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnieWnS3utwnWLxsicM7SA5QYHcSijHWEBTqh6yvk28PSiXG5aEJfrZjRAAwKIRViThVS0-osOa9g27GQlr1rHa2gHK3fyDSnX7lNaPPAaPD6QFYoeNdsvIBtVe-EzAqR9RxvbqqqcHz0/s1600/PSX_20190124_174402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnieWnS3utwnWLxsicM7SA5QYHcSijHWEBTqh6yvk28PSiXG5aEJfrZjRAAwKIRViThVS0-osOa9g27GQlr1rHa2gHK3fyDSnX7lNaPPAaPD6QFYoeNdsvIBtVe-EzAqR9RxvbqqqcHz0/s640/PSX_20190124_174402.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Love this photo! I had to turn it black and white as it was zoomed in and not clear, but the effect is great. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcFJ6dyRezjrUq6bfpfNjbEUySPu-_wmKrm8iO-x5nJsHA25_vmSXwSP-3BuhAGl3rJhu9zUKIRhVfstKl4s74526LYstHXUJKbiJdeT4SuGzJlmtNoKjJk3eXQ9h56eSjIzpaI7d3Ite/s1600/20190126_122528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcFJ6dyRezjrUq6bfpfNjbEUySPu-_wmKrm8iO-x5nJsHA25_vmSXwSP-3BuhAGl3rJhu9zUKIRhVfstKl4s74526LYstHXUJKbiJdeT4SuGzJlmtNoKjJk3eXQ9h56eSjIzpaI7d3Ite/s640/20190126_122528.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Heading back in to Los Angeles. LOOK at all the freeways we were navigating. When I say 'we', I mean "Eli....."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thankfully the car rental guy took pity on us and gave us a vehicle with a navigation system. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqTNSbxNpBfGiKTZw30lneLcwjOjAUqDqpb_P3sQ2ph8aZLFXLf7JyzO-VQGBOOvW6n-EqZD20N3_Dh4oJLBUDsjR4sfsWyDvhTWeG92Y-17UUq1O0dVI6PDvm7nvi7TWchQAO368AIpb/s1600/20190126_143019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1600" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqTNSbxNpBfGiKTZw30lneLcwjOjAUqDqpb_P3sQ2ph8aZLFXLf7JyzO-VQGBOOvW6n-EqZD20N3_Dh4oJLBUDsjR4sfsWyDvhTWeG92Y-17UUq1O0dVI6PDvm7nvi7TWchQAO368AIpb/s640/20190126_143019.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Visited a huge beach not that far from our hotel. Plenty of people there, but only two Chilcotin boys actually out playing in the waves!! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The air was warm, but the water was dang cold.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So our story turns here a bit. To shorten it up, we managed to get Ben's eye specialist appointment changed to somewhat coincide with the end of our trip. So he and I skipped the last plane and stayed near Vancouver, mostly visiting friends we've met through trail riding. To shorten another long story, the 2nd specialist we saw decided to do the necessary surgery as soon as possible. Great because it meant 'two birds with one stone', but not so cool as we were both starting to really chomp at the bit to get home. But all good. Some more lovely visits to family/friends I wouldn't normally get to visit and I think I'm finally getting the Skytrain, Bus and Ferry system figured out. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>(Sorry to those I didn't touch base with...your turn to get dropped in on next time.....!)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>View from Saturna Island</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I have to say, the people of Vancouver and area were all great, from the bus drivers to the waitresses to the RCMP (one member bought Ben a donut and wished him the best of luck for his surgery), to the nurses etc. Not a cranky face to be found and everyone was super helpful. And of course the Childrens Hospital was amazing, as always. And very humbling. Feeling whiny about a quick day surgery or not being home when you thought you should, gets put in to perspective pretty quick when you are there and seeing what other families are going through. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ben was a champion through the surgery, had an excellent follow up appointment and very nearly a MONTH after leaving the ranch, we happily arrived home again, jiggidy jig. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>It's been an amazing adventure, but I'm quite certain we are now right back where we belong. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgio5uvMpYL9UqWlY8T_sQ-gep7Bx5ECGPzra-38H-wUPe8WUpOgBrCV_mjsiRQW7UxzTxprttPqRE8hYbAlhba1KoNyIQwPc3VuUfqaOUxFcdGx48LyB4WW-IbgEXL893iK1m14nszqs5z/s1600/20190208_142221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgio5uvMpYL9UqWlY8T_sQ-gep7Bx5ECGPzra-38H-wUPe8WUpOgBrCV_mjsiRQW7UxzTxprttPqRE8hYbAlhba1KoNyIQwPc3VuUfqaOUxFcdGx48LyB4WW-IbgEXL893iK1m14nszqs5z/s640/20190208_142221.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Moving horses to 'greener pastures'.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Not gonna lie, it was a chilly ride but I was still grinning from ear to ear (under my scarf!) to be looking between equine ears again.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All the best,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-12851947553368466772019-01-03T22:24:00.000-08:002019-01-03T22:24:49.189-08:00Scenes of Winter <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thought I'd share some winter photos with you guys. Perhaps there is a story somewhere in here too. I never quite know how these posts are going to turn out until I sign off again...... </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPUWT1xOaY0Me9m9Uan90kmSJtzszgcuVzsfRk0yEI4KfKAlcZnWHGmX3YXKcKMzBf5Evi3DXOWxB59_jIuKwBoSkqjeTCB0PP0p0MM7dLJoLRihB-tHEK0kFDHvliPjP1wFKvU61Wvjd/s1600/20181217_154540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPUWT1xOaY0Me9m9Uan90kmSJtzszgcuVzsfRk0yEI4KfKAlcZnWHGmX3YXKcKMzBf5Evi3DXOWxB59_jIuKwBoSkqjeTCB0PP0p0MM7dLJoLRihB-tHEK0kFDHvliPjP1wFKvU61Wvjd/s640/20181217_154540.jpg" width="360" /></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Bringing a few strays home. They haven't been in a hurry for the hay pile this year with so little snow and such good feed still available. As long as a cow can easily get her nose through the snow (not too deep or crusty) and there is lots of feed, they are quite happy. Our swamp areas freeze over and the grass that was a foot or three high lies down under the weight of the snow. The snow and the pushed over grasses protect and insulate and there is usually still plenty of green feed underneath. It is certainly drier this year, but with such a mild winter, the cows have done awesome. Nice to see them have such a good break. Hysterical to see the old bags bucking and galloping like a bunch of yearlings. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> It's days like the above photos shows that I'm very appreciate of the "tent" I got for Christmas last year. It is pretty heavy for constant use, and ungainly to do anything but ride in, but my "Kix 'n Bux" rain slicker is a lifesaver, in the winter in particular, and doubly so when riding in snow covered timber. It is built specifically for riding and covers your entire saddle front to back. It is tough as heck (even I can't wreck it) and is as water proof at the end of the day as at the beginning. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> I sent up a silent but heartfelt 'thanks' to the designer this spring..... It had been pouring rain and I was riding through a nasty, muddy, brushy piece of range (to save another mile to get around it....totally worth it in theory...) Neither my horse nor I saw the massive hole that we suddenly dropped into, hard and fast enough that I'm sure Smooses nose hit the ground. And that's a long way up to start with. She lunged forward to get out of it, and dropped right in to another one. She hesitated for a moment (on her knees) and I frantically assured her we were all good and would she, oh pretty please sweetheart, stay stopped long enough for me to get all the way off because me getting half off and her taking another lunge would catapult me who knows how far, so if she was going to do another lunge, please let me know so I can stay aboard, good girl you're ok, please don't make me walk back, or fling me forward and then lunge on top of me, whoa sweetheart, it's okay, stay down another moment, let me help you, just wait for me..... </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> In the midst of all this reassuring and mumbling, I was attempting to toss myself off the side and land upright without the use of my stirrups and with my large rain jacket not making me any more nimble. (I had kicked my feet out of my stirrups with the second lunge because it is safer to get flung free then hung up. Or get trapped with a leg underneath if she landed on her side.) So as I go over the side of my mare, guess what.......yep, totally hung up on my saddle horn by my jacket. Here is an absolute disaster about to happen.....makes my skin crawl to think of it. Hung up on a saddle horn while the horse lunges, hopefully doesn't fall on you and probably eventually starts bucking or bolts...... geez louise. But now (or shortly after) is when I gave my thanks to the designer. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> There are no zippers. What goes over the saddle horn when you are riding is closed with snaps and velcro, which comes apart easily with a little pressure. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about that feature up until then, but I was sure thankful to see all those snaps pop apart and set me free. And my darling Schmoose stayed nice and still until I was in a safe spot and then she heaved up and we walked right on through as calm as you please. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> Next time I'll ride around. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXOvivZ5IyZOUgHLwWsSiPiGt7OnczG8N4CjNouaxsiKvG-EoafzSHQWAWHEmVRHdsYqZo9lizhEveMQ20texXP6kDTFUdZM4pGtNlBIFDiEaYCnX57ZPzz1UMYnrkJdf7NCiPcV9YHvs/s1600/20181218_141719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXOvivZ5IyZOUgHLwWsSiPiGt7OnczG8N4CjNouaxsiKvG-EoafzSHQWAWHEmVRHdsYqZo9lizhEveMQ20texXP6kDTFUdZM4pGtNlBIFDiEaYCnX57ZPzz1UMYnrkJdf7NCiPcV9YHvs/s640/20181218_141719.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Bringing cows home from the bottom end of the hay meadow at Five Mile. My kind of selfie.... </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkJyPCDbwSXOFgh0NO94JC_pMBSQ79Q0PfHuMPHNyABgw3Xn_Aq5yfMSS_0TDnoVgkgiuhxRUtAgU5xyPc4HxuSRzHEn3Pm2Ave-XxNqRTqXoiupGijX_10-8XyhDdE4yTULgU3lOjTMa/s1600/20181227_125047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkJyPCDbwSXOFgh0NO94JC_pMBSQ79Q0PfHuMPHNyABgw3Xn_Aq5yfMSS_0TDnoVgkgiuhxRUtAgU5xyPc4HxuSRzHEn3Pm2Ave-XxNqRTqXoiupGijX_10-8XyhDdE4yTULgU3lOjTMa/s640/20181227_125047.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ready for their hay bales.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tASjOt9GzLcUHRQxcCp19Qz85E1gTe_VithVEK9006L83Ykc7IivLJe8PJofHEbQ9fCUubgDevQvwqa5zHizAKRo20bbolpz1g_6HVPfZYpT27MgR84JsjzSRsGkfMAjrOzftUt6r7sw/s1600/20181227_133339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tASjOt9GzLcUHRQxcCp19Qz85E1gTe_VithVEK9006L83Ykc7IivLJe8PJofHEbQ9fCUubgDevQvwqa5zHizAKRo20bbolpz1g_6HVPfZYpT27MgR84JsjzSRsGkfMAjrOzftUt6r7sw/s640/20181227_133339.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The dogs and I on a hike, checking on the water situation. All good. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUG9fO9ZM33KzsC8YlVj68WPVBfmLbqDC2FWMwwj2RDTEUtNGTu82ahoPvRYpdD1lX1-AT8JLliqzO4O94ektRlIZUTYe3UWCD4G2eBRx1goV10P6kYy7rt_XvAU_vxTXV2HwiJi1wBgp/s1600/20181228_115933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUG9fO9ZM33KzsC8YlVj68WPVBfmLbqDC2FWMwwj2RDTEUtNGTu82ahoPvRYpdD1lX1-AT8JLliqzO4O94ektRlIZUTYe3UWCD4G2eBRx1goV10P6kYy7rt_XvAU_vxTXV2HwiJi1wBgp/s640/20181228_115933.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Moving the young stock up from Three Circle to Five Mile. I know all this moving around seems confusing, but honestly, we don't cattle drive for the fun of it. :) The cows were in excellent feed in one of our hay meadows at Three Circle all fall. When the snow got a bit deep for them and the feed started to get short, we moved them up to Five Mile to feed until calving season. Although there is plenty of hay at Three Circle, that hay will sit until our calving season gets going. The mommas with their new babies are taken down there to fresh pastures and feed grounds and the hay will disappear quickly enough then! With our properties being so spread out, planning ahead for cattle feed (particularly pastures and hay) is super important. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh59r_cEN9sohioB2TwEV1NiV7G_FAtqmoOt7IdpKO8roMXL-vaPASDhzL_mTgAsHs4Wtrcx0e7EsTxHIIpf9kZZGvSQTnAwRYWzel6kCdmac-kMn-YwSuhjxo9U5ZpbVzMb6Gz-1zFL1/s1600/20181229_140433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh59r_cEN9sohioB2TwEV1NiV7G_FAtqmoOt7IdpKO8roMXL-vaPASDhzL_mTgAsHs4Wtrcx0e7EsTxHIIpf9kZZGvSQTnAwRYWzel6kCdmac-kMn-YwSuhjxo9U5ZpbVzMb6Gz-1zFL1/s640/20181229_140433.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Heading back from feeding. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHfTZIF__nRRpgK4V6-k5CKfHjVrFMaQndru_sJLkdeJrw5xrHi0PWb1b-yxXDM-1XZdY__4fhvDxg-AzEXEYEOn7EoH8hg5A_0HEK7KQKv51ICSBIuPiEjyYHjDD0K9sfqhPyXXGSTDf/s1600/20181230_085754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHfTZIF__nRRpgK4V6-k5CKfHjVrFMaQndru_sJLkdeJrw5xrHi0PWb1b-yxXDM-1XZdY__4fhvDxg-AzEXEYEOn7EoH8hg5A_0HEK7KQKv51ICSBIuPiEjyYHjDD0K9sfqhPyXXGSTDf/s640/20181230_085754.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The "misfits' pen. This little gang are kept separate for the winter. While they are all healthy, they were pulled from the main replacement calf herd because of one reason or another. Mostly just too small/young to do well with the bigger group. You can see a cow we brought in as well, whom I think has a sprained toe. They are grained and offered the best hay and plenty of room and shelter. By spring, they will be together with all the others and plenty strong to wrestle at the grain troughs. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-h7iQav9yF208Coca87oOcSqZAmq80EMy8UzxOsWtz6DI4V7gGPj3CNKgUszrlXO0YpvkTa_F9JT7qzEi0E7xOtSJflTsbymyPKDbEW9GMQ4grIzH2IhYFhMwZuOVvpt6uEBBKOajZ9d2/s1600/20190103_153353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-h7iQav9yF208Coca87oOcSqZAmq80EMy8UzxOsWtz6DI4V7gGPj3CNKgUszrlXO0YpvkTa_F9JT7qzEi0E7xOtSJflTsbymyPKDbEW9GMQ4grIzH2IhYFhMwZuOVvpt6uEBBKOajZ9d2/s640/20190103_153353.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Trailing back from the water hole. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Fqr7nnQLNa52di5FOmQ4DOVnhpYOEL2h5yI01Vu9g7l3dcIl00g-0UjdNwek8RaztA1M5u97wZ-63Jwq22kjMyOfaCH1oTnN-FOC3sGtwm-nI-ieBKCrj5L64Z2klqUXL9j2nIZAznbA/s1600/20181229_135611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Fqr7nnQLNa52di5FOmQ4DOVnhpYOEL2h5yI01Vu9g7l3dcIl00g-0UjdNwek8RaztA1M5u97wZ-63Jwq22kjMyOfaCH1oTnN-FOC3sGtwm-nI-ieBKCrj5L64Z2klqUXL9j2nIZAznbA/s640/20181229_135611.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Boys are delighted to be back at their favorite winter sports....skiing and sledding behind the snowmachine. It's pretty fun to watch actually, I quite enjoy taking them. In this photo it is so windy that they are being blown backwards......</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqxi_bNeOGM_9Eir2exhU9F99ouUl2-DUGGdh08knj9PrMSsf194edJLJ9UslTA7c9Voqmsou-HooRTGBEob_XDTd8bGZxjlyAqQ9dxM7gRb2mXOiQfrPquNVYKXbAmSV2EMz_VPHIlm2/s1600/20190101_142049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqxi_bNeOGM_9Eir2exhU9F99ouUl2-DUGGdh08knj9PrMSsf194edJLJ9UslTA7c9Voqmsou-HooRTGBEob_XDTd8bGZxjlyAqQ9dxM7gRb2mXOiQfrPquNVYKXbAmSV2EMz_VPHIlm2/s640/20190101_142049.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jackson turned 13 on January 1st (13!!) and once again Amy outdid herself with his cake! She is a true food artist.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHU-YLUW4GnKAa2XkCMsgXDLGzx5zP799NTRwmEXvCMyda8Rf1VZJfOoQXY8nw6Oz349AOA9RDP-dnw2j96aT0WhX4okrh_-j5sMFIIwGE9Bmf0CuzErieUcXLalh7wYjTxMKRbNZsFbNE/s1600/20190103_162502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHU-YLUW4GnKAa2XkCMsgXDLGzx5zP799NTRwmEXvCMyda8Rf1VZJfOoQXY8nw6Oz349AOA9RDP-dnw2j96aT0WhX4okrh_-j5sMFIIwGE9Bmf0CuzErieUcXLalh7wYjTxMKRbNZsFbNE/s640/20190103_162502.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>View of Five Mile tonight, after our latest dump of snow. Winter is here.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and all the very best for a </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Healthy 2019!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cheers,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
<br />Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-38116350164168155222018-12-12T00:25:00.001-08:002019-12-06T23:45:45.253-08:00Another Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKZGiNIpHSVEmZPXJlCCSrY6Nk2UQLI_qVEgD-ns2B7jUscH_W8AmpDJ3AyYX4t78yW3uj_JviXpqV66oGDIAEwZKKmCTsAg-5TyKRDpmwT7d0YPo7mmAD5v8PVgcJKAcgSWy-Q0okCN8/s1600/20181207_122423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKZGiNIpHSVEmZPXJlCCSrY6Nk2UQLI_qVEgD-ns2B7jUscH_W8AmpDJ3AyYX4t78yW3uj_JviXpqV66oGDIAEwZKKmCTsAg-5TyKRDpmwT7d0YPo7mmAD5v8PVgcJKAcgSWy-Q0okCN8/s640/20181207_122423.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The girls and I heading out to check on some cows. It was pretty cold that morning so I opted to just ride Tinker bareback. She has the perfect shape for it (round) but you sure have to plan ahead if you get off....no jumping up with all the winter clothing on!</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1OXJ229dqpxN_66JvZjf5xTDZKw-WP85yWbdc4xUt7j17-aHWSAM9fMEKJbi7VpZFGXAagogsTiNTWrc4yWRzYbie45B939vQTW_DpFNDFakbntKdRGnambnxdPvWzR89ZemesgC3nGV/s1600/20181129_150000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1OXJ229dqpxN_66JvZjf5xTDZKw-WP85yWbdc4xUt7j17-aHWSAM9fMEKJbi7VpZFGXAagogsTiNTWrc4yWRzYbie45B939vQTW_DpFNDFakbntKdRGnambnxdPvWzR89ZemesgC3nGV/s640/20181129_150000.jpg" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Heading out exploring the back of beyond at the end of November. And just the lightest dusting of snow on it now. </span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmjfjUXFi6UbaC3uq0sf8N5IaD6eXjHe9JL-9aJ0PHeu83GQCHwtMW4tIDe3HGY0e4SZrb8XYYfgFTjbdOr4tsJiQcMJuU2gFcoYwSfUjZUob4NPcEnKacTT-FMAbNS6MjVc7ZMOlNkXq/s1600/20181127_120251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmjfjUXFi6UbaC3uq0sf8N5IaD6eXjHe9JL-9aJ0PHeu83GQCHwtMW4tIDe3HGY0e4SZrb8XYYfgFTjbdOr4tsJiQcMJuU2gFcoYwSfUjZUob4NPcEnKacTT-FMAbNS6MjVc7ZMOlNkXq/s400/20181127_120251.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>One of my winter projects. This is my new bedroom floor, shown with just half of it stained an awesome grey that let all the red color through. Love it. This is just "good one side" plywood, cut into planks, glued and nailed down. Not meant to be perfect (and isn't....) but I love it. It's sure hard to get a good photo of the finished product, especially since the amount of light makes the colors change dramatically, but you get the general idea. </i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GErb9TiNV3jSsJczwFkyjrGJUK4S7alzWbSwm7QoJWoepagKlut1H61Jo_vdQBBS4FZOKRmslJHs-7Vl-yqfX3aUCJ1QAZ349o2jVY-3bOOxtzGDvqvAWA4HlvqJVrbril8FKPJqJ-bK/s1600/20181129_102204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GErb9TiNV3jSsJczwFkyjrGJUK4S7alzWbSwm7QoJWoepagKlut1H61Jo_vdQBBS4FZOKRmslJHs-7Vl-yqfX3aUCJ1QAZ349o2jVY-3bOOxtzGDvqvAWA4HlvqJVrbril8FKPJqJ-bK/s400/20181129_102204.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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I mentioned a while back that we had a drone, given to us by my brother in law. It's been a fun and useful toy and Jackson generally sits in the drivers seat. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Over the fall, Jackson took quite a bit of video with it, and along with videos I've collected over the years, we put together a bit of a show. It started out being a school project, but to be honest, it became more my work than his. Not that Jackson wasn't involved, but cutting and pasting and making the music all work together takes hours. Unlike most kids his age, Jackson does not love the computer. Which I personally think is not a bad thing. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I was quite hesitant to post it out, and I'm not really even sure why. I was careful not to put any faces in the video (although if you are familiar with our operation, you might recognize one rider.) I feel it portrays ranching in an unrealistically romantic way, and I probably do that enough on the blog already. This is what I wrote to Jacksons teacher after she asked if she could show it to the 7th grade kids she teaches in the city. </b></span></div>
