My Pants, My Feet, My Hair

ANTS! They are my arch nemeses. We are at war - constant battle. Sometimes there is a lull in the fighting, but really, it never ends.

I live in "The Tack Room" - a small studio attached to the barn at the end of the road. It's nice, quiet, and generally enjoyable. But man, some days I just want to FREAK OUT!

The past few days I have been noticing an increased number of ants crawling around my kitchen - in the trash, in the sink, even in the cupboard! So today, I decided to do something about it - I went on a rampage. An hour and a half scouring every corner of my house, hunting down every ant. I got so carried away I even scrubbed my shower!

The true test is to see if they return. The battle may be won, but the war definitely isn't over.

The Land of Cows

Today, Joe, Jack, and I saddled up and headed to the KT. We rode to the cows at the Eastern part of the ranch. When we got there, a small group was watering at the trough. Joe decided that we should practice our horsemanship, sorting cows out and working them to another corral. It was great! We each took turns signaling out a cow, sorting it, and walking it off. We were trying to work on the low stress handling Joe learned from Bud Williams. It was amazing to see how the slightest movements would determine if you would be successful or fail.

For instance, I had separated a cow from the herd and it was standing 20 feet out, looking to get back to the group. I was between it and the other cows. As it turned towards the gate, I moved my horse to be parallel, taking a step forward. That single step put enough pressure on the cow to send it scampering around me and back to the herd. The same thing happened once more. The third time, I asked Joe - "What should I do here? What did I do wrong the last two times?" He told me that I needed to swing the back of my horse around so I'm not stepping forward when I'm positioning myself. In doing so, I would relieve pressure from the cow and encourage it to head to the gate.

To my astonishment, it worked exactly as Joe said it would. I was incredibly impressed and now look forward to the next sorting opportunity to work out my new skills.

The Earth Is Shaking

Two nights ago I survived my first EARTHQUAKE!!! WHOA!!!

It was only a 3.9 and lasted about 3 seconds, BUT it was crazy. I was rattled out of bed at about 2:45 in the morning. My first thought was, "OH SHIT! IT'S AN EARTH QUAKE!!!" Then the rumbling ended and it was over and calm. My second thought, "OH SHIT! THE BIG ONE'S NEXT!!!" I was convinced that the quake was just a prelude to the real disaster. But it never came, I fell back asleep, and lived to see another day.

California is crazy.

Trample and Graze

One aspect of the work we are currently doing with the cows is getting a thick layer of grass, thistle, and other biomatter to cover the soil. By doing this we hope to encourage greater soil health and thus better plant and animal health.

Right now it looks pretty good. Through our grazing practices, most places have the desired ground cover. The idea is that by covering the soil, we are promoting microbial life that in turn creates better soil. By keeping the ground cool and protected from the sun, it is better suited for bugs and other microbes to flourish. It also helps retain greater amounts of water and reduce evaporation that may be caused by direct sun light. When it rains, the ground will be in a much better condition to absorb water rather then have it run off.

I am trying to document our progress somehow. I've been taking pictures of the ground cover in the different areas that we have grazed. I hope to be able to compare the pictures with some other data and try to figure out what we are looking for, visually, when we are out there with the cows.

Escape Artists

Yesterday, Joe and I went over to look at the cows and to open up some more fences. Upon our arrival we found a totally destroyed poly-wire reel right in front of the gate. After the initial irritation we rolled up what remained of the reel and proceeded towards the cows. What we found was the other half of the reel clinging to a destroyed fence. Almost all the cows were out.

We spent the morning gathering up the cows, bringing them to water, and rebuilding some fence. Some days, it seems like no matter what we do, the cows always get out. Escape artists.

Today, Joe's nephew, his friend, and I went over the the KT and built some fence to get ahead for the week. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be running the farmer's market in downtown Hollister and won't have much time to spend with the cows. Also, Thursday is a delivery day in the Bay Area, so Joe and I will be making our rounds all day.

Long Silence

Sorry for not posting in a week. Much has happened that needs to be discussed!

Friday, Ev and I built fences and moved the herd around. We found a calf that had fallen off a ledge and was trapped. After about an hour of balancing on fallen trees, scrambling through poison oak and stinging nettles, and hauling the calf up an steep bank, we managed to rescue it and return it to its mother.

