Rocky Mtn Sunbeams: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

One fine fall day...

The fall colors are so beautiful right now. The days have been warm in the 80's, and the

nights cool...30 degrees last night.

If we get a wind, the ground will be gold with leaves.

Friday, September 23, 2011

More...

Ever wonder why some folks cars are all rusted out????

Next, an oyster processing plant.

The audience.....

This looks like a pile of gravel..

It is actually a pile of oyster shells.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A change of scene....

We steamed these clams...waited for them to pop open, dipped them in butter. Yum.

Grandpa G grilling oysters .

checking out the neighborhood....

the wildlife

3 1/2 hours to Denver, 5 more hours to where we are now.

Monday, September 19, 2011

The end

Today was the last day of shipping for our guys. I always enjoy the pictures of the semis lined up...13 of them today along the curved road.

The trucks are waiting for the signal that the cows are weighed and ready to load.

Hazen's reflection in the spotted rear view mirror watching the trucks loading.

Spending a little time waiting for it all to be over.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Bringing them in...

If you click one time the picture gets bigger, twice, it gets bigger yet.

These are some scenes from this week. 72 semis came in empty, and left full. 5 busy days of gathering cattle, weighing them, loading them on semis, for the men, and LOTS of hearty meals for the girls to prepare.

Some mornings were dry, some wet. Most were in the 50 degree range. Snow on the mtn one day.
They put panels up different days to direct the cattle where they wanted them to go.

You can see the waiting semis in the background. When all the cattle were in and weighed, the trucks drove into the yard.

Kicking up their heels one last time.

They got slowed down, and move into the corral nicely.

Notice the cowdogs sneaking around the edges, ready to nip any escape attempts in the leg....ironically, one of the dogs is named "Nip".

The trucks arrive into the yard by threes...one backs up to the chute, the other two park along the edge.

It was warm enough to eat lunch on the lawn..then no one has to worry about "muddy" shoes!

Another early morning. Some come in from another direction to gather...the early daylight almost hides the riders in the back.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Ship em out....

This was the view from the house this morning. 16 semis started to line up last night about 5:30 pm. Most arrived in the dark. We could see their lights glowing. Each one would like to be first in line, as he gets going early and then has the long drive to Kansas and back to start the trip again tomorrow morning. Some of the truckers were familiar faces, many new ones.

Several extra men arrived with horses to help Chris get the cattle in as soon as they can, not running them, so they weigh as much as they can. 2 scales are in operation to get it done efficiently and quickly.