I still need to check my phone to make sure I actually got the call, to see that it actually happened and I didn't just imagine it. When I first saw the 503 area code, I knew immediately who the call was from, but couldn't let myself think it was true, in case it wasn't. I still only have that 1 minute, 22 second phone call log to go by. I'm still waiting for the official confirmation e-mail with syllabus and all, but people- I'm moving West...er.
On Thursday, I got a call from the Portland Playhouse in Oregon and was told I was 1 of 9 people accepted into their yearlong Acting Apprenticeship Program! I had applied on a whim, not really expecting (partly because of my experience, partly because when I expect big I usually get dissapointed.) But, regardless, I got it! As I said, the full email with all the information on the classes I'll be taking, shows I'll be assisting, and all that good stuff will be coming soonly. The actual start date is the August 15th, meaning my time here in Wyoming is already (!) halfway done. I haven't even gotten into the mountains yet, but I do hear that when Summer comes it'll be strong and here to stay. Once I get more details on the Apprenticeship, I can start looking for a part time job (Vet-Clinic?), getting a living space, and possibly a roommate (hmm).
Until then, though, I am still working hard here at the ranch, and all is well. YAAAY!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
29 Days Later (Part 2)(+3 days)
Life with the llamas itself is about what you'd expect of a medium-sized ranch.
Every morning, I feed my cabin boys Curzon Dax, Frisco, Dusty, Quigley, and Alejandro Jr., or A.J. I then usually join Cathy or Karen, the other 2 workers here, in either weighing the llamas (all the llamas get weighed once a week), feeding the llamas (certain groups get extra hay or grain, depending on the group), or moving llamas around. After that, it all depends upon the will of our boss, Al. Wonderful, brilliant man he is, he always has 20 ideas running through his head, and so we need to keep on our toes as to whats coming next. It may be digging a trench for a new telephone line, helping to chop hay/alfalfa, or the ever necessary shoveling of poop from the pastures and night paddocks. Other steady duties including shearing/trimming up some of the guys with heavier coats, practicing picking up feeds for toenail trimming, getting the young'ns use to wearing saddles again and taking them on short walks, or giving de-wormer medication.
We're in the middle of cria (baby) season. Thus far, we have 6 healthy crias (4 girls, 2 boys). Two of them were delivered following the correction of uterine torsions at Colorado State University Vet School. While normally it's not unusual for maidens (first time mothers) to go a little later than their due date (350 days), we still have about 6(?) mothers who are more than 5 days overdue, which is unusual. As a result, we are constantly taking breaks to take a walk/visually examine all the mamas who are still very preggers. 6 down, 16 more to come! Very exciting times. Llamas generally require very little help with delivery, other than occasional gentle pulling to help expedite the process. They usually deliver standing up, and we always try to be on hand to catch the cria before it hits the ground (!). We then lead mother and baby inside, where we dip the umbilical cord in iodine, use a hairdryer to dry off/warm up the baby, and will guide the baby to the teats if necessary. Crias are born precocial, and are usually up and walking within an hour. By the next day, they are walking with confidence, suckling like a fiend, and running around the pasture. I've been present for most of them, and usually get to do the fun stuff.
I've been a little over a month, and am still working pretty hard on learning all the names of the llamas, and which group they're in, and getting to know them personally. Llamas have pretty strong personalities, and especially on a ranch with as much interaction as this one, they are used to humans and aren't scared, which is nice for a change haha. There are about 180 llamas here on the ranch, broken up into groups of various sizes and designations (Cabin Boys, the Old Girls, Yearling Boys, Fat Boys, Middle Calfshed, Hayshed Girls, etc. etc.) As if there needed to be a further challenge, some of these groups have alternative names (ex. Fencehousee Boys=Old Boys=The Packers) or dishonest names (ex. The Yearling Boys are actually 2 years old now) AND some of these groups are co-ed (the Old Girls have 2 geldings with them). Despite what many of you may think (They're just llamas, how can you tell them apart?) there are differences. Aside from the obvious, such as coat colors, specific markings or the like, you quickly learn to look for more subtle differences, such as neck length, conformation, back length, space between legs, etc. Unfortunately, this is a process that takes quite some time, and it frustrates me to no end to not be as good as the people who have been here for 5 years. It's just the way I am. Not working with everyone every day, and sometimes only seeing a group 1ce a week (like all 40 of the Hayshed Girls) makes this an impressive task.
