Cows on the Move - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

A Little Cattle Character

March 27, 2015 by Allison

I like cows… And I like them for more than eating. I actually think they are really funny to watch. They have their own funny quirks and personality. I may humanize them a bit, ok a LOT bit. But it keeps things interesting.

The Rancher probably thinks that I am crazy and he probably gets tired of my cow watching, but he just gets to deal with it. I’m sure that he gets sick of me taking the cow’s side when I say things like, “I wouldn’t want to run if I was 9 months pregnant!” as he is chasing cows. Or when he frustrated with a cow that just won’t hold still as they preg check her, I tell him I wouldn’t want someone’s arm up my huh-huh and would DEFINITELY squirm. I may even occasionally tell him he deserves some of the mean-mommy-attitude because he is messing with their babies and the inner momma bear just isn’t ok with it.

Having so many cows at home this winter has given me lots of subjects to watch. They turn into a bunch of obsessive old ladies when it come to feeding time. They have to be the first one to the hay and if another cow starts munching on the wrong flake they sure tell them. They get to head buttin’ and kickin’ and eventually push them right out. “You’re outta the herd!” You can hear them saying that, right?

The babies are their own kind of cute and fun when it comes to watching them. The first attempts at getting up are so wobbly and even funny! Is that mean of me? (I’m sure someone laughed at me when I first started walking, so its all ok…) It doesn’t take long for those babies to get strong and fast and they race across the fields. We’ll be out feeding and you see dozens of calves just take off running. Usually there is one old cow babysitting all those calves and she starts bellering (is that a word?) for them to come back… Darn kids…

I’m sure I give these critters more personality than they may have, but I love the bit of cattle character we see. With so many of the blasted things around, why not change it up a little?

Late Night Babies

March 16, 2015 by Allison

Life would have it that whatever crazy that could happen, will happen at just the wrong time. I mean, we all live a life with Murphy stopping in for a visit. Some even have a spare room for Murphy… Calving always brings good ol’ Murphy along for a stop in, but fortunately for us it hasn’t been too frequent!

Really our calving is going great! (but now that I have spoken it out to to the blog world we are doomed, I’m so sure…) These first time mammas are doing terrific. There is always an occasional issue of one heifer trying to claim another but that’s easy enough to handle. And not too many have needed help birthing. Only a handful have had calves big enough that the cowboys have stepped in to pull it. And then all of the babies are doing well to jump up just as soon as they splat on the ground. We really can’t complain.

But there are those couple of times of craziness that keep us from letting our guard down. There was a freezing, moonlit night that particuarily comes to mind. It was a cold night, but I’m sure that it seemed so much colder because as late as it was, I was all so cozy and ready for bed. But every calving season we need one bed time calf pull.

The Rancher had gone out for a meeting just as dinner was ending, promising it would be quick- only like a half hour or hour at the most. I knew better but it wasn’t a big deal because I would just put the babies to bed and have some time to myself. The kids bathed, we cleaned up toys and settled in the chair for some stories before bed time. It didn’t take long for sister to fall asleep and I was left to snuggle with The Rancher’s Sidekick. We had just finished Curious George when The Rancher came home, two hours later! He said a quick hello, grabbed his flash light and headed out again, this time on the 4wheeler. It was his week for the late check, so it wasn’t a big deal. It turned out to be a big deal when he came right back home. A check that quick means something is up and required icky clothes.

My suspicions were confirmed when I heard him on the phone calling Rancher Sr. asking for help to pull a calf. The heifer had started before he had left and it had been long enough that it was time to get the calf out. Of course she would need to be pulled just after I had pulled on my pjs and was minutes from getting The Rancher’s Sidekick to bed. But the ranch girl in me wouldn’t miss a chance to help. So we bundled up, pjs and all, to help dad pull the calf.

Getting the heifer in the maternity pen proved to be an issue of itself. They generally go in pretty well when they can see where they are heading, but getting them in during the night has its own issues to be dealt with. Just imagine a cow in labor running while you chase her having only a spotlight to help you see all while still trying to drive the 4wheeler… fast… When the chase gets that intense, I opt to sit out because experience has told me that The Rancher can get a little crazy. I choose life, thanks… I think that they traipsed across the heifer hill so many times that they hit all for corners, nearly went out the gate, and then finally made it in.