Sunday I went over to Ev's family's ranch for a branding. His dad had about 50 calves that needed to be branded. It was a good time with good company. Ev's family ranch, The Sparling Ranch, is about 30 minutes from San Juan in beautiful country hills. I was glad I got a chance to see it.

Tuesday, Joe and I went up to the Swonton Pacific Ranch - a ranch owned by Cal Poly. Joe was there to teach a class of 15 grad and undergrad students about low stress herding and some holistic practices - I was there to listen. It was great! Joe is a great teacher and the day spent in the classroom and out on the ranch was incredibly informative.

The past couple days have been used to get ready for next week - building fence ahead of the cows and thinking about our grazing plan. Everett's heading on vacation next week and I will be with Joe on the ranch. I'll be house sitting at Ev's so I'll have unlimited Internet access and TV!!! Wow!!!

I'll be putting up some new pictures soon - so watch out!

Splash

I started the morning by delivering four split halves to customers up in Scotts Valley - east of Santa Cruz. From there, I headed over to Watsonville to meet Ev and try to fix our water problem.

When we starting digging, we only had a general idea of where the pipe was. We used shovels and a digging rod - a five foot, iron rod used to break up the hard dirt by continually beating the ground. It didn't take long to find the pipe...

Smash. Water squirt. "What?" Pull rod out. Splash.

I was soaked. When searching for the pipe, I inadvertently broke the PVC with the digging rod causing an explosion of water and mud, all over my face.

Anyways, we found the pipe, fixed the problems, and now the water works (hopefully). I finished the day by building some more fence and heading home.

Puzzles Under Ground

I may be starting to sound redundant, but seriously... water is an issue. Today, Ev and I got to the ranch early to check on the cows. We found that the siphon wasn't working again. We moved the cows off the trough and opened up a fence so they could water off Mill Creek. We spent about 4 hours trying to solve the siphon problem.

My motto for ranch work has become "Every journey begins with a single foot step."

As Ev and I ran back and forth between the trough, the pond, the tank, and any other possible point where air may be getting into the line, it became clear that a simple idea - our siphon - can be an incredibly confusing problem. But, we may have found the problem - air is being pulled into the pressurized line from further down the line. The solution: dig a hole where the water line "t's" to go into the pond, cut both ends of the PVC, install a valve on both sides, reconnect the PVC, and fill in the hole. This is what we have to look forward to for tomorrow.

In other news, Julie, Joe's wife, sent me pictures from this weekend. I joined Joe's family for a little sailing trip on Joe's dad's boat from Tinsley Island in Stockton down to Alameda (Oakland). It was a blast and a memorable sailing adventure.

Water Works

Today, Everett and I got to the Kelly Thompson Ranch around 7:30. We went up to Mill Ridge to check on the cattle, where we'd left them over the weekend. Ev had gone and checked the cows yesterday and knew to expect that some of the fence would be knocked down. Sure enough, a couple sections of poly-wire that bordered the creek were a mess. We took an hour to clean them up and build three more fences, creating three new paddocks for the cows. We then proceeded to gather up the cows and move them to one of the new paddocks in Arano Flat.

In the new paddock there is a trough. The trough, like the others in the Picnic Grounds, can be fed from a siphon that draws from a holding pond in the Little Field (East of Arano Flat). We'd planned on the having the cows water from the trough that was being fed from the pond, BUT, just like the troughs in the Picnic Grounds, we ran into some problems...

For some reason the siphon wasn't working. We spent about an hour and a half running back in forth between the tank that feds the pond, the pond, and the trough... and an air release. We were able to get it to hold but unable to have it pull the volume we were looking for. So, tomorrow, Ev and I will head over to the ranch around 6:30 to check on the cows, clean up some fence, and work on the siphon.

I'm optimistic but I hope it doesn't take a week to figure this out - by then, the cows will be gone...

It's Friday

Today, Ev and I arrived at the ranch to find that every one of the cows had gotten out over night. We had spent the end of a hot afternoon yesterday building a paddock to keep the cattle in over night. Finding that one of the fences had been completely destroyed was not a heartening way to start our day.

