Off the Ranch - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Stream of Life

December 13, 2013 by Allison

Holbrook is in the deseret… really. Its dry and every time the wind blow our mountains and hills change. It is so different from the river plain that I grew up in. The ranch we had was crossed with little rivers and streams- some to play in and some to fish in and all to make it so beautiful.

There are a few little streams in our valley and they all are their own sort of beautiful. When The Rancher was building his fence they were right by a little creek that feeds out of the reservoir. They had to cross it twice so I don’t think they were in a mood to admire it, but I sure was! And now during the winter it really has its own kind of pretty with the dry cattails and crusted wheat, the bits of snow and ice, and the slow moving water. It just nourishes my soul.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

December 10, 2013 by Allison

A fellow rancher from the Curlew Valley decided that it was finally time redo the fence that we share. For some time they have had trouble with his cows sneaking in with ours and I think he got tired of us calling him to take them back to his side. So on one a cool November day they loaded up their hammers and nails and got to work.

Fencing isn’t my favorite chore- I’m sure it was the hot summers. But The Rancher likes it. Its one of things that you can really do well. There’s not anything much prettier than a new, tight, straight fence.

After building so many fences it is second nature to these cowboys. Without talking they know how far apart to space out the posts, where to put in a brace and all the parts and pieces to make it work. They get right to it and go until the work is done … or dark.

There was more fence to build than daylight this time, so they went back out to finish the work just last week. I don’t have any pictures of them working that day because it was cold and snowy. My warm slippers begged me to stay home!

Sorting Out the Opens

November 5, 2013 by Allison

There are a lot of reasons that we preg check the cows… I think I have already told you that. We want to know who is pregnant and who is not. And how far along pregnant they are. And if they are not pregnant we need to get rid of them. We bring them home and then to the auction (or to anyone that wants them…).

This is when the fun starts. Initially the opens are just lumped together so they sort them so each ranch can take them home after all checking is done. These cows are tired of being in the corral and the last thing they want is to be worked more. That means they put up a good fight that is fun to watch. I have to admit that I my picture don’t do justice for the awesome moments we had but I am going to blame that on the cowboys because there are only so many places I can be. So I do what I can with what I got!

1,2… 1437, 1438, 1439!

November 2, 2013 by Allison

You should have seen all of these cowboys hard at work when they were preg checking these cows. Most of these guys have been doing this together for years and years so they have it down pat. They have figured out how to run these cows through fast. This year they had 1439 cows. Are you impressed? You should be…

Cowboy Eating

November 1, 2013 by Allison

The upside of the LONG days working cows is the food. There are a few folks that will cook for the crew and it is worth every working minute. Most of it is dutch oven cooking, which a culinary art in itself. Nobody has to be asked twice to get in line for a plate!

The Cenex Man’s Fence

October 19, 2013 by Allison

Oh, my dear friends, I have been slacking. There are pictures that I haven’t put up from some of my ranch adventures!

But I will make it right and show you, don’t worry…

So waaay back when we ventured up to Montana to visit my folks I posted about a trip that we took with my dad, The Cenex Man. The truth is that I only told you part of the story and now I am here to give the rest.

For quite some time he had been working to deliver supplies to a fencing crew that was putting in miles and miles of fence. He loved working with them and wanted The Rancher to have a chance to meet the guys and see their work.

These men (well young men, really) were a very hard working, well experienced crew. They were all from a Mennnite community from the Gold Creek area and had been working since they had finished school when they were fourteen. I was impressed at how well done these boys did. It was all done right and timely. They didn’t take time to mess around or waste time. A lot of this good work was do to a good boss that set high expectations for them.

I love to see good, hard working men that choose to do it right.

Logan Canyon

October 11, 2013 by Allison

With having a semi and bull wagon, the cowboys will sporadically haul cows for other ranches. Its usually the spring haul out and the fall haul home. Last week The Rancher took the afternoon to haul cows from up Logan Canyon to Snowville. Being the wonderful husband that he is he asked if I would like to come along. He knows that, first, I love trees, and second, I love trees in full fall colors. This was the trip for me.

And he was so right! With every turn there were new colors intermixed with incredible cliffs and ambling creek. It was literally breathtaking. Every year the same thought comes through my mind- God has to be an artist to create such amazing colors. I may have told The Rancher that we needed to move our cows this way so that I could live in the midst of all that beauty. Yes, he just smirked about it… (For the record I do find it beautiful here, just a rugged beauty, not a take-your-breath-away beauty.)

So if I can’t have it out my window, I had better have a picture of it. These don’t come near the vivid colors that we saw, but at least it reminds me that the fall beauty is out there somewhere.

The Rancher Playing Cowboy

June 19, 2013 by Allison

I shouldn’t say that he is “playing” cowboy because he really is a real cowboy! During the summer the guys have penning heifers that they take around to some of the Team Penning and Brandings. The best part about it is that since he is already there hauling or working the heifers he is available to do some riding and roping too! Of course as the dutiful rancher’s wife I load up the diaper bag, camera, and lunch box and follow him along the rodeo trail! Oh, we bring the kids too… I couldn’t never leave behind The Sidekick- he is The Rancher’s biggest fan!

Date Night

June 4, 2013 by Allison

When you live in the middle of no where you get to be creative when it comes to date night. We have had date nights where we go riding (horses) or for a drive (in the truck or playing Mariokart) or just some playing card games at the kitchen table. We have even had our own “comedy” night by youtube-ing our favorites and reading laffy taffy jokes. Like I said, we get creative.

But during the school year the sports can provide some fun entertainment. This time of year that is High School Rodeo. It may not be your top-stock-top-cowboy sort of rodeo but it still is a fun time to be together and to support the local cowboys/girls (like The Rancher’s brothers!)

For the record, this cowboy is not one of The Rancher’s brothers, its just one of the better pictures of the night. : )

But this sure is! (a picture of a brother, but not a good picture…)

On Vacation

May 31, 2013 by Allison

A rancher is always busy… ALWAYS. Its one of those unspoken rules that a rancher wife just gets to deal with. There are two ways to approach it. Either you go solo and leave the rancher behind to his chores or you chose to help out with the chores and never leave the ranch (which is what this rancher’s wife usually prefers to do). That is for about 95% of the time. But occasionally the rancher will admit that he needs some time off of the ranch so then we quick load up the posse and head out!.

So that’s what we did! We headed to Las Vegas!

I know its the wrong time of year for a cowboy family to head that direction but there are more things than the NFR to draw us to LV. This time my dear friend was giving her mission farewell. She has chosen to serve as a missionary for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We decided that we would go support her, spend some time before she leaves for 18 months and make a whole family vacation out of it!

And that, my dear readers, is why the ranch front has been quiet- we were gone! But I promise to make it up to you because as I said earlier, a rancher is ALWAYS busy!