A Feeding Frenzy - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Doing Scary Things- Ranch Wife Style

February 18, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

The comfort zone- a place of ease, perceived control, and little stress. Let’s be honest, we all want to operate inside our comfort zone where we can keep anxiety at bay, feel confident, and know what we are doing. We fear failure so we ensure success by only doing those things we have already done. But experience teaches that the most growth and learning happens when we step outside that comfort zone. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do something everyday that scares you. These small things that make us uncomfortable help us build courage to do the work we do.”

Life on the ranch tends to give us all plenty of moments outside our comfort zone that we can either embrace and learn through or shy away from and stay stagnant. I’ll admit that embracing those moments feels especially hard when my failures are out on display for so many others to see. It’s ok for my growing children to learn from failure, but as a grown adult, I too often feel like I should just know, well… everything.

Just last week I took the opportunity to do something new and outside my comfort zone. For some, this might seem like a simple daily chore but for me, it was a whole new experience- feeding cows solo. Now I go out and help feed often, sometimes daily. I know the routine, what to feed, how much, but I’ve always been the crew that opens the gates, cuts the net wrap off and such.

What I haven’t ever done is be the guy in the tractor behind the wheel. If we had to choose between my very capable husband and myself in the seat, we choose him because we want to get the job done and move on. And, really, why should I do it when he is there?

Eventually the day rolled around when all of the usual feeding crew were gone. The roping that was supposed to get done with plenty of time for the ranchers to get home and feed, went long, lending to one of two possibilities. Either they would have to feed late after getting home or I could jump in and try to do it myself. I pulled on my big girl coveralls and jumped in the tractor seat, sure that I could feed three bales of hay without disaster striking.

There were a few things I knew I had on my side as I set out- first I had the basics of tractor mechanics down so that I could drive faster than at a snail pace and move the loader in all the necessary directions. Second, if I had questions, FaceTime put me just one phone call away from help. And third, cows don’t care how pretty the feeding is, they just want the hay out.

Getting to the stackyard I found the right hay, and through a little trial and error, managed to get a bale on the forks and grab one with the three point bale squeeze on the back. It wasn’t as smooth and easy as when the guys do it, but I was doing it. I headed up the hill to the hungry heifers, planning in my mind how I was going to go about feeding. I would set the first bale down, cut the wrap off, tip it over, send it rolling down the hill and that would keep the cows out of the way while I put the other two in bale feeders around the pasture. Easy enough.

Everything started off according to plan until it was time to send that bale rolling down the hill. What seemed like a simple little push with the forks was hardly so and because it was taking longer than usual, the cows were now starting to get in the way. To complicate things even more, it was suddenly dark outside.

I was definitely outside my comfort zone, but also so in the thick of what I was doing that there was no quitting.

Scooping up the bale I had intended to roll down the hill, I put it in the first feeder and opted to try again with the second bale, learning from my earlier mistakes. It took a little trial and error but bale number two was finally rolled out and the cows were content to leave me alone while I fed the last bale.

Heading to the feeder, I saw that it was on a hill and while I might be in a tractor, I had better be smart about how I went about getting there. Between the snow and mud, the hill was slick and in that moment, a distinct memory of a teenage girl failing to turn a tractor up a muddy hill came rushing back to me.

Putting the tractor in the low, snail pace gear, I carefully headed down the hill, making sure I had a clear plan out of there after dropping my load. All seemed well as I made my way to the feeder until I stopped the tractor to pull off the net wrap and noticed the tractor continued to slide. I quickly turned the wheels and that was enough to keep it still. I knew I could dump the bale but I wasn’t sure how I would get out of my predicament once I straightened out again.

Four wheel drive. That was the solution. I really should have thought of that before heading down the slippery hill but at least I was thinking of it now. The only problem was that of the millions of buttons, levers and switches, I had no idea which to toggle. And I was sure that the wrong one would probably make the whole tractor implode.

Mustering the courage to make that phone call that admitted a bit of failure, I called my husband and asked for help. Without laughing at my mistakes or making me feel even more dumb than I already felt, my rancher easily helped me get out of my sticky situation. I dropped the last bale, skirted around the feeder, and headed for home quite proud of what I had finally accomplished that night.

