Cowgirl on Horse by Ingrid Curry taken at the Cattle Ranch Photo Workshop

This May, Double Circle Ranch hosted a photography workshop. Tom Whetten of Wildlife Photo Tours came to the ranch and put on a four-day intensive course using the ranch wildlife, livestock, and western scenery as models. We are very pleased that Tom chose the Double Circle Ranch to be the setting for his workshop. He offers photo tours around the world – including African photo safari trips, so just to have Tom Whetten at the ranch is an accomplishment for us.

We kept the class small so students would have individual attention for maximum learning potential. Carol Wien, lifelong rancher who runs a family ranch and refers to herself as CEO of a non-profit organization, made the drive up from Wilcox, Arizona to attend the workshop. Carol is a published author and photographer who is skilled in 35 mm photography and dark room development. Now she is switching to digital and needed some instruction on the new equipment and techniques. She currently uses an Olympus E-520. Ingrid Curry, originally from South Africa, is another professional photographer. She is a world traveler and even worked several years as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. She is always learning and improving on her photography skills – and is always up to an adventure seeing new country and having new subjects to photograph. She brought a Canon 5D MkII to the workshop. Our third student was Doug Dressler – and since he is my husband, I must admit to some bias. Doug shot most of the photos for our website using a point and shoot digital camera. For FIVE years, he has been planning to buy a better camera. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard him complain about the good shot he missed because he didn’t have a camera with a zoom lens. Well, he finally bought a Canon 7D. It arrived the day before the workshop. So Doug needed Tom’s advice on using a totally new (to him) type of camera. The workshop came at exactly the right time.

Ranch Scene by Carol Wien

I am not a photographer. I could mess up a good picture with a camera set on automatic. I just don’t have the touch. So I enjoyed being the behind-the-scenes person. My neighbor and business partner Clarice Holder and I cooked and kept the classroom ready. Early mornings were coffee and homemade sweet rolls before our photographers set out to shoot the scenes in the early morning light. They would return about 10:00 for a regular breakfast and head to the classroom for critiques of their photos and tips on how to improve them. They had a little free time before lunch. I could find them wandering around, cameras in tow, shooting hummingbirds and other birds at our feeders. Supper would be fairly early so they could get back out to photograph in the evening light. In the evenings, Tom would set up his projector and instruct. Most of the information Tom was sharing was way beyond my knowledge level, but our three students learned a lot. I just enjoyed the wonderful photos.

I did get to do what I like best – ride a good horse and herd Texas Longhorn cattle. Our other business partner, Jim Holder, Chris our ranch hand, and myself brought a herd of longhorns down from high country and drove them though some beautiful rock formations and open rangeland. The photographers got to shoot big-horned Texas longhorn steers an arm’s length away. Plus Jim on Nick, his dependable mule, and Chris and I were models. It was great fun for us. We headed the steers right at the students – no one chickened out and headed for a tree – a big set of horns coming right at you can be an intimidating sight! Double Circle Ranch is one of the great American West ranches – and a big herd of Texas Longhorn steers is a scene from days gone by. It makes for great photographs.

But cowboys and longhorns weren’t the only models. The photographers took pictures of a variety of birds, a herd of over 40 elk, antelope including a new fawn, Javalina herds, white-tail and mule deer as well as blooming cactus, spring flowers, old line camps, and beautiful scenery without power lines to mar the open vistas. The photo opportunities are unlimited here at Double Circle Ranch, and Tom was able to teach about close-up and wide-angle shots.

Deer from the Ranch Photography Workshop by Doug-Dressler

Since I am one of the camera-challenged people of the world, I have asked Tom and our students to each send me a photo taken while here and a note about the workshop. Tom will be conducting photo workshops annually here at the Double Circle. We want comments and suggestions so we can make Tom Whetten’s class here a truly wonderful learning experience. Here is what they had to say.

Herding Texas Longhorn Steers by Tom Whetten

If you’re looking for a good time, peace and quiet, wildlife and fresh air, you owe it to yourself to visit the Double Circle Ranch on Upper Eagle Creek, Arizona.  I just completed my four-day Photo Workshop there.  My clients and I stayed in large walled tents with hot and cold running water, individual bathrooms and showers attached to each tent. Along with various species of wildlife, we photographed a Texas Longhorn Cattle Drive up close and personal.  I will definitely put on another photo workshop there, hopefully as soon as this fall.
 
Tom Whetten
WildlifePhotoTour.com

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Butterfly Found on our Guest Ranch

I am thrilled to learn that we have at least 15 species of butterflies here at the Double Circle Ranch. Two ladies from the Central Arizona Butterfly Association (CAZBA) came to the ranch recently to plan for our butterfly gardens. In one afternoon we spotted 15 different kinds of butterflies – and there are undoubtedly many more.

Having a butterfly garden at our classroom site gives our guests another thing to enjoy, provides a teaching tool, and gives another art and photography opportunity for students. I am really excited to have a butterfly garden. I expect we will be searching for volunteers when planting time gets here.

One of our CAZBA ladies is also an accomplished birder. She sighted and added eight species of birds to our ranch bird list. They were able to get some excellent photos too – fox, flowers, birds, and jackrabbits – as well as scenery. It is a small world – they know Tom Whetten and one of the women actually has been on his photography tours.

Many thanks to the Central Arizona Butterfly Association for sending such interesting and pleasant people here to plan for a butterfly garden. We had the neighbors over – actually 7 people total, which is half the entire population here on Eagle Creek – for a great butterfly presentation. I for one will never look at fields of flowers without looking for butterflies now. Fascinating!

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Cowgirl Herding Cattle at the Ranch Photo Workshop

We had a wonderful Cattle Ranch Photography class here at the Double Circle Ranch this month. Tom Whetten is an excellent photography instructor with photo tours worldwide – including African safari photo shoots. We feel fortunate to attract such an accomplished photographer to the ranch. With only three students, there was quality, one-on-one instruction and everyone seemed well pleased with both the class and the ranch.

The wild animals certainly cooperated. Students got photos of at least three different javalina herds, both mule and white-tail deer, antelope including some new fawns, a herd of over 40 elk, and birds, especially the hummingbirds that make the ranch headquarters home in the summer. Plus the scenery is hard to beat here on Eagle Creek.

But our specialty – and a real hit with our photographers – remains the Texas Longhorn steers and working cowboys. Where else can you photograph over 200 Texas Longhorns and walk right among them? I had fun helping drive the steers along bluffs and meadows. Plus I got to herd the cattle right at the photographers – and to their credit no one broke and ran! A big-horned longhorn steer coming right at you can be a scary sight. Of course, all our longhorns are gentle. It is perfectly safe to walk through the herd and take pictures of the ones that catch your eye.

Tom Whetten (left) Leads the Cattle Herding Photo Workshop

In August, I get to herd the steers for photos again. This time it will be for Jerry Deverse’s Western Cowboy art class. Texas Longhorn Steers, cowboys, cowdogs, and cowgirl (that’s me) will be the main subjects.

Anyone – beginner to professional – interested in painting or drawing needs to sign up now. We are only taking up to 6 students.

I can only hope the art students are as much fun as the photography students. It should be illegal to get paid to have that much fun!

*Keep checking our programs – Tom will be offering another class here at the Double Circle Ranch soon.

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April AWPF Erosion Control Workshop

Looks like we will get to have another erosion control workshop on October 22, 23, and 24. We were able to save enough on our costs that the Arizona Water Protection Fund Commission (AWPF) will allow us to use the extra money to do a fourth workshop. Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions, Inc. will teach again. This time we will be doing maintenance on some of the structures we built earlier, plus we will add new structures farther up and down the same drainages. I expect we will fill this workshop early – just like the others. I am grateful to AWPF for funding these useful and fun classes. We are making a difference here at the Double Circle Ranch.

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Late Snow on the Dude Ranch

I just looked out the window today – April 30. The grass needs mowed and the wildflowers are blooming – and it’s SNOWING! I had to look twice to believe my eyes. All last week was in the 80’s. The apples, plum tree, and pears are in full bloom and today it snows at noon! I had to run get my clothes off the line to keep them from getting wet from snow.

I sent Chris out today horseback to move some horses. It was warm early this morning – hope he took a slicker and wool shirt. It is downright cold and the wind is rattling the roof at this cabin. You can’t tell by the feel of today that tomorrow is May 1. I hope it warms up soon – I was enjoying the spring temperatures.

Apple Trees a Bloomin

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April AWPF Workshop

We had a great erosion control workshop last weekend. This is the 3rd one funded by the Arizona Water Protection Fund Commission, and they just keep getting better. Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions, Inc. was the instructor again and put on a good, hands-on class. We had volunteers from as close as next door and as far away as Albuquerque, San Diego, and Los Angeles. It was an interesting group and a bunch of WORKERS. You should see some of the boulders they moved. We built Zuni bowls, one-rock dams, rock-mulch rundowns, media lunas, and post and vane structures. Now we need a good rain to watch them work!

By the way, women aren’t always the weaker sex. These were some strong ladies. The guys had to hustle to keep up with these gals. Everyone had a great time, learned a lot, and hopefully will return here to the Double Circle.

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Former Owner's Family Visit and Share Ranch History

We had the most wonderful visit 2 weeks ago with members of the Wilson family. Their relatives were members of the Double Circle Cattle Company which purchased this cattle ranch in the late 1920’s. They thought they purchased 20,000 head of cattle with the deal – but gathered 26,000. With a million acres of basically wilderness, they surely missed a bunch – probably at least 8000. Heck even today there are wild cattle here. These cattle have never been caught or branded. They are wild as deer and much more dangerous.

The family had lots of stories and old photographs from the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. We had a good time walking around the old headquarter site. We had a picnic lunch under the huge old cottonwoods where countless cowboys and their families probably rested in the shade. In the 1930’s there were a lot more people here at the Double Circle Ranch then there are today. Folks here were tough stock too – had to be to make it here. The Wilson descendants are no exception. Great people. I hope they come back soon.

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Wilderness Survival Class

If you ever wanted to learn how to survive in the wilderness, now is your chance. Come to the Double Circle Ranch and join Vincent Pinto, owner of Ravens Way Nature School and become a survivor. Vincent will be here at the ranch May 21 through the 25th to teach shelter building, tool making, medicinal and edible plants, animal harvesting, navigating by the stars and more. It will be a fun class but it could also save your life – and your family’s or friends’ lives. Check out our programs at the Double Circle Ranch and get signed up asap. This could be the most important knowledge you ever learned!

Sign up now for the Wilderness Survival Skills class.

