[J-L]

You make some good points Geoff. It just seems that a lot of people get caught up in activism just to say they are an ‘activist’. Not saying that’s the case here.
One term I really don’t think is that attractive is ‘ecoterrorist’. If you ask most folks in my world that is a term that will turn them off without hearing more.

[J-L]

As much as I admire anyone who stands up for what they believe in, when you start advertising yourselves as the radical, civil disobedient, advocacy group from the backwoods of whatever state, you are going to turn off a fair amount of people in my oppinion. Not everyone is a hippy worshipper.
I agree with the root of your cause, and I suspect most people would, if they hear it put forward in a manner that’s more palatable.
Chaining your naked body to your milk barn doors might not be the best way.;)
Just an oppinion from someone who’s a little more on the conservative side.

[J-L]

Their turn is coming, not ready yet. You’ll get a chance to see first hand. Hope the roads are open to get you here.

[J-L]

Mink, the sleigh in those pictures is the one I replaced with the steel runner sleigh. I had the same problem with the front bunk breaking. I had replaced it three or four times.
I had the same misconceptions as many folks had about the steel sleighs. They freeze down too fast, they pull hard, etc. All bologny. They work every bit as well if not better. You don’t have to treat the runners and all you have to do to replace the shoes is scarf a few welds and put new plate on.

[J-L]

One of those sleighs is headed my way. Maybe this weekend we can get a few pictures of them as we put beds on them. I have one of the smaller sleighs that Lost Farmer is talking about (I don’t put more than 2 ton on it, and usually just 1 ton). Very good outfit. The best I ever used. I too have to back a sleigh up often enough that the cross chains don’t work for me either.
The brands of sleigh that Lost Farmer talks about must have been more common in the west. That’s what you saw around this part of Wyoming as well, Common Sense and Studebaker. We had a local fellow at the lumber yard who made sleighs back in the ’80’s and his was a copy off a Studebaker he told me. Pretty good sleigh, but his was a little too rigid and tended to pull somewhat heavy. The metal sleigh that came from Idaho has lot’s of ‘walk’ and I can trot through the sagebrush and greasewoods with it and drink hot coffee at the same time;).

[J-L]

Lingodog, I put a Percheron horse on either side of my black mule. Makes a good team, but the big horse, Clyde, isn’t the most nimble. Your Val mare would have been excellent on the right side for me.
Mink, I usually cut through it with a razor knife. If I can I try to gather up the strings and tie them to my cart while I’m backed up to the bale to unroll. When we go ahead it’ll usually get the frozen strings (and a chunk of icy hay) off the bale. Then it’ll unroll pretty easily. I have a couple of old hay saws here too. Might have to sharpen one up and put it on cart. I have had to use my water hole axe a time or two as well.
We got the cows home without much incident. Nicest day we’ve had for a long time, but windy. They were some tired cows yesterday still, but they cleaned up their hay and looked content.

[J-L]

Yes Donn 3 abreast is a very useful tool to have in your arsenal. You definitely have more power and don’t give up much in the way of manuverability. I still have the ability to get a team of three in a stackyard and get them turned easily enough.
I’ll try and get some pictures, I know you (Donn in particular) will appreciate the mule working in with the horses.

[J-L]

We had another blast here too Mac. Got down to -20 to -25 last night (depending on who’s thermometer you looked at). Good luck to you and hope your cabin fever abates with the warm weather you’re headed for.

[J-L]

Neat pictures Mitchmaine. Piles of snow. You folks and the sugaring sure sounds fun. I have only got to have real maple sugar a few times and some maple sugar candy that was sure good. It has always interested me.

[J-L]

A few pictures of what I do, and one of my chore buddies that greets me on the way to the barn some times.

[J-L]

Yes, it’s a good life most all winter George. The fun will kind of end here in a month or so when my heifers start calving and about the 1st of April the cows let go. Then the 4 or 5 hours of work turns into much more (and no sleep on top of it). Then spring work hits along with it. That’s life on the ranch though.
Fall and winter have become my favorite. Spring wears me out as can haying season.

[J-L]

Forgot to say that my old friend told me that he did get his lines caught in the gears on his #6 if he weren’t careful with them.

[J-L]

I traded off my #6 mower because of the exposed gears and the worn pitman bearing. Looked like a good mower other than that. #9’s and #7’s are easier to find everything for. Also around this area lots of JD #4’s which are also a good machine.
I did experiment just a little with smooth vs. over serrated sections and in grass hay the smooth sections are best…if you keep them good and sharp. The over serrated will cut but you see lot’s more side draft than a good, sharp smooth section.
An old timer here has a good, solid #6 that he claims is the best of all the mowers. I never ran it so I can’t say for sure. He also said the #7 was a very good mower.

[J-L]

There are days when I wish I was in the house. I have to feed and chop water holes every day, no matter what, for 270 cows, 50 yearling heifers, 16 bulls, 12 horses and mules.
Every day I hook to a bobsled or wagon and go until I get done regardless of weather. Last cold snap we had minus 64 windchills. Those kind of days are not fun. The average winter day for me is wearing about 30 lb of clothes so it makes the work a little more challenging.
In spite of it all, I am very happy doing what I do. There are many days like today. 5 above zero when I left. Sun shine. Good team and good sledding. Moose, deer, bald eagles. I work enough to break a good sweat, which is healthy. Then back to the barn to unharness and eat lunch by a warm fire and work on some afternoon projects.
The real bad days are the only ones that bother me. Some of the windy, nasty winters have made me crave spring pretty bad. Winter lasts a long time here at 7000′ and I will feed cows until 15-20 May.

[J-L]

We had a run in with an old pipeline here in Bridger Valley. Just a couple miles up the creek from my place somebody noticed oil standing in the borrow pit along the highway. It had come up and was starting to head down irrigation ditches in a hay meadow owned by one of my neighbors. The return flow on these ditches goes right back into the creek, but it didn’t quite make it there. The pipeline company is still working on reclaiming that hay meadow (which is/was a very productive piece of ground) but it has been a long and costly ordeal.
What is most scary about this is that had it occurred just 100 yards further down line it would have ruptured right in the creek channel.
Even more alarming is thinking about all the aging oil lines criss crossing the state and country. They will rust out eventually and many are owned by smaller pipeline companies like the one owning this pipeline. The cost of this small cleanup nearly bankrupted this pipeline company. What’s going to happen when the big leaks start springing up every where?

[Author]

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