Florida and federal officials on Friday announced the first local spread of the Zika virus through infected mosquitoes in the continental United States.
Gov. Rick Scott made the announcement following a health department investigation into four suspected cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Scott said transmission was confined to a small neighborhood just north of Miami and involved one woman and three men.
“We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite," he said during a press conference. "All four of these people live in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, and the Florida Department of Health believes that active transmissions of this virus could be occurring in one small area in Miami." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been closely coordinating with Florida and sent a medical epidemiologist at the state's request, made the same pronouncement a short time later. "The cases are likely the first known occurrence of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States," its statement noted.
The CDC said state officials have responded rapidly with mosquito-control measures and a community-wide search for additional Zika cases. Because the virus can have devastating consequences for a fetus, the CDC recommends that pregnant women or women thinking about becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika-affected regions. But the current situation in Florida does not warrant travel limitations to the Miami area, according to the CDC statement...more
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Utah Governor calls tribal monument proposal a 'political tomahawk'
Both sides in the Bears Ears fight have called for compromise. But it increasingly looks unlikely they’ll find middle ground following a rowdy U.S. Senate field hearing Wednesday in Blanding.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, hosted the field hearing at San Juan High School. He backs legislation as the best means of conserving eastern Utah’s landscape, traditions and archeology. Lee knocked the Obama Administration for skipping Wednesday’s hearing, as well as the tribal coalition behind the monument proposal.
“We hope that the Bears Ears Coalition will reconsider,” he said in an opening statement, “and will meet with us to discuss how best to preserve Bears Ears.”
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, gathered stakeholder input over three years for his Public Lands Initiative, or PLI, and used that as the foundation for the legislation.
But critics say it allows too much development and too little protection -- even though the legislation includes national conservation areas.
Gov. Gary Herbert praised the PLI for having local buy-in. But, because it relies on the Obama Administration to declare a new national monument that the tribes would help manage, the governor criticized the tribal coalition’s proposal.
“If this is not some kind of political tomahawk to be used, no pun intended,” he began, “if this really is about the Bears Ears region, protecting, conserving the land, the PLI is by far the superior way to go about doing it.”...more
Opponents of Utah monument dominate hearing
Hundreds of people who oppose the proposed Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah showed up at a Senate field hearing to voice their displeasure for the plan that Gov. Gary Herbert called a "political tomahawk."
San Juan County residents shouted "doodah" and wore shirts and stickers with the Navajo word that means no, the Deseret News reports. Navajos said they're worried they'll lose their ability to do sacred ceremonies and gather medicinal herbs. Ranchers expressed concerns about losing grazing rights. Farmers say they would lose their lands. Willie Grayeyes, chairman of a tribal coalition pushing the proposal called Utah Diné Bikéyah, said in a statement the hearing was a "thinly veiled effort to make it appear that there is more opposition than truly exists."
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said monument proponents and federal officials declined his invitation to participate in the hearing, which he said proves he didn't purposely set up a one-sided hearing...more
The enviros will participate in public hearings where they can control the agenda and even bus people in for dramatic effect. But an official Senate hearing where they would testify for the record and be subject to questioning? Forget it.
Finicum, Bundy supporters discuss aftermath of Oregon standoff
The Bundys and Robert “LaVoy” Finicum were once again the center of focus when a group of people gathered at the Best Western Abbey Inn of St. George on Thursday for “The Feds Versus The Ranchers.”
The night’s event, hosted by the Dixie Republican Forum, was held to update the public on what has taken place since LaVoy had been shot and killed on Jan. 26 and rancher Cliven Bundy was arrested. In attendance was Jeanette Finicum, LaVoy’s widow, and Kanab resident Shawna Cox, who was in the back seat of LaVoy’s vehicle when he was shot. The women discussed the event’s leading up to the Oregon standoff,
starting with the 2014 armed confrontation with federal land managers
near Bundy’s Bunkerville home. This was the incident that led to the
arrests of Bundy and several family members. Now the death of her husband has led Finicum to have her own independent investigation done. “That’s the only way I’m going to be able to believe the evidence coming my way,” said Finicum, adding, “I have no faith or trust in the federal government, in the FBI or Oregon State Police.”
According to Finicum, she has begun the proceedings of a lawsuit and has started by filing a notice of claim. From there she plans to gather and request evidence under the Freedom of Information Act...more
U.S. Chamber spends big to defeat conservative
So why would the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose an incumbent Republican in the primary? Is he a big spending liberal who wants to grow the size of government? Not hardly.
Last year, Huelskamp voted against reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, a federal credit agency that helps U.S. companies export their goods overseas. Conservatives call it a form of “crony capitalism” that props up large companies such as Boeing. He was one of 65 Republicans to oppose the FAST Act, the first long-term transportation reauthorization bill in a decade. Republican Reps. Mike Pompeo of Wichita and Kevin Yoder of Overland Park also voted against it. Huelskamp also opposed budget and spending bills the chamber supported. He opposes a comprehensive immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship for those who are in the U.S. illegally.
No, they're going after a tea party type Republican who voted against subsidies for big business like the Export-Import Bank and against huge new spending proposals like the transportation bill (see U.S. Chamber Plans $100 Million Campaign Against Conservatives). The chamber is pushing hard for the big spending establishment.
.
Judge in Taunton casino case: 'This is not a close call'
In a major blow to Taunton casino supporters, a U.S. District Court judge Thursday ruled that the federal government overstepped its authority when it took land into trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
“[Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell] lacked the authority to acquire land in trust for the Mashpees,” Judge William G. Young wrote in his 22-page ruling siding with a group of East Taunton residents opposed to construction of the tribal casino in their neighborhood. At issue in the case, the judge said, is whether the Mashpees legally qualify as “Indians” as defined by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. If not, the Bureau of Indian Affairs would lack the authority to take land into trust on their behalf, according to the judge’s ruling.
The judge said the “plain meaning” of the law is that the Mashpees would have had to have been recognized by the federal government at the time the law was enacted in 1934 for the Bureau to have the authority to take land into trust on their behalf.
The tribe was officially recognized in 2007 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“With respect, this is not a close call: to find ambiguity here would be to find it everywhere,” Young wrote in his ruling.
