I'm thinking I need to go out and ride my mares and practice my rusty roping. Branding starts next week, and we're going to hit it hard. But the wind's really whipping, and I hate the wind. I end up roping my horse's head. I hope it blows away before branding.
It's really nothing out of the ordinary though. We talk about the weather all the time like it's something new. There's a reason for "April Fools Day". I'm not sure what it is, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that April's good at playing pranks!
I came across the following journal entry when I was searching for that story poem I still haven't found. I was never a consistent journal keeper, but this was wild enough I wrote it down. We lived at the Sage Creek division of the ranch at the time. One baby had just turned two, and the other was 9 months. My brother Dallas and his friend Mike Cox had just come for a visit, bringing all their camping gear. They ended up camping in the old bunkhouse.
April 25, 1984
Well, it was bad. We lost a couple of bridges and road sections which cut-off our access to neighbors, the closest of which were 5 miles away--and Dell, pop, 23, which was 9 miles over that dirt road. We could still take the long way out across the hills and Antelope Flats, and come out at Lima which was an extra 20 miles or so.
Lima Dam overflowed and was damaged. Downstream, Clark Canyon Dam also overflowed for the first time in its history.
As always happens though, the water eventually receded. We got everything repaired, and the years between 1984 and 1990 were the best grass years I can remember.
That's just life on a farm or ranch. You learn to roll with the punches, because you know they are going to come. You take the bad with the good. As much as we might try, we are not in control of the weather or seasons, or life in general. You just learn to work with them.
I'm thankful man is not in control. We do a good enough job of messing it up as it is. Sometimes we need a good reminder of the power and wisdom of God Almighty. It's also a comfort to be able to rest upon the promises of the God who wrote the final chapter. You can tune out that "other gospel"--the daily news, because according to Him:
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Gen 8:22
Guess I need to quit procrastinating. I can hear my dad right now: A little fresh air never hurt anyone!
 |
| Sage Creek. May 15, 1984. Ray on what's left of the bridge on our driveway. |
It's really nothing out of the ordinary though. We talk about the weather all the time like it's something new. There's a reason for "April Fools Day". I'm not sure what it is, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that April's good at playing pranks!
I came across the following journal entry when I was searching for that story poem I still haven't found. I was never a consistent journal keeper, but this was wild enough I wrote it down. We lived at the Sage Creek division of the ranch at the time. One baby had just turned two, and the other was 9 months. My brother Dallas and his friend Mike Cox had just come for a visit, bringing all their camping gear. They ended up camping in the old bunkhouse.
April 25, 1984
"Blizzard dumped two feet of snow. Wind blowing snow into huge drifts in front of all the buildings and outfits... It's hard to breathe, the wind steals the breath right out of your mouth... The temperature is 20 F... We are marooned from our neighbors and Dell.
Snow is so light that a 4-wd pickup can go through it, but the snow flies up into the engine suffocating the air filter and plugging the radiator...
Poor animals. 772 cows, 650 of them with little baby calves. At least two were born last night. The only reason Ray found them was because the tips of their noses were sticking out of the snow to breathe...
The guys are trying to get hay to them. Slow going because the snow keeps plugging up the truck engine compartment.. It's a nasty job because the wind is blowing so hard that not just snow is whipping their faces, but also hay and chaff as well.
Hard to believe that just the other day I was out walking with the babies enjoying the beautiful spring day. We had our coats off, most of the mud had dried up, and there was green grass and dandelions...
Flooding after the long, hard winter is already a problem. Lima Dam's at capacity, and we've lost some culverts and a section of road. Near Dell an overflowing irrigation ditch washed the bed out from under a section of railroad track, causing a serious freight train derailment...
I shudder to think what will happen when it warms back up and this new snow melts off."
Well, it was bad. We lost a couple of bridges and road sections which cut-off our access to neighbors, the closest of which were 5 miles away--and Dell, pop, 23, which was 9 miles over that dirt road. We could still take the long way out across the hills and Antelope Flats, and come out at Lima which was an extra 20 miles or so.
Lima Dam overflowed and was damaged. Downstream, Clark Canyon Dam also overflowed for the first time in its history.
As always happens though, the water eventually receded. We got everything repaired, and the years between 1984 and 1990 were the best grass years I can remember.
That's just life on a farm or ranch. You learn to roll with the punches, because you know they are going to come. You take the bad with the good. As much as we might try, we are not in control of the weather or seasons, or life in general. You just learn to work with them.
I'm thankful man is not in control. We do a good enough job of messing it up as it is. Sometimes we need a good reminder of the power and wisdom of God Almighty. It's also a comfort to be able to rest upon the promises of the God who wrote the final chapter. You can tune out that "other gospel"--the daily news, because according to Him:
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Gen 8:22
Guess I need to quit procrastinating. I can hear my dad right now: A little fresh air never hurt anyone!
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