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Jerry Deverse Western Art - Takin' It Easy

All you artists need to take advantage of Jerry DeVerse’s Western Art Painting class here August 12^th thru the 15^th. Jerry is an excellent art teacher with 25 years of experience teaching high school art classes plus private classes and workshops. Since he teaches all skill levels and in any medium, this workshop at the Double Circle Ranch will have something for everyone. Of course the ranch is always beautiful and there will be plenty to paint or draw.

Personally, I wish I could paint like Jerry. He has won national recognition with a Grumbacher Gold Medallion and 2 Grumbacher Bronze Medallions and is the recipient of the prestigious Phippen Family Cowboy award and many Best of Show awards. His paintings depict ranching life just as it is – in detail. And they are beautiful. But I have about as much art talent as I do music talent – a big zero. I will be herding the Texas Longhorn steers for the real artists to paint. At least I can ride a good horse even if I can’t draw one.

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Dee Bar, Our New Dude Ranch Horse

I am just as tickled to get a new horse as I was when I got my first very own pony almost 55 years ago. Where some women buy jewelry or shoes with matching handbags, I buy horses. Of course horses can’t be stuffed in a closet. They come complete with needs – feeding, shoeing, doctoring – all of which cost money. But who wants a closet full of shoes when they could be out riding a good horse in wide open country!

I bought three horses from Texas. One is Poncho, Chris Farris’ sorrel gelding – a real nice little horse that should work out well here at the Double Circle Ranch. Poncho will be gathering some strays tomorrow- already earning his feed.

Then Chris had a friend who had gone off to college and wasn’t using his horse. It is a mare and I don’t usually buy mares, but this gal is one of the sweetest-natured, gentle horses that anyone can ride safely – plus she rides well and ropes, etc. – good little ranch horse. She’s a little thin and needs a set of shoes but is going to be a keeper. She’ll be used a lot on our guest cattle drives, team building challenges, and trail rides. She isn’t a tall horse but big enough and will be real pretty when all her winter hair sheds off.

My third new horse is unusual. He is an extremely well bred big sorrel – a real looker. He was kept to be a stallion on a good quality, small size AQHA ranch near San Antonio. Unfortunately, his owner became bedridden for a long time and finally died leaving his widow with her hands full of weanlings, yearlings, broodmares and two stallions. Meantime “Dee Bar” became a gelding and was sent for training as a reiner. After that training, the horse basically didn’t get to do much. He got trail ridden by a neighbor occasionally, but spent most of his time in pens or stalls. So he is 7 going on 3 in training. But he is even tempered and very smart – and absolutely gorgeous. We hope he will make a great ranch horse – he certainly has the potential.

I think my husband has put a stop to horse buying – at least for a while.

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Chris Farris the New Dude Ranch Hand

Well, we finally made it home after two weeks back East. Sure was good to see our working dude ranch again. I thought I would fill my empty trailer on the way West – and I did better than I thought. I filled two horse trailers and hired a young cowboy till he goes back to school in August. I got a good deal all the way around. Doug, Roland, and I can sure use the extra set of hands to catch up on ranch work and get our horses back in shape after the winter.

We were lucky to get Chris Farris from Ennis, Texas. He is one of the young generation that gives us old folks hope for the future. At 20, he owns his own horse shoeing business, has his own gear and horses, truck and trailer, and is going to ranch school to learn A-I, livestock health, etc. – a young man with a plan and his head on straight. Plus he is a good hand – easy on the stock and handy as a pocket. I called Chris’s ad on a ranch gelding and bought the horse, hired Chris, and had him haul the horse and another horse on his way out here. Sometimes things just work out well that way.

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Erosion Control Workshop Lunch Break

We are filling up early – again – for the erosion control workshop in April. People are coming from the Los Angeles area, San Diego, New Mexico, Tucson, Phoenix and northern Arizona. I love to see new people here at the Double Circle and also to see old volunteers, who have become friends, show back up. Together we get a ton of work done and have a great time. I hope we can get funded for more of these Craig Sponholtz – Dryland Solutions workshops in the future. This is a small conservation project compared to some city and county projects, but the cumulative effects are very beneficial to the Eagle Creek watershed. Plus we are training people how to slow erosion, and they are using the training to help their watersheds in three different states. This is a great project and we are proud to host it!

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Dude Ranch Horses in Snow

We will be traveling across country to haul my retired dude ranch horse to Tennessee. Something about hauling an empty trailer back just galls me. So, we are stopping in Texas to look at horses for sale. I need a personal horse replacement – Cadillac will be hard to replace. Plus I have room for two horses- so I might as well buy two – if I can find what I like. We always keep a string of good ranch horses at the Double Circle Ranch. You can’t work cattle on 50,000 acres without horses- and good ones at that. Plus we have people coming for cattle drives, trail rides, and riding lessons. We want everybody well mounted.

Anyone out there who has good, solid, broke geldings for sale along I-10, e-mail me. Some women buy shoes , some buy knick knacks, I buy longhorns and cowponies. Shoes would be a lot cheaper!

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Cadillac - The Dude Ranch Horse

Well, an anticipated sad day is fast approaching. My old reliable dude ranch horse is getting retired. Old Cadillac just isn’t holding his weight out on pasture and the mountainous terrain is getting too tough on him. He has so much try in him that I am afraid he will hurt himself trying to work like he did as a young horse. I hate to see him go – he has been a darn good horse for a lot of years. Cadillac has done a lot – been a 1^st rate trail horse and cowpony, ponied young horses, led pack horses, been a demo horse at riding clinics, taught handicapped kids to ride, and even refereed polo matches.

He is lucky though. I am hauling him to my friend Cele’s house in Tennessee. Cele is a genius at getting old stock in shape and taking care of them. She will get to ride Cadillac on easier rides and use him in clinics. Hopefully, she will remember that he can still turn out from under you and get gone in a hurry if asked. You have to ride this old gelding.
However, something about hauling an empty trailer back across country galls me. I will stop in Texas on the way back and try and buy two more ranch horses. I doubt I will replace Cadillac – but I will try. If I get a horse to be half as good for half as long, I’ll have my money’s worth.

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Texas Longhorn Cattle in Snow

We are going to have a wonderful spring – because we are sure getting the winter moisture this year! We had another 12 inches of snow or so in our higher country and almost 2 inches of rain in the lower ground. Grass is going to explode here in another month. There should be fat stock and healthy wildlife this year. Plus these wet snows sure are pretty. It isn’t what most people think that southern Arizona looks like, that’s for sure. Of course, guests to the Double Circle Ranch get a lot of surprises when they come here, like rolling grassland as far as the eye can see, tall pines, clear mountain creeks, and mountain ranges stretching for what seems like forever. And yes, we do have cactus!

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Visitin at the Old Double Circle Lodge

We have people signing up for our programs this spring. The erosion workshop will be full quickly and the other classes are filling up too. We have people coming from close by and far away. Anyone attending a class or program here is always welcome to come early or stay later than the program lasts. Tell us what your interests are and we can arrange for however many extra days you would like. We can take you horseback riding, herding longhorns, hiking, swimming or just relaxing by the campfire listening to Roland’s guitar, (no rap music please!). That is what makes custom ranch vacations at our version of a dude ranch so special. We design a day around what you want to do – even just a single person. You aren’t roped into set times and plans with a big group of people. It is like owning your own ranch for a day – or a month. Coming to the Double Circle Ranch is an EXPERIENCE – not just a vacation.

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Cowboy Art - 4th Generation on the WD by Jerry Deverse

Jerry Deverse will be coming to the Double Circle Ranch when the weather breaks. He will be going to different areas on the ranch to pick painting sites for his Western art painting class August 12-15. He chose August because we tend to get some spectacular afternoon thunderstorms. Now that is great for people to take pictures and then go to a nice, dry, spacious classroom to paint. I however will be horseback moving the Texas Longhorn steers- in the storm. I really don’t mind – I always keep plenty of slickers.

I was thinking about Jerry’s workshop. That is the deal of the year for either beginning or professional artists! You get a comfortable walltent with private bath, 3 home cooked meals a day, the most beautiful western scenery you’ve ever seen, transportation on the ranch, personal instruction from a great western artist, and models – cowboys, cowgirls, horses, and lots of colorful Texas longhorn cattle. At $650.00 all inclusive, it is cheaper than model fees alone would be. What a deal!

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Wide Open Spaces on the Dude Ranch

Yesterday I passed a new truck on Eagle Creek Rd. The driver rolled down his window and asked if I lived here. When I said yes and pointed the direction to my cabin, he said I was sure the lucky one – getting to live here. And he is right. He and his buddy come from Tucson and Colorado. Javelina hunting is their excuse, but the real reason they come he said was to ride their horses. They come a long distance every chance they get just to get to ride in this beautiful, wide open place. If they get a hog, it is OK but not that important.

I have to remember that hardly anyone has this much space to ride their horses. It is a vanishing luxury to be able to ride for days in any direction. I can ride from Ponderosa pine high country to open grassland to clear creek bottoms – and never leave the Double Circle Ranch. It might take four days to get from Eagle Creek to high country – but it can be done.

That is one of the many good things about custom ranch vacations at our dude ranch. If one person wants to ride all day, I’ll take him. I never pass up an excuse to be horseback all day. If their spouse would rather swim in the creek or photograph the wildlife, one of us will take him to do that. Doug is the best with a camera – and will be better after Tom Whetten’s ranch photography workshop this spring. But we will all be back together at supper. No one wants to miss a home-cooked meal after being out in the fresh air all day. Evenings are for relaxing and enjoying the night sounds by a good campfire. Roland plays a good cowboy song too.

Darn right I am lucky to live at the Double Circle Ranch. Most people just get to be here a few days. They carry back their memories – I get to stay!

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Northern Cardinal at Feeder

I have been keeping bird feeders full at both houses here at the Double Circle Ranch. I enjoy seeing the variety of birds we get here. Some I can’t identify. I am really looking forward to Bob Luce’s birding class so I can learn more. Every morning we have 20-40 birds – except yesterday. There were no birds at the feeder. I went out to see if squirrels or some critter ( javelina raid the seed on the ground) had eaten everything. The problem wasn’t lack of seed – it was hawks. We had a Red Tailed and a Sharp-Shinned Hawk in the trees waiting to catch their breakfast. They flew before I could get a picture. Today the birds are back.

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In the past, cowboys, some of them famous like Tom Blassingame and J. Frank Dobie, signed up to work at the Double Circle Ranch because it was tough. It was a badge of cowboy honor to have put in a season at the Circles. You were a pretty darn good hand to make it at this ranch.

Cowboy on Horse Crossing Flooded Eagle Creek

Well, it hasn’t changed much. People who work and live here on Eagle Creek have to be hardy. Roland Davidson took this job when he could have gotten more money at an easier job because he wanted to work at the historic Double Circle. Thank goodness – cause I sure need a hand.

