At the Ranch - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

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!

Country Style Lasagna with The Rancher’s Wife

May 18, 2014 by Allison

Growing up I didn’t like lasagna. Don’t know why… just crazy I guess. Being the kind mother that she is, my mom didn’t make it because I didn’t like it. And I feel so terrible because lasagna is one of those home cooked kitchen masterpieces! I finally came to my senses and learned that and now I love, LOVE lasagna.

But I do have one tiny problem with lasagna- the ingredients. Its not that I don’t like the ingredients. I love every bit of what goes in a traditional lasagna. The problem lies in whether or not I have them. I have to plan ahead and make sure that I have ricotta cheese (did you know it is pronounced rigot?!) and make sure that I make it before it has gone bad. Of course there is the alternative of using cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but when I buy cottage cheese, I eat it up before it can make it to the lasagna.

See my problem? Its in the cheese…

But I found a solution! Cream cheese! I always have tons of cream cheese (not sure why… maybe subconsciously I’m thinking of making cheese cake!) which means that we have a green light for the lasagna!

Now, for all the Italians out there, I’m sorry if you think that I have taken your beautiful cuisine and ruined it. I’ll try better to not disappoint in my next Italian recipe undertaking. I just had to make it in a way that I could use it! That’s why this is Country Style Lasagna, not From Italy’s Kitchen Lasagna.

I was a little leery to try the cream cheese. Why mess with something that you know is already so good? But I was desperate. So I tried it. And I don’t think I will EVER go back! (ok… maybe on occasion…)

Start with some brown hamburger.

Then add in spaghetti sauce. I actually make mine from tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, basil, oregano, dried onion flakes and garlic. Plus the salt and pepper or course! I add in a little olive oil and then a little water to get it to the right consistency. And I just give a little shake here and there. Nope, no real recipe… so sorry.

And, I have a confession- I don’t like chunks in my sauce, except for the hamburger of course. To that end I don’t put in any tomato bits or onions. But you sure can if it you want!

Then let it simmer for a little while…. simmer…. simmer… Lets those seasonings come ALIVE!

This is the perfect time to cook up the lasagna noodles and whip the cream cheese. The more the cream cheese is whipped, the easier it is to spread. I got a little crazy… and added some sour cream too! Just a dollop…

Once the noodles are cooked, the sauce has simmered, and the cream cheese has been whipped, its time to put it all together.

Grab an 8×8 dish and slather a scoop of sauce around the bottom. Before layering the noodles in the bottom, coat the top side with a healthy helping of the cream cheese. Its so much easier to spread it BEFORE its in the pan. Trust me. I tried it the other way… Put the noodles in the pan and cover with a few scoops of sauce. We like the layers really meaty/saucy, so I put a BUNCH. Then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. And if you are hard core (or just happen to have it in your refrigerator) add some fresh Parmesan cheese.

Then repeat! Cream cheese-ed noodles, loaded with sauce and cheese.

You may have a cute little helper that comes in from the sand pile that tries to pick in the noodles and cheese like I did. Don’t worry, the eyes in the back of my head caught him before anything disastrous happened! And after washing his hands he had this very cute face that I just HAD to take a picture of.

And then I (lovingly) kicked him out of my kitchen so that he would stop picking… He is related to his dad.

Back to the lasagna… Its all layered and done, but you need to do one last thing. Cover the top with cheese! Lasagna is meant to be cheesy. And then for a little extra flav-a, add a little bit more of that yummy Italian seasoning.

Then bake!

Slowly your kitchen will fill with that tantelizing aroma, so either go out so you can’t smell it or… be tough I guess! But once those precious 30 minutes have gone, you are ready to set the table and eat that delicious masterpiece!

Country Style Lasagna

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 (28 oz) Jar Spaghetti Sauce *
1 (16 oz) pkg Lasagna Noodles
2-3 cups Mozzarella Cheese (and Parmesan Cheese)
1 8 oz pkg Cream Cheese
Italian Seasonings

Mix together browned beef and spaghetti sauce and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down to low, cover and simmer.

Cook noodles according to package directions until ‘Al Dente’. Set out to cool.

In a mixing bowl, whip one package of cream cheese. Spread over cooled lasagna noodles.

