Diego's Letters Home

Monday November 5 2007 DIEGO'S LETTERS HOME (FROM THE TEETER SUMMER/WINTER CAMP) October 11, 2007 I JUST HAD A GOOD DAY (by Diego) Today, I went to the Spa! My pal Billy had dreads in his mane and I didn't think he looked so good with them, and neither did he. And then he got to go to the Hair Spa the other day and got his mane combed out all beautiful and silky, and then he looked all gorgeous and smelled good and I was a little jealous. Then, he got new shoes too. So when was it going to be my turn? TODAY! Today this shoer dude came, and I got chosen out of my pen to go to the Hair Spa AND the Shoe Spa! I got my first pair of shiny silver shoes, and I was a GOOD BOY, because it was fun, and it meant now I was all grown up, being a long 3 years old and all, and while all that fun was going on, I got my hair done too! So I looked and smelled just as good as Billy. AND I got my ears done with War Paint against those nasty bugs, and when it was all over, I didn't want to leave the Spa! It was just a Good Day!! November 5 2007 I AM SOOOO SMART (by Diego) I am! Every day or two M puts a halter on me and we play some games for a few minutes. We go forward or backwards together, we go in circles, I spin around her with my butt, or I hold my butt still and move my front legs around. I know how to back up good, because that big butthead Finneas sometimes chases me back from the water trough, even when he's not drinking and he's just standing there not letting anybody else drink. And I know how to back up when someone touches my nose. One day I learned another way, to back up when the rope on my halter wiggled. I didn't know exactly what was happening at first, but I figured it out in like two minutes. The next day I was perfect at it! One day I learned to turn my head back to touch my girth, I didn't know what that was all about either at first, but in like 2 minutes I had that down too. Then the next day I was of course perfect at it. I like to turn my head back and grab hold of the rope against my belly and hold it like a dog leash. M keeps saying "Diego, you are soooo smart!" Yes I am. : ) Some days M throws things all over me, on my neck and back and head and eyes and ears and butt and legs, like ropes and jingly things and soft fluffy pads and plastic bags (which sometimes have carrots) and I just stand there because I like it. Actually, M can't figure out whether I already know all this stuff, or that I am just soooo smart I am a fast learner. I won't tell her, it's my secret : ) One thing is for sure, I am one Smart Cookie! P.S. M and Carol both say I have grown an inch or two. I am So Smart AND Big!

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Sterile Desert

Sunday November 4 2007 STERILE DESERT I can just hear them, city people driving through the deserts of southern Idaho, Nevada, southern California, rushing to Las Vegas or LA or Salt Lake City. "Ugh, it's so ugly! There's nothing out there." Nothing but dry, dry land, rocks and sand, brown scrub or cactus or sage. No life. Barren. Depressing. But the secret is, you go up into those hot dry bare hills or mountains, find a rich canyon, or just walk over one of those little hills, and you might see all of this in a week without trying: A long-eared owl that flew RIGHT OVER ME in a canyon in the daylight. Right after which a Raven was heard to be badgering him. I yelled down the canyon, "Hey Raven! Stop pestering that owl!" At which point the Raven flew out of the canyon, alighted in a tree and regarded me for a time. Had to have been Hoss the Raven. Along the Snake river (while riding through 3 separate eagle territories): 2 Northern Harriers, a blue heron, many coots (how can you not like a bird with that name), a Cormorant Convention (a row of cormorants sitting on a cable across the river), an osprey nest on a pole (unoccupied, it's not nesting season) - they like to decorate their nests with twine. Cooper's Hawk (twice) in a golden tree in a golden canyon, being haughtily ignored by 2 Ravens. Numerous kestrels, red-tailed hawks. Many does; one lone big buck with a BIG rack. A golden eagle! Sitting on the top of a hill below where we rode, she took off as we approached, and flew away. But then she worked her way back towards us, (with a Raven circling over her for a time), spiraling closer and closer, doing wing-hang time over us, taking a good look at us. "Give me a feather!" I yelled at her. Today she didn't. Tomorrow she might. City folks driving by fast: "(Shudder) I hope we don't break down here! Must be awful to live out here." Well, somebody's gotta do it. But we who do'll just keep our desert secrets.

