Ranching Mom with kids, cows, and horses

What in the heck has she been doing?

2012-01-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

So, as you know, I’ve been out of the blogosphere for quite a while. Somehow, I let life get in the way of typing & sharing my story. I do share brief snipets & texts via Facebook & odd quotes & notes on Twitter as @GreenRanchMom.

I did share the story of MamaCow on our website a week or so ago.

So, I’ll catch you up quite quickly.

Farmers markets are tons of fun! I love the connection with our customers & sharing our story with everyone. Plus, then most people take home some yummy steaks or Beef Sticks : )

I was a very active Founding Member of TallGrass Grocery Coop and we finally opened the store in September!! It is located in Historic Valley Junction, so stop by & shop for some affordable, local, real Foods (including EbersoleCattleCo Beef).

We had a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day in October. It was super scary preparing for other beef producers to come to our ranch. Then, once the day arrived, it was TONS of fun!! Jill & Sean from Blue Gate Farm, even stopped by after market (& brought greens for us, so of course I sent some sticks home)!!

The next week, we unexpectedly welcomed nearly 50 Fullblood Maine Anjou cows to our Ranch. It was a quick, rescue type of situation, so we have had to work really hard to improve their nutrition & health. But, these cows are beautiful to look at AND work with. Their dispositions are so sweet & willing! We selected a fall heifer for J.ustaCowgirl to show and she was halterbroke & lead-able in 3 days!! This is nearly unheard of from a calf that had only seen a human about 5 times in her life before October!! We are really excited to offer our Fullblood calves for sale!! We will be selling about 5 cows & 10 Bred heifers this spring in order to cover our costs of wintering 50 extra cows. If you’re in the market for a MaineAnjou heifer or cow, drop me a note. We’ll have both Purebreds and Fullbloods.

And now, I’m just really enjoying the winter “break”!! We’ve enjoyed a beautiful mild winter and have plenty of grass & hay for all of our cows. Plus, we cleaned out the big barn, so we’ve all been riding lots : ) I’ve even started a couple of our colts, so we should have some great minded saddle horses to offer this spring.

Hope this catches you up a bit. I'll share more stories as we go

Teenage Bulls are stUpid

2011-06-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

So, here on the ranch if you're a bovine between 10 & 36 months, we consider you a teenager.

Many, many reasons why. And remember, my kids are 11, 8 & 3 so I have no personal experience with teenagers.

1- They never stay where they're supposed to stay. If their pen is full of grass, the ditch grass looks better to eat. If you're in a nice toasty barn & its snowing; you go lay in a big snowpile until you're shivering.

2 - Hormones - ugh! We sort the heifers (girls) from the bulls (boys). We even leave the steers with the boys. But, for some unknown reason even the steers feel the extreme desire to knock over gates to get into the heifer pen. Apparently, their hay or grass is much tastier. We know why the bulls want to get to the heifers, but reAlly.

3 - Hormones - Boys! As a bull, you've been raised with your group of brothers for your whole life. The overwhelming urge to fight is ridiculous!! Especially if you choose to get into a MAJOR fight the night before harvest with 3 of your brothers.

4 - Bulls! Turnout time here on the ranch is upon us. We turned out (well really, they turned themselves out to the cows) the 2 young bulls this past week. Ultimate is about 2.5 years old & it will be his first year out with a big group of cows. He thinks that he is really tough, even though he is a sweetie on a halter. "T" is 4 this year and our bull we use on heifers. They have been neighbors for several months & seemed to get along ok. But, when we gathered the cows this week to pull off a grassfed beef. The two bulls were total PAINS. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention. Ultimate tossed T into the fence where I was standing. I was able to move a bit & get into his flank area & not squished too bad. Bruised my back & pretty sore. But I was Lucky.

So, there's four reasons I really DISLIKE teenage bovines right now.

Hope you're all having much more fun with your teenagers than I am right now.

Btw, we put T in his own pen until we can sort cows & let him have his own group. That way he doesn't have to deal with the little cocky bull that wants to fight. T will be much happier with his group of heifers in a couple of weeks.

~GreenRanchMom - Mama to the Momma Cows @ the ECC

Cowgirl Marketer to MudCovered

2011-04-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today was such a fun day!! Started out the morning in pouring rain. Did I mention it was 40 degrees. Cold to say the least with the wind blowing 40 miles an hour too. Literally. I was hunkered down in my Columbia coat with the collars up to my nose & my neck tucked in like a turtle with the rain running off my hat when I would turn my head.

I was freezing cold & wet. But the calves were nice & dry in their deep bedded barn munching away. They stared at me funny, because I was dripping. One calf even tried to lick the water that was dripping from my hat. Silly calf.

Next I helped a neighbor haul cull sows to the buying station. Again, more standing outside in the pouring rain & wind. I tried to snap a picture of the drops forming on the brim of my hat as they dripped ever so slowly off the front. Or a picture as they ran off the front of my hat in streams. Too close for the camera to focus. Oh well, It was pretty, even as the rain was beginning to soak thru my second coat of the day.

The rain once again was cold for me, but I enjoyed the watering of all our pastureland. I will really love how the grass will finally start to grow with the warmer weather.

Then I changed Hats. Literally. The Silverbelly work Hat,

was traded for the clean Black Dress Hat.

I drove my clean black hat into Downtown Des Moines. Remember, my "car" is a dually pickup & that alone gets looked at quite strange in downtown. Then I had to park a couple of blocks away from my meeting because of those dual rear wheel tires & tall truck that can't fit in a parking garage. So, because it was still raining, I decided to take the wonderful Skywalk that DesMoines has. It was about noon so all the business men and women were walking about having lunch....... I think some of them didn't know what I was. Double takes, stares, and several "Howdy" remarks later I arrived at my meeting. I love people watching. And watching people "PeopleWatch" me is even more fun!

My meeting was for the Downtown DesMoines Farmers Market Vendors. Yep, that's right!!! So excited that we will be nearly regular vendors there this summer!!! Had tons of fun meeting some of the other vendors, and Kelly & Lydia in person. They are a great team & have improved this market 1000 fold. I have several new things up my sleeve & tons of great beef that will be harvested.

After that meeting I was pumped up and super excited! Picked up the munchin crew from "their Kim's house". Ran a few errands and arrived home to a wonderful husband that had already started chores. I switched Hats again (literally). The old silverbelly & I were soaked & muddy within 10 minutes.

A GREAT DAY!!! I love my life! I love that I have the opportunity to switch hats & live this wonderful life on and off the ranch!!

GreenRanchMom - Mama to the Momma Cows at the ECC

Earth Day - Feeling Connected to the EARTH

2011-04-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm guessing you know that April is Earth Month. Many towns and cities are having Earth Day Celebrations this week and weekend. During these festivities, there will be lots of recycling and showing how to care for the land and tread lightly.

As a Rancher, every day is Earth Day for us. We really do c.a.r.e. for the land and the earth each and every day. If we don't take care of the land, the land won't take care of our animals and our family. But really, I do see this every day.

Two weeks ago it REALLY hit me, how much I depend on the Earth and use it each day. You see, I was at the Natural Living Expo. Yeah, Yeah, I know, at a "Natural" festival there will be lots of celebrating everything natural and sustainable and good for the earth. But no, thats not how it hit me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the other vendors at the Natural Living Expo and how much the sustainable community works together to help many others live more naturally on our planet.

My feet. Thats how it hit me how much I truly rely on the earth. After the expo I could barely walk for two days! You see, its calving season, so Beau was at home with the calves and kids & I took care of the booth by myself. What that means is I stood (mostly in one spot), on cement, for two days straight. Highly unusual for me in several ways! First, standing still. I'm used to walking a lot. On any given day, I usually log three to five miles, in my daily activities on the ranch.

Second, I was not on the E.A.R.T.H. I was on cement. Many people think that farmers or ranchers walk funny (when they see them in town). Why, because they're probably used to walking on dirt. I know I am!!! Especially after the Natural Living Expo. It really hit me Sunday morning as I was sitting down before the show. I really do rely on our earth for many more reasons than one. But I really do celebrate earth day in the most basic ways, starting at my feet. The earth is soft and comforting when you're walking on it. So why shouldn't we treat the earth with a soft and comforting hand. My feet were deeply blistered from standing still on concrete for 20 plus hours in one weekend. So the past two weeks I have been v.e.r.y. conscious of the soft and wonderful earth I am privledged to walk on each day.

Don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy meeting lots of new families and current customers! But I really do LOVE the work I get to do each day on the ranch!!

So in honor of Earth Month (and its that time of year) we spread lots and lots of our All natural Fertilizer on the pastures south of the house this weekend. Yes, I know the wind was out of the south and I still had all the windows open, but I don't think it stunk. Because It is real, natural, organic ~~$^@&~~ Compost! So this week I'll keep spreading the compost and cleaning the lots, because its going to rain on Thursday and then the grass will GROW!!! Then the beef will get to be on grass full time again!!!

I know our cows are enjoying picking through the little bits of green that are popping up right now! And this rancher will really enjoy not having to get into a tractor for months!!!!! Until then wish me positive tractor driving vibes!

So, we're fertilizing our pastures for Earth Month, What are you doing to celebrate and improve the earth this month?

Btw, I have tons (literally) of free compost that is ready for spreading on your beautiful gardens!

This is one of the reasons I LOVE spring!!!!

His Momma, a heifer (first time mom) dropped him in a mud puddle and left him. So, A.Cowgirl and I fed him a bottle, dried him off and put him in the barn with his mom. His mom decided she liked him & wanted to nurse him.

GreenRanchingMom - Mama to the Momma Cows at the ECC

Calving Season........zzzzzzz

2011-04-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well, its calving season around here. So, I'm tired. alot. I don't sleep well anyway, so I always take the night checks, because If Beau's doing the checking, I'm awake the entire time too, so I might as well let him sleep. If I really need to I can usually sneak a nap with my little man one or two days a week. We only do night checks for the heifers (females that have never had a calf). The mature cows know whats going on & we just check them before bedtime & when we first get up in the morning.

But, sleep aside, its my favorite time of the year!!!

Cute little calves out running and bucking in the pastures! and calving means G.R.A.S.S!!!! Yeah, fresh grass!!!!!!!

I love my cows and will endure choring with the tractor during the winter for them. So, when the grass starts growing, I get so excited that I won't have to start the tractor for quite a while!!!

If you would like, check out our Facebook Page, because I'm much better about posting lots of pictures through the week from my phone.

Thanks for followin along!!!

GreenRanchingMom - Mama to the Momma Cows at the ECC

Thank You for liking us "WIERD" people

2011-03-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

I just want to say "THANK YOU"!!!! Thank you to everyone who has reserved their beef! We are sooo very close to making our farm payment and still keeping all of our calves to raise as natural beef in OUR pastures this summer.

I have been very lacking on my blogging this past month, but things have slowed down. We finished the Iowa Maine Anjou Beef Expo Sale and had great success selling our heifers. The sale went very well and I didn't have any major breakdowns. While we were at Beef Expo, our bred heifers were set to start calving at home. Sooo, I drove home each night to check heifers every two or three hours. Needless to say by the end of that week, I was sick!
My voice was shot! When you're calving, dogs aren't allowed in the pens to help. (Mamas HATE dogs at this time of year) sooo, I do a ton of ~~talking~~ yelling, to direct the heifer (with a calf peeking out her backside) to the appropriate gate. Now, if you've had a child or have heard a birth story, you know that a mother in labor is NOT thinking clearly. So, you know that heifers that are in labor have NO clue what to do, where to go, or how to get there. Plus, they try to turn around & go back to the place they chose (even if its really muddy & cold) to have their calf.

