Buffalo Dan's Bison

Yesterday I turned in my work ID badge and finished the last of the paperwork officially ending my employment with the United States Government.  While I was walking out of the place I used to work, I felt a surreal combination of elated optimism and terror.  Though my decision to resign was made only after years of research, planning, and hard work, it still feels strange to be actually making this carreer transition. Last night I drove down to the ranch for an extended work period and this morning took the photographs you see here. 

Our camper trailer on the ranch just before sunrise. Friday I will work one last night shift at my old job before going fulltime bison ranching.  I've already transitioned to a night schedule at the ranch, which isn't that bad because of the recent high day-time temperatures.  I will, however, look forward to returning to more normal sleep patterns. 

Since we purchased our tractor I've been able to rapidly increase the pace of my post hole augering to the point that I hope to have most of the perminant fencing done by the fall of this year.  The auger is increadibly fast and can dig most holes in under two minutes.  However, with the increase in speed comes an increase in required maintenance.  After augering about 30 holes through a dense mixture of clay, sand, and rocks, I noticed that the replaceable bit tips attached to the end of the auger had become considerably worn down. After reordering replacements from John Deere at a cost of approximately $50, I decided to try hardfacing as a future cost saving strategy.   Until recently I had assumed that hardfacing was really only something you could do with a stick welder.  Most books I could find only describe hardfacing with a stick welder and some even say it's not possible with the average MIG welder.  However, last month while I was exploring the McMaster-Carr

Retirement, resignation, voluntary seperation; call it what you like: I quit my job.  Two weeks ago I submitted my resignation and, by the end of June, I will be bison ranching fulltime.  This wasn't done brashly or out of anger.  Rather, the decision was made only after extensive planning, calculations, and discussion with my wife, Jess.  While this change in my career trajectory is not filled with the same predictability and financial stability of a government job, it takes me in a direction more closely aligned with my roots and what I want to do in life.  I will continue to update this blog as our efforts progress.

  A small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds has taken up residence with my bison herd. Cowbirds are a native North American bird species that originally coexisted with the large bison herds in the Great Plains.  Cowbirds like to eat the insects bison stir up around them while grazing and have developed a knack for moving around the giant animals without getting crushed. Most normal birds reproduce by building a nest, laying eggs, hatching the eggs, and feeding the new-born chicks.  However, because bison herds are frequently on the move and cowbirds depend on them for food, the birds have developed a somewhat different method of producing offspring.  This method, called brood parasitism, involves secretly laying thier eggs in the nests of other birds who then unknowingly raise the young cowbirds as thier own.   When Europeans showed up in North America with cattle the cowbirds ready adapted and today, with cattle farming spanning from coast to coast, cowbirds have been able t