Looking at the heifer we were pretty worried because things did not look normal. There wasn’t a bubble showing or feet poking out. It just looked weird. Lucky for us, everything was going fine but it was just a huge calf. A LUNKER of a calf. After some intense pulling and pushing and groaning (from the cow, not just me) we had a baby. Having babies of my own has made me quite sympathetic and I think that every time I watch those heifers calve I push right along with them. Its tough work!

The happy arrival of this baby heifer wasn’t the end of the night. Yes this story had a happy ending, the momma licking the baby and baby struggling up. But while The Rancher and Rancher Sr. were getting this momma in, they noticed another calf. A hardly licked off teensy baby without a momma. Abandonment is not really conducive to survival. Kinda common sense, but not all heifers have it. We buzzed around what seemed like forever until we found who we figured was the mom. We tried chasing her over to the baby. We trying just letting her go over to it herself. We tried getting her into the maternity pens. And all she would do was run. If it were me, I’m pretty sure I would park myself and not move- going for a run after birth doesn’t sound good to me! But this cow had something else on her mind and just did not want to take care of her calf.

At that point there wasn’t a lot we could do but wait and see. The calf was in a good place for the night so we opted to let them play things out and we would just keep checking in on them. We headed into the house to thaw our frozen cheeks. Come morning the darn cow STILL hadn’t claimed her calf. And with the morning came more attempts to get her in and get the calf on her. At that point we opted to just take the calf and put her on the milk cow.

Now why couldn’t all of this craziness have happened in the sunshiny day rather than the freezing night? I dunno… There must be some sort of quota those cows have to fill of keeping us up in the night. On the plus side, at least we only had to go out once. And we got to finish Curious Gorge before our wild night began!

A Midnight Bust

January 30, 2015 by Allison

I was looking back over the posts from last year. Sort of reminiscing about what was happening this time last year and then just kept scrolling. As I was going through, I realized that there are some stories that I never shared. These are the stories that are worth telling. You know that because they are the stories that I can still remember after so much time having past…

I live by the theory of better late than never (you know that already for all of the times I’ve taken you back!). Looking back this was a crazy, comical night but at the time it was frustrating, nerve racking and … I guess any issue that begins after dark at the end of a long day is doomed to be a hair puller

We had just gotten out of the shower (I say we because we everyone had to go through my shower that night… Why do we have 2 bathroom when we only use mom’s?) when I heard the 4 wheeler buzzing around. People usually don’t go for a moonlight ride so I knew something was up. The Rancher slipped into something more fitting for the ranch then his jammies while I put the babies to bed. Finally when I made it out to see what was happening (because The Rancher had been gone long enough for me to know that it was bad news- whatever it was) I learned that the most recent batch of weaned calves had escaped the corral and were heading in all sorts of directions. They went up the highway, down the highway, to the shop, to the haystack and to the alfalfa… awesome…

The Rancher and Rancher Sr. were buzzing around bringing in what calves they could find. You see, finding black calves in the dark of a moonless night is tough to do. You hear them before you ever see them and unless you have GREAT hearing you just might think you are getting around them but really you are heading straight out them. When I first showed up I just waited for orders from the cowboys. It was a long wait… So long I gave up waiting for their instruction and took it upon myself to guard the gate. It didn’t take long for me to see that as many calves got brought in would wander out. Not very productive…

So I guarded the gate. And it seemed to work. The boys would whoop and holler and bring the calves and I would keep them from escaping. Every so often there would be a handful that made their way to the gate and I was able to get them in (so proud of myself! Earning so many rancher’s wife stripes!). But the handfuls started getting bigger and more frequent and I began to realize that the blasted calves were hopping the fence and walking back to the gate. I had been putting the same calves in over and over! GREAT… Rancher Sr. came in and as soon as I could I explained that we weren’t keeping them in… Making no progress. So we got what calves we had and pushed them in the corral. Finally safe. Locked in. j

We did this dance of getting the calves in the back pen, running to open the small man gate to the corral, pushing the calves to the gate avoiding the holes in the fence, and trying not to pee my pants every time they scare me as they come around the hay stack.

Eventually the calves stopped coming and we figured we could call it a night. All was left to do was lock the gates up good and PRAY that nothing spent the night in the alfalfa to bloat or on the road to get hit. Come morning we found we were blessed to keep the calves in for the remainder of the night and the couple of strays that spent the night roaming didn’t die.

