The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

2U Branding… Doing it Carter Style

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I love branding season!  I love to help, I love to take pictures, I love the company, I love the food… I love it all!  When we ran out of branding days for our ranch and the association, I invited myself down the road to our friend’s branding.

The Carters have a small herd that they run mostly because they love the life.  They have other work but at the end of the day they always come back to ranching.  Its important to them to raise their 4 boys learning how to work and connecting with the heritage that runs deep in this valley.

Its been great to become better friends with this family.  The Rancher went to high with Cowboy Cody Carter and has some great (maybe not entirely always appropriate) memories with him.  They have moved on from high school rodeo to real ranch cowboys, making a living to provide with their families.

…. That all sounds kinda mushy… Maybe it is when you think about it, but really its awesome and fun.  And that is exactly the kind of day we had out with the Carter crew to their branding.  They had cowboys that could rope and… some that weren’t so great.  They had cowboys that didn’t hardly say a word and others that didn’t ever stop (seriously, the guy never closed his mouth- the proof is in the pictures!).  There were a few injuries throughout the day but all in all, a successful day branding!

The Last of the Association Branding

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How about a little different post?  Still lots of pictures but instead of a wind up with some sort of an interesting story, lets do a commentary.  A running commentary to let you know what I was seeing when I took each picture. 

Ready?

Riding in the herd…

Brothers…  The little brother was pestering the older brother, the older brother took down the younger brother and commenced the Chinese torcher tap.  Nothing but true love there!

The Ranch Boss just had his 87th birthday and refuses to stop.  He may slow a little, but he is determined to never quit.

I just thought this blaze was funny… Like, bummer birth mark or something…

You find cowboy style and personality everywhere.  Some cowboys go simple and some like bling everywhere, even by their horses slobbery mouth.

When I got up close I realized that he had his name on his spurs- AWESOME! And he has some cool red top boots peeking out.  That’s like cowboy lingerie, right there!

Horses on the range- its a beautiful site.

There isn’t a better place for kids to be than out in the middle of nowhere branding.

The Rancher’s Sidekick always has to be in the middle of it all.  At the point in the day he had proclaimed it his job to stand on the leg so it wouldn’t move.  Don’t know that we needed it but I’m glad that he found a job he could rock.

The saddle- a cowboy spends many long hours in this seat…  It better be just to his liking!

Just a boy giving shots, but once again…  its a great place for a growing boy to be.

Dragging calves in…


Sure glad he has a cap on that…  Sometimes people get unintentional vaccinations

Thank goodness for back pockets because when your hands get full there is always a place to hang your tagger and your clips.

We always load up toy for the kids.  In fact I think there ends up being a whole sand pile worth of toys out there!

And then sometimes they end up hauling more than just dirt.  The Rancher’s Sidekick started gathering up discarded nuts and taking them to the dogs.  I’m glad that was all he was doing with them…

The Rancher’s uncle…  I’ve known him for quite a while and he has ALWAYS had the mustache.  The length of the handle bars has varied over the years but it is truly his signature!

I know he wasn’t really posing, but I tease that everyone is so used to striking a pose for me that it is just second nature to stand picture ready!

How many boys does it take get a calf down?  Lots… and still the calf will give ’em a run for their money!

It got dusty… no surprise.  And it looked cool.

Gathering the herd in for the after lunch branding.  Taking a pit stop at the watering hole…

Rancher Sr. doing what he does best.  He has become such a great friend.  I love having him for a father-in-law.

When you ride next to me you are going to have your picture taken.  And I love them even if you aren’t looking at the camera!

Cowboys make beautiful photographs… I love my job!

Cows scattered across the range- this is why we bring so many cowboys.  And this was only one small corner of our beautiful world.  I love having wide open spaces for an office!

Boys in the dirt… need I say more?

We could see a storm moving over the mountains and it was a stunning backdrop. 


Love the dramatics of the sky.  Having a non dusty windy day was incredible!

A look at the scene from herd side…

One of my favorite cowboys. 

Every week there are a few new faces around to help and enjoy the cowboy lifestyle.

A different perspective…  But appropriately, looking up to a cowboy

Cute.  I love cute calves!  Especially the baldy calves.

Drug by the heels.  If only he knew what was going to happen to him.

Sisters make the best friends.

Her parents had better be ready for this beauty to grow up.  Check out those eyes!

A little saddle bling with your brand on it can never be a bad thing.

Just taking a minute to visit with a friend.  Kids and horses were meant to be together. 

Any guesses what this coffee can is for? Oh, just to gather nuts in…  Calf nuts…

Should we be concerned that there are no adults in this picture?

J4…  When the ropers bring in a calf they shout out what brand to put on it- Rocking-A, AE, J4 , Bar over the hip, K+… and many more

When you pester the big boys they just might decide to hog tie you.  While I was taking this picture I could hear them saying (in more colorful language) that they unfortunately didn’t have enough rope to finish the job on this growing boy… It was his lucky day, that’s for sure!