The tribe broke ground on the Taunton casino in April...more
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1670
Webb Pierce & Wilburn Brothers - Sparkling Brown Eyes is our selection today. The tune was recorded in Nashville on Feb. 23, 1954 for the Decca label.
https://youtu.be/Q2GbHELVYpY
https://youtu.be/Q2GbHELVYpY
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Wolf Species Are Part Coyote
Gray wolves, pushed to near extinction in the 1960s, have roamed North
America alongside two other wolf species—the red wolf in the
southeastern U.S. and the Eastern wolf in the area surrounding the Great
Lakes. But an analysis of their genomes has revealed a surprise: they
are all actually one type of wolf, with varying amounts of coyote DNA, a
study reported this week (July 27) in Science Advances. “Wolf biologists and others have been waiting for this sort of
definitive analysis for years,” says Susan Haig, a wildlife ecologist at
the US Geological Survey in Corvallis, Oregon, told Science. Robert Wayne, a geneticist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues
analyzed the genomes of 12 gray wolves, six Eastern wolves, three red
wolves, and three coyotes, plus those of dogs and wolves from Asia, The New York Times
reported. The team found a surprising amount of coyote DNA in purported
wolves: the Eastern wolf was about 25 percent to 50 percent coyote, and
the red wolf, 75 percent coyote. Even the gray wolf itself wasn’t
purebred—it had traces of coyote genes, Science News reported. The analysis also revealed that coyotes and the gray wolf diverged far
more recently than experts previously believed—around 50,000 years ago...more
Are Some Wolves in Danger of Losing Protected Status?
To the casual observer, one wolf might look the same as another but to
those in the know, there are crucial differences between the various
species of wolf. A recent study,
however, suggests eastern and red wolves—previously thought to have
different ancestry from other gray wolves—might be hybrids of gray
wolves and coyotes. The potential hybrid nature of the wolves could pose
a problem for how they are viewed by the Endangered Species Act (1973).
It could also be the justification for keeping gray wolves on the
protected list. Researchers from Princeton studied the genomes of a variety of wolves and coyotes. They found that eastern wolves are 3/4 gray wolf and ¼ coyote, while red wolves are a ¼ gray wolf and ¾ coyote. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, suggests that eastern wolves and red wolves are not separate from gray wolves as previously thought.
The study also casts concern about the Endangered Species Act, which does not protect hybrid species. That’s because when it was passed, interbreeding wasn’t thought to be as common as it is now known to be. Although the results of this study contradict previous studies,
the primary issue centers on the lack of protection of hybrid species.
The red wolf, previously protected because it was thought to be a
different species, could lose its protection. Or, if both the eastern
and red hybrids are recognized and protected as gray wolves, their small
numbers could help keep the overall gray wolf numbers low, which would
ensure the gray wolf remains protected...more
New Mexico state engineer on dealing with Mighty Mouse
As if being the man in charge of water resources in one of the nation’s driest states were not a0l employees are fencing off areas, such as stretches in the Jemez Mountains in the Santa Fe National Forest, to protect the mouse’s habitat from intrusion by cattle on adjacent federal grazing allotments.
“They are fencing off streams that were available to livestock,” Blaine said during a presentation Wednesday morning to business leaders at an Economic Forum meeting at Hotel Albuquerque. “That places me in the middle. The ranchers want me to remove the fences. But that’s not in my playing field. I have no authority to move fences to make that water available to ranchers who are grazing the land. And ranching is a huge industry in New Mexico.”
Blaine said that what he can do is pipe water from fenced-off streams to places where the water is accessible to livestock, an effort that was not necessary before the mouse was listed as endangered.
“I can make sure the ranchers get the water,” he said. “But environmental issues are becoming more and more constraining on projects. It takes longer and longer to get things done.”...more
Talking with Bill King, one of the newest Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) members
Bill King presides over the Bill King Ranch near Albuquerque, New Mexico, a place he's enjoyed for 45 years. He's a fourth generation cattleman with a fifth and sixth waiting in the wings. "My grandmother's parents settled here in 1908; my granddad's parents arrived in 1917. We've been raising beef cattle and farming in New Mexico for over 100 years," he said. "It's a family business."
I asked about the history behind the ranch. “My grandparents started dryland farming and raising cattle. In the 1950s we drilled irrigation wells. I farm about 4,000 acres now, with irrigated crops under pivots. We run about 900 registered cows of three different breeds - 350 registered Hereford cows, 350 Angus cows and 200 Charolais on 40,000 acres." His three daughters work alongside him in the family business. Becky and her husband, Tom Spindle, help him with cattle breeding while Jenny and Stacy keep records and books. Bill's grandchildren are also following in the family tradition through 4-H, FFA and college ag studies.
King's ranch includes a cow-calf operation and feedlot. "We have 1,200 to 1,500 stockers and 1000 cows. We raise bulls and breeding cattle," he said. "We grow corn, hay and wheat on 4,000 acres, too." "My first CBB meeting was in March and I was appointed to the Innovation Committee," he said. "I was delighted about that. I think our industry is in a good place. We're a very sustainable business - turning grass into good, nutritious meat. We take products that grow naturally and give people something good to eat.
“Beef needs to be in the forefront," he said. "We need to develop new products that appeal to consumers. We need to match new products to the needs of the new consumers.”...more
Stone is NM CowBelles' 'Man of the Year'
Preston Stone, of Capitan, New Mexico, was named the New Mexico CowBelles’ 2016 Man of the Year at the group’s recent mid-year meeting in Ruidoso.
“We are pleased to honor Preston with this much-deserved award,” said NMCB President Anita Hand, of Datil, New Mexico. “His dedication to agriculture, the beef industry, and the New Mexico CowBelles, is much appreciated.”
Stone, a long-time Capitan area rancher, was nominated for the award by the Corriente CowBelles. His nomination recognizes his willingness to stand up and advocate for rural residents and agriculture, both locally and across the state. He has also helped the Corriente CowBelles with countless fundraisers, service activities and educational programs. “He is a true champion for our industry and lifestyle,” the group concluded.
Stone serves on the Lincoln County Commission, and over the years has served the community on many boards including the Upper Hondo Soil and Water Conservation District, the Otero County Electric Cooperative and the Capitan Municipal School Board...more
And he was key to helping the Cibola ranchers who were arbitrarily kicked off the forest. Congratulations Preston!
And he was key to helping the Cibola ranchers who were arbitrarily kicked off the forest. Congratulations Preston!