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Mention to your class that the video makes the life of ranching seem very romantic and carefree. But to remember that these are many of the best moments. I don't think to take video (nor would I) when we are dealing with a cow killed by bears, or a calf chewed up by wolves. I don't video when a rancher has a dead calf in his lap that he has spend all night trying to save the life of, or the incredibly helpless feeling when a new sickness arrives at the ranch. I don't take video when it is time to put a horse down that has broken a leg or when the rain won't stop and the pens are up to your knees in mud and we can't get on the fields to put up hay. Ect.... I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but these are truths and not to be forgotten! :) </div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I guess I also feel that someone should be narrating through the process of what we are doing, particularly with the shots with the drone. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The music comes from a trail rider friend of ours. Her partner (who sadly passed away a few years ago) wrote a lot about the Cariboo Chilcotin area and his songs ring so very true. He has several CD's, and they are all good. As one writer correctly says <i>"</i></b></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>His music embodies the authentic and sincere spirit of this land; uncensored and from the heart." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(500daysinthewild. com)</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>There is plenty of interesting footage that should be recorded throughout the year. I'd like to get more of us sorting for example (different animals move very differently). It would be much easier for the uninitiated to follow when we sort calves from cows for example, rather than just separating heifers and steers as you see. Calving of course, but also the haying process, from standing green grass to stacked round bales. Anyhow, another project for the spare time! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Alright, with all that build up, I hope you still enjoy it. In theory, you should be able to just click on the purple link you see below, entitled "Another Year". </b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQEPkYrDvEg" target="_blank">Another Year </a></b></div>
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<b style="color: #073763; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Moving cows down off the end of the hay meadow for fresh feed. They are happy. (Yes, I can tell.....haha)</i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Eli and Kelsey have been busy putting up some much needed and appreciated fence around the ranch. Winter projects like this are so much nicer when you don't have to tromp through snow! </i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The best to you all! </span></b></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-34880312597734811792018-11-15T23:27:00.000-08:002018-11-15T23:27:08.823-08:00Some favorite photos from the summer <span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Hey all!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Well, not much new to report on the ranch. The fall has been nice, but oddly warm and wet. The horses have all had their shoes pulled and are happily out on fall pasture. The foals (just two of them this year) have been weaned and are living with their dad now, close to the ranch. The calves have long quit missing their mommas as well and have settled in to their routines. My kids are super annoyed that the creek isn't frozen enough to skate on yet, but the cows are happy, so all is well. The kids have plenty of time to skate yet.... </b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We are also fair in to homeschooling again, trying to hit it as hard as possible while the going is good. (Which is right up to when calving season hits!) </b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It seems I've been spending more than my fair time on the computer trying to get caught up with all the bits and pieces that get shoved back over the busier seasons. I usually can find plenty of other things to do, but my preferred outside jobs are getting a bit scarce, so not much excuse to not sit in my desk seat. Yuck. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I did come across an email that one of my trail riding friends had sent me, so being easily distracted, I went through her photos and am going to post a few favorites. And then of course I had to go through my own summer ones, so I'll have to share a couple of them as well. </b></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Love this one of Cody and Jackson. </span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQff2lS7Dhl3jgvnRIN5nhdxaWM-RxECa3kOI4WGxJcAn7to-es3s786ShCjMv35VukUjSwFyxj8UxY0qVx79GFiryqmIt29LoGQ1Bhj3odVxllVYPuYuM0dT3YcnsbWjhNdNGwqIxxLHX/s1600/IMG_7258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQff2lS7Dhl3jgvnRIN5nhdxaWM-RxECa3kOI4WGxJcAn7to-es3s786ShCjMv35VukUjSwFyxj8UxY0qVx79GFiryqmIt29LoGQ1Bhj3odVxllVYPuYuM0dT3YcnsbWjhNdNGwqIxxLHX/s640/IMG_7258.JPG" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jackson trying to get some speed built up for Magalie.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iElU1jW6DX1btIy18hDl0PGLK8DA4vPa5jSy6EqUVeY1Ih4yI4A2GpPQOIs91jqypLC5KWPci6yzutpnViKLYvXG25xM6ODY0j5RwS_NmjPx45fsEtn7KMGNURnHvwFNzYNv8lCB69CX/s1600/IMG_7316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="1600" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iElU1jW6DX1btIy18hDl0PGLK8DA4vPa5jSy6EqUVeY1Ih4yI4A2GpPQOIs91jqypLC5KWPci6yzutpnViKLYvXG25xM6ODY0j5RwS_NmjPx45fsEtn7KMGNURnHvwFNzYNv8lCB69CX/s640/IMG_7316.JPG" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bit of smoke, but still beautiful.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH12-5Y7tWRvhBHprY5mjlhu33LfPtX6x_Uh2qhOASVf5v8tZetXQOQPNcZ2g4yvBhlXfTVIEMnQFtO7_5mMPky3hgctvwl-MsFF1pSnpqIGGtAZXeFs8pu_XcEHRKQmTZmXsCu1bGUk91/s1600/IMG_7511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1600" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH12-5Y7tWRvhBHprY5mjlhu33LfPtX6x_Uh2qhOASVf5v8tZetXQOQPNcZ2g4yvBhlXfTVIEMnQFtO7_5mMPky3hgctvwl-MsFF1pSnpqIGGtAZXeFs8pu_XcEHRKQmTZmXsCu1bGUk91/s640/IMG_7511.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wrangler in training.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-z94PSUxfAIsUMYXd2cODtJjqit8Jeb7rlTXmdNzwl2tDS-P-SphzBKLGTcpHRPUSAdjDYgrQcgG8F0H5i_kFRxbw_IsMkAmUfB1dwNNH0D93nzw0vrj8jtyPXt0rHCC1CYjdH_vRY4p/s1600/IMG_7359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-z94PSUxfAIsUMYXd2cODtJjqit8Jeb7rlTXmdNzwl2tDS-P-SphzBKLGTcpHRPUSAdjDYgrQcgG8F0H5i_kFRxbw_IsMkAmUfB1dwNNH0D93nzw0vrj8jtyPXt0rHCC1CYjdH_vRY4p/s640/IMG_7359.JPG" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Plenty of goats to watch over lunch time.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIV_h6Mibh5trQ6CxQ9XMowmrSU8njqzC4tPVu2W2Oz9lnkHjDe5pfS1xvwAGmNy4XG2U7SGxRoqiTobUAD8YAYuiuq3c6FSyTjiF6h3ZI7csUeCN_coLokQvE259lc2ceN2kFFTdkE8f/s1600/IMG_7444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIV_h6Mibh5trQ6CxQ9XMowmrSU8njqzC4tPVu2W2Oz9lnkHjDe5pfS1xvwAGmNy4XG2U7SGxRoqiTobUAD8YAYuiuq3c6FSyTjiF6h3ZI7csUeCN_coLokQvE259lc2ceN2kFFTdkE8f/s640/IMG_7444.JPG" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Meeting of the minds. Tally appears to be napping.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7G4fJ3STm-BJlz7ZlAT4WWQnAMTBEiSSy_aCjSG7hxLeEYYFWlBGIYLoDSF8ETeOdROmGWHAAYbLyILA0yUM8IQR8DKnu0ys-bbMkksi8QHrTykmFdqj28ZYj33jj2UYnxPQqmdLfCgi/s1600/IMG_7530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="967" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7G4fJ3STm-BJlz7ZlAT4WWQnAMTBEiSSy_aCjSG7hxLeEYYFWlBGIYLoDSF8ETeOdROmGWHAAYbLyILA0yUM8IQR8DKnu0ys-bbMkksi8QHrTykmFdqj28ZYj33jj2UYnxPQqmdLfCgi/s640/IMG_7530.JPG" width="386" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All Above Photo Credits to Lisa H. :) </span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9UXwv_dqpOIxaaMfrbvuxCX0VJ1lfeFFb4IFR5eTy7Pfq0L2aH1_usMQfZdcEDQi6M1gctpdMn2MeMk-mUzY6WZj_6K2LSVpijjY-FTxv64jzofhu1959_dMNYpBSzGZmr-ZDUKYx81c/s1600/20180727_114420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9UXwv_dqpOIxaaMfrbvuxCX0VJ1lfeFFb4IFR5eTy7Pfq0L2aH1_usMQfZdcEDQi6M1gctpdMn2MeMk-mUzY6WZj_6K2LSVpijjY-FTxv64jzofhu1959_dMNYpBSzGZmr-ZDUKYx81c/s640/20180727_114420.jpg" width="360" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pipe Organ Mountain </span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQJJBvPiFJeyO7Mjcl462zvHP1TUIDpcRPOKmYu43emAy7x6uFk3bk5fQ3G28ioxm7PMM4uPJ9vDAI57JAAfhkiDaLcvjfh18hKlZtCKqzFdPsMGXrMIX8ed4cCq4Bg1B2f_FiubntSKS/s1600/20180810_053804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQJJBvPiFJeyO7Mjcl462zvHP1TUIDpcRPOKmYu43emAy7x6uFk3bk5fQ3G28ioxm7PMM4uPJ9vDAI57JAAfhkiDaLcvjfh18hKlZtCKqzFdPsMGXrMIX8ed4cCq4Bg1B2f_FiubntSKS/s640/20180810_053804.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Checking on the picket horses at sunrise.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxP5fplgwDTiUopFQifgQiDBRtnWnkdFpyhZvhJvJgUlwjlLMy0Foxr474_4OgKz848fdtXPIQEui6XW99Y6NlSQWvPdhXB3UzSG65WNfjTJ_iC4B-fC5s41pqQ7p5M1vlJhNgPdKPCPWM/s1600/20180721_141906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxP5fplgwDTiUopFQifgQiDBRtnWnkdFpyhZvhJvJgUlwjlLMy0Foxr474_4OgKz848fdtXPIQEui6XW99Y6NlSQWvPdhXB3UzSG65WNfjTJ_iC4B-fC5s41pqQ7p5M1vlJhNgPdKPCPWM/s640/20180721_141906.jpg" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tough day at the office.</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Qf31c-ttjpw92d2Y_5-8mK2kZ_zYaUrbE4hTQL6cppGzG-gtcVTipKmr82s71sWRB2bFsDGcJ7msbcI_7JFTODARsjp9f5nwy-7XEUaXotAE06eo1lC_LyrU1Isf335YWUe8rMuZg4Xs/s1600/20180727_070320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Qf31c-ttjpw92d2Y_5-8mK2kZ_zYaUrbE4hTQL6cppGzG-gtcVTipKmr82s71sWRB2bFsDGcJ7msbcI_7JFTODARsjp9f5nwy-7XEUaXotAE06eo1lC_LyrU1Isf335YWUe8rMuZg4Xs/s640/20180727_070320.jpg" width="640" /></span></i></b></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pan Valley</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>All the best,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b></span>Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-48981649316421169512018-11-02T22:58:00.000-07:002018-11-02T22:58:35.587-07:00Another Cycle Through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRsbR9JVsbDc_56ouQvTpfcTds71Mb0UEYqk-M7ZHn9YT9wFqxJkN-3qo3RJXIAnNxHiA4cZPahCDWF7GBwyqj-GsRSk5rag2Egn-Cd_oyrujZmUFszLfBF9eZt0za1ms89RgqFqZEGPL/s1600/20181021_103324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRsbR9JVsbDc_56ouQvTpfcTds71Mb0UEYqk-M7ZHn9YT9wFqxJkN-3qo3RJXIAnNxHiA4cZPahCDWF7GBwyqj-GsRSk5rag2Egn-Cd_oyrujZmUFszLfBF9eZt0za1ms89RgqFqZEGPL/s640/20181021_103324.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's been a good fall. September was pretty nasty, as many Canadians will testify to, but October has been beautiful. Our fall round up went very well overall and many lovely miles were enjoyed looking for the ever elusive last few bovines. We are still missing a handful, and several of them are probably dead, but a few more will straggle in with the next snow storm. The wolves appear to have been less aggressive than in the past (but we still doctored our share, found several with healed wounds and of course there are the cows and calves that we will never see again.) </b></span><div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>My brother in law gave us his older drone, and we had some fun with it late this fall. It is actually super handy to check all those little nasty spots where cows tend to get hung up and can't get home. We never did find any cows with it, but might have! The flying range is not too far, and of course I'm super nervous about losing it, but so far so good. I just get Jackson to take off and land it....I take over when it's time to find those certain areas. Jackson also took some videos that we are working to compile and if it turns out okay, I'll post it for you to see. Unfortunately the videos of us sorting cattle and loading trucks are jumpy and glitchy, but we will see what we can pull together. I've just discovered how to pull a photo from the videos, so I'll add a couple. </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Moving the some of the herd from Five Mile to Six Mile for sorting and shipping. </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i>We sorting steers from heifers in this photo. The main alleyway is being worked from both ends. Cows had already been sorted off of their calves earlier in the morning and are now in the top left corner. </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Loading steers in to the big trucks. </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Our calves sold fairly well. A person always hopes for better prices, but after ranching though the BSE period, we are happy with what we got! It's always a stress to sell through the yards, and honestly one of my least favorite parts of ranching. There is so much going on and everything is so incredibly busy, with so much on the line. Markets change incredibly quickly and having to book our trucks months earlier, means we take what we get. Selling via the video sale helps a lot, in my opinion. At least not all our eggs are in one basket. Next year we may consider forward contracting, where we will sell them to the 'highest bidder' as early as July or August (but still deliver in October.) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>In the Sale Ring </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We raced home to round up again (they hadn't gone far from the ranch as they are just getting over missing their calves.) We pregnancy checked everyone (or rather, our vet did) and overall did really well. The combined ranches did well.....but the Hatch herd seemed to take most of the hit, despite having lower percentage of the animals. Ah, it's how the cookie crumbles, right? All good. Many of the cows that were open (without calf) or late were quite old anyhow, and in general the herd caught up well after last years painfully long and drawn out season. </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Brady posing in front of our gentle group of heifer calves. These are the 'top end' that we will choose our replacements from. </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Despite being meant to be a tough rancher, I do feel a bit bad for our old girls that have to go. I even coaxed one of our good friends into taking one of my old favorite cows for "one more year". She is actually one of the first calves from the cow Eli and I got for our wedding! "Tea" is pregnant and will calve early but is getting hip shot and just wouldn't be able to handle another winter with the main herd. But 'babied' at Ken's she will do just fine. I promised I would buy the calf back in the fall (fingers crossed for another heifer, we've kept every one out of that line). </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So out the cows go again. They are split into a couple of different herds and moved back to the hay meadows where they will stay until a bit of snow forces them into longer grass (they prefer browsing in the stubble for as long as possible, getting any new shoots). As always, we have plenty of fall forage, however, it is sure more 'burnt out' than usual this year, so the feed value may not be as good as it could be. Anyhow, the cows are over missing their babies and loving the great weather. Sure nice to see them in such great shape and feeling so good. I don't care who you are, or how gruff a face you generally put on.....watching a cow run and buck and kick, just for the fun of it, is hysterically funny and you can't help but grin and shake your head. I'm grinning now just thinking about it. It just looks totally goofy and out of place, and sure shows how good they are feeling. Nice. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The sad part about this whole scene is that it also signals the end of our riding season, or darn close to it. And I don't like that one bit! Of course we will move them to better forage over the fall, or to different meadows to feed out hay over the winter, but that hardly counts compared to our long days in the saddle from May to October. Dang. But.....something to look forward to for next year already I guess. </b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Keep an eye on her, Zip!"</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is what bored cow dogs do in the off season. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Now back at the ranch, we are settling in to fall projects and homeschooling again. We are also planning a trip this year, and it looks like Disneyland is top of the list! I can't say I'm super excited about it, but the kids sure are! Beings as we are down there anyhow (and won't manage to stay in a city for more than a few days, I'm sure) we are thinking of renting a vehicle and doing some touring of California..... does anyone have recommendations? I truly would appreciate any tips. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All the best!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My spooky Halloween guys! </i></span></b></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-32580746177250744292018-10-18T23:11:00.001-07:002018-10-18T23:12:13.573-07:00An Old Memory<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I tell myself most every morning that "tonight, I will catch up with the blog!" Not seeming to get it done, am I?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Well, we are still here and healthy. We are currently busy with the last bits of rounding up, meaning many miles of slugging through areas you wished you weren't. Because all the usual, easy places have been checked and the cattle there already gathered. Cows were running home pretty quick with our nasty September weather, but not so much anymore. October has been beautiful and warm. We ship out our calves on Monday so time is short and no doubt a few smug mummas will bring their calves in with the next snow. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Two liner loads of calves were sold through a video sale in Williams Lake last week. I'll see if I can figure out how to attach the video I did this year. For some reason, the photos seems to turn out blurry. Anyhow, we were happy enough with the price and the calves are looking great, so no complaints there. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>You should be able to clink the link below saying "2018 Calves".</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MKW9H9KRzE&t=2s" target="_blank">2018 Calves </a></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I was cleaning and sorting through my desk recently, and somehow came across a letter that Jackson "wrote"(He would have been about 6 months old.) </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It's fun to read back on and thought I'd share (and then I won't loose it either...)</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><i>Well, hi there everyone. Sorry it has been a long time since the last update, but it is hard to keep mum in the house long enough for me to get onto the computer. She just checks her mail, shuts it off, scoops me up and we are off somewhere else. Sometimes we would both like to be home more, but hey, I guess that is what summer is all about! Something about making hay while the sun shines. So let's see, at the end of June we had a LONG drive in the truck (sitting backwards, all I saw was SKY, which got really old!) and got to Auntie Megan and Uncle Mark's place. I sure had a bunch of fun hanging out with them and my cool cousins. I can see that Levi and I are going to have some good times when I am a bit more mobile! We stayed with Uncle Tom and Aunt Cheryl for a couple of nights, saw Aunt Liz and Uncle Ian and met heaps more cousins. Mum said it kinda made her head spin a bit, keeping everyone straight, but she was really happy to get to know a bit more of the family better. I spent a really special day with my Great Grandma Hatch, Uncle Dennis and Aunt Deb.....we all had great fun and giggles together. I was getting a bit wore out by the time we got to Cardston, but I did get to meet Great Grandma Jackson (she has beautiful jewelry that I just couldn't keep my hand off of), and stay with cousin Cori Dorsey. Even met a great Aunt out of the blue, we didn't even know she was there. All of a sudden a nice lady said "is that the New Year's baby?" Wow.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><i> Grandpa Eric was happy when we got back home and updated him on all our stories. He says he can't believe how fast I'm growing and how much I look like my dad. I don't see it, not a single hair on my chinny chin chin. (If there was, I'd tickle HIS belly with them until HE squealed!) </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><i> Phew, what a trip. Mum took heaps of photos, but unfortunately put them on a disk at Walmart and hasn't found the disk since!! Man, that gal, I tell ya! We are all hoping that it is going to show up. I know how carefully she puts things away and then promptly forgets where. Hopefully......</i></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i> So then, life back at the ranch. Busy as always (I keep her busy enough sorting clothes that I am constantly growing out of!) Dad when right back to work in the fire camp. There was a real scare there for a while (mum even starting packing a bit) but Dad said Mother Nature helped us out, turning the wind and bringing rain. Great gal, I haven't met her yet to thank. Dad worked there for almost a month, but is home haying again now, which makes me and mum happy. </i></b><br />
<i><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Hay season has gotten well started. Grandma and Grandpa stayed at my house for a while, which was pretty neat. I have to admit that I like to show off a bit. Especially to an appreciative audience! </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Grandma</b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> still call me "the boss"....I'm not sure why. I am not bossy, I just get what I want. She said that mum and dad had better have a brother or sister for me before I get too darn spoiled. Can you imagine such a thing? I am feeling pretty safe though. I didn't quite gets mum's reply, but is started off with a very loud and rude sounding snort.</b></i><br />
<i><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Grandpa is still calling me "two tooff", but oh well, I think more will grow and besides, he is strong and willing to hold me up on the table while I show off my smiling and tap dancing. Been spending quite a bit of time with Auntie Sylvia, Kara and Myles too, they </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>sure drive me to giggles! I was hoping that I could get to ride on the tractor with dad a bit, but I don't know if mum will let me, she says it is too loud. </b></span></i><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><i> Mum and Uncle Brett have also been shoeing alot horses, and I have to say, the novelty of that is wearing off. Oh well, they always bring cute young sitters with them to hang out with me, so it isn't really all that bad. Just seems like when I get settled down for a good nap, we have to move again. Irritating. </i></b></span><br />
<i><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> I have been riding my horse quite a bit again. She is very </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>surefooted</b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> and honest and always stands perfectly by a rock or stump so mum and I can get on or off no problem. I saw pictures and I am sure she is the same mare that mum rode when she got married to dad. Mum says that I shouldn't tell how long we are in the saddle sometimes (something about Child Services, I dunno) but I don't know what the problem is. Best sleep I ever get is up there, can't hardly keep my eyes open, and besides it is great fun yelling at cows to make them run, especially when mum is trying to quietly sort. The gals were laughing with me the other day after we had a long cattle drive. We got down for a break and when mum sat me on the ground, I guess I just kept rocking, like I was still riding. Didn't bother me a bit, I had a nice cookie for a snack, and away we went again. Sounds like the big cattle drive is coming up soon. I sure hope the weather stays nice so mum and I can go.....I'll even get to sleep in a tent overnight!</b></i><br />
<i><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Updates on me...well, I am not really crawling, but </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>definitely getting around. Make me chuckle to roll and scoot just out of mum's sight and watch her frantic face until she finds me. Or I roll into something that I can't get away from, and have to yell for her to rescue me. I sit perfectly well too, and can almost run when someone holds my hands. Especially good of course, when I have an audience. I don't love the Jolly Jumper as much as I used to, seems that no matter how frantically I jump, I just never get anywhere! Frustrating. Like my parents, one of my favorite pastimes is eating.....everything! Haven't found a food yet that I don't like, and mum is finally starting to let me eat chunkier stuff. Though I am perfectly capable of putting whatever is in my hand into my mouth, I do prefer to be fed. Same with the bottle. I mean, do I have to do everything? I need all my energy to just keep this family entertained, I figure the least my parents can do is feed me new meals all the time and hold the bottle when I want it. Got 'em pretty well trained, although they need reminding once in a while. Yeah, life is good. </b></span></i><br />
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<i><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Wow, I have sure been </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>jabbering</b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> for a long time (now you know what mum puts up with!) I have really got to get to bed, another big day on the way. </b></i></div>
<b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i>Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy!</i></b><br />
<b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i>Hugs,</i></b><br />
<b style="color: #073763; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i>"Jackson Hatch" </i> </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijytdcVMSrdAFxTqN-jET6DHP0vEPHbHEuH5SEzGH4FRv1AzUjC1amDJLAtgnTrOXXDgbu68-JSrdGlQ9pSgIwEGxmv1nUOo1A2A6_tfAldKu-1ukO8xYV_VbDGXNx49InALWIQRzV7B9V/s1600/Jackson+and+mom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijytdcVMSrdAFxTqN-jET6DHP0vEPHbHEuH5SEzGH4FRv1AzUjC1amDJLAtgnTrOXXDgbu68-JSrdGlQ9pSgIwEGxmv1nUOo1A2A6_tfAldKu-1ukO8xYV_VbDGXNx49InALWIQRzV7B9V/s640/Jackson+and+mom.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: #073763;"><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Not the photo I was aiming for, but good enough for tonight. I'm pretty sure this was when we rode to the mountains caribou hunting (Jackson would have been almost 2). I am riding an Aussie saddle with a blanket rolled up and tied for Jackson to sit on. He is well strapped to my chest and it looks like we have plenty of snacks and extra clothing (some things never change....) And of course I am riding the ever steady Rea (now Ben's horse).</i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>In more current news, Jackson is very nearly as tall as I am. (Not that anyone has ever given me 5 stars for height....my legs barely reach the ground!) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Ben and Jackson as we ride up to the Cabin to spend the night and then help Eli take down the caribou hunting camp. Ben is riding Sorbay (whom he renamed "Sorebutt".....) and Jackson on Schmoose with trusty Rawsy giving some love. </i></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Leaves are all gone, but the October weather has been beautiful. And, as you can see, we are not short of fall feed! </i></span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Picking through the stubble at Five Mile, Itcha's in the background. </i></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Not a super photo, but this is the 5 year old paint mare I wrote about earlier this spring. I think I put up a photo of Cody riding her. She packed like a champion all summer and now I am putting a bunch of riding miles on her in a short period of time. She is handling it easily. It's nice to have a 'local' horse...let me tell you, neither mud nor nasty windfalls bother her one bit. </b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>For her second outside ride the other day, I took her into one of the nastiest areas I know. I realize that might not of been the smartest decision to make when by myself, but I'd already worn out Shmoose in the morning retrieving a far away little group of cattle. And well, she was absolutely perfect so it's all good. We left the ranch at about 1:30 and got back about an hour after dark....8ish? We were both soaked and covered in mud and half frozen, but we had 15 head found and back to the ranch. Now I can say she "has lots of miles" instead of "has had 4 rides..." </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>(I do pack a radio and call in occasionally, especially in this type of situation.) </b></i></span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Best to you all! </span></b><br />
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-29285075690309294202018-09-26T22:26:00.000-07:002018-09-26T22:29:06.966-07:00Reposting the Bear Story <span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Greetings all! I hope that September was nicer to you than it has been to us, although if you live in Western Canada, I doubt it. But it's all good. Mother Nature decided to wait until the last bales were rolled up (on our ranch at least) before giving us a taste of winter. Nothing too serious, just chilly and snowy/wet. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It's been worse. And with the fall leaves still on the trees and brush, there were some neat views. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I was just chatting about predator issues the other day and commented that we rarely actually 'see' wolves. Plenty of tracks mind you, ripped up animals and the occasional carcass, but rarely an actual wolf. They are too smart and too shy. (Did I mention I don't have any sheep left at all? But the wolves were well fed for a very short time. Dang them, I liked those sheep!)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The day I took the snowy photo above, I did actually see a wolf. I was certainly noticing all the tracks, both older and very fresh, and looked up to see a dark body through the timber, just for a brief flash. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Anyhow, this all reminded me of summer conversations, during which I had promised to repost a bear story and then the photos. Clicking on the blue links below should take you to those posts if you choose. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://mountainsbeyondthecows.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-bear-story.html" target="_blank">The Bear Story </a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And so there you have it. I wrote and posted those in June of 2015. There have been other incidents very similar. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Not what you like to wake up to in September! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>In less gruesome news, the boys and I are back homeschooling. I've set up with a new online program that I am pretty excited about. Maybe I'm just getting used to it, but it feels like we are finding our rhythm already and plowing forward pretty steady. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Do you see him? Flashy!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We are working fairly steady to move the cows all on to fall range, and pulling the bulls off as we go. There have been a few cold wet days for sure, but still not complaining! (about that at least.) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Kelsey riding Nelly. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Chilly up in them there mountains eh?! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cheers for now,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-19441717544398984042018-09-11T22:53:00.000-07:002018-09-11T22:53:55.928-07:00Tribute to Mickey Dorsey, by Paul St Pierre <b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Credit to keeping this article on my grandmother to Rob Phillips. I enjoyed going though some of the papers and articles Rob has kept over the years, and plan to head back this winter to help organize and display/store so they can be enjoyed for years to come. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Paul St Pierre was a family friend of ours and a truly entertaining writer. He has written a multitude of books and stories, and many of them are about the characters from the Cariboo and Chilcotin. This article was probably from the Vancouver Sun, which he also worked for. Paul also owned a small home in Mexico, in the same town as my father in law has a place and that we have visited several times. On our first visit down there, Paul was at his Mexican home, which turned out to be literally down around the corner from where we were. I called him up, even though he would have only known me as a small child. He knew exactly who I was with very little explanation and his first statement was "Huh, a Dorsey in Mexico! Who would have thought!" We had a very entertaining visit. </span></b><br />
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photo Credit to Jim Swift </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Taken at one of the ranches owned by Mickey and Lester. </span></i></div>
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<u><span style="color: #073763;">Tribute to Mickey Dorsey</span></u><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;"><b>Anahim pioneer was a great woman</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">by Paul St Pierre </span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;">They are burying Mickey Dorsey at Anahim Lake today, and, with her, some of the vital warmth and humor of the Chilcotin country. She was a great woman, great enough to never know or care how great she was. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She was also a pioneer. There aren't many parts of Canada left where you can die a pioneer at 71. Most of the nation is too long and comfortably settled. But the Chilcotin remained frontier land into the middle of this century and she was there, on the last frontier of ranch country, one of that rare and special breed, a ranch wife. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">There are any number of people now who talk a lot about the wilderness, people who will do anything for it but try to live in it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">Mickey's knowledge was a different sort. It was first hand. She cheerfully worked, she faced hardship and responsibility and, at times, danger. The mere act of survival counted for a lot among the people who settled Anahim Lake during the 20s and 30s but she did better, she did it with style. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">As typical a story about her as any is the one which involves a handful of small children, a goat and a cougar. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">Throughout her working career she was, from time to time, a school teacher. On one occasion she was teaching at a tiny school on the west bank of the Fraser opposite Soda Creek. The children had a goat which they lavished affection unusual for a goat. One day a cougar came to call on the goat and the children demanded that Mickey chase it away. "The children were in front of the goat and I got in front of the children and stood there looking at the cougar. I told the children they were all to go away. They were to run to the ranch house and tell somebody to come down with a gun. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">"For the longest time they wouldn't go. They were afraid the cougar would get the goat while they were gone. They weren't so much worried about the cougar getting me but they were fearfully concerned about their goat. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">"Eventually they did go. I kept standing there, absolutely petrified with fear. The cougar kept looking at me. Then somebody came down with a gun and shot it and that was that. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">"But you know, after they killed it, I was ashamed of myself. It was such a scrawny little cougar, half starved. It wasn't worth being afraid of. But to me it had looked immense." </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She could never take herself too seriously. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She was born February 3, 1911, Hanna Clarissa Tuck, in Sidney, Nova Scotia. Her father was John Tuck, a shipbuilder, who came to Vancouver to build ships during the First World War. In 1922 John Tuck retired and moved to Bella Coola. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">Mickey, educated there and at the larger community of Ocean Falls, became a school teacher. At age 23, when she was tutoring the Christensen children at Clesspocket Ranch in Anahim Lake, she met and married Lester Dorsey, a character as strong as her own, although differently. Lester is now 78 and although lightly reined in by heart trouble remains an adventurous mountain man. He has been a packer, a guide, a cowboy, a rancher and, ever, a raconteur of rare wit and charm. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">He is a man of almost incredible fortitude. However, for all his multitude of talents as a frontiersman, it may fairly be said of Lester that when it came to making a fortune he could never find the time to spot the trick of it. Mickey had to be a cowboy and a rancher too, all in a land beyond the reach of electricity, telephone or , as often as not, road. In the 30s about all that could be said of the economic development of Anahim Lake was that the ranchers were making it just a trifle less empty than it had been a decade before. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She raised five sons and a daughter, educating them most of the time by correspondence school conducted in the kitchen of her home. She had to learn about horses, Herefords, wolves, bears and bitter, lonely winters. Because Lester usually lost interest in a ranch once a road reached it, they moved to new ground more than once in the Anahim country, starting each time on raw pastures to build a log home, log fences, log corrals and all the other things made by axework which go into a ranch.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She herself would say "There is no such thing as a ranch in this country until at least one generation's work has gone into it." So she had no illusions that they, with their frequent moves, might expect some day to look out at lush tame hay meadows from a comfortably home furnished with all the appliances that the rest of Canada was taking for granted. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">That never daunted her. To Mickey, the troubles of this life were just salt and pepper. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">There must have been some bad moments. But when she reminisced, it was always with the light touch. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">"When I was a bride, and greener than the grass, the only thing I had to cook on was one of those folding tin stoves. I despised the thing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">"That summer Lester and I and Pan Phillips rode up into the Itchas and when we made camp that first night Pan, very proudly, lifted the folding stove off a pack horse and presented it to me. It was too much, and I broke into tears. Neither of them had the faintest idea what I was bawling about, of course."</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">Occasionally, while her family was growing, Mickey took teaching assignments in various parts of the Chilcotin, one year in Tatla Lake, another at Bald Mountain, another at Rose lake. When her family was grown and gone, she resumed teaching as an occupation and served a decade at Crescent Heights School at Williams Lake, returning to the ranch during the summer and at holidays. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She had an immense curiosity about almost everything in the world and a vast enthusiasm for almost everything she did. Accordingly, she was a great teacher. At the same time that Chilcotin oldtimes remember her this week in one way, there are a lot of young people in the Cariboo who have a fire in their soul today that this woman lit. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">She never managed to pursue all her enthusiasms. For one thing, there were too many for one lifetime. For another, work and family had their own demands on her time and interest. But she managed to canoe the Blackwater, she managed to see the sub-Artic and the Mexican desert, and was planning, although a little too late, to see the Orient. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">At the last she had cancer and much pain but the spark of humor was never extinguished to her last day. </span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;">Now she is gone, but you may be sure that for this woman, as for the Pilgrim of Pilgrim's Progress, all the trumpets sounded for her as she crossed over the to the Other Side. </span><br />
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-74478259059117375522018-08-31T07:16:00.001-07:002018-08-31T07:16:18.746-07:00Here's yer sign<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I got an email this morning that asked if I still wanted to be part of Mountains Beyond the Cows. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I signed up for the notification of new postings. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So.... </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No apologies, life is what it is. I haven't posted for almost 2 months now, but have not forgotten. And the occasional posts/emails/snarls from friends/family/friends I haven't met/others, do produce results. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, to try and somewhat catch up, I'm going to do a photo journey for you. </span></b><br />
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<b style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 7th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photo credit to Lorna Jimmie </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a community, we had an amazing rodeo weekend. Contestants were delighted with the new events added and prize money available. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally, I'm always happy when Monday rolls around after rodeo weekend, but with our new events and format, it was quite possibly the most exhausting weekend ever. Worked out well and the spectators were happy, but next year.......... more delegating is a huge priority. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IqUN19MVCPU7XwqJYr3Mgkyq5Rze4IRmrVnWcc6FOiLRmJZKPPX7cCvrU_ky1BPu2FPia85jZDCadATnlF-g6j08pSsYFWTGgtdXmVbqz3Cg466VvJ5D0n_bueUEYUbRYHJlZ1M55hlB/s1600/20180708_204940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IqUN19MVCPU7XwqJYr3Mgkyq5Rze4IRmrVnWcc6FOiLRmJZKPPX7cCvrU_ky1BPu2FPia85jZDCadATnlF-g6j08pSsYFWTGgtdXmVbqz3Cg466VvJ5D0n_bueUEYUbRYHJlZ1M55hlB/s640/20180708_204940.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 8th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">View from my kitchen window</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrkpXREytKNkQD7FcIEGV7Y7tzB8RMTpgy-ZqyShBa05HcAfu8o95H7m6twPxf_KZYsgNON7lO7sFRyERnbAWvxERzdESMA2FSgiJmmOddr0vK1HZP3sWgmMXVLVPCGM6EYh_8m52Bmtn/s1600/20180709_214033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrkpXREytKNkQD7FcIEGV7Y7tzB8RMTpgy-ZqyShBa05HcAfu8o95H7m6twPxf_KZYsgNON7lO7sFRyERnbAWvxERzdESMA2FSgiJmmOddr0vK1HZP3sWgmMXVLVPCGM6EYh_8m52Bmtn/s640/20180709_214033.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 9th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hZsKPrymwD8VJoWopQIWFFzJkVLh5P1fAzy-YPF1j_Ca9EyKTRcvZxN094Ow3OqdmhJdVwziGmPkKSZ8N2hbfr6eLcj4HmKu2d20vb7zxWV9x7f7kgajOMHp3d6xbTtW-GeKJKrtyT3y/s1600/20180710_141919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hZsKPrymwD8VJoWopQIWFFzJkVLh5P1fAzy-YPF1j_Ca9EyKTRcvZxN094Ow3OqdmhJdVwziGmPkKSZ8N2hbfr6eLcj4HmKu2d20vb7zxWV9x7f7kgajOMHp3d6xbTtW-GeKJKrtyT3y/s640/20180710_141919.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 10th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3gZLO6vbdf56OdFluKA9BCOx8KshuqMYYHdz4au9zIOrxsSOd6HNoTFGpFoOcunBoBODFtiY-rb6VABmcdGMiDUZ0wid2okNGJ5YGjMTia_6Fkq08E2z8_NetY8ziGIaEAVg00Z98klV/s1600/20180711_135354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3gZLO6vbdf56OdFluKA9BCOx8KshuqMYYHdz4au9zIOrxsSOd6HNoTFGpFoOcunBoBODFtiY-rb6VABmcdGMiDUZ0wid2okNGJ5YGjMTia_6Fkq08E2z8_NetY8ziGIaEAVg00Z98klV/s640/20180711_135354.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 11th </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tired boy, tired dog...</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioW8-CJXTyOGp1qxjWN7C88SZk1l6ljkkG2T0nDMAascvoxM5MRd4gtVr8zGHn18BI9aZt-XVwF0lOM9UOjkhp4v5fEly4zEmpoD4wEJapPvaMFFqqFOtBKSZvh1a07TuT7jkvvdrpmXa0/s1600/20180712_085756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioW8-CJXTyOGp1qxjWN7C88SZk1l6ljkkG2T0nDMAascvoxM5MRd4gtVr8zGHn18BI9aZt-XVwF0lOM9UOjkhp4v5fEly4zEmpoD4wEJapPvaMFFqqFOtBKSZvh1a07TuT7jkvvdrpmXa0/s640/20180712_085756.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 12</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cows on summer range</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHppwkRUtCTrYxfROxO7bnP4TZKLf1bJFw9oeBdxNU2qp3632ViwBUbIoxDa3iRPJfUgwDqPSkIEFd0Y9Nh9LjYo_mQazTjyfeJEkxjzakZ5s-QVW_-MiJw-pkAUUz9hPSXCiIlwFBpym/s1600/20180718_144203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHppwkRUtCTrYxfROxO7bnP4TZKLf1bJFw9oeBdxNU2qp3632ViwBUbIoxDa3iRPJfUgwDqPSkIEFd0Y9Nh9LjYo_mQazTjyfeJEkxjzakZ5s-QVW_-MiJw-pkAUUz9hPSXCiIlwFBpym/s640/20180718_144203.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 18th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04zTOsoXux3i30jcHnWc_ofbZ0xMnIUYgINJWl9sJTOgtsTuYxZoJfjBbIzf2KPz2I_4OtMCeYthUt2A-7IQfTpioJ-u-aeiU23ZZcQn_jgrrsW9msqReWYNY01Xev84_6KKXuc4xx9Pq/s1600/20180719_123133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04zTOsoXux3i30jcHnWc_ofbZ0xMnIUYgINJWl9sJTOgtsTuYxZoJfjBbIzf2KPz2I_4OtMCeYthUt2A-7IQfTpioJ-u-aeiU23ZZcQn_jgrrsW9msqReWYNY01Xev84_6KKXuc4xx9Pq/s640/20180719_123133.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">JULY 19th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lunch Lake </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_N_KPYNVqzBY_43_d9i_7vzQx15FGw_GlOAIEZDg1jqVxmltcEzSdXcxweUL-a1VJTiqjs_Q3u3dtaFnPRS3rxCfk0MmvBjkihmcKavCBINqlCqm-qBzIDnf9iJ7UP9Tn3PRC_CCzQmG/s1600/20180721_082301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_N_KPYNVqzBY_43_d9i_7vzQx15FGw_GlOAIEZDg1jqVxmltcEzSdXcxweUL-a1VJTiqjs_Q3u3dtaFnPRS3rxCfk0MmvBjkihmcKavCBINqlCqm-qBzIDnf9iJ7UP9Tn3PRC_CCzQmG/s640/20180721_082301.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 21st </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coming in through the fog.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIzWSG9hOEk_Kqus6rQBbOrBrDXoe7Xjhhyphenhyphen_rCz5_6jQYzmy2YHTN45e88MzL2xdfZEsTguj1eUkhp8Yu0F0XFXCRa7q-SVZBIg-8yn5ldGSw4S1EwMXrGCiKwUn-fptwpqvd7vTuKV1s/s1600/20180722_110901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIzWSG9hOEk_Kqus6rQBbOrBrDXoe7Xjhhyphenhyphen_rCz5_6jQYzmy2YHTN45e88MzL2xdfZEsTguj1eUkhp8Yu0F0XFXCRa7q-SVZBIg-8yn5ldGSw4S1EwMXrGCiKwUn-fptwpqvd7vTuKV1s/s640/20180722_110901.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 22nd </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzysNHHUN1T3jhe3ucGhGBaKC4JnfJs8oLGAA4RKBsNIGsqD1kX4mSJK1alV6TKAx4yuqbOO7n48Yu_uaX8TBVXeeqROdAGOytvkrqOzlQ3dCINGPGFAwJGuJQrDUTRPYd2Q2Nl4U2abD/s1600/20180724_193116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzysNHHUN1T3jhe3ucGhGBaKC4JnfJs8oLGAA4RKBsNIGsqD1kX4mSJK1alV6TKAx4yuqbOO7n48Yu_uaX8TBVXeeqROdAGOytvkrqOzlQ3dCINGPGFAwJGuJQrDUTRPYd2Q2Nl4U2abD/s640/20180724_193116.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 24th </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a photo of a photo. During our 16 day mountain ride we go right over the Itcha Mountains to the Pan Phillips Fishing Resort for some much appreciated R & R. Rob and Linda were outstanding hosts, as usual. This time was a bit special as Rob brought out his collection of photos and newspaper clippings. I hope to get back in there this winter to help them organize and preserve what has painstakingly been collected. The photo shown is Rob's father (Pan Phillips on the bay horse in front) and Barry Remple (brother in law) heeling the moose. The back story is that the moose had actually been caught in a steel trap meant for a fur bearing critter and probably would have died if not for the men taking the time to capture and free the animal. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDMtBreX8P5DPdB4jT1TG13M8PFX2vCUeNNjKFCZ4vBLJJxXtpK2cczPhP4KNaQC26mqbBe3nMqzNtFizQAdDpMZ7FOpRrkiZUyyDOkEdrSIpnCsk05FYJzo_7JeV-Ki0Dmv3D3bQx0tJ/s1600/20180726_200057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDMtBreX8P5DPdB4jT1TG13M8PFX2vCUeNNjKFCZ4vBLJJxXtpK2cczPhP4KNaQC26mqbBe3nMqzNtFizQAdDpMZ7FOpRrkiZUyyDOkEdrSIpnCsk05FYJzo_7JeV-Ki0Dmv3D3bQx0tJ/s640/20180726_200057.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 26th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cody and Vickie arguing over who gets the dinner plate (he won this time). </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIBUWp9e1n6KFog0ab5XCV3oqBOaz9yBcqEjwximuFfEKSubnwF7A9VyExXSfRp6fR4B1e4yRjkohu-8hsx34quBl6I3va-KB5oqhr3MQAX2T9I9WXmqvTC9bH-RWMOSKJ7eoXMwSdB9q/s1600/20180727_113107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIBUWp9e1n6KFog0ab5XCV3oqBOaz9yBcqEjwximuFfEKSubnwF7A9VyExXSfRp6fR4B1e4yRjkohu-8hsx34quBl6I3va-KB5oqhr3MQAX2T9I9WXmqvTC9bH-RWMOSKJ7eoXMwSdB9q/s640/20180727_113107.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 27th </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Riding past Pipe Organ Moutain</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6xCeyJdfPHA6Ccppi-yyJfRyIDeUYHD9uASbZZIZxaPEccIR7Igy7dTMScn4RLLDVYfdFUm5TC-w-EkbMCPbPOUl-3WsbHqxhqLRYZvVD9Tqux3p2op7Jrm2PqD6a_dvZTnMHiJlMPUb/s1600/20180728_114550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6xCeyJdfPHA6Ccppi-yyJfRyIDeUYHD9uASbZZIZxaPEccIR7Igy7dTMScn4RLLDVYfdFUm5TC-w-EkbMCPbPOUl-3WsbHqxhqLRYZvVD9Tqux3p2op7Jrm2PqD6a_dvZTnMHiJlMPUb/s640/20180728_114550.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 28th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Climbing over the pass from Pan Valley. "Smile Magalie, you could be famous......." :)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXHhhtCJS6NlP7ajzxxbTGZVeGCg7dzPSk7IwqLHwhl59cxdu5sEaUVclVcpDIUFv8xNsXjmRSVwSaCan80wwrG3ge3asAHJPYOqjGQQQWOnPShbq-mm96iT2lrHDNl4rwmeQ7rBKNgAu/s1600/20180729_144630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXHhhtCJS6NlP7ajzxxbTGZVeGCg7dzPSk7IwqLHwhl59cxdu5sEaUVclVcpDIUFv8xNsXjmRSVwSaCan80wwrG3ge3asAHJPYOqjGQQQWOnPShbq-mm96iT2lrHDNl4rwmeQ7rBKNgAu/s640/20180729_144630.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 29th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Peaches testing out the contents of Liz's bottle. Delicious..... </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLqVSdPMApKSjBg0BBlA9fq2no9-ZvYj-7D7gPgWvxk3ZDRy0Y0W5txi7-4WCzsi37nodbyYI_tcue36kTyCCCEw4oaf4JPz3Lf5kUZlDDO9f3dXOmUnQi6gR62vYjf70Dje0geZIXhi5/s1600/20180730_185959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLqVSdPMApKSjBg0BBlA9fq2no9-ZvYj-7D7gPgWvxk3ZDRy0Y0W5txi7-4WCzsi37nodbyYI_tcue36kTyCCCEw4oaf4JPz3Lf5kUZlDDO9f3dXOmUnQi6gR62vYjf70Dje0geZIXhi5/s640/20180730_185959.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 30th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corkscrew Island Camp</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">July 31st</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Horses having a much needed break. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqYekB0PhcupAmGUq6ULCFHDzOb7nPXi-B_c3pXPtnvAMN9QUz6E65kM5GXhYNGZzjSIaAOzhblDkVvqEe6R-S-IipjZLtyIvw2tesfBzsS2vvbSHwA_NkqrpJlvx01y-JY61IdMX0jCE/s1600/20180803_190659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqYekB0PhcupAmGUq6ULCFHDzOb7nPXi-B_c3pXPtnvAMN9QUz6E65kM5GXhYNGZzjSIaAOzhblDkVvqEe6R-S-IipjZLtyIvw2tesfBzsS2vvbSHwA_NkqrpJlvx01y-JY61IdMX0jCE/s640/20180803_190659.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aug 3rd</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A young friend that helped me out a lot this summer.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-KfTn0cnc5QJYCnhCFij-YidFZ2soOHoBPqnAJCtyAMoYabcXskPIiRbaUELIYR3IuS530Gi1XVpY6mhovZLnAhO3Wqp6M_SHvP66UkNHtkCyOViHX4Vq5YFHBla_qK1Cj1UEbqAUzNQ/s1600/20180805_114456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-KfTn0cnc5QJYCnhCFij-YidFZ2soOHoBPqnAJCtyAMoYabcXskPIiRbaUELIYR3IuS530Gi1XVpY6mhovZLnAhO3Wqp6M_SHvP66UkNHtkCyOViHX4Vq5YFHBla_qK1Cj1UEbqAUzNQ/s640/20180805_114456.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aug 5th </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Summer Range</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF1_y1LcqJKARKVG_kz-aMaWcTCRypp-mPw77DCAdafXlTKFRPsYHAo92fyk82QcX483xgFf3aLxWPJJwDzVtspJ9tNNqJT_YIvadxL0-DWlJ55tZB3e1O8zW9FGk3V79WoCkOn06oUiC/s1600/20180806_121632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF1_y1LcqJKARKVG_kz-aMaWcTCRypp-mPw77DCAdafXlTKFRPsYHAo92fyk82QcX483xgFf3aLxWPJJwDzVtspJ9tNNqJT_YIvadxL0-DWlJ55tZB3e1O8zW9FGk3V79WoCkOn06oUiC/s640/20180806_121632.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aug 6th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Try it, you own't regret it. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFLZtYMhP5D83Pc2acUi517Ic-01WdQBfym04rDxlpAKNV5qJPYGxefRD1oCK46N57nywbzyPKtaLpN0tia3G0zZhRynEXdUO1xVn0h3QHCK6hG0iJSiRk8CVrR8QOMK8qBe4kEUFlNxF/s1600/20180808_180951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFLZtYMhP5D83Pc2acUi517Ic-01WdQBfym04rDxlpAKNV5qJPYGxefRD1oCK46N57nywbzyPKtaLpN0tia3G0zZhRynEXdUO1xVn0h3QHCK6hG0iJSiRk8CVrR8QOMK8qBe4kEUFlNxF/s640/20180808_180951.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aug 8th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sweet Rea, teaching another kid to ride. Ava is having a blast and kept telling Jackson (who was leading her) "keep going buddy, keep going".</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPL9MHIcuM2yL-4aftU9WFU6sEtjdt3iJXGPix4AhwPvv1GQ-f5jMApcX1QwuE5DykKKhcLz8F5_Llx0TFxi9tJCLqALs1Fu2nmG3Tl5EfA8HuRDpTbb-bndH9NX6IZ6eSoOztzfYe5B1/s1600/20180810_161056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPL9MHIcuM2yL-4aftU9WFU6sEtjdt3iJXGPix4AhwPvv1GQ-f5jMApcX1QwuE5DykKKhcLz8F5_Llx0TFxi9tJCLqALs1Fu2nmG3Tl5EfA8HuRDpTbb-bndH9NX6IZ6eSoOztzfYe5B1/s640/20180810_161056.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 10th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heading for High Camp in the Ilgatchuz.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4DS0mSEXYCYUqCLv2xUO5Mc_oClkBB6fQxOpUi_mwNql2ZiEbk1ALDOhsl9COWb2AddjEkFrY2Mdk-itW0wnJTMpA10Q5Q8LRYXwL-x2kkxrDLcDMjLL91WUmbF-mTy4ODwmiIpRJ0mB/s1600/20180812_174057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4DS0mSEXYCYUqCLv2xUO5Mc_oClkBB6fQxOpUi_mwNql2ZiEbk1ALDOhsl9COWb2AddjEkFrY2Mdk-itW0wnJTMpA10Q5Q8LRYXwL-x2kkxrDLcDMjLL91WUmbF-mTy4ODwmiIpRJ0mB/s640/20180812_174057.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 12</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luckily we had an excellent nurse along to fix up Jackson after his painful reminder about sharp axes.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iCQx964CBHAy_Nn7tXYDFrTsvgF7Qh2OwA1fq923ZtfCXwUe1ogAgAXuGOIa8n3lac1kg_sY9LFDN5E5zryNiRM05zYDda2VTHhT3xzKdAp1mEURT4qOezE2YuTBPJTXncFkWXe5YOvQ/s1600/20180813_190806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iCQx964CBHAy_Nn7tXYDFrTsvgF7Qh2OwA1fq923ZtfCXwUe1ogAgAXuGOIa8n3lac1kg_sY9LFDN5E5zryNiRM05zYDda2VTHhT3xzKdAp1mEURT4qOezE2YuTBPJTXncFkWXe5YOvQ/s640/20180813_190806.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 13th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A weird evening. The smoke rolled in shortly after we set up camp and the skies were dark. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1m_Ev83J5oyIPc3L8R2oPuusQ5bBxVwJYl5tlUPcxT8jVYOAGnFXHIjypXIeMGK0yXKYnmgoIjR5gMW-7uHJ7m1-drIkUpEaD9fOz-DEximLT6Y2ewL8usAtI_ejTQEY2LqyVsi287HB/s1600/20180814_080957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1m_Ev83J5oyIPc3L8R2oPuusQ5bBxVwJYl5tlUPcxT8jVYOAGnFXHIjypXIeMGK0yXKYnmgoIjR5gMW-7uHJ7m1-drIkUpEaD9fOz-DEximLT6Y2ewL8usAtI_ejTQEY2LqyVsi287HB/s640/20180814_080957.