Then, I had a big meeting the Friday after Beef Expo with the Come to the Table:An afternoon of Local Foods. And more calves!

Whew, then another long week of hauling pigs, calving heifers & short nights. then I had the Green Living Health Expo and a suprise of a wonderful date night with my Honey! Such a wonderful night (even if I still felt like crap) to relax and people watch with my best friend again.

So there you have it. February ran away!

Now, here is March. And our Farm Payment is looming. But, we are SOOOO CLOSE!!! So close to keeping ALL of our calves!!! I would much rather keep our calves to sell to all of you as beef, than send them to the sale barn. So, Thank You!!! Thank you to everyone who believes in us and Thank You to everyone who has reserved their beef in advance!!!

It is SO wonderful how our Local Foods Movement is growing!! We really love our participation with the Iowa Food Cooperative and we are excited to have our beef at Wheatsfield Coop in Ames. We love that many of you want to learn about how your food is raised! We are going to plan a springtime open house, so that many of you can come, pet some calves, see your beef & enjoy the sunshine on the ranch!

If you are interested in getting a great rate on your beef, this is the last week to reserve your beef with a discounted rate. Send me a note to ebersolecattleco (at) yahoo (dot) com, and we can talk details.

Thank you again, to everyone for your support and encouragement!

Now, back outside to check heifers........

Its our season of checkin Nuts & Butts.... again

Ranching isn't for sissies, a discussion of the realities.

2011-02-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year that's hard. REAALY hard. The weather is tough, the costs are high & the finances are low. Is also the time of year that most of us farmers & ranchers make our farm payments... (can you hear the scary music?) And all of that creates tons of stress for all of us farmers & ranchers.

First, the weather. Right now, I'm sitting inside in my jammies watching it blow ICE & snow horizontally. Yes really, horizontally. Earlier, covered in 80million layers, I was outside feeding & watering all the animals. And again in an hour, I'll be covered in 100million layers & feeding & rolling out fresh hay so everyone will be cozy & safe for the night. But I love it! I really couldn't imagine a day like this without going outside & choring (&playing) in this weather.

The costs. This time of year, we have to feed almost all of our animals. Feed is really expensive this year. Its the second highest corn prices in history; and most other feeds follow the corn pricing. We don't feed much grain, but we do go through more than usual in the winter to keep the energy in the calves. We are feeding hay to most every bunch of animals on the ranch. We do have a large group of calves that are still stockpile grazing, but the ice will probably stop that for a few days in the next week.

Finances. If you've been following along for any length of time, you know I'm not scared of any topic. Even finances. When you're a rancher, you typically make your money one time each year when you sell your calves, & get to hold your breath & pennies the rest of the year. Most people look forward to tax returns. We get to pay Uncle Sam for the privlidge of living & ranching in the great US & State of Iowa.

Then we get to talk about farm payments. Dum, Dum, Dum! (thats the scary music) Since most farmers & ranchers make most of their money once a year, we get to make all of our payments once a year. Let me just put this in perspective for you. Take your mortgage payment, then double it, add 2x your insurance payments, your vehicle payments & all of your montly expenses and that is our Farm Payment. Huge huh? But that is our reality, and the choice that we have made.

That being said, we do choose to think differently about most things. This year, we're trying to keep all of our calves & not sell any at the sale barn. We'd like to sell all of them as Beef, Bulls, or heifers. So, I'm offering all of our beef for sale now and harvested beginning in May. This will allow us to make our farm payment (if we reserve enough calves) without selling any of my calves at the sale barn. We're also saving plenty of heifers to offer as Bred Heifers next year, or a calf for the kids to show this summer. We have a couple of bulls for sale too.

So, I ask you this, if your freezer is getting low on beef, give me or your local rancher a call now. Reserve your beef in advance, & help a rancher make the cash flow & farm payment a little easier.

Thank you from all of us farmers & ranchers out there braving the snow. If you'd like some beef. Check us out on Facebook.

Making Breakfast

2011-01-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

Dude - "Mom"
Momma - Yes?
Dude - You Makin Breakfast?
Momma - Yes
Dude - Fore MEEE!!!
Momma - No, for PJ
Dude (with confused sour face) - PJ tant tome in the house to eat...? I eat it.
Momma - Little Man I'm making you some oatmeal, but this is for PJ
Dude - Otay
moments later
J.ustaCowgirl - It smells good, whatcha cookin for breakfast Mom?
Momma - PJ's food, want some?
J.ustaCowgirl - Ummmm, no. But its wierd, it really does smell good, but looks nasty.

So, you guessed it, my house is filled with yummy smelling food. Its just not people food. PJ is somewhere over 26 years old. He's the rope horse that tought tons of guys around here to rope. He taught me the right way to rate a steer. He was the babysitter for A.Cowgirl & J.ustaCowgirl while we bred literally thousands of cows. He has severe arthritis & now his teeth are getting pretty thin.

So, I cook a hot breakfast for him. I don't cook a hot breakfast for my family every day, but I do for PJ. He also gets a hot lunch & supper too. We're taking Beet Pulp (very high energy) and Equine Senior and cooking it in the crock pot to heat it up & serving it warm to him. 3 to 5 times a day. The water is also warm from the automatic waterer in the run that he shares with the show calves. This has made a huge difference in his energy level & hopefully will make it easier for him to get through another winter.

While I'm on this subject I need to talk about animal "comfort". We have a barn & stalls. It also has runs that open to the east with hay bale feeders in them. PJ is really old and its pretty hard for him to get around. But, he HATES being in a stall. But he really should be in a stall to feed him & give him some of his own space. But then, he wouldn't be able to play (or bite at) with 7-up. He wouldn't be able to have his own choice to go in or out, eat hay or not eat hay. Its a daily mental battle to put him in a stall or let him be. Granted, he has his own pen to eat in (the calves & 7-up are locked out). But he should really be in a stall for his best interest. Right??

No. I don't think so. He is happier out with 7-up and the calves. He is happier standing outside. Does his comfort count for something? I think so. I will make sure that he's fed well (better than well) and happy. So remember that when you drive by a pasture & there are cattle & horses out in the snow. They might like to be there. (But I do love the option of having my entire herd under a roof).

So, if you stop by the house & it smells really yummy, don't get excited, its just horse food. But you're welcome to try it, I have.

Hel...loooo! My name is GreenRanchingMom I'd like to re-introduce myself

2011-01-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

Hello, My name is GreenRanchingMom.

Just felt the need to introduce myself again, because I've been gone so long. I'm not going to completely bore you with tons of details, but to say that the last couple of months have been long & hard would be an understatement. And, when I'm stressed or upset, I tend to pull back. Instead of reaching for help, I tend to just try to just take everything thats thrown at me one piece at a time by myself. I don't want to burden others with my problems & issues, so I don't. I just keep to myself & take care of the basics for the kids & animals.

So, I'll just start this blog with a short list of the ~~problems~~ projects I'm working on right now.

New Cattle Shed - should all be finished in the next two weeks

Ford Tractor not running again (my front end loader) - (sell it & buy a team)

IH1466 not starting - a $2 bolt on the battery cable fixed it after 3 months of messing with it

IH1066 Engine toasted - Have a guy to work on it (cheap) but he's taking forever to even get it in the shop, sounds like just a "minor" fix of $3000 (really, truly looking to buy a team of horses & get rid of the tractors!)

White Dodge Truck - Transmission toast. Been in the shop for 2+ months, he should get it in next week

Dually not running properly - Appointment for it next Tuesday

Calves all weaned & home - not selling any at the salebarn yet, just need to work on marketing ALL of our calves this year (blog post to come soon - I promise)

"Wrong" mare delivered to new home - papers were for a different mare & we'd been calling her the wrong name for 4 years. Problem figured out - mares soon to play ring-around-the-rosie.

New pond constructed - just need to fence it

Bad fenceline on east side torn out by buldozers - just need to put in a mile of fence

Grassfed beef grew slow this year - scheduled for harvest later this month, we've been supplementing with alfalfa cubes to increase gains

WOW!!! Hmm, that makes mee feel a little better. As you can see - it started out whining, and became a list of things to do. Somehow, when we're upset, our world seems huge, and overwhelming, but if you break it down into babysteps, you can do anything.

I AM really thankful that our little family is starting the year healthy & together. We're praying for another ranching family that is currently being split up today as Mom flys with Dad to Colorado for rehabilitation after a 40 day ICU stay after a nearly fatal truck accident. Luckily Dad is super tough & will prove everyone wrong and walk out of that hospital soon. I'm really thankful for the support of our community and the prayers for their family. Our prayers are with them as they fly to their new hospital & with their family that will take care of the children for several more months. We'll head that way to visit too - we think a train ride might be fun!

I hope all of you are enjoying the New Year, and your family.

Over here we're going to work on PROGRESS this year, NOT Perfection.

These cute itty bitty puppies are now big & ready to find homes. There will be no more of this cross because we finally neutered Chilli Dog, so if you need a great pet or an even better working dog, let me know.

ps, you'll have to remember that line and understand that I'm just "talking" and not a perfectionist writer; but at least I'm sharing & blogging again.

Glad to be back!
GreenRanchingMom

Showing

2010-10-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

THIS is why we show. We raise good cattle. They make great beef, & they have even better dispositions. The show-ring thing drives me nutz.
I get really frustrated that a heifer who is rude, or even downright mean or NOT broke can do well in the ring. Disposition IS a culling factor in our herd. More on that subject later.

I also get frustrated with the families that show cattle & the children just walk in, in time to lead the calf in the ring. The child doesn’t WORK with their calf. Then there’s the type that show & get really upset when they don’t win. They are rude & mean when the judge doesn’t pick them.

And another thing that frustrates me is the politics! A judge who has no consistency & just picks the stick that’s leading them, or breeding them. THAT really gets me going.

BUT my Honey loves to show. He grew up showing & loving cattle. Our girls are really doing well with their cattle. But to me, the main thing is that they WORK with their cattle. Each day, they get up before dawn, catch, wash, blow, brush & feed their calves. Then, several times each day, they’re out checking & walking their heifers. Each night, they again work with their heifers to make sure they are fed.

Their calves are calm, tame & broke before they ever step in a showring. Don’t get me wrong, there have been days when Freedom wants to play or Sophie wants to just stand still & not walk. But our heifers would never be mean to a child.

We love to go to shows. I love how the girls get so excited & intense watching the classes & the judge. I actually enjoy the preparation too. I like getting up early on show day, washing & getting the heifers all ready. I LOVE talking with all of the other exhibitors & breeders. The comraderie is awesome.

The thing that I really love about showing is truly the smiles!! I love the smiles on our girls’ faces when they go in the ring. I love how intense A.Cowgirl gets. Each child that smiles and enjoys themselves is really the ONLY reason to go to a show.

Smile!! & Eat Happy Beef

~GreenRanchingMom - Mama to the Momma Cows @ the ECC

Wow! We were featured in the latest issue of the AMAA Voice

2010-10-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jennifer Bremer for writing this article & everyone at the American Maine Anjou Association for thinking of us. With everyone's support our beef business continues to grow & the success of our Ranch is due to all of you who support us!!

I have updated our website recently & will continue to add more pictures.

THANKS for all your support & encouragement!!!

Rancher Respect

2010-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

So, This is going to be one of those posts I've warned you about.
This is MY OPINION.
Because....Its MY BLOG.
Plus.... This is something I feel VERRY passionately about!