Floyd Traynor - I Wonder
This was written in the late 1960's, but still applies today...FT
I Wonder
I wonder what a man would think
Of America today,
If he came from days gone by
Through history someway?
I Wonder
I wonder what a man would think
Of America today,
If he came from days gone by
Through history someway?
If Jefferson was on the scene
And saw our plight today,
Would he still pen those words so great
That set us on our way?
If Washington was still around
I wonder if he'd stay
Across the sea in Vietnam
Or turn the other way?
If Lincoln saw the blood that's shed
And newly mounded graves,
I wonder id he'd fight a war
To try and free the slaves?
Now, men are men, and it's a fact
The world keeps turning 'round
I wonder if our Fathers loathe
This land they helped to found?
Written and copyrighted 1968 by Floyd Traynor.
And saw our plight today,
Would he still pen those words so great
That set us on our way?
If Washington was still around
I wonder if he'd stay
Across the sea in Vietnam
Or turn the other way?
If Lincoln saw the blood that's shed
And newly mounded graves,
I wonder id he'd fight a war
To try and free the slaves?
Now, men are men, and it's a fact
The world keeps turning 'round
I wonder if our Fathers loathe
This land they helped to found?
Written and copyrighted 1968 by Floyd Traynor.
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1669
Our selection today is Gene Autry - I'll Be True While You're Gone. The tune was recorded in Hollywood on July 28, 1941 for the Okeh label.
https://youtu.be/SDZTXB_p30Q
https://youtu.be/SDZTXB_p30Q
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Study Shows Cloned Animals Can Live Long, Healthy Lives
It's been 20 years since research that gave birth to Dolly the sheep began. Just three weeks after the scientific world celebrated such a feat, researchers from The University of Nottingham released their own study of sheep from the same cell line as Dolly, saying that it's possible for cloned animals to live long and healthy lives.
Called Daisy, Dianna, Denise and Debbie, the Nottingham Dollies are now 9 years old and are part of a flock of cloned sheep cared for by Kevin Sinclair, a developmental biology expert from the university's School of Biosciences. They were cloned from the same mammary gland cell line as Dolly while the other clones were from fetal fibroblasts. Published in the journal Nature Communications, Sinclair and colleagues' study is
the first to detail a comprehensive assessment of non-communicable
diseases related to age in cloned animals. At 7 to 9 years old, the
Nottingham Dollies and the rest of their flock are 60 to 70 years old in
human years. And at that age, the cloned sheep were shown to exhibit no
long-term detrimental effects to their health...more
...feds turn up heat in fight against drones interfering in wildfires
Firefighters battling wildfires will soon have another tool in their arsenal to attack a growing problem: interference from drones.
Illegal drone intrusions during wildfires such as the current Sand Fire in Los Angeles County are creating hazards for firefighting aircraft, but a new technology could literally ground the unmanned flying machines and make the skies safer again.
"It's been a problem each of the last couple of fire seasons, and we continue to see incursions," said Stanton Florea, a fire information officer for the U.S. Forest Service.
The U.S. Interior Department said it was partnering with several drone industry companies and "activated a prototype warning system that provides real-time alerts and geo-fencing alarms to prevent drone pilots from interfering with firefighting operations."
This move comes as the incidents of drone intrusions over wildfires has more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, according to the Interior Department...more
Can a 747 be reborn into a wildfire-fighting supertanker?
In the summer of 2000, Cliff Hale, a Boeing 747 pilot, was on vacation visiting his family in Albuquerque, N.M., when a drama suddenly appeared on local television. There was a big forest fire raging out of control near Los Alamos, and a World War II-era aircraft that had been converted to a tanker was being loaded with fire retardant at the Albuquerque airport.
A few minutes later, Hale heard the plane flying over his house. Forty minutes later, television crews picked up the propeller-driven Douglas DC-4, a plane first launched in 1942, lumbering over Los Alamos, preparing to drop about 2,000 gallons of the gooey, red liquid over the fire.
The fire was eventually put out, but this was just the beginning of the drama that soon took over Hale's career.
Hale recalled in a recent interview that he was thinking that if the 747 he had just parked in New York could be converted into what pilots call a "fire bomber" -- a passenger jet converted into a tanker -- the big, wide-bodied jet could have gotten to the fire in half the time and dropped almost 10 times the amount of retardant.
Old jet airliners are like old generals: They almost never die, but gently fade away into the air freight business, where their capacity, strength and speed were making the airline Hale was working for -- Evergreen International Aviation -- rich. Hale, who specialized in training its new pilots, recalled that a temporary lull in the air freight business had left a lot of used 747s sitting on the ground...more
Lee, other Utah officials hosting Bear Ears hearing
Concerned about the likelihood that President Barack Obama will declare a new 1.9 million-acre Bear Ears national monument in eastern Utah, Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee
and other state leaders are meeting in Blanding Wednesday for a
congressional field hearing to ask for more time to pass a legislative
alternative. Gov. Gary Herbert, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop
and others are slated to testify before the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, which is holding its field hearing just two weeks
after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell spent four days in Utah
and came away saying she had concerns about the lack of protections for
an area rich in archaeological importance and considered sacred to
many. Lee, like the majority of the state’s Republican leadership, has
backed the Public Lands Initiative developed by Bishop and Rep. Jason Chaffetz as an alternative to monument designation. Arguing their bill would better balance development and recreation
with new protections, the two congressmen say they held more than 1,200
meetings with stakeholders to craft legislation that would allow more
local influence on what happens in the area around Bear Ears, along with
some 18 million acres of federally-owned land spread across seven Utah counties...more
Forest Service announces national policy on saw use
Washington – One policy on the use of chain saws and crosscut saws
on National Forest Service lands has replaced nine regional policies
and certification requirements, the U.S. Forest Service recently
announced. The new directive went into effect July 19, and applies to all uses of
both types of saws by Forest Service and other government employees,
volunteers, training consultants and cooperators...more
Thank goodness they finally addressed this vital issue.
Thank goodness they finally addressed this vital issue.
"Blowdown" damage being cleared in forest
WASHBURN COUNTY, Wis (Wisconsin Radio Network) - Progress is being
made in the clean-up of the severe damage done to the Washburn Ranger
District of the Chequamegon National Forest during a wind storm last
Thursday. The U.S. Forest Service has sent heavy equipment operators and saw teams into the region to clear roads, trails and campgrounds...more
I sure hope they are complying with the new saw rules.