In a 8×8 baking dish, pour one scoop of sauce and spread over the bottom. Layer noodles, 2-3 scoops sauce, and 3/4 -1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice. On the top, add remaining cheese and sprinkle Italian seasonings across the top.

Cook at 350 for 40 minutes or until the top is hot and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into.

* For a simple spaghetti sauce, mix 2 (13.5 oz) cans spaghetti sauce and your favorite Italian seasonings (oregano, basil, thyme, garlic, onion, parsley) plus a little salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.

The Crazy Heifer That Didn’t Want a CIDR

May 17, 2014 by Allison

We keep saying that things are slowing down, but I think it is just wishful thinking. The branding is done, the cows are moved out, but now we are hauling for other ranches. We are working to get the wheel lines running. And now its time to start getting the bulls turned out and the heifers AIed. Really, we should never say its slowing down.

But I’m ok with that. My sister (that lives in NYC) told me that a busy life is a fun life, because a boring life is just, well… lame.

This week’s adventure- helping put CIDRs in the heifers. (If you’re wondering what CIDRs are and why we use them, check out last year’s post!) We actually didn’t do too much help. The Rancher didn’t tell me they were starting. I think he thinks he can do this with without me… Should I be worried?!
Running the heifers through the chute can be a little exciting. They are still young and inexperienced to this stuff. Plus I don’t blame them for not wanting the CIDR put in. Sure an oversized, IUD is great to make sure that they don’t get pregnant and will cycle at the right time, but what girl really WANTS that? So they go wild and crazy… all the time. I swear all of them try jumping out somewhere along the way- the holding tub, the alley, the chute… They jump on each other, over each other, back into each other. Its almost exhausting just to watch! But we are kinda used to it…

Actually we did have a few tense moments. There was one wild girl that tried jumping over the top. As she came back down, her hoof got caught on the alley stop (it keeps them from going backwards). How she managed it, I really don’t know but it was stuck and cutting her hoof. Plus it was pulling her back leg up into a really awkward position. She of course went more crazy, trying to get herself loose. The heifer behind her started to climb over her, getting out of the ruckus. Can you say pile up?

We had to push the heifers in the behind her back in the tub (which in itself was a chore because there seems to be only one direction with cows). The Rancher jump up on the alley panels and pulled the stuck heifer backwards (by her tail of course) while The Ranch Boss pried the bars apart so that Rancher Sr. could shove her hoof out. And they got it… phew!

Once again we adverted disaster! Its always an adventure on the ranch.

Come on Home, Little Doggie

May 14, 2014 by Allison

Ah, spring turn out time. One of the most wonderful and stressful times of the year. Wonderful because it means that the cows are out, the calves have been branded, and they only need a little maintenance for the summer. Ok, we move them like every week, check water, and doctor as needed… its still a lot of work but it doesn’t seem like its so hard.

We probably are happy for it to be over because that means the stress of the spring turn out it gone too. Right now we are separating our cows into 3 different groups- some to be run on the BLM ground, some to be on the Forest ground (it really shouldn’t be considered Forest though, there are NO forests out here!) and some to other Forest ground. The stressful part about all of this is that when you start separating the herd, you have to make sure that you get all of the babies with the right mommas. Or that none of the momma’s forget that they have a calf (oh ya, it happens…).

The worst thing that can happen is the pairs not pairing up once they get to the new pasture. A baby without a momma isn’t going to survive. Sure they can steal milk every once in a while (funny thing about cows, they will only nurse their babies… but I roll like that too), but they aren’t going to get enough nutrition to grow. So we do ALL that we can to make sure this doesn’t happen.

But every year it seems that we have a few doggie calves. Do you want to know the best way to pick them out? They have poop on their head. All of the time. The best way to steal a bit of milk is to come from behind. The hazards of that are getting pooped on… poor huggers….

But back to our doggie calves. We just bring them home. Leaving them to die is like throwing money away. And its just not very nice. So we do what we can to make it work. Like have a milk cow or two around to nurse them. These cows are kinda funny, because they love to mother these babies! They stand by the barn waiting for feeding time. They sit by the gate and talk to them during the day (well, I don’t know if they really talk to them… I just think that sounds like what a momma would do). And no matter how many calves, they mother them all.