The weather has been less than ideal, and we are still getting flurries in May. We also have gotten several "blustery days" (aka- 30 mph gusts, 10-15 mph sustained), and have only just hit the high 50's in the past couple days. As a result, we haven't gotten to start conditioning any of the llamas. Just like a human athlete, our boys need to work out and practice carrying stuff before we have them hiking 10 miles carrying camping gear and equipment. When the weather finally allows (shouldn't be long now) we will load them up into a trailer and take them out into the surrounding "deserts," or public land that is flat and covered with sagebrush and not much else around. We will probably start heading out soon, as spring seems to finally be taking over, though snow will still not be totally unexpected. I can't wait to head up into those mountains :-)
Other than that... life on the ranch is pretty mellow. Llamas are generally low maintenance animals, and they pretty much take care of themselves. They have loads of pasture to graze on and have automatic water feeders, so they're generally all-around provided for. I'm having a great time working with them, and have already learned a ton about husbandry and general care (if only I had known when we first got Stooks! *shakes fist*) While sometimes the scooping of poop for hours can be tedious and non-educational, it still is an important facet of maintaining and looking after an animal facility. Therefore, I take every day as it comes, and know that I will have plenty of opportunities to work with and learn about these awesome critters.
That about wraps us my big one month+ updates. I hope all is well with you, and as always am open to letters, emails, comments, or questions. I'll try to put up some new pictures every couple days as they appear, especially with the babies starting to pop out. Take care, and goodnight. You all are missed.
Every morning, I feed my cabin boys Curzon Dax, Frisco, Dusty, Quigley, and Alejandro Jr., or A.J. I then usually join Cathy or Karen, the other 2 workers here, in either weighing the llamas (all the llamas get weighed once a week), feeding the llamas (certain groups get extra hay or grain, depending on the group), or moving llamas around. After that, it all depends upon the will of our boss, Al. Wonderful, brilliant man he is, he always has 20 ideas running through his head, and so we need to keep on our toes as to whats coming next. It may be digging a trench for a new telephone line, helping to chop hay/alfalfa, or the ever necessary shoveling of poop from the pastures and night paddocks. Other steady duties including shearing/trimming up some of the guys with heavier coats, practicing picking up feeds for toenail trimming, getting the young'ns use to wearing saddles again and taking them on short walks, or giving de-wormer medication.
We're in the middle of cria (baby) season. Thus far, we have 6 healthy crias (4 girls, 2 boys). Two of them were delivered following the correction of uterine torsions at Colorado State University Vet School. While normally it's not unusual for maidens (first time mothers) to go a little later than their due date (350 days), we still have about 6(?) mothers who are more than 5 days overdue, which is unusual. As a result, we are constantly taking breaks to take a walk/visually examine all the mamas who are still very preggers. 6 down, 16 more to come! Very exciting times. Llamas generally require very little help with delivery, other than occasional gentle pulling to help expedite the process. They usually deliver standing up, and we always try to be on hand to catch the cria before it hits the ground (!). We then lead mother and baby inside, where we dip the umbilical cord in iodine, use a hairdryer to dry off/warm up the baby, and will guide the baby to the teats if necessary. Crias are born precocial, and are usually up and walking within an hour. By the next day, they are walking with confidence, suckling like a fiend, and running around the pasture. I've been present for most of them, and usually get to do the fun stuff.
I've been a little over a month, and am still working pretty hard on learning all the names of the llamas, and which group they're in, and getting to know them personally. Llamas have pretty strong personalities, and especially on a ranch with as much interaction as this one, they are used to humans and aren't scared, which is nice for a change haha. There are about 180 llamas here on the ranch, broken up into groups of various sizes and designations (Cabin Boys, the Old Girls, Yearling Boys, Fat Boys, Middle Calfshed, Hayshed Girls, etc. etc.) As if there needed to be a further challenge, some of these groups have alternative names (ex. Fencehousee Boys=Old Boys=The Packers) or dishonest names (ex. The Yearling Boys are actually 2 years old now) AND some of these groups are co-ed (the Old Girls have 2 geldings with them). Despite what many of you may think (They're just llamas, how can you tell them apart?) there are differences. Aside from the obvious, such as coat colors, specific markings or the like, you quickly learn to look for more subtle differences, such as neck length, conformation, back length, space between legs, etc. Unfortunately, this is a process that takes quite some time, and it frustrates me to no end to not be as good as the people who have been here for 5 years. It's just the way I am. Not working with everyone every day, and sometimes only seeing a group 1ce a week (like all 40 of the Hayshed Girls) makes this an impressive task.
The weather has been less than ideal, and we are still getting flurries in May. We also have gotten several "blustery days" (aka- 30 mph gusts, 10-15 mph sustained), and have only just hit the high 50's in the past couple days. As a result, we haven't gotten to start conditioning any of the llamas. Just like a human athlete, our boys need to work out and practice carrying stuff before we have them hiking 10 miles carrying camping gear and equipment. When the weather finally allows (shouldn't be long now) we will load them up into a trailer and take them out into the surrounding "deserts," or public land that is flat and covered with sagebrush and not much else around. We will probably start heading out soon, as spring seems to finally be taking over, though snow will still not be totally unexpected. I can't wait to head up into those mountains :-)
Other than that... life on the ranch is pretty mellow. Llamas are generally low maintenance animals, and they pretty much take care of themselves. They have loads of pasture to graze on and have automatic water feeders, so they're generally all-around provided for. I'm having a great time working with them, and have already learned a ton about husbandry and general care (if only I had known when we first got Stooks! *shakes fist*) While sometimes the scooping of poop for hours can be tedious and non-educational, it still is an important facet of maintaining and looking after an animal facility. Therefore, I take every day as it comes, and know that I will have plenty of opportunities to work with and learn about these awesome critters.