The picture wasn’t taken years ago – it was a couple of weeks ago during the flood. The cowboys work for our neighbors Cash and Crystal Noland who own JR’s Fence Company. They are redoing an old fence line for us and the pack stock was on the wrong side of Eagle Creek when work was to begin. They are swimming the stock across so they can get to building fence. Got to be tough – better swim well too!

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Wet Red Tailed Hawk in the Snow

This has been a great week for seeing wildlife at the Double Circle Ranch. Doug and Roland saw the biggest flock of turkey that Doug had ever seen – about 40 birds. Roland saw a family of about 8 coatimundi. We have a bald eagle at the cabin and a golden eagle at Smith Canyon. Montezuma quail coveys are an everyday sight. Three times this week we have ridden up on javelina. Deer seem to be everywhere- mule deer and whitetail. The herd of antelope is still around our driveway. A pair of coyotes trailed me down the road. We have seen several fox and heard a bobcat. All seems to be well with the wildlife – and that is good news.

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Super Bowl Sunday with Friends on Eagle Creek

When you live this remote and your neighbors are few and miles away, you really appreciate and enjoy them. Super Bowl Sunday was a good example. We all went to Errol’s house to watch the Super Bowl. Doug and I don’t have TV and neither does Roland, so we always head to the Holders’ or Errol’s for Super Bowl. Errol was the host this year. We had a great time and lots of good food. Errol had fresh salmon from his family in Washington – he always seems to have fresh Alaskan crab right off the boat or something else wonderful. Clarice and I brought goodies – Clarice baked. I rode cattle all day and just grabbed snack food to take to the game. It is impossible to bake cookies and herd cattle both in 1 morning – Clarice bakes better than I do anyway. So it is just as well. To be honest, I would much rather be herding longhorn cattle than cooking anyway!

Isn’t it odd that city people who have neighbors all around them never seem to know their neighbors? Here our closest neighbor is a couple of miles away – and he isn’t always home. Everyone else – all 3 households – is from 3 to 7 miles away. But we know each other well. And we can count on each other for anything and everything. Good neighbors are a blessing. Hey, having TV for the once-a-year Super Bowl is just another plus. Good company and a friend when you need one is the main thing.

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Water Tank Skidder

Here is another of Doug’s devices. The problem was how to get two 5000 gallon poly water tanks to the top of a hill where the old road had washed out. A tractor could climb the hill but couldn’t carry the bulky tanks. Doug’s a big fan of the old-time logging railroads, which used log skidders in the backwoods to move logs. Solution – take two 16-inch plastic pipes about 12 feet long left over from who-knows-what project, drill some holes and insert metal pipes between the pipes and anchor them together – instant light weight, slides easily tank skidder. Doug used the Kubota tractor to pull the sled up the hill with 1 tank at a time. Worked like a charm, no tracks or ground disturbance. Plus 2 people can hand load the sled onto a flat bed to go to other parts of the ranch. It is handy and cost nothing – thanks to the junk pile and a creative husband who, like me, tries very hard to avoid having to make a town trip for anything.

5000 Gallon Poly Water Tank

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Ranch-Made Well Pipe Roller

30 years ago we took a family trip to Alaska. It was beautiful and we had a great time. But I kept wondering why people had so much seemingly junk around their property. Now I understand. In fact we have become a junk collecting family. It all has to do with being so far from town. Anything possible to avoid the dreaded “town day” is fair game. I am getting pretty good at substitutions in menus – if a dish turns out unrecognizable, you just rename it and act like it was planned. Who knows different?

But Doug had become a master of creativity in ranch equipment. We use heavy wall HDPE pipe for all our well pump installations for longevity and ease of installation. If you need a well pump pulled out or installed here on Eagle Creek, a well driller will charge $500.00 or so just to bring a rig up here. So it pays to pull pumps yourself. Doug “built” this apparatus from an old salvaged straight axle with rims, some scrap angle iron and rebar and a motor hoist for extra support. Looks weird – but we pulled not 1, but 3 solar pumps – at 400+ feet depth – from our livestock solar well using this Doug designed contraption and a Kubota 4-wheeler. So, all this scrap metal saved us about $700.00. Plus we have it in the yard with all the other “may come in handy” pieces in case we need to pull more pumps in the future.

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Coati on the Cliff

Last week I was talking to a neighbor who is an avid mountain lion hunter. He is running into an unusual number of coatimundi, or cotamundi, while hunting – throws his dogs off lion scent. I have seen a few coatis on our ranch recently, usually a solitary male. On the way to town yesterday a coatimundi posed for us right beside the road. He was totally unconcerned as we took pictures. I have had a lone coati come right down the middle of our driveway and actually make me go off the side as he claimed the road. My sister who lives in Tennessee has never seen a coatimundi – never heard of the critter. So Sis, here is a picture to help you make sense of my description. See – they do look kind of like a raccoon/badger/monkey cross.

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3. Location & Directions

Roland, Our New Cowboy on the Hard Working Dude Ranch

Roland , our new cowboy, doesn’t have the luck of the Irish. He sure hired on when things were tough at the Double Circle. He walked right into checking the roughest fence on the place. Then we moved the steers to the rough country right as the storm started. Before we had everything gathered and on the 13-mile trail drive, it rained, sleeted, and snowed on us. But the worst thing was the cattle. They were sensing the storm and almost impossible to drive. We got the bulk into Main Pasture, but we have cattle scattered over at least 15 miles (that we know of). Of course, it is ice and mud everywhere, and we can’t ride after the bunch quitters. No telling where they are by now. A horse can’t stand on the steep slopes when they are icey – much less gather cattle. Roland is sure going to earn his keep gathering steers this week – or whenever the weather breaks.

Related posts:

1. New Ranch Hand and Cowboy Chris Farris
2. Cowboy Art Classes on our Western Guest Ranch
3. Wanted: A Real Cowboy

Working Dude Ranch Cabin

Did you ever see Ma and Pa Kettle at the Farm? I can relate to their situation. I have been moving frying pans and buckets all over the cabin to catch the leaks. Our cabin started as a smokehouse – and hasn’t improved all that much. We do have running water and don’t have to carry it up from Eagle Creek. Now we even have solar – finally – with real lights and a refrigerator. Someone many years ago added another 2 tiny rooms and INDOOR plumbing. What a blessing. But the old roof leaks like a sieve. The porch leaks so badly that I have to keep sweeping water so it doesn’t run in the house. Furniture gets moved around and buckets and pans hold growing pools of rain. I feel like Pa Kettle. When it is raining, you can’t fix the roof. When it is sunny, you don’t need to fix the roof. We even have the new roof material. But putting it up seems to get put behind finishing a fence or hauling hay or moving cattle – you know – the everyday stuff on a ranch. But BEFORE next rain/snow – maybe we will fix the roof – this time.

Related posts:

1. Storm Warnings and High Water
2. New Cowboy on the Ranch
3. Retiring an Old Dude Ranch Horse

January Snow on the Working Dude Ranch

Well, I guess the weather people got the storm warning right. It looks like Colorado, not southern Arizona here on the ranch. We need the moisture – but it would be nice to spread it around a little. We are pushing 3 inches of rain and it’s sleeting right now. Plus there is still snow on the ground and 100% chance of more accumulation tonight. But not as much as a little north of us. Blue Vista overlook has 6 foot drifts and is still getting snow. Apparently, ADOT has given up trying to plow Highway 191 and just put up “Road Closed” barricades. They have run out of barricades there are so many closed roads. The town of Alpine is out of power and no one can drive there to fix it. Here on Eagle Creek we never have power – so we wouldn’t miss it anyway. That is one advantage to being 100% off grid!

Actually high water in the creek crossings is our biggest travel problem. We tend to get stuck on whatever side of the creek we are on when the water comes up. Right now Eagle Creek is impassable. It had 6000 cubic feet per second today at the pump station on Lower Eagle. Average is less than 50 cubic feet per second – big difference. We haven’t even bothered to go check Sheep Wash and Smith Canyon crossings – probably up also. Wait till that 6 feet of snow above us melts – we are going to have some WATER!

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1. Water on the Ranch
2. Ma and Pa Kettle on the Ranch
3. Looking for Two Good Dude Ranch Horses

Cattle Country?

Well, a long dreaded day is fast approaching. We are moving the cattle to Main Pasture this week. When we first bought the ranch 6 years ago and drove up the Coronado Trail, the Main Pasture was the first part of the ranch we could see. I thought at the time that it must be impossible to turn out cattle and actually gather them back out in that country. It is one steep mountain after the other. 6,000 acres of woods and canyons a billy goat would have trouble traveling. But cattle have grazed there for years. Unfortunately, it has been probably 15 years since it has been grazed and the trails are all brushed up. I talked to our neighbor who ranched similar country where the Blue Mountain Primitive Area is now. They used catch dogs to locate cattle and hold them up, roped and sidelined the cattle, then brought them out. They also had 2 camps and took 2 months gathering at each – and still missed about 20% of the cattle. He said they always had some yearlings to brand the next year. This country is not for the faint-hearted!

But next time we use the pasture- probably 2 years from now- I’ll have a feel for the lay of the land. I’ll know where the water is, where old trails are, and hopefully have new trails from the cattle. This year will be hard – then it will seem easier every time we graze Main Pasture. One thing for sure, this is not a pasture we will take guests riding in. I am just glad we have a new cowboy. If he makes this cut, he is a keeper!

Related posts:

1. New Cowboy on the Ranch
2. Sustainable Ranching – Grazing vs Non-Grazing
3. Lush Spring Coming!

Pulling Water Lines

Today Doug and I start pulling water lines – again. Some of them are along old roads where we can use the 4-wheeler, but most will have to be pulled with a horse. Sometimes a short section can be hand pulled, but that pipe gets heavy pretty darn quickly. It will be a relief to have a new water system in. Right now we have 26 pastures (as best as I can figure) with NO natural water. Every dirt tank is bone dry! Fortunately, we have springs and creeks in 5 pastures. But the bulk of the ranches – both the Double Circle and Anchor Ranches – is dry now. We have one water system that serves 9 small pastures, 2 water systems that serves 1 pasture each, and a water system that serves 3 pastures. The new system will add water to 5 pastures. It is a lot of work but vital to both the livestock and wildlife. We will keep plugging away until we have the ranch well watered. We leave water in troughs year-round for the wildlife. Everyone benefits. Anyone want to volunteer to help?? We have to build and install wildlife ramps too – always plenty of work at the Double Circle Ranch.

