At the Ranch - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Checking Out the Calf Crop

October 14, 2014 by Allison

Every time we look out towards the fields we see the beautiful green speckled with the black of the calves. Its a beautiful sight… Actually, the contrast of the beautiful green with the black really is pretty. But there is a different beauty. The beauty of a year’s hard work. The beauty of the rain that has blessed this valley with the feed we desperately need. The beauty of the healthy calves eating and energetically running through the field. Truly, a beautiful sight.

Throughout the week, we will take several trips through the calves- checking the feed, the mineral and salt, and the overall health. Its a little routine, but at the same time its a fun little drive we take as a family. We spend a good part of the time yelling at the dogs to not chase the calves (who invites the dogs anyway?). That usually follows with them trying to jump on the 4 wheeler, where there is NO room for any extras. Just picture the Beverly Hillbillies… Now that the calves are really beginning to settle in, they have become quite curious. They’ll follow us around or chase the dogs, but as soon as we make a sudden move they take off to the other end of the pasture, just to turn back around. Any typical curious child, right?

These calves have really taken to the mineral and salt that we have been putting out. We are doing everything we can to supplement their feed so that we can get them all the nutrients they need for healthy growing. That means that on a lot of our family drives through the calves we are also loaded down with bags and bags of mineral. How is the picture you are creating in your mind? No, no one has fallen off…yet… But do go so far as to imagine that dumping the mineral in the troughs is a highlight for the kids because it is SUPER fun to play in!

This is the time of year we take a little pride in the hard work we have put throughout the year to raise this calf crop. A little drive through the calves has such a sweet smell of satisfaction!

Vaccinating in the Rain

October 10, 2014 by Allison

We gathered… we sorted… we weaned… we hauled… and then we vaccinated. Not all ranchers do it, but we do. Its like with kids- not everyone has to, not everyone chooses to but we think its well worth it. There are two times a year that we have all of the calves gathered up that we can give them their vaccinations- branding and weaning.

In the few years that we have been back to the ranch this is one of those areas that I have really jumped in to help. Maybe that was because the first year we weaned I was big and pregnant and that was about all I could do. But there is the nerdy medical side of me (the one that likes to think that I can be part of the at-home-vet crew) that likes to give shots… I don’t know why I’ve settled myself in here, but I did…

Having the new chute was so nice. So so SO nice! It was fast, it had an awesome neck bar so I could give shots without my hand potentially getting hurt, and even better we didn’t hurt any calves like we have in the past with the old chute. Thanks Moly Mfg. for the Silencer!

One of our vaccinating days we had to wait for a break in the rain. Lucky enough we got a few good hours of dry work in before the rain stared again. But the rain didn’t dampen any spirits. Especially any of our little helpers. These kids of mine love to come and help and don’t mind being hours at the chute with bawling calves. In fact, they each find a hot shot or a stick and find a place to poke the calves as we go through.

It was a great few days vaccinating, but its great that its over. They’ve had their booster shots and now its time for them to grow, grow, grow!

Weaning Anxiety

September 30, 2014 by Allison

Oh weaning… A time that we love and hate. I should say I and not speak for the others. I love the days out riding, sorting and working the cattle through the chute. It’s awesome to see the growth that they’ve had over the summer and the satisfaction to see your hard work paying off.

But there is a flip side. Weaning is stressful on calves. It can be super stressful. Ideally you don’t change terrain or feed too much. You try to not work them too hard or even haul them long distances if you can manage. But when your calves are NOT at the home ranch you bite the bullet and do all those things. The hard thing is stressed calves can turn into sick calves. Sick calves don’t eat so well. Sick calves can become super sick calves. And super sick calves can die. What we don’t want…

Whatever we are doing, whether it’s sorting, moving, vaccinating or feeding, we take care to keep these calves running healthy. We only have to make it 45 days (give or take) and in that time we pack on the pounds and keep all healthy so we can turn a good profit. These calves are our payday… Now dont think I’m talking about getting rich off these babies. What I’m really talking about is earning enough to keep doing what we love.

So for the next month or so, there is a little more tension, a little more anxiety, and a lot more prayers that our efforts everyday haven’t been in vain and that we can continue this cowboy living.

Throw Back Thursday: Cattle Drive From May

September 11, 2014 by Allison

Remember that terrible cattle drive? That one where there were more cows out in the fields than on the road… I wish I didn’t… That adventurous day was day one of two of our cattle drive. I know what you are thinking (ok maybe you’re not thinking this…) that if day was so bad, day two must have been horendous and that is why I have to do a little “throw back Thursday” to catch you up on it.