First, I must refresh your memory...

We haven't always been Wierd Ranchers. I was raised on a small acreage with Quarter Horses, & Honey was raised with a small cattle herd. We are both formally educated at Iowa State University with degrees in Animal Science. After college, I worked in the sales field for a large health insurance agency & Honey persued careers in the cattle industry. He managed the shipping department at Hawkeye Breeders for several years. After that he became the manager of a large (1550 head) cow-calf operation. So we KNOW conventional. In addition over the past 10 years we've had about 100 of our own cows & anywhere from 30 to 300 Custom cows (we managed other people's cows). I only remind you of this information so you'll remember that we KNOW conventional. And, now..... we're wierd. We run our ranch UN-conventionally.

This, my friends, is where the dichotomy lies.

Many un-conventional producers; organic, grass based, natural etc. feel that it is part of their sales or informational tactics to put down conventional production methods. Some un-conventional producers think that consumers need to understand that conventional production methods are BAD.

And some conventional producers, go out of their way to say that un-conventional (organic, grass-based, natural or free range) methods are bad or not good enough.

THIS FRUSTRATES ME!!! (~yes, I know I just screamed, it frustrates me THAT much)

As the saying goes, Why can't we just get along???

I know that there are some conventional producers that need to improve their farms. I know of some un-conventional producers that need to improve the conditions for their animals too. They're both working to get better. I don't like ANY conditions that aren't optimal. But heck, we've experienced times when we'd LOVE to improve the circumstances or environment.

I think I heard that right now, only 2% of our population are farmers or ranchers. I believe that about 2% of our population is vegetarian. Now, remember this post is about respect. We need to make sure that we (meat producers) don't put down meat production in general; because there is an option (vegetarianism) that will allow those alienated people to show they don't want to deal with bad or negative meat circumstances.

We as farmers & ranchers NEED to stick together! We NEED to respect that there are MANY different ways to raise animals & vegetables. There are good ways, better ways, & the best ways.

But, you know what? Good, Better & Best are all OPINIONS! It is an opinion that one way is better than another. Because we all have different preferences. I may prefer to have animal choices in food at the top of my list. You may have profit at the top of your list so you can stay in business. I may choose to only feed grass to my ruminants, you may choose to feed a more diverse diet. I may choose to let my chickens run around our entire ranch, you may choose to have some in a coop. I could go on & on, but you get the drift, we are all different, because we are inately different people.

As far as "proof" that one way or another is "better", well, you can "prove" anything. And, you can find anything that may serve as proof for your opinion on the internet too. Numberous studies prove & disprove nearly everything there is to debate in agriculture (& life in general).

What I BELIEVE we all need to remember is:
That we're all people
We all have families
As American Farmers & Ranchers, we are raising the healthiest, safest food on the planet (the US has the lowest rates of food borne diseases)
We are all trying to be a little better each day & improve our operations
We all (almost all) have limited budgets & we have to work within those budgets
We are all aware that what we DO effects and affects our land and environment

We ALL need to remember that each time we talk negatively about someone, we are in-turn hurting our OWN farm or ranch.

Just as I type this, I'm aware that if I speak negatively about vegetarians in general, I'm putting down a very wonderful friend. If you think about putting down or disparaging another style of farming or ranching, you MUST realize that you are directly putting down a PERSON and a family. I know that we all think or are trying to do something "better", but we must NOT prosper at the cost of another's harm.

We CAN do better without putting down another style.

So, if your unconventional THINK about what you say. THINK about the positives of your operation without saying anything negative about anyone (or thing) else. When we are promoting ourselves, we need to promote ALL agriculture. We should just choose to talk about how WE do things. About why we do these things.

Lest you think I'm throwing stones in a glass house, I'm not. I KNOW that I'm not perfect. I was recently showed how I was talking negatives (even when I was trying NOT to) by the reaction on someone's face. Because, he KNEW the person I was inadvertently putting down.

Please, please, please, we ALL NEED TO GET ALONG!

THINK about what you are saying, and THINK about who you are really affecting with your negative comments. I encourage you to vote about agriculture 3 times each day. Each time you pick up your cup, spoon, or fork; T.H.I.N.K. about what you're choosing. I hope you're choosing healthy american raised food!!!

And just so you know. This is my original (un-edited) version. I made 3 revisions to this post, but decided to let my raw thoughts be broadcast for all to read, because if we don't already know it, I'm as blunt & honest as it gets in real life.

~GreenRanchingMom

Writers Block

2010-09-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

You know, this is my PERSONAL BLOG. They call it that because its MY blog. My point of view, my perspective . So, you WILL see my personal rants coming soon. I've had them in draft for way too long, worrying & obsessing about the way that others might react.

So, when you read my reflections, just remember that they're MINE. They aren't rude, just my point of view. I'm not trying to be mean or disrespectful, because that is THE last thing that I would EVER want to be. I'm always trying to see others' points of view and learn.

Hope you're having a beautiful fall day! Its lovely here! The cows are grazing south of the house & the girls are letting their horses graze in the back yard while they play on the swingset.

No really, this is OUR Soapbox!!!

2010-09-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

The box on the right is MY SOAPBOX!!! I'm so excited about it!!! You see, this soap from Prairieland Herbs has our tallow in it.

As many of you know, we raise beef cattle. We sell our beef by the halves, quarters & eighths. I've always been pretty adamant that we should respect each animal and all that they give us. That means using everything that they give us at harvest time. I've tanned some hides (not much success there). We always use soup bones in our house to make stock and for doggie bones. When others buy beef &don't request their soup bones or organ meats, we save those for friends who feed thier dogs "raw". We are very adamant that everything go to good use! Thus, I've been searching for a good use of our tallow!

I FOUND IT!!! Maggie & Donna @Prairieland Herbs talked with their wonderful soapmaker Karla, and returned to an old recipe that has natural, local ingredients!!! Like our Tallow!! Our family has been using this wonderful, fragrant soap for several weeks and wow! I was really suprised, its not greasy or stinky. Its soft and moisturizing & makes a really great lather!!

Btw, I thought of asking Maggie about our tallow because I love tons of her products like the Healing Wand, and her family & doggies love our beef!!

They have super fast shipping & are also available at their store in Woodward. I'll be there on Sunday as its one of the Sample Sunday dates.

Thank you to Maggie, Karla & Donna for helping me find another use for another part of our beefs!!

This is my soapbox....be prepared for me to be stepping on it frequently

2010-08-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting much about my opinions lately.

This is my SoapBox

I will be stepping up onto my soapbox HERE on my blog. In more ways than one.

As usual, I try to think before I speak, but it IS my blog & I will say what I want. I do have several posts in draft for me to tone down. : )

Hang on to your saddlehorn, we're going for a run.

GreenRanchingMom

Simplicity

2010-07-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

So, my friend Diana @ Spain in Iowa has a fun Blog hop about simplicity in our lives.

This has me thinking, how am I simple, how can I make our lives more Simple?

I'm in list making mood, so here it goes...

Simple things we do
Grocery shop once a month - less trips to the store means less junk comes in the house & less diesel to travel
Live in the old house (rather than build a new one right away)
Feed us and our animals REAL foods (whole foods that are recognizeable for what they are)
Keep something until it wears out (or beyond)
We use old machinery (& keep fixing it)
We only have the truck as our family vehicle (the diesel gets great {15-20mpg} fuel economy too)

Areas we can improve upon
I think that this winter, we'll to NOT buy ANYTHING the month of January!
Do more canning this summer (even though I once again killed my garden)
Keep working towards growing ALL of our cattle feeds
Work towards year round grazing so we don't need as much hay (thus reducing the need for using the tractors)

What do you do in your daily life to make things simple?

Junior Nationals

2010-06-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Right now we're up in a little northern Iowa town for the Maine Anjou National Junior Heifer Show. The girls brought 3 heifers. We are lucky enough to borrow my parents (new to them) camper & stay at the fairgrounds. So wonderful to have a place to nap Wyatt & cook (if we want) & get cleaned up during the day.

Well, the weekend up here was great! We had tons of fun relazing & camping & playing & napping. Then Sunday came. Check-in welcome party, more work, a little more play.
Sunday Night & Monday............well, they just weren't fun. I ran (5 hours) home to haul my piggies for 5 hrs & then came back up.

Today (Tuesday) we had a Fitting Contest. A.Cowgirl was in it with 2 other girls from Iowa. They had so much fun!! I had TONS of fun watching the 3 dads!!

Poor guys just couldn't take it as the girls were doing their best job (but it wasn't "right"). They were cringing, shaking their heads & trying not to let the yells under their breath get too loud. The girls were smiling & working & having fun!!

So far its been a great week! I'll try to keep you (kim) posted as the week goes along

Puppies!!!

2010-06-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

I think that I mentioned about 7 weeks ago via TWITTER that Rosie & Chilli had a litter of Puppies.

And now is the time when I show you cute puppy pictures so that you will be enticed to have one for your very own!

You can see from this picture how cute and colorful the black tri's are! We have 2 boys & 1 girl Black Tri.

This little guy is a lover, but I think he's going to work too! He doesn't like anyone coming under his tire (on the semi-trailer) to get him for bed. So cute when he barks & gets all ruffled up!

Remember, all of these puppies have great dispositions!

This little boy is a cutie that wants to work! He will heel the girls & play

We have 3 Merle's Left. 2 boys & 1 Girl. All three have beautiful colored eyes. Both Blue and Brown in each eye. Rosie's eye's are split down the center and half blue/half brown.

We are starting to learn their personalities, and some will be great working dogs, some will be wonderful city dogs & pets.

Tallow Rendering

2010-05-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here is our Tallow

Choices & Perspective

2010-04-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

Last night Honey came home & talked about a family he met at the co-op. They were a couple in their 50's-60's with their 20 something son.
They were traveling in a covered wagon.
From Arkansas to Nebraska.
They left home in November.
They stopped in to buy some corn & hay for their 3 horses.
They did stop for a while in Illinois this winter & work.
The horses were in good shape (not skinny).
The people were clean, nice & happy.

Of course after they left there was quite a bit of "shop talk".
WHY would you do that?
Just BUY a truck.
CRAZY?

I was really impressed that Honey had quite a few questions in return for the guys.
Why NOT?
What if they just WANTED to?
It would be neat to REALLY see the country like that?
What IF they couldn't afford a Truck?
The wagon WAS really nice. It had a completely enclosed (clear plastic) front that they had some Amish make for them.
Don't you think it would be really nice to just live that simply? No bills & debts?

Hmmm, wow, we have come a LONG way in the past 2 years in our way of thinking! Today, we ran the truck to get some new tires before Honey had to go to work. We traveled only 10 miles west, and we saw them setting out for the day (8 or 9 miles west of where they were at noon yesterday). Indeed 2 big paint horses pulling a covered wagon & leading a third paint horse.

I know that we get LOTS of questions about why we have chosen our way of life & finishing cattle. I am constantly defending my choice to harvest our calves younger & at 1000# instead of the 1300# (FAT) cattle.
It is wonderful that Grass-Fed & Pastured Beef is becoming more widely known! (Even our Banker yesterday knew about grass-fed beef!)

If I had to make choices again about downsizing & completely changing our operation 2 years ago ...... Would I do it the same? YES!!! I might change some details, but the BIG picture would stay the same. We'd still be in debt, but, we'd still be cattle ranchers.
We'd still have to have off farm jobs.
We'd still be moving towards more grass & less corn.
We'd still be working towards raising ALL of our own feeds (but we'd still buy our outside feeds from our neighbors)
We'd still have our wonderful Maine-Anjou cows!

