Other Ranchers - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

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 Cenex Man

September 13, 2013 by Allison

We took a quick jaunt up to Montana to visit my folks before we all got too busy with the fall work. It had been since Christmas that The Rancher was able to make it up there so thought it was time for a road trip. We ended up going in the middle of the week, which doesn’t leave a lot of playing time since my parents both work. No matter, the Rancher’s Wife is always up for a challenge!

My dad works for CHS (Cenex Harvest States) delivering practically whatever his customers need. He does any kind of feed, mineral, salt, gates, panels, fencing materials… whatever you need he can get (usually). Currently The Cenex Man is working to get the materials for a group of ranches to build about 13 miles of fence through some of the most beautiful country. On our way up to make the delivery I had to stop to take a few pictures because it was just beautiful. These are my mountains and ranges. Yes it is all covered with the same grass and sage brush but it has a special place in my heart. Its home.

The Rancher’s Sister

May 15, 2013 by Allison

It’s probably not too hard to imagine that I am a rancher’s sister (and a rancher’s daughter, just to throw that out there). I grew up on a ranch and ALWAYS loved that lifestyle, so much that I always told my dad that I would marry a cowboy (doesn’t that sound so romantic?!). To clarify, that meant a rancher cowboy not a rodeo cowboy, although I found both in The Rancher.

Ok, side note over… I went to visit my brother, let’s call him The Lemhi Rancher (yep, you guessed it, he lives in Lemhi!). We were having a family gathering so the kids and I loaded up the covered wagon (aka the Tahoe), kissed The Rancher goodbye and hit the road. The Rancher had to sit this one out because they turning the cows out onto the spring range. Can I get a woot (that the cows are out, not that I went without The Rancher)?

Even though we live on our own ranch and see the horses, cows, 4-wheelers, and ect. daily we always have such a great time at The Lemhi Ranchers ranch. And he does have one thing that we don’t have… BUFFALO.

About 4 years ago the owner decided that he wanted to add buffalo to the ranch. Nope, they didn’t get rid of the cows… Now they have a cattle cow-calf operation and a buffalo cow-calf operation. As soon as The Lemhi Rancher gets done calving out the cows it is about time to calve out the buffalo. The nature of the buffalo (can you say wild?!) changes how they do it all, in fact calving is so hands off that all they can really do is keep a good watch and monitor what’s happening.

We always like to spin through the buffalo. This trip was a little different since they are in the middle of calving so there were tons of new babies jumping around. Most days I will tell you that I find the buffalo to be ugly but there are times that they a sort of rugged beauty and their power is quite awe-inspiring.

And in the barn they had a special treat for us- a baby buffalo! We walked out one night and helped The Lemhi Rancher feed the little guy.