Dog Days of Ranching - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Oh ya… We sold the calves!

February 4, 2017 by Allison

Seasons on the ranch go by so fast. One minute we are calving and trying to keep babies warm and alive and then before you know it, we are selling them. And then you sell them, and you forget to put it on your blog to say “HAPPY DAY!”. It may not seem like a big day, but those few hours on that frosty November morning are what we work for all year long.

So I am taking the opportunity now to celebrate selling and shipping calves. Hooray! It was such a s muddy, messy day because it had been raining and raining. The downside to the rain and subsequent mud- sloshing and sliding around it poop and goop up to your eyeballs! The upside- probably a few extra wet and dirty pounds on the calves!

Shipping cows isn’t all that hard, but sort of time consuming. When you have hundreds of calve to weigh, you can see how that will take some time. Let me walk you how that day goes…

First, it starts before that day. A week or so before, we sort the steers from the heifers and pull out any of the sick, lame, or small calves (hopefully not too many of these!). Up to this point we just keep them together to feed them. While we are sorting the heifers, we pull off the ones that we want to keep for replacements somewhere around 100 depending on the year.

So on shipping morning, we start with the steers. We bring the herd into the corral and move them back to the scales. We weigh them 10 at a time to get an average weight. Can you imagine if we had to weigh them one by one? We would be there all day. After we weigh all the steers we look at the herd average and see what that compares to what we contracted them at. Obviously, we want to hit the weight we contracted at because too light means a smaller check. Too big usually isn’t a problem.

After the steers are done, we do the same with all the heifers.

Once everything is weighed, counted to the number we contracted at (we have more calves than what we contract…), and the broker is happy with what we have, we load them up. It takes someone with a masters degree in math to figure out the loading. Not really, but it does take some time to figure out how many calves at what weight can fit in each section depending on which truck they are loading. Glad that’s not my job. Once all five (or sometimes six!) trucks are loaded they head out.

And then we stand there and listen to the silence.
And then heave a sigh of relief for having the calves gone.
And then shout HOORAY!
And then we check the mail…

Then we go back to work because the job is never done. Every year we have the same day of shipping calves with the same guys, the same routine, and then same cinnamon rolls. And its a great day. The day we work all year for and the day that lets us keep working for the next year.

Happy (belated) Sale Day, friends!

Eliason Branding 2015 Day 1

May 10, 2015 by Allison

This last week I had the scariest thing happen… I thought I lost my external hard drive! It stores all of my photos and if it was gone I was gonna be in big trouble. And heartbroken. Mostly heartbroken.

But I found it!! This means I can finally share the many MANY more pictures I have.

Today’s tale and pictures to post- our branding!

With having so many cows at home to calve, we had so many calves to brand here on the ranch. We made a weekend of it, inviting cowboys and cowgirls out to help. Day one consisted of all the calves on the ranch- two heifer groups and 3 cow groups. The nice about when we did these was that they had already been tagged, castrated and given one shot. We sailed through these calves! For most of the day I was giving shots on my own and I could barely keep up! It also meant that there wasn’t a lot of down time to take pictures. So not a lot of day one… Mostly a shot here and there between groups, set up, clean up… But stay tuned for day two!

Click the “read more” link below to view the complete post…

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.

Vaccinating in the Rain

October 10, 2014 by Allison

We gathered… we sorted… we weaned… we hauled… and then we vaccinated. Not all ranchers do it, but we do. Its like with kids- not everyone has to, not everyone chooses to but we think its well worth it. There are two times a year that we have all of the calves gathered up that we can give them their vaccinations- branding and weaning.

In the few years that we have been back to the ranch this is one of those areas that I have really jumped in to help. Maybe that was because the first year we weaned I was big and pregnant and that was about all I could do. But there is the nerdy medical side of me (the one that likes to think that I can be part of the at-home-vet crew) that likes to give shots… I don’t know why I’ve settled myself in here, but I did…

Having the new chute was so nice. So so SO nice! It was fast, it had an awesome neck bar so I could give shots without my hand potentially getting hurt, and even better we didn’t hurt any calves like we have in the past with the old chute. Thanks Moly Mfg. for the Silencer!

One of our vaccinating days we had to wait for a break in the rain. Lucky enough we got a few good hours of dry work in before the rain stared again. But the rain didn’t dampen any spirits. Especially any of our little helpers. These kids of mine love to come and help and don’t mind being hours at the chute with bawling calves. In fact, they each find a hot shot or a stick and find a place to poke the calves as we go through.

It was a great few days vaccinating, but its great that its over. They’ve had their booster shots and now its time for them to grow, grow, grow!

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!

