Very warm with high clouds and a little smokey. Cows well located in EL2 and some spill back into WL8. Pencil moths very common in the grass. We are clearly dry. See dry pond photo. It has been a while since the water table has dropped this much.
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Getting warmer. Ryan and I moved cows through WL8 into EL2. I took a photo of Asclepias viridiflorus while trailing cows. Green milkweed is very attractive, especially seedpod, yet uncommon. See photo.
Warm and light overcast. Drove back from Bozeman the back way along Rapalje Road between Big Timber and Lavina. A Beautiful drive but very dry and grasshoppers fairly dense on rim of Big Coulee.
Moderate. I drove to Bozeman for Jack’s baptism. While checking cows in the morning I took this photo along Lackey road of a large cluster of Atriplex gardneri (see photo), another very high protein semi-shrub. This is a plant I would like to see increasing on our silty and clay soils.
A bit cooler with thundershowers in the area, but nothing on the ranch. While checking, observed a flock of 20 pinyon jays moving through the pines-first for this year. Also, a group of Wilson warblers (migrating) were feeding in the pines with chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches-a little uncommon.
Warmer yet mild. Ryan and Fawne moved cows into EL1. Doctored 2 lighter calves with pneumonia. Maybe calf 260 died of similar cause. From now on we will move cows to each paddock, versus letting them drift, to ensure we are getting a good look at everything. I traveled to Fort Peck for a CMR meeting, and then on to Blaine’s to check the yearlings-all good.
Breezy and much cooler. Chilled at 64 degrees with wind. Cows float into SBW4 to keep topping wetlands. Lost one calf (260)-unexplained. Lichen ladies come for a couple days to prep for big event on September.
And more heat but cooler as evening comes. Cows move into wetland strip in SBW7. Not bad for August. 140 bull fully recovered. Tommy rolls on-always a laugh, always a joy.
Heat returns. Cows moved to next strip in SBW9. Active bats tonight.
Just nice. I moved cows into SBW9 and split paddock west of creek to put grazing pressure on sow thistle and Canadian thistle.
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Bill Milton
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