The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective
How about a wordless Wednesday on a Monday? Is that like “Mums the Word Monday”? I have recently found some pictures from this last spring and I thought I would share. And I have a few from the last few busy weeks of moving cows, working calves, and just being cool. Because we are so cool… I might like to think that I am- please, don’t burst my bubble!
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.
Seriously, who names corrals or pastures 13? Forever The Rancher would say, “We’re going down to 13…” and it was supposed to mean something to me. But now I know. 13- the corrals and fields nestled behind the reservoir, only 14 glorious minutes away instead of the agonizing hours it seems to take to Black Pine (don’t worry, I know you don’t know where that is…). And 13 is where we began the crazy fall work this year.
Nearly a week ago, on a hazy cool morning, we saddled up and headed out to gather in the cows on the Forest Service ground. These cows have been difficult all summer long, so it was awesome to get the buggers done and out of the way first. Of course they were spread out on the very edges of the field. And of course they had to turn and chase the dogs every chance they could. And of course the only time they hurried along was when they were headed in the WRONG direction. But we were ready for them and brought lots of help, and in reality, we didn’t have all that far to go to.
After our quick 45 minute gather began the real fun of sorting off the cows from the calves. These cowboys work cows so different than I ever did growing up. I was always taught the approach of less is more- quieter, calmer, less guys… Maybe some of that was just because we didn’t have so many cows or man power. Still, very different. With these Curlew Cowboys we start sorting from both ends, each grabbing a bunch and sorting off calves out one gate and cows out the other, sometimes pushing against each other. I went on the end where we pushed the cows out and kept calves in. I have to admit that the first few minutes were stressful for me. It was chaos. Pure chaos. There was no organization, no plan, just get ’em and go. Fortunately my anxiety simmered down and I jumped into the chaotic, sorting groove. Before long we were done… mostly.
A few calves had managed to slip the gate man that needed sorting back out. And a few bulls needed bringing out. And some of the neighbor cows needed pulling out too. So not really done, but that gave me the perfect opportunity to take a few pictures. I have to admit that I didn’t take any when the good sorting was going on, but that was simply because I was too busy doing my other job…
With the sorting done, all that was left was to wait our turn to get all the calves loaded and head home. And in the meantime while I was waiting, I enjoyed my moments of bliss on the back of the horse with my camera, conversation my new sis-in-law, and a little kid free time. I was almost sad when we loaded up the third and final semi-full of calves. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Until the next time we wean- oh wait, that’s tomorrow!
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!
Team branding. By this time of the summer we are counting down how many are left. If the heifers could count, I’m pretty sure that they, too, would be on the count down. The team branding for our fair has to be one of the favorites for me.
Part of it is because we don’t have to travel a long ways. Phew… For once the stock contractor doesn’t out drive the cowboys. But the best part that since it is local we see so many of our great friends and neighbors! Normally at the end I am just praying for these things to get over because we are all tired, cranky, bored, and someone has most likely gotten hurt. But not in Malad. I’m so stinking busy doing fair board stuff, helping with the heifers, taking pictures, visiting with friends and watching my own kids. Scratch that last one… with so many friends around, everyone else is playing with my babies that it seems like I hardly see them!
Prepare yourselves for a lot of pictures. Not all are that fantastic… I blame the light and the timing. If only I could be in charge of the timing of this shin-dig… But alas, I’m not. So deal with it. I would rather share these photos that might not be my best than not show them at all! 🙂
Click “Read more” for the other pictures…
I already told you how our day ended when we took the heifers to the team penning and branding, and as promised I have pictures of the day. I have to tell you that I LOVED having my new camera! Its amazing to be able to stop a rope mid-air or to get the dirt flying. Mmmm…
When I was telling a friend what we on the summer weekends he couldn’t believe that when we have time off to play, all we do is sort and brand heifers. Yep, we love being cowboys so much that its pretty much all we do!
Now if you’re wondering what a team penning and branding is, I’ll tell you. The first event is the team sort. They throw out 10 heifers (numbered 0-9) and the cowboys are given a number for the first heifer that they sort out first. Once they find her, they find the rest in the sequence until the time runs out.
The penning is really similar. Instead of finding the heifers in a sequence they have to find 3 heifers, all with the same number. Then they push them to the other end where a pen is set up (hence the reason it is called penning…).
And the late (and probably my favorite to watch) is the team branding. The teams have 4 heifers to head, heel, and brand (with pancake mix, of course). There are 4 guys to a team, 2 to rope and 2 to do the branding. They switch in the middle, so that everyone gets a turn to rope… It wouldn’t be fair if they didn’t, now would it!
I’ll admit that sometimes it can get a little long, but there are some dang good horses that can make an awesome cut. There are a few little bloopers along the way that always make it exciting. They did a youth penning team that was so fun to watch. These kids are on the way too be some stinking’ good cowboys (sadly I had my camera put away at this point…). Then we end the day with some dang good ropers! That certainly includes my cowboy, The Rancher… he got 2nd place! Enough winnings to pay for supper, what more could a wife ask for!
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!