Chaps- a functional and fashionable part of the cowboy wardrobe…

Checking out the herd…

This girl will show you how its done!

Following the rope back to the cowboy- my cowboy in this shot…

Looking for the unbranded babies…


A little war paint for a tough day of work!

The Fun of Preg Checking Buffalo

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When I talk about our couple of days working buffalo, I usually only mention that we were preg checking them.  But it was really more than that.  At the ranch they only work the buffalo once a year.  Can you blame them?  I mean really, who wants the stress and working buffalo more than that?
 
With the whole herd gathered, everything goes through the chute.  We wean off all of the calves and sort the bulls from the heifers.  That means that they each get a tail lift… In some ways it can be kinda tricky trying to sex them.  So much hair…  And as it got darker the differences sure became hard to spot!  But there is an easy, unreliable way to ID gender- their horns.  Interestingly enough, the horns on the bulls grow wider… Random, I know.
 
And then we obviously preg the cows, cull the opens.  Its so interesting to see this herd and the range in ages and size.  We have young calves to old cows that have been in the herd for years.  But what they all have no matter what their age is, they are all so crazy.  Over and over they would have a problem with the cows tipping over backwards.  See, in their craziness, they try to jump out.  And they could if it was just a cow ally (buts its not anymore).  With the ally being tall enough and strong enough, they can’t jump over.  But it doesn’t keep them from trying, over and over again. And eventually, their top heavy head gets the best of them and they just topple over backwards.   It really is comical to see because its as if once they get up to the top, it all goes in slow motion while they try to NOT tip over.  They fling their hooves and wiggle their head.  But its inevitable… They tip over on their backs and CAN’T get up.  “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up…” (name that show?!).
 
Once they have tipped over the crew is gathered because it takes ALL of the men to get the upside down buffalo right side up.  After this happening so many times, they have got their system down.  They throw a rope around its head and pull, rolling it up.  It seems simple, but buffalo are heavy.  Super heavy!  Seriously, it takes 9 guys to do this!  And sometimes one has to get a little brave to jump down in the ally with the buffalo to get the rope on.  Exciting right?
 
They did get to pull over a good handful of buffalo, but fortunately nothing really happened.  Hardly anything to get your blood pumping.  We had one little incident where a calf managed to back out of the chute, right by me.  It was like preg checking cows all over again.  But that meant I new just what to do- grab the baby and run!  I had been recording numbers and standing right next to the chute when the little bugger psyched out the gate man and was able to back out.  We danced around the table, trying to keep something between us and the calf and at the first chance we jumped up on the cat walk.  The guys were prepared for something like this and pulled out some panels to herd the little buffalo back in.  And it did just saunter in and we went back to work, shortly acting as if it had never happened.
 
Preg checking was, once again, exciting this year!  Not enough to cause any really harm, but still enough to know your heart can be good and fast.    

The Buffalo-Working-Crew

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I’m finally getting around to telling you a little more of working the buffalo from my trip to Lemhi.  The crew The Lemhi Rancher assembled was all sorts of random.  A sister and her crazy kids, a brother and his family, a few hands from the ranch and then the office crew.

The owner of the ranch has several businesses under his hat, which means he has a variety of guys that work for him.  The office guys come in really handy on the days when they run short on ranch hands.

Most ranches are only run with a few guys.  Sure there is always work to be done, but for the most part, the day to day things can be taken care of without a big crew.  But then there are a few days that you just can’t do it alone.  On our operation, we turn to our neighbors and friends and in return we help them.  We realize how valuable the ranchers are that we work with and grateful we are that they are willing to step in.  In a way they become invested in our operation, hoping that the work that they do for us isn’t in vain.  Because of their hard work, we are happy to turn around and help them whenever they need.  And its become a real blessing working so closely with neighbors.  They aren’t competitors down the road but are family of the industry. 

At Lemhi, it isn’t quite the same.  The cowboys don’t go into the office to help do the accounting or paper work.  But working together on the ranch helps them have a better understanding of the role each of them play in the big pictures.  Working buffalo might not be their strength, but every bit of help is welcomed.  We take the buffalo-working crew however they come, with grateful hearts.
  

Little Lemhi, Idaho- My First Happily Ever After

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Lemhi, Idaho will always have a special place in my heart.  Mostly the ranch that my brother worked on.  Why?  Good question… I’ll tell you.

This is the place I met my cowboy.

I always said I would marry a cowboy but then when I went to college, there were no cowboys around.  I was interested in the nursing program at BYU- a school where there is nothing remotely close to an animal science or ag business programs.  See.. ya… no cowboys.  It was a little much for this country girl so I would head up to my brother’s to visit, ride my horse, and get out of the city.  It so happened that The Rancher thought that Lemhi would be a great place to do an internship and took a semester there.  We met.  We played.  We worked.  We checked cows until midnight.  I though nothing would come from it because he didn’t even come say by as I left that first weekend I met him.  That was until I got a call from my sister in law warning me that The Rancher had asked my brother for my phone number!  Too scared to ask me, but not too scared to ask his boss for his sisters number… Boys…

So we romanced and fell in love and got married.  Then we moved to the ranch!  We worked on the ranch the first 8 months before we went back to school.  It was like a long honey moon- we just worked and played with practically no one else around (have you heard of Lemhi?  No?  That’s because its suuuuper small.  LOVE IT!).