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGk2XKWpTwQdpUGlRV1YXJ0UA-KOMAVmimhU8-O7nNoX0SpSXZCZ_EuqH7NPmrZEmGso8ta7bdVCPr-gVblJwp2YoA5CHH8kgh_-aBQG70qEkwzjwqTuhCQflGPovKNv7Qb6AzrHi6G6m/s1600/20180814_120445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGk2XKWpTwQdpUGlRV1YXJ0UA-KOMAVmimhU8-O7nNoX0SpSXZCZ_EuqH7NPmrZEmGso8ta7bdVCPr-gVblJwp2YoA5CHH8kgh_-aBQG70qEkwzjwqTuhCQflGPovKNv7Qb6AzrHi6G6m/s640/20180814_120445.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 14th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We knew it was going to be a good day, and it was!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSQ5pWBvSCGNQgvoE8wk3r05sQB7DZy7y3r9_O7sykGW2UjyX5f0xhyphenhyphenB3CnDWRHwgWz5-IvxvNI1rBolArmSYK8OKv3Nr56FggLvMu_hmvr1GhsURr4RZZ3H-vDrkbST7LSt_YFP3trcn/s1600/20180815_203223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSQ5pWBvSCGNQgvoE8wk3r05sQB7DZy7y3r9_O7sykGW2UjyX5f0xhyphenhyphenB3CnDWRHwgWz5-IvxvNI1rBolArmSYK8OKv3Nr56FggLvMu_hmvr1GhsURr4RZZ3H-vDrkbST7LSt_YFP3trcn/s640/20180815_203223.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 15th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dog down!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSV2AOu_kWz1XpF7JQXjCimiTYh9A_FLkSroTQzOdNtxzqDQpeVrwmYoCs0PWEyeaXvn6L5CFyeAvN5pkZCGKqGmdqahNntL_-VB1H-Z-_3_EF36Q30z9onwPi7UT3DfewfaBzRJwN5QUU/s1600/20180816_125030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSV2AOu_kWz1XpF7JQXjCimiTYh9A_FLkSroTQzOdNtxzqDQpeVrwmYoCs0PWEyeaXvn6L5CFyeAvN5pkZCGKqGmdqahNntL_-VB1H-Z-_3_EF36Q30z9onwPi7UT3DfewfaBzRJwN5QUU/s640/20180816_125030.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 16th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jackson and I (and Brady and Zip) did a big climb up the side of Pipe Organ. Was a bit smoky but still beautiful. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWMQB1aaWKS64MgunTIaH5QzvErTnZ1i2A_xT1h4MQezPdShB8InJ6JLivUu5clpKR8-2COklJKB40D7SSU8IllDWHT0bs4D8rOWksPuWlIpaxoUR5mybkDe6gM2PSiUmCA0hoj6lsLBf/s1600/20180817_060317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWMQB1aaWKS64MgunTIaH5QzvErTnZ1i2A_xT1h4MQezPdShB8InJ6JLivUu5clpKR8-2COklJKB40D7SSU8IllDWHT0bs4D8rOWksPuWlIpaxoUR5mybkDe6gM2PSiUmCA0hoj6lsLBf/s640/20180817_060317.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 17th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A smoky morning in Pan Valley.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 18th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cooperation.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 19th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Trailing the horses home at the end of the ride.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2p6mnWwyTW0rj9E0WFyNKqW1nWcJhS1_5LLdOoCh5r_4EKZ6ceOlUWRo_WicRAyAOdfWlEWb-ox6Estj23NEQGUulm1gSU8mgSOXNOApig-0ba6DVOcHGApzShyphenhyphenBQJnK-AIyRioudupgL/s1600/20180820_193709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2p6mnWwyTW0rj9E0WFyNKqW1nWcJhS1_5LLdOoCh5r_4EKZ6ceOlUWRo_WicRAyAOdfWlEWb-ox6Estj23NEQGUulm1gSU8mgSOXNOApig-0ba6DVOcHGApzShyphenhyphenBQJnK-AIyRioudupgL/s640/20180820_193709.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 20th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to the ranch to deal with a wolf bit calf, luckily already healing well.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJHN1eN-Gop3Auohob0V-nQQioXgOpS0AwzqP5H5l_wpZNA-exbIIX1gMLJlgcZZ57BG2Rxme-eLI9eVZDi-fyv8RrqZinF7osJ8ww0Or7sh7c7k3Ij37_HA2887LcJm3-UYUU6wasMD8/s1600/20180821_125529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJHN1eN-Gop3Auohob0V-nQQioXgOpS0AwzqP5H5l_wpZNA-exbIIX1gMLJlgcZZ57BG2Rxme-eLI9eVZDi-fyv8RrqZinF7osJ8ww0Or7sh7c7k3Ij37_HA2887LcJm3-UYUU6wasMD8/s640/20180821_125529.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 21st</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We've been kicked out of the Park again, so its another short season. Very frustrating.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 25th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Could not agree more.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlYBiSiIgRbw-owO-BRgDzic5ygP8Atjw4Sysy0Cd7qUq9plHYamw622Ha8PNoaWnciqC7vDt992qdzlaprJ4O_z4SGp-utXgiwtusNMEqBSFTgz9htRh0i7FTwXAwOqTSV3LMaqAn9jC/s1600/20180826_162646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlYBiSiIgRbw-owO-BRgDzic5ygP8Atjw4Sysy0Cd7qUq9plHYamw622Ha8PNoaWnciqC7vDt992qdzlaprJ4O_z4SGp-utXgiwtusNMEqBSFTgz9htRh0i7FTwXAwOqTSV3LMaqAn9jC/s640/20180826_162646.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 26th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Plenty of late summer feed.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Looking through the impressively long ears of Shmoose with trusty Zip to my right.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9oTh9G_8lZQO6yprTX_GUDtX6BzmikDySDQ6CzeuGu6KasBrJRbpctkvFZozJeVwbt-xesgh2p0WPcKQgadPp7G7zCoGNB8KRhriK0lzHEX-iRAq8FvGPxAmMWvp40tZ9T_epxoeRN6M/s1600/20180827_190033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9oTh9G_8lZQO6yprTX_GUDtX6BzmikDySDQ6CzeuGu6KasBrJRbpctkvFZozJeVwbt-xesgh2p0WPcKQgadPp7G7zCoGNB8KRhriK0lzHEX-iRAq8FvGPxAmMWvp40tZ9T_epxoeRN6M/s640/20180827_190033.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 27th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally getting the cows to summer range after a very long day (and several hours to go before getting to the Cabin.)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 28th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Salt is often brought to the range in the winter and stored in these pails. Being by myself, I was at a bit of a loss of how I was going to transport them to where they needed to be. But good old Shmoosey solved my problem by allowing me to tie them to my saddle and I led her to where we needed to go. During our very long ride the night before, she also allowed Ben to ride double so he could rest against my back. And I packed my very sore footed Zip dog for several miles as well. I don't know if we happened to end up with the best Standardbred ever, or if they are all this amazing. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 29th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sorbay carefully taking my niece for a ride through the heifers.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There may be a few stories to tell along the way, and I will get back to that!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hope the summer has treated you well.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All the best, </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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<br />Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-79602021572381271062018-07-04T00:10:00.000-07:002018-07-04T00:10:34.721-07:00New Horses<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We are always on the lookout for good horses. We raise our own of course, and our little stallion has produced some absolute champions. We generally raise two or three a year out of our own mares. Any more than that and it is almost impossible to keep up with getting them well-started and putting on the necessary miles. Can only ride so many.... </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Guest horses are worth their weight in gold around here, as any outfit. And it seems they get old too fast! Some of our retirees live out their lives on the ranch, with the more suitable ones given away to good homes, usually one with kids. Every kid should have an old champion to take care of them, and every old champion horse should finish their working days with the exclusive attention of an adoring kid. </b></span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>My top hand Jackson and his amazing little Rawsy dog, riding Squirt. </b></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>They don't all make the grade of course, but we have never had trouble selling a horse either. Any horse that was born and raised out here, or spend a significant amount of time on the ranch, is generally a good one. The reason we might sell often has nothing to do with the quality. Size is one reason we might sell, although they don't all have to be huge. The ability to get along is a group is very important, being cranky or tending to kick is not an option. We have found that horses that we purchase that are used to being with only one or two other horses, often have trouble being in a larger herd and can get too protective of their buddies. Most of them figure it out though and do just fine. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We've recently acquired three new horses, and I think every one is going to be a keeper. Two are from the area, one is actually out of our stallion and a mare we sold to a friend. Mum had to do some serious haggling and trading to get him....but our retirement aged old friend "Tiny" (who is not 'tiny' at all!), will have a great new home in trade for this young fella. I've put a few good days on him (he came to us already started under saddle) and he is great and getting better. He has been dubbed "Biscuits" as the friend we got him from is a cook (and an excellent one at that), know locally as 'Bernie Biscuits'. :) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Biscuits doesn't look very big in the photo...but he is quite a large fella. But anyone standing next to the long legged "Shmoose" looks short. Ask me...my stirrup on her is above my belly button!! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I purchased "Marie" here from another local source. They had used her on a couple of pack trips but she had not yet been ridden. I haven't spend much time with her, but so far she seems wonderful. Packs the saddle around with no worries about tarps or ropes or much of anything else. She has a wonderful demeanor and a kind eye and I'm looking forward to seeing if she strides out like I think she will. Flashy too hey! Adding a bit of color to the outfit! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>We were lucky enough to be able to have our friend Evan Howarth come to the ranch to help us start some colts. Here Cody is doing a great job with Marie. </i></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">And now you'll meet "Shmoose".....short for 'she moose'. You can chuckle, but it suits her absolutely perfectly and I'm in love with this mare. There are few things in the world I appreciate more than a good travelling horse and that she is! She is a Standardbred off the track and is absolutely amazing. How she can be so good in the nasty mud and brush is beyond me, but I suspect it has something to do with those incredibly long legs, and of course, the outstanding attitude, which makes all the difference. What she lacks in the beauty department, she makes up for in heart. She is not much of a cow horse (yet), but I do love to travel the miles on her. She has the hugest trot of course, which is super fast but exhausting to ride for long, and the wildest fast running walk I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. The other day we were flying down a trail (me trotting, Jackson and Cody at a fast lope) and they were laughing so hard I thought someone might hit the ground. Between belly laughs and gasps for air, Jackson said "she runs like a caribou!" Too fun. She even lopes reasonably naturally and seems to have really taken to her new life in the bush. I've been thinking about trying a Standardbred out for a while and if Shmoose is any example, I'm sure impressed so far. </b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Jackson riding Grey Power (with his ever present cow dog) and holding Shmoose for me. I'm probably looking for a stump tall enough to get back on her....</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And so, I started this post sometime ago and time has marched on, as so often happens. Our first guests of the season turn up tomorrow and off to the yonder mountains on Thursday. The weather has been crazy this year. Cold or hot. Knock on wood for some plain old 'warm'.....we could use it. The riders will appreciate it for the upcoming trip, the growing grass could use a break from the frost (not to mention my garden!) and our Rodeo is coming up this weekend as well. We've worked hard to make it a more family friendly event this year and hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate. Its a great 3 days, but so incredibly busy with such a small volunteer pool to draw from. I'm already looking forward to the Monday afterwards. :) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cheers to you all!</b></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a photo of a good job well done. Eli has been really working through the projects around Five Mile this year, and it shows. It has taken a while, but sure feeling like we are able to move forward here occasionally, instead of always just rushing from one crisis to another potential one. </span></i></b></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-46671176907043127922018-06-07T00:26:00.000-07:002018-06-07T00:26:50.777-07:00Good Dogs <div>
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Was riding home the other night after a long day and thinking how lucky I was to have such a great, dependable team of dogs. I've been meaning to write in the blog for ages anyhow and I figured they certainly deserved some special mention.</span></b></div>
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Many of you that have been with me for a while will remember my Dealer dog (he occasionally liked to write a bit as well.) Last June, about this time actually, he got stepped on badly and ended up with a broken leg. Not great, not great at all. </span></b><div>
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being without a good dog in this country is completely unacceptable, especially with bigger groups of cattle. The country is by turns too open with huge spaces, too closed in and tight, and too muddy to get around in. </span></b><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> A dog makes cattle gathering and moving possible and they are absolutely worth their weight in gold. </span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Back to Dealer.....from a young dog he has had a health problem. I'm not entirely sure where is stems from, but when he over exerts himself, he acts like he is having an asthma attack and, if not noticed and rested instantly, he will almost act like he's having a stroke. He shakes and staggers and whimpers, barely keeping up to a walking horse and almost seems like he can't see. It really takes a lot to put him in to this state, but it is terrifying. So long story short, I've given him to a friend of our who is living in the area and doesn't necessarily put on the miles I sometimes do. It was very strange to give him away (for him especially I'm sure) but he has bonded very well and is a happy dog. His new owner rides with us occasionally and while he certainly recognizes me and almost unconsciously tries to work with me, he does well for her as well.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Here is my Dealer dog as a pup on his first trail ride. I'm delighted he has a good loving home but I do miss my buddy. The saying "a dog is the only creature in the world that loves you more than he loves himself" is certainly true with this fella. </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So currently I'm working two dogs. I have little Zip who is border collie through and through. She has all the perks and quirks of border collies but is loyal to the bone and a super tough little nut. She prefers to stay quite close to me, and although I can send her out to the sides or the front, she keeps close track of where I am. She prefers to work ahead of where ever I am at and isn't afraid to duck in a grab a nose or a heel if the opportunity arises. She has never gotten grumpy with people and even though she will protect me to the death from other dogs (or at least puts on a show like she would), she always ends up forgetting how tough she was trying to be and ends up playing with them instead. She is a fun and uncomplicated dog (just 2 years old now) and it is great to see her strength and confidence grow with her. I have the basic commands on her, meaning "lay down", "steady", "walk up", "come by" (which means to go left), "way to me" (go right) and "that'll do" which is a call off. A loud hiss will send her in with teeth a snappin'! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Zip poses in front. Magalie and her dog Bell, Raffe, Ben and Tanis with the Itcha's in the background (and happy moo's).</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The border collie stare. Five Mile and the still snowy Itchas in the background.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brady is my other champion. She is a cross between a border collie and a Huntaway, which is a New Zealand stock dog, bred to bark as well as herd. She is a big dog and looks more like a black lab mutt than a cow dog. But she is absolutely amazing and I will never be without a barking dog again for working big groups. Any old ranchers or cowboys reading this will be sitting back at that, shaking their heads in disgust right now, but I'm here to tell ya, don't knock it until you've tried it. She certainly doesn't 'yap', she just uses her voice (and her presence) instead of her teeth. And that way she is able to effect many more animals than just what is at the very back of the pack. She has a huge outrun and never leaves an animal behind. And if she needs help, I always know where to find her. I thought that her barking might cause trouble, especially with cows with young calves, but the cows really don't take offence to her and just move on. She is such a mild manner dog (when not working) that she can move and hang out right among the cows or calves. She will let the calves come right up and sniff her and wanders about only inches from the cows and they just quietly watch her, or continue their naps. Not so when she gets working though, she is a force to be reckoned with and they fully respect her. Because I was trying to work both her and Zip as pups last year after Dealer broke his leg, I put completely separate commands on her. She has a 'sit' (which just means to stop, doesn't matter if her bum hits the ground or not), a "right", a "left", a "walk up" and a call off. I've just started sending her out with whistles (works so well!), but really she pretty much does what needs to be done. It is rare to have to re correct her after being sent out. She instinctively heads for the farthest animal and doesn't give up until it heads for the bunch (or for me). If she is confused, she stops and looks back at me, waiting for confirmation or a new command. She is also a total lover of all people and super easy to be around. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The crazy hail storm didn't bother Brady one bit. But then, not much does. </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli0aaRmA7GrI3NN0cD_SJANHd_qNgvKGMSxNXNlNRkFDIHme87iReHvJBjLT0vo3SUh5eoqh2KvXyPF1M6rSniWL7McC-mVoojgP5SK2jGtpr2UFrfqdwrofa9ym6KEG0uWsfvrenqMRL/s1600/20180406_125637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli0aaRmA7GrI3NN0cD_SJANHd_qNgvKGMSxNXNlNRkFDIHme87iReHvJBjLT0vo3SUh5eoqh2KvXyPF1M6rSniWL7McC-mVoojgP5SK2jGtpr2UFrfqdwrofa9ym6KEG0uWsfvrenqMRL/s640/20180406_125637.