Fall Works

October 25, 2019
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Jolyn Young

Posted in: Featured, Photography, Ranch Life

Ah, I love me some fall works! The air is turning crisp and cool, the leaves are turning red and gold, and the calves are turning into paychecks. It’s my favorite time to get out on the ranch with my husband and take some pictures. This year finds him day working for the C Punch Ranch, north of Lovelock, Nevada. I loaded up our three kids to visit him for a long weekend. We enjoyed heading out to the desert with the crew for one day. These images are just a small sampling of the cowboys out there right now. I was able to capture images from a narrow window of work; you’ll notice that weaning and shipping are not featured. But, I hope you enjoy the pictures I made from a day of range branding.

Here, Hector takes aim for a calf he’s worked to the edge of the herd. He was part of the morning’s 3-man branding crew responsible for branding a few calves that were born during the summer and therefore missed out on being branded during the typical spring season.

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I really like the way his Paint horse’s hooves look like they’re standing on misty water in this image.

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Sam throws his loop at an unsuspecting calf.

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Hector has way too much fun being a cowboy. But if you’re going to be a cowboy, that’s the only way to do it. Here, mama protectively keeps watch while Jim the One-Man-Ground-Crew sets the heel rope.

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Jim sets the head rope on a different calf. The fine, powdery dust made for great imagery but terrible working conditions. I told the guys they should have done what I did: Stand outside the branding trap on the upwind side. Duh.

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Did I say 3-man branding crew? I mean 3 men and one cowboy-in-training. Because the only way to learn to be a cowboy is to grab a rope and hold on tight. Here, 4-year-old Milo leans back on the heel rope while his dad administers vaccine. Note: A horse and cowboy securely held the rope behind Milo.

fall works