The problem, we think, is that there are portions of some poly-wire reels that are orange instead of white. We think that the cows can't see the orange wire as well as the white and thus don't respect the fence. This, on the other hand, doesn't explain why the cattle aren't responsive to the electric shock that's delivered by the wire.

We spent the day gathering the cattle and building a large paddock across Mill Ridge, where they will stay for the remainder of the weekend... or so we plan.

I came home today and immediately fell asleep. Ranch work is tiring - naps are fantastic.

Tomorrow is Joe's son Jack's 13th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!

The Great Escape

This morning I woke up at 4:30 with the purpose of trying to see a little bit of the meteor shower before the sun came up - I didn't see anything. But, Joe and I had planned on meeting at 6 to get an early start with the cows so I made a hearty breakfast and hit the road.

Joe and I took up some fence and brought in cows that had gotten out over night. Joe showed me herding techniques of Bud Williams - they are based on "feel", watching the reaction of the cow and using your slight movements and positions to get the cow to freely move to where you want them to. The idea is to use as little pressure as possible and allow the cow to make the decision.

Joe headed home, leaving me to herd the cows and practice my herding skills. I played around for about an hour, moving the cows around in a new paddock, leaving them to graze. With that, I had time to kill. Being alone and with no means of transportation, I decided to hike to the top of Bald Ridge - the ridge at the top of the Picnic Grounds, named for its lack of vegetation other than grass. The fog was dense this morning and I new there would be spectacular pictures from so high up. So, with camera and water in hand, I started my 30 minute trot to the top.

When I got to the top, I immediately noticed ATV tracks, and they looked fresh! Uh Oh! First thought that came into my mind was "Marijuana Growers". We had speculated that there might be growers in the back part of the ranch but have never had tangible evidence. For me, the ATV tracks were evidence enough and I turned around and hopped down the hill as fast as I could.
Five minutes down the ridge I heard the sound of an approaching ATV. "They've seen me!!!", I thought as I picked up the pace and dodged under brush.

I got back down to where the cows were, under the cover of fog, thoughts racing through my mind. Did the ATV see me? Were they coming for me? I also heard a shout as I was running away - were there more of them? Just as I decided it would be best to sit tight some where and wait for Ev to arrive I heard the sound of a fast approaching helicopter, flying low. They were coming for me!!!

I quickly started to jog back down the hill. The Kelly Thompson barn was a long ways off but I was not about to stick around, alone, in a field, as marijuana growers swooped in on me. As I moved, the helicopter quickly got closer - hovering just out of sight in the fog. Were they looking for me? I kept moving and after about an hour, I made it back to the barn to find Ev's truck empty and the mule gone. Ev soon returned and I explained the events of my morning.

He was on his way up when he heard the helicopter. Helicopters have been known to fly low around the ranch (a previously speculated, possible indicator of the marijuana growers). I told Ev the story and he thought that maybe the helicopter was dropping supplies and the ATV was picking it up... and, that they weren't chasing me.

Either way, I had a very stressful morning. I totally bugged out. In my mind, I'd unwilling stepped into a terrifying game of cat and mouse. I survived. I also learned really cool herding techniques. Ranch life is crazy.

BLOONS

This morning, Emery, Everett's two year old daughter, joined us on the ranch to help gather up the cattle. We moved down into a canyon where Ev and I had left the cows over night (without fencing) as a little experiment to see how well the cows stay together in a relatively confined area. For the most part, the cows were close by. Only a handful had moved all the way up the canyon - and I mean all the way up. I spend the better part of an hour sliding through fallen redwoods, gravel slopes, and distant moos. Despite the effort, and the accumulated sweat, I LOVE playing in the creeks.


Last fall, back in Vermont, a few friends and I (Rusty, Bauer, and Etta) took a day exploring the Hunting Ravine area in Huntington, VT. I was very reminiscent of those memories - jumping from rock to rock, falling in water. The only difference this time was there were cows instead of friends.


We got the cows together. I spent the rest of the afternoon building more paddocks and trying to herd the cows around to an elevated flat to try to achieve some high density.


