The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

Summertime on the Ranch

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Oh what do you do in the summertime?  That’s the line to one of my kids’ favorite songs.  Our answers aren’t like the song… We don’t have a stream to sit lazily by, or trees to swing on… Instead we have a ranch with hundreds of opportunities for fun.  But when the votes were in, everyone around the ranch agrees that these are the summertime favorites!

1.  Roping at the arena-  We have an arena, we have the roping steers, and obviously we have the horses and ropes.  What do they all mean?  Roping.  Lots of roping.  The Rancher is all over it… You say roping and he will beat you there.  The rest of us tag along of course!  The Rancher’s Sidekick floats.  He spends some playing in the dirt, some time riding his horse, and some time working the chute.  The baby hangs out with me.  Somehow we manage…  We love every bit of those nights.  There’s nothing better than playing out in the arena as the sun goes down!

2.  4 Wheeling-  Hands down, this has to be The Ranch Princess’s favorite.  The first place I go to check when I can’t find her playing outside is on the 4 wheeler.  I’m terrified for the day that she can actually start it. There are so many trails and roads to just head out for a drive.  You can get a little crazy with some off-roading or you can take it easy.  Either way we have a great time!

3.  Cookout, or “roast out” as The Rancher’s Sidekick calls them- When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  When life gives you massive tractor tires, you make a fire ring and have a cook out.  Tin foil dinners, weenies on a stick, mallows… its ALL SO GOOD!  There is no shortage of scrap wood here at the ranch, so bring on the bon fires!

4.  Hanging’ out at the reservoir-  Ok so its not AT the ranch but its where we head when the work is done.  We have a few old jet skis that occasionally work to make it a really good time.  Once I asked if they were sick of fixing the darn things but they told me that was half the fun of them!  Actually, they have been working GREAT lately.  I’m working on my 360 when I get pulled on the knee board… we’ll see if I can conquer it this summer!

5.  Bunny hunting-  Don’t be weirded out, but we love to bunny hunt.  And I feel a little justified because they are terrible out here.  There isn’t too much more fun that loaded up the truck in the dark to spot bunnies.  After a good bunny hunt, I start seeing them all over the road!

Summertime means fun family time.  We work hard during the day to play hard at night.  Cool off in the reservoir, take little drive, have dinner around the fire, and have a little excitement with the hunting or at the arena.  That’s how we summer at the ranch!  

A Big Ride for a Little Cowboy

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 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?

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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.
          

The Idaho Rancher’s Wife- 1 Year Old!

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Do you know what today is?  It the 1st birthday of The Idaho Rancher’s Wife!  This really is kind of a big deal for me.  At first this idea of a blog was almost a joke.  As a rancher’s wife I get to do some crazy things it seems and I needed SOMEWHERE to tell these stories.  And then it just took off from there. 

There has been a lot of learning in this last year.  I have learned that I LOVE writing (at least blog writing).  I love, love, LOVE photography.  If you look back over the last year you can see how my picture taking skills are growing.  Hooray!  But mostly over the last year I have learned how much I love sharing our life on the ranch.  There are so many that don’t have a connection to the Ag world, and I can be that connection.  I love it!

So I have gathered together a dozen of my favorite posts over the last year.  Some are my favorites because of the cool pictures that turned out.  A few are favorites because of the time that was spent with my family on the ranch.  Some are my favorites because they are your favorites.  Then there are the ones that I learned a lot from- the ranching part and the story telling part.  And then there are just the down right funny or awesome ranch experiences everyone needs to hear!

I’ll admit there are days that I think that I can’t do this.  You would be surprised how much time this takes- not that I’m complaining, I love every bit of it.  But I want it all to be awesome for you!  To that end I have been doing a lot of learning on how to blog, photography, writing, graphic design… so much! 

I have to thank those that help along the way!  My dear friend Mandy, from Mandy’s Recipe Box has done so much, especially to encourage me through the tough stuff.  My cousin, Lindsay Hart with Hart to Hart Photography, has helped me so much with the graphic design, even when she was moving and 8 months pregnant.  And then there are a few blogs that are my go to for learning how to be awesome at blogging Something Swanky, Living Well, Spending Less, and Kevin & Amanda.

So here is to another year (or ten)!

