Cows, that is… we’ve been fighting a few with foot rot.. so instead of pussy footing around with the dart gun Chance, Tate and I saddled up this afternoon and rode down and found and roped and doctored 4 of them.. if that don’t heal them, I think it’s a lost cause… Tate even thought it was fun, but hot sweaty work.. no one or any livestock were injured in the healing process, tho’ one ol’ cow thought her feelings were hurt a bit and showed her contempt and objections… she was summerly dismissed! And P{pilgrim and Jake were not impressed with her surly character or attitude when she was whacking them with her head, tho’; Tate was grateful for the blows they took, instead of him…

Got home from the big gathering in Ft Pierre/ Pierre this weekend . Their Heritage Festival was a bang up success and a great time!Lots of treaty performers who did wonderful songs and poems.. lots of old and new friends… there was something for everyone… I’m tired but sure had a fun filled , great weekend of fun!

Helped Delbert do his second bunch yesterday then he and Glen came and helped us today. Cindy and Hope and Addy Bear all rode to gather and then helped when we got to the corrals..Gramma said she is tired and sore and i bet she is as I am also.. we didn’t take a break at noon, Chance didn’t want to so we never got to eat until 3.. we were all tired but glad to get them done.. also pulled the bulls out… I’ll haul them back to their owner next week.. we sprayed the cows and calves with Delberts sprayer.. I sure didn’t think they had as many flies as they did… we kept a couple butcher steers in.. Bart is coming in the morning..the big gathering in Ft Pierre starts off tomorrow evening, so i will be headed down to that.. Cindy has a deal at Terra Sancta so she can’t go along.. oh well, there are quite a few more coming up and she will get to go to those… real nice day, not hot and hardly a breeze..

I labored.. went up and helped Tate and the boys lay decking down for the loft on the house.. we didn’t quite get it done.. I used his knee pads and my knees are still sore.. he said “Wait until we start laying it down on the porch and the deck!”.. I said, “I will cut and you and Chance can kneel down and lay and nail it! ” He didn’t have an answer for that… Nice breeze all day and not real hot. Had a great time at Devils Tower yesterday.. nice crowd and Paul Larsen and Donnely Hewatt performed also.. Donnelly had everyone in stitches…

Carol asked that I post the poem I wrote for Bill.. here it is…

Bill

Marvis brought down your saddle
Asked if I’d clean it up real good
I told her I’d be proud to
I sure hope it worked like it should

I remember when she ordered it
Wanted it to be a surprise like most gifts do
I remember talking her in to telling
So you could order just what best fit you

Sounded like you were plumb tickled
When you got to go ride in it
Just the way you wanted
Both you and a horse, a good fit

I knew you’d do it proud
Always knew you were a hand
Hope you liked the way that
I carved and tooled in your brand

I don’t suppose I ever told you
I always looked up to you
Seemed to have life figured out
Like you always knew just what to do

I hate I won’t get to see you again
Well, at least not on this side
But I got a notion where your headed
Maybe someday we’ll still get to ride

That is if I can do things right
I’ll follow up there after you
I’ll try and use you as a role model
Just like I’ve been trying to do

Well, I got it all cleaned and oiled up
This work of wood and cow
We both shared in it from start to end
See you again Bill… so long for now

Robert Dennis
Reflecting on a saddle I built for a friend
9/3/15

Bill Munroe passed away in a tractor accident the other day and the funeral was today at the Community center.. a packed house of course.. I doubt you could find anyone who didn’t like Bill and Marvis. She called the other day and asked if I could clean up his saddle I built him, some years back.. I told her I’d be prods to. She dropped it off and I cleaned it a bit, tho’ it didn’t need much and then oiled it up… when I got done I came in and wrote down my thoughts.. I sent the poem off to Marvis and she called this morning and asked if I’d read it at the funeral.. not something I like doing, but how do you say , no? Hope it helped her and the family a bit.

We have been unthawing and cleaning the deep freeze, off and on for several weeks.. something comes up and we have to plug it back in.. finally got it all unthawed, but most of the meat was half thawed and half frozen, so we cooked up a bunch of steaks last night and I been making jerky out of the rest and the roasts… got a batch going now and some more to get done in the next few days… not sure when as Church in the morning and then Devils Tower Gathering at 1 pm… hopefully Monday I can finish it up…Cindy has plans of picking grapes on Monday, seems like we do that about every year…gapes are about the only wild fruit we have and I am not too sure how many of them we have.. guess we will pick what we have and she can make jelly.. Me? I’d make it all into wine! 😀

Working with Tate on the house today, it is warm out! 95 with dang little breeze…

Heres some photos from the trip..

This is a video ( the first I’ve ever been able to upload to this blog) of the Grizzley we saw in Yellowstone… there were idiots walking around trying to get closer and take a better picture….

The other day I told Cindy that seeing as she was out of a job, we ought to just take off and travel, so we did. Went to Wyoming and spent time with friends and relatives. went thru’ souther Yellowstone on the way out and northern part on the way back.. we left on Friday and just got back tonight, Monday evening.. drove about 1300 miles, but only had to get a motel one night and didn’t have to buy many meals.. so a pretty cheap trip. We spent the night in Cooke City last night and this morning drove over Bear Tooth pass and on to the Medicine Wheel, something I’ve wanted to see all my life, way up high in the northern Bighorns… had to hike in a mile and a half and I only had my boots so my feet are a little sore, but well worth it.. it’s cool spiritual place… we stopped in Sheridan and I think for the first time ever I went into Kings and didn’t buy a thing, but Cindy did! 😀
We stopped at Sheridan leather and I got a few things and got some canvas on order from Sheridan Tent and Awning to make my small teepee larger…we seen some spectacular country and for anyone wanting a spectacular drive. got from Cooke City to Red Lodge, or vice versa… wow! Charles Kauralt said once it was the most beautiful drive in the US and I sure wouldn’t argue it… good to be home and seems like everything weathered any storm that came this way while we were gone.. of course the boys were here, so I wasn’t worried…

Oh and the biggest news is Cindy got to see a bear in Yellowstone and we got photo’s and it was a grizzly… we were a lot closer than the photo’s look like but of course none turned out real well, taken thru’ the window… I sure wasn’t going to be like a lot of them fools and get out and take pictures! We saw deer, elk, buffalo and I am pretty sure we saw three moose this morning on the Medicine mountain, but seeing as they were about 2000 to 3000 feet below us and maybe a mile or more away, I can’t prove it, but they moved like horses and not cows and acted like wild animals.. so I am sure they were.. in a little meadow.. we didn’t see any wolves which was probably ok as I might have wanted to shoot them if we had! 😀

Had quite a little storm come thru’ last night.. Tate and I had been at a Men’s group and it flat rained on us coming home.. lightning shooting around..I sat around until midnight and the wind blew and there was lightning and rain.. got up this morning and we have lots of leaves and branches laying around the far… just came in from checking cows and it filled a couple dams down south and the creek is full and running water.. we drove up west and it has Indian Creek running some water.. sure don’t look like we had that much, but running water and full dams don’t lie! Good stuff. We’ll take it!