And yes, Freedom would still get loose on a regular basis, no matter how many new knots we tie on her *locked* gate. (She was in the front yard again this morning)

I'm off to work on our website & get some prices up, so drop me a note ebersolecattleco(at)yahoo(dot)com if you're interested in learning more about our fall GRASS-FED beef & setting up a payment plan to reserve your beef!

I hope you have a great day! The sun is shining & we're off to go play in the barn.
GreenRanchMom

Fall Calves

2010-04-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Fall calves are being weaned. Its nice when you wean fall calves this time of year, they've mostly weaned themselves. Not much bawling, or crying, because they've naturally weaned themselves. They've been on grass & hay all winter with their cows, so they are great foragers. We like to keep them on the cow through the winter to help them learn to forage & keep drinking from thier mamas. The extra protien from the milk keeps them gaining a little weight & be healthier calves.

I LOVE our fall-calves. They don't take much work when they're born & are quite easy to wean. Another reason that they get along great after weaning is because they will stay on grass. We try to keep all of our Fall Calves for 100% Grass-Fed Beef.

We don't have a big group of Fall-Calvers, but they're a nice little group. This year we have 12 extra Fall calves. So..... I'm having a special on our Grass-Fed Beef. If you reserve your Grass-Fed Beef now, you will recieve a 5% discount. These calves will finish in Late November.

I encourage you to keep checking back. Each calf that is reserved will be updated with their growth & progress on this blog. By reserving your beef now, you'll get to watch your calf grow & see the beautiful pastures where they reside.

I look forward to talking with you!!

Now for the ranch update. .....
WE LEFT THE RANCH FOR A NIGHT!!!
Wow, such a long time since we've all spent a night away from the ranch! We had to do some paperwork in the big city, so Honey had to leave the ranch.

Now, this may seem small to you, but it is a BIG day when I can get Honey off the ranch & out of the truck when we go into town! He'd rather be my driver & "watch the truck" when we go to town. After all of our paperwork was finished, we dropped off Squeak @ Grandpa & Grandma's. We were then VERY brave & took the girls to a movie. (Did I mention that we worked a full day on the ranch first?) So, we took them to see "How to Train A Dragon" in 2D at....9:30.

All of us really enjoyed the movie, J.ust a Cowgirl was a little worried & scared at parts (she's really tenderharted). So, we enjoyed a late night off the ranch & spent the night in the Big City. On Sunday, we even went shopping. Honey lucked out, & Squeak was sleeping, so he didn't have to go inside the (GASP) Mall.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!!

Sorry for the bad picture, it was taken @ dawn this morning.

New Ranch additions

2010-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

We added two new KIDS to the Ranch this weekend.

Yes, I know Pygmy's??? REALLY???

Yes, call it a moment of weakness when I brought home 2 Pygmy Goats in my Dog Box last summer!

And, YES, the Billy is still here. But, He does need a new home! AnY oNe???? Bueler???Bueler???

Honey keeps calling him Enchillada or Mexican Food. And, If some of these (we now have 6!) don't find new homes they will be sold for Mexican food. They are pygmy's but they have a little meat on their bones!

We're currently trying to convince Just a Cowgirl to get a couple of Boer or Nubian goats! At least they would be a little bit easier to market & she could show them. We have repeatedly told her that you can't show Pygmy's @ our county fair. (shhhhh, please don't add a new class for her, pleeease).

But, Honey has resigned himself to the fact that a couple of the little critters will be staying around.

IF they stay in their pen & don't rip more feed bags.

Really, Honey is quite a sofitie. The kidding story is rather cute!... read on...

We were standing by the road chatting with a neighbor guy, when the girls came running over that "SHE HAS A FOOT!!!". I had them run back & forth (to the pen) and check if there were 2 feet & a nose. Uh OH!!! no Nose! Honey grumbless "I'm not pulling a goat". They guys chuckle & I go over to check it out. 2 min later, Honey is at the goat pen & wrist deep in a goat, because I couldn't find the head. I could tell the kid was already dead, but we had to help the nanny & others that were in there (she was HUGE). After a lot of finageling, we finally had to just pull the kid with the head back. The kid made it out, but was already dead. We let the nanny work a little while, & then helped her with the next two kids because they ended up both being head first (no feet in front) & they both survived!

Its really beautiful to see a hardened cowboy pull a little pygmy kid, because he wouldn't consider letting it suffer (or his girls).

This is why I'm lucky to be married to such a great cattleman, rancher, and wonderful father!

Btw, Honey loves the camera more than I do. This face is the best it gets when a camera is involved. Even if he's really excited that ECC Ultimate 889U won his Division at the American Royal. Ultimate is still for sale, let me know if you're interested in a great bull!

Calving Heifers is CRAZY hard, WONDERFUL work!

2010-03-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we're about a month into calving our group of heifers. We are half way through, & I was starting to see the end of the tunnel.....Then the mud season started. That changes things up & makes them much more interesting. As I was slogging through the mud the other day, I started working on a blog post (in my head, I had to think of something positive!)

Calving heifers is hard work!! Just so we're clear, a heifer is a female bovine that has never had a calf.

Imagine how clueless you were as a first-time mom (or parent).
Then, imagine you can't talk....to anyone who has had a baby before.
And, you're in a "room" with 30-50 other first time moms.
Then, imagine you go into labor early. (remeber, you have no teaching about labor, only instincts)
Add in a BUNCH of mud, and other nosy (first-time) moms "helping".
Then, you have to figure out how to get the little guy out, & then standing & nursing.

Wow, thats a lot of work! And Confusion! And then, if some crazy lady, is trying to get you to go somewhere different, LOOK OUT, MASS CONFUSION!

Thats calving heifers in a nutshell....confusion!

The good thing is, I was finally able to convince the heifer that the muddy thing on the sled, WAS her calf. That she should follow it INTO the barn. The calf was new, but had been licked clean (good mama). Once in the barn, the heifer (862u) nursed her calf like a champ! As soon as the rain stops tonight, she will get to go back outside (into mass confusion again) into the pairs pasture.

In this new pasture, she will find 15 other new mamas with their babies. Everyone is black. She can't read ear-tags to tell which calf is hers. Somehow, she will keep track of her calf at every moment & know when he is in trouble.

Luckily for us, every animal has instincts. If we listen to ours, we have as many instincts as cattle do, we just have to listen to them!

If I let the heifers take their time to calve (not be a nervous mama) they will have their calves outside perfectly fine! I just get too nervous, and want to help. I just need to let thier instincts take over & nature take its course.

So far, the spring is looking up!

I hope today is a sunny day for you!!

This winter has been LONG & AWFUL

2010-03-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well, unless you've been on a sabbatical in another country, you know that this winter in Iowa (well, most of the country) has been Long, SNOWY, dreary, nasty, and whatever other negative words you can think of.

We have lost several cows this winter. I think more than we have lost in the last 3 years combined. We are not very far ahead in the calf percentages.

So sorry that I haven't been blogging much.

I love ranching & raising cattle so much that its hard to write negative things. : (

We are also working to re-finance the whole ranch. This takes tons of time & can also be very frustrating!

I'm sure you'll excuse my lack of enthusiasm for blogging.

A little photo of my little Squeak, "Cowboyin" This wild buckin horse has been happily buckin him off for about two months. When his buckin horse gets too rough (meaning he throws himself off too hard & hits his head on the floor or couch) he gets put away in his stall. I keep handing him a rope (wishing & hoping he'll be a roper) but no such luck. I think we're destined for a Rough Stock little boy. I sure can't wait until the weather is nicer & he can start riding 7-Up!

What have we been up to???

2010-03-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Blogger doesn't like me. Won't let me upload pictures. It let me upload this one picture.

But, I do love this picture!!! A.Cowgirl talking with her heifer (Freedom) before she took her to the ShowRing at the Iowa Beef Expo. These two have an amazing bond! A.Cowgirl loves all animals! Her dog Lola broke her foot Sunday afternoon. A.Cowgirl sat with her in the porch & read a book to her all afternoon. We splinted her leg & A.Cowgirl was so careful with her. When we took her to the vet yesterday, A.Cowgirl was right in there holding her dog & making sure she knew exactly what they were doing to her dog. She took her outside 4 times yesterday & made sure she protected the cast with a plastic bag each time. It is SO WONDERFUL to see her love her animals!!!

Hospice House (Barn)

2010-02-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

Well, this time of year is always hard on me. One of the hard parts about Ranching & Raising Cows the way we do.
What I mean by that is, we keep old cows. Old cows eventually die.
No two ways around it, everyone eventually dies. Cows do too.

That being said. What is "OLD" for a cow? Most ranches cull their cows anywhere from 5-9 years of age. They go to the sale barn, are bought by a packer & are made into hamburger. Sometimes, if they are pregnant, a small farmer will buy them, calve them, & at the end of the year they will sell the open cows (for hamburger) and the calves.

We are different. We are very different. We keep our BEST cows their entire lives. A cow that has produced great calves for us gets to live her entire life here on the ranch.

What makes her great? Well, she could have produced bulls or heifers that we have sold at a premium or kept here on the ranch. She was open (not pregnant) very few times while producing these good calves. The great cows always get a second (or third) chance, and are kept even if they are open one year.

Today it was 7853. She has been a great cow for us. Before we bought her, she was shown 2 years at the Denver Stock Show. She has raised several great calves for us. We have 3 or 4 of her females in our herd and we've sold several bulls she raised. Three years ago she stifled herself. What this means is that she hurt her hip ligaments & couldn't walk very good. We contemplated culling her. But, she had been a good cow & if we culled her, we wouldn't get very much at all. So, she stayed.

She lived her life @ the home ranch & was babied a little. She had great grass in the summer. In the winter she lived in the "baby" or heifer pen. This pen eats the best hay all winter & doesn't have to travel to get water. They have access to the barn & extra shelter when they are outside.

But, everyone gets old & most of us go downhill, & then we die. 7853 did. She was born in 1995. Wow, in "Cow Years" she was REALLY old. 15 is an amazing age for a cow.

Honey & I were pretty upset early this morning when we found her down. We consoled ourselves with the fact that we had given her 3 more years than most any other ranch would have. She raised 2 more outstanding heifers for us. She was fat & happy & ate great grass for 3 extra years. Well, really about 8 extra years if you figure we should have culled her when she was 6 or 7. It took a little extra work to care for her, but it WAS worth it.

This morning, I took her water & some extra good hay. She drank very little & munched on the hay a bit. But, we both knew that once an old cow goes down like this, she usually doesn't get up. I was with her for an hour & let her be for a bit. When I went back out, she was gone.

This time of year is really hard for me! But, I console myself with the fact that I love my animals, literally till thier end.

Just remember there are tons of other ranchers out there just like me, caring for their cattle every day, no matter what God & the Weather brings them.

I've been thinking about Gilmer Dairy's e-Dopt a cow program. Would anyone be interested in e-Dopting a beef cow. We currently have 5 old cows that will live her for the rest of thier lives, wether they raise a calf or not.

Steaks - The WinterTime cheating way

2010-01-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, so first I'm humbled!! Diana is a great friend and Foodie. I had facebooked the other day about having steaks in the oven. The next night this wonderful foodie asked ME how I made them. WOW! I was humbled! I guess my busy mama way of cooking is different to those who love to cook.