Planting a Seed or Two

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When we were in college, The Rancher worked for an operation that did just as much (or more) farm work as it did ranch work.  The Rancher was always a pretty decent farmer, but after working for the Millers, he turned into a dang good farmer.  And every spring that farmer comes out of him when there is a little farm work to do!  Maybe these days I should call him The Farmer…

We don’t do a lot of “farm” work to put up the acres and acres of hay or grain.  We do it mostly when we rotate our crops.  In the fall we will dig up a section of alfalfa that needs replanted or the grain that was alfalfa the year before (does it sound like I’m talking in circles? like crop circles… haha!).  Ok… we dig up the alfalfa, plant grain, harvest the grain, dig up the grain, and plant new alfalfa.  Phew…

Anyway, we dig, or plow, up in the fall so it is ready for planting in the spring. 

Now that it is spring, they have pulled out farming equipment, starting with the roller harrow.  The roller harrow is used to break up the clumps and make the ground ready for the seed.  It also has a drag behind it to get rid of any weeds or such that we don’t want left in.  Once the harrowing is done, we are pretty well ready to plant.

Just a few weeks ago we picked up the seed (one of those things we had to catch up on…).  The nice sunny weather was a good indicator that is was finally time to plant, but when The Rancher hooked up to the drill (the planter) I knew it was the day.  The day to plant a seed or two!

Planting is one of those ranch things we do with a little faith and little prayer.  We want to plant as early as possible to get a good start to the crops.  If we have to replant again in the spring we lose valuable growing time.  We won’t really know if everything went right with the planting for a few weeks when we finally see the green sprouting through.  Doing this every year we have a good idea when we are planting how it will turn out, but there is still those few days that we might wonder.

We took the chance to have a family tractor drive this week while we were planting (and while grandpa was leveling the other, other field…).  I really should have taken a picture of us in there.  You will just have to picture for a minute- The Rancher is driving and I am in the “instructor’s” seat (because I really am the boss, right?!).  The dog is crammed in the corner and our kids are moving from side to side (and under dad’s legs) playing with their tractors.  Of course there is an awesome pile of dirt and dust on the floor to play in, not to mention the seed that The Rancher’s Sidekick grabbed from the drill.  It’s likely that if someone spilled some water in there, something would start sprouting!

I’m sure we are a silly, squishy, filthy looking bunch, but I don’t know if you could find a happier bunch!

A Little Fun WIth Some Fuzzy Chicks

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Oh what a terrific few days we have had here!  The sun is shining like it belongs!  No cloudiness, no showers, yes wind… but we can put up with it.  I have been out getting my little vegetable patch all ready to plant (a second little garden plot… because one garden is never enough!).  Yes, I don’t plan to plant for a while, but I will be ready when its time!

Sunshine, gardening- this can only mean one thing… SPRING IS HERE!  I am acutally having mixed feelings about spring.  Don’t get me wrong, I love spring.  Love it!  I have been cooped up with my kids in this house for far too long.  But there is so much work to still get done in the house (I can never keep up with these mess makers!) and all I want to do is go outside.  I’m in a dilemma- either I feel guilty when I am outside because there is housework to be done, or I am sad because I am inside NOT enjoying the sun. 

I just go outside anyways!

Spending time on the ranch is precious and we never get tired of it.  We hang out with The Rancher, we visit the horses and the milk cow.  The Rancher’s Sidekick and I practice our roping on the grouchy, white dog (I’m the mom that roped the dog first… I probably shouldn’t be setting such a terrible example).  And now we have a few extras friends to visit…

The fuzzy chicks!

Definitely another sign that spring is here!  We have had these fellas for a while, but I have just neglected to share them with you.  My bad!

On one of my grocery runs I convinced The Rancher to come along and that instantly turned my grocery trip into a ranch trip (no complaints here, though!).  At the top of his list was picking up the new chicks at Ward Feed, our local feed store.  We got there to find 20 little yellow, fuzzy chicks waiting for us!

The Rancher’s Sidekick was so excited for the little buggers!  He insisted on carrying them, but I didn’t think his somewhat careless stroll to the truck would be a very good way to start his relationship with them.  We comprimised by mom carrying the chicks and letting them sit by him.