On another note, BLOONS. Everyone knows the foily balloons that have writing on them for special events - like "It's Graduation!", or "Happy Birthday Sport" (with sports balls). Well, a little known fact is that these balloons are EVERYWHERE. After they escape from backyard parties, they drift away until they land in some distant field where nobody ever sees them again. Every day, if I looked hard enough, I would be able to find at least one balloon somewhere. AHH! So, cut down on the foily balloon purchases and play this game. BLOONS!!!!


Also - here's a cute picture of Ev and Em.



(Many more to come... very soon!!!)

Trample Matter

This morning, Joe and I headed out to Watsonville to check on the cows and take down some poly-wire fence. The area where we left the cows last night had been eaten up and we decided to open more space to let them graze for the next few days. The ground looks good but we didn't allow for any "Drought Reserve" to be left behind. Drought reserve is what Joe and Ev call feed that is not grazed so in case of a drought, the cows can come back to a previously visited field to feed.

Optimally, we would give the cows enough feed so that they take a single bite out of the most energy rich parts of the grass. Joe explained that this is the flowers, leaves, and seeds. The rest or the plant should be trampled - crushing carbon into the ground. In the end, there should be just enough grass left for a drought reserve, in case the cows need to come back to the given area.

I'm not sure if we are going to go check on the cows tomorrow, as they have plenty of feed. But it would be interesting to see what the area we gave them will look like in the morning. We're still watching the effects of high density and analysis our observations to make the most informed decisions about how to most efficiently use high density. Any time we visit the cows we gather valuable data.

Upon Return

I got back to work yesturday after taking Wednesday off to spend the day with my brother and some new friends. After a particularly slow morning, Everett and I got started building more poly-wire fence in anticipation of moving the cows this weekend.

Today, I awoke to "Rise and Shine, Ben!" being hollered outside my house. My alarm failed to go off and I was late for my 6:30 a.m. rendezvous with Joe and Ev. In a haste, I threw on some cloths, grabbed an apple, and jumped into the my truck to go meet Joe and Ev at the ranch.

We spent the morning moving the cows to fresh feed and speculating on their next move. I used a chain saw today to clear some road - danger! Also, Ev and I built a couple more fences, subdividing the larger fence we laid down yesterday. We'll use these paddocks for the weekend and maybe even Monday and Tuesday. Joe and I will be back out on the ranch in the morning, opening up more feed and documenting the progress of the cows.

Special thanks to Matt, Pat, Tori, and Josh for an especially fantastic time on Wednesday in Santa Cruz and at the Phish. Love.

Brush Yo Teeth

Today Everett and I visited the cows again. We moved them down into the bottom of the back bowl, pushing them through brush and opening up a lot of overgrowth. By doing this, we exposed the cows to areas that they had not been before. There wasn't much grass but the cows quickly started munching on the plethora of brush and leaves that were around.

We ran into a problem with the calves that had gotten out under the fence. After we moved the herd, we went back to gather up the calves. By doing it in this order (rather than getting everything together then moving them) a bunch of the cows that we had moved came back up the hill in search of their calves. After some more time spent herding on foot, we were able to successfully get the cows in the same general area - which after a couple hours was good enough!

Later in the afternoon, after putting up more fence for new paddocks, Ev and I returned to the cows to find them laying down and the calves prancing around. According to Joe and Everette, this is a sign that the cows are happy - that they are content and all their needs have been met. To me, the cows seemed happy enough laying under the trees and chewing on leaves.

Tomorrow, Matt is arriving with his party and I will be taking the afternoon and Wednesday off. In the morning, Ev and I are going to move the cows into their new paddock (still in the Pick Nick Grounds) and rearrange some fencing.

I took pictures today but left them in the Mule (the 4x4). I won't be posting for the next few days but will be enjoying some quality family time... and seeing Phish.

Look for pictures soon!

Cows Cows Cows

I checked on the cows again today. Water was working great and the cows looked good. The only problem was that they totally trashed one of the poly-wire fences that we'd put the other day. It was separating the top half of the back bowl from the bottom half. After about an hour working to untie knots and untangle the wire, I took down the remainder of the fence, allowing the cows to move freely into the bottom half of the bowl (...if they were not doing so before). Before I left, I moved the cows to water again, this time bringing them around the top rather than along the road in the middle.