Nope, on all accounts. Day two went as smooth as… it was GREAT! Granted, we did have a good road to follow, fences on all sides, lots of cowboys, and a shorter drive. But hey, it was good! We will take it any way that we can!

And lets say we learned a little from day one. The Rancher just started the day with a motor bike. We called up The Buckaroo who brought along his sweetheart and a bull whip. Both highly useful, just one more so than the other (just to be clear, his girl really is quite the cowgirl!) And I opted to not try a photo shoot on the run. I went with the 4 wheeler, kids and camera- its a lot less pressure!

Moving Cows on a Wonderfully Rainy Day

September 1, 2014 by Allison

You know that we are desperately in need rain. Every time we have a cattle drive means that we come home covered in dust. Somewhere there always seems to be a trough that runs dry. The feed is so dry and not so palatable (not that I would want to eat yucky dry crusted wheat!) that those blasted cows are out all the time. That all equals some pretty intense praying and praying for rain.

We have had a great answer to those prayers. In the last two weeks we have had 3 inches of rain. THREE! Its been amazing! There was so much rain that we were having flash floods… all over our freshly cut hay. With the fields so wet we couldn’t even haul out the bales… with out getting stuck. We found that out the hard way. There was so much debris and water coming down that we had some intense back hoe work to be done to get the water following in fine fashion again. The ground was so saturated that any bit of rain turned into a flood.

But we were so thankful for the rain that none of that mattered. It didn’t even matter that we had hundreds of cows to move seven long miles… we are just so happy for the rain! It was muddy and cold… but so wet!

Haying on the Ranch

August 11, 2014 by Allison

The Rancher is out baling tonight. I told him that I was going to bed… but I have some pictures that just need to be put. Its 10:30 pm and he’s out baling, while I’m in bed writing about it.

We started second crop last week, slowly. We have been blessed rain this week. Not a lot, but enough to slow down progress. We did have a little hay down-its what happens when the weather man cries wolf too many times. He says that its going to rain, it doesn’t, we cut hay. Most of the time that works out but not this week.

94.7% of the time we have to work around Mother Nature’s unplanned schedule. We work around the storms, rake and clean up after the wind, and bale at night when the dew is on (or should be on… Its why I never have baling pictures!). We could just do it when things are convenient. The boys would get a lot more sleep, but we believe in doing things right. Even when Mother Nature tries to throw a kink in the mix.

Making the Cut When it Counts

July 22, 2014 by Allison

This summer is just flying by! I feel like we just barely moved cows up to Badger Hole last week… Ya, they are already long gone from that range! Sadly, I am just now getting to share it to you.

The ride to Badger Hole is pretty easy. That’s why The Rancher’s Sidekick got to go… They just follow the road for a few miles and then, ta da! We’re there.

Once we get there the cows bury their heads in the grass and totally forget about their calves. Ya, know… the typical thing they do once they get to greener feed. We like to hold them there at the water for a bit until they settle in and remember their calves. We’ll sort the pairs off slowly to make sure that all the calves have found their mommas.

Towards the end of sorting we have the less than smart cows left that try to give us a fight. Those ornery cows just don’t want to be bothered! Crazy at it may sound, it makes it a little fun. The cowboys have a chance to do a little cutting and show off some real cowboy skills! There is such a rush when you take off after a cow and have to stop in an instant to change directions. With a good horse that knows how to move you just slide down in the saddle, glue yourself in, and let her do all the work! I love watching a horse that knows what to do. You can see it in how she follows the cow with her ears pinned back, how she spins on her back feet or stops on a dime. Mmm… It makes me swoon just thinking about it!

Cutting athleticism at its finest! Watching a cowboy and his horse working together, making split second decisions and moving fast and smooth out on the range, watching out in God’s arena the way it was meant to be- making the cut when it matters.

Summertime on the Ranch

July 1, 2014 by Allison

Oh what do you do in the summertime? That’s the line to one of my kids’ favorite songs. Our answers aren’t like the song… We don’t have a stream to sit lazily by, or trees to swing on… Instead we have a ranch with hundreds of opportunities for fun. But when the votes were in, everyone around the ranch agrees that these are the summertime favorites!

