Mutton Mondays - A letter from the Forest Service and BLM

This is a letter released to the public. Funny that our sheep and dogs are one of the few 'bands' they are talking about. This letter gives great tips for hikers and backpackers that are headed up into the mountains this summer. I also thought it would give you a little more insight on what life for the dogs and sheep is like in the high country. 

For immediate release:  June 17, 2011

 

Visitors to public lands should be aware of livestock protection dogs in the high country.

As the snow melts in the high country, hikers, backpackers and other visitors will soon be joining bands of domestic sheep in heading for public lands.  Domestic sheep are grazed on public lands under permit from late June to early October.  A band of sheep is often accompanied by a pair of livestock protection dogs, which are an effective tool used by ranchers to protect sheep from predators. These large white guard dogs are often Great Pyrenees or Akbash breeds.

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will be posting signs along trails and trailheads notifying users of the dates that domestic sheep bands will be grazing in certain areas. Follow these safety tips when encountering guard dogs in the backcountry:

When approaching a band of sheep, allow time for the guard dogs to see you and determine you are not a threat. Remain calm.  If you do not appear to be a threat, the dogs will often just watch you pass by.

If you have a dog with you, it may appear to guard dogs as a threat if it gets too close to the band or tries to chase sheep. Keep your dog close to you and under control.  Leash your dog for as long as you can see sheep band.

Try not to “split” the band by walking through it; instead travel around the sheep via the least disruptive route. Keep as much space as practical between you and the sheep band, especially if you have a dog with you.  As you pass, keep line of sight between you, your pets and the guard dogs.

Bicycle riders should dismount from their bikes and walk past the band with the bike between you and the livestock protection dog. Do not remount until you are well past the sheep.

Do not:

 *   Chase or harass sheep or livestock protection dogs.

 *   Try to outrun livestock protection dogs.  If a guard dog approaches you, tell   it to “go back to the sheep,” or tell it, “No!” in a firm voice.  Do not attempt to hit or throw things at it.

 *   Attempt to befriend or feed livestock protection dogs.  They are not pets.  They are lean athletic working dogs, which are cared for by their owners.

 *   Allow your pets to run towards or harass sheep.  They may be perceived as predators by the livestock protection dog and attacked.

 *   Mistake a livestock protection dog as lost and take it with you.

Mutton Mondays - Predators and Guardians

Sheep are pretty defenseless. Sad to say, but it's true.

Their only means of defense is staying together in a large herd and even then that's pretty pathetic. In a situation like that you are just hoping the predator goes for the sheep next to you. They probably don't make eye contact, try to suck it in to look unappetizing. You get the picture...

Coyotes, bear and mountain lion are our biggest problem. Many nights you hear the coyotes howling out in the field. A few seconds later you can hear the dogs barking and then their barks fade off into the distance. That is when I say a little prayer and ask God to watch over our hard working dogs.

Bear are a problem for us when we are up in the summer range. It would be nice if bear only stuck to nuts and berries, but they do not.

They eat our lamb and often several of them in one night. In the video that J made below at 3:33 our herder is stitching up a ewe that was attacked by a bear the night prior. I believe we lost one or two sheep that night. Doesn't sound like much, but that night we were lucky.

The dogs do the best they can with the bear and mountain lions but there are only so many fights our dogs will win.

Recently our state representative tried to pass a bill that would repeal the limits that a 1992 initiative placed and give the Wildlife Commission and Colorado Division of Wildlife the authority to change black bear hunting restrictions based on wildlife biology and game management practices, not legislative mandates. Unfortunately, this bill died. As a sheep rancher's wife we are hoping this bill has better luck the next time around.

I can't take any of the credit for keeping our sheep safe from predators. 

The credit belongs to our hard working herders and our fearless guard dogs; Tank, Scout, Joe, Wito, Embre and Gringo.

Just this past week we've lost four lambs to coyotes. Unfortunately, there is no real solution to our predator problems, the guard dogs are our best hope.

