It feels good to be settled in at the winter range. Prairie and Jon came home for a few days at the beginning of November. Prairie helped me paint the last bedroom and put the furniture back. Jon and Mike hiked upriver to work on the water gap at the new fence. Now that the river has gone down, they needed to move the water gap out farther.
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| Jon at the water gap |
We had some great meals and visiting while they were here. It was kind of like an early Thanksgiving.
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| Mike, Sara, Zeke, Jacinda, Jon, Prairie, Dawson, Gabe, Cammie, Wes, Tyko |
Gabe and Jordan helped Mike work on the Pumpkin Creek fences, but Mike decided not to take cattle to up there until after weaning. We'll stay put on the river for a while.
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| Cold but sunny |
I caught a ride to Seattle at the beginning of December. Gabe and Cammie had Seahawks tickets so we all drove up for the game. While they were at the stadium contributing to the 'twelfth man,' the boys and I spent the evening visiting Mike's dad.
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| Weston getting into everything at Grandad and Nana B's |
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| Walk with Mom in Seattle. |
Gabe and Cammie soon headed back to Wallowa County, while I spent the week with my mom. She's 87 now and enjoying much improved vision after her eye surgery. She remarked on seeing birds, the details of paintings, photographs, and her ability to read signs.
It was hard to be away from home so long, but I treasured my time with mom. I arrived back in Joseph for the end of the prolonged cold spell that hit hard in NE Oregon. Ice covered the Imnaha River and highs in the canyon were in the single digits. The cattle have weathered fine so far. I'm thankful for our winter range at the lower elevation. Up near the mountains, night time temperatures hit twenty below zero.
From Sara at Magpie Ranch, home of Bunchgrass Beef