Then another friend wondered how I was making steaks this time of year. Because the wind is blowing @ 20 Below Zero and its too cold to even go check on the gril this week. Hmm, really, they want to know how I'm meaking steak?? You see, I love to LOOK at recipes, but I rarely follow them. I very rarely have time to cook, let alone something fancy. But, BEEF, real BEEF is a requirement around here at least 5 nights a week. So, I guess (suprised me!) that I have found some innovative ways to cheat on time, and still make our beef taste great.

So here goes...

Steaks, The Busy (Forgetful) Mama Way

10 min before supper, you wonder what you're going to eat. Grab some steaks out of the Freezer.
Perhaps 2 RibEye's or 2 Flank Steaks

1   Place steak packages in the sink under warm running water. Select Pan & start thinking of vegetable sides (in default choose potatoes & corn)

2    Unwrap steaks & split 2 frozen steaks apart.

3   Heat up cast iron skillet with a little olive oil. When pan is HOT place 2 steaks in the pan.

4   Preheat Oven to 350 with a cookie sheet or glass caserole dish already in the oven (to warm the dish)

5   Flip steaks & season with your favorite seasonings. I used Lemon Pepper. Yes, really flip them after about 2 min.

6   Get out the veggies. I selected some frozen sweet corn & a couple of potatoes & started chopping.

7   Take the first 2 steaks out of the pan & place them in the Oven Dish. Put a little more Olive Oil in the pan & start cooking the next 2 steaks. (we usually eat about 3-4 steaks for our family of 5, & I can't fit them all on at once)

8   After 2 min on each side (or just a good sear, if you like yours a little rare) Put them both in the oven with the other steaks.

9   Fry or warm your veggies. I usually cheat & use the same pan (some would call this...____...? Where you use all of the drippings? See, I'm not a Foodie) to cook the veggies.

10   As soon as your veggies are ready, the kids are called, and the table is set (in our house about 15-30 min) Your Steaks should be ready. I usually pull out the bottom steak to check done-ness & start cutting for the kids.

Total Cook & Prep Time     UNDER 45 Min! From Freezer To Table!

So, If you don't know What's For Dinner....Its BEEF STEAKS in the Winter (the Busy Mama Way)

RANCHER.........NOT Farmer

2010-01-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

I always say that we are "Ranchers" not "Farmers".

Why, because I don't grow crops, I don't like machinery, and I don't like firing up the tractor (yes, I know, I said that one twice).

Really, I don't like Machinery. It breaks, It gets stuck, and then you're in a position that you NEEED to use said equipment to feed the cows & horses. YUCK!!!

For example, this year (last week) at one point we had a borrowed 4 wheel drive tractor, STUCK, our IH 1486 with a small little hydraulic line broken (discovered after I crashed it into our pipe fence, because I had no steering). Then I stuck the 1466 trying to pull out the 4x4 tractor (silly, YES! But he asked me to come help). Then, while honey was getting dug out (where the 4x4 tractor was) I stuck my Dually. And yes, the 4x4 is still out on the feed truck! It wasn't really fixed, I guess. And, our old Ford tractor still won't run right. UGH!!!

So, In the span of 3 hours we were down from
2 4x4 trucks,
1 jeep
3 tractors
1 borrowed 4x4 tractor
1 4-wheeler

to
1 2-wheel drive truck
1 Jeep (5 miles from the house where honey was stuck)

UGH!!!
I don't L.I.K.E. Machinery!!!

So, that's why I want to be a Rancher!!! I want to Year-Round Graze. I don't want to buy a feed-wagon. I'll just keep carrying buckets. I really, truly, don't like machinery. Don't get me wrong, I still want to keep the truck!! I like going places, But DARNIT, I want it to run, ALL the time!!

Thanks for listening to my machinery rant. But, as you guessed it, Honey stuck the jeep this AM. So, by 8 am we had already been stuck today. yeah, winter......

Kelsey

2010-01-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

I WISH I were the PW today

2010-01-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

On days like today I really wish I were PW. Only so I could have someone do chores so that I could take beautiful pictures of everything.

It is warmer today with weather near 30degrees (ABOVE zero). The cows were all frosted this morning. not a cold frost, just a pretty white tip on all of their long hairs. The mares were absolutely BEAUTIFUL this morning. The mares' forelocks (bangs) were all frosty. Their eyelashes were painted white as they were talking to me this morning. As I cut the net wrap off the round bales on the truck, I WISHED I WERE PW. I thought of how TRULY blessed I am to live such a life!

Our life is so beautiful, that pictures would still not do it any justice.

Then, I'm back to real life.
The cows walk out the gate
the sale bull is out with the old bulls (hurry get him in before he gets in a fight!)
Mares & geldings are bickering over who gets to eat where
$%&* there's a dead BEEF!
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Now I really wish I were PW. I wish I could talk about only the positive glamorous life of ranchers. Not about the real $^&T. Literally, a life covered in poo! Death, unfortunately IS part of life on a ranch. Sickness is a part of ranch life. Frustration and cash flow is also a part of life on the ranch.

But, PW doesn't post anything near to real life. Just the fantabulous parts of life on the ranch. Oh well, I will go ahead and keep reading PW. She posts really great pictures and all the beautiful parts of life on the ranch.

BTW, you know I don't even re-read my blogs before I post them. I. Just. Write.
Thank you for listening!!! I hope to get to take my (point & click) camera out to chore more now that it isn't 20 below zero!

Trailer Driving 101 - Part 1 Driving Forward

2009-12-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

This is my 40 foot trailer with the little piggies I haul on Thursdays. I haul about 500-650 pigs each week in this trailer at one time. They weigh about 10 - 15 pounds each. Its a pretty light load, but a long load for my pickup. My entire rig only weighs about 27,000 pounds when I'm loaded.

I have a few friends who have livestock, but don't regularly drive the truck & trailer. One friend asked me for a tutorial or lesson on driving with the trailer. Even if you don't drive trucks or trailers, please scan the post & read the tailgaters section (thank you for your consideration).

So, here goes. My dad was a great driving instructor when I was learning how to drive! He has the MOST patience of ANYONE that I know. He is also inventive & would spend hours letting me learn how to drive.

I did start driving a truck & trailer as soon as I had my permit (14). Mostly, at that time I only drove in the tight spots at horse shows & backed the trailer into the place we wanted to be parked at the show (had to have a good view of the arena, with all of our friends around us). This was because Mom has no depth perception & would always run into things, or get stuck with our 2 wheel drive truck. But, she didn't enjoy letting me drive on the highway.

First, you need to know about how long the trailer you are pulling is. Is it a 40 foot gooseneck (like I haul on Thursdays) or a 12 foot bumper hitch?   Most typical livestock trailers are about 24 - 28 feet. It is also good to know how wide your trailer is. Typical widths are 6 to 8 feet wide. Good indicators are wether the wheel wells are inside or outside of the trailer. Most wheels are about 6' 5" apart.

Gooseneck versus Bumper Hitch - Basics

Goosenecks will follow in your truck tracks. You can turn MUCH tighter with a gooseneck. Just watch your cab especially if you have a short-box truck & turn too tight. If you are loaded, you need to watch your trailer tires when you make more than a 90degree turn. You will be sliding the tires in the back & front axles & could potentially pop one off of the bead if you are toooo loaded & turn tightly.

Bumper Hitch trailers are great for going forward, but a little different to back. A bumper hitch will turn tighter behind you & will have much different tracks than your truck tires. (*I will add more here later, because I haven't pulled a bumper hitch in about a month)

I would recommend getting to know how your trailer drives without a load and in wide open spaces. Its NOT always possible, so just try to keep these few things in mind.

1 - Always turn at least 1 second later than you usually would, per 10 feet of trailer.   Meaning that if you have just a 12 foot trailer; just count "one Missippi and" between the time you would normally turn a corner and the time you NEED to with a trailer. This will give you the extra travel room to prevent your trailer tires to jump the curb or hit an obstacle.

      For instance, with my 40 foot trailer, when I want to turn left, I drive 4 (& a half, cause I like extra room) seconds farther forward BEFORE I turn SHARPLY to the left. If you are driving a Gooseneck, you can turn sharper than with a bumper hitch.

2 - If you are going to turn right, you need to first hug the left side of your lane before you turn the corner to the right.

     If it is an especially tight right hand turn, (and you have a long trailer) you might need some of the next lane to the left of you. Plan AHEAD and share respectfully.

3 - If you have mirrors that adjust OUT and away from the truck, pull them out as far as they will go & then adjust BOTH of your mirrors so that you can see your trailer tires and the area next to your trailer.

4 - You now weigh a LOT more than you did before you hooked up your trailer. So you will need to plan farther ahead to stop your rig. If you are heavily loaded, you will need even farther ahead to stop. This also needs to be considered when you choose your speed. SLOWER is better. But, you do need to consider the flow of traffic & people passing you, might disturb your load (animals).

5 - TAILGATERS!!! (THESE PEOPLE DRIVE ME NUTZ!!!) If you can not see BOTH mirrors of the rig in front of you, they have NO CLUE you are back there!! It is rude to drive so close that you can't see their mirrors! And it is DANGEROUS! Please consider this the next time you are following a semi-truck. Think about how far back you need to stay. If you do decide to drive closer, you are taking your own life in your hands. I usually hope a cow pees on the people following me!! I have seen it happen, & I thought it was a great lesson to the angry man in the little blue car! I only wished he was driving a convertible!

6 - Know your hitch, & double check everything for saftey!!! Hitch your truck & trailer, then check it again! Always check your entire rig each and EVERY time you get out of your rig. Make it a practice to walk around starting at the front and check the following things. (Put your light & flashers on & it will make it easier)
Front bumper (going towards passenger side)
Anything hanging under the front?
Truck Lights good?
Front Drive Tires good? Inflated, tread good?
Passenger side - Anything hanging?
Trailer Marker lights good on front of trailer?
Back Drive Tires - Both inflated good? (kick inside dual too!) Anything hanging?
Hitch - All saftey chains hooked? Hitched properly?
Trailer Marker lights on Side of trailer good?
Underside of trailer (LOOK, REALLY look!) Floor looking good from underside? Anything hanging, boards sagging?
Trailer tires - Good tread, Good inflation? Anything hanging underneat axle?
Trailer gates - Latched properly? Saftey Latch too?
Blinkers all flashing?? Bright enough & CLEAN enough to be seen??
Marker Lights all good??
    Follow same checks for driver's side as you come up to the front. CHECKING IT ALL AGAIN!!! You can see different things from each side!

There's the basics for now. I think that I have covered everything. A little knowledge up front & a quick run around the rig always saves some time in the long run!! Beter to notice a sagging floor board now, before an animal falls through! That quick run around the truck will also let you make a list of things (like marker lights) that you need to fix after you haul this load.

Just slow down a little, plan ahead for turns and stops. And you should be good to go!

By the way, I still count in my head the extra seconds when I'm hauling the big trailer. But, I also make really wide turns when the trailer isn't hooked up (drives my husband nutz!)

Happy hauling!!

I'm a GIRL, but I'm not dumb!

2009-12-29T07:05:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I get to take our truck to the shop. Nothing, major, just a bunch of little things. It is nearing 100K miles and the engine warranty will run out. I wanted the dealer to check it out during the normal oil change, with a parking brake issue, and there was a recall on a steering part in the front end.

As always, I have 3 kids in tow. I drove 2 hours to get to this dealer, and had my wonderful mom meet me to pick us up. I get there and the "Service Advisor" hurries to check me in. As I am trying to explain the front end issues and the recall, he lets me know "that he's seen this in over heavy duty trucks, like 2500's." "You'll need some serious front end work done, not just the U-Joints in your front hubs. You'll need a new pitman arm and some steering parts to make it stable."