Welcome to the ranching life!

It will be one week tomorrow that I pulled into our drive and was welcomed to our new home by Jigs.

Jigs, is the ranch's newest Border Collie.

We've since completely unpacked. We are downsizing a little so we had to get rid of a lot. You don't realize how much crap you have until you move - that's for sure. We donated lots to the local thrift store, maybe that will warm some folks up to the new city gal in town. For the first few days I was feeling like this before 3pm!

This is "Wito". He is up in the high country right now working all night to keep the coyotes, bear and all other predators away from the sheep.

I knew it was time for an update and considering I had my first real adventure yesterday well, here we go.

In the summer the sheep graze different areas of national forest and are we are required to move 'camp' weekly. This requires J to take supplies (food for the herder, dog food, mineral blocks for the sheep and a few other things) on an ATV, meet at the current camp, load up and move everything to the new spot. This was the 'easiest' of the summer moves and since I'm not working right now I figured I'd go up! We woke up about 5:30am and were out the door by 6:15am. We got to our unload spot at around 8:30am. We loaded everything up on the ATV and began the 2 mile hike/ride in. Jesse and I took turns on the ATV and he rode the more sketchier of areas. We are off trail most of the time so it's not your average trail hike.

There are markers most of the way, J and his Pop do this to make it easier for them, of course. After about a 1.5 hour trek in I see the sheep on a hill and Gringo and Wito (the two guard dogs on the mountain) come running at us! I am so happy to see the dogs! The guard dogs are Great Pyranese and Akbash, are hard workers (Gringo had killed a coyote that was attacking the sheep the night before) but are the sweetest most loving dogs you'll ever meet. Don't get me wrong, they can definitely intimidate especially when they want to 'play'. I would normally partake but with these dogs 'playing' would most likely consist of me getting hurt or at least scratched up.

Wito and Gringo coming to greet us!

We meet with Alberto, the herder that stays with the camp all summer. He stays there all summer with the two guard dogs and two Border Collies and loves it.

We load up his tent and any other supplies he has with him and visit with him for a while. He looks so happy to have someone to converse with for a little while so I don't mind hanging around for a bit. After a while, when it sounds like the conversation is coming to an end I tell Jesse that I'm going to start walking down to the next camp area. I figure he'll catch up to me pretty quickly on the ATV. This was my first mistake. Who the heck am I to think that I know my way around? There are hundreds of miles of forest surrounding me. It didn't take me but 2 minutes to realize that I'm lost.

I could hear the ATV but it was getting more faint by the second. I'm running down the hill to get a better view of my surroundings. I thought by looking up I would maybe be able to see J or Alberto. Nothing. Fear set in and I'm in hysterics. It was like a scene in a really bad movie. At this point I'm frantically running back up the hill, crying, saying things like 'Oh my God, I'm going to die out here' and 'Oh my God, I'm lost, I'm lost, Oh my God'. I could even see (in my head of course) vultures circling around above me. I told you it was like a scene in a bad movie.

Just when I was going to start screaming I see J in the distance and I yell his name to get his attention. I sat down on a rock and sobbed. I just kept remembering all those stories I've heard about hikers getting 'turned around' and 'being stranded' for days on end. I have never, ever been that scared in my entire life. It took me a good 30 minutes to calm down and even still when I told the story to my mother about 5 hours later I was getting choked up. She gave me a good idea...take a foghorn with me next time!

At this point I'm just ready to get home. I'm over the forest, I'm over the heat and I'm over the walking! Turns out I'm in for some more. Alberto catches up to us and tells us there is a ewe that needs to come back to the ranch. Her joints aren't doing to good and if she stays on the mountain she'll be coyote bait. He rounds up the sheep, with the help of Sage, one of the Border Collies and I find myself in the wrong place, again! I realize I'm facing about 700 sheep that are all staring right at me. Not so fluffy and cute when you are outnumbered by that many. These ewes can weigh up to 130 lbs! Thankfully Sage comes and turns the herd around. Phew! Good dog.