Its rough being a doggie-ed calf, but come on home. We’ve got a momma that will love on ya!

Breaking in New Horses

April 18, 2014 by Allison

Every cowboy has a good string of horses and this spring we have been working on ours. We have two new mares that we have been working with. Both of them have been pretty labor intensive but with time we have seen some great progress.

The sorrel (red) horse with a white blaze is Loca. She is a baby from The Rancher’s mare when he was growing up. If you know Spanish, you know that Loca means crazy. She’s named that for a reason! For a couple of years now, The Rancher has been trying to work with her. She’s about to turn 6 (or maybe 7… I’m not quite sure) and for that many years she has been a wild thing. Too wild to really do anything with. We haven’t really even been able to get a halter on her, let alone try anything with a saddle.

One day The Rancher was working with her and he had a rope around her neck. She went to being crazy (like she doe)s and got the rope caught on the fence. She hit the slack and it tightened up around her neck. Being crazy already, she started working against the rope and before long it was tight enough that she passed out. When she tipped over, the rope broke free and loosened up around her neck. Slowly she got up and walked to The Rancher. It was like she was a completely new horse! And ever since that day, she has been a gem to work with.

The Rancher has been a little weary of her, knowing how she used to be a little crazy. But every time he has worked with her its like she has done it hundreds of times. Now all we need is to get a little experience on her and she is good to go!

Our other new horse is Sugar. We bought her from a family that had a few horses and other animals, but they really didn’t have the time to work with her. When we called to tell them we were on our way (it was a few hours to get there) they said, “Are you good with horses? I don’t think that she has ever been loaded in a trailer…”. Oh boy that was a great start!

Don’t worry, she practically loaded herself! The next day we saddled her up to see what kind of skills she had. After only a few minutes The Rancher said, “Well… she has no manners, no steering, and no gas.” I guess that left only room for progress! And boy have we made some progress- we can actually get into a good lope and move left and right. Its still rough, but with time she is going to be a great little pony!

Planting a Seed or Two

April 9, 2014 by Allison

When we were in college, The Rancher worked for an operation that did just as much (or more) farm work as it did ranch work. The Rancher was always a pretty decent farmer, but after working for the Millers, he turned into a dang good farmer. And every spring that farmer comes out of him when there is a little farm work to do! Maybe these days I should call him The Farmer…

We don’t do a lot of “farm” work to put up the acres and acres of hay or grain. We do it mostly when we rotate our crops. In the fall we will dig up a section of alfalfa that needs replanted or the grain that was alfalfa the year before (does it sound like I’m talking in circles? like crop circles… haha!). Ok… we dig up the alfalfa, plant grain, harvest the grain, dig up the grain, and plant new alfalfa. Phew…

Anyway, we dig, or plow, up in the fall so it is ready for planting in the spring.

Now that it is spring, they have pulled out farming equipment, starting with the roller harrow. The roller harrow is used to break up the clumps and make the ground ready for the seed. It also has a drag behind it to get rid of any weeds or such that we don’t want left in. Once the harrowing is done, we are pretty well ready to plant.

Just a few weeks ago we picked up the seed (one of those things we had to catch up on…). The nice sunny weather was a good indicator that is was finally time to plant, but when The Rancher hooked up to the drill (the planter) I knew it was the day. The day to plant a seed or two!

Planting is one of those ranch things we do with a little faith and little prayer. We want to plant as early as possible to get a good start to the crops. If we have to replant again in the spring we lose valuable growing time. We won’t really know if everything went right with the planting for a few weeks when we finally see the green sprouting through. Doing this every year we have a good idea when we are planting how it will turn out, but there is still those few days that we might wonder.

We took the chance to have a family tractor drive this week while we were planting (and while grandpa was leveling the other, other field…). I really should have taken a picture of us in there. You will just have to picture for a minute- The Rancher is driving and I am in the “instructor’s” seat (because I really am the boss, right?!). The dog is crammed in the corner and our kids are moving from side to side (and under dad’s legs) playing with their tractors. Of course there is an awesome pile of dirt and dust on the floor to play in, not to mention the seed that The Rancher’s Sidekick grabbed from the drill. It’s likely that if someone spilled some water in there, something would start sprouting!

