The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

The Cenex Man

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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.

Good News

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I am elated to say that I have terrific news… my camera is on its way home!  I have hated not having it around with me.  I guess I hadn’t realized how much I have grown to LOVE taking pictures.  Now I am going to go on photo overload and take pictures of EVERYTHING!  Maybe the rest of my life can slow down so that I can make more time for you.  Lets hope it all falls together. : )

At the County Fair

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Oh how we love fair week!  I thought I would drop a line to tell you I am still kicking, just busy playing at the fair.  I don’t have any pictures for you today… Sorry about that… But soon, very soon!

In fact, I don’t know if I have told you or not (I don’t remember very well) but I am having camera problems.  One afternoon I picked it up to take some pictures and I noticed the sensor had gone haywire.  I took it in praying it was a simple fix.  Of course it ended up being bad enough we had to send back into Nikon.  That was two weeks ago… I checked in on it and they haven’t even done the diagnosis yet.  I am beginning to feel IMPATIENT!!  Thankfully The Rancher’s mom has the same camera and will loan it out to me when she’s not using it.  But then I still need to grab pictures from her… I know, I am letting you down.

So lets talk about the fair instead, it is much happier to chat about.

Even though we don’t have any kids old enough to be in the fair, we still have been averaging about one trip a day and which are usually followed by LATE nights.  Starting with Monday, the Team Penning and Branding that besides The Rancher roping we also provided the heifers.  This is such a fun one to go because so many of our friends and neighbors come out to it.

After sleeping in the following morning (I’m not going to admit how late we slept) we began the work of prepping to go over once again.  Besides gathering dinner, jammies, blankets, and tractors every cowboy and cowgirl needs, I had a little extra work of getting together my pictures to enter into the fair.  Don’t worry, we made it amidst all of the craziness and all I forgot to do was my makeup, no biggie…  Besides entering my pictures the fair that night we took found a seat in stands for the free concert- Charley Jenkins!  He is an up and coming country singer from Utah.  His songs were so awesome- they were all about The Rancher, I swear!  

We weren’t terribly interested in the sheep show so we chose to stay home Wednesday.  Oh how I loved it!  I even swept and mopped my floor!  Of course you would never guess it at this point.  Living with a little boy that plays in the dirt and a big boy that work (plays) in the dirt all day means that this house doesn’t stay clean.

Thursday was our big day.  Cowboys Pete and E had their steer show- a must see!  And to know surprise they did a great job showing.  When the cattle are all done they do an open showmanship class that I borrowed Cowboy Pete’s steer.  We totally took first place!  I’ll have to see if anyone took a picture for proof.  The night ended with the Family Fun Rodeo.  This isn’t a typical rodeo, in fact when The Rancher did his team roping he was minus a horse.  That is what we call the poor man roping.  I can guarantee that if they don’t catch right out of the chute that they won’t chase that calf down the arena.

Now I am sitting in sweats in my nicely air conditioned house, debating if it is nap time or lunch time.  I think that this day calls for relaxing because tomorrow is more craziness.  Oh how we love fair week!

So God Made a Farmer (or in this case a Rancher)

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How many of you watched the Superbowl this year?  Now, did you skip the game for the commercials or skip the commercials for the game?

I do both.  But I’m not here to talk write about football.

What I have been thinking about it this cool commercial that Dodge put out.  Do you remember it?  It is a quote by Paul Harvey talking about that God created the Farmer on the eighth day, for so many reasons.  But all in all its about that God needed a man that was hard working, that would make sacrifices, and be dedicated to the end.  He wanted someone that was tough and could take anything yet still tender and understanding.  It would be a man that would stand up for right in whatever circles he was in and be a proactive member of his community.

In the commercial it always says farmer but I like to slide in rancher too (and not often do I think that rancher and farmer are the same but this time I think we can get away with it).  And they got it right on!  This is what type of people ranchers and farmers are.  And there aren’t too many of the good men left.

I had to watch it again and after I did I thought you all should too.

A Little Bit of Beauty

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Its not very often that I brag up the beauty of this little valley, and maybe I should.  I don’t really give it all of the credit that it deserves.

Yes we live in the desert- at least I would consider this desert.  It is SO dry, even on a good rain year.  If I had a penny for every sage brush I would be rich there are so many. 

And oh my goodness the dust.  I have a years supply of Q tips that The Rancher cleans out in about 3 months. 

There are no streams or rivers.  Ok, there is a streamlet (you know, a baby stream) that runs through the ranch, but that is really all of the fresh water around.

To find trees you have to go deep in the hills to find a few stands.  The Rancher considers the REALLY BIG sagebrush to be trees but I want one that you can climb, build a tree house and take a nap under.  Sadly, we don’t have any.

Have I convinced you that this is a desert and that most of the things that makes a valley beautiful are lacking? 

But here and there I do find little bits of beauty, and I might appreciate them more because of the rugged surrounds it has.  The colors of the wild flowers seem so much more alive when they are cast against the monochromatic hills.  And the deep color of the sunsets takes your breath away.  The green of the meadows is so captivating that the distant hills seem to escape from view. 

Maybe beauty really is in the eye of the beholder and The Rancher’s Wife is finally seeing a little more clearly.

Celebrating This Land

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I really love Fourth of July.  And I think it is The Rancher’s favorite holiday.  He loves the fact that it is a holiday that is mostly noncommercialized (did I make that word up?) and that there are no expectations of gifts.  Its a day that we can celebrate and spend time together as a family.  But I really love that we have a day set aside that I can say (or think, because I don’t really go shouting things from the rooftops- but maybe I should), “I’m proud to be an American!”  or I can break out in song singing, “Its a grand ol’ flag…” and its totally ok.  Actually The Rancher might be slightly embarrassed but he can live with it…

I think that I love this day because I really love this country and I feel very connected to the roots, the heritage, and the values that this country was built upon.  Yes there are things, especially political things that I don’t enjoy or I don’t agree with.  But there is also a standard that I have the chance to live the life that I want as long as I work for it.

When we celebrate Independence Day I think that we celebrate in two parts- one the legacy of our country.  This land is filled with battlefields, graves, homes, monuments, museums, ect, that are preserved to help us remember what this country was founded on and the cost of it.  The second part is that this is a land of hope.  There are so many new beginnings and opportunities for new beginnings here.  Instilled in this hope is a mix of feelings of pride, dedication, determination, hard work, sacrifice, success, and satisfaction.

And that sounds like the reasons why I love to ranch.  We are able to preserve the land, preserve the heritage of ranching and preserve the hope of bright futures and new beginnings.   

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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