Looking back on this Thursday night I remember what an exciting eventful fall night we shared when the calves had their midnight jail break. You could almost say we had a romantic night with the only lights of the starry sky (and the few flashlights and 4 wheeler headlights) but I’m sure that’s not how The Rancher looks back on it. A little anxiety and a lot of relief. Maybe he won’t want to relive this Throwback Thursday memory!

Working Til the Cows Come Home

January 25, 2015 by Allison

Winter. It has so many mixed emotions that come with it. So many different emotions. So many opposing emotions. And when you have them all mixing in one house, it can get a little crazy. Take my house, for example…

I love winter. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we got married in January, so I just have so many lovely memories in the midst of a blizzard. Or it could be because I genuinally love winter activities- skiing, sledding, tubing, making snowmen… Yep, love it all. I did grow up in Montana where it was likely that winter would begin before Halloween and end just as school was getting out, so winter was just a part of life- a BIG part of life. I just might love winter, though, because life slows down when there are blizzards and snowy roads and heaven forbid, you think you better stay home! Yep, I even love the dramatics that come with it.

My love and enthusiasm is shared by my kids, who PRAY for snow, sometimes even in the summer. Its not likely to happen, but with the faith of these kids anything could happen. The Ranch Princess has to take the snow in small doses, only as long as her bare hands can handle the cold because she REFUSES to keep gloves on. But she still loves it. And then there’s The Rancher’s Sidekick. He thinks that just a skiff is enough to stop EVERYTHING and play. He hangs on to every last bit of snow like its going out of style (actually, I guess its going even faster than that!) and we sled down the hill hitting as many patches of slush left. Yes, we love winter and snow and all things cold…

But then there is The Rancher. All of the sudden, he has grown old and decided, quite logically, that we can do without winter. Winter and snow and all things cold aren’t that great for business. I can understand that crazy blizzards are terrible to calve in and hard winters are hard on momma cows, but really… a little snow is cool right? But there is another reason The Rancher doesn’t want winter and snow. Its mostly, like 87.9%, because that means we have to feed cows. Part of it is just because we want the hay to last as long as it can. I get it, that’s how I feel about cooking dinner. If I don’t do it, the groceries last longer, I’m so sure… But in reality, he hates doing the same thing day after day. Every morning he spends hours feeding all the cows and has to turn around and do the same thing day after day. I’ve said it before, The Rancher would make a terrible house wife.

So The Rancher prays for winter and snow to evade us as long as possible to put off that dreaded day of feeding cows. But eventually, the day comes. Even without the snow to hurry it along, the day comes that the cows have just gone through all of the grass and the cows must come home. The Rancher must have struck a good deal with the weather maker/grass grower because the last of the cows only came home a few weeks ago. Those fat cows managed to stay a whole extra month longer than last year. But home they did come and of course we helped (because we are the best help around!) and of course I took pictures and of course I’m gonna share them with you.

We could call this a sunset cattle drive. When you start moving cows at 3:30 in the after noon at the beginning of January and have several miles to go, its likely that you won’t make it until the sun has set. Especially if you have slow cows. I guess they figured everything is supposed to run slower in January, like molasses… In the cowboys defense, this was the second group of cows they were moving for the day. They figured that if the horses were loaded they might as well get a days work out of them. So from the desert to the home ranch they moved cows, squished through the mud, and tightened up their cinches, working til the sun set and til the cows came home.

Headed to Fall Pasture

November 16, 2014 by Allison

Calling it fall pasture now sounds wrong that it is currently covered with a sheet of white snow, but since the calendar still calls this time of year fall we will go with it. Fall pasture. That’s where we headed a week ago. The Rancher asked me one of my favorite questions- do you wanna ride? Um… YES!

It really was a fabulous day and a fabulous day for a ride. Unfortunately… there was one part of that day that wasn’t so fabulous- I didn’t bring my camera! I was so busy getting kids together and getting out before the cowboys left me that it slipped my mind. But in some ways it made for a different kind of ride.

I always enjoy being out for a ride and I love capturing the scenes of the day. But as I’ve been riding and photographing at the same time, I realized that as much as I take in with my camera I don’t personally it take in. I look around seeing my next photo or noticing some exciting action and then I take the picture instead of internalizing what’s happening. And that is exactly what I did this ride.