Alberto and J wrangle the Ewe, we named her Mama, and loaded her up into the back of the ATV. It was a tight fit for her but she wasn't in any harm. We say our goodbyes to Alberto and J arranges their next meet and we are heading to the car! After what seemed to be hours, J and I make it to the car. Now, the most fun part of the day - loading the 140 lb sheep into the truck. No, we couldn't just load her in the bed of the truck...the ATV took up all the space. So where did we put her? Oh, she went in the back seat! I had to use all my strength to help lift her, I was even getting a little teary eyed because you could tell she was just so scared. We plopped her on the back seat and talked to her, to calm her and we headed home.

Here is Mama, in the back seat. I couldn't resist...the hat was right next to her.

My first (and possibly last) trip to the high country.

So, there you have it. My first 'real' adventure. What did I learn from this experience?

...always wear sunscreen when going to the high country! My face is cherry red today. Might even be getting a blister or two.

Signed,
A Rancher's Wife (in training)

An Update on the Sheep

I haven't had any sheep related posts the last few weeks so I thought I would give ya'll an update.

The sheep are currently up in the high country and will be there until early October.
You know...when I help trail them down aka my unintentional half marathon last year!

I was able to take my family up there a few weeks ago. It just so happened J needed to move camp while mi familia were in town and I jumped at the opportunity. We also took an unplanned trip up there the next week to pick up one of our herders. More on that in a sec.

The sheep look good. Really good. They are grazing away, loving their lives.

It's beautiful up there.

 Here comes Gringo to say hello!

Let me give you an idea of what it is like for our herders up on the mountain. They have no running water and the water they use is freezing cold. They sleep in tents in the middle of the forest and are  frequented by bear and coyotes (thank goodness for our awesome guard dogs!).

Now while they do have cell phones, the service is spotty and their battery has to last until the next "move". This is when J will bring their cell phone home and charge it. He takes it back to them the next move.

Their job up in the high country is to keep the sheep in a certain area (we'll go over this in a bit) and tend to them as needed.

Our Forest Service permits allow us to be at certain places on the mountain for a certain amount of time.

When our time is up (or there isn't enough feed) we move camp to the next location. "Camp" consists of our herder's supplies and sleeping quarters (tents). J goes up every week, takes our herders supplies and moves everything to the next spot. It's really a tedious process.

For instance, today J moved camp. He left at 7:00 this morning and spends hours on the 4 wheeler taking in supplies (since obviously we can't drive right to the "campsite"). It was a long day for him.

It's 11pm and he literally just walked in the door.

Some trips he'll trade out dogs. Today he took Nell to the mountain and brought Sage home. Duke and Nell, our newest pups are spending their first summer up on the mountain. Hopefully they learn the ropes!

J also brings me an update on how things are going. He is sure to tell me how all the dogs are doing - Wito, Embre and Gringo are the guard dogs currently up there. They are doing a good job keeping the bear and coyote away. Daniel says we've had bear and coyote almost every night. Yikes!

I am proud to say that I've gotten him in the habit of putting some treats in his pocket for the dogs on "Camp Moving" days.

If only I can get him in the habit of packing a lunch and a Nalgeen. He came home super dehydrated and starving.

Coming Home.

The alarm buzzes and I think, It can’t be time already.

As I stumble through my morning routine I am ready within minutes for Rambling Ewe Ranch’s big day.

The moon fills the sky and sheds enough light so we can find our way to the truck.
Orange flag in hand, Camelbak packed, we load up water and lunches for the herders. J checks the trailer to ensure proper hitching and we hop up in the truck.

We pick up Alberto, he lives nearby on the ranch. Elias and Daniel are waiting for us at the mountain.

Our herders are used to this early work, it’s a daily occurrence for them. For me, it's a little tough and I find myself unable to hold back the yawning.

As we all make our way up to where the sheep, Elias and Daniel are waiting, the excitement begins to build.

