Rancher Sr. - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Growing a Kid Crop, Growing a Calf Crop

January 11, 2017 by Allison

2016 will go down as a big year for The Rancher’s Sidekick. It’s amazing how fast kids can learn and grow and change. This boy went from baby to a boy overnight. I know, that’s not how it actually happens , but when you are the momma you just can’t let your oldest grow up. But then one day you wake up and he is going to school and totally ok without you. And then he comes home from school and he can read and write and likes girls and he just isn’t the same kid you sent out the door.
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Obviously school wasn’t the only place he was growing up on me but at home and on the ranch too. Can I just say how amazing it is to finally have a kid that can help out around the house?! My kids have doing chores and helping since they were little (in our house everyone helps in the home and on the ranch as soon as they can walk… not really, but young… I believe in teaching my kids how to work). But The Rancher’s Sidekick can actually really help now. Like do a job on his own. And not like the I’m-doing-my-chores-but-mom-really-does-all-the-work-because-I’m-too-little-to-do-a-good-job kind of on his own.

Can you tell I’m pumped?

This may be as freeing as potty training!

Ok, I may be dramatizing things a bit, but it’s so nice to have him growing up and able to have a little responsibility and him handling it so well. Proud momma here.

And then there’s the growth he’s had on the ranch. There’s a reason I call him the sidekick because he goes everywhere with his dad. In fact, this last summer, he would wake up early to make sure that he wouldn’t get left behind. There were very few day that he didn’t go about to work with The Rancher and stay out there all day. And he wasn’t just a tag along but actually helped get the work done. I couldn’t believe the stories he would come home telling about his adventures throughout the day. In fact, I would sit there, eyebrows raised at The Rancher, when I would hear about how he had pushed the cows all alone out on the range. It seems just like yesterday I would have to go with him if he wanted to ride and now all of the sudden he isn’t just riding by himself but pushing his own herd of cows! Of course, The Rancher would smile and beam with pride at his growing boy and slowly my heart would slow down and I could see that our boy really was growing up and he is becoming someone I am so proud of.

Now, it complete transparency, he is still a typical little boy that is currently in big trouble for not listening to his momma. And he absolutely drive me crazy with all the boy noises, farting, burping, and how he torments his sister. But, as we are all a work in progress, I can’t help but be so pleased with his progress.

Ya know, on the ranch we are all about growth- we’ve gotta get out calf crop BIG. We select genetics to grow big calves and to have cows that milk well to grow big calves. We have genetics to have calves that grow big out on the range and desert and genetics to have low birthweight calves that will gain fast. We supplement our cattle with protein and mineral to help with nutrition to grow big calves…. Its all about growing big calves! At home we are worried about growth too, but less about physical growth and more about what kind of people our kid crop is becoming. We want to see them grow into hard working, responsible, caring, and committed people. We want them to grow into people that

So far, I think we are doing pretty ok!

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!

2014 Stone Rodeo

August 6, 2014 by Allison

Raise your hand if you have heard of the Stone rodeo. Ok, don’t really. Someone is going to think you are crazy… but good for you if you have! If you haven’t, now you are!

The Stone rodeo, practically a Holy Day in this area. Stone, Idaho is the tiny gathering of homes and ranches near Snowville, Utah and good ol’ Holbrook. The community is so small that there isn’t a single church, bar, post office, or gas station. But any good town full of cowboys will have some rodeo grounds! But don’t let the small town setting make you think that this isn’t a quality rodeo. Or the fact that the square arena is closer to an egg shaped! Amateur rodeo or not, they ride hard, rope hard, and sometimes fall hard!

These rodeo grounds are used just the two nights of the Stone rodeo. Now days the bleachers are all permanent, but back in the day they had to haul in seating. Except for those that bring their own, and I don’t mean a camp or lawn chair. Days before the rodeo, the arena is lined with pick-ups reserving their spot and getting them front row seats!

The events at the rodeo are entertaining for everyone to watch or participate. We have roping for all the hometown cowboys, rough stock for the crazies and dreamers (aka The Buckaroo), milk calves for the kids, and wild horse riding for the brave (or drunk…)! Every year I can guarantee two nights of hand-clapping-side-ache-laughing-country-good-time-fun!

Team Branding at Bancroft

July 25, 2014 by Allison

Our weekends have been busy- like something every weekend. Family reunions, parties, and of course, team brandings. One of The Rancher’s favorite team brandings is at small town Bancroft, Idaho.

Being in such a remote area with nothing around it but farms and ranches, you can see why he likes it. Only the real cowboys come out, and even though it’s competitive roping, those cowboys make it a good time.

I might have mentioned before that I’m working in my roping. I want to be a REAL cowgirl, so I figure I better get this roping thing down. The Rancher thought that this would be a great time to give it a try. “I’ll put her right in your loop, babe. It’ll be easy!” Ya… I said no… I got a little stage fright. I better practice up a little more before I put some money down. And if your gonna lose (which I most likely would) you better look good doing it, and I’m pretty sure I would have just looked like a fool! Turns out it was a good choice to not rope because a big ol’ storm came through with some crazy wind. I could just see me roping myself with that kind of wind…

But next year… I’ll get all practiced up and next year I’ll do it!