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>One of Brady's greatest traits is the ability to relax. Anywhere and at any given moment. </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Now don't get me wrong, I am certainly no dog trainer and my dogs don't work perfectly. We are not going to win any trials, that is certain. They tend to be too 'loose' as I am not very strict about commanding every move. It certainly backfires as they tend to break their "heel" command when we are riding and will take every opportunity to push or gather, even if you don't want them too. They have to be sent out of the herd if I am trying to sort, as they refuse to stay to the heel and try and 'help' instead. Tough to sort cattle out, when the dogs are busy bringing them back in. The flip side of that is that they really do think for themselves, assess the situation the best they can, and react to it. They have saved my butt on numerous occasions, often stopping wrecks (such as cows heading off away from the herd, or calves running for home) before I even knew it was happening. With them, I can manage about 3 times the cattle and situations that I could without. They work well independently, but also are quick to help each other out. I honestly could not do what I do with them. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_H80hyphenhyphenGE2NFAyLbe_PywLw1YuzkeBT93FHkCMltBcuTc7FhPrvZwUTaKOrOtX94lXDuDc0Tiee8MIUoVZ9AgxPFWTY4L_g_QMlTGYzWs5iKIMM-lPwBPZ43HttltZ499yg1bygQoDVVOl/s1600/20180604_181828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_H80hyphenhyphenGE2NFAyLbe_PywLw1YuzkeBT93FHkCMltBcuTc7FhPrvZwUTaKOrOtX94lXDuDc0Tiee8MIUoVZ9AgxPFWTY4L_g_QMlTGYzWs5iKIMM-lPwBPZ43HttltZ499yg1bygQoDVVOl/s640/20180604_181828.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i> A glimpse at the brood mare band. Bun and Lucy are sharing a back scratch with Bun's baby posing. You can just see Bubbles rump with her baby behind her. Unfortunately, the sorrel mare lost her baby this year and Twinkle (Big Momma) on the right is with our stallion for the first time. </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y40bLjFe1iJ2rcMfshm-g8EjyjsHxdvmW3wopSuq43amWDAd5_Vm0Da6hJEcivUlNMHCdqOvuv_QgmO-dsEB-R6VnfcNjrXgjX2AgZqVIbf3h0xhcTi9bKFfg5giteFI7Dkbad1E8CS9/s1600/20180526_181908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y40bLjFe1iJ2rcMfshm-g8EjyjsHxdvmW3wopSuq43amWDAd5_Vm0Da6hJEcivUlNMHCdqOvuv_QgmO-dsEB-R6VnfcNjrXgjX2AgZqVIbf3h0xhcTi9bKFfg5giteFI7Dkbad1E8CS9/s640/20180526_181908.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Squirt sneaks in a quick nap while we haul the sorted off bulls to another property. </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7yuZhn3SNKgg-u_Ntylhyphenhyphen4bSUH4XDAHb0kI9MFhZoLkb4Hbfy9trZb6hhfinovnMJ__V71wASh3JmCh3nhyphenhyphenpHqouMC7a_lpCfCEplmb9TdhNCVkdcp_WPAWOP6AdfJZ2Bq2wQVWpRQNo/s1600/20180524_102426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7yuZhn3SNKgg-u_Ntylhyphenhyphen4bSUH4XDAHb0kI9MFhZoLkb4Hbfy9trZb6hhfinovnMJ__V71wASh3JmCh3nhyphenhyphenpHqouMC7a_lpCfCEplmb9TdhNCVkdcp_WPAWOP6AdfJZ2Bq2wQVWpRQNo/s640/20180524_102426.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>She looks terribly sad but was the luckiest cow in the outfit on this day. I found her stuck on her side in a hole, with a rock against her back. The rock luckily kept her from getting right over on to her back (which would have killed her very quickly), but there was no way she could get up. Squirt helped me pull her upright and steady her until she found her feet. Besides missing a lot of hair and a few meals, she is totally fine. Her calf was very happy to have his lunch upright again.</i> </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pauVobsDaVC1QfosCEYR4F-Tvp5ff2KNfLWZmJAGaEh8IrcK58NCoX2MuSVuDLUFYQYKo5QhV8pbj1f4R79qmj-Q71F-JGAFJKrBstYyPpc6SN56zcQGvNqHpBAurGKH_pPVB7l15fMP/s1600/20180527_203453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pauVobsDaVC1QfosCEYR4F-Tvp5ff2KNfLWZmJAGaEh8IrcK58NCoX2MuSVuDLUFYQYKo5QhV8pbj1f4R79qmj-Q71F-JGAFJKrBstYyPpc6SN56zcQGvNqHpBAurGKH_pPVB7l15fMP/s640/20180527_203453.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Heading for home.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cheers all! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Punky </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></b></div>
Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-31437551130494089912018-04-06T14:26:00.002-07:002018-04-06T14:48:41.823-07:00Photo Catch Up<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not a lot of time to write these days, as expected. Especially with this never ending winter we've had this spring. Seriously sick of the white stuff, not gonna lie. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I have a few photos to share and that will be good enough for this time. I don't always remember to take photos, but went through them the other day and thought it was kind of a funny mix. I often save photos or meme's etc that I find on the internet, so I thought I'd just share ones that I've taken/saved day by day. Some are a bit random, so bear with me, this is as entertaining for me as you. :) </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1eQX3uMfMFind1Uq9xe2y7vc3H-h-hdtGjWIMWo8HWV4ZEAw5-pguJ-3xRFpCCKcNdyEXpPXEHDPDITdAYMgNWB8bvpDkndh1fgd9LKtoX_nWfW85Wx104KRZMOpU-LuRpGIZImA4_0Q/s1600/20180313_183752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1eQX3uMfMFind1Uq9xe2y7vc3H-h-hdtGjWIMWo8HWV4ZEAw5-pguJ-3xRFpCCKcNdyEXpPXEHDPDITdAYMgNWB8bvpDkndh1fgd9LKtoX_nWfW85Wx104KRZMOpU-LuRpGIZImA4_0Q/s640/20180313_183752.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 13th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sweet Ava and the boys</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hi8ndf6sDixCdReSXbwTtS8O3l1c0-EdylX-uG5n1F4nGFbBuwvr2ZnzQyMUOooas_6T8RO5rf0PAkGprb3bKzyBvu3YXEC9I1rHEN3-PsNQg8pSwbxEMeh4OB0toU9B7jvR8zjwtJ7Y/s1600/20180314_165645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hi8ndf6sDixCdReSXbwTtS8O3l1c0-EdylX-uG5n1F4nGFbBuwvr2ZnzQyMUOooas_6T8RO5rf0PAkGprb3bKzyBvu3YXEC9I1rHEN3-PsNQg8pSwbxEMeh4OB0toU9B7jvR8zjwtJ7Y/s640/20180314_165645.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 14th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Helping in the barn</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjtK3ORxFCk-_2eLmMWjL06LkR2w7WovFI8geXA3hqXO4Ti9_twCSmMKoh-HSXAw84QDKIbD5kqpXyHloc92tOziECO-IKuD6wzawpdmgCKkyedgWBNm2t3keAQANM5pUPHxkVnls0nb2/s1600/20180316_072930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjtK3ORxFCk-_2eLmMWjL06LkR2w7WovFI8geXA3hqXO4Ti9_twCSmMKoh-HSXAw84QDKIbD5kqpXyHloc92tOziECO-IKuD6wzawpdmgCKkyedgWBNm2t3keAQANM5pUPHxkVnls0nb2/s640/20180316_072930.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 16th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF7h4j9lWLvq9c8fl4c5ozs9m2PW4mdUCq4iFZDFGEBY9TOu8FNlZmJiuCC0J-4umVedPr4cx_iXEXmZ-RZP9_CIa1Pm3O5c1Gb_iPqlIALRIegh_fc88a4ntP-ytx57tKNvgKTtBmaAk/s1600/FB_IMG_1521437981436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="742" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF7h4j9lWLvq9c8fl4c5ozs9m2PW4mdUCq4iFZDFGEBY9TOu8FNlZmJiuCC0J-4umVedPr4cx_iXEXmZ-RZP9_CIa1Pm3O5c1Gb_iPqlIALRIegh_fc88a4ntP-ytx57tKNvgKTtBmaAk/s640/FB_IMG_1521437981436.jpg" width="494" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 18th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKznaVFfPSXHpLBfzG26RJUNz08FzJdmwov_RrSCSGFzOjsbqxsJS0BcqGd4C2Dm3WcsizFpdakyeMLz5BP-gIycU22oJ4UWFEU_zIgO8C2if7VHBe_y-JvZ51Bk68qJf6mlPSYfgTNyk/s1600/20180319_084244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKznaVFfPSXHpLBfzG26RJUNz08FzJdmwov_RrSCSGFzOjsbqxsJS0BcqGd4C2Dm3WcsizFpdakyeMLz5BP-gIycU22oJ4UWFEU_zIgO8C2if7VHBe_y-JvZ51Bk68qJf6mlPSYfgTNyk/s640/20180319_084244.jpg" width="360" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 19th </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This calf was born (naturally!) with a condition called hydrocephalus, or 'water on the brain'. We ended up having to put him down as he could not stand and had no suckle reflex. Amazing. Hope I never see it again. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4y2V0bbX2IHGSDZwk5l1pA01O8VB1shPXNjDfYh3879pv-DNqjpXsV02wUtz4YrmFn5eWtC4uatph86wnibzy9QDSM3ADmo_N8NBYOG_F7ZVdXniVVjP_usXat88ot-2E81U4jMDeXrMS/s1600/20180321_113954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4y2V0bbX2IHGSDZwk5l1pA01O8VB1shPXNjDfYh3879pv-DNqjpXsV02wUtz4YrmFn5eWtC4uatph86wnibzy9QDSM3ADmo_N8NBYOG_F7ZVdXniVVjP_usXat88ot-2E81U4jMDeXrMS/s640/20180321_113954.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 21st. Smart babies in the shelter.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltXKRz3Eit-2OQ0oibYIbPF851uDwslDDUVTHigVHwtiLs0eiaJozKpQ_aSIQQWNiQzmeQulu4lQeoJYPTcbxmmZlLOeW6_8pi8YA3lPbag1s56sqKtvM_44RmC3BKC7QgTwwmSEinDQH/s1600/20180322_140655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltXKRz3Eit-2OQ0oibYIbPF851uDwslDDUVTHigVHwtiLs0eiaJozKpQ_aSIQQWNiQzmeQulu4lQeoJYPTcbxmmZlLOeW6_8pi8YA3lPbag1s56sqKtvM_44RmC3BKC7QgTwwmSEinDQH/s640/20180322_140655.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 22nd. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This has been the winter that never ends....</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IGE3UTuyTY_OeIjXuNVO_50SLFA_8zswzGhC-c-z9hyphenhyphenL0C-9Wj0BXYZTXmjN6TlivCTLpb4gbxOHlhQPLONSX0asWdoaHDAWg3gVoYRjoUWWnog1X0CIAibZ0p5WxsRkykSXXNCGazxv/s1600/20180323_161412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IGE3UTuyTY_OeIjXuNVO_50SLFA_8zswzGhC-c-z9hyphenhyphenL0C-9Wj0BXYZTXmjN6TlivCTLpb4gbxOHlhQPLONSX0asWdoaHDAWg3gVoYRjoUWWnog1X0CIAibZ0p5WxsRkykSXXNCGazxv/s640/20180323_161412.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 23rd</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cow 'selfie'</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 24th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From the light of my head lamp.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 25th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Was told about an option on my phone that tracks steps. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remind me about this simple, easy ranching life I lead again....</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh yeah, it all about the lifestyle.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 26th</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLFSzWtIqjySreRVNJd3LPJ80UOrdOPxC-hXt6Qxa4gUTwgQRBvfmwqqeqFA04l1YpNjjiwLcvskEeE7cvmv0LKoGJ9yMRJ3HH0zr_dCyTUArPoqTZfw7bcgLFqe5_aqOebxGG0j35EP7/s1600/20180327_131016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLFSzWtIqjySreRVNJd3LPJ80UOrdOPxC-hXt6Qxa4gUTwgQRBvfmwqqeqFA04l1YpNjjiwLcvskEeE7cvmv0LKoGJ9yMRJ3HH0zr_dCyTUArPoqTZfw7bcgLFqe5_aqOebxGG0j35EP7/s640/20180327_131016.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 27th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Momma and baby</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March 29th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 'orphans'...the two on the left are from twin sets and the one on the right was taken off of one of our bought heifers. I don't mind a bit of wild, but when the cow grows fangs, hammers fences and smashes gates trying to get to your blood.....well, she needs a new home. We've had some really great heifers calve out of that group we bought last fall. And a disappointing number of ones that will never see another spring on this ranch. A good reminder of why we prefer to keep our own......</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April 1st</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It sure does.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April 3rd</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Magalie and her helper "Mitch"</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April 4th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fun in the hay.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So nice to have their laughter and energy around the ranch.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April 5th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our new milk cow "Magnolia" filling the extra bellies.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbMQJxKobnJ6OMdwxVIDkdnKV_4sgJgfRI38yKpI9Me4em_O3km_Lcn77SzkFulOnIt3H2DX61LCmsZoYxxZ7T-yAMfFV-JKNTvq0ZeFBbWo5z4QrmqIlaZbNBq0Z0M32Pb5XNJ93d_Xo/s1600/20180406_115130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbMQJxKobnJ6OMdwxVIDkdnKV_4sgJgfRI38yKpI9Me4em_O3km_Lcn77SzkFulOnIt3H2DX61LCmsZoYxxZ7T-yAMfFV-JKNTvq0ZeFBbWo5z4QrmqIlaZbNBq0Z0M32Pb5XNJ93d_Xo/s640/20180406_115130.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April 6th</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yes, April 6th.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Plowing snow today, April 6th.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sigh.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Come on Mother Nature, we could use just a bit of a break...</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cheers all!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Punky </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></b></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-79673813887347053692018-03-12T07:49:00.000-07:002018-03-12T07:49:30.948-07:00Hoping and trying....<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Remember the post I wrote a while ago, about the rancher I met at the Stockyards, whose comment about ranching being the 'most hopeful business in the world'? Hoping the weather improves, hoping the market holds, hoping that calf nursed, hoping that old cranky cow calves on her own..... The comment still makes me chuckle. I recently had to set up a new account for the combined ranches and, when asked what name to put it under, I honestly thought about telling the secretary "Combined Hope Ranching". </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntKpLJQjKefLcVN9OWUEKan8aICSeLECChPgW-Jv7cl0r-0btyVoZkaJSvUgutB3W3SUfLXdJLspMjOa6Ezb7Gjtk6X1Y0uetl5EjU9jfchwBUlPVJ4lTL0O8rcU5aBibXWBqkoKuFs2S/s1600/20180307_182655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntKpLJQjKefLcVN9OWUEKan8aICSeLECChPgW-Jv7cl0r-0btyVoZkaJSvUgutB3W3SUfLXdJLspMjOa6Ezb7Gjtk6X1Y0uetl5EjU9jfchwBUlPVJ4lTL0O8rcU5aBibXWBqkoKuFs2S/s640/20180307_182655.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hopeful has to go hand in hand with 'try'. When being hopeful doesn't work out (which so often happens), you best have a Plan B, all the way to F or G. That generally starts with "Okay then, dang it, let's try......" </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So our calving season has begun, as you may have guessed. The weather has been less than cooperative (so much for being hopeful there!) and it is more like late January than almost mid March. Well, I shouldn't say that, the last couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous. It has seemed over the winter that when it warms up a bit, it snows. Snow clears and it is beautiful, but teeth gritting cold. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Our calving season has come on slowly. We turned our bulls out later this year, and between that and our cows being in less than stellar condition last spring, we are pretty slow getting going. But they are pregnant and the flood of babies is coming! The cows are in good shape this year overall, and I'm sure 'hoping' to have a good season. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>It didn't start out that way, with only 1 out of the first 3 surviving. But thank all that is good that the one that did survive (and thrive) is Jackson's one and only calf. Grandma gave him his own heifer this spring and he is very proud of her and her little steer calf. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The first calf that didn't make it was simply born dead, as far as we could tell. Certainly there was no indication of anything going amiss, besides lack of heart beat. Eli and Jackson had gone to check on her in the barn and found the calf still lying with feet inside momma, dead as can be. But you gotta try......they ran in and rubbed and rubbed the calf, puffing air into its lungs and hoped and hoped. But it was well and truly gone. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The next calf had a leg back, and looked weirdly puffy. We easily re positioned the baby and helped momma deliver. He was hard to get breathing and just wasn't right from the beginning. The calf continued to puff up and go downhill, and even though we used all means possible, died a few hours later. (Our autopsy showed an abnormally large heart....) </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbheMY3yPC-E_LuubJEvs1-PNXbmWUxKirTrNy39RQcpC-KP44T5-TQq36c67kOsrVKlQRd5CtWjIZQ1iJW8KMwqERtRJC8rohc43fSQm-NqTH-Dg7k1sGUevw6j1JsHT5OJf2b0tfYCs6/s1600/20180308_191957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbheMY3yPC-E_LuubJEvs1-PNXbmWUxKirTrNy39RQcpC-KP44T5-TQq36c67kOsrVKlQRd5CtWjIZQ1iJW8KMwqERtRJC8rohc43fSQm-NqTH-Dg7k1sGUevw6j1JsHT5OJf2b0tfYCs6/s640/20180308_191957.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>2am check when hoping for better weather didn't work out. An opportunity to try and remember why you wanted to be a rancher in the first place!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The next momma to be was brought in and a wee tiny baby easily delivered unassisted. I figured right away that there was a #2 in there, and sure enough, momma laid back down and went to work again, already licking and talking to #1 staggering around the pen. She was straining too hard and taking too long and sure enough, #2 was trying to enter the world ears first, rather than feet and nose. She was easy enough to re position and then nearly landed in my arms with the next contraction. </b></span><br />
