Yesterday our neighbors to the west of our house decided to burn, even though I had asked them last year to wait until I could get the meadow between their place and our house wet.

We were sitting watching the wind whip the flames just a quarter mile to the west of us, and able to see that it was rapidly getting out of their control. We were just about to call the fire department when we saw the fire trucks begin to arrive. They went through our meadow and over to the edge of the fire and started to contain it very quickly.

We were much luckier than the poor people of Ordway Colorado, who have lost most of their entire town from a prescribed burn which they thought was out, but had smoldered for a few days and then reignited with high winds!

People just don't understand how long things can smolder and how quickly fire can spread in dry grass. In 1988 a neighbor had burned an old hay stack and some trash. A few days later, when the wind whipped up, as it always does in March, it set his meadows on fire and the flames were heading towards our meadows and some cattle. We threw the gates open so the cattle could escape, and then helped the fire department try to put out the smoldering manure patties where they had the flames stopped at a ditch, but then the wind blew a spark across the ditch onto our meadow. I jumped across the ditch and tried to put out the ember, but within seconds 300 acres were on fire. It looked just like gasoline had been poured on the entire meadow. It was astounding to see how quickly those flames spread!

Our Monte Vista Fire Department is to be congratulated again for their speedy response and ability to get it under control. It seems like every year they save our place from neighbors who insist on burning in March and April when it's windy, the grass is dry, and the ditch isn't on yet to make sure we can get our meadows wet before they burn.

It's amazing that in the 111 years we have been in operation on this place we have never found the need to burn, yet we've managed to stay in business, and are regualarly acknowledged for the excellent condition of our meadows.

None of the old-timers around here ever burn, but it seems as though every new neighbor feels the need to; that is until it gets away from them and the fire department is called. Usually after a couple times of that happening they become much more judicious in their burning.

It's a very disconcerting feeling to watch flames heading straight towards your house, with nothing between you and the fire but dry grasses. Just as the fire trucks came out we were getting ready to start wetting down the house with a garden hose and begin taking the photo albums and the family photos off of the walls and out to the truck so we could at least save them.

Once again: Thank you Monte Vista Fire Department. You guys Rock!!!!

After a bumper hay crop last year we thought we had a lot of hay and would have plenty of carry-over, but with the cold winter and so much snow on the ground we went through it faster than I thought we would.

You have to love the seasons here in the Valley. We will get spring in about June, then a little bit of summer in July, fall starts in August and winter can begin in October. In 1992 we had 25 degrees below zero on the day before Halloween.

The first one I found had just been born when I checked on it, and I found it with the hood over its face. I tore the hood off, lifted the calf by its back legs, clearing all fluid from its face, and made sure it was able to breath.

Later that evening, I had just gotten out of the hot tub and showered, when I looked through the living room window, across the road, where most of our cows are calving, and the evening sun shone at just the right angle that I could see that a cow had just calved and that the calf was born with a hood. I threw on my hiking boots and sprinted across the highway and through the pasture (I'm sure I looked like a crazy man to the motorists on the highway passing by) and reached the calf in time to remove the hood, and once again held it upside down to remove any fluids it may have aspirated.

Both calves are thriving, nursing, running, bucking and jumping, with the irresistable vigor and vitality of a new-born calf, which does my heart good.

Earlier this month my wife, Cathy, was upset with me for spending the money to purchase tickets to the "Frozen Four" NCAA hockey tournament in Denver this April, but by saving those two calves today I paid for those tickets and more than deserve them!