For some, this was a simple chore, something they could probably do with their eyes closed, although I don’t recommend it. They made it seem easy but as I went through the very steps they did, it seemed so complicated and almost dauntin. I hope you chuckle about this little ranch wife willing to help even when the job is outside her comfort zone. But more importantly I hope you learn a few lessons from her.

Learn that you can accomplish far more than you think you can. You just have to try. New things are hard and scary- they are supposed to be! But, trying, jumping in with both feet is the only way to grow. Learn that people are here to help you. Asking for help isn’t admitting failure, even though it feels like it. Learn that the only real confidence in life comes from conquering those moments of fear, big or small. I might not be on the “A team” when it comes to the feeding crew, but if the job needs doing, I know I can do it. Next time, I just might have to start a little earlier and find the four wheel drive a little sooner.

REAL Taco a.k.a. Carne Asada

February 19, 2018 by Allison

Tomorrow is Tuesday, so dinner calls for TACOS! Taco Tuesday is something my family can always get behind. It satisfies my husbands Mexican craving and it is such an easy meal to adapt for the kiddos. This recipe has a lot of names- Street Tacos, Carne Asada, Steak tacos, Taco bus tacos, but at our house there is only one name I need to say and everyone knows what I am talking about- REAL Tacos.

The Rancher lived in Mexico, near Tijuana, for a couple of years and fell in love with ALL Mexican food and all the things that makes Mexican food so good. Things like freshly squeezed lime juice, avocado, pico de gallo, and cilantro. These are some of the critical things that make these tacos REAL tacos. But the kicker is the beef. A flank steak, thinly sliced and marinated with lime juice, cilantro, and jalapeno with a little seasoning, flame grilled for just a few minutes on each side and it is SO GOOD! Its so good that you don’t even have to have it on a Tuesday.

Just a few tips when you make this delish dish. I have seen some grocery stores that carry a cut of meat called carne asada that is made just for sort a thing. It is thinly sliced and ready for the marinade. But you could also grab a flank steak and do the cutting yourself. If this is the case, when I say thin, I mean super thin. Like 1/8″ thin. Between the thin slices and the great grain, you have tender bites perfect for a taco! It will be a little easier to cut thin if it is a little frozen and if you start in the center of your steak and cut towards the ends.

When it comes time to grill your carne asada, you are going to want a hot grill. The idea is that you are only going to grill it for a few minutes on each side so you want a good sear on the outside without losing the juices in the middle. Salting the meat, even just a little, will help keep the juices from dripping out as it cooks. Let the meat rest for a few minutes and then cut it up across the grain for the best tacos your Tuesday has ever seen!

Carne Asada

The best tacos your Tuesday will ever see! These tacos start as thinly sliced steak marinated in spices, cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and jalapeno, grilled hot and end up as taco perfection!

Ingredients

1/4 Cup olive oil
2 limes, juiced
1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1-1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 lb flank or skirt steak

Instructions

Cut steak into 1/8" thin slices and place in glass baking dish. In a separate bowl. mix together all other ingredients. Pour over steak and make sure that all sides are well coated. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat grill up to high heat. Place steak on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill, wrap in tinfoil and let rest 10 minutes. Cut into thin slices against the grain.
Serve tacos on your favorite tortillas- corn, white, or homemade! Top with pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, queso or your favorite taco Tuesday fixins!

Weekends at Locomotive

March 17, 2017 by Allison

One of my weekend highlights is always heading down to Locomotive. There is something about the wide open and empty range that soothes my soul. And maybe its just because I love getting away from the house work and cleaning, but I’m pretty sure its more than that.

Working down to Locomotive isn’t anything crazy exciting. We all pile in the gator and drive around checking the water and cows. We tag a few calves here and there and we make sure every baby has a mama. Until the snow melted, we took some time to dump a little hay around. Every once in a while we find a baby that has been abandoned, usually they were a twin, and we bring them home to the ranch with us. After we give everything a good once over, we load up and head home.

See? Nothing crazy. But I love it!

I love it when my kids get to spend time with their dad. What better way to learn how to be a rancher than to see their hero do it. They ak question, jump in to help, and soak it all in. Its a chance that they have to disconnect from the world that is happening around them. Even as little as they are, they can still get sucked into the tv and computer and what not. But when they are out on the range, they are in a whole different world of their own making. In seconds they can find adventure.