I sure hope they are complying with the new saw rules.
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1668
Here's a bluegrass classic by Don Reno & Red Smiley: Wall Around Your Heart. The tune was recorded in Cincinnati on November 14, 1958.
https://youtu.be/rEqGaMzLFuk
https://youtu.be/rEqGaMzLFuk
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Challenging the climate change bullies
By Ed Feulner
A few months ago, news broke of an astounding assault on free speech. No, the media didn’t present it that way, but that’s how some conservatives, myself included, characterized it. And with good reason.
The assault in question came via a group of Democratic attorneys general. This group of 16 had banded together as “AGs United for Clean Power.”
Who could object to that, right? We all want a clean planet. But these lawyers weren’t encouraging better ecology. They were announcing plans to investigate, for evidence of criminal wrongdoing, groups who dared to question assertions of man-made global warming.
“The bottom line is simple,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. “Climate change is real.”
Mr. Schneiderman has every right to believe that, and for the purposes of this column, let’s say he’s correct: Climate change is real, and it’s a man-made crisis. (I’m not saying that, but let’s stipulate it for the moment.) By what right does he assert that no view to the contrary is to be tolerated?
Actually, Mr. Schneiderman can assert that all he wants. Unlike him, I believe in free speech for all, even those I disagree with. What I find abhorrent is the idea of using the power of government to compel groups who express a politically incorrect point of view to open their files for investigation.
Can you even imagine the outcry that would ensue if a group of Republican attorneys general announced a campaign to investigate those who insist that climate change is not only real, but man-made? The air would ring from declarations that it was the McCarthy hearings all over again. But when it’s Mr. Schneiderman’s group investigating the opposition? Oh, that’s fine.
Indeed, his inquisition has the backing of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who back in March told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she has discussed internally the possibility of pursuing civil actions against “climate change deniers.” Worse, she said she has “referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action.”
A few months ago, news broke of an astounding assault on free speech. No, the media didn’t present it that way, but that’s how some conservatives, myself included, characterized it. And with good reason.
The assault in question came via a group of Democratic attorneys general. This group of 16 had banded together as “AGs United for Clean Power.”
Who could object to that, right? We all want a clean planet. But these lawyers weren’t encouraging better ecology. They were announcing plans to investigate, for evidence of criminal wrongdoing, groups who dared to question assertions of man-made global warming.
“The bottom line is simple,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. “Climate change is real.”
Mr. Schneiderman has every right to believe that, and for the purposes of this column, let’s say he’s correct: Climate change is real, and it’s a man-made crisis. (I’m not saying that, but let’s stipulate it for the moment.) By what right does he assert that no view to the contrary is to be tolerated?
Actually, Mr. Schneiderman can assert that all he wants. Unlike him, I believe in free speech for all, even those I disagree with. What I find abhorrent is the idea of using the power of government to compel groups who express a politically incorrect point of view to open their files for investigation.
Can you even imagine the outcry that would ensue if a group of Republican attorneys general announced a campaign to investigate those who insist that climate change is not only real, but man-made? The air would ring from declarations that it was the McCarthy hearings all over again. But when it’s Mr. Schneiderman’s group investigating the opposition? Oh, that’s fine.
Indeed, his inquisition has the backing of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who back in March told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she has discussed internally the possibility of pursuing civil actions against “climate change deniers.” Worse, she said she has “referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action.”
Study: Green Energy Is 5 Times More Expensive Than Conventional Power
Electricity from new wind and solar power is 2.5 to five times more
expensive than electricity from existing conventional power sources,
according to a study published Tuesday by the free-market Institute for
Energy Research (IER). IER’s study found
that new solar and wind power are nearly five and 3.5 times more
expensive, respectively, than electricity from existing nuclear
reactors. IER also found green energy systems become more expensive and
damaging to the power grid the more they’re used. “Much of our existing coal and nuclear fleet could continue to
provide affordable, reliable electricity for decades to come if not for
policies like the Obama administration’s carbon regulations or the deal
struck in California to shut down Diablo Canyon,” Thomas Pyle, the IER
president, wrote in a press statement...more
The Colorado River’s unexpected carbon footprint
by Lyndsey Gilpin
When water rushed over the dry riverbed of the Colorado River Delta for the first time in two decades, thousands of bubbles popped up in the sand. Alongside the bank, a group of scientists stood in awe, theorizing that oxygen and nitrogen trapped in the sediment were the cause. But nearly two years later, in early 2016, the team discovered those bubbles were actually composed of greenhouse gases – methane and carbon dioxide – that dissolved into the water, traveled downstream, and eventually made their way into the air.
The Colorado River supplies water to 40 million people. It is used so
heavily by farms and communities in the West that it rarely reaches the
ocean, so where the river should meet the Gulf of California, only a
dry delta exists. In 2012, Mexico and the U.S. hashed out the Minute 319
pact to allow for a one-time pulse flow to restore water in the Delta
so scientists could study the regenerative capability of the floodplain
ecosystem. So in 2014, the U.S. released over 100,000 acre-feet of water
at Morelos Dam near Yuma, Arizona, to restore wildlife and native plant
habitats in the Delta downstream. But a new study by University of
Florida, University of Arizona, Yale University and University of
Washington researchers shows the water also caused the ground to rapidly
emit carbon stored for years beneath the riverbeds, which could have an
impact on the global carbon cycle and affect future river restoration.
“It’s still a big unknown on the true magnitude of these fluxes, but these large river(beds) are turning out to have really high concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane,” says David Butman, an environmental science and engineering professor at the University of Washington who worked on the study. “Looking at the exchanges of carbon gasses between landscapes, the atmosphere, and water as we look to restore these disturbed ecosystems may be important.”
The study, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, is a
step toward understanding carbon balance in water systems and the impact
it could have on carbon levels on land and in the ocean. It’s still
unclear why carbon was released, but the study documented that 30
percent more greenhouse gases came out of the riverbed and dissolved
into the water at one site during the Minute 319 flow than before it
(they’re still working to determine how much was released into the
atmosphere)...
When water rushed over the dry riverbed of the Colorado River Delta for the first time in two decades, thousands of bubbles popped up in the sand. Alongside the bank, a group of scientists stood in awe, theorizing that oxygen and nitrogen trapped in the sediment were the cause. But nearly two years later, in early 2016, the team discovered those bubbles were actually composed of greenhouse gases – methane and carbon dioxide – that dissolved into the water, traveled downstream, and eventually made their way into the air.
