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7/11/10, Pagosa Junction, CO - The past few days have been busy ones, but I’ve still found time to do a little fishing/

At the head of the agenda for the past couple of days has be reshoeing all three of the lads.  To save my back, I usually try and space out when I have to shoe the team over several weeks. Unfortunately, circumstances had them all due for new shoes at the same time.  Yesterday, I did all four of Doc’s feet and Bob’s front shoes. This morning, I finished Bob up and did Bill’s front feet. Tomorrow, Billy gets his rear shoes. That will have everybody in new dancing shoes.

With irrigation work, wagon repairs and some general repairs around the ranch I’ve stayed pretty busy.

The ranch house here on Cat Creek. A hexagon shaped log house, LuAnn had it built about 35 years ago.

Colorado, like many western States is an ‘Open Range’ State. What this means is that if you don’t want cattle grazing on your bushes, it’s your responsibility to fence them out.  In most places this works pretty good.  The County and the State are responsible for maintaining the fences along the roads, so cattle don’t wander out with the cars.  However, in the County I’m currently in, not a lot of money is spent maintaining fences along County roads.  As such, the roads are often the scene of small herds of cattle wandering around eating the roadside grass. This afternoon, a nice, bay quarterhorse broke out of somewhere and decided to come visit the lads.  The past two days have seen small groups of cattle doing the same thing. “I tell you, the lads are quite an attraction.”

A quarterhorse visiting the lads.  Neither of us recognized the brand, so I guess it’s just a tourist!

Tomorrow morning, we’re off to town to run a few chores. In the afternoon, we’ll be baling and picking up a few hundred bales of hay from LuAnn’s hayfield. I always enjoyed making hay, but when it comes to throwing bales, I’m not quite the man I used to be.  Since the accident early last year, I haven’t been able to get my left arm higher then my head, so I have to do all my bale pitching with my right arm- oh well.

To date, the trucking company responsible for the accident a year and a half ago hasn’t offered a reasonable settlement, so in a week and a half or two, I have to fly down to Mississippi for a medical evaluation.  With any amount of luck, the case will get through court in the next year. 

When I get back, I plan on driving the team to the San Luis Valley, west of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.  To avoid Wolf Creek Pass, I’ll drop down into New Mexico and cross the mountains at Chama or Tierra Amirilo. After the San Luis Valley, I plan on heading back across the plains to Indiana, probably via Nebraska and Iowa.

One of the true pictures of rural America is the outhouses.  LuAnn’s is really cool. It’s neat, clean, has a great view, and there’s plenty of good reading material on the walls. Being on a hilltop, it has a much better view than you would find out the crescent moon shaped opening in most privies.

The team and I are really enjoying are rest here on Cat Creek. My host has been terrific and neither the guys or I are wanting for anything.