Pat & Sharon O'Toole

In spite of the fact that it keeps snowing, we know it is spring for sure due to the arrival of migratory birds. Some hang out for a few days or weeks, but many oversummer. We are in a flyway, and as drought and development have impacted a lot of bird habitat, we get more and more birds--more numbers and more varieties. Sometimes we compare photos of our activities from year to year, as depicted on this blog. I was struck by the first two photos, taken a year and a day apart.

Blue Heron with shadow
April 23, 2009
Home Ranch

Blue Heron with shadow
April 22, 2008
Home Ranch

Blue herons in tree
Along Little Snake River
photo by Brian Lally

Cranes over Battle Creek

Ducks keeping company with the cows
Big Meadow

Geese, waiting for the thaw
Home Ranch

Geese and pelicans
Little Snake River
photo by Sharon O'Toole

Birds over reeds
north of Baggs, Wyoming
photos by Pat O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 4:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A sure sign of spring
Seamus stuck in the mud

Seamus, unstuck
photos by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

the "Bale Out"
between Dixon and Baggs
photo by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lambs in June 2008
Cottonwood Pasture north of Dixon
photo by Sharon O'Toole

The same lambs in January 2009
Dakota Lamb Feeders
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
photo by Bill Aeischlimann

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A few weeks ago, I was speculating about an early spring. We had a mild (too mild!) stretch of weather in the first weeks of March. This was great for our early lambing at Powder Flat. The lambs were finding sunny days and warmish nights as they were born. That all changed with a vengeance after the Ides of March. We look at John and Robbin Dofflemeyer's blog posts of green grass and blooming flowers, while we look out at yet another six inches of snow. Still, this is all good when we think of our coming summer greenery. We could use a break though, now that we are calving in earnest.

Antonio, Vladimir. Tono and Seamus docking lambs
Powder Flat, Moffat County, Colorado

Ewes and lambs, drifts in corrals
Powder Flat

Lounging around
Powder Flat

Red Border collie, young guard dogs, horse
Powder Flat

Springtime in the Rockies
Squaw Mountain
photos by Pat O'Toole

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The other day, Pat and Seamus were at Powder Flat, checking on the lambing. They had plenty of daylight left, so decided to take a Road Trip to Brown's Park, some 60 or so miles west. Brown's Park is famous for being part of the Outlaw Trail. It lies at the crux of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, which proved handy for outlaws looking for a handy border to cross. It is famous for its mild winters and its isolation, even today. They had the good fortune to run into several of our friends and neighbors who live in that magnificent country.

Seamus along the Green River
Gates of Lodore
Brown's Park, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

Draft horses along the Little Snake River

Gates of Lodore
Green River

Vermillion Falls
Vermillion Creek
Brown's Park
photos by Pat O'Toole

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