Ranching Generations - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

A Drive Through the Buffalo

December 16, 2014 by Allison

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.

A Big Ride for a Little Cowboy

June 27, 2014 by Allison

Being only four years old doesn’t stop this little boy from believing that he can do ANYTHING he wants to do, or more importantly- what his dad is doing. He is called The Rancher’s Sidekick for a reason- he goes everywhere and does everything with his dad. The first thing he says in the morning (after his request for hot cocoa!) is “where is dad?” And no matter what dad is doing, he is distraught that he was left behind.

Until last week.

The cowboys were moving the heifer pairs to new pasture not far from the ranch. Being the awesome mom that I am (and with The Rancher giving the idea) I loaded up The Rancher’s Sidekick’s horse and headed out after herd.

We caught up to the bunch and before I could park the truck, my little cowboy was scrambling out of the truck to get his horse out. He had one request- I want to ride by myself, and nobody pull me! Can you say independent? As nervous as I was (because I’m still a mom and the ground is pretty far down…) we handed him the reigns and let him go!

It was somewhat of a moment for me to watch him ride off following his dad. Here is my firstborn showing his momma that he is growing up. And as much as I’m not read for that, there is no other way that I would rather him do it than as a cowboy!

I just kept thinking, how many boys have this chance? Go to work with dad, everyday? How many little boys get to ride with his dad, grandpa, and great grandpa? How many little boys get to live their dreams of being a cowboy before they have ever gone to school?

Of course he is a crazy four year old that spent more time picking his nose than watching the cows. But the great thing was that he was there, in the middle of all of it. We don’t live on the sidelines out here. We live in the thick of it all!

What Does Father Mean to You?

June 15, 2014 by Allison

If you ever you look up the definition of father, you’ll find that most of them refer to having a child. Some talk about being a parent or having responsibility for their children, but they don’t got to far into what a father is.

I found a little quote that said becoming a father is easy, being a father is rough. I think that might come the closest to telling it how it really is. Because being a father isn’t always fun or easy. It means late nights and up all nights. It means taking the time to teach how to do rather than just jump in and do it yourself It means watching them get a few scrapes as they try so hard to learn to ride a bike.

There is a price to pay and sacrifices to be made with being a dad. But the returns on such an investment is totally worth it. Because believing in someone and helping them know who they are is greatest gift anyone could give.

So what does a father mean to you? To me it is sacrifice, time, compassion, understanding and believing. Its forgetting yourself and putting them first. it shaping someone into being everything their potential will allow them to be.

Ranching Memories: Magic, Mishaps, and Mischief

May 26, 2014 by Allison

With it being a long weekend, most of the crew (except for Cowboy Pete- he is in Bulgaria!) came back to the ranch to play. The best part about everyone coming home is the times where sit around and visit. We always end up talking about days on the ranch. Those crazy branding days that The Buckaroo’s horse would always buck. Or the days of near tragedy that were too scary to laugh at. There is a theme running through them- somebody did something a little crazy! We were laughing so hard my sides hurt… I wish you could have been there. Some of the stories were just too perfect to NOT share!

Three Boys Means no Boys

Any smart ranch dad takes advantage of the free labor that comes with raising kids on the ranch. One day Rancher Sr. and The Ranch Boss went out to Locomotive to work some cattle and took along a few of the boys for some help. It was a typical dusty and windy day, which meant that these kids couldn’t hear or hardly hear what they were being told to do. That’s kind of a must when you are the gate man on a sorting day. Even when they figured out some hand signals, the cowboys would forget to use them! The Ranch Boss just told them, “When you have one boy, there is one boy… two boys there is a half a boy… three boys means no boys!”

Magical Ranch Mornings

Mornings on the ranch really can be magical. The fields smell incredible, the sun streams over the hills, and the birds are singing. Those moments just make you want to stand still to soak up every bit of the promise of a new day. Some mornings are a little magical than other, like when The Ranch Boss headed out for morning chores to find the old farm hand tractor running in the stack yard. What’s so magical about that? No one was there and no one had been there. The tractor started up by itself! They actually figure that a few mice got chewing on the wires, crossed them, and started the old tractor up.

