This past summer was certainly one to remember. I lived in a cabin in the mountains, my only source of communication was a satellite phone, and it was common place to listen to mouse traps rattle through the night. When our friends had to give directions to camp it was often described as, "after the end?" Nonetheless, I grew to love the peacefulness that being up there brought. Being that Joe and I spent everyday in each other's company, we didn't have anyone to tell our stories to. Well, not right away anyway! So we kept a journal of our daily adventures and I thought I would share them with you. I couldn't think of a better time to reminisce on summer than during the season of snow and ice. June 19: Joe- We slept in some this morning and that was really nice. When we got out, I got the rest of the metal up on the barn and while I put in all the screws, Haley did some painting on the box around the generator. Later we tore down the old yard fence. I sure like the looks of it. Haley- I haven’t washed my hair in over four days but at least we got to sleep in just a little bit this morning! I painted the box on the generator while Joe screwed in tin on the roof. I did some laundry during lunch and I’m starting to realize why the washer we just bought was so cheap. I have to sit on it during the spin cycle or it will shake out of the kitchen. So on laundry day I guess you’ll find me perched up here. We tore down an old fence in the yard and I read a plaque MT Fish & Game had next to their broken windmill. It used to power everything at the cabin, but like the solar panels, it broke and they never replaced it. I bet the guy they dedicated the windmill and sign to is rolling is his grave as our generator roars. June 20: Joe- Our calendar says that tomorrow is the first day of summer, but at the time of writing this it is snowing so hard that I can barely see the edge of the yard. So it goes in Montana I guess. The day started off cool but relatively nice. We made plans to get started around the Upper Robb pasture fence, me going one way with the four wheeler and Haley the other with her horse Sancho. We were preparing to leave when Sancho decided to have his biggest colt moment ever when Haley tried to put the fencing stuff on her saddle. He didn’t like it and went bucking across the yard. After she rounded him up, Haley took a short circle on him, then went down and tied a tarp to him in the round pen. She went with me on the four wheeler and we did get a good start on the fence. About noon it was starting to cloud up pretty good and I decided that we should head back to the cabin. By the time we got home it was starting to spit snow and a bit later it really started coming down. Haley- This morning we got ready and I got Sancho saddled and led him over to the fencing supplies. I was supposed to go up towards the forest in Upper Robb and Joe the other side on the four wheeler. Joe handed me what I can only describe as a fencing death trap. He had wire, a hammer, and numerous other things tied to a carpenter’s tool belt. He instructed me to put this thing over my saddle horn. I normally carry all my supplies in my saddle bags, but if this is how the cowboys do it I guess I’ll try it. I watched Sancho’s eye as I laid the tool belt on the saddle horn and knew immediately this would not go well. The reins ripped from my hand as he bucked across the yard, throwing the death trap and hundreds of fencing staples. I caught him when he calmed down and I climbed in the saddle, which spooked him again. Thankfully I flex my colt’s heads in for that exact reason. So up the big hill by the cabin we trotted, that ought to get his mind right. Upon our return he was still frazzled and I knew I would not be fencing on him today. I lead him to the round pen and tied a tarp to the saddle horn. We watched as the drama unfolded because Sancho thought for SURE the spooky blue tarp was going to eat him. After a few minutes he seemed to relax and I decided my horse for the day would be the Yamaha. But there was work to be done still, so up to the pasture we went with a roll of barbed wire ever so politely poking me in the back. With two people on a four wheeler bogged down with fencing supplies, there wasn’t much room. I walked most of the pasture because it seemed more appealing than the wire and the elk horn Joe found pressed at my back. As we got near the top of the pasture, we noticed ominous clouds rolling in. We decided to head home in fear of being caught up high in a lightning storm. During our descent, small snowflakes started to land on our heads. All the horses were acting really odd today, they quivered when I went to catch them. They must have sensed the storm! As we are sitting by the fire, I keep reflecting on two things from today.