The mamas and babies are coming home!

Make way B-town…Sheep on Road!

I am dropped off about a mile ahead of where the sheep will get on the road and  I find myself smiling with excitement. It’s just me, the horses in the field nearby out this time of day and the road is quiet. Soon enough cars will be making their appearance. I sure hope we have happy drivers today.

It’s important the cars see me as they are driving.  My sole purpose as flagger is to alert cars that sheep are ahead and to PLEASE slow down.

Most cars slow down and enjoy the drive through the sheep. Some smile and wave and roll down their windows. Some want to chat with you about the sheep and ask how many we have this year. Many times children poke their heads out of the car to get a better view of the sheep. Other cars take heed to our signs that are posted the week prior and avoid the street altogether. That's fine too.

Some forget the sheep are on the road and are either pleasantly surprised or grumble the whole way through.

I radio J on the walkie-talkie and ask them what his status is. He replies back, "They are on the road!"

I wait to see the first sheep around the bend and start walking!  "Okie dokie! Here we go!"

Soon enough we are rocking and rolling.

J will trail the back of the herd in the truck. He slows traffic behind him as he pulls our horse trailer full of our dogs that were working on the mountain. There is an orange, bright sign on the back of the truck that says, Sheep on Road. We don't let the dogs trail on the road, we've had a car hit one of our dogs once before and want to ensure that doesn't happen again.

They want to be where the sheep are. They aren't happy campers when they aren't.

Last year the sheep wanted to run home (all 12 miles) and this year was a bit better. They weren't in such a rush.

Jigs did come along for the ride, but slept most of the time in the car. She gets by on her looks, not her hard work. ;)

Along the way, I enjoy the view of the foothills of the San Juans. It’s a lovely sight and there is something about leading hundreds of sheep to a place they love, that makes your heart happy.




And so, I am reporting back with news of a good and successful day. Today is a milestone for J and I. We made it through our first full year of sheep ranching! It's a wonderful feeling and I want to say thank you to everyone that has offered us their support, prayers and words of encouragement over the past few months.

Tonight our herders are proud of their work (as they should be) and our sheep are happy. 

"Trailing 2011"

a bittersweet Sunday. {saying goodbye}

Making the Move.
Mat Kearney is playing on my Pandora station right now. His cd was on repeat the entire drive to our new home in the country. Every time I hear his music I reminisce about that day. My Jeep was packed to the brim and I couldn't wait to start a new life with my husband, at our new home; a single-wide, actually.

The past three years at the ranch have been the best, most challenging (and busy) years Jesse and I have experienced in our lives. We had only been married a year when we got the call that Jesse was needed at the ranch. It was a very emotional decision that we don't regret because afterall, it has led us to our forever home. 

The Decision.
We all make sacrifices in our lives, so my story isn't different from yours. We all know how it feels to make the tough, but right decisions.

As sheep ranchers we've learned a LOT of patience and more importantly we've learned to trust our gut. We've learned that as long as we have each other, we can get through it all. We've learned that challenges and struggles can strengthen a marriage, but it can also destroy one; it's a fine line you have to walk. We've grown so much as a couple the past three years; I trust Jesse's decisions and count on his reassurances. We make a great team and I am so grateful to call him my husband.

Jesse and I decided months ago (after years of pushing through the doubt) that this fall we will gracefully bow out of running the family sheep ranch. This Sunday will be our final trail home. Obviously I won't go into (personal) details, but there are several factors (some outside of our control) that have led us to this decision.We have to rely on our instincts...we tried to ignore it for too long.

Saying goodbye to the sheep, the dogs, the beauty of it all and the herders is hard to think about and it's a very sad time for the entire family. I am grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to experience such a wonderful thing. Fortunately, the "operation" will go to a local sheep rancher so we will see the sheep every now and again making their trails to and from the summer and winter range, and I'm sure as often as we would like. We are also sure the dogs will walk their way back to the only home they've ever known so, we'll look forward to their visits. It also looks like we'll inherit a few of the older/retired dogs, which I don't mind one bit. :)

The Future.
If you know anything about the agricultural community you know that the small farmer and rancher get the short end of the stick in everything. It's been an uphill battle for us since the day we've arrived, and because of this Jesse and I plan to remain very active in the agricultural industry; the industry needs more voices.

