After a long and complicated Monday packing orders this past week, exhausted, we arrived back home in the dark to do chores. But there was a sight in the night that made us halt. We gathered quietly on the patio to watch the fire. Gale force hot winds blasted the high country of our summer …
Evacuating Snakebite
The 800 pound steer we call Snakebite charged and knocked Indiana intern Renae off of her feet, and proceeded to trample her. He had already had enough human interaction for a day, and it was payback time. The rope, freshly attached to his neck pushed him to his breaking point, and when he turned to …
Fires
Like many in the West, our lives are defined by fire. AUGUST 3: 1600 HOURS. There a massive column of smoke erupting from behind the Moose Creek ridge. I can see it from headquarters, even though the ridge is 15 miles away, and is a little obscured by the haze caused by distant wildfires in places …
It’s a Long Walk Home
 Horseback, I had just pushed through a long thicket of nearly impenetrable young Douglas-fir trees. They were twice the size of Christmas trees, but no less branched. I could hear the cattle I herded in front of me, but there were times I could see nothing except the soft branches that swept my …
Denizens Don’t Steal
At the crack of dawn today, I discovered myself a victim. I recognized this feeling. It was a weaker manifestation of the same sensation I had when I discovered that several antique firearms I had on display on my wall in the ranch house had been stolen. It wasn't until the perpetrator was …
Cinches and Kindness
I watched Sarah, our cowhand from Redding, draw that cinch tight around Teri's barrel shaped midsection. The indomitable and somewhat bitchy roan mare broke her stoic demeanor for a second and grunted in response to Sarah's firm pull. It was tight, but not too tight. Sarah's experienced hand got it …