Great thread guys!
My wife Nichole working some cattle over at a friends while training Lil Man:
The knife she was carrying that day.
Our son Logan as cowboss on this immense ranch in se OR. 380,000 acres. For those of ya with cattle, this is the only set of corrals on the ranch. Most of the time they would go to where the cattle are and work out of a rodear. Gathering their desert range at the end of winter they would camp out for a couple months. To give ya an idea of how big this is, I was talking to him on the phone one day. Asked him what he was doing. He said he was hauling some strays back to the next door neighbors. Asked him how far that was he said about an hour and a half drive. Then he went to work for a really big ranch in AZ. 780,000 acres. Bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
Some of the Wolf Pack, my son's dogs. Logan was putting the first ride on a colt here at the house and they were interested. When he's ready to go he calls them by calling out "Wolf Pack assemble!" And they do.
Looking west from up top. Our house is at the foot of Black Mountain there:
We were looking for one pair that was missing. Out there somewhere.
Checking feed in the Upper Bowl on Sonny:
Our daughter Alyssa and her dog Lilly up Christmas morning a couple years ago: She is an ER Tech and nursing student down in Bakersfield:
Our other son Josh was home too. He's an IT guy in the Army. Proud Army Mom made him put on his uniform for the pic:
Alyssa and Nichole will be competing in the Ladies Branding tomorrow night at the Kern Co Fair. First time Alyssa has competed in a roping. Nichole and I are competing in the Century Branding after the Ladies. Our combined age has to equal 100 or more. It does. They don't call me Chief Grey Beard for nothing.
Nichole and I with Logan and his wife Katie and of course the Wolfpack:
Mandatory scrimshaw knife shot:
Nichole on Josie:
Me on Mr Down Town Brown:
Nowadays I ride George. Nichole and I riding through the Super Bloom:
Canela the flying cow dog. She's retired now at 15 but still cray cray. Best cowdog I ever had. Ya could sic her on a specific cow out of an entire herd and she'd get the right one. The best part one little "that'll do", and she'd come right back to ya. Bout three years ago we were heading out to gather. She went with us about a hundred yards out and turned around and trotted back to camp and sat down. She's been retired ever since, although still handy in the corrals when needed. One time I was loading these three snorty steers for the sale. Bad characters, they kept putting me up on the fence. She was sitting patiently outside the pen. "Canela. Get aholt". She ran in grabbed the lead steer by the nose and then spun took off with them chasing her hard. She took em around the sweep down the alley through the chute and just at the trailer she ducked out of the small gap between the chute and the trailer. The three steers thundered into the trailer blowing snot and Steve slammed the door. She trotted over sat down and smiled at me. Here she was watching me fly cast on the North Fork of the Kern. She was fascinated by the line going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. Told ya she is cray cray. If ya ever come over, just pet the front half!
Lets see, pics of the house. Ya know 7050 pics, (no really) on Imgur and no pics of the outside of the house. These are from when we bought it 9 years ago (now there are 7053 pics):
That three car garage is the shop where I work making knives and leather:
One of the bestest pet dogs ever, Lucky:
She liked to get up on things and watch the world go by. She's under this tree now, up on the hill. She can still watch the world go by. We stop and say hi once in a while. She was a nine time cancer survivor. She was too old the 10th. They couldn't do another surgery.
Sacto Now that you have whet our appetite, please post some photographs of the ranch in the daylight. Are you planning any knife purchases with your profits from those calves? Do you buy knives from Dave Ferry
Horsewright ? I know California is a big state, but you must be fairly close to him. He makes incredible knives, and his leatherwork is every bit as good.
) and myself on vacation in Colorado. Cocobolo 43 GEC in my pocket.
Summer
Road
Jamming with friends
Moonrise
Spring
Boker & Beer
Garage
New Garage
Lake in Winter
Snowshoes
Blades