Just Follow Your Momma

May 7, 2014 by Allison

I haven’t seen my husband too much of late. Don’t worry, we are still SO much in love, its just the time of year for early mornings and late nights. We have made it to our spring turn out dates so over the last few weeks we have been gathering the cattle, sorting into the different groups and then hauling them to their new pasture. Of course that includes branding (and read tagging, vaccinating, marking) any calves that we missed or were born after we branded (ya, that happens…). And we gotta make sure that the new pasture is ready- water flowing and fences up. The combination of no water and terrible fences means cows out… not what we need.

So needless to say, I haven’t seen The Rancher too much. But every once in a while I have a day that I don’t have anything else going on (well, except house work… but that’s never stopped me from going out!) and they are doing something that we can help with so we tag along.

We were helping gather up the cows out on our private land and I just had to chuckle at some of the things that we deal with working these darn cows. Lets just start by saying that cows don’t think (mostly), they react, and calves don’t react, they freak out.

Most of these cows get that when we start pushing them towards the gate that it means new grass and boy do they step out. They just get a-walking, thinking only of filling their bellies. But then all of the sudden, they remember that they have a calf… somewhere. So they turn around and start bawling for baby, making other mommas do the same. Hey now! We are trying to go out the gate and every time you stir up the herd to find your baby that you forgot about because all you think about is food you cause problems! Too bad saying that wouldn’t actually get anything done- rational talk doesn’t work with cows that don’t really think.

With such a big herd we use our cow dogs to move them along. But sometimes that causes a little bit of an extra stir. See, in the winter we can get coyotes or even wolves that bother the herds, putting momma cow on super high alert. Anything that looks like a coyote is in trouble, including The Rancher’s dog. This is the same dog that is around every year, all year and they know who he is but they put up a stink if he gets too close.

The roughest part about moving the herd in the springtime is pushing the calves. With momma gonna, they are doing their darndest to find her and keep up with the herd. But with such little legs and no clue of where they are going, they tend to just lag. And if, for some reason, they get behind they freak out, running in the exact opposite direction as the herd. There is no coercing the darn things to go in the right direction until they just do it themselves (hmm, sounds like my kids!). They will run through fences, the brush, anything that gets in their path! Sometimes we just get ’em good and tired and then grab them.

It sounds pretty bad when I explain it all out like this, and it is if all of this is happening at once. But usually its not every cow that turns back and the dog has learned to shove with love and we do pretty good at keeping the calves from getting behind. But it would all be so much better if those darn babies would just follow momma (or momma not leave them behind…)! Regardless, we are getting the work done and loving it (well, most of it). And we will love it even more when it is done!

A New Cow Dog… in the Making

February 1, 2014 by Allison

We were heartbroken about losing our puppy,, Cash. There were days that the first thing The Rancher’s Sidekick would ask is when would we get new puppy or tell me that he needed new puppy. It was so hard to explain that just because we wanted him, it didn’t mean it would happen.

One fine Wednesday, a small, furry puppy came running through my kitchen door and my kids started giggling and screeching! The Rancher surprised us with a new puppy for Christmas and we have been loving every minute with him.

The Ranch Princess especially loves this furball. She loved playing with him in the mud room on the cold, cold nights (like below zero- anything above that is something ranch dogs have to get used to). Now that he has to stay outside, she smashes her cute nose against the window to look for him. Once spotted she pats her tummy, with zeal, as if she is telling him to come.

Lately the puppy is really starting to show interest in chasing cows. Like today, when The Rancher was chasing a heifer in. He was all over that chase, but unfortunately he headed her in the wrong direction. So he’s not there yet… there are still a lot lessons to be learned. And I think the one on the top of the list is to LISTEN to the boss… hmm sounds like parenting.

We may have a long road ahead of us yet with him, but we are so stinking excited!

By the way, are there any guesses for this puppy’s name? Leave your guess in the comments and we’ll see who comes up with it!

Lessons Learned From Ranching

December 5, 2013 by Allison

My parents always said that raising a family on a ranch made it easy to teach life lessons. There were lessons of hard work, responsibility and then the fruit of ones labors. Of course it also made it easy to talk about the birds and the bees.

But not all of the lessons to learn from the ranch are easy. For the first time I was on the mom end of one of those hard lessons. My son’s puppy was ran over and it was my unfortunate opportunity to tell him and explain that he wouldn’t be coming home. It took a while to set in and when it did he would tell me that he didn’t want him dead or that now he needed a new puppy.

It’s been a lesson for me to learn as much as The Rancher’s Sidekick. It was so hard for me that they won’t be able play together. It was hard that he didn’t understand. And of course we all struggled with the loss of a little friend.

Our Favorite Cow Hand (or Paw)

October 2, 2013 by Allison

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.