April 29, 2016

Spring Roundup

The Huebner Ranch is in the process of rounding up the cattle from their winter grazing lands on Matagorda Beach so they can be moved to safer inland pastures before hurricane season arrives.


When we drove out to the beach last week, we saw that there were a good number gathered up already across from the Matagorda Bay Nature Park.


Just a few years ago, the process of moving the cattle involved a real old fashioned cattle drive, right through the little town of Matagorda. But now that the new bridge can accommodate heavy cattle trucks, I'm don't think that is done anymore.


Some of the herd is grazed on the other side of the river and have to swim across in the fall and of course, swim back in the spring, even the new little calves. I've never seen that in person, but here's a good video of the cattle being driven across the river in the fall: Cattle Drive Across the Colorado.


Modern cowboys still need a good horse, sometimes a good boat, and it appears from the photo above, a cell phone comes in handy, too.

4 comments:

  1. This is a fun post - cattle drives are definitely a part of America's history.

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. I would love to see the cattle swimming across the river in person one day.

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  2. Interesting post and great photos. I also love the line about a good cowboy needing a cell phone :)

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    1. Thank you, Debby. We can't go anywhere without our phones these days, can we?

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