Pit Bull Fuser

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1. Ranch Equipment Inventions
2. Water on the Ranch in Winter

Belle the Cowdog Worried

Belle Starr the cowdog met her match the other day before the last snow. It had gotten dusty again and the Arizona wind was really whipping up. A big dust devil started by the porch and up our driveway. Belle apparently thinks her job description includes running intruders away. She gave chase – just raising a ruckus. Every hair on that pup was standing straight up. She must have been real pleased at how that monster was running from her, the fierce protector of her small universe. But she got in the dust storm. It must have stung her up a bunch. She came back down the driveway like the devil himself was trying to catch her. I didn’t know she could move that fast. Her ears were flat on her head and her tail between her legs and she was MOVING. She didn’t stop ’til she was safe on the porch. Then she peeped around the side and let out one very quiet bark just to show me she wasn’t afraid. She sure didn’t want the dust devil to hear her and go for round two!

Related posts:

1. Training Belle Star the Cowdog
2. Belle Starr the Outlaw Herding Dog

Rough Ranch Country

Years ago, three of the Fillamin kids, ages 10-14 drove a herd of cattle to the Double Circle Ranch from Calva – by themselves. Now that was probably a 4 day drive across some wild country with no roads and lots of bear, lion, rattlesnakes, and probably wolves. It was no problem, just everyday business 70-odd years ago. Today you would probably be arrested for child abuse if you sent kids out with a job like that. Heck, most adults today couldn’t do that drive. Can you imagine going to a suburban mall and taking 3 kids that age, giving them horses, some sourdough biscuits and beef jerky, and pointing them at cattle in the distance and the general direction they needed to go and turning them loose? Talk about a wreck! We are losing a lot of self-reliance and just plain old gumption with all our modern lifestyle.

Yesterday I visited with a neighbor – a kid younger than my grandson, probably around 18 or 19 years old. He is riding fence for the ranch that borders us on our eastern boundary. Now that is some rough country – beautiful to be sure and with plenty of water and forage – but ROUGH. This young man – Josh – lives by himself miles from anyone – on a road that needs a 4WD in good weather and is impassable in muddy or snowy conditions. His job is to ride all day and lead a pack mule or two to patch fence. Now this is thousands of acres of basically wilderness. He might have to camp out for days because it is too far to ride to headquarters. Plus he rides a lot of young stock to put hours and training on the colts. He thinks nothing at all about it. Riding the fence is his job – no big deal. But in 2010 it truly is a BIG deal. Thank goodness for ranch-raised kids who know how to work, can take care of themselves, and have the gumption to cowboy on big, wild ranches.

Related posts:

1. New Cowboy on the Ranch
2. Retiring an Old Dude Ranch Horse
3. New Ranch Hand and Cowboy Chris Farris

Clarice Holder

They say that what you are doing on January 1^st is what you will be doing all year. Well, Roland and I moved cattle – that is definitely an all-year job. Doug worked on a truck most of the day – unfortunately that seems to be a continuous thing too – keeping everything up and running. Then we all went to the Holders for supper. Clarice makes the BEST chicken enchiladas! I have her recipe, but my enchiladas are passable – hers are scrumptious. I have no idea why. I only hope we will have Clarice’s chicken enchiladas frequently all year. Now that would be a treat!

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Tom Whetten Photography Class

Photography buffs – listen up! Tom Whetten is coming to the Double Circle Ranch May 6-9. He will be teaching a Photography Class guaranteed to increase your camera skills whether you are an amateur or professional. Tom has traveled everywhere shooting the most amazing photos. He even leads an African Photo Safari. We won’t be shooting giraffes here – but we will be shooting the real Great American West complete with working cowboys and Texas Longhorn steers. And the scenery and wildlife is pretty hard to beat too. Tom will divide his time between actual photo shoots and classroom tips and instruction. It will be fun and educational, and you will go home with a set of photos that will be the envy of friends and family. Tom is giving us a special introductory rate of $750.00 all inclusive – a substantial discount and quite the bargain. Can’t beat it. Come on out.

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1. Cattle Ranch Photography Workshop a Big Success!
2. Nature and Ranch Photography Workshop with Tom Whetten
3. Tom Whetten

Mearns Quail

Get out your binoculars and come to the ranch! Bob Luce, world traveler and author, is coming to the Double Circle and leading a birding class. This class is geared to beginning birders – you don’t need to know how to tell one sparrow from the other. It is a great way to reconnect to nature and appreciate the beauty and diversity around us. This class is perfect for families too – bring the kids age 12 and up – and ask about a family discount. Actually, this adventure is a bargain – $800.00 all inclusive, includes wall tents with private baths, 3 home cooked meals a day, all transportation on the ranch, 2 guided hikes with Bob daily, and evening programs. Bob is a retired wildlife biologist – so expect to learn about the furry and slithery critters at the Double Circle as well as the feathered ones.

Bring comfortable shoes – you are going to be hiking dry canyons, riparian habitat, upland range – a little of everything is here at the ranch. The trip is planned for April 29 – May 3, 2010 to take advantage of the migratory neo-tropical birds that pass through. It will be an experience to remember. Be sure to pack camera too, the scenery and wildlife are spectacular. Let us know if you would like to extend your stay and ride the range with our cowboys on this working cattle ranch. We’ll design a custom vacation you will love.

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1. Date Set for Bob Luce’s Intro to Birding Class
2. Birding Workshop
3. Birding Workshop

Cow Dogs Herding Cattle

On a ranch as big as the Double Circle, a pair of cattle dogs is well worth their keep. I have heard it said by ranchers that a good dog is worth four cowboys. That may be a slight stretch – or not – if it is a REALLY good dog. We have 2 grown dogs – plus Belle Starr the pup. Katie is a black and white Border Collie-Mcnabb cross. Our partners, the Holders, bred their female to a neighbors’ cowdog and generously gave us a pup. Copper is a red border collie. She was actually on death row at the local dog pound. I never stop at the pound – but I felt like I needed to stop there last year when I did the town run. There she was – hunkered in a corner of her cage looking terrified. I couldn’t leave her. Fortunately Doug wasn’t mad – he loves her too. She had eight puppies and they had all been put down already. Someone had kept Copper and her pups in a cage for a year and a half. The pups hadn’t been touched – ever. They were killed as unadoptable. Copper is great. She is getting older and has arthritis. I only take her out part of the time, but it really hurts her feelings to be left home. She lives to work and to please. Copper has a heart of gold, not copper. A gem.

Here are a couple of photos of the dogs going back after a young steer who didn’t want to keep up. They pass him, turn behind him, and drive him to the herd. Saves me going back for him. Steers need to know that they are expected to join the cattle drive. They get herd broke with time. But stragglers and hiders need to be made to join up and not let get away with escaping. Dogs sure are handy to teach them!

CowDogs Herding Texas Longhorns

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Winter weather on the ranch - Horses in the snow

Well, the north wind did blow and we did get snow. But it didn’t last long. There is still snow on the mountains and in our high country and some ice in shady spots on the road, and it is supposed to snow more tomorrow night. Snow is a good thing here. It melts slow and soaks into the ground. It recharges springs and the water table – but it sure makes it harder to get the chores done. We had 3 days in a row with single digit temperatures – and it isn’t officially winter yet! I have relocated my silk wild rags, dug out the long handles and wool shirts. My chinks have been replaced by chaps for winter. Lined gloves have taken the place of thin leather work gloves. But my heart isn’t in it. Part of me is screaming NOOOOO – not cold yet, please. I think I will have some hot chocolate and sit by the fire for a spell.

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1. Lush Spring Coming!
2. Spring Snow!

Belle Star Cowdog in Training

Well, Belle our cowdog has to grow up a little. We took her to Casa Grande this week and spent two days with her breeders. I picked up a lot of pointers- mainly to be firmer and MAKE her mind. She is still just a big, bouncy pup but it is time to really work on voice commands. I can’t turn her loose on cattle because she won’t stop and go down. She just moves the cattle at her discretion – which can be just the opposite of where I want to go. Next pup I get will be 8 weeks old instead of 4 months old. From day one it will be taught to obey basic voice commands. Belle is pretty set in her ways, so teaching her will be a little harder. But she is the smartest dog I have ever owned and has great instincts. She will be worth the extra trouble. These 1200 lb. Texas Longhorns sure do pay attention to a 25 lb. dog! Now my cowdog just needs to pay attention to me!

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1. Herding Dust Devils
2. Belle Starr the Outlaw Herding Dog

I have another open range tale. About 3 years ago we were driving 300+ head of cows to our high-country winter pasture. The last 5 miles is on a paved road. Now that is the only stretch of paved road for 100 miles and people seem to try and make up for all the dirt roads by driving like racecar drivers on the one paved road. 300 cows do tend to fill up a two lane road, so we decided to have truck’s front and rear as cow escorts – slow drivers down and warn them of 4-legged obstacles in the road. So we had a friend from France driving behind the cattle and our partner Clarice Holder driving in front. Whenever a car would come, the ladies would flag it down and explain the situation. Most people pulled over and got their video recorders or cameras out. They enjoyed the show. Clarice had trouble with one lady. She didn’t want to hear Clarice’s explanation. She was important and in a big hurry. So Clarice politely informed her that Arizona is an open range state. If she drove her fancy car into a cow, well, too bad for her. She would owe us for the cow, and we would not be obligated to fix her car. The lady was obviously not impressed with Arizona law and still in a hurry. Clarice said “Hey, just step on the gas – we need to sell some cows anyway.” The lady slowed down when she came face to face with the herd!

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1. Cattle Herding in an Open Range State
2. Horseback Riding in Wide Open Spaces
3. Ride The Range: Five Day Cattle Drive

Open Range Herding Cattle On the Road

Arizona is an open range state. That’s a good thing. It means that cattle or other livestock have the right of way. If my cows are in your garden, you fence the cows out – I don’t have to fence the cattle in. Makes perfectly good sense to me.

I was driving about 100 head down our county road today to take them to a new waterin’ hole. They were strung out single file and walking nice and easy and all was right with the world. Of course 100 steers single file stretch out quite a ways, and our road is one S turn after another. Bottom line is that I couldn’t see the front steers at all. All of a sudden the line of steers stops. I can’t see what the problem is from the back – but then I heard a rifle – close by. Then another shot and steers scattered like quail. Some ran back up the road – some north, some south – nothing forward. Then another shot and it dawned on me that someone was shooting my cattle. I commence hollering like a banshee and dodging steers – aiming for the sound of a rifle. I rounded the curve full tilt – and there was a fellow – a stranger – shooting his rifle in the air to get the cattle off the road. I guess he couldn’t wait to let the steers go around his truck. Without thinking I gave the man a pretty unladylike speech and started regathering the cattle. He was in a hurry and just was trying to scare the cattle out of the road – which he did quite well. Took me a while to start out again and the steers stayed spooky the whole way. Must have been city folk, always in a hurry to get nowhere!