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Ride through History

Saturday November 3 2007 Ride Through History About 32,000 years ago, Lake Bonneville formed, covering most of northwestern Utah (the Great Salt Lake is a remnant). About 15,000 years ago, it broke out of its natural dam near present-day Pocatello Idaho, creating the Bonneville Flood - possibly the second largest ever on the planet, the largest possibly being in Siberia 14,000 years ago. For 8 weeks it flooded out at maximum, carving canyons and falls, ripping out boulders from canyon walls, depositing them along the river. By 12,000 years ago, humans were living on the Snake River Plain. (The earliest evidence from a cave near Dietrich, Idaho, are tool flakes and a basalt knife 14,500 years old.) Petroglyphs carved on many of the tens of thousands of boulders along the Snake are evidence of early inhabitants. Some petroglyphs are probably from the Early Archaic (5000 to 7800 years ago) and Middle Archaic periods (1000-5000 years ago), though most are from the Late Archaic period (340 to 1000 years ago). Many of the petroglyphs along the Snake resemble Shoshone Indian art found in California and Nevada. 1750 AD marks the beginning of the Equestrian period, which 'revolutionized' the Shoshone and northern Paiute way of life, by expanding hunting and trading territories, and improving hunting techniques and weapons. You might get lucky enough to stumble across a horse petroglyph from this period along the Snake River. Another hundred years later saw the beginning of the decline of the Native American Indian (if you have never read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, it's one book you should read) and the real pioneer immigration to the West and Northwest. The Oregon trail was a main route for thousands of settlers. Parts of it were scouted as early as 1823 by trappers and traders, and by 1841-1869 it was used regularly. This corner of Idaho was also home to Gold Rush fever. Searching for the legendary Blue Bucket Diggings and a Lost Mine somewhere near the Oregon Trail led to first gold strikes northwest of Boise, in Idaho City, in 1862. In 1863, just south of the Snake River in the Owyhee Mountains, the gold rush was on below War Eagle Mountain - you can see it from the top of the river canyon - where the mining ghost town of Silver City lives on. On the plateau, you may still come across some old mining relics. Or, you may ride right by an as-yet-unrecorded pioneer grave, (discovered by Tom Noll on an endurance ride in May) not far off the remains of the Oregon Trail (where you can still see what looks like old wagon tracks), at the top of the canyon road leading down to the Snake and the Swan Falls Dam. Swan Falls Dam, the first dam on the Snake River/Columbia River system, was built in 1901 to provide electricity to the mines in the Silver City area. A new dam was built in the 1990's, and the old one relegated to a historical display. Saddle up a horse for a Saturday ride down to the Snake River in Owyhee County, and these are some of the historical ghosts you get to ride with.

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A Billeous Farewell

October 31 2007 A BILLEOUS FAREWELL Wouldn't you know it, Steph goes and says she's taking my favorite horse Rhett down to Arizona for the winter. Then she goes and says she's taking my other favorite horse Jose Viola down to Arizona for the winter. Well, that would be OK, because I had this new other favorite horse to ride, Billy, owned by Kevin in Arizona. Billy's 10, a smart, friendly people-horse who had a year off at the Teeter Spa (loves his days at the Hair Salon, loves carrots, loves hugs), and is now a hairy orange round pumpkin. Time to get him going again. I rode him two or three times, and each time I was impressed by his eager, forward way of going and dazzled by his unbelievable power going up hills in our very short return-to-training rides. In fact, I was having slight Tevis fantasies - you know, nobody buys Billy, so I get him back in shape, and just happen to be around during Tevis next year, and just happen to be the only one available to ride him, and he finishes, and Kevin sells a Tevis horse, or, keeps him and rides him himself the next year in Tevis. Then, Kevin tells me BILLY is going away. He's found a new home in Montana. Sigh - guess I'll have to choose my new favorite, AGAIN, from the four or five other horses here. Billy does have a friend here, unbroke 3-year-old Diego, who's very intelligent and as friendly as Billy (and loves his time at the Hair Salon too), and as nosy and mischievous as Jose Viola. And then, maybe my OWN horse will be my favorite horse - Stormy may get a ride to Idaho this winter from California. Well anyway, since Billy's leaving about 4 AM tomorrow, and I'm not climbing out of my warm bed for that, I said my goodbyes to him tonight. We had a 10-minute scratch session, under the jaw, on the neck, shoulders, back, butt, tail, back to the head and neck, with Diego trying to horn in on the action. In fact, we had a threesome going there for a while - me scratching Billy, Billy scratching Diego, Diego scratching me, and when Rhett came up to join in the fun, I moved him into my spot and slipped out of there. So long Billy, have a happy life with your new owners (how could he not). See you somewhere down the trail.

