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WORK WEEK RECAP
This year Work Week was June 6th-12th, instead of the traditional first week in August. The move was made in hopes that June would offer cooler and more pleasant weather, but alas, it was still hotter than hell. Despite the weather, we managed to accomplish a good number of the items on our to-do list. A total of twenty-seven family members and friends worked on and completed the following projects:
- milk house wired for continuous electricity
- milk house cleaned and water trough emptied, scrubbed, bleached and refilled
- milk house roof torn off and shingles thrown in dump
- milk house roof vacuumed, insulated, critter proofed, decked, new tin put on, and nails picked up
- old ice box in milk house replaced with working coke cooler
- mortared and pointed around windows and wall outside middle bathroom and Adeline's room
- middle bathroom window redone to open
- screen made for tin bathroom
- two dinning room chairs rebuilt
- new water heater installed in kitchen
- new kitchen facet installed
- shower curtain made and hung
- curtains hemmed and re-hung
- two long serving mats made
- sheets in Nana's room mended
- new wheels put on Electrolux vacuum cleaner
- weeds whacked all around the house and drive
- ivy trimmed in the courtyard
- trees trimmed
- weeds over septic tank chopped and ground prepared for planting flower seeds
- drought resistant plants planted around drive
- refrigerator in barn filled with R-12 refrigerant
- new batteries put in self-dumping rain gauges (Alamosa, Paynes, Wild Horse Flat, and Red Mill)
- barn cleaned and reorganized
- dirt built up around barn and roof run off directed to freshly diked trees
- seven ex-closures built near existing monitoring transect lines (Nana's, Creek, Dad's Runway, Alamosa, Wild Horse Flat, Red Mill, and Campana)
- extension made for mesquite sprayer wand
- mesquite sprayed in field around barn and Gail's house
- Steve and Polly's ashes spread and their names carved on Alamosa Point
- 12 delicious meals prepared and successfully devoured
- arroyo and gully erosion control workshop attended
NEW ITEMS DONATED to Nana's :
- fantastic outdoor gas grill from John and Linda
- router with bits from ranch
- table saw, mitre saw and router bits from John and Linda
- Joy of Cooking from John and Linda
(The twenty-seven people who made this long list possible were: Sally, Kelly, Eric, Christine, Colton, Dorothy, Jory, Coby, Stephen, Whittle, Kristen, Richard, Caitlin, Hilary, Tom, Effie, Edward, Ellen, Linda, John, Robin, Meade, Laura, Elliot, Annette, Glenda, Margaret, and to keep the ball rolling Sasha, Lucy, and Texas.)
ON-GOING PROJECTS
CLEANING AND REORGANIZING SHOP
For the past two weeks we (Rick, Kristen, Caitlin and Hilary) have taken on the incredibly dirty task of cleaning and reorganizing parts of the shop.
Caitlin started out by spending a couple days cleaning out and organizing the old pipe fitting storage area. Now, labeled and not overflowing with useless, unidentified and broken pieces, you can find the fitting you need by opening only one bin… what a concept! She and Rick also took everything off "miscellaneous tables", throwing away what was not needed and finding a home for the rest.
Next, we tackled the section across from the tire repair area. It has always been a place of clutter and disarray. However, things are starting to look up. We have moved the shop desk and filing cabinet from opposite the tire bench to where the wood saw was. We moved the wood saw to the other side of the wall where the green army shelves were. Finally, we moved the shelves to where the shop desk and filing cabinet were. We have emptied the contents of the shelves, discarding all the junk, and refilling the shelves with only the things we will use. The way they are set up now, they provide a backing to the tire counter. We have screwed a 4X8 sheet of plywood to the back of the shelves, so now this area provides a space to hang more tools. This new arrangement provides a more efficient use of space and looks a damn sight better.
SPRAYING MESQUITE
Hilary and I sprayed mesquite along the road in Nana's pasture and behind Nana's house, barn, and Gail's. We also sprayed the mesquite coming up along the runway and around Dad's house.
REBUILDING FENCE
Guero and Abel have been working tirelessly rebuilding fence between Wild Horse Flat and Sabinosa and between Medio and the Bell.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
FRONT-END LOADER WORK
Hilary and I cleaned out the water lots at the shipping corals. I let Hilary run the front-end loader, while I assisted by getting the smaller stuff with the uni-loader. This was Hilary's first time operating the front-end loader; she was intimidated at first but now is fond of bragging about her new skill!
Using the front-end loader, I smoothed out the arroyo near the shipping pens. Hopefully, this will slow erosion and create an easy place to cross when bringing cattle into the pens on horseback.
The girls and I spent a morning working on the area west of the shipping pens where Dad had Felix grub the mesquite years ago. The girls loaded all the firewood-sized pieces into the bucket of the loader and dumped them near the pens. We proceeded to smooth out the area by filling in the holes with the uni-loader.
