Mystic T Ranch Tales                                                                                                  

                       
              Bald Mountain

Thar' she blew

 
As we wind up 2011 after another year of mountain fun in the sun, snow, wind, hail and rain, we can’t help but wonder how December arrived so fast. But when you have hurricane force winds during the year, maybe it ushers in the next year all that much faster.

December of 2010 we began preparing to enter our 2010 baby yaks in the 2011 National Western Stock Show in Denver in January. Having never shown yaks at a stock show before, we had a large learning curve. We needed to get the little yaks registered, ear-tagged, have them vet health checked and get vaccinations. To enter them in the pen and halter show they needed to be readied for what this entailed. We had been training them with the halter so they would lead but they needed more practice. IYAK, the International Yak Association decided around Christmas time that they would add an additional event to the show, a yak attire event.

Yak attire meant packing attire either Tibetan or North American. With our yaks being so small, there was no pack attire available for them so we had the challenge of creating something within a few weeks and training them to wear it. Initial training involved tying an empty feed bag with a bale string around them so they could adjust to the feel of something on their back. Meanwhile, fabric scraps, notions, some old back pack straps and for padding, an old mattress pad made up some of the parts of our packs. Some yarn tassels and some packing peanuts to fill out the pouches without weight were some final additions. Bright colors to draw attention was a requirement and a bell.

Asiah in pack attire	Malachi in pack attire	Rainbow

We got a crash course once at the Stock Show in how everything works and in showing yaks. We had brought Rainbow, our first baby yak along, but he was suffering from separation anxiety as we were working on weaning him. Halter training was still in progress with Rainbow but he was not ready for competition. He grunted for his mom almost continuously and drew lots of sympathy.

Asiah and Malachi took the Stock Show by storm. We arrived to claim a pen but found it had not been cleaned or made ready. Snow came in while we waited for hours to have our pen made available. Classic Denver Stock Show weather of extreme cold and snow prevailed. While temperatures did not improve during the show, our baby yaks performance did. They loved all the attention they got from the crowds especially when out for walks with their pack gear on. Hundreds had their pictures taken with our baby yaks. The audience for the attire event loved their outfits.

Asiah claimed a second place ribbon in pen show and a first place ribbon in halter show. Malachi received a second place ribbon in halter show. Both proved they are excellent at drawing crowds and winning ribbons. Not too bad for show newbies with our first baby yaks from the Mystic T Ranch.

Aside from the winds that continued to damage sheds, uproot trees and blow everything it could to Kansas, the next several months seemed more mundane. The elk returned to the High Country in March with one herd of over 100 coming through near us. We hatched chicks, processed chickens and firewood, did some milling for clients, made some crafts, did some tree cutting jobs and set up a booth for our crafts in a store in Central City. We were eager for the true signs of Spring to manifest.

Aside from the late snow and cold which delayed our garden planting and some of our tree work, things seemed to be moving along okay. May brought some unexpected events that have carried over the rest of the year. Cynthia’s Mom, after multiple falls, went from a hospital trip to the nursing home which she resides in still due to Alzheimer’s. It hasn’t been easy for all who love her so dearly.

Our first hint of bear trouble presented itself in May as well. Unbeknownst to us, a neighbor was placing his trash in a chain link dog run and keeping an open barrel of bird seed on his deck. Our other closest neighbor had had a bear open their car doors three times over the previous year. We had not had any trouble but knew the bear was crossing through our property at times.

In June, a very large bear tore the chain link at the top of our coop run and climbed in and broke out windows in the coop to enter successfully killing about 15 chickens. He had torn all the vents out, left claw marks showing he had been on the roof and at the dead-bolted steel door. Having solved the problem of getting the trash at the neighbors, the bear was now educated and ready to tackle our coop for fresh chicken. The large bear chose a windy, rainy, dark night to do its dastardly deed. Our geese and ducks survived unharmed but not unaffected. We reinforced the chain link, did repairs and cleanup and began a nightly bear watch listening for the horse kicking the barrel on our neighbors’ property and for our geese to fuss signaling the bear’s return.

Damaged coop	Bear tracks at chicken yard	Loss of 15 chickens

The bear continued to return as the evidence: more torn vents, more sagging chain link and bent down fencing told the tale. We eventually learned there were three bears: a mom and her 2 yearling cubs in training. We got little sleep at night taking shifts watching to protect our fowl and yaks as our 2011 yak babies were being born during this time. We added flood lights directed at the corrals and chicken, duck and goose pens which seemed to keep the intruders more to the shadows. Our yak herd bull spent most nights up on watch protecting his herd. Seeing the yak moms and yearlings circle the babies told us the bear was nearby looking for his opportunity. The bears weren’t the only predator we needed to watch for.

Kamali & her bull calf, Bachan	Neema & her heifer, Geeta	Sharai & her bull calf, Bronte

A young mountain lion also became a concern. Seen crossing through the property during the day, the ravens announced his travels quite distinctly. Later, he was seen climbing over one of the corral fences at night. Our herd bull got the yak mothers up and on watch while he marched down the hill to threaten the young lion. From that night on, our bull, Farlee made his corral rounds all night watching to make sure the lion did not try this again. All the yaks took turns at watch to keep the babies safe.

