Afternoon With Heritage Horses of Cherry County

We arrived at the Cherry county ranch after a drive south from Valentine. Myself and Gordon Warrick were on an outing to get pictures of some classic, heritage features horses.

The afternoon started with a real treat. Barb made a wonderful dinner of meat loaf, lettuce salad topped with bits of bacon, a zucchini salad, warm biscuits and mashed potatoes.

Then to top it off, we got homemade apple pie topped with ice cream. What a grand lunchtime meal. Table talk included industrial wind turbine activity, the repulsive powerline and butterflies.

Having been here previously the meal continued to the high standards of cattle country culinary cooking.

A bit before 2 p.m. we went to work. A portion of the Foundation Quarter Horses needed to get their picture taken. They had been gathered earlier and were ready in a pen. These are horses with a bloodline based upon heritage of the early days of quarter horses. This herd has a bloodline that is about more than 97% representative as having been bred to improve the bloodline since the mid 1990s.

It was an unusually fine day. The sky was clear. There was no wind. The temperature was also quite nice.

One horse at a time was separated and then moved around in a separate pen in order to get a suitable picture, with Gordon and Mary moving them around to get a suitable perspective. Dan and Leroy were keeping track of details. Each of the horses have a pedigree and details indicated thereon were used to establish the identity of each horse.

There were a dozen horses considered. Records kept included its type such as gelding, etc., along with color and when born.

Things went well as a team getting the horse in and getting a “pose-like” stance.

Afterwards Gordon and I ventured westward to try to find a herd stallion named Mr. Poco Blakburn. He was wandering amidst the hills and was not seen.

Upon returning to the barn and stock pens, further consideration was being given to the identification details of the horses that got their picture taken. Eventually this task was finished and it was time to move the horses back to the pasture. Three riders including Leroy, Mary and Mark mounted up. The ranch dogs, including Daisy, ended their respite and also came along.

This move was considered as the sun light was right and the horses would be suitably heading southward so they would be moving forward and that would facilitate picture taking.

There were images captured as the stock left the pen, moved through a meadow and then across the North Loup River. Some great pictures were taken as the small herd crossed the river.

Us two photographers then ventured westward again but could still not find the herd stallion in its pasture.

It was a beautiful day with beautiful horses in a beautiful country with great hosts. What a special and unique start for the autumn season.

Mark, Mary, Leroy, Dan and Gordon.

Quarter horses after crossing the North Loup River.

Community Pride at a Valentine Neighborhood

With autumn ascending the colors of the changing season are spectacular. Sumac is getting more red daily and some tree leaves are descending. Fall bird migrants are arriving and subtle amidst the land habitats.

This transition is obvious in subtle ways at a Valentine neighborhood that is looking so fine at this time of seasonal change.

After many months of recognizing Yard of the Month in Lincoln while residing there, features to be appreciated are cognizant and are very obvious now along Lake Shore Drive, along the north side of the Mill Pond.

Lawns are well mown, regularly. There are many spaces where multiple sorts of flowers colorfully bloom and which have been carefully tended for months and thrive because of the ample rains and splendid sun. It took some effort to get the results which are now so obvious. The floral variety is amazing. Women and men created a wonderful setting for their homescapes that look simply suberb.

Various flags fly with pride, including those expressing Husker pride on game days. There is nearly no trash.

Even the two fire hydrants along the drive are freshly painted in a newly indicated red and are the best looking hydrants in the city. They convey a vivid red coloration amidst the great green of lawns. Horse pen fencing has been recently painted newly white at the west end of the drive. Even the city of Valentine has helped by repairing drainways.

The multiple deer and wild turkey are indifferent, but this place is their haven. They ignore the flapping flags and occasional misguided traffic as they go about their daily routine. Birds enjoy the available seed. Turkey Vultures - supreme aerialists - always soar above during this season.

People along the drive obviously care and the result is obvious! It took lots of work to get things to completion as they are now.

Now if the perp that throws beer cans out of their truck while traversing the drive would stop that miscreant behavior, all would be good. Owners of walking dogs also need to be good and clean up after their pets!