“It’s still a big unknown on the true magnitude of these fluxes, but these large river(beds) are turning out to have really high concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane,” says David Butman, an environmental science and engineering professor at the University of Washington who worked on the study. “Looking at the exchanges of carbon gasses between landscapes, the atmosphere, and water as we look to restore these disturbed ecosystems may be important.”
'Blanco Roble' becomes a ghost town (White Oaks)
The Old Abe company continued operations until 1907, when they shut down. The new shaft was at a depth of 1500 feet at that time and had the distinction of being the deepest dry mine in the world, an honor it held into the 1920s. When it was shut down in 1907, the Old Abe mine had a recorded production of $1,000,000 in gold.
The shutdown of the Old Abe had a bad effect on White Oaks but was partly offset by the new operations being started by the Wildcat Leasing Company. The town dwindled to about 500 people, although it remained at that figure for many years.
The last newspaper was printed in White Oaks in 1906, the last of six different papers once published there. The others were White Oaks Daily Golden Era, New Mexico Interpreter, Lincoln County Leader, Old Abe Eagle, White Oaks Eagle, and The Outlook. In 1907 the Exchange Bank moved to Carrizozo.
In 1912 the Wildcat Leasing Company had made enough money from the mines that they were able to build a light plant up at the coal mines and springs, it cost $40,000 and within two years was furnishing electric power to Carrizozo, White Oaks and other towns over near Ruidoso. This was the first electric power in Lincoln County.
The Wildcat Leasing Company continued operations for many years after this, with Ed Queen running the mines, Dave Jackson managing the mill and Allen Lane taking care of the machinery.
As the United States entered the First World War in 1917, tungsten became scarce, and the price increased. An Eastern mining concern got a lease on the Old Abe Mine and began to develop the tungsten deposits in the mine; about $40,000 was produced in the several years of operations. This was the last mining done in the Old Abe....more
Valiant Rogue shows dominance in record $1.2M Rainbow Derby at Ruidoso Downs
RUIDOSO DOWNS – Wyok Ranch, LLC’s Valiant Rogue emphatically showed that he is a horse to be reckoned with after destroying his rivals in the record Grade 1, $1,224,488 Rainbow Derby on July 23 at Ruidoso Downs.
It is the 10th consecutive year that the Rainbow Derby has set a new record purse.
Valiant Rogue made it look easy. The Tanner Thedford-ridden gelding was on top within a few jumps and the 440-yard classic was over in :21.545 while facing an eight-mph headwind.
“In the trials he ran big,” said jockey Tanner Thedford of fastest-qualifier Valiant Rogue. “Today they false broke in the gate and he stayed still. When we broke he stayed on his task.”
Valiant Rogue’s work resulted in a one-and-three-quarter-length win over Boogies Special Dash while Stevie B First Cash was third, one-half length behind Boogies Special Dash.
First Valiant Sign, the 4-5 favorite, finished fourth.
The Judd Kearl-trained Valiant Rogue is now undoubtedly one of the premier three-year-old quarter horses...more
Family alleges wrongful death in Adams County rancher shooting
Citing wrongful death, assault, false imprisonment and emotional
distress, the family of Jack Yantis is taking legal action against the
Adams County Sheriff’s Office and its two deputies who shot and killed Yantis nearly eight months ago. Yantis’ wife, Donna, his daughters, Sarah and Lauretta, and his nephew, Rowdy Paradis, have filed a tort claim against Adams County, Deputies Cody Roland and Brian Wood and Sheriff Ryan Zollman. A tort claim is a precursor required by Idaho law to filing a lawsuit against a county or government agency. Here is what the claim says happened during the Nov. 1. shooting of 62-year-old Yantis, which took place on U.S. 95 in front of his ranch:
A bull strayed from the ranch and was hit by a car. An Adams County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher called the Yantis house and asked Jack Yantis to take care of the bull. Jack, his wife, their nephew and a family friend, Joe Rumsey, were at the house when dispatch called. All four went down to the highway to assist. Yantis stood on the highway behind the bull with his rifle aimed at the back of the animal’s head.
“(W)ithout any warning, provocation or justifiable excuse — Deputy [Cody] Roland suddenly stepped up behind Jack, grabbed him and jerked him around and backwards,” the claim states.
“[Deputy Roland and Deputy Brian Wood] immediately unleashed a hail of bullets. They shot to kill. It is unknown how many times they fired. ... (N)o reasonable deputy would have feared for his safety. It was obvious Jack was not committing a crime and posed no threat to anyone. The deputies did not ask Jack to put the rifle down. They did not give him any other requests, commands or warnings. They did not fire any warning shots. They did not fire any non-lethal shots. They did not even give Jack enough time to regain his footing after Deputy Roland assaulted him.”...more
HT: Marvin Frisbey
HT: Marvin Frisbey
University team confirms presence of New Mexico meadow jumping mouse in the Jemez
By Mark Oswald / Journal Staff Writer
A 10-person team of researchers from Northern Arizona University confirmed that the Santa Fe National Forest is home to New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.
Also, U.S. Forest Service crews have built a fence to protect critical habitat for the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse in the Jemez Mountains.NAU School of Forestry professor Carol Chambers and her crew surveyed 10 sites in or near suitable habitat for the mouse and confirmed its presence in eight of the 10, according to a Forest Service news release.
...Simultaneously, about 50 Santa Fe National Forest employees, students working on Youth Conservation Corps crews and a handful of people representing grazing permittees on the forest’s Cebolla-San Antonio allotment joined forces over three days to construct 2.8 miles of fence in the Road Pasture.
The new Road Pasture fence, approved as part of the May 2016 habitat protection project for the mouse, will help keep cattle out of designated critical habitat for the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.
“While we have obligations under the Endangered Species Act for the conservation of the mouse, we also understand that the ranching tradition runs deep in New Mexico,” Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor Maria T. Garcia said. “Our intent is to protect the mouse while continuing to allow grazing on the impacted allotments,”
“We appreciate the help of all our partners, particularly the grazing permittees, for working with us to achieve that multi-use objective.”