Hmmmm, so you glance under my truck, say I don't need the recall part, even though the dealer sent me a card with my VIN number on it that says it does. And then you can tell me that I'll need $2500- $3000 worth of work on my front end? INTERESTING, since I had my front end looked at twice in the last month by 2 different shops. Once when I had the clutch bearings replaced before Thanksgiving. I asked him if the front end looked good & he saw anything else that needed done. He told me that my U-Joints were the noise that Honey had heard & they would need replaced in the next month or so. Good deal. When I had new front tires installed, I asked the service man at Goobs to check out the ball joints & steering, because I still noticed shaking when I hit a bump. Goob's man said it all looked good! He did also mention the U-Joints were going to need replaced, but that was the only thing he could see.

Interesting. The dealer guy, Dennis, called me 2 hours, and asked "WHERE ARE YOU??". (take a deep breath) I'm at my parents, like I told you, I was going to have someone come pick me up. "Oh, thats right, you did tell me that." "I was going to have you look at the underside of this truck. It has some SERIOUS problems!" (DEEEP breath) "You are going to need to replace the upper and lower ball joints and the pitman arm like I told you. And the technician says that if you don't replace them soon you're going to need a NEW AXLE" IN.ter.EST.ing. I take a deep breath. The repair total had escalated to over $3000.

I told him I didn't know what to say. I told him that it was interesting that two different people had looked at the underside of my truck and did not see that any of these things were wrong. "Well, they weren't trained Dodge Mechanics, and they weren't inspecting the steering system" (REALLY Deep breath) "You know, this is amazing, you diagnosed all of these problems with a glance under the truck, that no one else had seen in the past month," I said. He again disagreed with me that anyone qualified had looked at the front end. (WOW, you don't have to be a "DODGE" man to tell if the ball joints are bad). I told him that I was very frustrated and didn't know where he and I had gotten off on the wrong foot.

I'll quit going into details now, but about 2 seconds later, he called me RUDE and ABUSIVE. Hmm, because I was questioning him, and his practice of diagnosing a problem (which there was a recall for a related part) in the driveway. WOW! He told me I had no Idea how a large truck worked. INTERESTING. Then how is it that I (not my husband) have put over 500,000 miles on 3 trucks (a 7.3L Ford F350, a 6.0L Ford, and now this 3500Ram). I have never had to do an entire front end of this depth. And certainly not at 100,000 miles. I think the 7.3L had the ball joints redone at about 250K miles.

I have NEVER been insulted this much by ANYONE!!! I was really upset and hurt by his words when I just questioned his diagnosis.

Wow, I think he just saw a little girl (I'm 5foot nothin for those of you I don't know in person) with 3 small children getting out of "her husband's truck" and heard "shakes when I hit a bump" and thought "SUCKER". I don't believe anything a service advisor says. I do have my oil changed by a mechanic, so they look at all the other details of my rig (I specifically ask them to look everything over). But, I can and have changed the oil on all of my trucks myself, so that I am familiar with how everything in my engine looks. When Honey drives, he says something if he notices a sound (like the U-Joints). Wow, we all missed a totally ruined front end! LOL!

Anyhow, the oil was changed. He never bothered to check into my brake problem, and did not check the engine over (the 2 things that I DID want looked at). So if you are in Iowa. Do NOT go to Granger Motors, and have Dennis as your service advisor.

We will be buying a Ford again next time. I think they have resolved all of their Diesel issues. (We had a 6.0 Diesel last time, enuf said)

Sorry for the Total Rant! I just had to get it off my chest. I have talked with his manager, (he didn't sound that he was suprised) and will be writing a letter to the Dealer. But, I will NEVER bother to grace thier door again!!

A good service department is worth its weight in gold!!!

Pairs on Snow

2009-12-18T04:23:00.001-08:00

Whew!

2009-12-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been running at full speed around here! Our list from the last 3 days...

Farm Wife Friday, It was my turn. So this means that 2 girlfriends and their kids come to the house and clean, organize, clean, eat, paint, clean, and decorate!!! WOW!! Those girls can really work!! My living rooms are now partially decorated. Yes, I know that I've lived in this house for over a year... But, I have a fear of decorating, or hanging something wrong. So, I just don't do it. My last house was done by my Grandma, after she couldn't stand (a year of)bare walls.

I will even have pictures on my walls of MY family!! I have curtains (& they're hung!!)! And Abby brought a great desk that she CurbShopped. Crazy, 'cause its a great little antique desk. MamaP is fixing some pictures for me & putting them in a custom matted frame of our last name that I bought.

AMAZING!! (& Honey even liked the house, its more AMAZING!!!)

Then after the girls left, I got a phone call that I was late to take Freedom & Ultimate to be ultrasounded. So, we hooked & loaded & ran. It was only 7 miles away, but I detest being late. (nevermind, that Honey forgot to tell me about the appointment).

Saturday, we left the house at 8 after choring & set up a portable Corral at the pasture and drove all the cows to the corral. We sorted & hauled 3 loads of cows & 2 loads of calves home. Just Honey & I with all the munchkins in the truck. Then we did chores in the dark & had Squeak's 2nd birthday party.

Yup! Momma's sad! My little man is 2!!! No longer a baby!! As I type this he is running around the house chasing J.Cowgirl with a rope, while he is wearing nothing but a hat & diaper. TOOO CUTE! Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, NIECE, & nephew came down & celebrated with us too. It was wonderful, even if we were sooo tired our eyelids were drooping.

Today, we rolled out of the house at 7 (after choring) and hauled 3 more loads home, then went to work feeding everything & watering. We sorted & weaned the calves & rolled out hay for 3 groups of cows. The calves are eating ok, & went to the hay right away. Winter has hit, so we have to check all the waterers & put in tank heaters in some tanks, & chores generally take twice as long.

But, I LOVE THIS LIFE!! It was a wonderfull weekend working side-by-side with my Honey and kids! Even though, we're all dog tired, it was great!!

Water N Poo

2009-11-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

I love this little video. And after the RAINY wet day that I had, I was thankful that I wasn't covered in Pig Poo like I have been in weeks past. So, I thought I might direct you to Water N Poo. I can't figure out how to just put the You Tube Video in my screen....
So you'll have to click on the link.

TRUST ME, Its Cute!!

Hope your day isn't as wet as mine!!

wow, nothing to Say

2009-11-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

I've been gone.

Kansas City Royal - Went well

2 more calf sales - Market is really wierd!

Custom Cows sent home - Good RIDDANCE!

went to Dentist yesterday. very. bad. deal.

Finding Good Help

2009-09-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we live in the middle of nowhere. When I drive out to go check cows, this is my view for about 2 miles.

I enjoy living out in the country, but it is hard to find good help. But, having a family farm, means that I DO have some help.

My help is little right now, but they're learning! My Cowgirl is great. She can open gates, and with the help of a good dog, she can move cows pretty good!

Here are our cows grazing after being moved to some fresh grass. Now is once again a busy time of year. We are starting to wean, and get some club calves ready to sell, and the beef calves have been banded.

We are also going to harvest some GROUND BEEF this month. We have some 100% grass-fed animals that we harvest for GROUND BEEF or Steak-burger, as some call it. This is a premium product that is MUCH leaner than you can find in any store. You will have to add some water to get this meat to cook, its THAT lean.

If you would like to have some of this STEAK-BURGER, e-mail me or leave a comment, and I'll give you a blogger (*smiles*) discount and if you're close, I'll deliver it free too!

Pasture Pictures

2009-09-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, we invited Diana to come take pictures while we moved cows. (She's designing a super fantastic website for us)

I didn't really tell her what to expect, other than, we were going to move cows.

When she was close, I asked her if she or her husband could drive a stick shift, & what type of vehicle they drove. Well, yes, her husband can drive a stick, & they brought the van. I told her we'd meet her in town & they could take the Jeep from there. Oh, but they could drive there she assured me. I apologised & explained that we would be driving through a mile of pasture before we even got to the place where we would ride to the cows.

So, her husband was excited that he would get to drive the Jeep (CJ-5 & he had one in High School). The followed us the 7 miles to the pasture & we explained (the basics) of what we were going to do & where they should drive & follow.

So Honey & I rode out about 100 acres with them following in the Jeep. We got them parked a little back from the eventual gate & we went to gather the cows. Honey went South & I went North. We grouped the cows from about a 130 acre piece. Great, we had a new calf. But Momma Cow wanted nothing to do with us putting the calf in the saddle with Honey. So she was a little slow moving with a still-wet calf. That's ok, we like to walk them if they're moving in the right direction.

Then the cows saw the Jeep! The headed straight for it. I didn't know if Diana & her husband would get nervous or upset. & Heaven forbid they honk the horn. We wouldn't get any pictures then, because they would have to go in front & lead the cows (honking) the rest of the way. But, I was able to get the cows off the Jeep and headed back towards the gate.

As usual with a group of cows once an old cow found the gate, she knew where she was going. Thank goodness, because we had added about 20 new cows, who didn't know the way.

We were able to keep the little calf going with his cow & eventually herded them to the gate. Honey hopped off his horse & tried to grab the little guy again & throw him in the saddle, but Momma-Cow wanted to eat his lunch rather than let him grab her calf. Koda jumped right in front of her without any nudging (Thank GOD for a great Cow-Horse!). So, the little guy got to wade across the creek on his own.

Below, you see the picture that I have always wanted. Us moving the cows up the hillside. The first time we moved cows up this hill, I thought it was BEAUTIFUL. And Diana captured it beautifully!

So, I hope you enjoyed our little cattle drive. I sure did! And once again THANK YOU DIANA for the beautiful pics. They will look great on our website (& on our wall)

Blogger and my cell phone ate my pictures

2009-09-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

I had some great picture posts.
One that honey snapped of me with Squeak on my back while we were fixing the manure spreader....Adventures in BabyWearing on the Ranch

A pic of A.Cowgirl riding 'Koda our Stud after we pulled him out of the mares & moved cows

A pic of Squeak leading 7-up around. The TRUE reason I saved him (other than I couldn't imagind putting him down)

So, as soon as I find them, I will post them....or re-create them.

Pasture Picture

2009-09-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

To me, this picture is great. (taken at the end of July) You see that this is a first calf heifer that we raised, and she will probably wean about 60-70% of her own body weight!!! Wow, and she is still in good condition. She won't need too much extra feed this winter to get her ready for her next calf.

I'm very proud of her. And, she is one that I picked to keep. The horse girl in me likes a little chrome (white) on my cows. And, somehow we didn't notice that she was horned and not scurred, so she has a pretty little set of horns to look at too.

I know, I'm wierd. My cattle choices aren't typical, neither are my management choices. If you could read the tags of these two.... You would read....."Baby Joy"

Well.... that's her name. I can't remember her number. Just her name. Even the kids know her name. Honey saw how I tagged the calf & laughed. He knows I can't remember numbers, and why should I when she has a name. Yes, the calf will get another tag at weaning with his "proper number"

WOW!!!

2009-09-01T16:27:00.001-07:00

Once again, life has gotten in the way of blogging. LOL.

A few tidbits, WE HAVE PUPPIES
8 puppies, 6 females, 2 males and only 2 are blue merle's

We made Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
I will have pictures and blog posts soon, I PROMISE

Wonderful Week

2009-08-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back from State Fair! We had tons of fun and the calves showed pretty well too!