Public Lands Day Outing to Fort Niobrara NWR

It was too cool early in a day. There were winds that added an unappreciated chill. And it was too cloudy to be any nice of a pleasant time outdoors.

This was the weather that outdoor enthusiasts dealt with at the public lands day event at the wilderness outlook at the western extent of Fort Niobrara NWR during the morning of Saturday, September, 28th.

To start the time of appreciation, birders listened at the outlook over the beautiful Niobrara River valley where crows were distinct so vociferous. Then we walked about as led by a some so-called local bird expert. Some bird lore of the refuge was shared as we all wandered across the prairie of the northern extent of the refuge, which is one of the oldest such public places in the U.S.A.

There were 14 avian species identified according to the indicative list. It started with a downy woodpecker. Flickers were very vocal as a single turkey vulture floated above the landscape to the west. Two transitory Canada goose flew overhead and were quite notable as they are the signatory species for the federal agency caring for this public land.

One of the best occurrences were one or two very small red-breasted nuthatch vocal among the pines. This arboreal habitat is their home and they indicated this reality on another one of their days in the wild. Four so subtly colored birds on a tree snag finally became identified as pine siskins. A regular towhee of the regularly occurring spotted sort was in the river valley, adding its voice to the morning scene. When a red-tailed hawk flew along overhead, it must have been obviously looking for cottontail rabbits, as two were seen hopping around along our walk route. Other regulars were black-capped chickadees, the blue jay and a very nice flock of goldfinch.

Missing on the list were the LBJs. Those would be the little brown jobs, most notably autumnal sparrows. They would have been lurking amidst the ample growth of prairie grasses but since they prefer to dive deep in the vegetation or lurk behind some shrub growth, their identify was very much anonymous though very present as noticed elsewhere in the Valentine vicinity.

Then on this Saturday, a volunteer of the National Park Service described identifying features of monarch butterflies and their nature. Especially notable were facts about how this species strives to survive and what many people do and can do locally to assist. The reality is very subtle but distinctive as it was shown and explained.

Some errant rain drops ended the event enjoyed by a few visitors to a natural place for which they were notably appreciative.

This event was sponsored by the National Park Service and Niobrara Council of Valentine.

Emergency Meeting Held to Discuss Closed County Road Conditions Due to Flooding

August 29, 2019. Grant County News 135(5): 1, 3.

An emergency meeting was held by the Cherry County commissioners on August 22 to discuss the condition of county roads damaged by high water conditions.

A first action taken to allow accepting road work proposals without going through a bidding process was unanimously passed by the three commissioners.

Next was a discussion of problem areas and potential sources of funds. The budget for road work is currently depleted county wide.

Information considered included a preliminary list compiled by county staff indicating more than 120 locations where roads had been damaged by the storm. An estimated cost of repair was indicated at more than $1.2 million.

Starting the discussion was Gary Weaver of Emergency Management explaining the outcome of a survey with staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. During August 12-16 there were 1600 miles driven to determine particular details of work necessities that may be eligible for federal assistance. Locales were evaluated, distances measured and problems identified. Pictures were also taken.

Results of the FEMA review are expected to be available to county officials very soon for their review.

During this time, Lloyd Smith, roads supervisor checked places with staff from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and others to evaluate other places which might be eligible for federal aid. Examples mentioned were near Valentine NWR, south of Wood Lake and in the Goose Creek country.

Federal aid is provided on a cost-share of 80-20 with the 20 percent the amount the county would have to fund.

The extent of road places with problems has continually changed following the “bomb cyclone” storm in March. Locales were fixes had been made deteriorated again following extensive rains in the southern part of the county in late July. New problems also became evident.

Information considered included a preliminary list compiled by county staff initially indicated 124 locations where roads had been damaged storm events. An approximate cost of repair was about $1.2 million.

The county has 1,405 miles of roads, according to NDOT information.

A majority of these roads have been affected by water conditions, officials said.

