Each year around June 1 we pick up our flowers from a local greenhouse. We drop them off there in March and they pick the plants based on the look we're after, and nurture them throughout the winter. 

This year we went for all white, or mostly white flowers. Besides really putting the finishing touches on the buildings, they bring in a whole rabble of Swallow Tail butterflies, and charm of Hummingbirds. I know, super geeky. (Thanks to google for the proper lingo).

 

 We stopped for lunch while riding out in the Dunes, and were joined by a surprise visitor.... a baby kangaroo rat!

Spotted by 8 year old Clara, the cute little guy hopped under the shade of one of our chairs and hung out for a while.   

 Kangaroo Rats are just one of many neat animals that live in the dunes-- living out their entire lives in the main dunefield.  They collect seeds from various grasses and hide them in moist sand below the surface.  After a few days collecting moisture, the seeds provide a bit of water-- enough water in fact that kangaroo rats can go their whole lives without drinking.  To top that off, these little guys can jump up to 5 feet in the air to avoid predators!

It was pretty special to get to see one so close up!

 This is the old Medano headquarters. An impressively large spread where the majority of the ranch crew lived. Most of the little houses were where the ranch hands lived. All of the buildings were also connected by a walkway you can see around the edge of the buildings. See the large wood pile in the middle and blackened chimneys? Subzero winters probably burned through the whole pile.

Yesterday I went out with Jeff and Duke to check on the heifers and their newborns. One of the calves of the day was this beast. Even though he was big and stout and showed a lot of strength when we moved him, he wasn't wanting to bound around and try out his new hooves. We took him to the sick pens with his mama and hopefully he'll be feeling a little more lively in a few days and will become a big strong steer.  

Last weekend a few of the crew participated in a local ranch rodeo in Monte Vista - Duke, Jeff, Stuart, and me.

This picture is from the trailer loading contest. The most hilarious part was that the clock stops once everyone piles in the cab of the truck - normal capacity of 3 - and all of the doors shut. The Z fans said it looked like something from a circus with clowns racing around a car and Jeff sailing over the top of the trailer after taking the rope off of the steer.

I believe it was the first ranch rodeo for all of us. We might do another one near Saguache in June now that we have a feel for the events - trailer loading, branding, doctoring, and sorting - and the rules, timing, etc.

Mike's dessert is one of the highlights of any meal at the lodge. This Berry Galette that he whips up is one of our favorites! Here's how to make it:

BERRY GALETTE
1 pie crust (Mike makes his from scratch, but the store bought kind work well)
1 cup of your favorite jam-- raspberry is great!
3 cups of assorted berries
2 TBS of raw sugar

Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350. Sprinkle sugar across the bottom of a cookie tray. Roll the pie crust into a rough circle and press down onto the sugar. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork-- not too many! Spread the jam across the bottom leaving the about 1 inch around the edge bare. Evenly distribute the berries across the top of the jam, again leaving about an inch around the edges bare. Fold the edges in over the berries. Bake at 350 for :30 minutes, or until just brown. Drizzle with chocolate if you'd like or just enjoy!  

While riding out last week to the branding (see Jeff's post for more details on that!) I spotted 4 Horned Lizards, which we usually call Horny Toads. We grew up scouring the ground for them while we were riding, as they're slow enough for you to get off your horse and catch.  In reading up on them today, I learned that if scared enough, they can shoot an aimed stream of blood from the corners of their eyes!

Luckily this little guy wasn't scared....

 Since we found him last season, Gordon has become quite a personable little fellow.  Whether helping us tack our horses, grunting a welcome to guests, or being led around by an 8 year old, he always wants to be a part of the action.

More recently, he has become the welcoming committee/babysitter for new horses.  He kept Kate’s horse Black Friday company when he first arrived, and now he’s palling around with my new horse Booker.  Gordon will help Booker get settled in during these next few days before I turn him out with the herd.  He also provides an extra service-- getting a horse that has never seen bison before accustomed to these new animals he’ll be seeing a lot more of!

 “As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can." – John Muir

Zapata Falls is particularly magical this time of year.  After hiking up through the pinyon and juniper woodland, birds chirping, sun shining, you enter the cool recesses of a slot canyon, round a bend and come face to face with a massive wall of ice—a piece of art sculpted by nature herself.  The sun shines down through the frozen falls, leaving the canyon awash in cool blue light, and it feels as if you’ve entered a different world.

