The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective
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.
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.
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.
There are so many benefits to having a gentle old milk cow. Of course we get the milk (by that I mean Rancher Sr., we don’t milk her too often). She also comes in handy when we have bum calves that need to still suck. But a little less obvious is that she is a great roping buddy for a three year old boy.
On a morning walk The Rancher’s Sidekick had the clever idea to rope Jersey. And she, like a good friend, stands there while he torments her. He grabbed her tail, pulled her ears, and poked her belly as he tried to put a rope anywhere he could manage. Think of Nana from Peter Pan, but instead of a dog, we have a cow. And with a cow like that, who needs a roping dummy?
With so much going on, I missed putting these pictures up. We have had so many days of working the cows and calves. Most days are hot and sunny but we did have one day that was overcast and rainy. Of course you already know that rain at any time is beautiful and happily received.
The Rancher’s Sidekick found creative ways to stay busy, dry, and warm. It DID include commandeering his sister’s stroller and blanket.
The Cowpuncher was willing to come on a day that he didn’t ride and was cold and rainy. That’s a pretty dedicated cowboy.
Any rancher’s wife will tell you that the fall is a stressful time. You have to get the calves weaned, vaccinated and occasionally some other fun stuff (tags?). In the mix you still have bulls to pull out, cows to preg check and get settled into fall pasture, and other fall clean up. Of course every ranch has their own process to but there is one common thing-stress.
There is an incredible tension that comes home with the semi loads of calves when these cowboys wean them off. Tension from thoughts like we hope we found all of the calves… We hope that they have grown over the summer… We hope that none of them are sick. And then we pray every night that they will keep growing and that none will get sick. The day that we sell those calves is the day that we can heave a sigh of relief.
In the meantime we are doing everything we can to fatten these babies up! We took our nightly spin through them and so far we are quite pleased with our crop of calves.
When I gave you a look at our preg checking day I neglected to tell you about some of our best men. Well, they aren’t men at all. They are dogs.
After a few days of working calves through the alley and squeeze chute, The Rancher said, “Those dogs are worth two men working out there!” And he is right. These dogs run along the alley, sticking their nose under to bite the heels of the cows. Then they will nip at the cows in the chute to head them out. It sure saves a guy having to always run back and forth trying to get the cattle to move.
The day started out ordinary and beautiful, and typical of a ranching day, that was sure to change. The cowboys were gone so something was bound to go awry.
After coming home from getting my hair cut I had a call from The Rancher’s mom across the way. She was somewhat in distress because the chickens were out. You may not think that this is much of an issue but I assure, it is.
I wish that we had the picturesque Little House on the Prairie farm where the chickens and bum calves ran around free… Lovely pets that nestle and come at a melodic call. But that isn’t what we have here folks.
We have wild calves that in their wild roaming they roam into the chicken coop. They reek all sorts of havoc on that little coop, like dumping out the water, turning over the feed and ruining the feeders. Of course this inspires more chaos as the chickens have been terrorized and set free. Chickens wandering free is problematic- first because it means we have to hunt them down and get them back in. But also because there is someone else hunting after the chickens… the ornery dog.
As good rancher wives we dedicated ourselves to finding the lost chickens, saving them from being dinner, and safely returning them to the coop. It was a darn good thing that we were dedicated because it took FOREVER to wrangle up those chickens. Have you ever herded chickens? I think it is worse than cats.
They had scattered all throughout the sheds where the old junk has collected, the new tractors are parked, and everywhere in between. We climbed under and over nasty, dusty, dirty, grimy… I actually don’t know what most it stuff was (but I did find a few treasures that would look lovely with flowers planted in them). But we suffered through it and slowly, but surely, we gathered the chickens one by one back to the coop.
The real hero of the story is The Rancher’s mom, who by the way needs a better “Rancher Wife” blog name than that (if anyone has any great ideas). She is so brave! I don’t really do chickens. I will chase them, cluck at them, gather their eggs, and occasionally squeal because of them but I won’t touch them (read pick them up in ANY sort of way). But this lady scoops them up without the blink of an eye. When she can’t just scoop them up she has a handy hook that snatches those chickens, just as if she was fishing. And as she walks them back to the coop she sweetly reminds them that it is much better to stay in the coop, gives them a pat and lets them gently down. I was so impressed at one point that I almost told her she was one good hooker lady, but I didn’t think that was very nice… She has some sort of chicken super powers that any nasty chicken had better beware.
It took a good part of the day to get all of the cows preg checked so when we were finished the cowboys took them down the road about a mile to a holding field until they were ready the next day. I decided to tag along for a few pictures. The Ranch Princess was having a nap which meant that I could go solo (because The Sidekick was loaded up with The Rancher). I opted for my bike… my pedal bike. I actually highly recommend it. Its a very good way to get some exercise while you are working, without the noisy 4 wheeler!
I finally have a picture or two of The Ranch Boss. Apparently he has been camera shy because I don’t have too many of him.
I should introduce you to The Rancher’s cousin. He has been really helpful the last couple of weeks. He has his own full time job but was still willing to come and help these cowboys get the work done. What a good little cow puncher… Ya, meet The Cow Puncher!
We have our own type of assembly line on the ranch. No it isn’t putting headlights on the cows as they run past on a conveyer belt. But each man has a job along the way. There are the guys that keep the cows flowing. Without them the rest would be pointless… without cows there is nothing to work on. Once they get to the front we have the man running the headcatch. While there the cow is poked and prodded in all sorts of ways.
Preg checking is an important time for us. It when we learn how the next year will be. We can see when we will calve, who is calving and who isn’t. We can cull out the cows we don’t want or need to keep. We do maintenance stuff like vaccinations and new tags. This is the only time that we run the cows through and so it is important for us to run through them. Ans so we set up our assembly line.
I only have a picture of Rancher Sr. preg checking but he and The Rancher swapped on and off whenever their arms get tired. The Rancher’s Sidekick found all sorts of things to do. He pulled out the branding irons, syringes, and the pill pusher (that’s what I call it… is there any other name you need?). I was privileged to give shots. Gotta love getting out to help The Rancher!
Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!
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