We see the struggles and have experienced many of them first hand and so, my husband the entrepreneur has created something amazing for the industry, Harvest Funders, LLC. It's going be a great and wonderful resource for the ag community. I can't wait to share the final product with you.  
(My fellow Ag-bloggers if you are interested in hearing more, please email me.)

{{Harvest Funders, LLC is launching November 2013}}

Hasta!
So, we are saying goodbye to the job of running sheep year round, but aren't saying goodbye to the industry in the slightest. I will continue to be a proud ranching wife and I am so proud of the hard work my husband has given and the sacrifices he has made every single day for the past three years.

We will have a small herd of sheep of our own (that I already have names for), Jesse will convert the grazing pasture to hay fields and I'm currently trying to talk Jesse in to getting a pig. I'm not sure the direction this blog will go, but I am so glad I started this blog and documented our sheep ranch adventures!

My friends, it is with a sad heart, but positive and hopeful thoughts that I press the "Publish" button on this post. We are trusting our guts and trusting each other in this decision and looking forward to what the future has in store for our little family. It's never easy ending a chapter of your life that you enjoyed to the fullest.

Thank you for following along the past three years and I'll be back soon. Thank you to our friends and family for all the support you've given us since day one.

Almost there...

You haven't lived until you've trailed sheep. For reals.

The anticipation absolutely sucks, but the reward when the sheep get to their destination is like no other. The camaraderie is amazing because it takes every.single.person to get it done successfully. 

Last Sunday was the last leg of the big trip and it started early. We were up and at 'em at 5:30 am and met where the sheep were taken the night before. After a quick, "Good Morning," I continued on to my destination which was the intersection on the main highway. It was a chilly morning and I found myself doing jumping jacks to stay warm.

I waited there for about 20 minutes in the middle of the street with my flag. When I heard the baa-ing I knew it was "go" time. The sheep came around the corner, I started waving my flag and stopped the first car. Thankfully, the car wasn't in a rush to get anywhere and wasn't pissed that she was stuck behind sheep. You see, some people will get super angry and annoyed and others will say things like, "Oh, neat!" or "Wow, that is a lot of sheep. How fun!"

The sheep were only on the highway for about 30 minutes until they got on the county road.

Once they got on the county road it was a piece of cake from there.

We trailed about 2 hours and hit our first rest stop. Pop and J arrange our stops beforehand since some people may not be up for a visit from the sheep.

The people that owned this lot didn't mind one bit and they want us back next year!

2.5 hours later we hit our lunch spot.

We wanted to take advantage of the feed there and give the sheep, our herders, J, Pop, Gell and myself a break so we stayed here for about 4 hours.

After that long break, we were on our way again!

See Pop's truck and sheep camp up front? He was front flagging in the car and I was trailing behind the sheep. I've learned it's best to front flag because in the back you see everything! Every time a sheep or lamb would go off trail my heart would start pounding. On top of that, any stragglers get put in the back car (my car) to be taken back to the ranch.

From now on, I want to front flag (walking) like I have in the past.

It's so fun to see all the families that make an event out of it. We had families with their lawn chairs, in their robes and some that came out to shake hands with our herders. These kids were pretty excited. 

These llamas were pretty excited too!
It never fails that animals along the way walk up to their fences to see what is going on.

People tend to try and help along the way. This guy was "helping" on his 4-wheeler keeping sheep on the trail using a rag.

The view along the way is always so beautiful. This house is just gorgeous, don't you think?

Once the sheep got to where they would stay for three nights I was able to breath again. All of the sheep (except the one mama and three babies we had to take back to the ranch) made it safely.