Now when we go to visit I always think of those great few years where The Rancher and I got our start.  In some ways it will always be home because that it where we had our first home.  I love to take time to drive around the valley and the ranch to just take it all in.  This was the beginning of my happily ever after!

Cousins make the best of friends! How many boys does it take to open a gate?…

A Drive Through the Buffalo

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My family loves to work together.  Is that weird?  For family reunions we have cut a horse (castrated him),  built fence, and put up drywall.  Everyone does stuff like that, right?!  Someone once told me that so long as you are doing something you enjoy, you can consider it recreation.  We like to recreate by working, sweating, stinking…  Ok, maybe not everyone and not all of the time… there are times we like to sit and do nothing.  But that doesn’t last long at all.  
So whenever my older brother announces that he has big work days like preg checking the buffalo, we all (those within a reasonable distance) head out there.
The kids and I showed up the night before the big day, not long before The Lemhi Rancher (my brother) walked in the house.  He sat down with a sigh and said, “All the buffalo are in the corrals… what a relief!”  You could see that he REALLY was relieved.  Working buffalo carries a little more anxiety than working cows.  There is nothing really domestic about these animals.  They are still so primeval that whenever they encounter anything that stresses them out they go fight or flight.   Hard core fight or flight.  So for the work to go well, for the buffalo to get in the corral without any intense effort, IS relieving. 

We had one long day of work (more about that later…), like so long that at the end we had a few phones out to shed some light on the work.  Working hard all day meant that I didn’t have anytime for pictures.  Which was just fine… That meant I had to take a drive the next day to satisfy the photographer in me!

I loaded up my kids and the cousins (to open the gates of course!) and we drove through the buffalo.  This was a first for us in a sorts.  We are usually up in the spring and summer, so to see the buffalo not losing their hair and in the snowy fields was a fun change.  I’m awed to watch the buffalo and like to imagine what it might have been when they roamed for hundreds of miles on end.  They are constantly moving, almost like they still have that instinct to migrate.  Good thing The Lemhi Rancher has some big pasture!

Like I said, primal… not domestic…  Certainly interesting, entertaining and always making a fun shot for this Rancher’s Wife.

Family Photoshoot in the Snow

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For having a population of about 90, there are so many terrific people in this little valley.  In the few years that we have been living here I have made some incredible friends.  Over the last few struggling years its been humbling to watch our ranching and farming friends plead and pray for help and to see them celebrate in their triumphs and stand tall in their trials.

This little family has to be at the top of our best friends.  He was best friends with The Rancher as they grew up, she and I hit it off instantly and we have kids the exact same age that already love each other.  She asked me to take a few family pictures and we found the perfect day on the morning of the first snow of the season.  Now when I say she wanted me to take a few, she really meant it.  “I just need a family one, one of each kid… and I guess just the two of us!”  That’s just what we said.  I snagged a few others and then talked them into taking a few fun ones “sledding” that I think turned out so fun!

I’m a work in progress, ready and eager to learn how to take AWESOME pictures, and I’m grateful for those willing to jump in and let me capture their story!

Cutting Cowboys

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I married a cowboy, a roping cowboy.  And I’m down with that.  Actually, I love that.  Its what I wanted.  But its definitely the type of cowboys (they were more ranchers than cowboy if you get down to it) I grew up with.  The rancher’s from my roots were more cattlemen than horsemen.  My dad, however, did a lot of riding.  He had this mare that was his partner in crime for years.  She did her best work when she was cutting a cow.  Once she knew what she was bringing in she was locked on.  She had an incredible drive and hustle… so intense.

I fell in love with cutting watching and riding this mare.  I learned a lot from her- mostly to hunker down in my saddle and lean back to free up her front to move fast and easy.  But really, just to hold on…

The boys around here do a lot of roping, and although I love watching them roping and I am highly impressed by their skill, I get really excited to watch them cut.  (I get even more excited when I get to do it!)  After preg checking all of the cows, they have a pen full of buggers that are being sent home and need to be sorted according to each rancher.  This is one of the highlights of the day for me.  Those cows are tired and ornery and put up a good, GOOD fight.  And that means that the horses put on a good show!  I love to watch them put all their weight on their back legs and spin their front around to follow a cow and then launch forward in a totally new direction.  Its so smooth and explosive all at the same time.  Then there are the times that they have to take off to cut off some cow and have to make a quick, hard stop at an instant.  Its pure athleticism.  Can you see how I love it?!  

Unfortunately, I was busy cleaning up during the majority of the sorting.  These darn boys still need to learn how to work around my schedule…  But I did catch the tail end of cutting cowboys.

Integrity in the Middle of Nowhere

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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.
 

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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