Roads within the county are classified three ways by county officials: 1) arterials and secondary 2 and 3 (including minimum maintenance) for all others. Roadways and locales where access is basically not available will receive priority, according to the commissioners.

An initial list of 14 especially notable locales has been reduced to seven road closure locations in mid-August. Numerous other roads may be passable to a lesser extent but will require additional work to allow semi-truck traffic.

A discussion was then held to determine which problem sites need particular, basically immediate attention, and where private contractors may be hired to facilitate completion of the repairs needed.

An initial list of 14 especially notable locales has been reduced to seven road closure locations in mid-August. Numerous other roads may be passable to a lesser extent but will require additional work to allow semi-truck traffic.

In eastern Cherry county some of the priority locales include West Wood Lake road and Plum Creek Road.

Repair of the Kennedy Road west of the refuge was nearing completion by a private contractor during mid-August. Final work would include mulching and seeding where dirt work occurred along the road shoulder. The approximate cost of repair was indicated to be $225,000 on the road problem list.

Work to address conditions through west Dry Valley has progressed well and was indicated to be nearly complete.

A priority locale is along the North Whitman road within the immediate vicinity of the Henderson Road intersection and a mile to the west.

The Survey Valley Road continues to have its surface rocked so it can be traversed.

Two other problematic places include the North Ashby Road from Alkali Lake north for five miles. The biggest apparent problem is deep holes that inhibit transit. One rancher said that if these holes were filled that would be very helpful to improve travel possibilities.

Access is constricted along the Carver Road east of the Huffman Ranch, it was explained at the meeting. There is apparently no large truck access. Cleaning of ditches and culverts were mentioned as options to improve conditions.

West of the Fawn Lake Ranch headquarters was said to also be very problematic. There are ranches in this area where there is no public road access. Discussion ensued that conveyed the possible need to change the alignment of a portion of the roadway.

At Steverson Lake WMA the rise of water has constricted the width of the road. There are also concerns that the current conditions might undermine the remaining right-of-way and create a danger. Perhaps the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission could assist in addressing the situation, one commissioner said.

With the extent of work needed more than one contractor may be required, according to commissioner comments. It is also possible that temporary workers might be hired to help complete tasks in a quicker manner.

Currently, there is no amount available to indicate the extent of costs to restore county roads to a condition prior to the bomb cyclone and subsequent rainfall events. The commissioners agreed that repairs would not be completed before the end of 2019.

There were ten county residents present at the public meeting. Their opportunity to comment was restricted, based upon an edict statement by a commissioner.

Ranch women and men are increasingly concerned about the condition of essential travel routes. Reasons indicated include the essential requirement to transport livestock on large semis, hay and seasonal feed may need to be trucked in, difficulty for students to get to school, access for emergency services and not having mail delivery.

There are problems of land access to even drill a well, a local business man explained during an ancillary phone conversation.

In some situations, where feasible, temporary trails through the upland hills are being used to bypass problematic spots, with some residents needing to drive across the hills just to get anywhere. Also, some ranchers are required to drive many miles around to reach another portion of their ranch. Some ranchers have used short-distance cattle drives across neighboring land to move stock to alternate pasture or to a spot suitable for their shipment.

State Highways

In other roads matter, NDOT staff indicated on the 22nd that the depth of water – about 20 inches - along Highway 97 continues to be problematic. Since the problem area is within a closed basin, it is hoped that natural processes will occur and result in a reduction of water depth. This major highway continues to be closed as it has been for months.

Water over Highway 83 at Toms Lake on the Valentine NWR continues. Vehicle travel is limited to one direction at a time as controlled by traffic lights.

Effort to Make Cherry County Flag

August 28, 2019. Effort to make Cherry county flag. Valentine Midland News 48(14): 10. Letter to the editor.

Having recently realized a big interest in flags of various sorts, an effort was made to determine if Cherry County had its own flag. Apparently there is not one, after searching online details, so a project was started to devise something properly symbolic.