 This week we had a new member of the crew join us, 14 year old Jaden from Alamosa came to Zapata on a work experience day. Whilst the bitter wind blew and snow fell from the overcast sky Jaden jumped right in and helped sort over 50 pairs from the Pivot to the Blanca pasture. Jaden ran the gate, ensuring only the pairs passed through and making sure none turned back. Later tht day he helped J.R trim and clear tree branches from around the lodge before meeting Gordon the baby bison and his relatives in larger herd on the Medano. Jaden left for the day with an invite to return anytime, a fun member of the crew and a hard worker. 

My first visit to Zapata was in April 2009 as a guest with my mom and grandma. We discovered the ranch online and thought it sounded particularly interesting being that it’s a nature conservancy that sustains a very healthy and 97% pure bison heard. We instantly fell in love with the area, horses, and staff at the ranch.

My grandmother worked on a ranch in Prescott, AZ and my mother was introduced to riding at a fairly young age. I have had an obsession with horses since before I took my first steps, and riding continues to be a passion of mine. After visiting a second time in June 2011, I knew this was a place I would enjoy working, and would do just about anything to have an opportunity to do so.

Six months ago I decided to take a break from my pursuit of a degree in biological sciences and apply for an internship here at Zapata, in hopes that fate would step in. When I found out that I had been chosen I was absolutely ecstatic, and left everything I knew and loved in California to come out to Colorado and be a part of the amazing team here at Zapata. Nothing brings a smile to my face quite like this beautiful place and unique group of wonderful people. There really is something special about Zapata that, unlike other ranches I have visited, feels like home.  

The hub of all our activity calving out heifers, are a couple of pens built right in the middle of the pivot. We branch out from the center, circling through the heifers many times through the day and into the evening. Jeff keeps a little white truck, calf pullers, colostrum replacer, water, alfalfa, a sled, a rope and warm bedding and a heat lamp in the center pens.

Pictured above is a freshly pulled calf and his mama getting acquainted in one of the pens.

This is Nick, a ranch manager apprentice from the Chico Basin Ranch (the Chico is also managed by Ranchlands, the Phillips family, & co). I am here helping Jeff with calving first calf heifers.
The heifers are sometimes too small of frame to support their own weight after intense physical intensity of giving birth for the first time, so we provide them with some mechanized assistance.

We began working with Colorad-based photographer Steve Weaver in 1999 when we started managing the Chico Basin Ranch. When we launched our partnership with The Nature Conservancy and started managing the Zapata in 2004, Steve was one of the first photographers to join us on the ranch to explore. Over the past 8 years, Steve has spent countless hours photographing the landscape, the bison and the people and has created a portfolio and knowledge of the ranch that is unparalleled. 

This year, we have partnered with Steve to offer our guests the opportunity to spend a day photographing the ranch. If bison are your thing, Steve can find them. If you'd prefer lakes below amazing cloud formations, Steve can give you a choice of two (and force the weather to cooperate). And if you really want action, he can set you up to shoot the wranglers bringing in the horse herd, aglow with the morning light. Ask us how to set up a day with Steve on your upcoming visit to Zapata.

Take a look at Steve's site for more information: stephen-weaver.com

 First flow filling our tracks.

While riding up the dry bed of Medano Creek, we were shocked to round a bend and see the very first spring snow melt winding its way towards us.  A foamy tongue of water finding its way through the sand, turning the dry creek bed into a stream before our eyes!

We stopped and watched its progress, marveling at our luck of being in the right place at the right time.  The horses stared too, snorting and side stepping out of the way as the stream of water reached their hooves.  Unsure if this strange serpent was friend or foe.  It slithered on past us, filling our tracks as it went.

From upstream more water filled the channel, and in an instant Medano Creek was alive and flowing.  Then on we rode up the newly formed creek, splashing towards the mountains bathed in springtime sun.

 The air was brisk this morning and snow still clung to the ground from the storm a few days ago, but it was clear spring had arrived.  The sun warmed our cheeks as we rode out to gather and sort more heifers, and you couldn’t feel that touch of winter in the wind anymore.  Our riding guests for the week-- the Bizzell family-- joined us for the day.

Back from our ride, we had lunch at the corrals under the shade of the cottonwoods, and paid a visit to local Zapata celebrity—Gordon the Bison.  8 year old Jake Bizzell became fast friends with Gordon, and even helped the fuzzy guy practice being led!  Gordon has taken to the halter well, and is quickly becoming a charming bison ambassador to our ranch guests.

Spring is officially here. The cows are being sorted off daily and those that are about to drop are moved to the pivot ready to give birth. The pivot is right outside the lodge window so we can keep a close eye on the newborns. Two riders are out each day checking, riding through and helping out any cows that are having trouble with their birth. This little guy was helped out this morning and it didn't take long for him to be looking around for his mama and trying to stand up.