Winter is my least favorite ranching season. The weather is generally wet, cold, blustery, and rather than sipping hot cocoa, we have to be out in the inclement weather feeding cows or pulling calves or mending fence or breaking ice. I use the term "we" very loosely here. This year, the traditional winter months of … Continue reading Winter/Springtime Ranching
calves
Weaning Calves
Ah...the sweetness of sleeping in until 7:23 AM. Henley and I haven't had that luxury in five days. Our first day of very little sleep started out with gathering warm clothes and snacks for a day of gathering a weaning calves. We only rode for an hour or so to gather one pasture of mama … Continue reading Weaning Calves
Camping, Gathering, and Branding
Seems like all we do anymore is brand calves! Two weekends ago we spent the night at the Middle Fork of the Weiser River so that we could get up at 5:00 AM to gather our friend Darren's cows. That's right 5:00 AM. We had a blast hanging out around the fire and playing in … Continue reading Camping, Gathering, and Branding
Calves of all Colors
We've got a full spectrum of colored livestock this year. While most of our calves were black last year, this year's crop comes in quite the variety. We've got black ballies. We've got Charolais. Little darker colored Charolais. We've got red-bodied-white-faced-and-socked babies. Charolais...Hereford...Gray looking babies. Red-bodied-white-faced-except-an-eye-patch-and-with-a-skunk-tail babies. Chocolate brown and a skunk tail. And finally, … Continue reading Calves of all Colors
Tagging Calves
Now that our cows are finally having their babies, Mr. Rancher has a bit more work to do. He has to check the cows throughout the day, and sometimes the night, to make sure that all is going well as they deliver their babies. Once the babies are born, he tags each one with its mother's … Continue reading Tagging Calves
PJs, Pictures, and Pretty Cows
Henley and I went with Mr. Rancher to feed today. Not much to say about the experience, but I did get a lot of fun pictures of the morning. Oh, one thing, the first baby calf showed up today!!! We also took a few photos with "flat Megan" my niece's version of "flat Stanley." Her … Continue reading PJs, Pictures, and Pretty Cows
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