Several design options were considered, with input from some county residents. A final design was eventually selected, manufactured and recently received after working with a local company that provided great service.

The 3x5 foot flag readily but simply conveys several appropriately notable features in a realistic manner:

• An overall background color to convey the idea of sand, as in sandhills.
  
• A red colored frame to indicate the county boundary.
  
• Two sets of six stars to represent 66 which is the number shown on county license plates, and also to refer to the dark skies of a vast landscape.
  
• An oval bordered with rope in respect to a primary tool used on the range by cattle men and women for so many decades.
  
• A cow-calf pair because Cherry County has one of the largest number of them in the U.S.A. No particular breed was depicted because there are a many types of quality cattle present here.
  
• A windmill to recognize the availability of ample and high-quality water for stock and wildlife.
  
• Two representative birds because county lands are a haven for avifauna.
  
• A few little pollinators are shown because they are also an essential aspect of county biodiversity.
  

The flag was made so the view is the same from either side.

Only five flags were purchased due to the cost, so each is now an immediate collectible. A flag was donated to both the office of the Cherry County assessor and the Valentine Public Library to ensure they could be freely seen by the public.

Examples of “county and municipal flags of Nebraska” can be viewed by searching the internet using the term in quotes. There are several counties adjacent to Cherry County which also do not have an officially designated flag to convey pride for a homeland.

A Closer Look at the Monarch Population at Valentine NWR

August 7, 2019. A closer look at the monarch population at Valentine NWR. Valentine Midland News 48(11): 1. With two pictures.

Twenty volunteers helped record occurrence of monarch butterflies on a supreme Sand Hill morning with great scattered cloudness on August 3rd at Valentine NWR.

People from Valentine, Thedford, Ainsworth, Bassett, Norfolk and South Dakota helped record eggs, several exquisitely striped larvae and two beautiful flitting about adults associated with prevalent common milkweed, as well as swamp, green and sand milkweed. There were five survey transects along the north side of Hackberry lake where these plants thrive.

Each participant walked along and inspected hundreds of individual plants for any indication of monarch butterfly occurrence. Everyone dodged the poison ivy. Along the way dickcissels and common yellowthroat were heard amidst their favored prairie-land habitat.

The survey was sponsored by the Sandhill Prairie Refuge Association with help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The effort was associated with the third annual international monarch butterfly monitoring blitz.

Dark Sky Reserve Would be a Boon to Cherry County

August 7, 2019. Dark sky reserve would be a boon. Valentine Midland News 48(11): 14. Letter to the editor.

Dear Editor,

The vividly dark skies of the sandhills are dramatically obvious upon looking above and a prime reason why the annual Nebraska Star Party is held at Merritt Reservoir in Cherry County. This is also why there is an effort underway to establish an internationally recognized dark sky park at the reservoir.

This is a wonderfully laudable goal.

Recognition of the dark skies of the region can also be expanded to the adjacent Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest which comprises 116,000 acres of Forest Service property. It is a perfect setting of dark skies above predominant prairie and some groves of planted trees. This place seemingly has only a single light associated with the former ranger station. There are improved roads that provide great access. Camping is available at the Steer Creek campground and there are facilities for horses so it is well suited to outdoor recreation.

Adjacent properties that could contribute to the recognition area include Anderson Bridge WMA (137 acres) and Chat Canyon WMA (418 ac.). At the northeast corner of the forest is a tract of Bureau of Educational Lands and Funds comprising 7600 acres that is leased for cattle grazing.

No lights at any of these spaces.

To the east are parcels associated with the Snake River Preservation Group, the Prairie Club and The Ranch golf courses which might also be considered.

There are also nearby large ranch expanses that could perhaps be included?

Designation of these various locales as a combined dark sky reserve would be a boon to Cherry County and a simply wonderful addition to tourism resources that are an obvious economic benefit. This is a unique opportunity.

Sky watching can be really fun is someone is interested in watching meteor showers while enjoying the night-view of constellations or to get a really fine view of super moons rising above a native prairie or a pine-clad vantage in the Niobrara valley.