All the way home we had a whole string of lovely “cheeps” from the backseat.  The chicks peeped a little too…

Once we got home, the kids couldn’t wait to get the chicks out and play!  I’ll admit, I’m not so brave with chickens (oh, ya… you know that already!) and so I only admired, not touched.  But my kids were all over it.  Maybe it was a little too much loving, but still loving indeed!

Happy spring from a few ranchers that like to pick up chicks!

A Ranch-kid’s Amusement Rides

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I avoid taking our kids to the tractor stores.  I know that sounds harsh but I know that they will want to climb on EVERY tractor.  I’m terrified that some day we will be taking home a lawn mower because we broke it from The Rancher’s Sidekick climbing all over it.

But there is a day that we wait for every January when there are tons of tractors that we can explore.  ISU in Pocatello hosts an Ag Expo where businesses bring their products for farmers and ranches to check out.  They also bring tractors, of all sizes.  I honestly wonder how they get some of those BIG combines in- I have yet to the a door that they can fit in!  This year The Rancher’s Sidekick even found some his size that weren’t lawn mowers!

Usually it is the same old stuff but its always worth going to see if they have anything new.  And of course we all want to sit in the new tractors!

 Even The Ranch Princess had to sit in the tractor.  Nothing will stop her from being with the boys!

 Ya, super big equipment…

I had to take this picture because we have pride in agriculture

A New Cow Dog… in the Making

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We were heartbroken about losing our puppy,, Cash.  There were days that the first thing The Rancher’s Sidekick would ask is when would we get  new puppy or tell me that he needed new puppy.  It was so hard to explain that just because we wanted him, it didn’t mean it would happen.

One fine Wednesday, a small, furry puppy came running through my kitchen door and my kids started giggling and screeching!  The Rancher surprised us with a new puppy for Christmas and we have been loving every minute with him. 

The Ranch Princess especially loves this furball.  She loved playing with him in the mud room on the cold, cold nights (like below zero- anything above that is something ranch dogs have to get used to).  Now that he has to stay outside, she smashes her cute nose against the window to look for him.  Once spotted she pats her tummy, with zeal, as if she is telling him to come.

Lately the puppy is really starting to show interest in chasing cows.  Like today, when The Rancher was chasing a heifer in.  He was all over that chase, but unfortunately he headed her in the wrong direction.  So he’s not there yet… there are still a lot lessons to be learned.  And I think the one on the top of the list is to LISTEN to the boss… hmm sounds like parenting.

We may have a long road ahead of us yet with him, but we are so stinking excited!

By the way, are there any guesses for this puppy’s name?  Leave your guess in the comments and we’ll see who comes up with it!

Once There Was a Snowman!

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There is a song that The Rancher’s Sidekick loves to sing about a snowman.  A tall, TALL, TALL snowman.  And then the sun came and it melted, SMALL, small, small… 

We built a snowman a few weeks ago- a SUPER TALL snowman.  Maybe it would have been better if we hadn’t started at the back of the house… There was a lot of snow to get to the front where we wanted our snowman to be.  And maybe we would have rolled up less dog poop if we didn’t cover so much ground…

After a few attempts we decided we needed to recruit a little help.  So we did what we do best and rounded up ourselves a couple of cowboys, The Buckaroo and Cowboy E, to come help us put the snowman together. 

Even with the help the snowball was too heavy to lift.  We needed a plan b… so The Rancher got thinking and found a board to roll the snowball up.  It took a bit of momentum to get it rolling and once they were moving they couldn’t stop.  At about half way the board started to give way and the harder they pushed the crazier things went!  Pushing up was only half the battle… the other half was keeping it from rolling off the side.  And then the other half (um… three halves…) was managing to move around the board while pushing he ball and NOT tripping the brother to the side of you.

I tried to help them push, but there ended up not being room for me, which was fine because then I could laugh! Oh… and take pictures.

 I think that Cowboy E has the right approach- shove WHATEVER you can get your hands on, even if it is your brother.

Our snowman turned out awesome but even better we learned a few lessons from our adventure: don’t roll snowballs bigger than what you can lift, avoid the dog poop, and sometimes the only thing you can do to help is push the other brother from behind!

Lets go sledding!

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Have I mentioned that I LOVE living on a ranch?  I love all of the things that the ranch brings and today I am loving having a 4 wheeler and fields of snow to pull my kids on their sleds.  I know that are so many great places to raise kids, but this is the best place for me to raise MY kids!

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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