Winter Weight Check

Worried about gaining weight over the winter? Those holiday pounds already stacking up? Feeling a little bit like a breakfast sausage in those jeans you bought last month? Well don't you fret, don't you frown, you are not alone. And, by-golly, you might as well use the same reason for your recent plumping as our four-legged friends at Drowsy Water Ranch: It's stinking cold out. After we finish cutting the hay on the meadows at the Walden ranch, we pasture a handful (okay, maybe more like a few trailer-fulls) of our horses for the fall. Their manes get tangled. Their feet get dirty. They [...]

Winter Weight Check2011-12-01T14:09:00+00:00

A Few Uninvited Guests

We've been overrun by a few guests that we didn't invite. They're big, hairy, and hungry! Yep, a herd of oh, I don't know, 'bout a hundred elk have moved in. Every night, they sneak down to the shop where we store our hay and have a few midnight snacks. They destroy the hay and make a big mess. Then every morning, they file back up the hillside like a string of ants coming from a picnic.

A Few Uninvited Guests2011-02-09T18:19:00+00:00

Ranch Lessons

After having lived at Drowsy Water Ranch for the past year and a half, I’ve learned quite a few things. I’ve learned that horses eat…a lot. And when they finish all the hay in a pasture, they have to be moved to another place with more grub. Yesterday I went on a ranch field trip to help move all the horses from one winter pasture in Walden to another. It was another lesson in my ongoing ranch education. I’ve learned that it is really really really cold in Northern Colorado. I’ve learned that things never quite go as planned. The initial game plan was [...]

Ranch Lessons2009-12-29T17:18:00+00:00

Ranch Pyromaniacs

As you've  probably heard, this area of the state is seeing one of the worst pine beetle attacks in recent history. At this point, there is nothing we can do to stop the beetle.  We hopelessly watch as our pristine forests of green pines fall prey to the insect and turn the tell-tale red-brown color of a dead tree. Experts expect pine forest devastation in this area to reach nearly 100 percent. While this is heart-wrenching to watch, it's is just Mother Nature doing her thing.  And, that crazy gal, Mother Nature, doesn't leave us without a few silver linings. First, the aspen trees are alive and well [...]

Ranch Pyromaniacs2009-04-16T19:11:00+00:00

Winter is Here!

Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Snowflake. It's been awhile since you've hung around here.  While I can't honestly say that we've missed you, we do welcome you back.  After a recent warm spell we finally received our first real snowfall.  It calls for some celebration.  It's wintertime!Wintertime on the ranch means lots of things. It means snow and wind. It means cold toes and red noses. It means feeding hay and shoveling roofs.  But it's not all bad.  The snow also brings skiing and sledding, hot cocoa and soup,  and a whole lot of peace and quiet.  By March, the creek's gentle bubble will freeze [...]

Winter is Here!2008-11-06T22:36:00+00:00