What a difference a year can make. Alkali Lake Ranch cowboy Corben Clarkson whistles as he rides along behind a group of cows in a home ranch pasture where you are barely able to see any of the horse’s legs. Last year this was just low burned-off stubble, not from over-grazing, but from the accumulated endless (or so it seemed) days of excessive heat last July and August, coupled with zero-precipitation. This year, the grass is stirrup-high —  a level of growth old-timer’s reminisce about.