Fig newtons for ferrets, or Do black-footed ferret's lives matter? Drone'em says USFWS
Black-footed ferrets, among North America’s rarest mammals, have been listed as an endangered species since 1967 and are a top priority for conservation efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
After 20 years of trying to rebuild ferret populations from Mexico to Canada, the species, of which only 300 were known to live in the wild in 2015, has been ravaged by sylvatic plague. It’s not only lethal to ferrets, but has also been killing off their main source of food, prairie dogs, according to the Wildlife Service.
To stop the spread of the deadly disease, which is made possible via infected fleas, the Wildlife Service is proposing a novel plan to use drones to spread peanut butter-flavored vaccine pellets to save the prairie dogs and thus the ferrets. According to the Wildlife Service, the plague is the primary obstacle to recovery of the ferrets and has been previously treated by using flea-killing pulicides, but “flea resistance to chemical control has recently been suspected and is a growing concern for usefulness of this plague mitigation tool.”
Not only are fleas possibly becoming resistant to certain chemicals, but also spreading the vaccine by hand to prairie dog colonies is a labor-intensive process, taking a single person an hour to cover three to six acres depending on the terrain, according to the Wildlife Service. “The time and labor force required for such treatments by hand on foot
would be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve and sustain over
long periods of time,” according to an assessment by the Wildlife Service. Enter the drones, which if modified to distribute the candied vaccine
pellets in three directions simultaneously every second, could cover
200 acres in a hour with a single drone, according to the Wildlife
Service’s proposal. “It is anticipated that this approach, when fully developed, will
offer the most efficient, effective, cost-conscious and environmentally
friendly method to apply SPV (sylvatic plague vaccine) annually over
large areas of prairie dog colonies in support of black-footed ferret
recovery,” the Wildlife Service states. The Wildlife Service would like to begin using the drones in August, but as Wired reports, development of the candy-shooting drone is still in the “noodling” phase...more
One More Official Exposes Real Goal Of Climate Scare
In recent years we've documented the true motivations that are driving the global warming scare.
Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change, who aspires to be U.N. secretary general, has admitted that the goal of environmental activists is to destroy capitalism. One-time U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman Rajendra Pachauri acknowledged that his "fight" against global warming is his "religion" and "dharma." Ottmar Edenhofer, who co-chaired the IPCC working group on Mitigation of Climate Change from 2008 to 2015, has conceded that the climate crusade is an effort to shackle capitalism and establish a global welfare state. Now we have Bank of England Governor Mark Carney revealing a deeper objective when he talked about how stopping climate change will provide capital markets with as much as a $7 trillion investment opportunity...more
Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change, who aspires to be U.N. secretary general, has admitted that the goal of environmental activists is to destroy capitalism. One-time U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman Rajendra Pachauri acknowledged that his "fight" against global warming is his "religion" and "dharma." Ottmar Edenhofer, who co-chaired the IPCC working group on Mitigation of Climate Change from 2008 to 2015, has conceded that the climate crusade is an effort to shackle capitalism and establish a global welfare state. Now we have Bank of England Governor Mark Carney revealing a deeper objective when he talked about how stopping climate change will provide capital markets with as much as a $7 trillion investment opportunity...more
EPA won’t regulate logging road runoff
Dirt and crushed gravel from the West’s hundreds of thousands of miles
of logging roads often erodes into nearby streams, where it can harm
water quality and fish. State regulation of road runoff varies, so a
2003 Oregon lawsuit sought to require federal regulation by the
Environmental Protection Agency (“Oregon ignores logging road runoff, to the peril of native fish,” HCN,
7/27/12). Despite some success in lower courts, in 2013 the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that the EPA is not required to control sediment
from such roads...more
California Wastes Tons Of Wind And Solar Power Due To Lack Of Energy Storage
by Andrew Follett
Solar and wind forced California operators to waste enormous amounts of power by cutting green energy from the grid in mid-July, because there’s nowhere to store the power.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out Friday the best way to store the electricity generated by wind and solar power is still a century-old technology that involves moving large amounts of water. Reports by the state’s utility, California Independent System Operator (CAISCO), confirm wind and solar power were wasted due to lack of storage capacity.
The only economical way known to store power is to literally build a giant facility designed to push water uphill, and then let gravity move the water downhill through hydroelectricity turbines to provide extra electricity when needed. Currently, America has about 1/1,500th of the energy storage capacity necessary for wind and solar to provide “100 percent green energy,” according to an analysis of federal data by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
This is typical of government planning - subsidize the hell out of a product that is incapable of reaching the market. Regulate, tax and stomp on those products that can.
Solar and wind forced California operators to waste enormous amounts of power by cutting green energy from the grid in mid-July, because there’s nowhere to store the power.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out Friday the best way to store the electricity generated by wind and solar power is still a century-old technology that involves moving large amounts of water. Reports by the state’s utility, California Independent System Operator (CAISCO), confirm wind and solar power were wasted due to lack of storage capacity.
The only economical way known to store power is to literally build a giant facility designed to push water uphill, and then let gravity move the water downhill through hydroelectricity turbines to provide extra electricity when needed. Currently, America has about 1/1,500th of the energy storage capacity necessary for wind and solar to provide “100 percent green energy,” according to an analysis of federal data by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
This is typical of government planning - subsidize the hell out of a product that is incapable of reaching the market. Regulate, tax and stomp on those products that can.
Failed IOA Ranch becomes Lubbock County farmland
The IOA Ranch, owned by the Western Land and Livestock Co., was established in 1884. The company chose the IOA brand because a number its major investors were from the state of Iowa.
During 1884 and for several years afterward, the IOA ownership pieced together a continuous block of property stretching 14 miles-by-30 miles. The main portion of the ranch contained roughly 420 sections (250,000 acres) of land. Additional piecemeal acquisitions in the northern half of the county brought the total ranch property — owned or leased — to about 330,000 acres.
The rectangular-shaped main portion of the IOA filled the southern half of Lubbock County. The original block consisted of both purchased and leased lands. And, because it was not was not involved in later court proceedings, the far-western half of the large spread probably represented a significant portion of the parcels leased from neighboring landowners.
The IOA headquarters was located in the southeastern part of the county on the first three sections of land the company purchased from Zach Williams in 1885.
From its beginning the IOA struggled. Thus, in 1887, the Western Land and Livestock Co. sent Frank Wheelock, a great-nephew of one of the ranch’s principal stockholders, Stillman Wheelock, to monitor and manage the floundering cattle operation.
