chokecherry harvest

The chokecherry bushes are loaded this year as were the cherry trees and the birds don't seem to be interested in them so we have picked many buckets for jelly making.  We have jars of both red and golden chokecherry jelly, next Sharyn is going to see if the color will hold true for some black jelly.  The jelly certainly tastes good,but we are getting tired of picking and cooking the berries for making the jelly.  We will need help eating this great harvest as our household typically eats very little jelly.

trip to sawmill

Blake and Arden went to the sawmill near Chadron to pick up more lumber to use in replacement of wore out corrals.  The mill has access to many trees again as they are located right on the border of many thousands of acres that were burned in the forest fires last summer.  The burnt and now dead trees are suitable for making lumber for about 3 years after the fire before the wood becomes too rotten to use.  This mill is located in a very scenic canyon that has lost some of it's beauty because of all the burnt trees near by.  This is one of the mill men sawing out a beam for use in construction.

weed with personality

The soapweed yucca is an interesting plant that is found in abundance in certain areas of our upland pastures.  Cattle rarely eat it, but it makes some habitat for wildlife.  Native Americans once used the pods for food, the leaves for mats and ropes and the roots for soap (that was centuries before Walmart).  This particular plant was interesting as I have never seen an individual plant with this many pods.

year of the weed

 At the ranch we have been battling Scotch Thistles for years by chopping or spraying.  These plants take up much grass space and cattle don't go near them.  We have them mostly under control, but still have to work at removing the new plants that appear each year.

These pretty yellow flowers that have proliferated in the overgrazed areas near the cattle watering points due to the lack of moisture for more desirable plant species is not good.  These plants have stickers on the stems and leaves and produce a burr.  We have always called them "for-get-me-nots" as they are long remembered if you try to walk through them.

close call

The annual Independence Day celebration at the Scottsbluff headquarters came close to being a catastrophe this year as an errant rocket went into the 8 foot high juniper hedge between the house and the detached garage.  Within seconds we had a full-blown forest fire.  Quick action had 2 garden hoses trained on the fire and wetting the buildings down.  In 3 minutes the blaze was just under control as the fire department arrived to finish extinguishing the embers and assuring that there were no hot spots left in the 30 year accumulation of pine needles that were under the shrubs.  The department was very prompt as they were assisting with traffic nearby as the public fire works show had just finished just 4 blocks from us.

cherry harvest

The Wohlers Ranch workers took time off from caring for cattle and grass to pick cherrys at the Scottsbluff headquarters in the evenings this week.  Cherry harvest happens in early July in years that the blossoms don't freeze off.  So far neighbors and us have harvested about 6 of the 1 gallon ice cream buckets full of cherrys.  The hardest work is removing the pits before our excellent cook makes jelly and pies from the crop.  Ma Wohlers made 1 pie yesterday that she gave to our local firemen (see related blog).