Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Windrows in the Middle Smylie

We are placing our lands in the upper Little Snake River Valley under conservation easements with Wyoming's Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Colorado Cattlemen's Land Trust (CCALT). This has been a long and adventurous journey. In October 2008, we completed the first of six easements on our Bull Pasture with CCALT. In March 2009, we completed the second easement on the upper part of the Home Ranch, known as the Upper Smylie and the Middle Smylie, with TNC. We will complete the others over the course of the next year. Conservation easements have their fans and their detractors, but we will rest assured that our mountain ranch can never be subdivided and will remain in agricultural and wildlife production "in perpetuity". The other day, Pat and I took a ride on the four-wheeler up to the Smylie Place, named after an early pioneer family. Predictably, we got the four-wheeler stuck and walked the three and a half miles back home. We had to ford Battle Creek, which is running low this time of year. Pat just plunged in and waded across the creek. I dreaded walking miles in wet shoes, socks and pantlegs, so I stripped down to my shirt and underwear and undertook crossing the slippery rocks in bare feet. "Don't worry," I assured Pat. "I did this all time when I was a kid." Also predictably, I slipped and fell into the water, completely soaking myself and all my carried apparel. How fortunate that Pat captured this on film!

Uncut hay in the Upper Smylie

Bales in the Lower Smylie

Battle Creek between the Lower Smylie and the JO

Scorpion image on rock
Battle Creek

Before: Sharon (with Suzie)
Lower Smylie

After: Sharon IN Battle Creek
photos by Pat O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 4:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Time is fleeting, and this summer it has fled even more rapidly than usual. We had our last frost on June 15th and our first frost on August 15th. It has been a busy time with lots of visits from friends, relatives, cousins and outlaws. I thought I'd better put up these photos before the season is well and truly behind us. Already we are seeing signs of changing fall colors.

Sasha, Pepe and Bahnay
Dudley Creek

Jack and Siobhan, in pursuit of the wild chicken
Dixon rodeo

Seamus, plotting his chicken catching strategy
Dixon arena

Siobhan, mutton busting
Dixon arena

Siobhan, triathlete
After pig catching, chicken catching and mutton busting
Dixon arena

Matthew and Seamus on Chief
Homestead Ranch

Eamon, Dirte, Bruiser and cattle
Bull Pasture, July

Emily and Ginny bringing in the sheep
Johnson Ranch corrals

Buck lambs, July
Johnson Ranch corrals

Maeve, Seamus and Siobhan
On the Routt Forest trail

Chris (Bridget's husband) on Amigo, Pat and Suzie
Squaw Mountain

View of the Home Ranch headquarters
Squaw Mountain

Doe with twins
Sqauw Mountain

Grandpa and Seamus
Squaw Mountain

Go West, Young Man
Brian on Squaw Mountain

Maeve enjoying spaghetti
Grandma & Grandpa's House

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 2:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our sheepherders live, mostly year-round, in traditional sheepwagons. These efficient and sturdy homes were invented in 1884 in Rawlins, Wyoming by blacksmith James Candlish. They are remarkedly self-contained with a bed, a pull-out table under the bed, benches along either side, storage in every available space, and a cook stove, usually wood-burning, just near the front door. The door is a Dutch door, to allow for ventilation and for a look outside, while keeping the sheepdogs out. A window is above the bed. It must be large enough for a herder to escape through, in case of fire. On the outside are various bins for grain and tools. The design has changed very little over the decades. A modern running gear with rubbers wheels has replaced the old wooden wheels, and the tongue is usually designed to be pulled by a pickup truck, not a team of horses. A few outfits still move their wagons with a team.

Recently, when Pat was moving camp, the running gear, almost new, came apart. Bear in mind that the running gear features a double axle, so the back tires do not follow the front tires, in the best of times. Here are photos of our efforts to load the wagon onto a flatbed trailer, without the benefit of a skyhook. George and his cousin Don Burback were there to supervise.

George and Daniel: lining up the wagon
Dudley Creek, Routt National Forest

The first stage

Don, studying the problem

Winching it on

With the tire off

Praise the Lord! Success at last!
Daniel and Pat

A motorcylist happened by. He said he was traveling from Missouri to Canada. "I'll bet you see a lot of stuff," I said. "I've never seen anything like this," was his answer.

George and motorcylist
photos by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Eamon with birthday Margarita
Steamboat Yacht Club. Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Siobhan and Bridget

Happy birthday kiss
Grandpa George, Seamus, birthday boy

Pat and Maeve

A good time was had by all
photos by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 1:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)