Thank goodness!

Here they are at their last stop for the next three days!

We took two guard dogs, Embre and Gringo up to the high country later that evening since there are bear and coyotes up in the high country. The dogs will help ward off predators.

"Take me to my sheep!"

There you have it, the sheep are up in the high country and they are happy, safe and have GREAT feed.

Funny story...

Once we got to the location above a man drove by and told us there was a bear wandering in a nearby field. I decided to try and find the bear, in my car, of course.
Smart, I know.

I snapped this picture thinking I found it!

Turns out that was a tree stump. :(

Huge FAIL on my part.

As timing would have it, just when I get this post published it's time to move again! J did a move yesterday and there is another move on Sunday. Now it's just a matter of getting them up in the mountains. We spread these moves out and stop along the way when the feed is good and if the people along the way are up for a visit from the sheep. This year is a good year for feed and the landowners up the way don't mind the sheep, so we are taking advantage of that. :)

Happy trails and wooly white tails!

Moving Camp

A few weeks ago I helped J move camp. Isn't as easy as it sounds especially when you actually help rather than watch which is what I've been known to do in the past.

We lease Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land for our winter range. The winters are milder there and we can move to different areas on our permit land every week or so to ensure new feed. Our herders are from Peru and are really good at what they do. They stay with the sheep in the sheep camp. They will doctor the sheep when needed, keep them in the right area so that our sheep don't mix with neighboring sheep bunches.

This morning we had to get out there before the sun comes out. If we wait until the snow melts everything is muddy and it's harder to move camp.

Our herder and sheep are already gone. They start to graze over to the new area early in the morning. We hook up the camp (using a ridiculously scary piece of equipment called a Farm Jack), load up all the wood, and anything else that is lying around and head on over to the new spot. Hooking and packing up camp takes about a good hour and a half.

We head over to the new camp which is about a 5 mile drive (but feels like 10 miles since we have to go about 10 miles per hour). We unload and I plow snow out of our way. We use the ridiculously scary piece of equipment again and I find myself closing my eyes. If it breaks and the sheep camp hitch falls to the ground and topples on J I sure as heck don't want to see it happen.

Right as we were taking the last salt block out of the bed of the truck we hear a bell. The sheep are here! We walk over and soon see the dogs Embre, Wito, Skip and Chili and here comes our herder.

We chit chat for a while and give the pups a treat. J and our herder talk about the next camp and when they will move. They have to take into consideration how much feed (or lack thereof) is here at this camp - that will determine how long the sheep can graze this area.

I can say the sheep are lookin healthy, our herder is in good spirits and the 4 dogs are happy! Things are good.

Sheep On Road!

That's right!! Keep a look out folks - the sheep that make this ranch whole are coming home from the high country!

All 2,000 sheep (mama's and their little babies) will be home on Sunday afternoon. Why am I so excited?! The sheep, 4 dogs and one herder, Alberto have been away all summer. It will be nice to know they are all safe and sound here, at home. No bear to worry about and more guard dogs to scare off the coyotes at night.

To add some icing to the cake - I will help bring the sheep home! It's my 'job' to stay about 100 yards in front of the (very large) herd and make sure oncoming traffic slows down. It's a dangerous job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Wish us luck that everyone (furry and human) makes it home safely!

Believe-you-me - there WILL be pictures. Lots of 'em.

Ultimate Cuteness.

As you know, we got two new Great Pyrenees pups this past weekend.

When we drove up to see them, my heart melted. They are the cutest little things ever. Well aside from these two cute pups and this courageous guard dog and this little guy. Okay...I can go on and on.

Meet Mac. 

He's a courageous fellow and he's ready to explore. He wants to play every chance he gets! I have a feeling he is going to be a great protector.

 

This is Dottie. 

Dottie is a little more reserved than her brother, but she is opening up more and more each day! She's alert and that can never be a bad thing for ranch dogs!

....and so two more dogs make 14! 

I am so in love with these two.