The Beginning of Crop Circles and BE Farms

Being observant and industrious ranch kids, The Rancher, The Cowpoke, and a few fellow farming friends started their own farms- The BE Farms. They had their own patch of dirt to plant their hay and grain in and despite their clever schemes and earnest efforts their crops didn’t produce well. Buts really no problem when your little field neighbors dad’s big hay field. Just grab your best pair of kindergarten scissors and cut some yourself a supplemental hay crop! Don’t be surprised if the carefully cut pivot circes are mistaken for deer getting in the hay! The Rancher Boss was sure there was a herd of deer… nope- just a herd of little boys!

The Rooster Story

We love having chicken for fresh eggs, but once upon a time the ranch raised their own chickens for the meat. This meant that they had a rooster. And not any ol’ rooster. He was the nastiest, meanest old thing. So mean that the boys wouldn’t go gather the eggs for fear of that rooster chasing after them with his lethal beak. Rancher Sr., tired of the boys not getting the eggs, decided he was going to do something about it. His solution- a 2×4. He left the rooster for dead in the field, sure that the problem was solved. Weeks later, The Rancher was crouched down working on his snow mobile in the shop when all of the sudden, this rooster jumps up on his leg. He perched up there, ruffled his feathers a bit and just stood like he was some sort of pet! Rancher Sr. must have knocked something loose on that rooster, because ever since then he was pleasant as ever! But they tell me he did walk with his head cocked to one side…

It’s just ON FIRE!

The Cowpoke came back to help on the ranch between semesters a few times. It’s the sort of thing these boys live for- dad telling them that he needs them to stay to work on the ranch with them. What they don’t live for is the tractor catching fire on them! While The Cowpoke was doing some farm work he started smelling a little smoke. Being a good farmer he stopped to check under the hood only to see a bird’s nest on fire and shooting flames out the side! Lucky enough he was parked right next to the ditch. Unfortunately he didn’t have a thing to haul water in! He was clever (and probably calm) enough to notice the 4 wheeler there that he was able to jump on to find a 5 gallon bucket at the stack yard. Rancher Sr. was there too, curious as to why The Cowpoke would leave his post on the tractor a bucket. Um, ya… it’s only ON FIRE! Maybe that was the beginning of the Eliason Fire Brigade…

The Buckaroo’s First Catch

The Buckaroo has a knack for twirling a rope. Will Rogers has nothing on him! Well, I’m sure that he will be that good someday, soon! This roping craze started young, like 2 years old. The beginning of his roping career was marked with his first tie down. He had been outside playing with the dog, typical boy thing. But after a bit he randomly ran in the house. A minute later he ran back out… with his rope. Then not too much longer he can back inside… without his rope. When mom asked where the roped was he simply replied, “I tied the dog to the tree…” True enough, that little cowboy had roped and hog-tied the dog to the tree!

A Needle Stick

One fine branding day, I was in charge of giving the shots. I was double fisting even. Before we would get to work on the calves we had to have them rolled on the right side. If there wasn’t a free man to do it I would jump in and try to help. Easy, not a problem. Except the time that as I rolled the calf and bent down so did The Rancher’s uncle behind me. It was like two magnets coming together- his bum and my needle. AH! If there was ever a terrible place for a needle stick it had to be there!

Boys and Hot Shots

Little boys and hot shots are always a scary combination, but give them to a little boy that wants to zap his neighbor. There was a little cousin that loved the hot shot and would just come up to whoever and give them a little zap. The boys got so sick of it that occasionally they would give him a taste of his own medicine. And then came the day that he accidentally got The Buckaroo. He was so sick of this kid doing it and not knowing it wasn’t on purpose, he turned around and got him back so bad! Needless to say, he didn’t get anyone with the hot shot again!

The Crazy Heifer That Didn’t Want a CIDR

May 17, 2014 by Allison

We keep saying that things are slowing down, but I think it is just wishful thinking. The branding is done, the cows are moved out, but now we are hauling for other ranches. We are working to get the wheel lines running. And now its time to start getting the bulls turned out and the heifers AIed. Really, we should never say its slowing down.

But I’m ok with that. My sister (that lives in NYC) told me that a busy life is a fun life, because a boring life is just, well… lame.

