The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

Praying for Moisture

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Drought.  What a yucky word, right?  Images of the dust-bowl-days quickly come to mind when I hear that word.  Its dusty, dirty, and dry (any other D words to go with all of that?).  Maybe we should expect dryness when we live in the desert, but the lack of rain that we have had lately has just been mind blowing.

When we moved to the family ranch (nearly 2 years ago) we were coming from the Snake River valley which was lush and green.  We moved to a place so barren and dry that not even the wild flowers were growing… it didn’t go over so well with this girl (thankfully I found some this last summer).  But more than missing the green and wild flowers, we struggled for the good feed for our cattle.

For nearly two years now we have earnestly been praying for the rain (or snow) and lately we haven’t been alone in those prayers.  When I heard how nearly the entire west was praying for the drought to end I was surprised.  But then I heard that groups like Farm Bureau and BEEF Magazine were asking for prayers I was humbled.  Even the big guns are turning to the even bigger guns.

Its been a great experience to be a part of this HUGE ranching/farming community moving together to our knees so that we can have the means to continue to live this life we love.  Will you join with us?

The Crew Part 2

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(He, he… the title  rhymes!)

Do you want to know what was so cool about our family cattle drive last week?  Well, yes the winter temperatures did make it a “cool” outing.  What else made it especially cool was that we had all of The Rancher’s brothers.

There are five- that’s a lot of cowboys for one momma to handle.  Thankfully she is still alive and sane.

We are always privileged to work with Cowboy Pete and Cowboy E while they still live on the ranch, and once again they graced us with their cowboy presence.

With it being Christmas brother #2 and his sweet wife were around to move cows with us.  Wouldn’t it be fun to call them Bonnie and Clyde?  Except that they are good kids so the name doesn’t fit.  So instead lets call them The Cowpoke and The Montana Girl.  Right now they are absent Eliason cowboys because they are becoming educated cow-folk. 

And completing the cowboy brotherhood was brother #3.  Last week we welcomed home The Buckaroo from his church mission to Kansas.  In true cowboy fashion he was moving cows the day after he got home!

So already this is fun to move cows with all the brothers but something else cool was that there were four generations of cowboys out there from The Ranch Boss to The Rancher’s Sidekick.  Its not too often that four generations get to work together!

 

The Rancher, a DIY-er

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I love DIY projects, LOVE them.  The Rancher does too, maybe not the ones I enlist him to do, but he des non the less.  He likes the manly ones that come with bigger or more dangerous tools.  I mean what is a welder if not a really hyped up glue gun, right? šŸ™‚

But seriously, isn’t that really a integral part of being a rancher.  These cowboy need to be able switch between whatever jobs the day calls for- truck driver, irrigator, welder, tractor operator, horse trainer, nurse maid… You get the idea, they gotta do it all.  They are DIY-ers. 

 This is the feed truck with arms to lift the bails.  Do you see how my creative husband has fanagled it to lift the troughs?  I find funny, but boy it is works darn good.

 
ļ»æ

 
Here is real picture of The “DYI” Rancher.  Pretty cool.  Finding your own way to get the job done, or being a DIY-er, is part of being a rancher.ļ»æ

Tools of the Trade

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Part of being a cowboy, especially a cowboy in the middle of nowhere, means having a wide array of tools.  Some of them are intended to be used on the ranch, some are not for the ranch but they actually are quite useful and some are homemade- ghetto-rigged from twine and a branch (because some times that is all they have).

Of course a favorite of any rancher is the hot shot.  Efficiency is important when running through hundreds of cows and a little zap in quite motivating.  Therefore, EVERYONE has one.

When we preg check cows a useful, but out of place tool is bleach.  Like go-to-a-salon type bleach.  They mix it up and paint a splotch according to their expected calving date.  Bleaching their hair is a good way to mark them because it will last until February/March when they start dropping babies. 

Tools are an important part of our work… but it’s funny to see what is the favorite or what homemade tool come up with.

Cowboy Kings

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Following The Rancher around has had some fun perks that I had never considered.  Probably the most rewarding one has been the opportunity to get to know some of these other cowboys.  The nature of the cowboy is to be hard working, rough and tough but looking at these men a little closer I have been able to see another side.

There is the tender side that I see- when they are helping a sick calf, a quick but gentle pat and word to their tired horses, and then when they take a minute to hug and talk to my babies.

These men are very humble, something I have learned with taking their pictures.  They always say things like, “I’ll break your camera” or “Find someone better looking to take a picture of.”  This is just one way they are humble. They aren’t looking for any fame or glory when they do something, even if it is cool. They just ride because they love it. 
They also have a silly side, and not always alcohol induced. They will sing as they ride down the road. They tease back and forth constantly. One of my favorites is to hear their hilarious stories of days in the past.  
There is so much to these men, living and working out here in this rough country. These men rule this land like kings, The Cowboy Kings. Riding because it is their fortune, working because its their legacy, and loving it all because it is their destiny.

 

 

About Me

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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