Posts Tagged ‘Ranch Life’
June 2007
By: Leticia
Dear Mrs. Hackler,
Last month was a crazy busy month on Eagle Creek Ranch, and I can’t believe that it is already July! I don’t even know where to start telling you about the month that we had.
June started out just like it always does: hot, dry, and a lot of work to do! We got all the branding done in the last few weeks of May and the beginning of June. Dad decided to do it pasture by pasture, that way it would require less help. Of course, he saved West pasture for last, since it is our biggest pasture. It was great, some of my uncles came down, my brother, Gabriel, took a break from farming to help, and our neighbors Frosty and Will came out, too. The round-up was smooth, and Dad let me ride up to ’normus hill. I love it up there, you can see the whole ranch. I guess the last time I was there was during your memorial service back in November. The cows gave us no troubles. We brought in about 110 cows and branded over 90 calves-we had a pretty good calf crop this year. And of course, mom cooked a wonderful lunch of roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and a cobbler for desert. Everyone had a good time. I love branding, it always feels like Christmas!
The next weekend we went over to one of our neighbor’s to help her mark lambs. It was just a good reminder for me to be thankful that we don’t run sheep on the ranch anymore! We also went over there one day to help out with a coyote drive. She has been having coyote problems down there, but she is still staying strong. It is true ranch women like her that have created the spirit of the American West.
The joint Stockmen’s Convention was held in Ruidoso this year where New Mexico Cattle Grower’s Association and the New Mexico Wool Growers, Inc met together to celebrate father’s day, past accomplishments, and another good year. It was good to see old faces and meet new people.
We also had three wells that were down. On two of them we were able to fix with no problems, but the last one really gave us some problems. We ended up having to pull the pipe just to get to the pump at the bottom. But they are all fixed and water is running out again.
And speaking of water, we finally had some rain! About three weeks the rain started. First one of the year brought us two inches! Since then we’ve had a little over five and the hills are turning green. It was getting pretty dry for a while. There was a fire that burned nearly 40,000 acres just south of Hope. All the forests were closed to camping, too, but with the recent rain they’re back open. The creek even ran for a while, which means we have some water gaps and fencing to fix, but we aren’t complaining.
On the fourth of July we went to Capitan to watch the ranch rodeo, now those are something to watch! The Runyan-Elkin’s Ranch team was doing a pretty good job. It was nice to take a day from work to just relax and celebrate with friends.
Well, I won’t bore you anymore. Sure we did more than just all this, but you wouldn’t want to read everything. Eagle Creek sure does miss you and it isn’t the same without you, but we know you’re there. Hope this update has made it up to you.
Love,
Leticia Varelas