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<b style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So the heifer whose calf had died with heart issues was still wanting her baby and bawling by the barn door. Knowing it's worth a try, I took the 2nd twin directly to her old pen (without the original momma licking it) and let the sad heifer back in. She was absolutely delighted with her now active baby and chuckled and chatted away constantly as she licked her shiny as can be. We made sure both twins got adequate colostrum and everyone was happy. I actually had to turn the heifer out of the pen unless someone was watching for the first day. She kept tucking the wee one into her chest with her head and then trying to lay down with it. Great theory to keep it safe, </b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>absolutely</b></span><b style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> terrible in practice when the calf isn't mobile enough to stay out from under her and the chances of being crushed to death are extremely high. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnneFwm2dnkfzaKRilinCZYe-kZ5lxlmuojdm6b7PasS4PF20nrEU9xzeXhulDUN-mEJAwiUCe5q9BJKvTYV7pcfw3d53cMdfDQ1Kqruoi-3HxLhjNbBLNenUf65m_dkEKYexkdqSP2Abn/s1600/20180305_140139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnneFwm2dnkfzaKRilinCZYe-kZ5lxlmuojdm6b7PasS4PF20nrEU9xzeXhulDUN-mEJAwiUCe5q9BJKvTYV7pcfw3d53cMdfDQ1Kqruoi-3HxLhjNbBLNenUf65m_dkEKYexkdqSP2Abn/s640/20180305_140139.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<b style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>The photo hardly does her justice but this wee twin easily walks under her long legged mommas belly and imitates a giraffe to nurse. This is #2, delightedly accepted by the sad momma who lost her own baby. </i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Despite hoping we were over our bad luck, Eli found a calf pretty much frozen in the pens. He picked it up and ran for the hot box, positive it was much too late, But you have to try. With the propane heat slowly warming it up, warm colostrum in his belly, a pain killer administered and a whole lotta hoping, he amazingly did come around, although it took all night. Unfortunately, the cold seemed to have froze the sucking mechanism right out of him, so that was certainly an issue. I actually think he was premature as well. He would get up and wander around, but suck? No certainly will not thank you anyhow I think I'll just starve but thanks anyhow leave me alone nope I don't want any I don't know what you are doing but I'm too smart for that trick no way notta chance. But we had to try, and try and try. So now it's been nearly a week of trying.....momma, the bottle and the stomach tube when nothing else works. Magalie has been getting him out in the sun and who knows if it helped or not, or maybe it was the lamb nipple we tried yesterday afternoon, but miracle of miracles, he nursed the bottle and then his momma! Hurrah and a fist pump! Nice when all that trying and hoping pays off. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjO67E4ueLL7Kp9sbrHrRuARhdv29d2j6wU2ja4IXvp26SBFarG8VeckO0aBU8chpVhn6BXjuX3S74MDnASmHHlP0TCDJ7RDBxClDXTawv2b0r_awCMBU_ZSTXtVGzbx5JQPWMQvQ_0vU/s1600/20180310_120352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjO67E4ueLL7Kp9sbrHrRuARhdv29d2j6wU2ja4IXvp26SBFarG8VeckO0aBU8chpVhn6BXjuX3S74MDnASmHHlP0TCDJ7RDBxClDXTawv2b0r_awCMBU_ZSTXtVGzbx5JQPWMQvQ_0vU/s640/20180310_120352.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Ben and Magalie giving "Frozen" some love and sunshine. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>(Look at the snowbanks! It's MARCH!)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In overall news, since these stories, we have had plenty of calves who are happy and healthy with no issues at all. I did want to share these however, maybe just to point out that life on the ranch is not all bouncy calves in the sunshine and riding into sunsets. Trust me, the romance wears off quickly at 2am with a lineup of issues to deal with. But you never stop hoping, or trying. Sometimes you are just trying to keep your hopes up! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvjNkg-RVwE-d5oIwGj6GxwWbX572YoBs-L3JVSKGJZk8uX7Pvg_yJKP-iWtAnTI8qX6lp4aq8ZTLaMAvlYBt2dp6GkJitx0JU86b8yN-d_fVNwiu-0OZudghvUBiub-9_exzsw2jOBgi/s1600/20180311_135958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvjNkg-RVwE-d5oIwGj6GxwWbX572YoBs-L3JVSKGJZk8uX7Pvg_yJKP-iWtAnTI8qX6lp4aq8ZTLaMAvlYBt2dp6GkJitx0JU86b8yN-d_fVNwiu-0OZudghvUBiub-9_exzsw2jOBgi/s640/20180311_135958.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>How do these posts get so long? </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I was just going to post a few photos and now here I am, almost late for my next check. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So as calving ramps up, I will still post, but likely more photos than stories.....as was my intention tonight. haha</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Best run,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Oh, but I have to share a laugh with you. After each check at night, we write in "The Book" so the next person knows what is going on. Some choose to write the very bare basics, some are a bit more detailed. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>This is from last year..... made me grin out loud again! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYzLQfDkixC2tqpNK5doXheJL2GrxYiwvCB5xvNYE7k23HK0rVRsGpYYAb88hRkHF2NJKZJReWto3ng4qu0Q6KtNAxCjjGI_RXmW3FhJFzOAA4WINu6_cUB5UrtGFQ_ft5UDRybnwTkXz/s1600/20180312_045238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYzLQfDkixC2tqpNK5doXheJL2GrxYiwvCB5xvNYE7k23HK0rVRsGpYYAb88hRkHF2NJKZJReWto3ng4qu0Q6KtNAxCjjGI_RXmW3FhJFzOAA4WINu6_cUB5UrtGFQ_ft5UDRybnwTkXz/s640/20180312_045238.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
<br />Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-12666417041021385182018-02-21T23:37:00.001-08:002018-02-21T23:37:43.286-08:00Moving Cows <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdOT2sSaDQTWTm4tp5m1nwS1UwbP-DoiS9TlR3bELewMVbJrar5PLBRQoP14i0Zulo94AQSyasOyWJIDEetCKOnYuDc_TsGuB6LqfwmZ8ODUxM4uPUOcTzI-3ZAJw3NeMDqPIRUnUD1YU/s1600/P1010746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdOT2sSaDQTWTm4tp5m1nwS1UwbP-DoiS9TlR3bELewMVbJrar5PLBRQoP14i0Zulo94AQSyasOyWJIDEetCKOnYuDc_TsGuB6LqfwmZ8ODUxM4uPUOcTzI-3ZAJw3NeMDqPIRUnUD1YU/s640/P1010746.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Greetings all! </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I wrote this post some time ago but thought I would share tonight. We are busy at the moment with calving preparation. It also happens to be 'end of term' for Jackson, so finishing up his assignments and getting everything handed in is a priority as well. We are doing a video slideshow for much of it, and it has turned in to a lot of work (of course.) Seemed like a good idea at the time...... </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Anyhow, I thought I'd add a few photos to this post while I'm waiting for the slideshow videos to upload, or download, or whatever needs to happen.... </i></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPAYZuCkzm9o5eNDSMWUAcCqpPLY9Scd6NWN5OpxzDPLr0OYoth9VZdhcdVViYkYJyzNBwRJjc5Ez3GgrtZIRQgapWGJdMeMB1U5CCndB2gK2-tXiqVhPbciaqMNK3SdFr-Q8edSOpMCI/s1600/P1010810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPAYZuCkzm9o5eNDSMWUAcCqpPLY9Scd6NWN5OpxzDPLr0OYoth9VZdhcdVViYkYJyzNBwRJjc5Ez3GgrtZIRQgapWGJdMeMB1U5CCndB2gK2-tXiqVhPbciaqMNK3SdFr-Q8edSOpMCI/s640/P1010810.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> I came across some older photos recently and they are fun to share. On the top you see my dog Ting compared to a set of little wee twins. Ting is not a big dog and she absolutely outweighed them. If memory serves me, the smallest was 18 lbs. But totally healthy! </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1r-UiEP3USrn69vLK2Mp8mqaFD-ArN7cDHk-vlKD7fFjF0UM3xN9aMlzql4dbygs_WOsQmue_eBHxKw4N9VtDzj3DaK_1hkTV0iVl0n8-5DX7nOac7Dm4YhyJYIPmU7qMysKNMGNoka5/s1600/P1010813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1r-UiEP3USrn69vLK2Mp8mqaFD-ArN7cDHk-vlKD7fFjF0UM3xN9aMlzql4dbygs_WOsQmue_eBHxKw4N9VtDzj3DaK_1hkTV0iVl0n8-5DX7nOac7Dm4YhyJYIPmU7qMysKNMGNoka5/s640/P1010813.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> As it happened, we had an abnormally large calf around the same time. Here they lie, side by each.</i> </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWre9r4C4GgXJc2dfFsFuyOnw2MGZWGMlr9hx86hgccoEPUAqhbwB3KG6L63zfDOuTHcLafFr_8Y8tEnjlcATZd47Hnkr8Es3-aIKjYt_F3U5zBWIQZq1n0iRtse5LB7T3dkXKSzCLGaU/s1600/P1010826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWre9r4C4GgXJc2dfFsFuyOnw2MGZWGMlr9hx86hgccoEPUAqhbwB3KG6L63zfDOuTHcLafFr_8Y8tEnjlcATZd47Hnkr8Es3-aIKjYt_F3U5zBWIQZq1n0iRtse5LB7T3dkXKSzCLGaU/s640/P1010826.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Might think this was momma and baby......instead of the smallest and largest calf of the year. </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been asked a few times, and not sure I've answered properly, about why we seem to move our cattle so often. It's a valid question. Basically, it comes down to food. In the summer time, we are constantly monitoring the cows to make sure they are not overgrazing any particular area, and that the bulls are present to do their job. There is really a lot of feed out here and cattle tend to either a) really scatter or b) really concentrate on their favorite areas. There are other factors that come into play as well, but good management means being in close contact as often and consistently as possible. </span></span></b><br />
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<span>Our range is very large, with a huge diversity in altitude and environment. Not only are we mindful of the dates and restrictions provided to us by the government, but we must have a larger picture in mind and use our environment to the best advantage. For example, it is best to utilize the farthest away grass during the summer as it is very risky to push cattle too far away in the fall. One never knows when or if Mother Nature will unleash record cold temperatures or allow multiple feet of snow to fall at once. If that happens (and it does!), it is difficult enough to gather cows that are within a couple of miles of home. It would be impossible if they were scattered 15 or 20 miles away, especially up in the higher altitudes. So while it may seem handier to have the cattle closer to the ranch in the summer, they will obviously eat up all the forage available and you best have a big stack of hay available come fall! It also helps that, in the fall and winter, our big swamps freeze over and feed that the cattle cannot access in the spring and summer becomes available. So we move them, and watch them. Or try. It's big country and much of it is not that friendly. </span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI37dx4VI3wTQNapKFWd6KNBFy537ezhiPKxnooYqWAHw5jL0M91rQ5SV5uu0aK-3xJhPypATcJaJEh62QbPjkVFvwIQWYtgOI8AknJPp8RXVMwMCH0K5GD3qF7ZxPXMNrN3VZLnPLNGwI/s1600/P1010803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI37dx4VI3wTQNapKFWd6KNBFy537ezhiPKxnooYqWAHw5jL0M91rQ5SV5uu0aK-3xJhPypATcJaJEh62QbPjkVFvwIQWYtgOI8AknJPp8RXVMwMCH0K5GD3qF7ZxPXMNrN3VZLnPLNGwI/s640/P1010803.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i>Be a rancher they said.....it'll be fun they said...... </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now in the winter, when the cattle are all home, we are moving them for a similar reason, although not such great distances. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I mentioned earlier that we have several ranch sites. Of course these ranch sites are where the hay is. And where the hay is, is where the cattle need to be. Again, we have to think about the big picture, making sure how we are feeding makes sense. </span></b><br />
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<span>So, for example, we had a large amount of cattle at Three Circle earlier. They were left there long enough to be fed all of the lesser quality hay (got rained on) as right now they need to maintain and the hay is plenty good for that. Once that lesser hay was used up, we moved them again as we will need the remaining "good" hay there later in the year. Now they need to maintain..... later in the Spring they need the best quality we have as it takes a lot of energy to grow that baby in the final stages, produce the essential high quality colostrum, calve out, milk well and raise a healthy baby. </span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60dsJDiLpeGscF_rLWXUPtX_BU7J7xFR6CFfa3uoP7qYnHyyKKiPOFGk0Shej4VGmRoC5O0WwRyR8Dh3cdN_2oUm4ePgEbPttzNobgS0JrA_wysmOgB1hfj50lz3QAp1UI9l1rVgmngQt/s1600/DSC_6174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60dsJDiLpeGscF_rLWXUPtX_BU7J7xFR6CFfa3uoP7qYnHyyKKiPOFGk0Shej4VGmRoC5O0WwRyR8Dh3cdN_2oUm4ePgEbPttzNobgS0JrA_wysmOgB1hfj50lz3QAp1UI9l1rVgmngQt/s640/DSC_6174.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>From Three Circle we took the majority of our mature cows up to a remote meadow that we have a couple hundred bales put up on. It is a real pain to do the feeding up there, but it makes more sense to take the cows to the hay, rather than haul it all out over a long rough track. (About a 1 1/2 hour tractor ride one way.) We took them up there in two groups as there were too many to handle if they decided they didn't want to go. It is rough, brushy country and not easy to get around in if things get tough. Luckily, both groups </b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>traveled</b></span><b> well, but it meant two very cold days in the saddle, rather than one. We brought them all home (in one group) and finally everyone was settled at Five Mile for the remainder of the winter.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the time gets closer for calving (first of March), almost all of them will be moved to Six Mile where our main facilities are. (And lots of excellent quality hay.) </span></b><br />
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<span>Oh, and to top it off, we always keep the first and second calvers </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">separate</span><span>. The young cows are still growing and do best with extra care and attention. They always get the highest quality feed and plenty of it. Really, they are kept pretty much </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">separate (for calving and then with their new babies, on range and with specific bulls) until they are of the age to have their third calf. Then, while still young, they are considered 'mature' and go into the main herd.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Clear as mud, right? </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cheers all!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4_eKEJMd5mS0aiTdCkzd9N01mSgbPSh-aj4jkdOvO3DdQkvdCDtF1D96aSGzmUnibuDjZMyBtHbR9DGF2wHajuvoyCS8gfQJct6ykJ_7hQf73VfRHNGwmRshyDx4QOqd2NwGDu6SsJOO/s1600/April+10+%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4_eKEJMd5mS0aiTdCkzd9N01mSgbPSh-aj4jkdOvO3DdQkvdCDtF1D96aSGzmUnibuDjZMyBtHbR9DGF2wHajuvoyCS8gfQJct6ykJ_7hQf73VfRHNGwmRshyDx4QOqd2NwGDu6SsJOO/s640/April+10+%25288%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </b>Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-58401293041291069112018-02-13T22:49:00.000-08:002018-02-13T22:49:41.313-08:00Winter has arrived <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>SO much snow! Like much of British Columbia, we got hammered with snow. It may not be a record for Anahim Lake, but it sure in a pain. Especially with calving season looming around the corner. Mum, Dad and Eli have been endlessly plowing snow and the height of the snowbanks is quite shocking. The best photos are to be taken up at Six Mile because it is a relatively small area where the corrals are and the snow is piled as high as the tractors can get it. I took the boys up there skiing, but my photos did not turn out at all, so I'll try another day. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84ie_RvaNQyibJFOFBIMFBHZrLnYxxW1mhc0JOTpkWZo_PKVB8Y1NiDI7UfCqGYAyMT35cdFWwHs89UXkyKgQy0U5TmBQzb7_7THl15w79bHbKtJIMaYSANy6b2q-XJWhW1w0YMFuEqYM/s1600/20180205_172107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84ie_RvaNQyibJFOFBIMFBHZrLnYxxW1mhc0JOTpkWZo_PKVB8Y1NiDI7UfCqGYAyMT35cdFWwHs89UXkyKgQy0U5TmBQzb7_7THl15w79bHbKtJIMaYSANy6b2q-XJWhW1w0YMFuEqYM/s640/20180205_172107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Love this one of Eli plowing snow with the tractor. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJDui5UMlJz3uioz4vMI-iue09-D14jwt-XV_5eUvdlJRs667QrxFZpE6FF5fmyvAKln2N4WFlmi-0JrcsPSDqGzYxfm_SG3JT1rjWFoP4m93xC1TkDsKafJ4aKSaVVV7kVqIQl1ZBubm/s1600/20180213_181922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJDui5UMlJz3uioz4vMI-iue09-D14jwt-XV_5eUvdlJRs667QrxFZpE6FF5fmyvAKln2N4WFlmi-0JrcsPSDqGzYxfm_SG3JT1rjWFoP4m93xC1TkDsKafJ4aKSaVVV7kVqIQl1ZBubm/s640/20180213_181922.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> Not a great shot. Was trying to get the crazy sky colors, but you get an idea of the snowbanks piled around. Spring run off is going to be something impressive! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VS9881kZry89CQIcDEbaaf2ahqoWVSRTASaHmsHXZShAm74F9ZLSEFu18Sp8KrHGQls9K4sdNlQxchj5u-2surjvowqCOcXc8cArDnjWtJe1WzJkrxN14RfBqhCRVprLmY5uXL7bj0UX/s1600/20180212_174322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VS9881kZry89CQIcDEbaaf2ahqoWVSRTASaHmsHXZShAm74F9ZLSEFu18Sp8KrHGQls9K4sdNlQxchj5u-2surjvowqCOcXc8cArDnjWtJe1WzJkrxN14RfBqhCRVprLmY5uXL7bj0UX/s640/20180212_174322.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Don't try this at home folks! (I mean being so close to a moose.....try the skiing behind the snowmachine! That's awesome.) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I normally wouldn't stop the kids this close to a moose (they can be very dangerous). This guy saw us coming from a long way away and calmly stopped to watch the show. We are hard to miss with me on the snowmachine, 2 kids on skis jumping snowbanks and a pack of dogs stampeding in every direction. He didn't show any sign of being worried or aggressive (trust me, you know an angry moose when you see one!) so we stopped for a quick snap on the way by. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26UlXg8eqfirQvMjEjVfMIROnm1xuuKbK6HVrXgobzmaL-kqZ4-H0-PfcrPlC99k27moJbTBDD9_nQJWC20rkOvlzytS3YzSL482HuA4ASyc3cdbQYmgrH3qDI9AqW8KMCjvIAutGMz-t/s1600/20180210_103243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26UlXg8eqfirQvMjEjVfMIROnm1xuuKbK6HVrXgobzmaL-kqZ4-H0-PfcrPlC99k27moJbTBDD9_nQJWC20rkOvlzytS3YzSL482HuA4ASyc3cdbQYmgrH3qDI9AqW8KMCjvIAutGMz-t/s640/20180210_103243.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>My wee sheepies enjoying their morning treat. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pxmWBvbtY4TqM4zU0OOil9XM6ktMlJZLg-BZfVcBVBBLYWTdX2o1U2V2Mn0Amvu4CZdadWcjkrK2nm0-bn-w07bQPHf7AwqrC8djszCSYwVsedUnyIyiR1y9dhiiKWIiu3Xc8mZODqWX/s1600/20180210_103208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pxmWBvbtY4TqM4zU0OOil9XM6ktMlJZLg-BZfVcBVBBLYWTdX2o1U2V2Mn0Amvu4CZdadWcjkrK2nm0-bn-w07bQPHf7AwqrC8djszCSYwVsedUnyIyiR1y9dhiiKWIiu3Xc8mZODqWX/s640/20180210_103208.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The 'Misfits' getting their morning treats. These are the leftovers from last fall, ones that could not be sold due to size or injury. They are all healthy and happy and growing well. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN13bkahyphenhyphenNOCW1_1lw_2f2Zk7bEdICLsY9em-mTTnF3y-lJMWmd_tPpK174Whe4ZGHr2yrpCd435hiJEdwnUHWt6XWRDmBJa8G5ZGWnen_cbvD1nYpFxle9Ob2cdNeNn5a_Xfrb9lJ7phy/s1600/20180207_145935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN13bkahyphenhyphenNOCW1_1lw_2f2Zk7bEdICLsY9em-mTTnF3y-lJMWmd_tPpK174Whe4ZGHr2yrpCd435hiJEdwnUHWt6XWRDmBJa8G5ZGWnen_cbvD1nYpFxle9Ob2cdNeNn5a_Xfrb9lJ7phy/s640/20180207_145935.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I've seen more lynx in the past week than I've seen ever in my life. So cool. This little one was in a family group. We saw 2 others and heard one more. (Look up the noise they make on youtube.....eerie!) Two days later I watched a big guy cross the meadow in front of my kitchen window, casual as you like. So amazing how they can handle these snow conditions. And now, yesterday and today again, I saw two young ones along the road to town. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>(Gotta brag just a little....we went into town today so Jackson could take his CORE written exam. CORE (Conservation and Outdoor Education) is the course required to get a hunting license. He rocked it and aced the practical part last week, so he is officially able to hunt (once we get our paperwork straightened out.) Pretty proud boy, let me tell you what! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iHLoFSr1ze8ZbIwqpcLM_GI9OXHmu5uLx2zmSMz-maezM5gquv4gcHSMjR1kCXtTZdl_pn9xw8J4qKEXQICLPzyBy7A2m8yotpZHrPwPhPqYDclPCvNmnHtj4RPsDWjFcuF5sMMTCOaa/s1600/20180205_162250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iHLoFSr1ze8ZbIwqpcLM_GI9OXHmu5uLx2zmSMz-maezM5gquv4gcHSMjR1kCXtTZdl_pn9xw8J4qKEXQICLPzyBy7A2m8yotpZHrPwPhPqYDclPCvNmnHtj4RPsDWjFcuF5sMMTCOaa/s640/20180205_162250.jpg" width="360" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Look at the snow! We got more after this photo too. This is Twinkie (aka "Big Momma"), with Fugly in the background. They are wintering well. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0EyU4stv2S859q-NYK3s420kl2pa1_YCO80FvX-GyFFyhjQUsQTeZznhWnJsfBsEkye9oUS_13EZfqMoadPBGhlEMc33TAEISmtRMpcWyhOz4CTyn_vNDh2TYuJyh2zu97b-92QlV1Z8/s1600/20180205_170041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0EyU4stv2S859q-NYK3s420kl2pa1_YCO80FvX-GyFFyhjQUsQTeZznhWnJsfBsEkye9oUS_13EZfqMoadPBGhlEMc33TAEISmtRMpcWyhOz4CTyn_vNDh2TYuJyh2zu97b-92QlV1Z8/s640/20180205_170041.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hard to believe calving season is just around the corner! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We will start moving and processing cows this coming week (retagging, vaccinating etc) and then it is basically time to start night checks. We shouldn't start calving until early March, but somehow the cows seem to ignore the calendar. They are jerks like that. :) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All the best folks. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-42760320624055120252018-02-03T23:43:00.001-08:002018-02-03T23:43:52.988-08:00The Mountains are Calling<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sitting here tonight, sorting through photos for the web site..... I just have to share some. More will be up in the near future on our site. </b></span><br />