I’m sure we are a silly, squishy, filthy looking bunch, but I don’t know if you could find a happier bunch!

10 Reasons Why I Choose to Raise my Family on the Ranch

April 6, 2014 by Allison

Growing up on a ranch, I knew that it was the way I wanted to raise my family. It helps to shape grow a person in so many. The opportunities for life lessons are never ending. And, I know I always say this, but the space is pretty amazing.

No it’s not the only good way to raise a family- there are so many good people that weren’t raised that way. But this is how I chose to raise my family. Here’s why…

1. Everyday we work- we have to. The cows need feeding, which most often requires us moving them to different pastures. Fences, building, and equipment need upkeep and they won’t fix themselves. Bummer… But my kids know how important work is. Already my kids are learning to help and work, to do the best we can and to finish a job we start. More importantly my kids learn to work because they get to go out to work with their dad. Every day they have the best example they need to see a man working.

2. All around us we see the circle of life. Every year there is new life that brings excitement and hope. But not all new life lasts. Death is a hard thing that we face. Cows, calves, horses, dogs… It’s hard, but it’s a part of life. We celebrate life and learn to move on after death.

3. I don’t know if there is a more natural way to talk about the birds and the bees than actually having first hand on the ranch. All sorts of question come up about why do we keep the bulls away from the cows, where do those babies come from, or what is that cow doing. Yes my kids see it happening and yes we talk about it. But that is because it is so easy on the ranch.

4. What better playground do they need than a big ol’ ranch?! There are fences to climb up, tires to go through, chickens to chase, calves to rope and dirt to dig. Really the list could go on and on… Because there is so much for kids to do on a ranch- no two days are the same and there are no dull days!

5. With so much around them, ranch kids learn to be creative. A stick isn’t just a stick! It can build a fence, it can be sword, a gun or a cane. When my little boy watches what’s happening out on the ranch he gets creative and recreates it with his own little equipment. I never would have thought marbles would be poop for the manure spreader! Instead of just building towers from blocks, we make stacks of bales! Imagination is always at work out here.

6. As kids grow on the ranch, they are given their own responsibilities. It my be feeding the family dog or collecting the eggs or even feeding their own 4h animals. But they know it is their job. Yes we will help, but it is their responsibility to make sure it is done. They are responsible for closing the gate when they go through, keeping gas in the 4wheeler and putting their tack away. With responsibility also comes accountability. And then consequences. Some are good- feeding up your steer makes for a food day at the fair. But not locking the gate means the cows get out. Responsibility, accountability, and consequences- all lessons learned on the ranch.

7. We would like to think that days on the ranch are always happy and cheery, but they’re not. Yes we have awesome days of success. There is that day when you catch your first calf and you feel like you could rope the moon! But then there are days when you get bucked of, lose a glove, and tear your favorite pair of jeans. Frustration and disappointment are just as much a part of ranch life. But with it we learn how to deal with it.

8. I love opportunities we have to work together as a family. We pull out the horses and go to the arena. We all gather to the garden to gather in our harvest. We all squeeze in the tractor to feed the cows. Family is important to me and I won’t let anything, not even the ranch work, get in the way. Instead, we just make ranch time family time!

9. Life on the ranch does so much to help with learning in school. Ranch kids learn everything from learning counting and colors to map reading and geography. There are science lessons as the crops grow with water and sun, and grow more with a little fertilizer. The learning never stops- math, science, geography, history, reading… do it all, daily!

10. My kids have learned where their food comes from and the cost for it. We don’t grow everything we eat (so thankful for grocery stores!) but my ranch kids know that milk comes from a cow, not made in the back of the store. And more importantly they know the cost of their food. Not necessarily in money, but certainly in the time and effort it takes to have.

Yep, the ranch is the place for me to raise my kids. A place to learn, live, and love while every day is an adventure. Especially when it is the day you need to teach the 12 year old how to drive the stick shift feed truck…

5 March Highlights We Missed

April 4, 2014 by Allison

I can’t believe that its April. March just started, how can it be over?! The saddest part about this month flying by so fast is that there was so much I wanted to share that I didn’t. So here are 5 ranch highlights we missed!

