It was like Sherwood Forest down there. As far as the eye could see, tall cottonwood trunks stood with rustling leaves above, providing continuous shade over the thick grasses below. An occasional 100 year old and failed homestead log cabin, now rotting into the ground provided the only break in the …
Cats and Cattle
Erik was right. He described the tracks he had seen and hazarded a guess as to their maker. Those tracks were the business card left by a mountain lion, the solitary and fearsome host of the forests and canyons we lived and worked in. The big cat had his eyes on the easy mark of a wayward …
Alderspring’s Organic Odyssey
We hear other natural, or grass fed producers how they don't want or need government inspectors on their farm or ranch and say they don't need them to tell them how to do the "right thing." Standing firm against "big government intervention in small, sustainable agriculture" is the reason they …
Grazers, Grass, and the Great Unknown
The muted crack of a twig woke me from a full body fatigue sleep. Holding my breath, I strained my ears for a clue as to who was stalking in the night. There it was again, this time with breathing. Then, the rhythmic ripping of green pinegrass as whoever it was severed it from roots. I breathed a …
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Why We Do What We Do
There's an old saying among old cowboy packers—those wizened hands who knew the craft of moving camps and gear on horseback in wild country—that if you've packed for 40 or 50 years of your life, you've actually only done half that. It's because the other half you spent looking for lost horses. I was …
Art and Science of Cattle Care
The Sego Lilly, or Mariposa, is in full bloom. Like a Milky Way of stars twinkling and trembling in the breeze of the sagebrush ocean, the view of them is enthralling on the Hat Creek Ranges, starting at 6000 feet elevation. As I sailed on the narrow trail through their fragrant and wavering stems, …