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1. Another Open Range Tale
2. Ride The Range: Five Day Cattle Drive
3. Cattle Herding 101

ADA Grant Application Work

I have been writing a grant to get some work finished on the ranch. This sounds easy, but don’t let that fool you. I do believe that professional grant writers earn every penny of their fees! Unfortunately, a regular person is hard pressed to decipher a grant application and turn it into regular English. I will read directions several times and come up with different ideas on what they really are asking. I’ll finally get Doug to read it also and we’ll take the best guess at translation. It is tricky. I don’t know who in the federal government designs these applications. They must be geniuses who don’t realize that everyday ranchers don’t have a clue as to what they mean. Last year some of the grant money didn’t get used in Arizona – it was too hard to write a grant for it! That kind of defeats the purpose of having sound conservation practices put on the ground by the people who live on the ground. Go figure.

At any rate, I called the Arizona rep for this USDA grant and told her I was mailing it out Friday and hoped I did it correctly and that she could understand everything I wrote. I guaranteed her that my response to their questions would be easier to understand then the questions were! She laughed and said that I should try and read and evaluate all the grants. She has a point. I can work for a few hours on a grant and then go saddle up and ride. She has to do this 40 hours a week! Tougher than me.

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1. Wanted: A Real Cowboy

Cowgirl in a Slicker Herding Cattle

We sure do need some rain. This is the driest, dustiest I have ever seen it here. A few of the steers have a cough. Jim and Clarice said it was just from the dust. They would know being from here for generations. I am a Tennessee gal originally. The Smoky Mountains never get this dry. This is the driest monsoon we have had in 116 years according to the news. I hope it is another 116 years before another year this dry. The old-timers claim that this winter will be extra wet after the dry summer and fall. Hope they are right. The rain/snow will be too late to make grass grow, but it will recharge springs, creeks, dirt tanks and raise the water table. I am ready for rain, hail, sleet, or snow – anything WET! I don’t mind toting a slicker behind my saddle..

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1. Trading Chinks for Chaps
2. Lush Spring Coming!
3. Spring Snow!

Thanksgiving on the Ranch

It’s Thanksgiving! And a beautiful day to boot. I have so much to be thankful for. Friends and family – most I don’t see very often – but they are always with me. Good neighbors – and a few miles between us. A good cowpony and the strength to still saddle up and ride all day. Texas longhorns in every bovine color imaginable. Enough range that, if I wanted to ride the boundary, I would need a pack horse and a 10-day supply of grub. Wide open space with miles of mesa, mountain and canyon in every direction. Clear skies with thousands of stars that city folk have never seen. Sun, wind, and wild critters – just about everything a person could ask for. And number 1 – a good husband who can always be counted on and who doesn’t complain that we had leftover chili and day-old cornbread instead of turkey and trimmings for Thanksgiving dinner. After all, I had cattle to herd and didn’t finish ’til dark.

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Mule Deer Doe

I have been riding and herding the steers almost every day since we are short of help. Every day I see lots of wildlife on the Double Circle. There is a herd of 10 mule deer in one canyon, 2 sets of two deer in the next canyon, 6 muleys farther east, and 4 mule deer along the road. That is just what I have ridden up on. But they are all does. I haven’t seen a buck since deer season. Unit 27 – where we are – had 312 mule deer harvested last year according to Arizona Game and Fish. This year there was something like 900 mule deer tags for Unit 27 —- that’s a lot of bucks! Of course, everyone doesn’t get a buck.

Some families just use hunting season as an excuse to come to the mountains and camp. I can understand that — it is BEAUTIFUL here. It seems to me that 312 bucks is pretty good. Us ranchers must be managing our resources for wildlife habitat pretty darn well.

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1. Hunting Mule Deer
2. Cleaning Up after Hunting Season
3. Antelope in the Fall

Mountain Lion Hunter

We must be doing well on our wildlife habitat work. We are always working on improving rangeland health for the critters who make this ranch home. One good indicator of wildlife health is the presence of predators. If deer, antelope, rabbit, birds etc are abundant, predators thrive.

We are blessed with our share of carnivores – wolves, black bear, coyotes, and LIONS. I have never been anywhere that had so many mountain lions. Lion tags are sold here for $20.00 and you can take 5 lions on one tag. Even with the lion hunters and the government depredation hunters, there are still lots of lion here. Most people never get a chance to see a free roaming lion in their lifetimes. Doug and I have seen at least 20 in the past 5 years. One jumped off a bank and almost landed on our truck hood – talk about waking you up! There was an older man on a 4-wheeler behind us. Good for him that the lion jumped on us and not him. A big tom lion in your lap from out of nowhere would be enough to make you get out the nitro tablets.

Another time I was riding and noticed a cow acting strangely. I rode over to see what was bothering her and rode right up on a lion with a fresh-killed calf. We had a Mexican standoff. I didn’t want to act like I was going to take the kill – but I also didn’t want to run and get chased. The lion didn’t want to leave the calf. Fortunately for me I was on an old ranch mare who didn’t even pay any attention to the whole situation. I was on a steep slope and a runaway horse could have started a major wreck. After what seemed like a long time, the lion slowly got up and loped off a short distance. I got out while the getting was good. Lions are beautiful, but I would rather see them from a little more than 50 feet away!

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1. Coatimundis and Mountain Lions
2. Cochise the Texas Longhorn Calf
3. Antelope in the Fall

Well, mule deer rifle season is over – nothing else going on ’til after Thanksgiving anyway. I hate to have to say that I spend a lot of time cleaning up after hunting season – but I do. Every road is peppered with cans, paper, plastic water bottles, beer bottles and plastic bags. I guess people think that the Forest Service comes and cleans up – they don’t. There isn’t money to fund cleanup. So I carry a cantle bag and pick up trash every day I ride. I can tell you from experience that my cantle bag will hold 16 mashed beer cans. Of course, if I pick up a whisky bottle it takes a lot of the room in my cantle bag so I get fewer cans that day. Plus we drive slow and gather bottles and cans from the roads. Next week – or whenever I find time – I’ll start picking up in messy camps.

This is such beautiful country and free to the public to camp, hike, and explore. Hunting is subject to Game and Fish regs but allowed on the forest. Some people don’t appreciate what is given to them.

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1. Hunting Mule Deer
2. Mule Deer on the Ranch

AWPF Erosion Control Workshop

We hosted an erosion control workshop last weekend. Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions, Inc in Santa Fe was the instructor. It seems to me that these workshops bring the cream of the crop to the Double Circle. There is nothing very romantic about swinging a pick and shovel and carrying rocks in 26 degree weather – but 26 people did just that. People from their early 20’s to mid 70’s worked side by side and had fun doing it! Not only are the volunteers – who by the way are not paid – heads up over average, the behind-the-scenes folks who make these workshops possible deserve a lot of credit. The Arizona Water Protection Fund (AWPF) Commission funded three of these erosion control workshops, two of which are completed, and Greenlee County Highway Department furnished the rock. My long-suffering husband Doug loaded and hauled all the rock to the worksite – not an easy job. Hal Herbert, Graham County historian gave a talk about the colorful history of the Double Circle. Jim Holder, our neighbor and business partner, gave a presentation on how we use intensive rotational grazing to promote forage health and diversity on our ranches.

THANKS to the AWPF Commission, Greenlee County, and all the volunteers who made this erosion control workshop a big success. The rock structures that were constructed will slow water flow, catch sediment, increase groundwater infiltration, and help reduce turbidity in Eagle Creek. Plus over 20 people went home armed with new skills and knowledge and ready to tackle erosion problems in their backyards and watersheds. They will be picking and shoveling at home.

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1. Another Successful Erosion Control Workshop
2. We’re Adding Another Erosion Control Workshop in October
3. Erosion Control Structure Workshop

The history of Double Circle Ranch is full of characters and famous people. Tim Cox, world renowned western artist , lived and painted here. His earlier paintings are exact representations of the country and cowboys here on Eagle Creek. Tim had to leave when his kids were past 8th grade – the one room school house only goes through 8th grade. Tom Blasingame worked on the Double Circle for a while. He wanted to cowboy on a rough, big ranch. The huge Texas ranches weren’t wild enough for him. J.Frank Dobie, author of many books including my favorite The Longhorns, worked a season on the Circles to make sure his writings were authentic. Ben Lilly, famous lion and wolf hunter, camped and hunted on this ranch. He was quite a character – ending up believing he was a hound and kept a hound tied to him at all times.

Stella Hughes, contributor to Western Horseman and author of several books including Beans and Bacon and The Hashknife Cowboy about Mac her husband, lived on Eagle Creek where Mac was the stockman for the San Carlos

Double Circle Ranch Cowboys

Apache tribe. Edie Fitch, who delivers our mail on Wednesdays and cooks for guests here, is another neighbor who is a published author. She collaborated with Stella Hughes and wrote The Heart and Hub of Eagle Creek, a fascinating history of this ranch and the whole Eagle Creek area.

We had some famous Apaches and outlaws here too. Geronimo was born on Eagle Creek. In his last years in a Florida prison, he asked to be allowed to return to Eagle Creek to die. The request was denied and he died in Florida. The Apache Kid roamed and plundered this area. Jeff Milton, an Arizona Ranger, tracked bank and train robbers to the Double Circle Ranch. Some are buried in the ranch cemetery. Apparently Milton wasn’t known for bringing in people alive. Ike Clanton of the OK Corral fight in Tombstone was shot here while living in a cabin on Eagle Creek. There are more. What an interesting history there is in this little corner of Arizona! We want to do a week long history tour here – there is plenty to see!

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1. Cowboys are Hardy
2. Graham County Historical Society Annual Field Trip
3. Ranch-Related Resources

Mulies in the Backyard

Well it is mule deer rifle season. For a week, Eagle Creek is a humming place. We have more traffic in 1 week than we normally get in 3 months. There are hunter’s camps that have more people in one camp than we have residents in miles and miles of Eagle Creek. It is hard to adjust to actually having lots of trucks, campers, and 4 wheelers everywhere. With 900 buck tags in our unit alone, hunters come from near and far looking for that trophy buck- or meat for the freezer. I guess Arizona Game and Fish must believe we do a great job of creating and maintaining habitat for wildlife as part of our conservation practices – 900 tags!

Eagle Creek only has 12 people in thousands of acres. Houses are miles, not blocks, apart. No one can see another house from their porch. Heck, we have 2 houses on the Double Circle alone and they are 7 miles apart on this ranch. Greenlee County population density – or lack thereof – qualifies us as a FRONTIER. I always thought that was neat. Not many frontiers left in the US. You know you live in remote country when you have 12 residents in such a huge area and the sheriff comes and campaigns here before elections! Can you imagine Chicago or New York politicians campaigning where there are only a potential of 12 votes if they had a landslide?

