At the Ranch - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

More Than Just a Bale of Hay

January 16, 2014 by Allison

Feeding cattle can seem to be a simple thing. Just spread some hay out there and the cows will be good, right?

Nope. You have to realize what hay is- it is energy and nutrition. This is how our cows get all of those essential vitamins and minerals and the calories for energy. There are things that will affect the quality of nutrients in our hay, things like the soil it is grown in, the amount of water it gets while it grows, and lots of other stuff.

After we grow our hay we (or our friend, The Cenex Man) usually take forage samples and have the hay analyzed to determine its quality, especially the quality of the vitamins and minerals. This is like our baseline for what our cows are getting and then we can know where we need to supplement.

About a year ago we really kicked in the supplementing game and oh boy it has made a difference. Our cows are in great condition and bred up better than they have in a while.

The nutrition of our cows is HUGE because it directly influences our calf crop- a healthy momma is more likely to get bred on her first cycle, which means she will calve earlier in the season, giving our calves a longer time to nurse. Her milk will most likely have more nutrients to pass to her calf to help him be stronger and healthier.

Ya, nutrition is SUPER important! ‘Feeding’ is a lot more than what it used to be when you consider that it includes putting out mineral, salt, and liquid protein.

And lets not forget that it is a great chance for this momma (that gets cabin fever WAY too often) to get out of the house. I guess I have my own reasons that I support the extra nutrition we give the cows!

Sharing our Ranch

January 14, 2014 by Allison

I love to share the ranch with others (as is evident by this being my 90+ blog post) and I especially love to share it with the people I love.

Over the Christmas break our dear friends, the Davis Family, stopped by to see us and to see the ranch. We were neighbors in small town Parker, Idaho while we went to school. But with both of our families moving on after college graduations we get to be long distance friends.

While they were visiting we took a quick trip up Quaken Asp to deliver salt, mineral, and protein. It is fun to experience the ranch with others- their reactions to the cows, the poop, the scenery… the poop.

The Rancher’s Sidekick shared a little more than the rest of us. He shared a taste of the salt we were putting out to the cows! Every time The Rancher and his tagalong take salt to the cows, The Rancher’s Sidekick dips his little finger in the salt for a taste. And every time it tastes salty- surprise! He invited our friends to taste along with him. Oh how we love to share the ranch, every bit of it!

Ranch Winter Scenes

December 24, 2013 by Allison

I love winter. Pretty much everything about. The colder temperatures are so nice after a hot summer.

Winter time is calving time and there is something special about new babies.

I even love myself a little blizzard once in a while. I’m a hopeless romantic- the idea of being snugged up by the warm fire during a blizzard sounds so lovely. (Don’t let The Rancher read this… I might get in trouble by saying this out loud…)

But I especially love looking out over the ranch and seeing it covered in blanket of snow. Or the trees that are frosted and twinkling in the sunlight. Mmm… I love me some winter scenes.

Helpers of all Sizes, Especially Little Helpers

December 19, 2013 by Allison

Working on the ranch is a family affair. Partly because we all love to be out there but also because we need all the man (and woman)-power we can get. That usually means we get kid-power too because wherever I go, the kids go. So when we vaccinated the calves, The Rancher’s Sidekick came too.

This little boy loves to be on the ranch and already can be a great helper. He even has his own paddle to poke the calves through the chute. And he can “hup” with the best of them. His size is never a factor- he just finds a way to climb up or reach whatever he needs.

But sometime he needs a break. So we pull out his tractors and cars and plays on his own ranch. Life is never dull for a little boy living on a ranch…

… even though it can be very cold for little cowboys!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

December 7, 2013 by Allison

My holiday spirit has taken over my rancher’s wife spirit because I am praying for snow. You might wonder what- wanting snow has go do with being a good ranch wife… so I’ll tell you.

Actually its rather simple- when it snows it covers the feed. If the animals can’t find feed they get hungry. Therefore, we have to start feeding hay, something The Rancher really doesn’t like to do.

So I’m being a little naughty and hoping for more snow. Let the winter fun begin!

Feeding the Calves… from a while ago

November 23, 2013 by Allison

So I got a little ahead of myself, which means that I didn’t share the pictures from feeding the calves one night. So even though the calves are long gone, I am enjoying another look at them.

The calves go out on the old alfalfa when they are first weaned. Between their ravenous eating and the freezing temperatures, alfalfa stops growing. Once the feed is eaten down we load up the old two ton with some bails and pitch it out to them.

On this fine occasion it is Rancher Sr. and Cowboy Pete with the pitch forks.

Predictable Idaho Weather

November 11, 2013 by Allison

Are you laughing at the title? Because what is the predictable Idaho weather? Ok, the wind, I will give you that. But everyday you can predict sun, clouds, wind, hot, cold, and most likely some sort of a storm and you would be right. We get them all nearly everyday.

Even on pay day. It started it a cold windy morning, then the sun came out, turning up the heat a bit. But it didn’t last long before the nasty sort of clouds came rolling in with some crazy snow flurries. Of course it was as we were loading the last semi of calves and finished as the last were loaded on the truck. Gotta love our Idaho weather.

It Takes 5 …Semis

November 10, 2013 by Allison

I told you that we sold our calves, but I didn’t get to share everything from our day. Like that it took 5 semis to haul out all of those calves. Oh boy it took a while. Good thing we had some good help-the other Curlew Valley Cowboys. I think that they come to socialize and eat the cinnamon rolls, but we will take advantage of them being out on the ranch.

Sold the Calves

November 9, 2013 by Allison

Last Monday we had a big day at the ranch. Its the day that we work all the other 364 days… yep it was sale day.

And really it couldn’t have gone much better. Our calf crop this year was really good, weighing in heavier than last year. After weaning, when it seems that we have the most sickness and loss, we had a lot of good growth. Having a great summer and fall with these calves makes this pay day so much sweeter.

Its almost an emotional day because it is a day that we have worked so hard for, for so long. We have camped out on the desert in the midst of feet of snow to keep alive through the winter. We have spent long days branding and marking calves. We have spent even LONGER days in the hot dusty sun moving the herd. Then there were more long days with the weaning. We have said some very earnest prayers for these calves to be healthy and to grow well.

Now we feel the relief, the success, the tiredness, and the drive to gear up for another year.

A New Pipeline

October 24, 2013 by Allison

One fine morning The Ranch Boss found that we had a leak in one of the pipes that fed into a few water troughs. The men got to digging, found the leak, and patched it up. And guess what they found the next morning? Yep, another leak…

Their patch job worked great but they discovered that this pipe was so old and so brittle that leaks just seemed to keep coming. This actually started last year when they found a pipe broken that watered the first calf heifers pen. They did have quite a time getting it taken care of because it ran under the main highway. It was quite a project to get a new pipe through.

With these last few issues, they just decided to replace the whole thing rather than to continue to fix leaks as they come. It took a few days to get everything dug, put out, and all hooked up. That also meant a few hours of having the well turned off each day. I swear that every time I went to do dishes they had just turned if off again. Maybe next time we will be in better sync with each other.

I don’t think The Rancher was ever bothered that he could spend a few days playing in the dirt. And when they had finished The Rancher just replied that they shouldn’t have to do that again in his lifetime. That is what we call looking on the bright side. He has to dig and replace 300 feet of pipe and he is so happy to do it.