This week’s adventure- helping put CIDRs in the heifers. (If you’re wondering what CIDRs are and why we use them, check out last year’s post!) We actually didn’t do too much help. The Rancher didn’t tell me they were starting. I think he thinks he can do this with without me… Should I be worried?!
Running the heifers through the chute can be a little exciting. They are still young and inexperienced to this stuff. Plus I don’t blame them for not wanting the CIDR put in. Sure an oversized, IUD is great to make sure that they don’t get pregnant and will cycle at the right time, but what girl really WANTS that? So they go wild and crazy… all the time. I swear all of them try jumping out somewhere along the way- the holding tub, the alley, the chute… They jump on each other, over each other, back into each other. Its almost exhausting just to watch! But we are kinda used to it…

Actually we did have a few tense moments. There was one wild girl that tried jumping over the top. As she came back down, her hoof got caught on the alley stop (it keeps them from going backwards). How she managed it, I really don’t know but it was stuck and cutting her hoof. Plus it was pulling her back leg up into a really awkward position. She of course went more crazy, trying to get herself loose. The heifer behind her started to climb over her, getting out of the ruckus. Can you say pile up?

We had to push the heifers in the behind her back in the tub (which in itself was a chore because there seems to be only one direction with cows). The Rancher jump up on the alley panels and pulled the stuck heifer backwards (by her tail of course) while The Ranch Boss pried the bars apart so that Rancher Sr. could shove her hoof out. And they got it… phew!

Once again we adverted disaster! Its always an adventure on the ranch.

Delicious, Home-Cooked Steak Dinner

May 9, 2014 by Allison

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I hope you have big plans for pampering the mother’s in your lives. Maybe you’ll do a little breakfast in bed, beautiful spring flowers, some chocolates maybe or how about a nice dinner to say thank you.

Growing up it was my mom that pulled together those nice holiday meals that added just the right touch to the day. Not to say that dad couldn’t, but it was mom’s forte. That usually meant that when it came to Mother’s Day we were already starting without our MVP. I don’t want you to fall short this Mother’s Day, so here is a SUPER easy, delicuious and easy meal to show the mom’s in your life just how much you care!

At our house you can never go wrong with a nice steak dinner. And when you cook them on the grill, its minimal mess which means minimal clean up (for you… because momma isn’t doing dishes on Mother’s Day, remember?).

The most important step in making this isn’t going to be at home- its at the grocery store. A good steak isn’t made with the rubs, seasonings, or marinades (although they do make for some awesome added flavor!). Its how that calf was grown (ok, so really its starts on the ranch, but you don’t have much control over that!). At the meat counter, take the time to choose a steak with good color and good marbling- the little flecks of fat that are in the meat. This is where you get your flavor and what makes a steak tender. Factor in the cut, or the type of steak, that you are getting. Choose one that is from the rib area. Steaks that come from places like the shoulder tend to be a less tender. Personally, my favorite is a T-bone… yep… I love T-bone steak.

Once you get your steak home the stage is set for some incredible eating with only a little bit of work. Get the grill hot and ready to go and when its hot, its time to get cooking.

After putting the steaks on the grill, add a little salt. Partially for flavor, but also because that helps to keep the juicy flavor in the steak. A LONG time ago you learned about how water follows salt in some science class, right? This is when you are finally gonna use what you learned!

Let it cook for a good 1-2 minutes and then turn in 45 degrees to give it that criss-cross look. Besides looking so professional (which is what we’re going for, right?!), those lines are seared, which sort of caramelizes the surface and locks in more of that delicious flavor!

Once you rotate your steak, let it grill for another 2-3 minutes and then flip and repeat. A little more salt for flavor AND to keep your steak moist. This time we like to add a little more seasonings- just some pepper and good ol’ seasoning salt (at this house, sometimes less is more!). After its cooked for a minute or two, rotate. Give it another good couple of minutes and then you’re done!

Unless you’re going for a well-done cooked steak. Then you’re not done. Keep cooking…

Timing is important to cooking steaks. You don’t want to under cook your meat, pull it off and then have to start over. Ideally, you only want to flip your steak once. But the opposite is possible- over cooking. I’m not a fan of burnt steak… or a dry steak. I don’t know about you, but pink in the middle is perfect.

But however your momma likes it, is what we’re going for. And no matter how that is, she is gonna love your delicious, home-cooked steak dinner. Add some steamed veggies and some fresh watermelon and you will rule the day!

Because really, don’t all the mom’s in your life deserve nothing but your best?