A.Cowgirl & Freedom (her heifer) did pretty well. She was outshown and should have done better. But, its really hard to walk your heifer fast with her head held above your head. And the girl that out showed her is one of the best in the country. I think that she has won the Maine-Anjou Jr National Showmanship Award for several years in a row. So, for A.Cowgirl's first big show, we were VERY proud of her. That's why we let A.Cowgirl show HER heifer.

Freedom was named Reserve Grand Champion Winter Heifer, so we're happy with how the heifer looked.

The bull we took was a little sore on his front right show day. But Honey showed him thru it & held his head so it wasn't too bad. He would take a light step every 5th or 10th step. The bull looked great and was named Grand Champion Winter Bull.

All in all, it was a good week, we had some friends stop by on Friday & enjoyed petting & playing with Freedom & Ultimate (the bull).

Off to Fair!

2009-08-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we're off to fair. The hired man is all set up, the cows are all checked.

But.... I stillhave a huge list of to do things!

See you in a week, I should have tons of pictures!!

I'll be tweeting!!

Whew!!! Nothing died & THEY're HOME

2009-08-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

Whew, well, you might have guessed, but my family has been gone ALL week. Yup All of them. Honey had planned on taking A.Cowgirl & J. to his hometown County Fair in Illinois to show Freedom & the Steer. I needed to stay home to do chores & take care of the calves that we're going to show @ State Fair & trying to sell for show calves. Late in the day on Sunday, Honey's brother called & said that they wanted to have Squeak come too. They would watch him during the day & Grandma would have him at nite. Because 3 kids & fitting 2 calves would be WAYYYY to much for Daddy to handle by himself. o.k.? Can I do this??

Can I really stay home.....by.....myself????

Well......I did it!! I got lots done outside & wasn't in the house more than 10 min at a time while the sun was up.

And....NOTHING DIED. You see, most every time that Honey is gone, something died. 8 years ago, he was showing in Denver & I lost 5 (yup 5 out of 8) calves & his dog was hit on the road.
So, nothing dying was a HUGE accomplishment.

And, If you read my tweets you know that A.Cowgirl did really well & the steer won Reserve Grand over all on Wednesday. This was a huge show. There were 297 calves shown each day.

So, I met them in DesMoines @ my parent's house to trade trucks (honey took theirs, cause I had to haul pigs). That little steer I tweeted (he bloated really bad) about was doing ok, just a little bit of bloat (don't worry, I took some pictures, so I'll blog about bloating later).

So, we get home about dark, and all of us are doing chores (WOW!! its great to have my ranchhands er...kids... back). And we hear a goat crying. At one point it screams, & I ask "who's killing my goat??" Meaning that the dogs were chasing it or had one of the cows stepped on a goat? Nobody sees the goats. We had seen LadyBell & Checkers on the other side of the road with 7-up when we got home.

We get the air let off of the bloated calf (again) and I went to the south end of the barn to carry buckets the J had so graciously filed, and still hear a goat crying. I looked under the wagons (remember its getting dark). HMMM, I carry 2 buckets to the cows (the OLD babies in the barn). Lacey (my pet cow who is blind) starts walking out and trips on the poured water pad, & steps in the hole. A goat SCREEEEEAAAAMMMMS. YIKES!!! I holler for honey & go running to the hole. I stick my hand in the hole (really dark & can't see) & I feel ......HORNS. I grab his little horn & PULLLLLLL. Billy Goat is stuck in the hole. HONEYYYY! He's so fat I have to re-grab and use my legs to pull him out. Billy is usually VERY anti-social & after I pulled him out, I checked legs & stomach & he seemed fine. But he just stood there looking around & trying to figure out if he was ok. He let me pet him again & seemed ok.

WOW!! He got lucky! How did he fall in feet first?? Did a cow kick him? They usually drink out of the calf tank, WHY did he have to go in the cow pen? Wow, he was lucky that he didn't go head first or he'd be drowned. I guess we're lucky he has horns, so he didn't get hurt too bad when Lacey stepped on him. She just squished him farther down in the hole. Its a 6 ft tube that sits below an automatic waterer.

So, they made it home & we're all laying in bed snuggling & talking 90 miles a minute.

AND...........Nobody died while Honey was gone. THANK GOD!!!

Not much of anything .....oh yeah the dog story....

2009-08-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well, my house is quiet. TOO quiet. So, I'm going to blog.

The tanning process is stalled in the Salting Stage. So, its really icky looking and won't work great for pictures yet.

So, I'll tell you how I almost killed Honey's dog yesterday. You know, his sidekick, the dog who worships him & about died when he quit working for Summit Farms, & got an inside (can't take your protective dog to work everyday) job.

I didn't really mean to kill him. I PROMISE!!!! That's why they call them ACCIDENTS.

So, a little prologue.....

Rough morning, Insurance adjustor came & we didn't quite settle our claim.

Honey has been gone overnight so Chilli (HIS dog) is REALLY clingy. AND Rosie is also REALLY clingy! She is pregnant & ready to pop. She won't leave my side. Both times she has had pups, the first one was born on or under my feet.

I went outside to chore & left Rosie on the porch. Praying she wouldn't climb under the dresser or behind the deep freeze to have her pups.

While I was choring, Chilli rolled in something REALLY nasty smelling (something dead for at least a week). So I hopped in the Farm truck to go haul hay home from the field & told Chilli to "stay there & watch the house". Meaning that he was free to go roll in the dead stuff again cause I didn't want a stinky dog in the cab of the truck.

I got to the pasture and backed up to a couple of bales of hay & loaded them on the bed with our HydraBed ( http://www.triple-c-inc.com/Hydra%20Bed.html ). I start to pull away and hear an AWFUL sound. Hmm, sounds like the Hydraulics are whining. I turn around in the seat to check how the bale is sitting exactly & OH MY GOD!!!!!!! I see Chilli's little face SQUISHED between the bale & the Headache Rack! Oh my God, Oh My God, Oh My God!

It felt like it took FOREVER to get those bales unloaded & off of him!!!!!! The whole time his face is squished & his body is squished & I know he is suffocating, & being crushed. Oh my God, Oh My God, Oh My God! Oh my God, Oh My God, Oh My God!

He had jumped on the flatbed & I didn't see him. He likes to lay down right behind the cab. AND HE DIDN'T JUMP OFF (in his defence he is trained to never get off the truck unless he is told to). OH MY GOD I JUST KILLED HONEY's DOG!!!!

The bales were finally off of him, I jumped out of the cab & petted him. He had jumped up and was panting really fast, but appeared fine. Felt legs & abdomen, no apparent injuries. I asked him to get off the truck. He jumped off fine, walked around ok, jumped in the cab ok. Still panting REALLY fast, with a VERY elevated heart rate.

VET, must get to the vet, to listen to his lungs and see if he has popped one, or hurt his diaphram.

I flew into town, & Dr Miller was @ lunch. So, we waited. Yes, with the dead stinky panting dog in the front seat. OH MY GOD, I almost killed Honey's Dog. Please let his lungs be good!!!

I waited @ Casey's & got a fountain DrPepper (I NEEEDED one!) , a couple of pieces of pizza, and a box of Nutty Bars. (TOTAL nervous eating) & some water for Chilli.

Hopped back in the truck and again checked his abdomen for any issues, I couldn't feel anything abnormal.

I offered him a pizza crust & he did not hesitate. {Animals won't usually eat if there are internal issues} He ate 2 pieces of pizza and a nutty bar while we were waiting.

Dr Miller listened to his lungs for quite a while & both sides sounded good. No issues with his diaphram & his intestines had good functioning sounds, & nothing felt abnormal.

WHEW, I didn't kill the dog. Well, at least today.

Chilli is still doing good today & acting normal. No puppies yet either.

Just another day on the Ranch.....

Gol darn gone & done it......again

2009-08-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I was just really into the groove of blogging this spring. Then summer hit, and I quit. Well, I didn't really quit blogging, I just ran out of time in the day to blog on a regular basis.
So......In a nutshell in the last month we have
Hauled Pigs
Fed Calves, tied up calves, washed calves, and worked with the show calves on a daily basis.
Rode horses and ponies
Played with the goats
Harvested 2 more chickens
Harvested 2 beef
Made LOTS of hay 55 hauled home, 78 in one field & still more in another field
NOT registered for school today

Things that are on my list to do.....

There are tons, but the one that I really want to blog about is tanning hides.
I saved the hide from the last beef that was harvested. It's been salted, and now needs to be processed or tanned. We didn't save the brain, so I think that I'm going to use Alum to tan the hide.

Well, I'm off to bed, so I can be out and about at 5am.
Night Y'all

A. Cowgirl's FIRST Cattle Show

2009-07-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we took A.Cowgirl & Sibs to a cattle show. This was a little small town deal, & perfect for A.Cowgirl & Freedom's (her heifer) first outing. She had tons of fun. She asks her daddy every night "do we get to get up @ 5 and go wash Freedom?". So, she did some of everything at the show. Like here she is blowing the hair. She did this for about an hour.

She loves this heifer & the heifer is good to her too. It is a bonus that this heifer is actually REALLY good looking.

A little bit too spread out, but you get the general picture. By the way, we raise Maine Anjou cattle. Freedom is a purebred and is the ORIGINAL coloring of the breed. This breed has been crossbred so much that many of the calves are black (& that's ok). But so many people forget this, and asked (about a million times) if she was a Shorthorn. No, she's not a Shorthorn, just a great Red & White Maine.

I like the red ones, and they are even better if they have a little chrome (white). Guess that's just the horsey girl in me wanting some chrome.

This picture is so cute. The arena was really deep for A.Cowgirl (above her ankles) and Freedom got away from her at the end. The judge picked out the lineup (placing) and A.Cowgirl had NO CLUE that she had won the class. Here is her face right before I told her that she did great AND she WON. You can see Daddy was right there in the ring with her to rescue her when she had some problems & support her mentally.

When they went back in for the Champion Drive. A.Cowgirl was happier and even stopped her from getting away again. She also won again. She was "crowned" Grand Champion New Calf Crop.

SOOOO PROUD OF HER!!!

Did I mention this calf is out of my 'pet' cow Lacey? Well, she is, so I have a pretty soft spot for Freedom too.

PFI Conference

2009-06-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

HMMMM. That's what I'm still thinking about the PFI conference on Making Sense of Meat Marketing.

The conference as a whole was pretty good. But, it was more of a "big picture" day. And I need the DETAILS! The Devil IS in the Details; & he's giving me fits!!!

There were a couple of big points that were helpful to reinforce in my mind.

1- You are not selling "meat". If they want just meat, they can go to Wal-Mart.
I need to remember that we are selling 60% "Story" and 40% Meat. We are in the people business, not the Meat buisness when I am marketing. This means that I have to take off my production hat sometimes & put on my salesman's hat.

2 - SELL HALVES & QUARTERS!!! It was reiterated over and over (in a great way) that this will be your most profitable, and easiest sale.

Sooooooo, the question now is how to pursue the DETAILS.

And, I haven't mentioned that we have recieved the EQUIP grant for a indoor finishing facility.
We have decided to go ahead and build this barn. We WILL make some major modifications to the conventional methods of using this barn. But I do believe that this barn will allow us to make our animals much more comfortable in a GREAT variety of conditions.

I'm still working on several things that I will share in the days to come. Most importantly is to write a great but yet concise "story" of our Ranch and vision for our cattle. In addition, we will work on our goals for the new Ranch & our game plan.

I'll probably share most of these and ask for tons of imput.

As always, thanks for reading and supporting me.