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Petroglyphs Trail

Petroglyphs Trail Sunday October 28 2007 Beware when your friends tell you they're going on an EXPLORING ride. Don't be afraid; just be prepared to get off and walk if you get in a pickle (we didn't), and bring a Goodie Bag (I didn't) : (, and bring plenty of clothing (I did). Carol and I met Karen just outside of Murphy for an Exploring Ride to the petroglyph boulders along the Snake River. We got permission to drive through some private property to get onto BLM land, and we were going to try to make a beeline to the road-to-the-rim-to-the-trail that drops you down to the Snake and boulders. It was just the perfect Owyhee day - not too hot, not too cold, no wind. The only bad thing was the bugs. Our horses came prepared, and Karen came prepared with a bug face hat (fits nicely under your helmet), but Carol and I got plenty of arm exercise waving bugs out of OUR faces. At least I had a bandana, which prevented the bastards from getting into my ears, like they do the horses. And those bugs do know exactly where ears are, on horses and humans. We headed out in the right direction, toward the Snake, intending to hook up with the same road Steph had taken the endurance ride over a few years ago. We came to a row of telephone poles, where we knew we needed to take another road off in a northwesterly direction... but was this the right road? Funny how you may ride over this same trail once or twice every year (or, sometimes every day!), and think you know it, but you really don't know exactly where you are, because while the landscape of hills and washes and sand and sage and grass looks different, it still somehow looks the same. The differences can be subtle. Did the road usually turn west? Was that hill the one we always passed? Did the wash start here, or was it further on? I don't remember that slope of land. Or do I? We took this road, but when it turned west we abandoned it and took another road-trail-cross-country north. And turns out we went about 3 miles the wrong direction. We still ended up on the rim of the Snake River - waaaaaaaaaaaay up high on the rim of the Snake River - but far from the trail down that we were seeking. So we cross-countried in the direction we should really have gone, and finally ran into our road, and trail. And went down to the petroglyphs, gave the horses a drink in the Snake, and climbed back out, taking the road all the way this time, knowing exactly where we were. In fact, I recognized the very hill where I'd seen a black wolf running very fast 2 years ago. It turns out we had been on the right road in the beginning, we just got fooled when it jogged to the west. As we crossed the marked Oregon Trail, it really made me think about how hard it must have been for those pioneers 150 years ago. We ride this land every day and can get lost - how must they have felt? It was a long day - 5 1/2 hour ride, but the weather was still absolutely perfect when we got back to the trailers, and Carol had waiting in the truck the best gorp I'd ever eaten in my life. Lesson learned: I've already packed my saddle bag with a Goodie Bag for the next long ride.

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They Don't Make 'Em (Us) Like They Used To

