The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

Back to Sun Valley

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In October I posted about my spontaneous participation in the district Farm Bureau discussion meet.  This last week was the state discussion meet in Sun Valley so The Rancher and I took off a few days to play with other Young Farmer & Ranchers.

The closer we drove to Sun Valley the more exciting this got for me.  I’m passionate about ranching.  I’m passionate about having a family ranch.  I’m really passionate about sharing our family ranching story.  Ya, you know that already… Any way, this discussion meet was right up my ally- an opportunity to talk about issues we face in our agriculture community. 

The meet went really well, in fact I had several of the judges and folks from the audience tell me how well I did or that they liked my style.  After the high I was on last year I am already to do it again!

These are the questions we discussed.  I would love to hear if you have any thoughts on them!

1. How should Farm Bureau engage farmer/rancher members, representing all types and kinds of operations (i.e. conventional, organic, large, small and niche markets), to work together to better promote a more positive image of agriculture? 

2. How do we encourage young farmers and ranchers to continue to be involved in Farm Bureau?  How can young producers lead even if they don’t hold elected positions on boards? 

3. What are the best practices for youth working on farms and ranches to ensure their safety and provide them learning opportunities in the area of agriculture production?

4. US agriculture is one of the major industries for the American economy.  What can farmers do to stimulate more economic growth? 

5. How can Young Farmers & Ranchers work with elected and appointed officials to eliminate unnecessary or excessive regulations placed upon agriculture while ensuring that new regulations are justified based on their costs and anticipated benefits?

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

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My holiday spirit has taken over my rancher’s wife spirit because I am praying for snow.  You might wonder what- wanting snow has go do with being a good ranch wife… so I’ll tell you.

Actually its rather simple- when it snows it covers the feed.  If the animals can’t find feed they get hungry.  Therefore, we have to start feeding hay, something The Rancher really doesn’t like to do.

So I’m being a little naughty and hoping for more snow.  Let the winter fun begin!

Cowboy Calendar

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I think that I have gotten myself way in over my head, but let’s face it… that’s how I roll.  I just jump in and go with my motto “Fake it ’til you make it!” My latest jump is to make a calendar using my Rancher’s Wife photos.

Every year I look for a calendar that is more than a fat advertisement.  I want something worth hanging on my wall.  With so many fun pictures about the ranch I figured I ought to make one myself.  So I did.  And I think it turned out pretty good.  Here are a few pictures and if you want to see more, check this out.  If it fancies you, let me know and I can send one your way.  I don’t know cost yet but I’m going for not very much.

Lessons Learned From Ranching

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My parents always said that raising a family on a ranch made it easy to teach life lessons. There were lessons of hard work, responsibility and then the fruit of ones labors. Of course it also made it easy to talk about the birds and the bees. 

But not all of the lessons to learn from the ranch are easy.  For the first time I was on the mom end of one of those hard lessons.  My son’s puppy was ran over and it was my unfortunate opportunity to tell him and explain that he wouldn’t be coming home. It took a while to set in and when it did he would tell me that he didn’t want him dead or that now he needed a new puppy.

It’s been a lesson for me to learn as much as The Rancher’s Sidekick.  It was so hard for me that they won’t be able play together. It was hard that he didn’t understand. And of course we all struggled with the loss of a little friend.

 

Happy Thanksgiving From The Rancher’s Wife

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This really is one of my favorite times of year.  I’m not entirely sure why but there is something about the chill in the air, the anticipation of this holiday season and celebrating with friends and family.  It comes after the push of the fall work- weaning, sorting, hauling, selling, vaccinating, preg checking…  (did I miss anything?!).  There is also the farming to do and some fencing and then the winter prep.  But all of this is coming as a result of a good calf crop and a blessed harvest.

Isn’t it wonderful how inspired the first Thanksgiving-ers (I made that up) were to set a day aside to give thanks for their blessings after the harvest season.  Actually that really is how the story goes; the pilgrims had been devastated with sickness and starvation as they reached America.  They may not have made it had a few Native Americans put aside any differences and taught them skills to survive the new land.  It was after their first corn harvest that their leader declared that they all share in a celebration of fasting and thanksgiving.

There have been other distinguishable times in our country’s history that leaders proclaimed it a time of fasting and thanksgiving, primarily after or in the midst of great trials.  In fact it was during the Civil War that President Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. 

I love looking into the history of this holiday, to see what was intended for this holiday.  It was quite religious, so much so that they fasted rather than feasted.  I hope that I, personally, haven’t strayed from its heritage.  No, I didn’t fast but I hope that my thanksgiving was honorable.  Of course we are able to add our own traditions to help it be more meaningful for each of us, but are we still celebrating and cherishing our blessings as we should? 

So after another great year of blessings, a healthy family, a good harvest, and a home full of love and happiness, I want to give thanks to family, to the legacy we live, and mostly to a loving Father in Heaven.

Done With the Preg Checking

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I wish I had a dollar for every time The Rancher says, “Well everything is done for a while until we have to do the ______.”  Like he says that we are done moving cows except for the bunch that needs moving in a week.  Or the bailing is done, but there is the field that was just cut that will need bailed in a few days.  I appreciate that he is trying to make me feel good that things are slowing down but I have learned better.

Lately we have heard the preg checking is done.  Yes, for the forest cows.  But then there was the weekend of preg checking the BLM cows.  And then the strays that come in need checked. And the other bunch of strays.  And the other other bunch.  And now it was time the first calf heifers that had been out to pasture near Blackfoot for the fall. 

The Rancher called me in one fine afternoon, asking for some help to get the heifers pregged up that night because the weatherman was calling for snow.  For some reason they didn’t want to work cows in the yucky cold and wind.  I always come running when The Rancher asks for help, mostly because I don’t want him to think he can do anything with out me (ok really I just love to help and I don’t want him to stop asking).  Usually I end up giving shots at the front but this time I got to run the back.  And I did a great job, if I do say so myself.  It didn’t leave much time for pictures but I snapped a few before the night was over. 

I think that we are really done with the preg checking.  Unless some other ornery cows come from who knows where…  But until then, we are done!

 

 With the time change dusk came upon us and the moon lit the way.  I zoomed in to get a picture and this is what we got.  It wasn’t really this dark, but it turned out kinda fun.

Feeding the Calves… from a while ago

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So I got a little ahead of myself, which means that I didn’t share the pictures from  feeding the calves one night.  So even though the calves are long gone, I am enjoying another look at them.

The calves go out on the old alfalfa when they are first weaned.  Between their ravenous eating and the freezing temperatures, alfalfa stops growing.  Once the feed is eaten down we load up the old two ton with some bails and pitch it out to them.

On this fine occasion it is Rancher Sr. and Cowboy Pete with the pitch forks.

The Rancher, a DIY-er

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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

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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

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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.

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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