Hunting on the Ranch Increases the Population

But this week we probably have easily 200 people on Eagle Creek. That may not seem like much if you live in a city – but for the Double Circle, it is a crowd.

Funny thing – I rode all day yesterday and didn’t see 1 deer, antelope, elk, bear, or turkey. They know whats up.

Related posts:

1. Mule Deer on the Ranch
2. Cleaning Up after Hunting Season
3. Antelope in the Fall

Eagle Creek or Los Angeles?

Usually we have wonderful clean air and clear sky. Not today. It is almost 11:00 and I haven’t saddled a horse to ride cattle – pretty near a record. I fed my horse early- came back and cooked breakfast- stalled some. Checked barn – came back and did paperwork. Stalled some more. In all I have made 5 trips up to the barn and still not caught a horse.

The reason is dense smoke. The USFS is doing a prescribed burn North of us and the smoke is funneling down the valley. My eyes are burning and it is hard to breathe. I don’t have the heart to make a horse carry me up and down canyons gathering steers. They can’t breathe either. Plus it would be hard to find any critters in this gloom.

The prescribed burns are a good thing – although that is hard to believe today. It reduces the pinion/juniper encroachment on the forest. Many open areas all across the SW have become overrun with juniper. They reduce the water table, shade out habitat for wildlife, lessen plant diversity, and have been the cause of a few wrecks and lots of cussing as I try and ride through the brush. Juniper has eaten slickers, sweatshirts, wool shirts and vests right off the cantle of my saddle. When I have needed one of the above items and discovered that the juniper fairy stole it, I don’t even go back and look anymore. I have yet to recover anything dropped/pulled off in the brush. It vanishes – maybe some little critter makes a nest of it.

We have had controlled burns on over 10,000 acres of this ranch in the last 3 years. It has made a huge difference. Grass production and diversity has increased due to this conservation work. The amount of bare ground has been reduced. Mearns quail and other birds are in record numbers. Turkey particularly have had a great year. I understand prescribed burns are an essential part of maintaining rangeland health. But this smoke!!

How do people live in LA or Mexico City? Yuck!

No related posts.

Doug has been looking at new cameras for over 3 YEARS. Thank goodness he finally bit the bullet and ordered one. Now I should get better pictures to post. Doug is an amateur photographer, not like our friend professional photographer Tom Whetten. But he really enjoys taking pictures – I don’t. I always feel like I am missing too much running around doing pictures. So that is Doug’s responsibility – which is good since I am a lousy photographer. My gosh – we have some of the best scenery in the country all around us – plus the wildlife, ranch work, cattle, etc. Doug will take Tom’s wildlife photography workshop here in May. Should keep getting better and better pictures.

Related posts:

1. Tom Whetten
2. Cattle Ranch Photography Workshop a Big Success!

Gambel's Quail

I am excited! We have picked the dates for Bob Luce’s birding class here on the ranch. It will be April 29 to May 3rd. I am switching from cowboy boots to hiking boots that weekend – I want to learn more about the birds here. I am by no means an accomplished birder – just a person who really enjoys hearing and seeing the birds and other critters. And that is just perfect for Bob’s class. This trip is geared to folks like me – people who want to learn what the birds are and their habits, calls, etc. It is “An Intro To Birding” – perfect for a family trip or a chance for nature lovers to enjoy the country here and learn as they go. It will be great fun. Bob will take us on 2 guided hikes a day to uplands, riparian corridors, bluffs, a variety of habitat each with its own bird species. Plus Bob is a wildlife biologist with years of experience with reptiles and mammals too. So we will have an eye out for deer, elk, lizards – everything that crawls, flies, climbs, or runs on the ranch. I can’t wait! Now I just have to convince Doug or Jim to ride herd that week. Clarice Holder and I want to be 2 of Bob’s students.

Related posts:

1. Beginning Birding Class Led by Bob Luce
2. Watching Wildlife on the Ranch
3. Birding Workshop

Bald Eagle on the Ranch

Our resident bald eagle is back. His favorite perch is a big sycamore in our yard. We have the most incredible wildlife that goes through our yard! Lion, bear, and wolves travel the riparian corridor in our front yard. We have taken pictures from our porch of mule deer herds, antelope, elk, javelina, turkey, ravens, woodpeckers, and lots of different birds including over a hundred hummingbirds that come every year. I am no bird expert, but I sure enjoy seeing them. I keep a bird feeder in my yard year round. We are building a bird pond to go with the bird feeders at the wall tents. Guests will be able to see and hear a variety of birds right from their tent decks.

I want to learn my bird species better. I am going to take Bob Luce’s Intro to Birding class here next April. It will be fun and gives me a valid reason to not work for a few days! I am missing 14 horses – got to go find them this am.

Mulies in the Backyard

Related posts:

1. Great Week for Wildlife
2. Hawks at the Bird Feeder
3. Planning a Ranch Butterfly Garden

Windmills Solar Panels and Propane Power

When we came to this ranch 5.5 years ago, we had no electricity. Of course, being 30+ miles to the closest electric pole had something to do with that. But we had no solar power either. Now we didn’t have to carry water or use an outhouse. A windmill pumps water to a storage tank as long as the wind blows and water gravity flows to the barn, bunkhouse, and cabin. Plus we have a propane tank that gets filled about twice a year. So we had propane heated hot water, propane fridge, and cooked on a propane stove. We still cook on propane and use propane to heat our water- but with an on-demand, efficient water heater now. We still fire up the old pot belly wood stove when it gets cold.

But we got solar panels after 18 months! We really thought that was the best thing since sliced bread – we still think so. Now we have a solar tracker with panels and an ELECTRIC refrigerator – even a small freezer. Doug and I were like kids in a candy store – flipping lights off/on and dancing a jig!

My mother used to always wake up if the power went off in the night. I never understood how she would wake up when no lights were on anyway. Now I know. Electricity is noisy. With no electric appliances, all we would hear at night was wind or maybe coyotes. The noise from that electric refrigerator was huge after 18 months of no electric. Funny how you never notice that when you are used to electric appliances.

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1. Oil Burning Stoves
2. Solar Energy for Sustainable Ranching
3. Wind Power and Sustainable Ranching

Cowboy Grant Mitchell

Well, we have lost our cowboy. Grant Mitchell had a chance to run his own horse training business. It was too good a deal to pass up. We wish him well. Fortunately for us, he is relocating only a few hours’ drive away and would be available to help out here in a crunch.

But that puts us in the job interviewing mode again. It is definitely not my favorite occupation. So far we have had a LOT of interest in the position here. There are at least three applicants who sound very promising.

It takes a special person to live out here on this remote a ranch. Anyone with school-age kids has to homeschool. We have a one-room schoolhouse and have had for over 100 years, but it is closed. There are no children to attend. It used to have 30+ kids and went through 8th grade. It is a shame that there is not one child in the whole watershed. Makes you wonder about the future of ranching here.

Plus we are 30 miles from electric. Solar is wonderful, but it isn’t limitless. If you plug in a hair dryer, vacuum, radio, and lights, you are going to be towel drying your hair. Solar won’t run many appliances. In this age of microwaves, electric frying pans, blow dryers, and curling irons, solar is still a dinosaur. It always surprises me that many women can’t adapt to off-grid living.

People always think they want to live remote. Remote to them means driving a mile to go to McDonalds or Walmart to them. It means having a corner, larger size lot, or a tree between you and your neighbor. They don’t have a clue about living here. We have had people turn around halfway to the ranch and e-mail saying they couldn’t believe anyone would want to live this far out. They didn’t even get halfway here! My father-in–law stayed with us due to failing health. He always said the ranch is beautiful- BUT why would ANYONE want to live in this ——– country. That sentiment is clearly on many faces that come for interviews here. One – usually the wife, or both – will have that Oh MY GOD look on their face. Sometimes they apologize and never even get out of their car (Note there aren’t many Cars here). They spin their tires leaving.

Wilma

Related posts:

1. New Cowboy on the Ranch
2. New Ranch Hand and Cowboy Chris Farris
3. Cowboy Art Classes on our Western Guest Ranch

Nate Taylor Plein Aire Painter

We had Nate Taylor here at our cabin this week. Nate is a painter with training in Florence, Italy. He works in many media and does pleine aire painting. He wanted to come to the Double Circles to do some landscape painting, so we invited him to come while we were gone to Quivira Coalition convention. We figured he may as well feed the dogs, cats, and birds between paintings. No sense wasting potential free help on the ranch. It worked for all of us. Nate now has 3 beautiful landscapes in various stages of completion.

We hope to have Nate teach an art class here next season. He is very talented and a nice young man to boot – my dogs seem to have gained weight – they like him and all the extra grub too. You can see a gallery of Nate’s work on his website www.natetaylor.net .

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1. Skunked Again!

We have been to Albuquerque for the Quivira Coalition conference. There are always so many intelligent, innovative people in attendance that we feel uplifted and invigorated when we leave. It is a great thing to have ranchers, environmentalists, scientists, acadamia and agency people all working together to conserve and improve soil, air, wildlife, water and cultures in the West. Plus it is just fun. Doug and I aren’t used to television, unlimited solar, concierge services, fabulous meals, etc. But by day 3 we are really missing the ranch! Glad to be home.

The variety of people is amazing – with no fist fights too. All age groups from kids to elders, cultures from Anglo, Hispanic, Navajo, Amish and backgrounds from ranchette owners to huge ranch owners, urban, suburban, rural and boonies folks, artists, authors, laborers, cowboys, Indians , all the “ologists,” professors and more. They all have tales to share about how they live on the land and how they contribute to a diverse and healthy environment. Truly inspirational.

But now it is back to what we really love – ranching – with new ideas on how to be the best we can be.

Wilma

Related posts:

1. Nate Taylor – Plein Aire Painter

We have a new Wilderness Survival Skills Class planned for next May – and it is a doozy! Vincent Pinto from Ravens Way nature school will be here teaching wilderness survival, edible and medicinal plants, navigating by stars, etc. He is the most fascinating person to walk with. Vincent points out animal tracks and tells you what that critter was doing, gathers plants for shelters and other uses, and locates sites for tool making and more. He is a walking wealth of info. This class is a camp-out in the backcountry, no frills deal. You would need to be in reasonably good shape and love the outdoors. I doubt that I will be able to tramp along – but I would love to – I know I could learn a lot – and have fun.

Register for the Wilderness Survival Skills Class before February 1, 2010 to get a $30 discount!

