February 3 - Snow
February 4 - Wild horses
February 5 - Coyotes
The Bachelor - A Cowboy Poem
February 10 - The Daniel Social-Unveiling of the New Book!
February 12 - Nervous Cows
February 14 - Valentine's Day
February 15 - Boss in the Hospital
February 16 - Sparky
February 17 - Ice Skating Show
February 20 - The Deal
February 21 - Boss Home
February 22 - Moose

Saturday, February 3 My gosh! The weather is changing! Got one whole inch of fluffy snow today. Feels sort of like the winter we've been missing. 

Sunday, February 4 We've been hearing about some wild horse deaths about 100 miles to the south of us. Someone's been wantonly shooting them and just leaving them lay scattered in the sagebrush. What the heck goes through someone's mind in a case like this? Poor horses. I surely hope they didn't suffer. 
    Makes me think of the lucky ones around our community that have been adopted and worked into good family units. Like my dad's horse, Billy.  I call him Wild Billy, but he's actually a great and trustworthy saddle horse. My cousin originally adopted him from the BLM as a little wild colt and broke him to ride as a three-year old. He's now seen twelve winters and is my dad's top cow horse. Billy also is the main man in the horse herd around this outfit. Yes sir. The big boss. But then, I've talked about that before. 
    Anyhow, Billy waits at the corral gate every morning for me to bring along his horse pellet handouts. He has a domestic air about him, but will always retain a little bit of his past memories of true freedom. Bet he wouldn't trade the 24/7s of hay, water, and grain, though, to return to the desert dust. "Wild" Billy is the second wild horse we've had here on the ranch within the last two decades. My son rode a stout, little, sorrel named Ivan when he was in grade school. Another unique personality in Ivan. True spirits of the Old West. Tough, solid, aloof, proud, and hard working with an edge of distrust for humans. Can't say as I blame 'em, sometimes. 

Tuesday, February 5  Many coyotes are howling tonight. Some big time yipping is happening to the south, out in the swamp, and another pack is loudly answering the calls right across the river from the corrals. The Green River has finally frozen completely over in a few places. Yikes! Easy traveling for the busy little varmints to breach the perimeter of the ranch outbuildings. The dog herd howls and bays, repeatedly, answering the call of the wild, and then they nervously trot from one corral to the next, sniffing the cool breeze as I throw up hay in the feeder for the little calf's (no name, yet!) mom and Heidi. What a commotion, with the coyotes high-pitched barks and yips harmonizing with the deep-voiced, howling, cow dogs! Real surround sound with super woofer enhancement! Kind of made me want to throw back my head and howl with 'em. Well, I did just that, and it made the dogs stampede to see just what in the heck was wrong with me! Must have hit a sour note, or something!
 

Saturday, February 10 EeeeeHaaawww!! Just a little cowboy yodel there to greet y'all. Tonight was the Daniel Social and boy did we warm the walls of that old schoolhouse! Tons of good-hearted folks were on hand to celebrate the unveiling of the new book, the new bell, and the town of Daniel's 100th birthday. The high school rodeo club helped us out with the evening, while also earning some money for their summer events. Lots of country desserts to auction off, much "shooting the bull and the breeze," and dancing the night away. The Legend band's music was spectacular, featuring a guest fiddler and a guest vocalist and yodeler.  AaahhhHaaaaa!

Monday, February 12  We hit the trail this morning and rounded up the Horse Creek cattle and headed 'em home for the calving season. They seemed very scared of something and kept looking over their shoulders, wild-eyed. My hyperactive dog herd is usually well-tolerated by the herd, but today everyone seemed very much on edge. Many of the cows threw their heads up, looking toward the willows along the creek as if expecting a ghost to jump out and say "Boo!" or worse. Even the two crippled cows hip-hopped home in record time - almost as if their lives depended on it! When I later compared notes with Rudy, he had observed the same agitation in them. Hard to say what's stirring them up this time...One can never go to sleep around here; always something wanting a "piece" of the action.

Wednesday, February 14  Valentine's Day! Husband surprised wife with a new Wyoming Cowboy coffee mug that holds three, super-charged cups of coffee at a time! 
   Legend Band and Rudy headed for Jackson, Wyoming to play love songs for the chuckwagon supper outfit. 
   It was an unusually warm night - stars sweetly peaking through a veil of fragile clouds - so the dogs and I poured three cups of coffee into the Wyoming mug, propped our feet up on a block of wood, and listened to the coyotes howling across the river. 

Thursday, February 15  Boss in hospital...Blood clots in both legs...Quite a serious business...

Friday, February 16  I decided to name the "not so little anymore" baby calf - Sparky - because she is such a live-wire...darting and flitting here and there, bucking and bawling, playing with the dogs...Nice to watch such happy energy...
   After work, Rudy and the Legend Band head out to Jackson again to play birthday music for a lively 89-year-old lady. Boss still in hospital...Sleep apnea added to the list of hospital "tune-up" concerns...

Sunday, February 17  Went to the niece and nephew's fantastic ice skating show. They showed off all their newly acquired steps, turns, and slip-slidings to the tune of Rawhide! Head 'em up; move 'em out! My cousin teaches ice skating to one and all - great and small - then puts on a grand finale - four years running, now...

Tuesday, February 20  Traded some work with Rudy...The deal: I take over chopping the water holes in the meadow, and he has to mug Sunny the stud colt for me - for it is now time for the two-year-old youngster's "coming out" party! EeeeHaaawww! Might have to shoot biscuits skyward to me! We'll see...You know...I think I'm getting too old for this? 

Wednesday, February 21  Boss dismissed from the hospital...sent home with one of those "dream machines" that does your nighttime breathing for you...What a deal!
   Made several batches of chocolate cakes for a medical benefit supper that's happening tomorrow night in Pinedale for a neighbor gal who recently had brain tumor surgery. She's home now and recovering well. Yay!

Thursday, February 22  Cow moose and her yearling calf journeyed by the cow feedground this morning, then turned onto Bunchgrass Boulevard and proceeded southward onto Waterhole Drive...right under the dogs' noses, they trotted... Apparently, the snow bank blocked their view with the breeze blowing in the wrong direction for the canines to take notice...just as well...quite "scents"ible, in fact... Yep, of the whole crew - cows, hay feeder, moose, and dogs - let her slip right on by with nary a raised hair... I'm the only one who wasn't minding my own business, and thereby, recorded it for "history."  I saw the same lady moose and her kid later that afternoon in my neighbor's yard - enjoying a bale pile smorgasbord... 
   The ranchers' hay piles are shrinking every day here in Sublette County, even though a blast of warm weather is helping to stretch the feed... Inch of snow falls, here...Two inches melts, there...Regardless...For us, there's more than 100 days of hay feeding still to go this season...

This cow moose and her yearling calf nonchalantly trotted
by the feedground today, headed for our neighbor's ranch

Copyrights: Photos and page text content copyrighted, Cris Paravicini, 2000. No part may be reproduced without permission of the author/photographer. Page graphics copyrighted, Pinedale Online, 2000.