National Day of the Cowboy

As a tribute for this day that recognizes one of the defining forces in our history, I want to put down "on paper" (so to speak), what makes MY cowboy so amazing.  So, bear with me while I gush.

Did you know that, even though he was born & raised in PA with almost no horses in sight, he wanted to "go to Montana and be a cowboy" almost from the time he could walk (according to his mom).  He's was gifted with that cowboy soul by God from Day 1.

He can fix anything and build a lot of things.  He just has that "figure-it-out" attitude and doesn't give up just because something looks difficult.  He can be counted on to stay calm in a crisis and to know what to do.

He's got a gentle soul and a hard head.  He can't abide cruelty in any form and always willing to help out a neighbor or a stranger.  He cares about other people and likes to hear what they have to say, what they do, what they think.  And, while it can sometimes take awhile, once he's made a decision, his mind is seldom changed.  (A blessing AND a curse... )  He places his faith in God and his heart in me and his family.

He can ride almost anything with hair, horses and dogs follow him around like the pied piper, he can rope, brand, fence, milk cows, build trail, put up & take down any kind of tent, haul any stock load up any road, build a fire under almost any condition, he's a great hunter, a committed friend, a loyal employee, a wonderful dad, and a loving & trusted husband.

He knows more western history than a lot of professors, reads a lot (both fiction & non), likes people for who they are inside, not what they look like outside or what they own or what they can do.

He dances, he skies, he plays a great harmonica, he sings.  He can shoe a horse, taxidermy an elk, and braid my hair.

In short, he has everything a cowboy should:  Faith, Knowledge, Kindness, Loyalty, Strength, Love... and to top it off, he's the only one that does it for me. 

This year celebrates our 20th year of marriage... How blessed am I to be married to the only person who could fulfill all of my girlhood fantasies about marrying a cowboy and what he'd be like? In short, he's my "man among men" for this life.

Peak Perfection

Well, one week ago (last Sunday), we headed into our camp location for the overnight trips for one of the private clubs, to get it set up and ready to go for our first overnight there, this coming week.  Due to the extremely wet conditions this year, we were asked to NOT bring stock if we could avoid it.  So, we hiked in and spent the day preparing camp.

As usual, we had to traverse some terribly unattractive terrain.

See the pretty waterfall?















Once in camp, we got started putting together the bed "platforms" which are really just bed frames made out of lumber so they are sturdy, solid & can be taken apart to store over the winter.  After all 10 beds were assembled, we ate lunch & I checked out the camp area. 

This beautiful little stream flows right through camp.

After our break, we got back to work on setting up camp.  The first tent up was the cook tent, then we moved on to the teepee's.  Teepees can be a very challenging thing to set up - I can't believe the women always did this in the Native American Camps!

 The first step is to lay the teepee out on the ground.  Because the area was still VERY wet, we used a tarp to keep the teepee from getting too dirty & muddy.  After it's laid out, we tie the teepee to a long pole, attaching the teepee top only, to the upper part of the pole.

Next, we stand the pole & teepee up & lean that pole into it's spot on the teepee frame.

 Once it's upright, we "unroll" the teepee around the frame, and try to get it pulled tight & even.

 Once it's fitted & seems to be oriented correctly, we put all the finishing touches on:

Staking to the ground

Putting in the hand-carved willow ties on the door 

And, finally, closing the smoke hole at the top - sometimes the most challenging of all.  A long pole must be inserted in a small pocket at the top of each of the two flaps, and then laid across each other to close the hole.

After the teepees were complete, we put up one more tent & called it a day.

Then, we all trooped back out to the trailhead, with some more beautiful scenery to carry us.

Bet you wish you were headed to that camp with us this weekend, huh?

While the men are gone... the women do all the work

This last week, all the guys were gone on a 5-day pack trip, leaving me in charge of the ranch (What??!!)... Yes.  Me.  Large and In-Charge.  So... what do I do while the men are gone?