I love it that we can go somewhere and its almost like time stops. The rush and hustle of life just disappears. That is something precious when you are a mom that lives by a never ending to-do list that keeps you hopping from job to the next. Somehow, the list doesn’t matter out there.

I love it because we can just be ourselves. There is no judging that I didn’t put makeup on that day. In fact, if I did, it would only get covered with the layers of dust so no one would see it anyway! The cows don’t care what clothes you wear. They don’t care how rambunctious and rowdy the kids are. We can just rock it how we like to!

Everyone needs a place like Locomotive. Somewhere that they feel safe and at peace and totally confident. Somewhere that provides a little perspective when we get so consumed with what keeps us going from day to day. Somewhere that when we go home, we feel a little stronger and ready to take life on again.

In this crazy world, that can be hard to find.

Where is your “Locomotive”?

Our Snow-Pocalypse

February 7, 2017 by Allison

Hello from the land of snow!

Can you finally see us out here? The snow is finally settling! If you add up the total inches accumulated, we have had like 71″ of snow. Is that not insane?! That is over 5 feet of snow! But don’t imagine that all fluffy 71″ are still standing like they just fell. Some of that snow was way heavy and packed everything down with it. We had a week of warmer weather that helped melt things down a little too. And we actually had a couple of inches of rain that dropped the level down even more.

We have been praying for the moisture for so long and we feel so blessed to finally have it. But in the dry spell that we have been having the last few years, we might have forgotten the not so awesome side of so much moisture.

Now, I want you to know I AM NOT COMPLAINING! Just simply explaining the challenges of having so much snow. Because there are challenges, friends. Besides the obvious road closures keeping us from going ANYWHERE, school snow days, and hours spent cleaning off my roof so it won’t fall in (I might have been stuck up there for a while…), the biggest challenge has been keeping the cows on the up and up.

I’ve told you before that we winter our cows down in Locomotive (some come home for the fall and until mid-February, but then they end up back down there…). Its a great place to have them for the winter because, generally, there is no snow. Or just a little bit of snow. That makes it better for calving, less sickness, and not having to feed them everyday. But when you have so much snow their bellies are dragging through the snow, they certainly can’t get to the feed underneath it.

So this winter, with the snow-pocalypse and all, we are having more work than ever!

When the storms first started coming through, we pushed the cows as far south as we could where the the storms had been less severe and there was more feed available. Ironically, it always happened to be on a Sunday that the guys from the association wanted to move them. You might not think that would be any worse than any other day of the week, but wrestling 3 kids alone in church is rough, friends. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, come visit next Sunday…

Back to the cows…

So even after getting the cows south, enough storms came that NOT feeding them wasn’t an option anymore. So then they had to bring them back up to where we could get to them with hay. And that was a lot of work.

First they had to find all the cows. And if you know cows, once a storm hits they just start moving- moving to find shelter or feed or whatever… But they just start moving and when there are hundreds and hundreds of acres for them to go, it takes a while to finally find them all. The Rancher didn’t complain too much at this. I mean, when you HAVE to go snowmobiling all day for your work, it can’t be all bad, right?

But after finding the cows, they had to get them up to the feed yard. That was definitely a challenge… Of course the cows were going to struggle moving through the snow and would fight you nearly every step of the way. I probably wouldn’t want to move my big pregnant self through so much snow for miles either. So the guys pulled out all the graters and tractors and … (I don’t even know what all equipment they had!) and they plowed a path to trail the cows back.

And now to have 1,100 cows are rounded up together, it takes a lot of hay and a lot of time to get them all fed. I’m pretty sure right now, all the guys do is push snow and feed cows. Feed cows here at home, drive to Locomotive, feed cows there, and if there is any time before dark, they push snow. Seriously, it is all they do.

And it is exhausting.

I think it wouldn’t be near so bad if we were all healthy, but we are not. Sickness has gone through the ranch, not to mention other issues (like being run over by a cow and lacerating your liver…). So while we are trying to heal and get healthy, we are using all our energy to keep the cows on the up and up.

I’m honestly a little worried about the guys. This is the time of year things are slow and they get to recuperate before calving and then branding and then turnout and then summer… But I don’t think anyone is feeling rested after these last few weeks! It could be a long few months ahead of us.

But we are still SO thankful for the snow!