Wilma

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1. Wilderness Survival Class
2. Wilderness Survival Skills
3. Wild Women In The Wilderness: Survival and Shooting

Sure are a lot of challenges when you set out to be a sustainable, alternative energy facility. We bought two used oil burning stoves – one for each house. There has never been a place to dump old oil on Eagle Creek – probably it got poured on the ground in the past. So we decided to provide ourselves and our neighbors with a way to use the old oil that was both useful (saves cutting firewood and keeps the houses warm) and environmentally friendly (stoves exceed EPA standards). We put the cabin furnace in and immediately found out that the fan on the stove used too much power for our solar energy system. Doug is researching a small hydro plant to give us extra power. Hopefully, we could even charge a small electric vehicle to run to the barns etc. That would be a blessing since we are a 3-hour round trip to the closest gas station!

The bigger house has even more problems. First the stove wouldn’t fit on the back porch. So we have to tear off the old porch – needed replacing anyway – and build a bigger porch for the used oil furnace and solar batteries. Then we will have the same fan issue – not enough power to run the blower and have lights at the same time. We can’t do hydro there – so it is either add more solar panels and a tracker or put in a wind generator. Sooner or later we will get it all done. Any volunteers to come build porches, dig tracker holes, etc.?

Wilma

Related posts:

1. Powering the Ranch
2. Skunked Again!
3. What is a Wall Tent?

Dude Ranch Texas Longhorn

There has been some discussion – translates family feud – about what exactly we are here at Double Circle Longhorn, LLC. Are we a dude ranch? Well, yes and no. We do have a few guests at a time for custom ranch vacations. They ride horses, swim in the creek, go on wildlife tours, eat in the dining hall and sleep in our walltents. So yes- we are a dude ranch.

But no –we aren’t a dude ranch. We don’t have large groups. We only have 8 people at a time unless it is a team building week or family reunion. And then we only have the one party of up to 16.

We don’t have ironclad times and plans. It isn’t ride 8:00-9:00, eat at noon, evening ride 4:00-5:00. We plan your vacation depending on what you want to do. You have your own horse for the entire stay. If you want to ride all day, we’ll take you all day. If you want to sightsee and look for elk, deer, birds, etc, we can take you. And we are a working cattle ranch with Texas Longhorn steers. If you want to work/herd cattle, we will teach you how and take you on herding duty. If you want to do ranch chores, we always have a bunch – from riding fence, to packing salt, to checking waters and more. On 47,000 acres there are always chores! So we aren’t a dude ranch in the traditional sense.

Plus we have educational programs on a regular basis—programs on conservation, birding, geology, alternative energy, cattle drives, history, photography, painting, wilderness survival, astronomy. There is pretty much something for every interest here at the ranch.

SO – we are a non-dude ranch, environmental, educational, working cattle, custom ranch vacation dude ranch. That should settle the discussion!

Wilma

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1. Custom Dude Ranch Vacations
2. The Double Circles – Arizona Dude Ranch
3. Dude Ranch Vacations

Skunked again! This is a bumper crop year for skunks. They are everywhere. We have a used oil stove on the cabin porch and it creates a dead end, narrow passage to the front door. Twice in 2 weeks a skunk, for reasons known only to it, has wandered onto the porch. Our 4 dogs immediately give chase. The poor skunk is trapped in the alley – you can figure what happens. Dogs run off stinking to high heavens, skunk ambles off at his own pace (the victor), and our entire cabin is perfumed. Yuck!

Bad thing about it is the door to our guest room always gets the worst of the spray. We have an artist coming next week to do some landscapes and locate good areas for a painting class next spring. Hope it airs out before he gets here.

Doug has had enough of the skunk problem- he set a live trap, baited it with dog food and is waiting to catch our house skunk. I don’t believe he has thought about how to carry off and release a live skunk yet. I am pretty sure I will need to ride that day!

Wilma

Related posts:

1. Protecting Wildlife on the Ranch
2. Nate Taylor – Plein Aire Painter

Steel Rim Water Storage Tank

Well, it is getting cold already. Wednesday Doug will have to drain our steel pipeline to the 50,000 gallon steel tank in Big Dry East pasture. When the water is used up, the steers need to be moved lower to a different water system. This line is the only one we have that uses steel – everything else is black HDPE (high density polyethylene) pipe. The black pipe is great. It doesn’t have to be buried and freezes and thaws without breaking. When you consider that we have over 20 miles of pipelines, the less labor intensive the better. Other than the steel line drinkers, we leave our water troughs full year round – whether cattle are in the pasture or not. This provides water for wildlife in keeping with our environmental goals. We are busy building escape ramps and putting them on every drinker so that critters don’t get trapped in troughs and drown. It sounds easy, but with so many troughs in such faraway places, it is very time consuming. Most of this ranch is not vehicle assessable.

Speaking of weather – when we first came here I asked a neighbor what to expect in the way of temperatures. We were going to be here getting set up for a few weeks and then go back East for business. I wanted to know what to pack. He informed me that it didn’t ever get real hot – not over 100 very often – and never real cold – not under 0 very often. He was right- didn’t help me pack though!

Steel Water Pipeline to Steel Rim Water Tank

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1. Water on the Ranch
2. Moving Water Tanks
3. Pullin’ Pipe

Our partner Clarice Holder wrote this note. It shows very clearly what we are accomplishing with our Texas Longhorn herd. Prescribed grazing is one of the most important tools in our ongoing conservation and sustainability work here at the ranch.

On October 24, 2009 the Historical Society of Graham County came to the Double Circle Ranch on Eagle Creek in Arizona to talk about the history of the ranch.

This is an old grave yard (last burial occurred in the 30’s) on the Circles that the Cowbells fixed up and fenced in the 1960’s, I think. The graveyard has not been grazed since. Doug Dressler, the owner of the Double Circles, observed the difference between the grazed outside pasture and the non-grazed inside of the grave yard pasture. It is a very interesting contrast between managed use and around 50 years rest.

Grazed Versus Non Grazed Ranch Land - photo by Clarice Holder

Grazed Versus Non Grazed Ranch Land - photo by Clarice Holder

The photos were taken by Clarice Holder.

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1. Sustainable Ranching
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AWPF Erosion Control Workshop

Needed –strong backs and willing attitudes. Double Circle Ranch has been funded by Arizona Water Protection Fund Commissioners to host an erosion control structure workshop on November 13,14,15. We are limited to 20 volunteers – have 5 spaces left right now.

Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions,Inc will be teaching the class. Volunteers will learn how to build small rock dams, splash pools, and other structures designed to slow water speed so sediment can deposit. This helps protect Eagle Creek water quality and also builds grassland habitat.

This will be our 3rd erosion workshop. The 1st was funded by ADEQ and the 2nd by AWPF. Price is right- free. Camping is free, food is free, training is free. We even provide the tools. You can’t beat this deal. We had a great time at the last 2 workshops- made lots of good friends. Plus we built over 50 erosion control structures! It would have taken Doug and I all year to do that many ( even if we had known the best techniques). Thanks to all who donated their time and sweat to making this happen. Thanks also to the Arizona agencies that provided funding for this important conservation work!

Sign up for the Erosion Control Workshop if you are interested – we will fill up early. Love to see you at the Double Circle.

Wilma

P.S. We will have 1 more workshop on April 16,17,18, 2010 if those dates work better for you. We have already started booking it. I hope to get funding for more erosion workshops— but with the budget woes, who knows?

Related posts:

1. We’re Adding Another Erosion Control Workshop in October
2. Another Successful Erosion Control Workshop
3. November Erosion Control Workshop a Success!

Antelope Herd on the Ranch

It must be fall! The antelope are bunching up like they do every fall. We have small groups that live close to our cabin. They range from a solitary buck to a herd with 5 does and a buck. The group of 5 does had 5 fawns this year, but I am only seeing 4 young ones now. Something probably ate one of the babies. But now we have 19 head in our driveway group. There were 2 bucks, and one was a trophy. A mountain lion killed the big buck last week. I thought it was odd that the lion took the big buck and not a “teenager.” Maybe the buck stayed behind to protect his harem – I have no idea. At any rate these antelope are part of our ‘watchable wildlife’ and I do enjoy seeing them. They are protected, like the wolves, from hunting and have been slowly gaining populations here. One of our conservation practices last year was a USFS 10,000-acre prescribed burn to improve deer and antelope habitat and to create wildlife corridors for the antelope. Seems the antelope – being fast flight animals – won’t breed and live in dense woods where their line of sight isn’t good. Getting rid of some of the encroaching juniper opens more country for them as well as for quail, elk, deer, etc.

The herd picture was taken a couple of years ago – there were 39 head in that group. So far there’s 19 in a group, but more will join up. I hope to see over 45 this year in this bunch. Of course, lions are thick in this country and they have to eat too, along with bear, wolves, and coyotes. Good thing the pronghorn are FAST. They sure are beautiful.

Wilma

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1. Mule Deer on the Ranch
2. Watching Wildlife on the Ranch
3. Mountain Lions and other Predators

Old Double Circle Ranch Headquarters

Welcome to the Double Circle Ranch, home of Double Circle Longhorns, LLC. Let me tell you a little about us and what we’re doing here at the ranch. My husband Doug and I bought the historic Double Circle Ranch 5+ years ago. I am from Tennessee- Doug from Florida. While I have had Texas Longhorns and horses for years, Doug was totally new to anything “western.” Fortunately for both of us, he adapts well. We partnered with our neighbors Jim and Clarice Holder, to form the LLC business.

Now we not only run Texas Longhorns on 47,000 acres of remote SE Arizona mountains and grasslands, we also run a small-scale tourist business. We have teaching classes and custom ranch vacations. We aren’t the biggest – by a long shot – or the fanciest, but our vacations are the Real Thing- the Great American West with no crowds and open space as far as the eye can see.

We take pride in being sustainable, environmentally sound ranchers and gear our work to wildlife diversity and habitat improvement. Check out our website and see what is happening. I’ll be posting blogs regularly –hope to hear from you.

Wilma

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1. The Double Circles – Arizona Dude Ranch
2. History of the Double Circle Ranch
3. Custom Dude Ranch Vacations

Graham County Historical Society Annual Field Trip

We had Graham County Historical Society here yesterday for their annual field trip. I am always learning more about this historic ranch. We toured the old headquarters and the cemetery there and had lunch under the big cottonwoods. Then we carpooled to our 1-room school house for more history talks. One of the highlights was an 87 year old cowboy who had spent most of his life on Eagle Creek. He went through 3rd grade at the school, which had 30 students in 1928. I guess 3rd grade was considered educated enough by a lot of people in those days. Now we have no students. The school serves as a community center now. Watershed meetings and voting is held there. If we had 6 kids in the area, the school would open up again. It would be like having a state-paid private tutor for a big family.

When this ranch ran 30,000 head of cattle, it employed about 25 cowboys year round. The cowboys, cooks, farmers, salt haulers, freighters, and their families made Eagle Creek a thriving community. Now we have only 12 people – people not families – in several 100,000’s of acres.