We gathered in the forest cattle, the same bunch we had brought in twice already. This time it was to sort off all of our remaining cows to head over a couple of hills to the fall pasture. Luckily they pretty well sorted themselves… a few of them were a little hot and if too many were that feisty it might have made for a bad day… When they take on the horse in front of them rather than running through the gate, you can see that there was plenty of fun that day. Once we got all of our cows out The Rancher, Cowboy E and I started moving them down the road.

It was uneventful. The cows moved slow because they were busy eating all along the way. The air was chilly but the sun beating down was warm and comfortable. We commented about how good and fat the cows looked. And we called for the dog keep the cows moving (NEVER move cows without a good cow dog… he’s worth his weight in gold!). It was nice to have a moment to connect to what we were doing and take it all in. The creak in my saddle, the cow’s hooves on the gravel, and the dog running were the only things to really take my attention.

This little uneventful ride helped me realize how beautiful of a life we live, in its simplicity and in its intensity. We have times of the year that we fall into bed exhausted only to wake up early again the next morning. Then there are the days that The Rancher gets done early enough to saddle up the horse for the kids to ride. In all of it we get to live a life where we work as a family to raise beef to help feed the world. We work hard, play hard, and have beauties all around. On this ride to fall pasture I didn’t capture the day with my camera, but I certainly captured it with my heart. If only I could help you to see the imprint it has left on this rancher’s wife.

Wanted: Good Fall Pasture

October 25, 2014 by Allison

Have I mentioned how thankful we are for rain? We are so thankful for the rain! Its been incredible what the rain has done for us this fall. The most recent realization of its awesomeness is that with all of the growth that has come from the rain we have found ourselves in some what of a dilemma. OK, not a dilemma really, but more of an interesting situation that we haven’t seen…

Every fall when the calves are weaned and we are done with the summer pasture we look for fall pasture. The more fall pasture means that we can leave our cows out longer and not have to feed them at the home ranch. Really, that never happens but some years finding enough pasture has been a slight issue.

But not this year! We have had calls from so many farmers and ranchers saying that they have great regrowth after their last cutting and would have plenty of feed for our cattle to go through the fall on. In fact, there are some farmers with wheat fields with winter wheat in that may be growing too much (so much it might not make it through the winter!) and want us to knock it down a little. Can you say blessed?! Oh, how we love the rain!

So a week after weaning the calves off, we gathered off 150 cows of the forest group and hauled them out for some good fall pasture. And honestly, we hope not to make the return trip with them for a good long time!

Integrity in the Middle of Nowhere

October 9, 2014 by Allison

I realized something new this fall. Outside from all of the awesomeness that comes with the riding and gathering on such beautiful fall days there is an incredible bond between the ranching men in this valley. On one particular morning it was evident what kind of men we are privileged to work with.

All of our cows are run with other ranches, several ranches which means that there is plenty of man power when it is time to work them. But one large bunch (all the bunches are large when you run nearly 800 cows!) we have only runs with one other ranch. Most years we have plenty of extra help but this year we felt pretty lucky to not have a disaster with as few guys as we had. Kids grow up and go to school and others really grow up and go on missions. Some get other jobs. Before we know it we are spread far and thin between, but still getting the job done.

When we got to the corrals where we were sorting I noticed that there were a lot more trucks and trailers and cowboys than what we had left. Cool. Some help. But really, I was sure that they were only there to get their few calves that end up in our group. Strays happen because that saying of the grass being greener on the other side is really true! So we sort out the strays. And no one really leaves. We start weaning the big group of cows and everyone jumps in. Even as a big storm came in and soaked everyone that didn’t bring a rain coat (me… plus a few others) they all stuck around.

After a while I decided that their time and effort was really a demonstration of their character. They work until the work is done. They help their neighbor simply because they know they need help. They don’t expect to be paid and would never hold it over our head. And because of their willingness to help we turn around and help them whenever we can. When they say they are coming we know it will happen because these men stay true to their word.

What incredible character, right? I aspire to keep that kind of legacy alive in the ranch we run, in the family I raise and in the person I strive to become.

First Wean at 13

September 28, 2014 by Allison

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!

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!