1. Roping at the arena- We have an arena, we have the roping steers, and obviously we have the horses and ropes. What do they all mean? Roping. Lots of roping. The Rancher is all over it… You say roping and he will beat you there. The rest of us tag along of course! The Rancher’s Sidekick floats. He spends some playing in the dirt, some time riding his horse, and some time working the chute. The baby hangs out with me. Somehow we manage… We love every bit of those nights. There’s nothing better than playing out in the arena as the sun goes down!

2. 4 Wheeling- Hands down, this has to be The Ranch Princess’s favorite. The first place I go to check when I can’t find her playing outside is on the 4 wheeler. I’m terrified for the day that she can actually start it. There are so many trails and roads to just head out for a drive. You can get a little crazy with some off-roading or you can take it easy. Either way we have a great time!

3. Cookout, or “roast out” as The Rancher’s Sidekick calls them- When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you massive tractor tires, you make a fire ring and have a cook out. Tin foil dinners, weenies on a stick, mallows… its ALL SO GOOD! There is no shortage of scrap wood here at the ranch, so bring on the bon fires!

4. Hanging’ out at the reservoir- Ok so its not AT the ranch but its where we head when the work is done. We have a few old jet skis that occasionally work to make it a really good time. Once I asked if they were sick of fixing the darn things but they told me that was half the fun of them! Actually, they have been working GREAT lately. I’m working on my 360 when I get pulled on the knee board… we’ll see if I can conquer it this summer!

5. Bunny hunting- Don’t be weirded out, but we love to bunny hunt. And I feel a little justified because they are terrible out here. There isn’t too much more fun that loaded up the truck in the dark to spot bunnies. After a good bunny hunt, I start seeing them all over the road!

Summertime means fun family time. We work hard during the day to play hard at night. Cool off in the reservoir, take little drive, have dinner around the fire, and have a little excitement with the hunting or at the arena. That’s how we summer at the ranch!

A Big Ride for a Little Cowboy

June 27, 2014 by Allison

Being only four years old doesn’t stop this little boy from believing that he can do ANYTHING he wants to do, or more importantly- what his dad is doing. He is called The Rancher’s Sidekick for a reason- he goes everywhere and does everything with his dad. The first thing he says in the morning (after his request for hot cocoa!) is “where is dad?” And no matter what dad is doing, he is distraught that he was left behind.

Until last week.

The cowboys were moving the heifer pairs to new pasture not far from the ranch. Being the awesome mom that I am (and with The Rancher giving the idea) I loaded up The Rancher’s Sidekick’s horse and headed out after herd.

We caught up to the bunch and before I could park the truck, my little cowboy was scrambling out of the truck to get his horse out. He had one request- I want to ride by myself, and nobody pull me! Can you say independent? As nervous as I was (because I’m still a mom and the ground is pretty far down…) we handed him the reigns and let him go!

It was somewhat of a moment for me to watch him ride off following his dad. Here is my firstborn showing his momma that he is growing up. And as much as I’m not read for that, there is no other way that I would rather him do it than as a cowboy!

I just kept thinking, how many boys have this chance? Go to work with dad, everyday? How many little boys get to ride with his dad, grandpa, and great grandpa? How many little boys get to live their dreams of being a cowboy before they have ever gone to school?

Of course he is a crazy four year old that spent more time picking his nose than watching the cows. But the great thing was that he was there, in the middle of all of it. We don’t live on the sidelines out here. We live in the thick of it all!

A Little Artificial Insemination on the Ranch

June 6, 2014 by Allison

I might have forgotten to tell you about AI-ing… So sorry! I’ve got no excuses to say except that I am WAY too busy! I either need a blog assistant, a maid or a nanny and since I love my kids and I love blogging I think that I want a maid. For free, of course. Ya… that’s not about to happen any time soon.

Alas…

But back to our day AI-ing. Really it was uneventful. The heifers were wired, but that’s nothing new, right? We have a breeder come do the work and all we (the cowboys) just have to keep the heifers moving. I took it upon myself to just take pictures- a real challenge. (Random side note- when people come to the ranch and see me taking pictures of non-picturesque shots they look at me like I am some weirdo… No I’m not taking pictures of you AI-ing to put in my scrapbook…. I have a blog.)

The process is pretty simple. The semen is stored frozen in a tank of liquid nitrogen to keep frozen until time to use it. The breeder will thaw it and then load it into the insemination gun. When the cow is ready, he sticks one GLOVED hand into her rectum to manipulate the reproductive tract. With the gun he places the AI into the vulva, to the cervix and then squirts the semen into the uterus. It can be pretty tricky to do it all by feel and through the guts. Who knew that such a talent existed!