Monday October 18 2010
The cowboys and cowgirls gather in Diamond Basin after sunrise. They unload their cowponies and cowdogs and head up into the foothills of the Owyhees. The cows are scattered from here to Silver City and beyond.
This first Gather is the easiest. They get the cows they can see in this big valley and up the sides of the hills. The next times they have to start looking for the cows. "It'll take from now till Thanksgiving to get them all!" a cowboy says. He's not kidding.
The fall weather is mild, the sun and dust golden. The cows bellow as they move on down out of the higher country, headed for winter on the ranch in the warmer Snake River valley, with the cowboys and cowgirls flanking and pushing them along.
Silence falls over Diamond Basin. Dust settles in the hoofprints in the sand.
These are some of my favorite photos of yours! They really depict the cowboy lifestyle, the true endurance riders of the West!
ReplyDeleteNeat pictures. This evokes memories of all the cowboy movies they used to make....anyone remember the old TV show..."Rawhide?" Probably not, unless you are as old as I am. *LOL*
ReplyDeleteMerre! What a wonderful way you have with words! "Dust settles in the hoofprints in the sand." Such a closure!!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful! I want to have some on my walls.
(and yes, Jean.. I remember Rawhide... didn't they use Merri's photos?? LOL)
What a wonderful way you have with words! "Dust settles in the hoofprints in the sand." Such a closure!!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful! I want to have some on my walls!
(and yes, Jean I remember Rawhide - didn't they use Merre's photos?? LOL!)
If I could write as eloquently as you!! Love the slide show to show off the awesome pics too!
ReplyDeleteLoved The Gather; spectacular photos of people trying to make a living. From the photos, you can easily picture yourself seeing something from a era that has come and gone. My the real cowboy never disappear from our prairies.
ReplyDeleteThe cowboys are gathering the dogies here in Utah, too. I hope it doesn't take them until Thanksgiving!
ReplyDelete