Hooves on the asphalt. {the final trail.}

The last trail started with a 5am wake-up call (that probably should have been 4:30am, but I needed as much sleep as I could get), shoveling yogurt in my mouth and braiding my hair with my eyes closed. Oh, and how can I forget? The morning also included a 23 degree reading of the outside temperature gauge. These things started my mental list of things I won't miss however, just weeks from this trail that has become the Things I Already Miss List. 

I fussed about which hat to wear, and asked Jesse if I'd be warm enough in just a few layers. Also, of course the last trail is the FIRST trail that I remember to put some extra toilet paper squares in my jean pockets and remembered the bag balm for my lips!

Our wonderfulfantasticsupportiveawesome friends, Lorelyn and Trav came through our front door with smiles of support and excitement right on time and ready to go! Yes, we know how blessed we are to have friends that sacrifice their weekend and wake up at 4:30am to chase sheep 12 miles on foot! I'm telling you...these people are awesome.

We met our sheepherders at camp. They are ready to go and sadly didn't get much sleep with such cold temperatures on the eve of an emotional trail. It took us about 45 minutes to load their sleeping gear, the dogs and other items in the truck and the first sheep hit the road at 7:07am. We were off!

The first few miles Lorelyn and I front flagged together. As usual, I waited for the call on the radio that I was needed in the back. I dread that call, but I also love this call. It reminds me that I am needed and play (or played, rather) an important part in it all. This is when I have to get into marathon/professional sheep trailer mode and channel my inner mountain goat because I will be climbing up and down the sides of mountains chasing sheep and pushing them along.

I flank to the back of the large herd and the sheep just keep coming. There were so many more this year because a local sheep herder's sheep mixed with our herd while they were on the mountain so we were trailing a lot more than usual. As my wooly little friends walk past me, I take a few minutes to just appreciate it all. I took special notice of the sun glistening on their backs, the unique bleating of each and every one of these four-legged animals, I listened to their breathing and my heart smiled at each of the little lambs who managed to stick right next to their moms this far in to the trail.

I took special notice of their hooves on the asphalt and how it sounds like a rainstorm on a metal roof. This will be the last time I ever do this. Ever. After I take it in, I start sheep talking and walking and try to forget the tears welling up in my eyes.

Just before the picture above was taken a sheeptrailing angel (also known as one of our really neatsupercool friends) came to our rescue and offered up some coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I asked her a few days before this day if she would be interested in taking some pictures of us trailing since it's close to impossible for me to catch any decent ones while running along the trail. She happily agreed and later gave us hundreds of photos to sift through and look back at. We will cherish these photos forever. The coffee, tea, hot chocolate and the use of her bike to help move traffic through the sheep were just added bonuses. Nice to know that we had been doing it all wrong all these years! Shoulda invested in a bike with a bell. Worked like a charm. ;)
 

We have some darn awesome friends, I tell you. Awesome.

When I was going through all the photos we got of this trail I stopped at this one and decided it was my favorite of all. I am so proud of this man and am so glad he'll get to take it a little easier on his body now - ranching is no joke, folks. I'm especially excited for him to be able to sleep in every now and again.

We finally made it to the major intersection of the trail. This is when the rest of the family met up to help. I see my mother in law with the grand-kids, my sister in law at the West side of the light stopping cars and my father in law on the East stopping cars. I stop and hug my mother-in-law (the sweetest, most genuine woman alive) and get a little teary eyed. She enthusiastically reminded me, "It's a good day!" and while I tried really hard to fight the tears a part of me wished this sheep herding thing would have worked out a little differently for our family. I had to remind myself of all the things that lead us to the decision we made and move forward.

I hurry over to my niece and nephew, give them kisses and snap a picture...if they don't remember this day, I'll show them this picture. You were there on the last day of a beautiful family tradition.

Just a few moments later the sheep are crossing through the intersection that we all are anxious to get through safely.
Now, it's the homestretch....

We keep the doggies in the trailer and off the road for their safety. If they don't look happy in this picture, it's because they aren't..they want to be with their sheep.

It wasn't long before we were heading down our county road which is all of our favorite part of the trail. Have I mentioned that we live in such a beautiful area? ;)

Just a mile from the house I picked up my nephew and he helped me trail the sheep to the ranch. The 4 hour and 45 minute trail went by pretty fast although, my knees weren't saying that the next day.

It was a bittersweet moment for all, but it is so exciting to close this wonderful chapter and begin a new one. 

It's been just over a month since this final trail and while there is no doubt in our minds we did the right thing, we are sure missing our furry friends that have enriched our lives over the past years. We will never forget them and I personally owe them so much for teaching me patience, love, loyalty and most of all to enjoy all of the beautiful things this world has to offer, especially God's creatures. 

This story isn't over folks, I feel like it's just the beginning.

Baa-ing Before Breakfast {and a Bloglovin request}

The past two weekends (at a time that is way too early to even mention) Jesse and I, our herders and two of our most awesome friends oh, and 2100 sheep headed up to the high country aka summer range.

In years past I've always walked and front flagged the trails heading to and from our summer range. When front flagging you can't see the chaos of the herd; you don't see everyone working their butt off trying to keep the sheep on the road.

When front flagging you enjoy the beauty around you, the birds chirping, the deer roaming - you get the picture. In case you don't...

If you can imagine the very opposite of such a peaceful state, that is what herding the back of the herd along the road feels like. Complete and utter stress and chaos.

Imagine herding 100 cats. Impossible, right? Exactly.