Despite Wheelock’s best efforts, the ranch proved unsuccessful. Plummeting beef prices, a drought in the mid-1880s and viciously cold and bitter winters during those same years led to a collapse of large ranches all across the West. The IOA was one of hundreds that failed during the late 1880s and early 1890s.
When it was apparent the ranch was not going to succeed, corporation leaders determined to jettison the land and cattle in as orderly a way as possible. They directed Wheelock to sell the cattle during a three-year period between 1893 and 1896...more
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1667
We missed Monday, so today we'll have a Swingin' Tuesday with Arthur 'Guitar Boogie' Smith sawin' out Oklahoma Fiddler. And no, I haven't confused him with Fiddlin' Arthur Smith. The liner notes on the album say, "The amazing versatility of this great Musician is ably demonstrated in this recording where Arthur Smith, who won renown as a guitarist, shows that he can play the fiddle with remarkable dexterity also." The tune is on the 1964 Starday album The Greatest Country Fiddlers Of Our Time.(Caution: you may need to turn your speakers down)
https://youtu.be/ElTAGIp7ldg
https://youtu.be/ElTAGIp7ldg
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Cowgirl Sass & Savvy
by Julie Carter
Sam Thompson was the most inconsiderate human that ever
lived and could go further on a nickel than anyone in my recall.
He owned a big, very remote, spread in the Texas Panhandle
that was a half-day’s drive from the nearest civilized settlement. Sam lived in
that little town so as to keep an eye on his numerous other investments that
included a partnership in a nearby feed yard and pasture cattle scattered
around the landscape.
When it was cattle working time, he’d round up a crew from
his neighborhood to help with the job.
He had a foreman residing at the ranch that handily had a
wife who would cook a meal for any crew Sam brought to the ranch. But that
didn’t include breakfast.
The collected cowboy crew would load up their horses and
head up to the ranch the night before the cattle working, utilizing a
ramshackle camp trailer to roll their bedrolls out for a few hours of shut-eye.
Long before daylight they’d rise and breakfast was usually
something as substantial as a candy bar. One time the candy bars had been
forgotten, so after a head count, the package of Honey Buns was shared. Each
cowboy got one and a quarter Honey Buns for breakfast along with some instant
coffee.
Still in the dark of the morning, they’d head to the
backside and start gathering pairs. About lunch time they were back at
headquarters with the cattle. The foreman’s wife was up to her elbows in getting
lunch ready to set out when Sam says to his foreman, “Think we ought to take
these cattle on to the hill pasture before lunch?”
With the smell of brisket, beans and fresh bread out of the
oven wafting through the air and homemade pies waiting on the counter, the foreman begrudgingly agreed they could
move the cows now, be done for the day and then eat.
One of the cowboys on his first trip to Sam’s place thought
this pasture was probably not far off and likely his grumbling stomach would
survive a little longer.
They drove the cows, drove the cows and drove the cows,
crossed a creek, drove them down the creek bed and finally got them up the
other side and continued driving them.
It was several hours later before they finally arrived where
they were going, settled the cattle and started back. Sam decided to take
another route on the return to headquarters and the new cowboy was thinking,
“If there’s a shorter way back, how come we didn’t bring the cows that way?”
As it turned out, the route home was longer and no one
really knew why Sam decided on that route except likely out of pure meanness.
It was near on 5 o’clock when they finally got back to headquarters, took care
of their horses and at last, got to eat. The honey bun and a fourth was more
than long gone.
The foreman’s wife fed the crew “pretty darn good” and there
was plenty of it. However, it became abundantly clear why there were always new
faces at the table every time Sam brought a crew to work. The new cowboy on
this trip determined he had made his last trip.
Ranch hospitality is legendary, second only to Southern
hospitality. It just sometimes takes a little longer to get to the place where
one can enjoy it.
Children of ‘51
Medicare Arrives
Children of ‘51
Huh?
By Stephen L. Wilmeth
It surely
doesn’t seem very long ago since the smell of grass under the Friday night
lights at James Stadium filled our senses. That place was our connection to
every football field across America.
Few of us had manicured lawns growing up in or around Silver City,
but we had the best of grass on which to play. It was the same field the WNMU
Mustangs played on Saturday afternoons and we were the beneficiaries. At half
time, we clattered up the stairwell into the same athletic facility that Mustang
heroes such as Nick Chintis, Paul Hunter, Moose White, Bob Agnew, Mack Pace and
Tim Brancheau discussed halftime strategies. Those were hallowed halls.
The field
was always immaculate.
The boys of
’51 made their first appearance there in 1964 when we paraded as 7th
graders to the middle of the field and were introduced over the loud speaker system
as future Fighting Colts. All of the originals were there. Phudley, Carl, Mark,
Casey, Eloy, Mike, Jerry, and the rest poking each other and trying to behave
as best we could under strict orders not to act like a bunch of hoodlums.
We were all
there, too, late in the fall of 1968 when we played our last official high
school football game together on that field. John, Frank, Pete, Tim, Dale,
Louie, George, and others had joined our ranks and had become our brothers and
comrades. By that time, we no longer dressed nearby having moved into the new
high school across town. We dressed there and rode the bus across town and then
back after games.
The last minutes of that last game were highly
emotional. Everybody wanted the ball. We were ahead, but we pushed for short
snap counts to get more plays. We didn’t want it to be over. I remember so
distinctly being in our three point stance looking from the backfield up and
down the line, smelling the grass, and thinking this will never be again. I
reminded myself to take it all in.
“Look at this and remember it,” I told myself.
By that
time, we were, indeed, football players. We had been together so many days and
hours since we started the journey as 7th graders. As the gun
sounded, we slowly gathered at midfield waiting for everybody to come in. The
crowd was mobbing us, but we were looking and waiting for each other. Our
cheerleaders (especially the special one) and the pep squad were welcomed into
our huddle. It was their huddle, too. They had been with us every defeat and
every victory.
First, we stood and looked at each
other and then the greetings began. We didn’t want to leave. We didn’t want it
to be over. We finally couldn’t think of any other reason to linger so we
started walking off the field, across the track, and onto the infield where the
bus was parked. Several walked alone carrying helmets. Others walked in pairs
or small groups. It was symbolic of what lay ahead. That final walk, however,
was too rapid. As I held her hand, I know I glanced one more time at the score
board at the southeast exit of the field. It wasn’t the score for which I
sought. Rather, it was the final look at the clock when it was ours to matter.