Now we just pray for the energy to withstand it all… Did you know there is more snow in the forecast? Yay… (I might be crying inside….) !!

Thinking happy and warm thoughts,
The Rancher’s Wife…

I tried taking pictures of the horses in my back yard, but there was so much snow my camera couldn’t focus!

Taking hay down to the cows and unloading without a tractor…

Its snowy and beautiful even if its so much work!

The upside of so much snow!

Feeding Frosty Cows

February 1, 2017 by Allison

Did you read the title and let your eyes roll back because its another post about feeding cows? It is that time of year, ya know… But don’t worry. I knew you would be tired of the same (awesome) ramblings of feeding hungry cows with my crazy crew.

So I did a little something different. For your benefit and mine.

Since I had The Rancher corner, I though I would take the opportunity to do a little Q&A with him. Its good for you because its something new for you to read. And you get to know him a little better, and everyone wants to know The Rancher a little better. The upside for me, is that I have an intentional conversation with an adult. Being the CEO of this ranch house full of little people can be lacking with adult conversation. Oh, that’s starting to show? Oops!

So for the next few hours, in between me jumping out of the tractor to open and close gates and cut the wrap off of the bales, and juggling the baby and big sister, I asked him some stimulating questions.

Here goes…

About that Super Bowl…
Me: So what do you think about the Super Bowl coming up? It’s this Sunday, right?(I’m super up to date with what’s happening in the world right now…HA!)

Him: Well… (long pause)… Since I’m so into football… It should be good. But you know me… I’m really just in it for the commercials and food. And the commercials haven’t been that good lately, so I’m really just there for the food.

Me: Right… So what food should we have?

Him: I dunno. Something good. (This is the conversation we have every day when I ask him what he wants for dinner. He’s so much help…)

“We feed cows…”
Me: So tell me about feeding cows.

Him: We feed cows.

Me: … Yes… I know that. How much? How much have you already fed this year? How long will this feed last?

Him: Well, we have fed at least that stack… We figure that we have enough hay to feed 20 bales of hay for 40 days.

Me: Oh… That’s not enough, is it?

Him: Nope. Having to feed cows in Locomotive has thrown a wrench in things this year.

Me: So we feed 5 bales to the cows on the pivot pasture, 6 to the cows at the feed yard, 1 to the bulls, and 1 to the horses, old cows, and whatever is in the corral by the barn… and 5 to Locomotive. So… I guess we need to buy more hay…

Him: Yep…

Ranch faves
Me: So, what is your favorite thing to do on the ranch?

Him: I dunno…(its his favorite phrase…)

Me: Well, what is your least favorite thing to do?

Him: Feed cows.

Me: Oh. (Hmmm, do you not like it because that is like all you are doing right now?) So what is your next least favorite thing to do?

Him: Fix fence.

Me: Oh. (That one actually surprised me… I thought he liked it more.) And then what is your next least favorite thing?

Him: Changing water.

Me: What’s the next?

Him: Checking water.

Me: You don’t like the things that you have to do over and over again, do you? You wouldn’t make a good mom. That’s kinda all I do. So what’s your next least favorite thing?

Him: I dunno… I guess I like all the rest just fine. But it all depends on the day.

Me: Yes, moving cows when the sun is shining and the cows are moving good is a way better day than a blizzard when you are working cows through the chute.

Him: (Nod… Silence… conversation… OVER)

Baby driver
Me: He (the baby) is in his favorite place- at the steering wheel. That makes you the coolest dad for letting him be there.

Him: Yep… (he’s big on words…)

Me: Aren’t you glad we have him?

Him: Yep. I guess we will keep him.

Me: Are you ready for the next one?

Him: (silence… stink eye…) NOPE. (silence… conversation over…)

You can see that riding with The Rancher is GREAT conversation. To his credit, he is sick (currently fevering and sleeping on the couch) and since talking when he is feeling great gives limited conversation, I really should expect less when he is feeling crappy. But even sick, he’s still great, don’t ya think?!

Until next time, Friends!

Fishing for Bales

April 29, 2015 by Allison

I realized my blogging/photography life has someone of a conundrum. When there isn’t a lot going on, I have post after post of feeding cows, the cute babies, and nothing terribly eye catching or exciting. But then we are busy as ever, I have HUNDREDS of photos to edit, tons of stories to tell and no time to sit down and tell them… So I am sitting down at the computer ready to tell you a story, pump out some photos and carving out some time for my blogging life.

