God shook out his great green cloth and spread it across the pastures. It’s the big switch over. We’re still feeding cows for a few more days. When they finish with their hay, they resume wandering around the pasture clipping it to a golf course finish. Thankfully they’ll be leaving for the mountains soon so the grass can take a nice long breath.
Spring, as usual, came on with a great lunge. All of a sudden it’s time to get the ditches ready to start irrigating. We had a little excitement yesterday when we were burning the dead grass from a ditch in a deep ravine. Good thing there were 4 of us. Anna had a handheld sprayer, Alan a shovel; Mark and I had pitchforks. We instituted a back burn, shoveled and sprayed and tamped and finally got the fire out before it got away. Then we turned on the water which meant more frenzied pitching as the stream moved along gathering debris. Trash can clog the pipes the water travels through and create trouble if you get behind. It’s exciting, but at the end when you get to see and smell (!) water on dry ground it’s a treat.
If we didn’t have enough to do every day, add moving the stream twice a day to the list. As Mark will tell you, “It’s non-stop fun.”
Mark was down with a back issue until just a few days ago. For ten days he laid on the floor, rising just long enough to have me ferry him to the chiropractor. It was a wake-up call for us. We know we depend too much on his physical labor, but this was up close and personal – and scary. We remembered a story told to us by a Canadian couple that came to work for us one summer. They thought the Pratt men worked too hard without a break. They told us about a neighbor back home in Alberta that had the same work habit, wouldn’t slow down like he needed to, and finally ”put his foot in an auger,” and forced the issue. Okay, lesson noted.
Our friends Dave and Alan, about my age and professionals in their own careers, help us often. I don't know what we'd do without them and don't want to find out! The kids have stepped up too, working every weekend to get the calves branded and the sick ones tended. We got the yearlings sorted and two loads weighed and shipped. And with water running across the land while we sleep, it’s starting to line out. We’ll be “shaping up” the herd and staging for the mountains this week.
On our last branding day, Mark and I left the crew to tend the last stretch of Sand Creek water. It winds through tall trees that are just leafing out. It was a lovely cool morning. We worked independently with his‘n hers pitchforks and finished up in time to share Anita’s lunch on Seth and Leah’s lawn in the sunshine. I got to hold the new granddaughter. It was a perfect Mother’s Day for this grandma.
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| the end of Sand Creek |
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| crisis passed |