GUERO AND ABEL'S PROJECTS
Guero and Abel rebuilt fence and added a gate between the Middle Pasture and Campana Pasture.
They fixed the windmill and cemented the tank at CA Trap.
WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
BIRD MONITORING WORKSHOP
Sally, Jo Osterhouse and Martin MacRoberts (John and Linda's bird watching friends) and I attended a Bird Monitoring Workshop at the ranch of Tuda and Jack Crews in Bueyeros, New Mexico. The workshop was put on by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. During the workshop they introduced us to the birds of the short-grass prairie, familiarizing us with their markings, song and habitat. They proceeded to explain how bird monitoring can be used as an important tool in monitoring the health of your ranch land. In addition to the lecture, we were able to go out into the pasture, putting our newfound knowledge into practice under the guidance of Jo and Martin (the birding experts for our group). All in all, the day proved to be quite fun and informative. Sally and I agreed that it made us want to learn more about the birds of the ranch and to include a bird monitoring section to our annual rangeland monitoring. In effect, it opened our eyes to a previously unexplored (and, for the most part, dismissed) area of knowledge.
ARROYO AND GULLY EROSION CONTROL WORKSHOP
(Report contributed by Linda)
Eight of us (Kristen, Sally, John and Linda, Laura and Elliott, joined by Meade and Robin) attended Bill Zeedyk's workshop at the Rainbow Ranch near Folsom in mid-June 2004. Laura and Elliott were intending, on Saturday, just to hang out, having worked hard on Friday; but they got drawn back into the activity and worked harder than anyone else, focusing on diverting stream flow into many channels and rewetting a substantial area of the streambed.
Over dinner in Raton Friday night we briefed Robin and Meade about Bill's teachings:
1. LOOK FIRST: what has changed to cause the erosion? road, culvert, cattle trail? (A big gully there had been caused by a culvert on the highway above, but the flow has recently been diverted and the gully won't enlarge; so he's ignoring it.) Deal with the situation as far upstream as possible.
2. (This surprised us all.) DO THE SMALL STUFF FIRST. For several reasons:
-the effects of small changes add up, "the interest is compounded" and lead to further healing;
-you will see results, be encouraged and do more!
-you can use materials you have, plus your labor; you don't need "the big yellow toys" in order to make significant improvements.
3. The goal is to retain water, help the soil soak it up.
So: SLOW DOWN THE FLOW: spread it out, make it shallower, make the slope gentler and rougher.
Get the water to drop its silt and trash.
Keeping an area wet even for a little while will enable plants to grow, and their roots are the only thing that really prevents erosion. And the plants will further slow the water and trap more silt and trash, retaining more moisture.
Get the water to meander, taking a longer path (thus shallower) over the same slope.
4. PLAN where the water is going to go. It's going to go SOMEWHERE; if you block it from a gully, it will create another. Give it room to flood, as wide and shallow as possible.
Ease it over a drop, decrease the height of fall; harden the base so the water doesn't continue to cut and undercut (rock bowls).
5. RETAIN moisture with several successive small structures (one-rock dams).
6. Gully headwalls will continue to move upstream unless something is changed. Widen and harden the headwall (with rock and perhaps silt cloth); create a rock bowl to retain water which will KEEP THE HEADWALL MOIST and allow roots to form a mat there.
7. MONITOR what you have done, especially after the first flood. Some things won't work. Fix it or try something else.
TWO STRUCTURES WHICH WILL BE USEFUL FOR US:
ONE-ROCK DAM:
- one rock high, closely packed but not stacked
-full width of channel bottom, bedded in a little bit
-3 to 5 parallel rows across the channel
-not high enough to create a scour pool either above or below dam
Rocks create a rough surface which slows the flow of water, which will drop some of its silt and debris which will pack in among the rocks. The level of the bottom will be raised over time (we saw it happen in a few hours on the Dry Cimarron!), moisture will stay longer and encourage growth of plants which will slow the flow and trap more silt and debris... A second layer of rocks can be added later.
One-Rock Dams can also be used to encourage a water channel to meander. Other methods of encouraging meanders are vanes or baffles of posts (in clayey soils) or rocks (in sandy soils) perhaps combined with woven willow or branches.
In Zeedyk's words: "the land is healing itself."
ROCK BOWL:
At the headwall of a gully or where the water drops a few feet (say 1 to 4):
Widen the headcut (to make flow shallower and less powerful).
Line the pool, face and sides of the headcut with rocks up to the original ground level, but not higher.