Well, much of my time was spent on various sized projects around the ranch, including washing saddle blankets; repairing sleeping bags & tents; doing laundry for the guest cabin & getting it ready for the next group; cleaning the barn; mowing lawn; doing the town trip, etc.  But, one of the more enjoyable (believe it or not) tasks was the daily chore of irrigation.  There are a LOT of methods for irrigating, ranging from flood irrigation (which is what we do) to huge "Pivot Lines" which are ginormous stainless steel systems on wheels, powered electrically which can water many acres continuously (and which can cost in the 100's of thousands of dollars). 

Flood irrigation, though, is probably the oldest and most straight-forward of systems.  The basic idea is to run your irrigation water through a ditch, creating dams at various points where you can get the most spread of water.  Obviously, the ditch is typically on the uphill side and you try to direct water downhill.  Most irrigation water in Montana, comes either from the major river in that area, or from high mountain lakes.  It's seldom diverted from local streams or lakes due to the impact on those small systems.  Each landowner has a certain amount of water allocated to him, based on acreage and historical use (meaning the longer that property has used water, the more right it has to the water).

Once the water is in your main ditch on your property, you may decide to divert it to various side ditches to direct to the area you want to water.  It is commonly asserted that you never deviate from your irrigation schedule.  Even if it's rained for 2 weeks straight, you just keep moving your dams at the same schedule.  As the summer progresses, your available water decreases and so you must decide where & how much you want to irrigate as you will likely not have enough water for everything. 

Right now, we have LOTS of water.  So, each day we set 3 dams, one on each of 3 ditches. (We have more ditches but haven't yet diverted water to them).   Following is the pattern my daily irrigating follows:

First of all, make sure you have the one ESSENTIAL piece of equipment... a good pair of irrigation boots.  Here are my brand new Bogs.

1.  Start 4-wheeler & wait for all the dogs to come running... they LOVE to irrigate.
2.  Strain myself opening the wire gate to get into the pasture.
3.  Ride out to the main (upper) ditch & pull the dam.  (There are a number of different types of dams, although what you'll see here is the most common.  Locally, there is a mechanical dam, created by a man name "Love" in the 60's that some farmers & ranchers use.  It's called the "Love Machine" and basically straddles the ditch & runs on a motor that slowly follows the ditch, keeping a dam in place but moving is slowly along.)

 

 

 

Here's a dam in place before I pull it

4.  To pull a dam, I first try to find the rock that was used to hold it down (I'll explain that further down).  Do you see the rock?

 

5.  After I reach in & pull out the rock, I remove the other 4 rocks from the 4 corners & slowly start lifting the pole.  The weight of the water will then push against the tarp & eventually blow out the other side. 

Here you can see the water just starting to push on it & come out the other side

And here it is when it "blows out"

6.  Once the dam is released, I can pick it up, roll the tarp around the pole and put it on the 4-wheeler to transport to the next location.

 7.  Now you drive around looking for the next set.... Is that it?  No.....


Maybe... a little further?







AHA!  I see 2 rocks!  That's a good sign (although there are a LOT of rocks in the pasture, so it's not foolproof).

 

8.  Now that we've found the new location, we can work on re-setting the dam.  First I unroll the tarp & place the pole against the 2 anchor rocks.  Then, I stretch it out & put a rock on all 4 corners.

 

  

9.  Then, I place a smaller rock in the center at the edge, to start pulling the tarp down into the water.  As the water starts to flow in, the weight of that water continues to pull the tarp down into the ditch.

10.  Now I sit and wait for the water to backup & start to overflow.  While I wait, I watch the scenery.

 

 And... some more scenery.  (Yes, it's tough job, but someone really does have to do it.)

 

 11.  Finally, the water is starting to flow.

  12.  Josie expresses her approval.

  

 12.  The final check.










13.  Another look around.

And then I head out to the next ditch to reset that dam. 

What a great morning!