That about wraps us my big one month+ updates. I hope all is well with you, and as always am open to letters, emails, comments, or questions. I'll try to put up some new pictures every couple days as they appear, especially with the babies starting to pop out. Take care, and goodnight. You all are missed.
Monday, May 2, 2011
29 Days Later (Part 1)
I'm not use to blogging, as I've mentioned before, and rather than overwhelm the blog with tons of smaller updates, I've been saving up my recent developments for a larger anniversaryesque blog :-)
Every night, as I lay in bed, I am able to look out my window and see a small city in the distance. This city is actually a natural gas refinery. In the area around Boulder and Pinedale (the next closest "major" town), deposits of natural gas and oil have been found in the past several decades, and has provided for a boom of income and growth for the communities. These facilities run round the clock, and as a result when driving down the highway at night, you see several of these refineries literally glowing in the distant fields.
About 29 days ago, I arrived here at Highline Trail Llamas. Lots of happenings have occurred since then. First, I will update y'all on my day to day sorts of things, followed up by a Post about life working on the ranch later today.
On Sunday evening, May 1st, I began an experiment after shaving my face. I will not shave for a month, and will repost a picture of my mug at that time to show the results. I expect interesting results :-) What are YOUR predictions loyal readers? Haha
One of the previous interns at HTL had gotten himself a cat but donated it upon leaving. Cathy, thinking that I may get lonely whilst in my cabin by myself for the summer, thought wise to offer me some company in the form of Miss Ima Bear. While having little cat experience (i.e- only restraining ferocious beasts at OSVS and petting the occasional house pet) I took Ima for my own. While I have been a cloudy, and gotten several headaches which I cannot directly attribute to Miss Ima, I can say that we are happily enjoying each others company. Ima wakes me up every morning at 5:45 and then 6:30. I usualyl inform her, politely and respectfully, that I am not ready to wake up at this first alarm, but usually will uprouse myself at the snooze alarm, thereby allowing myself time to accomplish various chores and tasks before my day begins. I'm very happy to have such as cute and affectionate a cat as Ima :)
 |
| she's a sweetie |
 |
| Miss Ima Bear |
Speaking of, returning from my shopping trip in the early morning hours, I took the unique opportunity to pull off the highway and turn off my lights. In an absolute void of light- no highway lights, no moon, no cars coming in the distance, nothing, I was absolutely alone- I looked up. On some nights in the East, you might be lucky to trace the Milky Way star clusters, or see many of the little dot stars between the larger constellations, but man... I could see everything. I got dizzy after looking up for too long, simply due to the enormity and impressive might of the night sky out here. With no clouds, and on the night of a new moon, the stars were spectacular. My camera wouldn't do it justice. I will try and find a way to record it in the months I still have to enjoy here.
I have not officially begun my cooking education, but have taken several steps to start. A few days ago I went on a large shopping spree at Wal-Mart (at Rock Springs, an hour 1/2 south, but it's the only affordable place to go shopping for this much stuff for a guy like me.) There, I bought spices, meats, cooking utensils, and confidence :-) I also have a new crock-pot on the way to help me along, and hopefully very soon you'll get to hear (and see!) some of my culinary efforts. As always, I welcome any recipe or cooking suggestions from you, my thousands of loyal readers. I do participate in a pleasant weekly Wednesday Night dinner with my coworkers, and plan on contributing this week with a special surprise :-)
My creative tendencies have taken a bit of a backseat, as I try to focus on more scientific pursuits. April still was a record month for reading. I do have a package of colored pencils coming in, so I'm sure once I get those I'll probably open them with the zeal of a 2nd grader and start doodling. A visit to the Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs the other day inspired me with their paintings, and I moan over my lack of interest in paint. I saw an original Grandma Moses and Norman Rockwell, as well as dozens of amazing pieces by other local artists. It was inspiring, and as I said, with the colored pencils arrival and a new idea, I will probably start going at that a little more.
My days off are Thursday, and up til this last break, I have spent them sleeping in and rolling around the cabin from this to that. No more! I plan on utilizing and taking advantage of my surrounding and going on trips on my days off (as available). For example, this week I plan on heading north to Jackson, where I am told the pre-tourist season atmosphere is quite calm, and will allow me unhastled time to explore and appreciate the beauty of this world famous ski/resort town. In the future, I'm planning trips north to Yellowstone, south to Dinosaur National Monument, and other exotic locales! :-D
Um...That's all of the exciting things to talk about right now, or at least all I can think of. I'm eating eggs right now with ham and cheese for breakfast (that I made!) before running off to work, so I think I'll end it at that. As always, I always love updates and gossip from all of you, so please feel free to email, txt, or message me too. Hope all is well around the world. So... foobamagoo.
love and hugs,
=nev
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)