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is a saying I've seen (recently on a t-shirt) and it says </b><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> <i> "The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go." </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Fitting I think. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All the best to you and yours. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJvknAg5lZxTZWE3uea8s5DrcuqJZRLHUjA543vtMvVRKWz5pKYNVYlaQIZplH_GAtiLRy9Y1tFOg408wySVPav5g78S_gisDBSIQDuFil3TLmM8JzpXq4r3mSvkXOAebn9w7cWT3mRd2/s1600/P7250418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJvknAg5lZxTZWE3uea8s5DrcuqJZRLHUjA543vtMvVRKWz5pKYNVYlaQIZplH_GAtiLRy9Y1tFOg408wySVPav5g78S_gisDBSIQDuFil3TLmM8JzpXq4r3mSvkXOAebn9w7cWT3mRd2/s640/P7250418.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Overlooking Moose Haven, Ilgatchuz</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaGAC5TLzPeWsDfwCtcP1DqA66R617c8_APVNUv2VzBERD4oBSeUsqWzzusXrn3qrxSv1ak-G2Q_0rPzhQLSw7F7tz5L3Sa1s89OztjxMjsRVWANJRtgmNULtSZHcxW0sRWQ6saynZhIf/s1600/Kerry%2527s+Photos+2016+101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaGAC5TLzPeWsDfwCtcP1DqA66R617c8_APVNUv2VzBERD4oBSeUsqWzzusXrn3qrxSv1ak-G2Q_0rPzhQLSw7F7tz5L3Sa1s89OztjxMjsRVWANJRtgmNULtSZHcxW0sRWQ6saynZhIf/s640/Kerry%2527s+Photos+2016+101.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The Lookout, Itcha Mountains <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(photo credit to Kerry & Leona)</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNM1SXG3ndSJOGTXrCjhj6nn0q7cRhxdJw1aIf_1gCVqwAs2RjfLvdXSINbPu6_updQkSIEQIYq4_Vc7zUtASmeBIqbAzB0FqPjALaip4HKUMINACPDv9Rpw6Ym17IBblGkaqkL9kSJvB/s1600/Leona%2527s+Photos+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNM1SXG3ndSJOGTXrCjhj6nn0q7cRhxdJw1aIf_1gCVqwAs2RjfLvdXSINbPu6_updQkSIEQIYq4_Vc7zUtASmeBIqbAzB0FqPjALaip4HKUMINACPDv9Rpw6Ym17IBblGkaqkL9kSJvB/s640/Leona%2527s+Photos+056.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heading for the Itcha's <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(photo credit to Kerry and Leona) </span> We are riding through summer range for our cattle. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn0Je8uNl902kAAeV9uBrtL3nl52E9Xf68rlnFhxd4aZWU8hbqtjrQdndrE3SDAtPsbOvUieUx70W_oSSMILGMxGHdDYYAhuPBbMdl-4MelCInDPBCZf5U_Qew_q2XAzp3eEoH5tKqoeU/s1600/IMG_4442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1256" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn0Je8uNl902kAAeV9uBrtL3nl52E9Xf68rlnFhxd4aZWU8hbqtjrQdndrE3SDAtPsbOvUieUx70W_oSSMILGMxGHdDYYAhuPBbMdl-4MelCInDPBCZf5U_Qew_q2XAzp3eEoH5tKqoeU/s640/IMG_4442.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo Credit Lisa H.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZHY_jmH9pKTkziyfZcHanKoyB7Ak1Un99cfyvmaxPS9p8YhCnl6inTGN2xoFyJoJcYJ15ETmdNgyivrytrrg_dxY6318LV68bOscHwo0vhtNhiXkKP_sgbb643ljIvc5Uvcddi5zF0Oo/s1600/IMG_4557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1287" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZHY_jmH9pKTkziyfZcHanKoyB7Ak1Un99cfyvmaxPS9p8YhCnl6inTGN2xoFyJoJcYJ15ETmdNgyivrytrrg_dxY6318LV68bOscHwo0vhtNhiXkKP_sgbb643ljIvc5Uvcddi5zF0Oo/s640/IMG_4557.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Photo credit Lisa H. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTcgbI5ykxQd3Pwlra-uRo8_QlVnOUT2mCEihmdte2j3WdSBkTGruSD6JrrI2JUHLnXmDHvwLdAEKWzRfkOQ48HooMJBEraM5VURyzt9pjsbkZOfGKhRPHV5bMeIw3Zdiln_FGu3PR8VS/s1600/IMG_4579+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTcgbI5ykxQd3Pwlra-uRo8_QlVnOUT2mCEihmdte2j3WdSBkTGruSD6JrrI2JUHLnXmDHvwLdAEKWzRfkOQ48HooMJBEraM5VURyzt9pjsbkZOfGKhRPHV5bMeIw3Zdiln_FGu3PR8VS/s640/IMG_4579+%25281%2529.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ack, every time I see a photo of these ladies in their 'spa', it literally makes my skin crawl with cold. I know the temperature of that water! Purely glacier fed and said glaciers are NOT far away. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Photo credit Lisa H. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalbeBavaq0s3IwMo4eoNl8-kREj39ctk0gvzuicDTebHxcJQOyPTAggfK5wEBC1Tep2BoSsCajh08fj3EAl3SlHm642mtEPnrZiBHSL3AHrcFJz7hIdLWUNFH2GYgoFtbjn4tBD_bx87c/s1600/IMG_4589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1590" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalbeBavaq0s3IwMo4eoNl8-kREj39ctk0gvzuicDTebHxcJQOyPTAggfK5wEBC1Tep2BoSsCajh08fj3EAl3SlHm642mtEPnrZiBHSL3AHrcFJz7hIdLWUNFH2GYgoFtbjn4tBD_bx87c/s640/IMG_4589.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Can't ever get enough of this view. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pan Valley, Ilgatchuz</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit Lisa H. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifll8Fm49qp8v5wYsihJp7f8st66klAlwCSapb_ff62wgh9WV_2FOaquDXoBFezsJO0aNYJGDaPN7CY4PwYGFc0-PMKau4Y8tmxnotUOyZ-Gu_4-9mOKqpJwA8m3Xga2094ADEXXryW5lO/s1600/P7220378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifll8Fm49qp8v5wYsihJp7f8st66klAlwCSapb_ff62wgh9WV_2FOaquDXoBFezsJO0aNYJGDaPN7CY4PwYGFc0-PMKau4Y8tmxnotUOyZ-Gu_4-9mOKqpJwA8m3Xga2094ADEXXryW5lO/s640/P7220378.JPG" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
<br />Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-10569278399619796392018-01-29T10:16:00.001-08:002018-01-29T10:16:33.298-08:00Off to the Flat Lands <b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, the Hatch family done did sneaked away. (And left our schooling behind us too, apparently.)</span></b><div>
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite fully expecting some catastrophe to fall, everything went better than to plan (pfffttt.......plan!) and we had a great week away. We got in some lovely visiting with family and friends and a super break overall. The weather even cooperated and stayed nice and relatively warm, both for on our travels and at the ranch. Nice. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The boys both did a 'report' on our trip and they are fun to read and very informative. They've kindly agreed to let me post them. For the record, they rough drafted out their ideas and then I typed as they spoke. It makes for a much more interesting read if they don't have the consider the actual agonizing, soul wrenching, tear jerking, nightmare creating writing part of story telling. The details and stories are their own and may or may not be 100% accurate. </span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lFVSBoKVpzci9YyQnG4BlwgGaAuj8TfcWqY1lICwcZ4A9AmL-MG-Cj4yeUHVvhDf73kZbXSNvXOzQ3Qp8dPDjShD_NK8oYFCx8lnnqQs1KP3TJyEPR7wJukcp5vvsG4XlOAzIC8ujCym/s1600/20180128_214515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1600" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lFVSBoKVpzci9YyQnG4BlwgGaAuj8TfcWqY1lICwcZ4A9AmL-MG-Cj4yeUHVvhDf73kZbXSNvXOzQ3Qp8dPDjShD_NK8oYFCx8lnnqQs1KP3TJyEPR7wJukcp5vvsG4XlOAzIC8ujCym/s640/20180128_214515.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLPli491Yn11Ujfc1jYHCTdzy65IUS7oJaw253AU0IiIVKjDl4sXdKXSJ3RV_GfDVu_vCOfd5RN71-S7aMYE7NXFXWGvYXWjj6sdygxL3RsTPm1ko8KZCz8c6DDIK75C0TULdVBDvEbiR/s1600/20180128_214531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLPli491Yn11Ujfc1jYHCTdzy65IUS7oJaw253AU0IiIVKjDl4sXdKXSJ3RV_GfDVu_vCOfd5RN71-S7aMYE7NXFXWGvYXWjj6sdygxL3RsTPm1ko8KZCz8c6DDIK75C0TULdVBDvEbiR/s640/20180128_214531.jpg" width="478" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'd say they pretty much summed it up! I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have, but I'll share a few anyhow. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUs_lkHphvfYXBCvAZSB2a3Aa4RZjVWwHwq-ZKPDASiGay0GzzF3WTKi8P2_9LWmGNnX5zOTscX7UbP_N3DIq2xMnOJsZyua3o-gl72RvaFp4RvDw5qjdGn6qp_cWlb3Q5IQF9kXqAl3Zp/s1600/20180115_093716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUs_lkHphvfYXBCvAZSB2a3Aa4RZjVWwHwq-ZKPDASiGay0GzzF3WTKi8P2_9LWmGNnX5zOTscX7UbP_N3DIq2xMnOJsZyua3o-gl72RvaFp4RvDw5qjdGn6qp_cWlb3Q5IQF9kXqAl3Zp/s640/20180115_093716.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Just outside of Jasper, Alberta </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeF_QKR9wWMstmMZ9yrzVnOc8Fp6bMjoKQj7dLCTaHlmebqjLH8hMI55bztZ23J5DOh65wVsEjsNDiM_hSbsioEhyJZCvRChGYLDQ2mbh3ua_55UYiW4kRTVVdCzHuL518IeZJetncVet/s1600/20180115_100259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeF_QKR9wWMstmMZ9yrzVnOc8Fp6bMjoKQj7dLCTaHlmebqjLH8hMI55bztZ23J5DOh65wVsEjsNDiM_hSbsioEhyJZCvRChGYLDQ2mbh3ua_55UYiW4kRTVVdCzHuL518IeZJetncVet/s640/20180115_100259.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvX1RNynwP_qWQcRq5TGeBWVVzVKU0I1eQFvX2-f15ht1UfNekKYVtBl9iciq-8UXgeimXwW2rSpA58BlP6nS3MT2HSwyOpPh9FQK-pwotRRI7qEjv_s5XvvnZ1qc4gOXAEo76cZv7Fco/s1600/20180115_100235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvX1RNynwP_qWQcRq5TGeBWVVzVKU0I1eQFvX2-f15ht1UfNekKYVtBl9iciq-8UXgeimXwW2rSpA58BlP6nS3MT2HSwyOpPh9FQK-pwotRRI7qEjv_s5XvvnZ1qc4gOXAEo76cZv7Fco/s640/20180115_100235.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH6f0i1k2VsOBFGc6TDMdHIRzExMhTQFDPZApgER889XMJHwHfeJjuIXn7KMa2QDTwgdG9GzxK9VXiioy179sG8Ai1dLoD0xQlcDgT31XhSX-lAdGOpMA82zVRS4Zj7BGtcwzOfS70hwn/s1600/20180116_172602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH6f0i1k2VsOBFGc6TDMdHIRzExMhTQFDPZApgER889XMJHwHfeJjuIXn7KMa2QDTwgdG9GzxK9VXiioy179sG8Ai1dLoD0xQlcDgT31XhSX-lAdGOpMA82zVRS4Zj7BGtcwzOfS70hwn/s640/20180116_172602.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Eli's 'new to us' pride and joy. He has managed a couple good rides on it already since we've been home and it is working out perfectly. </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wFPEvG4OxfLg5iN8wp4m08FMx4zeSbRXRdTj8o8ajK8OsMPrvQnzELMsq9ssMf81Bo8hQc9UOxxnHpCgQ-O4fuboHkL2UdVyYdGt3rtVCfkCIo8d8U2YUlmJniFLdTpdi0QTI6GyXtgy/s1600/IMG_6213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wFPEvG4OxfLg5iN8wp4m08FMx4zeSbRXRdTj8o8ajK8OsMPrvQnzELMsq9ssMf81Bo8hQc9UOxxnHpCgQ-O4fuboHkL2UdVyYdGt3rtVCfkCIo8d8U2YUlmJniFLdTpdi0QTI6GyXtgy/s640/IMG_6213.jpg" width="480" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Ski Hill fun in Red Deer....more a big gully than a mountain, but great fun!</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHuzd2GR-nW3l5-Oeu41y4DXtl5iu5ShueU4YtSHNO2trQOsJvjG1hhRy1yjaU-AgiP9ff89OB0xiO1PFB0QA0uuT-TcWZ0IO9nm0IaINZ08_oh8tKoXkZaqd8-5wWmSGphJ0VdoR9sp5/s1600/20180119_152337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHuzd2GR-nW3l5-Oeu41y4DXtl5iu5ShueU4YtSHNO2trQOsJvjG1hhRy1yjaU-AgiP9ff89OB0xiO1PFB0QA0uuT-TcWZ0IO9nm0IaINZ08_oh8tKoXkZaqd8-5wWmSGphJ0VdoR9sp5/s640/20180119_152337.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And we think we have 'big skies'.... on our way to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVviAhPg350V3jfXursog4ly44J2xaysmBVIJx3zK3prYJ7PKBS_k9FrFqs_8OTIeF6hG15PcYdy6kayMkrj7WRdD4QYBLU6I-qPbDIpL6EimWqldHfiauPBHS2rijZEeYboOQijHLVR57/s1600/20180122_082016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVviAhPg350V3jfXursog4ly44J2xaysmBVIJx3zK3prYJ7PKBS_k9FrFqs_8OTIeF6hG15PcYdy6kayMkrj7WRdD4QYBLU6I-qPbDIpL6EimWqldHfiauPBHS2rijZEeYboOQijHLVR57/s640/20180122_082016.jpg" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm actually a bit shocked at my own lack of photo taking. I didn't realize I was doing such a poor job of it. Nevertheless, it was an absolutely wonderful holiday and I truly enjoyed it. Its so rare that we get away with the only item on the agenda being to visit friends and family, that I truly appreciate it. Luckily for us, we have outstanding (and understanding) family and friends that accept our random and unplanned visits without qualm. "Hey, we're here!" </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do have to say, that despite the hugely potential and accessible land we drove through, not to mention the beauty, Ben is right. There is no place like home. I was anticipating my own view when I drove down our snowy driveway and wasn't disappointed when I turned my favorite corner. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Our 'easier' time of year is soon to come to a crashing halt. Hard to believe it, but calving season is just around the corner. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cheers all,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span></div>
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812481771930314560.post-7816275117385607302018-01-11T23:28:00.000-08:002018-01-11T23:28:19.564-08:00<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wow folks, I'm a bit flabbergasted at the response to the blog lately. Thanks everyone, I totally appreciate your support. Wow. But now I've absolutely got writers block and have no idea of what to talk about. I am going to just post a couple of photos for tonight and maybe call it good. Get my composure back together for the next one, you guys have me all flustered and discombobulated. :) </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3eIFWYrvt7lIPd85yYoZBHkvZwA14YD2nn-GKNsWP6crsd6d6omQla7-VBPely5oS5q6xeNkZbvt4NfkmTK5IPKn9CgWQBQQGT2DyT96Vm1nXIqWfB5qMsOkb0o5owtAI8Rl6WoNs-2g/s1600/20180108_141034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3eIFWYrvt7lIPd85yYoZBHkvZwA14YD2nn-GKNsWP6crsd6d6omQla7-VBPely5oS5q6xeNkZbvt4NfkmTK5IPKn9CgWQBQQGT2DyT96Vm1nXIqWfB5qMsOkb0o5owtAI8Rl6WoNs-2g/s640/20180108_141034.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Long ol' line of moo's. </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Too bad it was such a flat grey day.<br /> But it was WARM!!! Can't hardly remember the last time I was able to ride for several hours without frozen feet at the end of it. Delightful treat. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Oh, also wanted to mention for those of you that have recently joined in, that earlier in my "blogging career", I did do some copying from my Grandma Dorsey's unpublished book, and from other books and articles as well. I'll just attach a link here (hopefully), which should take you back to where you can read a bit from her amazing life here in the Chilcotin. Back when things were a whole lot rougher than they are now. My goodness, she was one tough lady!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="https://mountainsbeyondthecows.blogspot.ca/2015/05/a-taste-of-grandmas-dorseys-life.html" target="_blank">A Taste of Grandma Dorsey's Life </a></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMPsISn-j6NTLd0MuUX8zlIf-chk6Dvd3RWO86a9g_qsrCnX9s_ubhyt3bl3TnrSStZfXQ2ExbmcFGrTjJgy7D_4viWx0ctRGwVavYyjtV5w1CKD0TnnowX6H6dxBHVOXTpQjTkIuB16Q/s1600/20180110_163413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMPsISn-j6NTLd0MuUX8zlIf-chk6Dvd3RWO86a9g_qsrCnX9s_ubhyt3bl3TnrSStZfXQ2ExbmcFGrTjJgy7D_4viWx0ctRGwVavYyjtV5w1CKD0TnnowX6H6dxBHVOXTpQjTkIuB16Q/s640/20180110_163413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cows trailing from the feed ground to their favorite bedding grounds at Five Mile. Has turned cold again, but they are looking and feeling sassy still. So nice to see. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>My Uncle Dave was up at the ranch the other night and I sure enjoyed having a visit with him. His memory for long ago events is amazing. I jotted down some notes and will put them together for you one of these days soon. One of his conversations that we all really enjoyed was about cutting fence rails with an ax. He cut rails for and built a crazy amount of fence in this area; there is still some standing fence left here on our ranch now. I am still amazed when I ride by some of the old fences and see that they were ax cut. Phew, tougher than me and then some!! They cut logs for fence the same way, and that is just mind blowing. If you've ever had to handle the weight of a green pine tree, you'd understand instantly and wince in sympathy.</b></span><br />
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyhow, back to the story. Uncle Dave said that he was decent ax man in his day and could make good money at it too. <i>"I could swing an ax pretty good, when most guys didn't want to do that any more. Too much work, but it was good money. I could usually do over 100 rails a day, cut and piled. And sometimes they wanted them 21 feet long, that's tough on a man. Hard work, really hard work. But they needed the fence so they kinda needed me, so I had them where I wanted them. I could make good money at 8 cents a rail, way better than normal wages. That rancher wanted to pay the usual 100 bucks a month, but I made good money by the rail." </i></b><br />
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And earned every single penny of it. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L6449Va_Nb3gauiQkqstb2I5UGhavalisFJxXc8MUPpXmiDeNBRXySOA1qWrN0j4JuDK4d81leDwtiLtm_xeUC0Pazchz2MV-x7hq6isATGYIi4djvTsbRzM9kgqB1VA5HpL87KcwoSA/s1600/20180107_152652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L6449Va_Nb3gauiQkqstb2I5UGhavalisFJxXc8MUPpXmiDeNBRXySOA1qWrN0j4JuDK4d81leDwtiLtm_xeUC0Pazchz2MV-x7hq6isATGYIi4djvTsbRzM9kgqB1VA5HpL87KcwoSA/s640/20180107_152652.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>We are going to have to start charging for room and board to Momma Moose! She moves about the ranch almost at will (these photos were taken at about 3pm) but is sure fun to watch. She was with us last winter as well, but nice to see her with a fat healthy calf this year. I can hear your question already, but we are quite sure it is the same moose as she is blind in the right eye (it is almost completely white....you can almost see it in this photo). </i></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cheers to you all folks!</b><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thanks for keeping in touch, I much appreciate it.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Punky </b></span><br />
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Terra Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109766542192023474noreply@blogger.com7