With a Magnifier and Matzoh

It always amazes me how fast Spring can come on.  

Two days ago I gave a tour around Spring Creek Ranch to a lovely couple from Seattle considering the ranch for their nuptials and I found myself having to promise that the ranch would indeed green up.  I promised over and over that the tight buds would stretch open, thirsty for the warm sun and spring rains.

And in no less than twenty four hours (after they left- no less) we got a little bit of precipitation and warm sun and BOOM- it is almost as if I can watch the Cottonwood buds unfolding.  It is a spectacular site and smell. Oh, the Cottonwood stands all over the ranch smell like glowing honey.  Or at least what I imagine honey would smell like if it could glow.

So as the local temps soared through the 70 degree marker today I found our family in a brand new rhythm.  No longer does ever voyage outside take 10 minutes to dress each member in the appropriate boots, gloves, hat and snow suit- no!  Now crocs are the default footwear and the day became a flow between baseball, tennis(for the first time!), climbing rocks, then trees, flying a kite, chasing chickens and my favorite- the pre-dinner walk to the river.

Walking along the river before dinner, with a magnifying glass and leftover Matzoh.  Does a Spring day get better than this?

Changes



Somebody lost her 1st tooth!  Lots of Spring growth happening around here…

Release

Returning home from our working visit at Grandpa’s and Grandma’s we found that an uninvited guest had visited while we were gone. The uninvited guest had a ringed tail and a black mast and no, I’m not talking about Zorro.

We lost almost all of our ducks to a very agile raccoon. One Cayuga female was left alive but she couldn’t walk so we brought her inside where she lived in our bathroom for a week. We put her in our large sink twice a day so she could swim about and made her comfortable in a cat carrier at night. I was really hoping that her leg might heal up and that the daily swimming would serve as beneficial physical therapy.
However, after almost ten days she still couldn’t walk. After much discussion about her options we decided to release her on the river. I didn’t see how she could survive with the rest of our poultry any more and I didn’t have the heart to end her life. So on a beautiful, sunny afternoon we took her down to the Methow River and gave her the first real taste of freedom she had ever had. She loved swimming around and grooming herself. She swam up and down the river bank and settled close to Ayla who sat watching her from atop a boulder. Finally she crossed the river and started what was undoubtedly her greatest and last adventure.

E i e i O





I didn’t quite get our working ranch experience out of my system yesterday and I found a picture of Grandma Louise with a picture of Grandpa Gary inside the photograph! This will have to do for now since it is hard to get Gary to slow down for a photo op.

And how could I forget Ayla’s first official sewing lesson. Milestones, everywhere I look!

Calving

It has become family tradition that we spend some time each spring helping out at Grandma and Grandpa’s Ranch. Once there we met up with cousin Tenaya (as seen below) and I took the girls out to watch a birth. Of course we are plenty far enough away to give the mom the privacy she needs, but I wanted the girls to be able to see as much of the birth process as possible.

I can’t help but laugh to myself when I think of the sleepovers I had at my Nana’s house which included a trip to the movie theatre with ice cream afterwards and then a breakfast of scrambled eggs and popovers. I loved my overnights with my Nana and I love that my girls will most likely associate trips to their grandparents with horses, buffalo and tagging calves.
When I recently recounted to my younger brother that Daren and I had a date while visiting the ranch he clarified, “You mean tagging calves in the freezing cold with your father-in-law was a date?” Yup, that pretty much sums it up.
Ayla begged me to set my alarm so that she wouldn’t miss the morning bottle feeding routine. There were an amazing number of twin calves born this year and some needed extra calories.
Rogue is right at home on the hay. Though we had a hard time convincing her sister, Emma that Rogue was a welcome canine addition to the ranch. After all, Rogue, Emma and brother Stripe were all born here and their Mama Zip still holds her own on the grounds.
Are you wondering why a trip to see Grandparents doesn’t include one single picture of those Grandparents? That’s what happens when you are 70+ years old and still managing hundreds of cows (and horses, cats, dogs and buffalo)- you’re so busy you can hardly stand still long enough for a photo!