A foul dumpster smell on occasions told us the bear was near as it had been breaking the lids on dumpsters at the KOA campground in Central City where we delivered campfire wood bundles. The gunshots and shouting many times during the nights told us the bear was back at the neighbor’s for bird seed and would not leave. We hoped the bear would leave our gardens alone which it did. Instead we had several deer tromping through at night and munching the crops along with the chipmunks during the day. The frost in September ended our garden experiment early although we had some success with hulled oats, potatoes, peas, some corn, onions, green beans and salad greens. The frost prevented the squash from maturing. So yes, growing food at 9,400 ft elevation without watering is possible. We will try again in 2012 despite having only 1 day of Summer, July 4th.

Meanwhile, with all this commotion going on, we were busy with a 5 acre project for a client doing 1 1/4 acres of clear cut and 3 3/4 acres of thinning. The average number of trees to an acre on their property was over 1300. Also, we had other clients to work with who had trees needing to come down, our usual craft shows to be at, Planning Commission meetings on animal control changes to attend each month, and training and meetings for the Gilpin County Emergency Animal Response Team to attend as wildfire was a concern for months and very few are trained to help evacuate the animals should there be a disaster. We often didn’t know if we were coming or going with so many calls on our time. We had been spinning most of the year in all directions much like the wind.

Speaking of wind again, it returned with a vengeance. The evening of November 12th, we had winds of over 100 mph sustained and gusts up to 225 mph. The power was out for 12 hours, trees were up rooting and literally flying in all directions some as much as 75 ft from where they started. Trees over 50 to 60 ft in height and some over 2 feet in diameter were uprooted. Others, 18 inch in diameter simply broke at 6 to 12 feet off the ground. Our house had a strange harmonic sound and vibration as though the third story would be ripped off but somehow it remained in tact. Our stove pipe has a new slant from the wind, fences were damaged, the yaks were dodging trees coming down in their corrals, shed doors were ripped open and damaged, our drive was blocked by numerous uprooted trees and our phone lines ripped from the pole. Our neighbors also lost roofing, a chimney, windows and decking and hundreds of trees as well.

Trees blocking drive	Trees on fencing	Trees down in corral

Joe went out in the wind storm numerous times to check on the yaks as fences were down and we didn’t want the yaks to escape or be injured. He had to hang on to the fence posts to walk somewhat upright and not be blown over by the wind. The wind was sandblasting everything. It was pitch black with no lights as most of the area was without power. The damage became more clear with daylight. We lost over 100 trees. Our priority was fencing and access which took several days to accomplish. There was little to no local news coverage of the damage caused by the wind or its speed nor the continuing risk as so many trees have root damage and are split waiting for the next wind storm to bring them down.

To say this again delayed our work is an understatement. If this was not enough, we began having temperatures of 15 below with wind chill of 30 to 40 below and snow. Highs of zero degrees became the norm and it was too frigid to work outside other than chores. We had to wait for a warmer, calm spell to do a job removing dead trees by power lines and roads. That opportunity came Thanksgiving day when we actually had very little wind. While others ate turkey, watched football games and gave thanks, we were hustling to get 212 trees on the ground before more cold, wind and snow came.

The next day, we were loading up the trees and equipment to go home when the snow started around dusk. The blowing snow made it hard to see the road as we snaked our way home along the mountain roads going 25 miles an hour with our 38 ft gooseneck trailer loaded with wood and our tractor. The snow wasn’t sticking to the roads at first so we thought we would be okay. As we came into Black Hawk, glaze black ice with blowing snow made our climb up to Central City treacherous. We needed to climb 1,200 ft in elevation over a 4 mile stretch to get home.

Both the truck and trailer were slipping and sliding so we pulled over to put on tire chains as cars slid all around us. Our studded snow tires could not grip. Once chained we ground our way up the hill losing the first chain less than a half mile up towards Central City. Another half mile with a second torn up chain and we could go no further without unloading the tractor. So in the center of Central City, we unloaded hooking our tractor and winch to the truck. With Cynthia on the tractor in the blowing snow and wind, we dug our way up the hill stopping at a halfway point for Cynthia to defrost. She was a frozen popsicle as it was too windy to keep any hat on and we had to pull into the strong winds.

Joe took the tractor up the next steep hill which was dirt and parked it in case we needed the tractor for pulling again.The dirt gave enough traction to get to the top of the hill without the additional tractor weight. From there it was a hop and a skip of about a mile to get home with Cynthia again on the tractor and Joe in the truck. We had ruined a set of tire chains but were thankful for a safe journey despite the extreme conditions. This was our thanksgiving reminder that we are never alone or without divine assistance. Home and a good wood fire never looked so good even with chores to do.

Now we are back again completing the circle of life. Preparing to attend the Stock Show in January 2012, trying to finish tree work for clients and ourselves that has perpetually been delayed, needing to make more turned wood bowls in 2012 as a customer bought nearly all the bowls we had left for Christmas gifts. 


Joe with the hay cart & little yaks	Yak moms at the gate for snacks	Cromwell says: Where's my snacks?