It showed … no time left.
Ten Years and after
We gathered
for a ten year reunion.
Phil, Dusty,
Frank, John, Tim and a few others were there, but, for the most part, we were
scattered. Casey wasn’t there nor were others who knew what it all meant.
Awkwardly, we talked about how successful we were becoming, but that became a
relative thing as time passed.
My special
cheerleader was with me, and that remained the central focus of life as we
passed the absent 20th, 25th, and 40th
reunions. As president of our senior class, Tim didn’t perform, but even that
became an irrelevant matter.
We saw Tim
and most of his sisters at his dad’s funeral in Albuquerque too many years later. It was
especially great to see Janet and Edie. They were beautiful women who didn’t
mind that their hair was graying. It matched mine.
We saw John
and Diana at John’s mother funeral around the same time. Tom was there and he
and John gave a wonderful tribute to their mother and for all who gathered. I
saw people who I had not seen in too many years. They looked older than the
memories.
We have
seen Phil and Donna several times the last of which was Phil’s father’s
funeral. I was on my way back to California
that day. I wasn’t looking forward to that trip.
We saw
Casey one morning in South Bend
prior to attending Annie and Dennis’ wedding at the chapel at Notre Dame. We
were on a busy one way street and my cheerleader looked up and proclaimed
“Casey!” at the same moment he was swept away from us in a right turn lane. We
never saw him again, but all parties saw the big wide eyes of recognition in
that split second before departure.
We see
Dusty and Pat regularly. Dusty and I started to kindergarten together and we
graduated from college together. I have said many times we never had a cross
word. I want that to remain our bond of friendship. I am very proud of his
success. He is another of the very few who put himself into the cattle business
without a bit of help. He is not only a conscientious leader he has become a
great cowman.
We also
see our special friend, Donna, along with Randy. My cheerleader speaks to her
several times a week and they text constantly. She is her sister that never
was.
I saw Bobby
only one time even though I understand he lives in Silver City.
We have
seen Irma at a wedding and a fund raiser. It was great to see her. Her tragedy
became ours when we heard the details.
We have lost
Louie, Web, Mark, Carl, and Danny. Most of the rest are scattered into unknown
worlds that long ago departed from ours. We wish them all the best.
Yes, we are
the class of ‘69, but, more poignantly, we are the children of 1951.
Medicare
As I write
this, my cheerleader was just welcomed into the ranks of Medicare. Starting
with John, we have witnessed the stepwise inductions taken by our friends into
those ranks. It was Pat and then me. This morning I signed Dusty’s birthday
card and made light of the same thing. Mostly, we have agonized over the
inevitable.
“Where in
hell did the time go?”
We are not
supposed to be this old, and yet morning glances into the mirror suggest
another reality of this fait accompli.
Pictures have become torturous. We have dreaded the inevitable, but there are
offsets. Our beautiful children and grandchildren make the pictures bearable.
Our oldest granddaughter is a freshman in college and her sister has become her
Noni, the cheerleader’s, chauffeur when she is at the ranch. The rest, all five
of them, have their Noni’s blue eyes.
So, yea, we
are the children of 1951. All those mentioned, and the others, like Edwin and
Charlene, are in this club together. We are thankful to have the things that
matter most. We will take our Medicare lumps. We will gather at midfield and
welcome ourselves into the huddle. It is our huddle. We will wait until we are
all there because, together, we have all witnessed our wins as well as our
defeats. We will try to linger because we don’t want this game to be over, but,
when it is, we will walk from the field together.
A glimpse
at the scoreboard will suggest time has expired, but that is okay … our time
has been good.
Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Silver City
in the ‘60s was a good place.”
Baxter Black - Timed Events Can Be Tough
In the world of rodeo, cowboys usually fall into one of two
categories; rough stock riders or timed event men. Each looks on the
other with suspicion. Bronc riders can’t imagine havin’ to drag a horse
and trailer all over the country and ropers think bull riding is
uncivilized!
Jack and Russell entered the punkin roller at Bokchito, Okla. They were both 16 and invincible! On arrival they discovered a mixup. Jack entered in the bareback and Russell in the calf roping. Jack complained, “I told Mr. Ward to put me in the calf ropin’ and Russell was ridin’ bares! Besides, Russell’s bought a brand new riggin’!” Which, of course he had! Not only that, Russell had a new set of custom made bronc spurs and had just attended Mel Autry’s rodeo school!
The secretary glared at him and growled, “Well, Jack, you better see if it fits your hand, ‘cause I ain’t changin’ the order!”
They stomped around cussing the contractor, the secretary, their luck and each other’s event. But as the National Anthem played over the speakers, Jack was down in the chute tryin’ to pound his left hand into Russell’s right hand riggin’!
Minnie Mouse was an 800-pound grulla mare. Jack made some comment about stick horses and shetlands. ‘Bout not wantin’ to hurt her. Russell ignored him. Jack was sorta scratchin’ his spurs a little and thinkin’, “By, gosh, this ain’t bad! I’m winnin’ the bareback! Easier than I thought.’
Jack and Russell entered the punkin roller at Bokchito, Okla. They were both 16 and invincible! On arrival they discovered a mixup. Jack entered in the bareback and Russell in the calf roping. Jack complained, “I told Mr. Ward to put me in the calf ropin’ and Russell was ridin’ bares! Besides, Russell’s bought a brand new riggin’!” Which, of course he had! Not only that, Russell had a new set of custom made bronc spurs and had just attended Mel Autry’s rodeo school!
The secretary glared at him and growled, “Well, Jack, you better see if it fits your hand, ‘cause I ain’t changin’ the order!”
They stomped around cussing the contractor, the secretary, their luck and each other’s event. But as the National Anthem played over the speakers, Jack was down in the chute tryin’ to pound his left hand into Russell’s right hand riggin’!
Minnie Mouse was an 800-pound grulla mare. Jack made some comment about stick horses and shetlands. ‘Bout not wantin’ to hurt her. Russell ignored him. Jack was sorta scratchin’ his spurs a little and thinkin’, “By, gosh, this ain’t bad! I’m winnin’ the bareback! Easier than I thought.’
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1666
Our gospel song this morning is Lord I Can't Come Now by Martha Carson & Stuart Hamblen. The tune was recorded in Hollywood on February 21, 1955.
https://youtu.be/COxXNiuKKSc
https://youtu.be/COxXNiuKKSc
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