Work again tomorrow morning. My brother Matt and some friends are coming to stay with me for a couple nights - maybe arriving tomorrow?!?!? I need to clean my house before they arrive, but they will probably be camping in the barn...

Saturday Note

I checked the cows this morning to make sure their water was working and everything was in order. Officially day two of working siphon - fingers crossed that it holds and we've solved the mysterious problem.

I plan on checking the cows again tomorrow and, depending on whether or not they have enough feed, maybe opening another fence to give them more space to graze. I'm starting to think about where the cows are going to go from here. Everett and I have floated a couple possibilities - keeping them watering from the same pond until it goes dry/use all the land around it now, or move them along towards Arrano Flat, like we planned.

Joe is supposed to return from vacation on Tuesday and I am sure he will have some insight into the most effective next step.

Water

Today, upon arrival at the trough to check if the siphon was working, Ev and I were both stunned to find that, in fact, the water was working!!! All week long we've been having to prime the siphon every morning so that the cows could water. Today, that changed.

In the Picnic Grounds there are three troughs, of which the lower two can feed from a siphon that drains from a storage pond at the top of the field. The pond gets its water from a tank higher up, that, in turn, gets its water from a creek. To get the siphon to work we have to pressurize the water line going down to the troughs with water from the tank. Once the line is pressurized and air has been forced out, we shut off the water at the tank. Next, we turn a valve at the pond that opens the 20 foot line that leads to the base of the pond. In doing so, the force of gravity pulling the water down to the troughs sucks water out of the pond, finalizing the pressurized line.

For the past week we've been watering the cows through this process. Every morning we've found the troughs with about a third of the water in them, meaning that some how the pressure in the line got air in it and broke the siphon.

Today, to my amazment, the water worked. Tomorrow.... is tomorrow.

Out of the Fog

Everett and I were horse back by 9 this morning. After attempting to start our water siphon - our water system for the troughs we are using - we crossed the ranch on Annie and Pearl to retrieve 31 cows out of the Lower Bull Pasture. As we did, we were drowned in fog.

Mornings in Watsonville, CA are cool and cloudy. At night, moisture from Monterey Bay extends its reach into the hills, gripping the ranch in clouds and fog until the sun burns off the moisture around noon. This morning, climbing into the clouds, I felt like I was in the civil war, waiting for musket bearing soldiers to appear over the hills. It was awesome.

We quickly gathered the cows and brought them to the Kelly Corals to bob their tails - an indicator that they have not been breed and will be grass fed beef for next year.

We returned to our high stock cattle in the afternoon, fixed some fence, started the water again, and cleared a long forgotten road through the back bowl of "The Picnic Grounds". Tomorrow night or Saturday morning we'll move the cows into the bowl and leave them there for the weekend, allowing them to water out of the "Dry Lake" pond so we don't have to worry about getting the siphon started.

I talked to Everett today and decided to start taking pictures to visually document the progress we are making with our high stock density. Look for them to come.

THREE WORDS...

High Stock Density.

This past week, we've been trying to increase stock density as a means to achieve better land management. What this means is that the cattle will be kept in a smaller paddock (15 acres is the ideal... maybe). The effect of an increased number of cattle on a small piece of land means that the grass, thistle, and other vegetation gets laid down over the ground. This, in turn, allows rain to be more efficiently trapped in the soil (as opposed to running off), promotes greater biological activity in and on top of the soil, and builds soil - in doing so sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.

To successfully obtain the ecological effects of high stock density we need to create paddocks for the cows that provide enough feed and water for a one day stay. This means that we also have to move the cattle every day to a new area or expose them to more feed each day.

So far, in three days, we've moved the cows through three paddocks. The landscape that was a result of the movement and grazing after the cows were moved indicates that we're getting closer to understanding the many variables involved in achieving optimal land management and grazing practices. Everett and I have been walking the cows from paddock to paddock and moving them to areas where higher density is needed to lay down thick areas of thistle. Soon, I think, we'll be able to accurately assess the land before moving the cows so as to successfully achieve all our holistic goals and maintain optimal cattle health!

I'm going to be more diligent in my blogging so I can better paint a picture of the day to day activities that are happening on the ranch. So really... look for daily posts to come!

- ben