My favorite Dances With Wolves line goes, "Somebody back East is sayin', Why don' he write?"
After getting a little heads-up from a friend, I realized that it's been, well, a loooooong time since I've posted a blog. Like maybe a year. It's not that I haven't thought about it, I've just been a little busy, a little lazy, and maybe a wee bit preoccupied. Horses, foaling/breeding season, a new puppy, and my photography has been keeping me going 24/7. So here we go: "Put that in your book!"
I just returned from a 5 day whirlwind photography trip to Colorado, and got some great images (to come soon. Probably.). In the meantime, here's an image to keep you going until later.
This is one of my shots from Colorado ~ it was a shoot on the Sombrero Ranch near Craig. Over 2 days, the crew drove a big herd of horses down from the winter pasture to their main headquarters, a trip of over 60 miles. I never did hear the final tally, but there were over 600 head in the herd. It was an amazing thing to experience ~ not just the visual beauty of it, but also the smell of the crushed sage, the feel of the dirt and dust, and the sound of thousands of hooves beating the hard ground. This is one of my favorite shots: Traditionally, cowboys dreaded riding "drag," i.e. pushing the herd from behind. Personally, I can't see what they're complaining about ~ sure, the dust is horrendous, you can't hardly breathe, your camera gets trashed, but WHAT a view! The horses ain't bad, neither!
This was the cutest cook there ~ he was in full traditional garb, right down to the handlebar mustasche and accent. He was a total sweetheart, and his wagon smelled amazing, too.
OK ~ That's it for now. Gotta go run a few laps around the ranch to work off all the calories I consumed today. Did I tell ya that I actually saw them using REAL LARD to cook with? The really bad part is that I went back for seconds from that wagon! It was awesome!
If you said Armadillo, you're right! They're very unique, interesting creatures that I absolutely love to watch. We have lots of 'em on the ranch, and it's becoming on of my favorite pass times to stalk and 'shoot' them. Don't worry, I don't use bullets, just my super-telephoto lens. Fortunately for me, they've got horrible eyesight, so even a klutz like me can sneak up pretty close. Check out that old-man gotee under his chin. All he needs is a set of wire-rimmed glasses...
And this one! Number 593. This poor thing must stare in the mirror every morning, and obsess about her poor uneven face. We all know how hard it can be to hide our horns! She must be tormented with self-doubt and uncertainty! These cows are almost human! I can feel the connection and bond growing. I think I need to commune with these creatures and become a member of their fold. They will become like family, like a... Wait a second! What the?!!! Is that calf really... NO! It can't be! Please tell me she is not .... please, no!
AAACK! GAG! NOOOOOO! EEEEEWWWWWWWWW! Cows are nasty, yucky, gross, beastly, disgusting, awful, repugnant, vulgar, nauseating, vile, foul, filthy, ... EEEEWWW! 
Step Six (we'll bypass Step Five, which usually involves falling on your rear end, slipping into the hole you just cut, or suffering major contusions to your various anatomical parts, all the while trying to maintain a certain level of poise and composure) Step Six: Adopt the traditional lumberjack stance, being careful not to do the splits on the ice ~ it's very important to try to make this step look as easy and seamless as possible. Even though your abs and obliques feel like you've just been kicked by a mule, its important to keep the panting and sweating to a minimum.
We've started popping out babies here at the ranch, and they're getting big and strong already. They've got those baby soft muzzles, frizzy little manes, and incredibly sharp hooves that can and will remove a toenail if they step on you! These two are both very sweet and good-natured. So far. But that might change as soon as the vet or the farrier appears.
Our babies are bred to be cutters. No, not the disturbed EMO kind with a razor blade ~ our horses are a different kind of cutter. Cutting horses are bred to work cattle ~ they sort (cut) one cow out of the herd, then hold it by itself. In traditional ranch work, this allowed other cowboys to work, sort, doctor, or rope that animal easier. Being the manipulative humans that we are, we have bred this behavior into the animals, so most of them really LOVE to cut.
Cutters need to be tremendously athletic, so it's good that these babies are growing up strong and healthy.
