Kelvin and I and others, spent the last two days gathering in the breaks and then working the cattle. Got most of them gathered yesterday with not a lot of riders. Went back and gathered the remnants today and got them all worked. Left a lot of horse tracks and had some sore butts.

Here’s some pictures, especially for Sally!

And for my friend Corky, who seems to think all this land is flat around here, yes Corky it’s all flat. Except where it goes up or down!

Kelvin and I took off this morning, trailer and horses in tow, and went up to the Hills and rode to Harney Peak and back. Took 3 hours up and about 2 and 1/2 back down. Pretty! Pretty rough in some spots. All the hikers wanted our horses. None had enough money to buy them!

Got home and a nasty cold wind is blowing. Brrrr! Snow in North Dakota today!

Slept in ’til almost 7 this morning. Next two mornings will be early starts. Kelvin and I rode west and north looking for the lost bull. No luck. But I snapped some pictures. Be sure to click to make them bigger, Sally.

More cattle work for me and Kelvin today. We worked the pairs I am summering. Neighbor helped and all went well. Kelvin and Beav made a real cool looking move on a bulls he was sorting. I tell this guy is gettin’ to be a good hand! Then this afternoon we got Cindy to ride along with us as we went and set gates so the steers could get to fresh pasture. Kelvin rode Pilgrim and I rode Peaches with Cindy on Beaver and we all got along great. Peaches was a sweet heart considering she hasn’t been rode for the past couple months.

Had a great time going, there and on the way home from Marmarth on Saturday. Got home about 1:30 Sunday morning and Ken Cook who went along spent the short night. Then on Sunday Kelvin and I caught a ride with Slim and Darlene McNaught up to Eagle Butte for the benefit for the Nordvolds who lost their house and all possessions to a fire. They raised almost $23,000 for them and also about the same amount down here on Saturday for the Dan Wicks family. Dan has been diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig disease.

Slim and Darlene spent the night and I sure had a good visit with Slim last night. Great fellow and a whale of a poet.

We have nothing planned for tomorrow, but it sounds like Fr Tyler is coming to visit and then we have two days of cattle work down in the breaks.

Heard a good one this weekend. Seems a couple old fellers were setting on a bench and one turned to the other and said, “I am getting so damn forgetful I can’t remember if it was you or your brother who died!”

9 years ago that they crashed the Towers. Who would have guessed then that the things that are going on today in this country and around the world would be like this?

Kelvin and I went to the Hills on Thursday and helped Dustin and his boss work some cattle. Had a great ride and saw some new country from the back of a horse. Then we went and helped a neighbor work their calves yesterday. Wind howled like a banshee, but that isn’t anything new when I help this guy. Wind seems to always blow and we get it done.

Ken Cook is driving up to meet us and he and I and Kelvin are headed up top Marmarth, ND for a benefit poetry gig. Going to meet up with my buddy, DW Grothe or as we call him D dub.

Then tomorrow we are catching a ride with Slim McNaught and his bride up to Eagle Butte to try and help raise some funds for a friend, Blaine Nordvold, who’s house burnt down a while back.

On Monday we work the calves on the pasture cattle, here.

Yes the wind is blowing, but it didn’t get too serious about it until after dinner.

Yesterday, Kelvin and I brought the cows in and with the help of Fr Tyler vaccinated the calves with their fall shots and poured them with Ivemec. Then Kelvin and I drove up just south of Buffalo, SD and picked up two new Haflinger mares for me to break. I will break them and match them with the two I have and hopefully have two teams who match up better for the way they work together. Now, my mare walks slower than my gelding and has to trot or jog to keep up. Which, while it will work is not as handy as two who travel at the same speed and length of stride.

Turn’s out that all of these Halflingers from this ranch came from two mares and the same stallion, so I am sure after studying on these two new ones that one is a full sister to my mare and the other is a full sister to my gelding. I will break them this winter and then send one team back to the owner and have a better matched team for my self. It will cost me some feed and work. Not too bad a deal I don’t think. I worked with both of them this afternoon and they are just like their siblings and fairly gentle and easy to work with. I have named them Rose and Rill. Rill is the spitting image and acts just exactly like her sister and Rill is built like her brother and acts like him. She is a sorrel and he is more blond, but color doesn’t matter to me as much as how they work together.

Tomorrow Kelvin and I go to help my nephew and the man he works for, give fall shots and then on Friday we help a neighbor do the same. So Kelvin is getting in lots of riding and Beaver is sad because he has to work much more than he has all summer!

The gig at Devils Tower was great! Bonnie, Marty and Paul really wowed them. The crowd was even polite enough to clap for me and my sorry pickin’ and poems!

Got 1.10 rain last night and this morning! Woohoo! Just what the doctor ordered.

Cindy Kass and Cindy’s mom, Karen, canned peaches and plum jelly yesterday and are doing pears and more plum jelly today. Kelvin is pounding on leather in my shop and I even worked on a saddle and am about to do a test piece on a new set of spur strap for a man in Germany.

Rain. I love it!

A day late. Yesterday was Cindy’s 50th birthday. We have been together longer than we have not. Odd,  she seems the same women I met all those years ago. Maybe better!

I must be a real good teacher!

😉

I was hired to do a gig for a wagon train coming from Miles City to Deadwood. The gig was yesterday evening. When I got there (about 100 miles from here) there was a guy playing guitar and singing and doing a whale of a job. I was a little early so stood around and watched until approached by a guy who was one of the ones in charge. He was apologetic as he didn’t know I was coming! Hmmm.

Another case of several people being in charge. He felt sorry for me and was going to have me perform after this other guy got done. I said it really didn’t matter. Then Mother Nature took charge with wind, rain and lightning, so the people all went into their wagons and tents and he and I decided that they would not come back for more entertainment. No big deal, I will call the lady later today, who hired me and make sure the meager check she is going to send me is still on the way. I fulfilled my part, seems like. I sure would have done the work if anyone wanted me too and I did arrive before time. Oh well, this kind of thing happens once in awhile. But it sure make me careful when getting a job and I like to be paid half in advance, just in case.

 

Overcast and cooler. Supposed to get up to 74 or so this afternoon. Nice day to ride. We got 60 hundreds of rain the other night and the lightning was popping and the thunder rolling. Sure was tickled to get the rain as we have lots of dried stuff to burn in this country. Rained hard for a bit and then I knew we was safe from fires right here.

Chance and I rode down south and doctored 4 of our calves with ears down Saturday evening but they all looked okay today. I’ll ride and check more cattle after dinner.

Rode with Dean up to Spearfish to a horse sale yesterday, where several friends and neighbors had horses for sale. Wasn’t a great sale for prices for the sellers, but sure not as bad as some I’ve heard either.

Took my pickup over to the vet today to get a new seal put in the rear end. Hey, better it than me!

Cindy and I took the boys with us and went to Punkin Center and got some Nuflor and the shots for calves for their fall shots, this morning also.

I had BLT’s for dinner with garden fresh tomatoes. I wonder what the poor folk are doing today?

Hows them colts, Mike? 🙂