Next, several feet downstream build a broad and wide rock dam one-half the height of the cut, blending with the sides of the headcut, and layering to blend with the bottom of the gully. The headwall and bowl MAY be lined with silt cloth, which retain sediment but discouarge plant growth.
Downstream 8 to10 feet, build a one-rock dam (or a series of them). This is where a stream will tend to drop more silt and create a riffle or shoal.
OUR LEARNINGS AND PRIORITIES:
Robin:
"I learned that it's possible to stop erosion before it gets bad, with little, simple fixes.
"A priority at the Ranch for me would be to develop water sources. I'd also like to pick some small drainages to treat with the Zeedyk method, and see if we can get some springs to come back."
Steve:
"use (damn) dam dirt to backfill and contour around barn, harvesting water for trees there."
John:
"Little and slow works!
"... creek beds, and riparian areas near house; and watershed above the old tank at the house."
Linda:
"I can't believe how effective little steps are and how they compound over time!
"I was surprised at Bill's saying that when a streambed is cut below the level of a pasture, the water table drains into its lowest level and the whole water table drops. So raising the level of the stream bottom will raise the water table under the pasture.
"I want to stop the little gully which is forming along the fence line down from Alamosa Point. I am also eager to take a look at the creek beds and see how we can retain water there. (Julie Stafford of CS Ranch commented that rotational grazing in their creek pastures - just that - had encouraged water flow in the creek.)"
Sally:
(She was already ˆ from a Zeedyk workshop last fall ˆ full of the effectiveness of "low-tech" methods for erosion control, and thinking of each of us making small-scale one-rock dams when we are out in the pastures and see something.)
She asked Zeedyk about salt cedars; he said he could answer in one sentence and then chuckled and said it had been pointed out that he never answers in one sentence... and talked for 20 minutes. Said the estimates of water consumption were based on lab observations of single plants and multiplied for acre units ˆ far beyond the capacity of the acre to supply solar power, much less water! So estimates are way high. Said also that salt cedar reseeds itself in the fall, therefore difficult to remove it and control new plants in the disturbed ground.
Kristen:
She used the front-end-loader to smooth out the gully behind the Shipping Pens, and is intending to scatter some seed and mulch with the straw/manure there.
Her priorities are Alamosa and Atarque Creeks: get springs flowing again.
Laura and Elliott:
They clearly enjoyed directing water flow across a streambed to rewet the entire area and did not stop until it was all done. I noticed Meade was replanting reeds and grass into the wetted area. Meade commented about the effectiveness of mulching some areas at Las Acequias.
FUTURE PLANS:
Sally, Kristen, John and I have signed up for the Zeedyk workshop on Harvesting Water from Roads at the CS Ranch in mid-October.
Kristen asked Bill if he would come consult at the ranch, including taking a look at the washed-out dam and riparian area below it; said he was busy until October; we are following up on this.
John and I plan to spend a few extra days at the ranch in October and will work on some small(!) projects. By Linda
JUNE RAINFALL
It has finally rained! There was no rainfall recorded for the month of May or the first three weeks of June. However, the rain we have gotten in this last week of June has been just what the doctor ordered. We have had several consecutive evening showers with cloudy, cool days and not too much wind. While we have gotten a total of 2.87 inches at our house, the rain has been spotty across the ranch. For instance, only 1.07 inches was recorded at Alamosa and 1.30 inches at the Red Mill on the West Side. Well, we'll take what we can get and be thankful!
RAINFALL RECORDED AT HOLMES RESIDENCE:
1. Thursday 24th = .42 inch
2. Friday 25th = .27 inch
3. Saturday 26th = .62 inch
4. Sunday 27th = 1.35 inches
5. Tuesday 29th = .21 inch
Total rainfall for June: 2.87 inches
AND OTHER STUFF
Wildlife
While checking the water in the tanks on the West Side, I had both of this month's wildlife sightings. I was parked on the fill at the Medio tank, watching a family of ducks waddle up the canyon. I found it curious that they didn't fly, even though they were obviously big enough. While pondering this strange duck behavior, a repeated squawking noise caught my attention. I soon found the source of the noise&emdash;in the trees below me was an agitated hawk. It kept flying off only to return and squawk some more. As I looked at the hawk through my binoculars, something else caught my eye. Upon further investigation, I discovered that I had parked in the perfect spot to see straight into a nest containing four baby hawks. They were nothing but gray fuzz balls with a head. It made my day!
On a Thankful Note…
I would also like to say how thankful we are that Kelly is on her way to a full recovery after her very serious dirt-bike accident. All our thoughts and prayers are with her.
Your Lovely President,
Kristen
(I would like to acknowledge Caitlin and Hilary's immense help in the production of this newsletter. I would also like to thank Linda for her contribution of the summary of the arroyo workshop. Thank you all so very much! I couldn't have done it without your help...)
