Arrival Day @ Buck’s

Livingston, MT to Sheridan, WY

I started the day fairly early. I had set the alarm for 6, but it didn’t go off because my cell battery was getting low. It beeped incessantly for about an hour before I decided to roll out of bed. Uncle T had been up and gone early to go to Townsend to buy a new ATV and I had heard him get up. I dressed and packed up my stuff and the horses buckets and went and caught up Buena. I tied her to the trailer and went and caught up Mercy. Did a little, and I mean very little, groundwork and went straight to the trailer. We had a few discussions about forward and leading up. Eventually she stepped in. It was pretty much the same as the day before. She’s reluctant to lead up on that initial feel. I got her to lead in further and further each time and eventually she let me feed the lead up into the tie ring. Amazingly, or maybe not, she stayed when I moved the divider over and she only attempted to push on it once and instead of leaning back into it and charging out, she leaned forward and took a small step. I got the divider secured. All of this WITHOUT Aunt M’s help with the back door. It’s improvement!

I had Aunt M hold the trailer door while I secured Buena and within 20 minutes I was on the road. I stopped for diesel before I got on I-90 around 8:15.

At 12:35 I rolled in to Buck’s ranch at 12:35. Thanks to Uncle T, I took a frontage road from Garryowen, MT down to Wyola, MT. Problem is I should have taken it all the way to Ranchester, WY. I was SOOO done with hauling up and down hills on the interstate. One the return trip I will make sure I take the RIGHT road the WHOLE way.

Buena and Mercy are settled into some end pens under the corral shed. They were content to be munching on their hay and sipping their water. Buena was rather insistent that she have something soft to pee in. She was pawing the ground, which is a bit hard, and one I put a small pile of bedding down she happily peed. Mercy, on the other hand, couldn’t wait and peed in part of her hay, at least it was my hay and not the expensive stuff from the feed store!

There are a wide range of folks here. Some from Montana, a couple from Ohio I think. And there’s a woman from Washington who recognized J from K’s back in Yelm, WA.

Ch, J and I ran into Buck tonight and he said the group should be a nice one, and small (only about 13 or 14 people). There is LOTS of work to be done bringing in cattle and possibly retagging them all before they ship. He said the evenings after dinner could be spent doing a lot of roping. I just laughed at that one.