1. We got a new silencer chute! This chute is so quiet, so smooth, and so much safer. No one will get conked on the head or hands pinched. We won’t be bruising shoulders on the calves that we are selling. We won’t choke down the cows and they won’t come crawling through. Ya, we are really excited! Its like Christmas for these cowboys!

2. With spring upon us, we are gearing up for planting. I batted my eyes just right and convinced The Rancher to take us with him to by the new seed. Getting seed is pretty uneventful really, (unless you are a little boy and then its awesome!) but it was a great way to have a day on the town. It was still a ranch day on the town, not like a fun-shopping-at-the-mall day on the town. But I think I would rather hit up CAL Ranch than the mall anyway… So on top of getting the seed, we grabbed a few parts, terrorized a few tractor stores and had a shopping spree at the vet clinic. Still not terribly exciting, but I got a cool picture I wanted to share!

3. We bought a new little mare! The Rancher’s Sidekick has started to call my old horse his. I find myself horseless… So we bought me a new one. She ten and hasn’t hardly been ridden… but she is gentle. I don’t think she even knows how to buck. The Rancher commented that she has no gas, no steering and no manners, but other than that its all good. Slowly we are learning things and I’m excited! We’ll see what summer brings!

4. While we were in Leadore for the bull sale, we spent some time at the ranch that my brother runs. Its fun to go back there because that’s where The Rancher and I met. And where we worked when we were first married. We jumped in the new side-by-side and took a spin around the ranch, guided by my nieces (ages 9 and 7…). And by guided I mean they gave us the low down on EVERYTHING on the ranch. Gotta love cute little ranch girls!

5. Our neighbor needed help branding and of course, being the good neighbors we are, we jumped in to help. There weren’t too many calves to do, so at the end of the day I took a chance to rope! I got on The Rancher’s trusty mare and roped myself a few calves. I’m a real cowgirl now! One of the calves I roped was already branded… but it still counts as a catch, right? I have a whole new appreciation for ropers- its so much harder to do than it looks!

There are still hundreds of pictures and stories to go along that I haven’t shared. Maybe we will have a slow day (ya right!) and we can do a throwback day! Until then, this will have to suffice!

Tagging Calves With The Rancher

April 2, 2014 by Allison

When our calves are about a day old, we head out to tag them. Our process is pretty simple- tag the left ear if it’s a heifer, right if it’s a bull. The Rancher just told me, “Just remember HEFT and BRIGHT and you’ll always have it right.” Wow… The tag number matches the cow’s number so that we can keep the pairs straight. I wish cows could read so they would know which baby was theirs…

Every ranch has their own thing when it comes to tagging. On the ranch that I grew up on we had the sire (the bull) number and the cow number on the tag with the calf’s number. There were different colored tags depending on the breed of calf. It made it quick and easy to know just who that calf was. There are lots of other ways ranchers use their tags to mark their cattle.

When we tag bulls, we also castrate them. We use an elastrator to do the job. Sounds high tech, right? It’s not. It just stretches the rubber band like elastic (they actually look like a green cheerio) so that we can get it over the scrotum. You hear all sorts of names for the elastics- bands, cheerios, and my favorite… goonie whoppers! The younger a calf is when it is castrated, the better they will handle and recover from the stress. For the most part, using the elastrator is stress free because it slowly pinches off the blood supply to the testes.

Going out to tag is a one man job, but if you have two it’s certainly easier (and brining kids along just makes it extra exciting). One guy drives the 4 wheeler and the other grabs the calf. When I go out with The Rancher, it’s my job to catch the calf. The Rancher brings over the supplies and gets to work. He checks the gender, tags, and castrates the bulls. That’s it.

If The Rancher’s Sidekick comes, he usually has his rope and in the time it takes to tag the calf, he’s got him tied up. It’s had to convince him that he doesn’t have to rope EVERY calf… The Ranch Princess hangs out on the 4 wheeler trying to get it to go… I’m pretty sure that she has figured all but the gas out. We might have to start turning it off when we stop. Who knows where she would drive!

Tagging only takes a few minutes for us on the ranch, but they are moments well spent. The Rancher gets his calves marked, the kids have their fun, and I feel like a helpful rancher wife again!