We are planning a 5-7 day history tour here. There is so much to see. Double Circle Ranch was famous in its glory days – one of the great ranches of the American Wild West. Times have changed – but we still have cattle, wildlife, some of the old buildings, and lots of history to explore.

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1. Graham County Historical Society Field Trip
2. Sustainable Ranching – Grazing vs Non-Grazing
3. Ranch Cowboys, Characters, and Celebrities

Wall Tent at the Double Circle Ranch

Someone asked me about our four wall tents. They are large, canvas tents 14 by 16 feet. They are up on a raised deck that has a porch and private bath, hot and cold shower, and composting toilet. We put a canvas cover over the tents last month. It is about a foot above the tents and keeps the tent cooler in hot summer months.

Each tent has 4 oversized outfitter cots with mattress pads – very comfortable. There are 4 wooded rustic storage boxes and hanging racks for odds and ends. No electricity though. We are 30 miles from the closest electric pole. We use alternative energy- solar and wind for livestock water and in the 2 houses. Doug is looking at a small hydro power plant for our cabin. Technology for alternative energy and sustainable living just keeps improving. Don’t expect electric in the tents though. Having the natural darkness is part of the Double Circle experience. Besides, it is perfect for astronomy and star gazing – no light pollution!

Inside of a Wall Tent

Wall Tent Deck at the Double Circle Ranch

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1. Oil Burning Stoves

We had a few raindrops—just a handful- along with a fierce wind. This has been the driest monsoon in 116 years according to news reports. And I believe it. Every dirt tank on the ranch is dry with the possible exception of a large spring fed tank about 11 miles from here which I haven’t ridden out to check. The grass crinkles under your feet when you walk- we are hoping for rain. All the ephemeral creeks are dry. Eagle Creek is still running and so are the smaller permanent waters and springs- but it is DRY.

Losing all the natural water in canyon pools and dirt tanks makes us dependent on our solar water pumping stations and about 30 miles of pipeline with water troughs. It makes herding our Texas Longhorns more critical. When you only have a few water sources in a pasture, it is easy to overgraze next to the water.

Our Cattle Herding Dog - Belle Starr

I go up every afternoon with Belle on a leash and walk steers over the canyon rims into bottoms to keep the cattle from tramping the water trough areas too much. It is about a 4 hour job, plus the time to get there and back, but good training for the pup and exercise for me. Yesterday Belle and I were moving steers down the steep slope, when I twisted my ankle and fell. Perfect time for Belle to lunge at a slow steer and pull me forward. I fell head first downhill and slid till I lodged against a tree and a cactus. I can tell you from experience that it is tricky for a plump, pushing 60 woman to get up when you are head down, feet up on a steep, rocky slope and wedged by a tree and cactus! All is well— I have a broken toe and several broken off cactus thorns—none of which would have happened if I had ridden a horse! Ranching life – got to love it!

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1. Water on the Ranch in Winter
2. Moving Water Tanks
3. Belle Starr the Outlaw Herding Dog

Wildlife Photographer Tom Whetten

Tom Whetten and wife Gail were up for a visit last week. They had been on a photo shoot in Colorado. Tom took some fabulous photos of 2 bull elk fighting- really something to see. Check out his African Photo Safari and other photography tours at his Wildlife Photo Tour website. Tom will be teaching a wildlife photography workshop here next spring – haven’t set the dates yet – and it will be great! We have the Texas Longhorns, wildlife, horses, and scenery to use as subjects. Check out Tom’s picture standing in a herd of Longhorns. Thank goodness the cattle are gentle – could get really ugly otherwise.

Tom and Gail will be up next week too. We had to order a hot water heater, and Tom will haul it up. The ranch is remote enough that FedEx won’t deliver and UPS only runs once a week at tops. Plus Tom is bringing the materials up to build a bird/bat pond, splash area next to the tents. The bath along with plants and year-round bird feeders will attract a variety of birds. We have 127 species on our bird list now. Bob Luce will be conducting a birding tour here next April. I expect to add several more birds to the list then.

Wilma

Related posts:

1. Photography Class by Tom Whetten Coming in May
2. Nature and Ranch Photography Workshop with Tom Whetten
3. Cattle Ranch Photography Workshop a Big Success!

Ringtail Cat in Live Trap

Another busy day at the Double Circle. Doug is building wildlife ramps to go on our water troughs. These allow critters to climb out when they get into the water. Unfortunately, we have an old trough without a ramp way out in a pasture. When I rode by it yesterday, there were three dead ringtail cats in it. Doug is carrying a ramp out to install today. I hate to see any wild animal suffer because of an oversight on our part. As part of our sustainable ranching practices, we develop and protect habitat for the native wildlife. This ranch has several Threatened and Endangered Species and listed Species of Concern. We do all we can to promote healthy wildlife populations. It must be working too – Grant said there were 9 bucks harvested off the USFS part of this ranch during the youth hunt last week. Elk season is coming up – I’ll let you know how that hunt does. We don’t hunt ourselves, but hunting is both a tradition and an important tool for controlling wildlife populations. Hunters— PLEASE close gates and leave no trace. Most of you do.

Wilma

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1. Antelope in the Fall
2. Great Week for Wildlife
3. Watching Wildlife on the Ranch

Here is the newest member of our Texas Longhorn herd. This is Cochise

Cochise the Texas Longhorn

He came from some of our old breeding stock that we sold to friends of ours. We switched to all steers instead of cow/calf pairs because of all the predators. With lion, wolves, coyotes, and bears all here, a new calf has a good chance of not surviving. In keeping with our conservation goals, we opted to change our herd rather than try and eliminate the predators who live on Double Circle Ranch.

Cochise was delivered and put in the pens at our barn – and he got pretty aggressive. You couldn’t walk into the pens without the danger of being charged. Grant and I cut 2 gentle steers out of the herd and drove them about 5 miles on horseback back to the barn to keep Cochise company. It worked, he gentled right down. The steer had never been alone and was just scared.

We do cull any steers that are mean. We do team building exercises and cattle drives where guests gather and move the steers- cannot have a chargey steer – especially one with horns! Besides, I am out riding until dark usually 5-6 days a week. No one would miss me until after sunset and then it would be too dark to find me till daybreak. No mean animals here—steers, dogs, horses, or husbands.

Cochise is available in our Sponsor-a-Steer program.

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1. Cattle Ranching – Texas Longhorn Herd
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Corporate or Family Team Building

Our Cattle Herding Dog - Belle Starr

Here is our new puppy – before and after getting run over by eight horses! This is Belle Starr the Outlaw (very appropriate name) – Belle for short. She is a tri-colored border collie and joins our other cowdogs Katie – a border collie/McNabb cross from Holders ranch, and Copper – a red border collie we picked up at the pound just before being put down. Unfortunately, they had already euthanized 8 of Copper’s pups.

Belle is quite the character – smart as a whip and totally fearless (hence run over by horses). The only thing that has ever scared her is our Momma barn cat. The cat – Spud – had new kittens and attacked Belle in the barnyard. She chased Belle and actually rolled her over several times until Doug hit Spud with a rock and rescued the pup. Belle got to chasing horses and got tromped on by eight head. She was lucky to survive with only a broken leg. Fortunately horse trainer Grant Mitchell works here and is quite good at patching up man and beast. He cast her up and she runs on 3 legs just fine. We have used Grant’s wilderness first aid training on horses, Texas Longhorns, Belle and me (dislocated shoulder and cracked scapula). It saved a 5 hour trip to town and a vet/doctor bill.

Belle Starr the Outlaw Herding Dog with Cast

We have high hopes that Belle will make a good herding dog. We herd our cattle daily as part of our conservation and sustainable ranching practices. With pastures ranging from 500 to 6,000 acres, a good dog is a valued partner. Now if she would just settle down enough to listen to training!

Wilma

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1. Cow Dogs
2. Herding Dust Devils
3. Training Belle Star the Cowdog

Graham County Historical Society

History buffs – Graham County has chosen Double Circle Ranch for their annual fieldtrip. They will be carpooling up from Safford, AZ, bringing a picnic lunch, and having a lecture and stories about the Double Circle in its glory days on October 24th. So – join the Graham County Historical Society and come up to Eagle Creek for a real treat. Hal Herbert- county historian- will be telling tales of this historic piece of the American West. Outlaws, renegade Indians, massacres, cattle rustling, fearless lawmen – it all happened right here. Trip is free for GCHS members – bring your own lunch. Come eat under the big cottonwoods where Geronimo fled the San Carlos reservation, look over range where George Stevens built up his herds of over 30,000 cattle, and read the headstones of rustlers and cowboys on Double Circle Ranch. Better yet – stay over with us. Doug and I have 4 wall tents with cots and baths for rent. There is an awful lot of fascinating things to do and see here – book a tent and stay and visit with us. You won’t be disappointed! Gotta go move cattle.

Related posts:

1. Graham County Historical Society Annual Field Trip
2. Sustainable Ranching – Grazing vs Non-Grazing

An extended weekend birding workshop with internationally acclaimed birder Robert Luce. Join us to explore the over 135 bird species already documented here at the ranch, and help us add some new ones!

Start Date: 2009-08-27

End Date: 2009-08-30

Related posts:

1. Birding Workshop
2. Date Set for Bob Luce’s Intro to Birding Class
3. Beginning Birding Class Led by Bob Luce

The Double Circle Ranch is an off-grid sustainable working cattle and horse ranch in southeastern Arizona. We are known internationally for providing custom eco-vacations designed around your personal interests and goals, exceptional riding experiences, and top-of-the-line horse training.

You may choose to enjoy the wildlife and scenery from the back of a good ranch horse, join in the daily cattle work with our Texas Longhorn steers, fish a mountain creek, explore the ancient Indian ruins…it’s up to you. If it’s a learning vacation you’re after, we’re sure to have something of interest for just about everyone, with programs ranging from wilderness tracking and backcountry medicine to Apache lore and low-stress cattle handling. At the Double Circle Ranch, your choices are many, and rest assured, your experience will be unique!

A typical ranch vacation at the Double Circles will find you immersed in hands-on training your first day here, learning the skills you will need in the field. Map and compass reading, basic wilderness first aid, horsemanship techniques, cattle herding, the works! If you are looking for a place where you can really experience life on the range as it was a good century or more ago, surrounded by Texas Longhorn steers and horses, the Double Circle Ranch is where you want to be. We’ll teach you what you need to know first, and then off you’ll go on one of our horses.

Come experience the Double Circles for yourself! Experience a piece of the great American West, and take home memories and new skills that will last a lifetime.

Related posts:

1. Custom Dude Ranch Vacations
2. Are We a Dude Ranch?
3. The Double Circles – Arizona Dude Ranch