This winter/spring has been different for us. Very different. First of all, we didn’t have winter… We had a flurry every so often but we never had the cold-for-days, snowed-in, stranded-for-days winter that we usually (ok, maybe not all that dramatic, but still… no winter). But it was also different for all of the cows calving at home. So many more to feed, keep an eye on, and tag. So many more cuties around!

We are experiencing a new “difference” lately. We are hauling down hay and feeding in Locomotive. With the lack of feed and the lack of rain, there just isn’t enough feed for what we need. The nutrition of our cows is super important so we trek down south with hay and get ’em what we need.

For a while we were taking down just a couple of bales at a time. But that was getting long and slow… So we figured we would load the semi and flat bed up and take a few loads out. It wasn’t all too irregular of an occurence- people haul hay all the time. Nothing to tell the blogging world about, right? That’s true, until it was time to unload.

You see, we don’t have a tractor down in Locomotive. Unloading hay minus a tractor means that we get to be creative. It didn’t occur to me that we were missing a KEY part of this job. Its not like they can dump themselves and we can’t really push them all off. So… What’s a rancher to do? How about fish them off?

The Rancher apparently knew EXACTLY what he was doing not bringing a tractor down. I never doubt that he knows what he is doing, but to me there were no clear solutions He always says I lack faith in him… I just tell him that I just wait to be dazzled by his brilliance! So he brought a big ol’ hook and rope to pull all the bales off. In reality it was pretty simple. The Ranch Boss was in the truck, pulling the bales off. The Rancher would do the fishing, hooking and catching the bale, and I was the go between running the hook from the bales on the ground to The Rancher. When we had so many pulled down that we couldn’t any more, we just pulled the semi up and went at it again. So easy! So much so that we did it again and I brought my camera to show you.

We get to be a little creative in this life. The Rancher lives for twine, duct tape, and his save-your-life drawer of nuts and bolts. Life tries to throw a kink in your plan, but we my guys around, we always have some new brilliant way to make it. Like fishing for bales!

A Little Cattle Character

March 27, 2015 by Allison

I like cows… And I like them for more than eating. I actually think they are really funny to watch. They have their own funny quirks and personality. I may humanize them a bit, ok a LOT bit. But it keeps things interesting.

The Rancher probably thinks that I am crazy and he probably gets tired of my cow watching, but he just gets to deal with it. I’m sure that he gets sick of me taking the cow’s side when I say things like, “I wouldn’t want to run if I was 9 months pregnant!” as he is chasing cows. Or when he frustrated with a cow that just won’t hold still as they preg check her, I tell him I wouldn’t want someone’s arm up my huh-huh and would DEFINITELY squirm. I may even occasionally tell him he deserves some of the mean-mommy-attitude because he is messing with their babies and the inner momma bear just isn’t ok with it.

Having so many cows at home this winter has given me lots of subjects to watch. They turn into a bunch of obsessive old ladies when it come to feeding time. They have to be the first one to the hay and if another cow starts munching on the wrong flake they sure tell them. They get to head buttin’ and kickin’ and eventually push them right out. “You’re outta the herd!” You can hear them saying that, right?

The babies are their own kind of cute and fun when it comes to watching them. The first attempts at getting up are so wobbly and even funny! Is that mean of me? (I’m sure someone laughed at me when I first started walking, so its all ok…) It doesn’t take long for those babies to get strong and fast and they race across the fields. We’ll be out feeding and you see dozens of calves just take off running. Usually there is one old cow babysitting all those calves and she starts bellering (is that a word?) for them to come back… Darn kids…

I’m sure I give these critters more personality than they may have, but I love the bit of cattle character we see. With so many of the blasted things around, why not change it up a little?

Feeding as a Family

February 18, 2015 by Allison

Feeding- the pass time of winter. If there is one thing you can guarantee we will be doing this time of year it is putting the hay out. The tedious redundancy gets to The Rancher. He just feels like it eats up his time, doing the same thing over and over. Hmmm… He wouldn’t make a good house wife (I’m pretty sure I have said that one before). Having to cook and clean up after people over and over… I’d love it if feeding only took two hours of my whole day.

