Cottonwood Fog Ranch
Cottonwood Fog Ranch itself stretches up the sides of three hills, having very little flat space at their juncture. The five families who make up this ranch, all human, are frustrated at the perpetual drainage problem in the middle of the ranch these past several years. If it would turn into a pond, that would be fine! But no, it's just ... mud. Almost all year long.
The outermost boundaries of Cottonwood Fog Ranch are generally agreed to be where copses of cottonwood trees grow, forming an uneven sort of "wingvine flower" shape pinched inward near the center but spreading out to the northeast and southwest. Cottonwood Fog Ranch raises only cattle; their bulls and steers are usually somewhere on one "petal", overseen by The Twins, while the cows, heifers, and any calves will range across the other "petal", with Kai directing all the ranch hands in that area unless Backfire decides to take a direct hand for a while.
Purpose / Function
The buildings of Cottonwood Fog Ranch are all adobe, but details of their construction have been left up to whoever happens to be trying to build them. Backfire Haynes, for example, has a sturdy brick house just below the ridgeline of one hill with a short downhill walk to a cattle barn of equal vintage. She can see most of both corrals from her bedroom window, and the front doors of all three barns from her porch.
The Morin family live behind the second barn, a relatively newer affair built from scratch after a mudslide took out the previous "bulls' barn" when Backfire was a child. Their house is recognizable as a house, but perpetually having its roof reshingled or redesigned. They have three fireplaces, and something is almost always being slow-roasted over a fire.
The Burtons, the Sharpes, and the Twins each have a building that barely amounts to more than a hut. If the Twins had their druthers, they probably would camp year-round anyway. The Sharpes think their employer ought to build them a decent barracks, while the Burtons are saving up for their own ranch someday.
Set far off to one end of the northeast "petal", within site of the outermost cottonwood copse, is a third barn built with a mix of clay bricks and wood paneling. This barn can be used for housing up to five cattle in need of isolation, but more likely is the site of workshop chores such as saddle repair or light blacksmithing. This is where Miss Melinda Naknirore does her tattooing work every summer on Cottonwood Fog's new arrivals. She uses the white fluffy seeds of the nearby cottonwood trees as her artistic inspiration. Backfire is happy to load Miss Melinda's cart down with some of the fluff when the "branding" is done ... well, to be accurate, Backfire is happy to order some of the Morins to do it, then she'll take credit once it's finished.
The Cottonwood Fog Ranch brand
looks like white cobweb lines
(or maybe carded sheep wool)
on the flank of their mostly-brown cattle.
looks like white cobweb lines
(or maybe carded sheep wool)
on the flank of their mostly-brown cattle.
Families:
- Delia 'Backfire' Haynes, her two hirelings Big Lou Hebert and Short Lou Pitts
- Kai the Gentle Morin, Remy Morin, Sage Kent-Morin, Clara Lambert-Morin
- Effie 'Curly' Haynes-Burton, Cliff Burton
- The Twins (Harp and Rye Hess)
- Ross 'Midnight' Sharpe, Sly Ollie Sharpe