Happy Mother’s Day! (early…)

5 Lessons in Cowboy Jargon

April 14, 2014 by Allison

If there was one word to describe April it would be branding. Every weekend (and a couple of days in between) we spend out on the range branding. We have our cows out with other ranches, so naturally we have more than just our herd to brand. I mean it’s not too neighborly to not help our rancher friends! With so many cowboys around, it’s easy to get lost in the cowboy jargon. Usually I would say to just smile and nod your head but out here you can’t always fake it! So here are a 5 words and phrases from the Cowboy Jargon Dictionary (… there is no such thing… I totally just made that up…).

1. A cowboy’s outfit: No this isn’t in reference to his clothing choice of the day. A cowboy does have some… different clothing choices but that’s because they choose function over fashion. But when one cowboy compliments another cowboy’s outfit, he’s talking about his truck and trailer. Can you imagine cowboys sitting around talking about clothes? Me either, but it doesn’t take ANY stretch of imagination to see them talking trucks. Isn’t that written in their DNA?

2. The green broke horse: Let’s just start by saying there is nothing “broken” on a green broke horse. It isn’t “broken” like it doesn’t work. And it’s not really green, unless it was just rolling in the manure… A green broke horse is a horse in training. This means it is inexperienced, or more like unexperienced. Usually these are young horses with high energy and are a little ignorant to what they are doing. Just think of your favorite T-ball team- a lot of energy but most of it is spent playing in the dirt. Eventually they come around to learn the game and pull their weight. And if they don’t, we trade them off the roster.

3. Heading… or heeling… you choose!: Most often you hear these words together in reference to falling in love. You know- head over heels? But I’m not talking about that, although a branding would be a great place to pick up a cowboy! When you are talking heading and healing with cowboys they are talking about roping. There’s two ends on a calf to rope- the head (hence “heading”) or the back feet or heels (yep you got it, “heeling”). I guess you could rope the front feet, but you really don’t have much control even though they are caught.

4. Roping a dogie: (doh-gee) Don’t get caught thinking we are talking about The Rancher’s dog. We are referring to the bovine species, not canine. Put simply, a dogie is a calf without a momma. I’m not sure how dogie ever got to be part of the Cowboy Jargon Dictionary, other than some cowboy long, LONG ago just started calling his motherless calves dogie. These calves can make branding a little tricky when you have several ranches worth of cattle together. Without knowing who the momma cow belongs to, we can only guess who the calf goes with. Nobody wants to be the guy that put the wrong brand on the wrong calf!

5. “Drag ‘em to the fire”: Those are your instructions once you’ve caught your calf. The cowboys drag the calf to the fire, where we have the branding irons set up, hot and ready to leave their mark. A real fire in the middle of a corral with calves, cowboys, and horses sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. It is if you’re not careful! But how else do we get branding irons hot? There are electric irons put there, but there aren’t a lot of electrical outlets amongst the sage brush! But don’t imagine a big bon fire or even an open fire on the ground. Back in the day they would dig a hole in the ground and light up the fire. These days we have a not-so-fancy branding box with a burner (like the burner on a gas stove) to keep the irons hot. Still plenty hot (I recommend watching your step) but not as likely to reach out a burn a cowboy!

I’d say the last bit of cowboy jargon you need to know is the call to “rustle up some grub,” but I’m pretty sure that you know what that means! Now that you have some awesome cowboy vocab, you will be ready to get to work and definitely earn your dinner!

10 Reasons Why I Choose to Raise my Family on the Ranch

April 6, 2014 by Allison

Growing up on a ranch, I knew that it was the way I wanted to raise my family. It helps to shape grow a person in so many. The opportunities for life lessons are never ending. And, I know I always say this, but the space is pretty amazing.

No it’s not the only good way to raise a family- there are so many good people that weren’t raised that way. But this is how I chose to raise my family. Here’s why…

1. Everyday we work- we have to. The cows need feeding, which most often requires us moving them to different pastures. Fences, building, and equipment need upkeep and they won’t fix themselves. Bummer… But my kids know how important work is. Already my kids are learning to help and work, to do the best we can and to finish a job we start. More importantly my kids learn to work because they get to go out to work with their dad. Every day they have the best example they need to see a man working.

2. All around us we see the circle of life. Every year there is new life that brings excitement and hope. But not all new life lasts. Death is a hard thing that we face. Cows, calves, horses, dogs… It’s hard, but it’s a part of life. We celebrate life and learn to move on after death.