June 22: Joe- We received cattle into Lower Robb today. It was cool and cloudy and was great cow moving weather. The cows moved really well and we made good time getting them there. They were slow to mother up though, so we ended up sitting on them for several hours. We never did get them mothered great so I’m sure Haley and I will have some to round up on the bottom in the morning. We did pick up one wild yearling who had gotten left on the way back and got her hauled up. Other than that there is a lame Lombardi bull brushed up in the Battle Place that we will have to try to get someday. Haley- Today we finally got our cattle at camp! Joe decided to ride my horse Nevada and I rode Dinero. It was really cloudy and cool, perfect weather to move cows. We met everyone this morning at six and started the cows to Lower Robb. I was at the back with Tiara, Britni, and Coleman. We had a calf turn back and Britni and I chased it down. I couldn’t get him to think about going the right direction and was about to rope him or attempt anyway when we saw a big bunch of calves left behind. Jake and Duke Came over the hill with some yearlings too, so we put them all together as a makeshift herd. We got the strays to the top of the ridge with the rest to hopefully mother up. After they relaxed, we walked over to the rest of the crew. Turns out they didn’t mother so well and we had to round up the bottoms of the pasture full of mismatched calves and cows. Second try is a charm right? This time it seemed to work ok, even though we’ll be looking for stray calves in the morning. On our way back to the trailer Joe saw a lone yearling at the top of a hill. I trotted the wild gal all the way to the corrals. We had to run quite a bit to keep up with her. All in all, not a bad day for moving 1400 head or so. I’m glad the members come up to help us on move days. After a long day, I made us a gourmet meal of steaks, mushrooms, and corn, oh and of course, brownies. We gave our steak scraps to Wylie and Rosie since we couldn’t find the other two. Then we heard, “Ipe, Ipe, Ipe!” Rosie had tried to steal Wylie’s steak bone and had ran crying across the yard unsure if he’d make it of course. After the little guy calmed down, Joe and I watched Livie and Trinity limp from under my pickup, sore from their first long day of summer. My knees can relate to their pain, but there was no snow today! June 23: Joe- Haley and I went down to the bottom first thing this morning and ended up picking up four calves that had went back. three of them came in easy and we roped the other and loaded him at the road. Haley had never done that before so it was a good experience for her. We took the calves up to the pasture and left them in the trailer while we went and found the tight bagged cows. Luckily all four were together and we were able to easily bring them down the fence to where we left the trailer. After lunch I put front shoes on Haley’s horse Nevada while she trimmed her other horse’s feet. When we got done with that we went out and put out some more salt and mineral. It was another cool day today and Haley made chili for supper and it really hit the spot. Haley- First thing this morning we headed down to the state pasture to search for any calves we missed. Joe dropped me off at the old shearing plant and then he headed up to the corrals with the trailer. As I was getting on my horse I saw one calf on the North side of the creek. I headed that way and actually picked up three calves. I saw what I thought was a yearling on the other side, so I decided to come back for him once I got the calves to the corrals. For three lone calves they trailed great and I had them to the corrals shortly after Joe had gotten there. I trotted back for the yearling and Joe went to go look from the ridge for anything else. I tried turning what actually was a large calf towards the corrals to no avail. Luckily, Joe could see me from the ridge and came to the rescue. He roped him and got him to the road while I heeled him. Then we tied the calf up and went back to load the calves. We came back with the trailer and I got my first taste of trailer loading. I pulled the rope on DInero, while Joe gave me directions and ran the gate. It was a little spooky having my leg right up against the trailer, but thankfully my horse is wiser than I in those situations. We hauled the calves up to Upper Robb and left them in the trailer while we got their mommas. I was really impressed because when we brought the four cows to the trailer that Joe had picked they paired right up with their calves almost immediately. Talk about some cow sense! I attempted to trim Dinero’s feet while Joe put shoes on Nevada. He had to fix up his toes a bit for me, but other than that they weren’t terrible. After the horses were turned loose, Wylie came sprinting by with a gopher in his mouth. He was pretty darn proud of himself, although I’m guessing Livie and Trinity actually killed it. We took salt and mineral out quick before dinner. It’s frustrating at times for me because the blocks and bags are pretty heavy while Joe throws them around with ease. Hopefully the chili and cheddar biscuits I made will give me some extra strength for tomorrow. June 24: Joe- First thing this morning I took a drive down to the bottom to make sure there was nothing else that came back. There was nothing and I didn’t see the bull either. While I was gone Haley ran the horses in and caught some colts. When I got back I helped her mess with her uncle’s two. The buckskin did really well but we eventually ended up tying up a leg on Redeye. He’s overall not too bad, he just has some manner issues. After an early lunch, Haley took off with the buckskin packed with a load of mineral while I put the side trim pieces on the barn. When I got done with that I loaded the pickup with mineral and went to put some out. The cows are super hungry for it and are eating a lot right now. When Haley and I both got back we caught our personal colts and messed with them. Haley- I ran the horses in first thing this morning while Joe drove down to check for strays. “Slim” the buckskin, did really well and took to the pack saddle quick. Redeye on the other hand had to learn some manners the hard way. We tied up his left hind and land him down. We rubbed him and pestered him for a while, then let him up. We decided that was a big day for him and tied him up for some post time for the rest of the day. I took Slim as my pack horse to bring mineral to the far ridge in Lower Robb. Dinero was annoyed he had to be the trail horse instead of a cow pony for the day, but it was good for the two buckskins. When we got up to the far ridge a little baldy yearling started curiously following Slim. Then he took a running start and head butted the colt. I held my breath praying this would not completely unravel our first little pack trip. Slim looked back at him as if to say, “What’s your deal?” I whirled both horses around and shooed the little bugger away. Slim stood like an old broke horse while I unloaded mineral from the panniers amidst the mob of salt hungry yearlings. We made it back to camp without any wrecks, success! Joe and I decided to catch our other two colts when I returned. Gunsmoke saddle great and Sancho got phase two of tarp… still super spooky! I told Joe we need to have a two colt limit, four is really a job!
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AuthorThis is a blog to share many stories, laughs, adventures and lessons learned by yours truly, Haley Potter. Archives
July 2023
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