This year I had the great pleasure of pushing the back. Jesse pushes the front group, two people the middle group and about three people push in the back aka run like crazy chickens trying to get these ewes and lambs back on the road. No offense to chickens.

Even with all the bodies there are challenges. Challenges that include rolling ankles or having to channel your inner mountain goat and climb up the sides of hills to get sheep back on track. Or getting heat exhaustion (which happened to one of our helpers this trail). Or getting sheep dung flung onto your face. Um, that happened too. Or, my favorite is being the lucky herder that gets to chase that one lamb through an open field with nothing but hope he/she will go where you want it to, all the while having everyone watch, wait and hope as well. It's a little humiliating to have your sheep herding skills on display like that. After all, we have a "leave no sheep behind" policy.

Or...getting peed on by this little guy. Don't worry, it dried pretty quickly.

The first of these two trails is a hard one because not only is it 13 miles while gaining elevation it's the first long trail for the lambs. This means they are tired and haven't learned to stick by mama and follow the herd.

This picture below was a great portion of the trail because there was fencing along this stretch and the sheep were a bit easier to keep on track. Keep reading and you'll see what happens when there isn't good fencing.

This was right about when things went completely haywire! I mean...clothes even came off!

Lambs are mischievous little suckers. They frolic into every field, up every hill, every garden. It's no joke. This picture below is a great example of lambs misbehaving. The horses in this field actually charged at the lambs and helped us out a bit. The quality of this photo is horrible, but it was the best I could do while running. ;)

The sheep cheering squad was nice....this was around mile 5 of 13 on the first trail. First time in 20+ years we've had signs! I love my community. Two weekends later the sheep are now on our first permit of the summer, but this doesn't mean the work is done. Just this week J got a call from his friend that saw a small group of sheep running up the road. Again, mischievous little suckers. Needless to say there have been several trips up and will be many more to search for the group on the loose (click here to read about our ewe that walked herself all the way home!). Oh, and did I mention it's haying season as well? My husband works too damn hard. He deserves a vacation!

Happy First Day of Summer and please keep our beautiful state in your thoughts as we have many fires burning and a lot of firefighters risking their lives to save ours. 

And another important announcement in case you didn't know - Google Reader is going away July 1st, y'all.
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Fleece Navidad!

Hope ya'll had a great Christmas. 

We trailed sheep today, which I'll tell you all about in a few days, but for now I wanted to share with you our sheep trailing about a week ago. 

We've been at this a little over two years now. Lambing, shearing, trailing sheep, cold winters, late nights, cold mornings, etc.

At what point do these everyday activities become the norm? For me, it seems like they may never. J asked me Friday night, "Are you all ready to trail tomorrow?"

At that very instant, I had knots in my stomach and was full of anxiety. I just don't understand why I get anxious and worried. We are out of feed here and need to start heading south for the winter. We were hoping to stay where we were for a few more weeks, but it was just too dry and there was little feed left. So, trailing it is. 

Saturday morning, we wake up bright and early and look outside. It's snowing and it's so, very cold.

Here we've been praying for snow for weeks and today of all days we get this...

Upper Left: Right before we got on the road. That is the fence the sheep came out of.
Upper Right: Animals always line up at the fences to see the sheep come thru. It's so neat.
Lower Left: It didn't budge from 25 degrees the entire trail.
Lower Right: The sheep coming down their last hill. They are about 100 ft from the gate to the pasture.

I didn't dare wish it away, but it reminded me of a saying I heard once, "Farmers and Ranchers are never quite happy. There will always be too much moisture, not enough moisture or moisture at the wrong time." It's definitely a love-hate (def more love) type of relationship.

Even though the trail today was a shorter one (only 9.5 miles), doesn't mean it was easier than others. However, it's made a bit easier when you have good help! Like the help we get from these two.

I'm a little late to introduce these two (we'll call them L&T), we've been friends for over a year now and they really are the most amazing individuals J and I have ever had in our lives. Truly. Our mutual love of In-N-Out is what brought us together, but so much more keeps us together.

L&T helped us at a tricky intersection today and it went smooth - they are awesome trailers. Pretty much professionals at this point.

The three of us were stopping cars at the intersection and while I work on stopping a motorist, I find that she is one of 'those people'. Let me define this a bit better...

There are three types of people that you run into while trailing sheep. There are the "Lovers" who enjoy driving thru the sheep. They take pictures, smile, sometimes stop to chat and a few will even turn around for seconds.

Then you have the "Grumps". These are the people that grumble thru the sheep and most likely thru everything else in life.

Then you have "Those People".  These are the people that think it's the most horrible, awful, most miserable thing to drive thru the sheep. These people don't slow down, they speed up and honk their horn because sheep know what the sound of a horn means.

I mean really, is driving thru sheep really that bad?

Anyway, as I'm stopping this motorist, I realize it's a postal service worker. I said, "Mam, would you mind stopping here for just a few minutes? The sheep are coming thru."

To which she replied in a panicked tone, "But, I have the mail!"

Oh!! Well, in that case go right on thru. I'll just let the sheep know you have some important deliveries to make. I'm sure it won't be a problem. Let me part the seas right now!

I shook my head and promised her it would be less than 3 minutes. She seemed okay with that.

After the intersection, it was a breeze. About an hour later the sheep were where they needed to be. They'll stay in this pasture for 2 weeks.

Unless it snows, of course...then we'll need to keep heading south. Love-hate I tell you...

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!

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)

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"