Blog - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Rancher, a DIY-er

November 19, 2013 by Allison

I love DIY projects, LOVE them. The Rancher does too, maybe not the ones I enlist him to do, but he des non the less. He likes the manly ones that come with bigger or more dangerous tools. I mean what is a welder if not a really hyped up glue gun, right? 🙂

But seriously, isn’t that really a integral part of being a rancher. These cowboy need to be able switch between whatever jobs the day calls for- truck driver, irrigator, welder, tractor operator, horse trainer, nurse maid… You get the idea, they gotta do it all. They are DIY-ers.

This is the feed truck with arms to lift the bails. Do you see how my creative husband has fanagled it to lift the troughs? I find funny, but boy it is works darn good.

Here is real picture of The “DYI” Rancher. Pretty cool. Finding your own way to get the job done, or being a DIY-er, is part of being a rancher.

Predictable Idaho Weather

November 11, 2013 by Allison

Are you laughing at the title? Because what is the predictable Idaho weather? Ok, the wind, I will give you that. But everyday you can predict sun, clouds, wind, hot, cold, and most likely some sort of a storm and you would be right. We get them all nearly everyday.

Even on pay day. It started it a cold windy morning, then the sun came out, turning up the heat a bit. But it didn’t last long before the nasty sort of clouds came rolling in with some crazy snow flurries. Of course it was as we were loading the last semi of calves and finished as the last were loaded on the truck. Gotta love our Idaho weather.

It Takes 5 …Semis

November 10, 2013 by Allison

I told you that we sold our calves, but I didn’t get to share everything from our day. Like that it took 5 semis to haul out all of those calves. Oh boy it took a while. Good thing we had some good help-the other Curlew Valley Cowboys. I think that they come to socialize and eat the cinnamon rolls, but we will take advantage of them being out on the ranch.

Sold the Calves

November 9, 2013 by Allison

Last Monday we had a big day at the ranch. Its the day that we work all the other 364 days… yep it was sale day.

And really it couldn’t have gone much better. Our calf crop this year was really good, weighing in heavier than last year. After weaning, when it seems that we have the most sickness and loss, we had a lot of good growth. Having a great summer and fall with these calves makes this pay day so much sweeter.

Its almost an emotional day because it is a day that we have worked so hard for, for so long. We have camped out on the desert in the midst of feet of snow to keep alive through the winter. We have spent long days branding and marking calves. We have spent even LONGER days in the hot dusty sun moving the herd. Then there were more long days with the weaning. We have said some very earnest prayers for these calves to be healthy and to grow well.

Now we feel the relief, the success, the tiredness, and the drive to gear up for another year.

Sorting Out the Opens

November 5, 2013 by Allison

There are a lot of reasons that we preg check the cows… I think I have already told you that. We want to know who is pregnant and who is not. And how far along pregnant they are. And if they are not pregnant we need to get rid of them. We bring them home and then to the auction (or to anyone that wants them…).

This is when the fun starts. Initially the opens are just lumped together so they sort them so each ranch can take them home after all checking is done. These cows are tired of being in the corral and the last thing they want is to be worked more. That means they put up a good fight that is fun to watch. I have to admit that I my picture don’t do justice for the awesome moments we had but I am going to blame that on the cowboys because there are only so many places I can be. So I do what I can with what I got!

1,2… 1437, 1438, 1439!

November 2, 2013 by Allison

You should have seen all of these cowboys hard at work when they were preg checking these cows. Most of these guys have been doing this together for years and years so they have it down pat. They have figured out how to run these cows through fast. This year they had 1439 cows. Are you impressed? You should be…

Tools of the Trade

November 1, 2013 by Allison

Part of being a cowboy, especially a cowboy in the middle of nowhere, means having a wide array of tools. Some of them are intended to be used on the ranch, some are not for the ranch but they actually are quite useful and some are homemade- ghetto-rigged from twine and a branch (because some times that is all they have).

Of course a favorite of any rancher is the hot shot. Efficiency is important when running through hundreds of cows and a little zap in quite motivating. Therefore, EVERYONE has one.

When we preg check cows a useful, but out of place tool is bleach. Like go-to-a-salon type bleach. They mix it up and paint a splotch according to their expected calving date. Bleaching their hair is a good way to mark them because it will last until February/March when they start dropping babies.

Tools are an important part of our work… but it’s funny to see what is the favorite or what homemade tool come up with.

Cowboy Eating

November 1, 2013 by Allison

The upside of the LONG days working cows is the food. There are a few folks that will cook for the crew and it is worth every working minute. Most of it is dutch oven cooking, which a culinary art in itself. Nobody has to be asked twice to get in line for a plate!

Preg Checking Preview

October 31, 2013 by Allison

The Rancher and the other Curlew Cowboys have spent three days preg checking cows. It went down a lot better than last year. The Rancher didn’t accidentally hot shot his horse (and end up on the ground) and we didn’t have to lift a cow out of the alley with a loader. Yes, it was a few days of pregging cows…

The Rancher’s Wife is Being a Little Spontaneous

October 26, 2013 by Allison

If you know me you can attest that I really like to have a plan, with whatever I am doing. I do like a little spontaneity but I like the dance-to-the-radio-in-the-parking-lot kind of spontaneous.

Last night we had a Young Famer and Rancher meeting where they did their annual district discussion meet. When we got there the man in charge was looking for more people to participate in the discussion meet that night. The Rancher and I told him that we would do it, only if he was desperate for people jump in.

After two rounds of questions that we didn’t have any answers for or any examples prepared we were done. I thought it was something we would just get to chalk up it up to experience. I was more excited for the door prizes they were passing out than the results. But then they finally came to it.

And I got 3rd place! I was so shocked when they called my name I just turned to The Rancher to make sure it was really me. The greatest part of all this means that we have a free trip to Sun Valley for the state discussion meet. It also means I have a lot of work to do… YAHOO!