At the Ranch - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

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!

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!