Despite the fact that feed isn’t The Rancher’s favorite ranch chore, it may be one of mine. Lately Rancher Sr. has been gone on the weekends quite a bit while he supports Cowboy E in his last season of wrestling. That means that The Rancher either gets to feed on his own or I jump into help. I LOVE any opportunity to prove to my cowboy that he needs me, so of course I head out to help him. Really its more than that- I love to get out on the ranch, love to drive through the cows to see how they are doing, and I love the photography moments I get. But more than that I love being able to take the kids out with us and work together as a family.

Living and working on the ranch is so much more than a job to us. There is no separation between home life and work. Sometimes that has its problems, but there are way more blessings that come that makes it worth it. The best take home of all this for this ranch momma is the memories we are making every day. I love looking into the tractor seeing The Ranch Princess jabbering to her daddy. I see her getting excited at the cows, the horses, and the few baby calves. I can just hear her saying, at the top of her lungs, “Look daddy! COWS!!” (actually its more like wook daddy, tows… so cute!) While we drive between fields The Rancher’s Sidekick has picked up battling thumbs in an intense game of thumb war. I’m pretty sure that he is cheating more and more each time, so maybe we should stop with that one… He pals around with me on the 4 wheeler as we cut bale strings, begging to drive. Even stomping the mice as they come out of the bales has become a fun memory!

Sure life on the ranch can be redudant. Every year has the same seasons of calves, seasons of changing sprinklers, seasons of moving cows and seasons of working cows. But the best part about life on the ranch is that we get to do it as a family and spice up the redudant moments by making memories. We feed cows and enrich our souls. That’s what we did today!

A Muddy Morning on the Ranch

February 12, 2015 by Allison

Are you tired of hearing about the weather? Everything we do goes back to the weather. Too hot, too cold, too windy … Always something. Not that I’m complaining, it’s just interesting what Mother Nature throws out there for us.

What’s our current weather issue? If you can believe it, it’s the mud. We are having splendidly warm temperatures and beautiful blue skies. It’s so warm the ground isn’t really freezing. Good or bad? I dunno it just means that we sink down, down, down… Deep down. The warm weather in iteself isn’t too bad. But the warm temps means that instead of getting snow we get rain. Its been fabulous to have the rain. We have loved the moisture… it’s the after math of the wonderful rain that is causing the problems. The ground has become so saturated (awesome!) that the rain doesn’t soak right in. The puddles are lasting longer, the mud is soupier, and its actually running down the sides of the road.

Because I am the awesome wife that I am, I help feed cows whenever Rancher Sr. is gone (which has been more lately with Cowboy E’s crazy wrestling schedule). With what has become the typical division of labor, I’m the one that gets to be out in the mud. I open the gates, I cut the strings, I get to hang off the tractor and flipped in the mud. Needless to say, I’m the one that goes home a complete mess. What I do because I rock (just kidding)…

But really its ok, I’m over it. We can handle the mud, the heaping stinking piles of poopy mud and the endless supply of mud following us where ever we go. We can handle it because having the mud means that we do have rain and we do have warm weather. Although its tough to deal with nows, we feel so blessed and watched over. The rain is what we have been praying for for so long and its inspiring to see it finally come. What better way to start the new year than to be in a muddy mess, blessed with rain?!

Wanted: Good Fall Pasture

October 25, 2014 by Allison

Have I mentioned how thankful we are for rain? We are so thankful for the rain! Its been incredible what the rain has done for us this fall. The most recent realization of its awesomeness is that with all of the growth that has come from the rain we have found ourselves in some what of a dilemma. OK, not a dilemma really, but more of an interesting situation that we haven’t seen…

Every fall when the calves are weaned and we are done with the summer pasture we look for fall pasture. The more fall pasture means that we can leave our cows out longer and not have to feed them at the home ranch. Really, that never happens but some years finding enough pasture has been a slight issue.

But not this year! We have had calls from so many farmers and ranchers saying that they have great regrowth after their last cutting and would have plenty of feed for our cattle to go through the fall on. In fact, there are some farmers with wheat fields with winter wheat in that may be growing too much (so much it might not make it through the winter!) and want us to knock it down a little. Can you say blessed?! Oh, how we love the rain!

So a week after weaning the calves off, we gathered off 150 cows of the forest group and hauled them out for some good fall pasture. And honestly, we hope not to make the return trip with them for a good long time!