The Buckaroo - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Buckarette

January 20, 2015 by Allison

Hello again…

I’m just going to jump in and pretend that it hasn’t been forever since I have been here…

In fact, lets just pretend its August. Yep, on this chilly January night I want you to pretend that its a blistering hot (I don’t know that it ever gets THAT hot here, but for dramatic effect- it works nicely) summer day. Say like August 2nd in fact.

Why August 2nd?

Because something awesome happened August 1st- I got a new sister in law! I love all my sisters, in laws and outlaws. Everyone of them brings their own awesome-ness to the table. In our Eliason family, EVERY girl is celebrated. For so long there was only The Cattlewoman, raising 5 cowboys without any female to stand strong with. Even the dogs were all boys! I guess if you wanted to get picky, there have been thousands of female cows go through, but they don’t count… don’t count AT ALL.

As the first of the married-in-daughters, I told everyone that it was my right and privilege to approve their choices for wives before the question was even popped. Unfortunately, they didn’t take me seriously and never asked if I was cool with their choices… But lucky for them they picked well. So well, I don’t know that I could have done any better. The Cowpoke knew that any girl from Montana would fit in just right (history has proven that!) and now The Buckaroo has found himself a fine cowgirl of his own. She isn’t from Montana (but she does LOVE it) and that’s ok because she more than makes up for it with her sweet cowgirl skills, mad basketball skills, and awesome baking skills.

I’ll let The Buckaroo tell you how he wooed her so fast… that’s an exciting story of its own… The only thing I’ll divulge is that she was the perfect girl in his eyes- she could rope, rodeo, cook, and looked HOT. But really, what else is there?!

I’d like to (finally…) introduce you to The Buckarette! This girl was raised on the back of a horse and taught that she was the one that would get the work done. Sound familiar? Oh, ya.. like the rest of us. There have been some great moments getting to know her over the last year. Like when she came to the ranch for the first time for branding and out roped all of the boys. Or when all she had for church shoes were her work boots and she didn’t even bat an eye. Or when she, repeatedly, made the blind steer walk into the barn (not like IN the barn like.. “bam!” INTO the barn). Or when she nearly out shot all the boys when we pulled out the clay pigeons.

Yep, she’s a girl after my own heart and I’m excited to share her story with ours too. Of course you have already seen her here on The Blog, but she has officially been given a name- The Buckarette!

Throw Back Thursday: Cattle Drive From May

September 11, 2014 by Allison

Remember that terrible cattle drive? That one where there were more cows out in the fields than on the road… I wish I didn’t… That adventurous day was day one of two of our cattle drive. I know what you are thinking (ok maybe you’re not thinking this…) that if day was so bad, day two must have been horendous and that is why I have to do a little “throw back Thursday” to catch you up on it.

Nope, on all accounts. Day two went as smooth as… it was GREAT! Granted, we did have a good road to follow, fences on all sides, lots of cowboys, and a shorter drive. But hey, it was good! We will take it any way that we can!

And lets say we learned a little from day one. The Rancher just started the day with a motor bike. We called up The Buckaroo who brought along his sweetheart and a bull whip. Both highly useful, just one more so than the other (just to be clear, his girl really is quite the cowgirl!) And I opted to not try a photo shoot on the run. I went with the 4 wheeler, kids and camera- its a lot less pressure!

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!

Making the Cut When it Counts

July 22, 2014 by Allison

This summer is just flying by! I feel like we just barely moved cows up to Badger Hole last week… Ya, they are already long gone from that range! Sadly, I am just now getting to share it to you.

The ride to Badger Hole is pretty easy. That’s why The Rancher’s Sidekick got to go… They just follow the road for a few miles and then, ta da! We’re there.

Once we get there the cows bury their heads in the grass and totally forget about their calves. Ya, know… the typical thing they do once they get to greener feed. We like to hold them there at the water for a bit until they settle in and remember their calves. We’ll sort the pairs off slowly to make sure that all the calves have found their mommas.

Towards the end of sorting we have the less than smart cows left that try to give us a fight. Those ornery cows just don’t want to be bothered! Crazy at it may sound, it makes it a little fun. The cowboys have a chance to do a little cutting and show off some real cowboy skills! There is such a rush when you take off after a cow and have to stop in an instant to change directions. With a good horse that knows how to move you just slide down in the saddle, glue yourself in, and let her do all the work! I love watching a horse that knows what to do. You can see it in how she follows the cow with her ears pinned back, how she spins on her back feet or stops on a dime. Mmm… It makes me swoon just thinking about it!

Cutting athleticism at its finest! Watching a cowboy and his horse working together, making split second decisions and moving fast and smooth out on the range, watching out in God’s arena the way it was meant to be- making the cut when it matters.

Cowboy Engagements: The Buckaroo’s Engagement Photos

July 16, 2014 by Allison

So did I tell you my brother-in-law is getting married? The Buckaroo has found himself a fine little filly and they’ve decided to get hitched! We are so stinking excited! Partly… nope mostly because we are finally getting the gender scale balanced. These boys have lived too long with too little estrogen in the air!

I’vve told these boys that I must approve before get all romantic and thus far they have done well getting me some good sisters. I especially love it when they bring home girls that will get out on the ranch with us. There isn’t much sweeter than a girl out roping the cowboys!!

But back to The Buckaroo and his almost Mrs. Buckaroo… When it came time for their engagement pictures they really wanted pictures done on the ranch, cowboy style. So they called me! We took an evening out through our private range land (the place that actually has a few trees!) and took ourselves some cowboy engagement pictures.