A cold, wet fog has been set over the ranch for three weeks. This is unusual. Hornitos is typically high enough in elevation to be above the fog most of the time. I’ve lived here for 23 years and have seen fog roll in for a few days or a week and break up by afternoon allowing the sun to emerge. This has not the case this this year. The fog has set into the Central Valley of California so thickly, that it has pushed the outer edges of the bank up and over the low foothills. You have to move up to 1500 feet or so in elevation to emerge from the fog.
The upper elevations have been having higher than normal temperatures this winter. This makes me grateful for the fog. It keeps things cold and wet. The temperature has been in the mid to high 30s overnight and the mid to high 40s during the day. Water that likely would have evaporated by now with clear skies and higher temperatures, is still here, soaking into the ground and available to wildlife in puddles, creeks and on grass blades. As I walk through the trails, the ground is so wet that I kick water off the grasses as I move.
Two days ago, the fog bank finally broke. The days have been beautiful and the air crisp and clear. A large storm is expected this week (the wind is blowing ferociously as I write this), and David and I have been walking around the buildings to ensure everything is secured.
Large Projects Near Completion
David and I have been working on building rainwater collection structures and attaching them to the wildlife guzzlers. In doing so, we are attempting to provide clean, abundant water to wildlife throughout the year. Guzzler 1 is very, very near completion. The pipe has been laid between the two structures. We only need to connect the pipe to each tank. I dug a rain garden to accommodate the over flow from the 1500 gallon tank. I still need to fill the trench with mulch (chipped oak from local trees) and attach a pipe to the overflow hole.
The protection fence was also completed. I did set up and clean up work on that project, and David did the rest of the work (Thank you David!).
Conservation Projects
A typical day, beyond all the sundry projects, is me walking the ranch monitoring the land and the function of the infrastructure I’ve established. I have fixed pipe return on the guzzlers, straightened out gutter screen, removed branches from exclusion fencing, added branches to brush piles, helped acorn find homes in the dirt near downed wood, shored up logs in the check dams and a wide variety of other tasks. Recently, David and I walked the fence line looking for open topped pipe. Old pipe is often used as posts in fencing work. Typically, the open side of the pipe is capped with cement to prevent animals entering/falling into the pipe with no way to get out. Every now and then, a pipe can be missed, so it is important to take a look and cap any holes left open. On the exclusion fences, there was only one large pipe post that needed capping (it had a temporary cap – a glove placed over the hole!) and six smaller pipes used as ends for wire gates.
We filled the holes with quick drying cement and found some trees that had fallen across the fences or were at risk of falling. We will need to head back out to trim the branches/remove the trees from the wire and repair the fence. There will likely be more trees falling on the fence after this large storm. The task list grows.
Transitions
My former cattleman has been ill, and decided to retire in August 2025. He got out at a good time with very high prices for cattle and beef. He is a nice guy, very knowledgeable and easier to work with than others. I have missed our conversations. As a result, the ground has been rested significantly this fall. There have been no cows except my neighbor’s loose ones, which I wrote about in the last post. It was possible that his son would lease the ranch, but he decided not to go into the business. As a result, for the first time since I’ve been here, we have had an opening. Up here, there are many good operators to choose from. There is almost always a need for more ground.
I have been attending educational sessions and conferences hosted by Communities in Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) for almost five years. They offer excellent topics, support and resources. Through their work, I learned that many young people who want to begin in the ag business have a hard time accessing land, since it is so expensive to buy. This has increased the average age of farmers and ranchers. Similar to my former cattleman’s son, the next generation in ag families often does not want to farm or ranch. This is a huge problem for food production/security in our nation. It is no wonder. The business is difficult and being made more difficult by our federal government and wealthy corporations who set prices. I had this in mind when I selected my next cattle producer, a young woman who feeds our community and is trying take her cattle business from very small to larger scale, Lacey Sharp of Sharp Farms & Cattle Co.
Lacey is from a generational cattle family in Texas, but lives in Mariposa County now. She also has a grazing business using goats and sheep to decrease fire danger. Most recently, she joined the local Fire Safe Council. The woman has a lot of energy and interest in doing good! Important to me, she is focused on regenerative agriculture and cares about the health of the land. We are still getting to know one another, but so far, things are going well. Cows will be on in January.
Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season
From my home to yours, wishing you a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday season.
PolliNative 