The Reason I'm afraid of Bears

The Reason I’m afraid of Bears

Every summer we go to the western side of Idaho and run Bears with our dogs.  We hunt with our friends Ben and Carrie who have great bear dogs.  We usually head up there sometime in July and it seems to be Kody’s favorite thing to do for our anniversary…me not so much.  First off the Idaho Mountain ranges we hunt are densely covered where it’s hard to even maneuver once the dogs bark treed.  There is so much ground cover it’s almost unreal.  I’m constantly checking myself for ticks in the warm July sun and hoping to god I don’t get car sick on the winding forest service roads. 

We usually end up taking some young dogs that haven’t been started on Bear to see what they will do when the rig dogs bark and then we turn them all lose.  It is not unreal to see 2-5 bears a day…there are bears everywhere there!

On a late morning hunt the dogs started barking on the box we turned them loose, sat up on a large rock and listened to the chase.  Kody and I heard this squawking noise about 100 yards below and decided to take a look.  At the very top of the tree was this little 30 pound cub, precious to say the least.  I wanted to swaddle it, cuddle with it and take it home with me.  I got some pictures of him and we sat under the tree while Ben looked at his Garmin and said the dogs were still running the mother, less than 300 yards away and coming too.  I mentioned that we should probably get the heck out of here because Mother Bear poop is the last thing I want to be.  I tried explaining that I have a life to live back at home, a family, a husband and baby brothers and a sister.  Ben simply told me that I would get some good pictures.  I guess that was the ticket for me to stay. 

Here is Little Bear

Ben said, “There she is!”

We all stood up, camera in hand.  I’m not fibbing here, that momma bear saw us, wheeled around on her back legs and was coming at us like a Mexican fighting bull…only meaner.  We all stood up and hollered at her like an old cow and 10 yards before she tried biting off my big toe she turned and ran the other way.  I was scared and for a minute and thought I was no longer alive.  It was unquestionable that if I was going to start running bears we would need to go to the local Wal-Mart and buy some adult diapers because jeans are getting way too expensive to wet yourself in.

This is the picture I took when I was near death.

The back of my husbands shirt.

~Wyoming Wife

Takin' Pictures

A few weeks ago, I took pictures of my little sis Haley.  She is super photogenic, and pretty to say the least.  I finally got to really use my new camera…and after the first photo I fell in love.  These were the first set of photos I’ve ever taken just one on one.  Boy, did we have a blast. 

We went out the ranch that Kody works for where everything is perfectly manicured, and the old barn is still frozen in time.  It just seemed like the perfect backdrop.  I grabbed and old comfy chair out of the store and we were off to see what we could do.   

~Wyoming Wife

The Houndsman’s Wife’s Prayer

The Houndsman’s Wife’s Prayer

I ask for Mother Nature to come dressed with snow

And sometimes the sun, so the dogs have to work in the dirt

I ask for safety in the Pine ridges and the dark canyons below

May we sleep in our bed each night and recover every dog right after the hunt

I pray our horses feet don’t get soft

And Lord keep our ponies noses out of the dirt

And our butts in the saddle

I pray for big toms to be easy on our dogs

I pray for lions to be treed high and bobcats to snarl in a cedar

I ask that fur prices are above and beyond

Comparable to last year would be just fine

I pray that our vet bills be low and the fuel prices down

Lord, we love to be in the mountains

And you’ve blessed us so

Thanks lord for good dogs

We couldn’t ask for a better pack

Keep em’ safe

And Lord, we ask that you be with us when we run that track. 

Thank you for reading

Love,

Wyoming Wife

Gravel Road Bucker

My Grandma said she would work for me last Wednesday, so I could go move cows with Kody.  We moved them 10 miles, across the railroad tracks, across the bridge going over the river, and then across the highway.  There weren’t any critical spots, they all moved slowly but without any fuss.  Out of 378 cows there was only one that tried to get away once and my little paint horse did a great job getting her back to the herd.

The morning started out gathering them out of one pasture they were moved to the day before, right off the bat a little yearling antelope jumps up out of the brush and runs right past us just giving little paint a case of the jitters…but nothing more. 

They are hauling gravel out of a ranch that we cut through, I counted twelve gravel trucks driving right past us…and they didn’t seem to bother. 

We got down past the river, the cows were moving across the highway.  I decided to ride around a big ditch that was frozen solid at the bottom…just because I like to be safe.  Kody was flagging traffic about 100 yards up from me and saw this happen…

I squeezed little paint into a trot, and holy heck. His back feet went up, his nose went down.  This was the last thing on my list of things to do.  He was ahead of me the whole time, I was scrambling to shorten my reins, and mid third jump I landed on a gravel road.  Before I got myself off the ground, little paint had run across the highway and Kody ran over giggling to himself.  Then he saw my face, bloody nose, bloody chin and blood in my mouth.  Thankfully I didn’t lose a tooth!

Looks like me and little paint have a little more work to do. 

Some of my Favorite Things...

The smell of your saddle pad after a long days ride

George Jones singing through your pick up speakers

A fresh haircut

Flowers on your kitchen counter

Gain Laundry detergent

Picking pieces of sagebrush, to keep in your pocket

Looking for arrowheads after a wind storm

Gun powder

Fleece blankets and sweat pants curled up on the couch

Tortillas and butter

Big Turquoise necklaces paired with pearls

High Fives and good shots

A firm handshake

Jokes…that I understand

Draft Beer and a good band

Cash in your pocket

Black smoke coming out of your exhaust…I gotta let the cob webs out sometimes

New jeans

Following a blood trail

Coffee with too much creamer

Archery Elk Hunting

.270 Short Mag

What We've Been Doing...

Kody married a freak

The meat pole

My first time guiding an archery elk hunter

My second time guiding an archery elk hunter!

We caught these guys napping...

I start hunting again on the 14th! Wish me all the luck in the world!

~Wyoming Wife

A Bronc Ride

Kody drew a horse named Sarcee Trail, a bronc he had never been on.  He made a few phone calls to some buddies of his to see how much rein to give the horse, but they had never been on her either. 

The whole day, I was nervous for the ranch rodeo.  I always love when Kody rides bucking horse, but on that day I wasn’t really excited…I think I told him behind the chute that he didn’t have to get on…he looked at me like I was a freak. 

In a nutshell here is what happened.

The horse reared up as and turned around in the chute.  I did really well for being within 5 feet of my husband being tossed around.  I felt a little helpless, but I knew he would be alright...I was talking with God. 
They couldn't get the horse turned back around, so they gave him another horse.  He didn't get it covered, but you can't ride them all.

Thank you Wyoming Ranch Life Images and More for the great pictures!

You can find them on Facebook or their website at http://www.wyomingranchlife.com/

Until Next Time,

Wyoming Wife