3. I don’t know if there is a more natural way to talk about the birds and the bees than actually having first hand on the ranch. All sorts of question come up about why do we keep the bulls away from the cows, where do those babies come from, or what is that cow doing. Yes my kids see it happening and yes we talk about it. But that is because it is so easy on the ranch.

4. What better playground do they need than a big ol’ ranch?! There are fences to climb up, tires to go through, chickens to chase, calves to rope and dirt to dig. Really the list could go on and on… Because there is so much for kids to do on a ranch- no two days are the same and there are no dull days!

5. With so much around them, ranch kids learn to be creative. A stick isn’t just a stick! It can build a fence, it can be sword, a gun or a cane. When my little boy watches what’s happening out on the ranch he gets creative and recreates it with his own little equipment. I never would have thought marbles would be poop for the manure spreader! Instead of just building towers from blocks, we make stacks of bales! Imagination is always at work out here.

6. As kids grow on the ranch, they are given their own responsibilities. It my be feeding the family dog or collecting the eggs or even feeding their own 4h animals. But they know it is their job. Yes we will help, but it is their responsibility to make sure it is done. They are responsible for closing the gate when they go through, keeping gas in the 4wheeler and putting their tack away. With responsibility also comes accountability. And then consequences. Some are good- feeding up your steer makes for a food day at the fair. But not locking the gate means the cows get out. Responsibility, accountability, and consequences- all lessons learned on the ranch.

7. We would like to think that days on the ranch are always happy and cheery, but they’re not. Yes we have awesome days of success. There is that day when you catch your first calf and you feel like you could rope the moon! But then there are days when you get bucked of, lose a glove, and tear your favorite pair of jeans. Frustration and disappointment are just as much a part of ranch life. But with it we learn how to deal with it.

8. I love opportunities we have to work together as a family. We pull out the horses and go to the arena. We all gather to the garden to gather in our harvest. We all squeeze in the tractor to feed the cows. Family is important to me and I won’t let anything, not even the ranch work, get in the way. Instead, we just make ranch time family time!

9. Life on the ranch does so much to help with learning in school. Ranch kids learn everything from learning counting and colors to map reading and geography. There are science lessons as the crops grow with water and sun, and grow more with a little fertilizer. The learning never stops- math, science, geography, history, reading… do it all, daily!

10. My kids have learned where their food comes from and the cost for it. We don’t grow everything we eat (so thankful for grocery stores!) but my ranch kids know that milk comes from a cow, not made in the back of the store. And more importantly they know the cost of their food. Not necessarily in money, but certainly in the time and effort it takes to have.

Yep, the ranch is the place for me to raise my kids. A place to learn, live, and love while every day is an adventure. Especially when it is the day you need to teach the 12 year old how to drive the stick shift feed truck…

The Crew Part 2

January 3, 2014 by Allison

(He, he… the title rhymes!)

Do you want to know what was so cool about our family cattle drive last week? Well, yes the winter temperatures did make it a “cool” outing. What else made it especially cool was that we had all of The Rancher’s brothers.

There are five- that’s a lot of cowboys for one momma to handle. Thankfully she is still alive and sane.

We are always privileged to work with Cowboy Pete and Cowboy E while they still live on the ranch, and once again they graced us with their cowboy presence.

With it being Christmas brother #2 and his sweet wife were around to move cows with us. Wouldn’t it be fun to call them Bonnie and Clyde? Except that they are good kids so the name doesn’t fit. So instead lets call them The Cowpoke and The Montana Girl. Right now they are absent Eliason cowboys because they are becoming educated cow-folk.

And completing the cowboy brotherhood was brother #3. Last week we welcomed home The Buckaroo from his church mission to Kansas. In true cowboy fashion he was moving cows the day after he got home!

So already this is fun to move cows with all the brothers but something else cool was that there were four generations of cowboys out there from The Ranch Boss to The Rancher’s Sidekick. Its not too often that four generations get to work together!

The Crew

January 1, 2014 by Allison

Most of the time when we move cows we are with our neighbors and other ranchers. But now that our cows are alone we get to do it just us. Just the family. And what is even better is that we love to do it as a family.

Every family has their own thing that they like to do. We like playing games and working together.