Nostalgia

I left for the ranch on the fifteenth of last month. I feel like I've been here for a week. Still, a lot has happened within that window of time, regardless of how it feels. It was a typical spring. Snow, rain, hail, lightning, all within a span of about eight hours. The ranch was a bustle of activity, everyone doing their business- the corral was a haze of dust and hair as we groomed all 115 of our lovely critters, the chainsaws, weed whackers and mowers have been a constant drone since the two dim-witted maintenance guys arrived, housekeeping has been struggling to learn their jobs, and Christine has been a wreck trying to oversee everything.

The most important news of the year- we've got six mares still pregnant. Ghost had her colt, Goblin before any staff arrived. Dude, one of our draft mixes, had her filly the week after I arrived, and she rejected her foal. We had to dope her up just to get the first few hours of milk and get the colostrum for her baby, Helmet. We had to scotch hobble her up to even be able to get close to her, and even after a double dose of 'liquid halter,' as Dickey calls it, she still tried to kick everything in sight. We had to dope her up every four hours to keep her from killing her filly, and after a week we got rid of her, instead opting to give her powdered milk and milk pellets. A week later, Dutchess had her colt a month early. He was so weak he couldn't stand, was severely underdeveloped, and was so premature that we had to put him down. Four days after, Copenhagen, the next mare to give birth, tried to push her baby across the flooding north fork of the Poudre River and lost it in the current.
Life and death have touched us already, but we were able to get Dutchess to nurse Helmet, so it all worked out for the best.

I spent the first few weeks riding with the neighbor, Mike Morgan and helping push cows. It was a good time, finally allowing me to use my horse Pinto to do more than trail rides. He loved it, finally getting to utilize most of his training instead of following a trail. We had a lot of good laughs, including a post-drive rib barbecue. Luke brought over a bottle of Jose Cuervo for margaritas, and after a few drinks we were all having a good time. Luke was in charge of the grill, even though Niki had to remind him to check them. At one point, Niki asked Luke when the ribs would be ready, and he replied with 'Oh, they're probably pretty close.' Their three year old daughter, Dallas Grace, runs outside, turns to look at the grill, and sprints back inside screaming bloody murder. Luke runs outside to a ball of fire where the grill used to be, and Mike, who is sitting next to me sipping his umpth margarita says 'Smells like the house is burning,' and takes another helping of guacamole.


There's so many things I would love to share that I don't have the time or patience to write down. It's been a roller coaster ride already, and to be honest, I'm a little scared of how this summer is shaping up.
I know everything will work out how it needs to, but waiting for that to happen is as always, very difficult.
I hope you all are doing well. I miss you very much, and will talk to you again someday!

much love,
skib