Knapping that Weed in the Bud
Through the insufferable boil of rolling dust I looked up and spotted daughter Melanie. She had showed up in our badly warped game of leapfrogging our way on foot down remote forested roads and had mustered all the strength she had to continue the struggle about 20 feet down the…
Hail and Hearty
Dear Friends It was the unsettling low roar that got my attention. When first perceived, my mind simply put it in the folder marked ‘wind in trees.’ But then the rational mind took over with a nagging thought: there were no trees on this part of the range. The nearest…
When Aspen Trembles
This past week, a gentle breeze rolled down the rocky canyon and caressed the newly minted leaves of the aspen trees as I worked in the shade. They shook—trembled as if with fear. Quaking aspen—Populus tremuloides. A long winter had me forgetting the about this telltale behavior, a sort of communication from this old friend:…
There’s a Storm Coming
It’s been an eventful (full?) week with long days (often into the night), tumultuous weather, and a new summer horseback crew learning the ropes. Yesterday, a couple of aspiring range riders inadvertently overloaded the fenced corridor that led to the ranch’s livestock scales, causing a cattle surge into the alleyway. Cheyanne and Mason stood at…
Springtime in the Rockies
This story is by our 2nd daughter, Abby. She and her husband Ethan live near Alderspring. Both work here at the ranch while also raising their own pastured pork. Weather is coming. All of us can feel it. I get up at 7:00 because, even on a Saturday, my 1 ½ year old daughter doesn’t…