Friday October 26 2007 THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM (US) LIKE THEY USED TO That refers to the hard-working ranchhands and farmers and miners of the old days. Carol and I had a barbed-wire fence to fix - it had been cut last year and allowed easier and safer access for our horses onto the rangelands (and to avoid nearby property where we weren't wanted anymore). It was time to fix the fence and put in a proper gate, because the cows will soon be turned out on that piece of BLM land to graze for the winter. (And to stand on the roads - if you drive this way, watch out for dark cows standing on the highway in the middle of the darkest nights.) We had to bring a 12' stretch of fence back over the wash and reattach it, and further down sink 2 fence posts for a gate, connect the barbed wire from the other side, and stretch and tighten all 4 strands of wire. Rick brought the backhoe, so we didn't even have to break our backs digging 3-4 feet down in the rocky soil. As we watched the backhoe sometimes struggling to get through the rocks, we studied the rest of the fence that went out of the draw in both directions, up the hills - original fence posts from probably at least the early 1900's, all in a perfectly straight line, and most all standing straight up, not a wayward angle to a one of them... and we thought of the rest of the fence over the hills - all of the fences - that we couldn't see. Hundreds, and thousands, of hand-dug fence posts holes; hundreds, and thousands of fence posts cut and hauled there, eyeballed straight and planted in the holes; hundreds, and thousands of strings of barbed wire strung and tightened. (Have you ever picked up a coil of barbed wire? Amazing how heavy it is). All that man-power, shovels and muscles, no back-hoes to help. And while out riding later Carol took us over the remains of an old canal, many miles long - also from at least the early 1900's. It started at the headwaters of Bates Creek in the mountains, carried water down to Bates Creek Canyon and below, to irrigate fields for food to supply the mining cities. All dug by hand and mules with plows, and following the slight downslope of the land just right to keep up a slow but steady flow of water. Of course, there was much more water back then and the canal has long since dried up, as have the creeks that used to flow heavily. Today we've got machines to do just about all the heavy work we want to avoid - machines that replaced a lot of human workers and subjugated the lands. I guess it's called progress, but we've also lost a lot of human manpower and womanpower skills along the way.

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Owyhee Treasures

October 25 2007 OWYHEE TREASURES Besides riding every day, it's become written in stone that I must walk the 3 dogs every day. I started it when I got back from Europe last month, Connie took it over when she came to visit (both times) and I've done it since. Girlie the cow dog and Austin the mixed big round sausage about flip out when I head out the door with my Walk game on, Austin wagging his tail till he about knocks himself over, and Girlie leaping over Austin and spinning 360's in the air. Quincy the semi-senile golden retriever (but improving with exercise) can't go anywhere without carrying a rock. She has to pick out the right rock to take with her, always one that's just a little too big for her mouth. She'll pass several over till she gets the Perfect Rock. We can be hiking up a steep hill, and Quincy can be panting like a dog, can't get enough air, but she won't put the rock down. Silly dog has to pick up and carry rocks everywhere. We usually do some climbing and following ridges. I'd like to do some more owl hunting - in May I found a long-eared owl up one of the creeks, trying to snooze during the day - but 3 dogs clattering through rocky creekbeds carpeted with crunchy golden cottonwood leaves sound like a herd of elephants, which encourages any resting owls to abandon their posts long before we get there. Austin and Girlie are always hunting rabbits; when they spot one, off they go in a frenzied yelping chase. Austin is hopelessly big and slow (once a rabbit doubled back on him within a few seconds, and he continued on up the steep hill, yelping frantically and running crazily till he almost passed out), and Girlie is ALMOST fast enough to catch a rabbit, leaping like a graceful gazelle over the big sagebrush. Quincy just cruises along with her silly rock she picked up. Well... I guess I pick up rocks too. I've always been a rock collector, leaving a trail of cool rocks behind everywhere I've lived. I used to carry cool big rocks in my truck cab, until a woman told the story one day of rolling her truck and getting slammed in the head with a coffee cup. After that I put my rocks in the back in the camper shell. I can't help but pick up rocks here in Owyhee county also. Cool shapes or colors or breed (what's the word for 'breed' in rock terminology?). It's hard to find a perfectly round, or egg-shaped, or square, or rectangular rock. I found one perfect smoky quartz crystal, but Carol said one of the neighbors goes around planting those everywhere. I was a bit skeptical of that until one day not far from there I came across an actual machine-polished rock. Oh well, still a found treasure! Other treasures: I found a small worn deer antler one day, and Jose the horse came across a nice 4-point antler on a ride. There's a few owl pellets from under a light pole that a great-horned owl sits on some nights. And today - what fell out of the tree right in front of the house, but a perfect bird nest! About the size of a softball, it looks like a perfectly knitted and woven bag, made of black and white horse hair, straw, baling twine - taken apart into individual strands - leaf stems, dried oat grass stems, and some sort of stuffing (out of a couch??) lining the inside and woven into the walls. And it's woven onto 2 small branches, as if they were knitting needles and the loops still on the needles, as if the birds were in the middle of knitting another round. An absolutely incredible work of art, by one or 2 little creatures some people might (mistakenly) call dumb. Just goes to show you that after we humans destroy ourselves and the earth, these little creatures will still be around, going about their miraculous business.

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