OH, almost totally forgot, a couple of beef have their final appointment this week, so I'll be calling everyone to finalize any cutting instructions.

Stay cool in this heat!!!

New 'Do

2009-06-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, y'all have seen the pictures of my baby boy's beautiful hair. I think I mentioned that it is gone!

Here is a great picture of Squeak & Chilli riding the 4-wheeler. (no they didn't go anywhere, but Chilli REALLY wanted to go move some cows, so he hopped on)

Here's the "before" pic. Daddy & Squeak all hairy. See the deal was that Daddy, HAD to get a real haircut, not just a buzz with the clippers & then I would cut Squeak's hair.

Squeak was NOT into the haircut. We had to pull out the binki to hold him a little bit still. Look at the hairdresser's face. He was giving her FITS!

Here's the finished product. I even got a little smile from DADDY!

I will say that he went from the look of an angel to a troublemaker in a couple of snips. But he's back to my little angel again. Man, boys need their haircut ALL the time!

I did it again

2009-06-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have been a blogging perfectionist. SORRY!!

I had gotten so used to actually using pictures & posting 3x a week, that if I couldn't do it "perfectly" I didn't blog.

WELL, I'm done. Being a perfectionist that is.

I WILL figure out how to mobile blog.

I will blog without pictures.

AND, you'll probably get to see all of our springtime bussiness sometime during the winter.

So.....Right now everyone is STILL asleep (honey is @ his town job, bless his heart).

Yesterday, we went with 2 extra guys & moved cows from the hill top, to the center pasture. This means "over the hill and through the creek to center pasture we went" (sing it with the song people, think "grandmothers house we go")

I know, its funnier in MY head!

With the guys that we had helping and Honey we went through 2 CASES of beer. I know this might not seem like a ton for some, but our case had been in our fridge for 2 months! (we keep some for when other guys come to work cows) OH WELL, they had fun & didn't mind a girl driving the truck. (btw, I don't drink beer. I'm a whiskey girl)

Well, I'll try to post short snippets more often.

But, I do LOVE to TWEET. Click the above right hand corner and FOLLOW ME! We can tweet together.

One day this week, my tweet was the same as Pioneer Woman's. We both had Cow Poo in the wrong place!! (Mine was on the Playset, hers on the porch)

TTYL

Sick boy gets his favorite - PANCAKES - And a Recipe for you

2009-05-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well, my little boy (NEWLY HAIRCUTTED boy) is felling ICKY. So, am making his favorite, pancakes!

I have been inspired by the gals over at Iowa Corn Dog Blog, so here's our recipe!

2 cups Flour (I use Pauls Grains Whole Wheat)
2tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil (I use whatever variety I can find locally)
6 Tbsp Sugar (haven't found any Iowa Sugar, so sometimes I use honey instead)
2 C Milk (Picket Fence)
2 Eggs (from the back yard, YUM)
1/2 tsp salt (I usually forget to add it, and they still taste great)

I keep all the dry ingredients in a jar, so when I'm ready to make my Pancakes, I just throw 2+ cups in a bowl, and add the wet ingredients.

This tastes great with the whole wheat flour, and even better when I use Local Honey.

To top our Pancakes we use REAL Maple Syrup (anyone know of Iowa Maple Syrup?) or Honey.

ENJOY!!

I'll post the pics of Squeak and the Girls' haircuts later.

YUM!!

Where have I been???

2009-05-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Everywhere, but online.....

More like where haven't I been???

The chickens got a new pen. And then they got out, ALOT. And then the dogs got 9 of them. BAAAADDDDD DOGGIES!!! Now you (doggies, the "pups") get to wear your pretty little shock collars ALL. the. time. And Momma will let you know that the chickens, they have started "biting" back. [meaning that I buzz them with a 4 or 5 when they start stalking my chicks]. It has now been 5 days with no more chicks dissappearing. They only touch the chicks, not the old hens or rooster.

This pretty little bruise (and 6 of its cousins) came from me setting up the harrow, and harrowing the pastures. Yes, I started taking my Floradix (iron supplement) and we have eaten all the liver left in the deep freeze. (ick, but at least I haven't ever had to have a blood transfusion) They have wanted to a couple of times, cause my iron was sooooooo low.

This prettly little bull, had his horns tipped. He was in the beef pen, but he grew up really nice, and he still has his nuts, so he might get to "visit" a couple of cows at the house this summer.

This heifer, however, got to get her horns surgically removed. We prefer to de-horn at birth or weaning, but sometimes we miss them. This heifer appeared to be scurred (little buds that won't grow very big) at weaning.

If we don't de-horn the heifers, they become cows with GREAT BIG HORNS, that get in the way. AND, they learn how to "use" their horns and can be very mean to the other cows and can even cut them or puncture them with their horns.

I only had a couple of minutes this morning, then, I'm back outside working. I'll post more snipets, and hopefully get some good pics soon too!

The BOY

2009-04-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, you know the first two of my children are girls. And this last Squeaky one has thrown me for a loop many times. This week he has decided NOT to sleep. EVER! And he's not into Sign Language or talking anymore (he did some of both), just SCREAMING.
He stopped screaming to eat the last Thin Mint. He found it by crawling on TOP of the table, and fishing through 2 boxes of cookies. (Darn mamas, for using the bathroom anyways)

Then, I let him clean out the "throw everything in here out of the truck bag"

Bullets & fencing pliers! Daddy's boy!

Then he promptly LOADED his diaper. Which I could hear from the laundry room. DEFINATELY Daddy's boy!!

She's Gone

2009-04-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

My old White Truck is gone. The salvage people came and picked her up yesterday. Here are some detailed pictures.

We bought this truck when I was pregnant with J. So.... I've had 'er for about 6 years.

You can see the dash is COMPLETELY gone! Wow!

The interior is gone!

The aluminum rims melted down, puddles of aluminum anyone?

This shows how much plastic is in our motors! TONS!! Because its all GONE!

She barely fit on the truck! Whew, no room to spare!

Addicts! We're All Addicts

2009-04-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Yup! I admit it, I have a problem! I'm back on the "Sauce". No, people, I'm not an Alcoholic. I'm a DrPepperAholic! I'm seriously addicted to it, AGAIN. You see, I've given up this wonderful juice, 3 times, easily.

Yup, 3 children, 3 separate periods without Dr. Pepper. Each time, as soon as I discovered I was pregnant, I happily (well maybe not with a smile on my face) gave up my habit. At one point late in Squeak's Pregnancy, I was getting a checkup, & my Midwife asked if I still drank any pop. My pre-schooler answered, "Yes, but Daddy always drinks all of it after she gets only two drinks". Yup, he HELPED me not drink my Dr Pepper.

And now, (NO I'M Not Pregnant!) just over a year after my Squeaky one was born, I'm up to at least 3 cans a day, with more, much more if we go out to eat. Crap! Not good! I wake up and I NEED a DrPepper. I'm upset and I NEED a Dr Pepper. Huff! That's it! I'm quitting AGAIN!

While I'm at it, I'm OUTING some other people I know that are Addicts.

The cows are addicted..............to the premium ALFALFA. They will MOOO, and MOOO, and Beller and SCREAM at you until you feed them. BTW, these are the "pets" in the barn who have "special" babies. Wether they are Great babies, or sick babies, they are special mamas. So, we give in, and feed them a little Alfalfa so we can talk without the screaming. But, they are being weaned! No more Alfalfa for you! You will eat regular hay outside the barn. And you will like it! Or, you will at least tolerate it untill the grass is really green.

Oh, and can you see Duke (the horse in the back). He's addicted too! That's why he's in a separate pen, cause he will chase the cows, to get to the good stuff!

And 7-Up! He's addicted too! He has started screaming if he doesn't get enough Hay. Asking 7-up if he needs more alfalfa, is like asking a crack addict if he needs another hit (or whatever you call it).

Chilli is addicted to....The couch! And Snuggling the girls! Wait, he's supposed to be an AGGRESSIVE, Protective MEAN cow-dog! He is, but he loves to roll & snuggle on his back with the girls too. This is a picture of Lola, but you get the idea, girls playing and rolling around with ...GASP! CowDogs. Huh, I tell ya, we need to get these dogs to remember their place. Working Cows!

Uh, oh! Nevermind. Cause Chilli & Rosie sleep in the bed WITH ME! I can't have cold toes, so ..... they get to stay. And I love to watch the girls & Squeak play with the dogs!!

And Squeak! He's addicted to his BINKI! EEEK! Really addicted! When he was a BABY (can you hear me whining?) he would not take a binki (I din't give him one at first because I was nursing). In January, (when he was over a year old) he found one at the bottom of the toybox. And he hasn't let it go since then! Uh, Oh Well. I think I'll let him keep it for a while. He's just too cute to deny.

And, I KNOW!!! He needs a haircut! But, he's my BABY (enough with the whining!)

We're all addicts! What are you addicted to???

Kenneth Eugene Smith - Obituary

2009-04-13T19:12:00.001-07:00

How do you write an obituary for one of your very best friends that you have had for 23+ years?

Kenneth & I met just before Christmas when I was 10 years old. It was love at first sight! He was THE best listener and friend I have EVER had. He knew exactly what to do when I was sad, mad, hurt, frustrated, upset, heartbroken, lonely, and happy. He was ALWAYS there for me. He never, ever let me down. In college, when I was figuring out life, I would drive home, and FIRST, go to the barn to talk with Kenneth. Sometimes, I would just come home to talk with him, & not even bother to talk with my parents. Kenneth was the only person who understood me during my akward teen years.

Just wanted to let you know that my heart is truly CRACKED in two. I know he had a wonderful life. I know that he simply went to sleep & woke up in Heaven, but it still hurts. I know that my girls have cried most of the evening. My Honey called my dad, & Honey found him.

Yes, Kenneth was a horse, but. he. was. my. horse!

You might think this picture is morbid. But A.Cowgirl wanted me to take her picture one last time with Kenneth.

He was the first horse I ever had. I was 10, and had wanted a horse for EVER (really like 5 solid years!). My sister named him after a boy in her class and my Grandpa. Kenneth really was a person, you just couldn't see it from the outside.

I learned how to ride with Kenneth, and how to fall off. Kenny was technically a pony because he was 14.1 (feet trimmed) and he rode like a pony. Kenneth was born with a deformed front left foot. The first farrier he saw (and most everyone that trimmed or shod him) was amazed that he could walk, let alone be ridden and run. His foot was litterally shaped like a J, frog included. I always told them it was because he had SO much love for children that's why he could be ridden.

When I was about 12, I wanted to ride "Indian Style". You know from the movies how they rode bareback, and would shoot arrows under their horse's neck. Well, Kenny was too fat, and my legs were too short; but you couldn't tell me that. I would sidepass up to the well (it was a step up), get on, walk into the grassy area, try to get on the side and ask him to walk, FALL OFF, under his stomach. Literally under him. He would carefully stop and look down to make sure I was ok. He would step around me and go eat some grass. I would catch him, and take him back to the well to get on and start all over again. After about an hour, he would automatically walk to the well, so that I could get back on again.

Kenneth ALWAYS took care of me and NEVER stepped on me, no matter how stupid I was or how I fell off, or under him. He has done this with my girls, and everyone who ever rode him.

Kenneth taught most of the kids 10 years younger than me in Warren County how to ride. I showed him for 6 years, then my sister showed him for several years, then Sarah, the neighbor girl, then 2 other girls showed him, and so on and so forth. He went on trail rides with tons of people in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. I showed Kenneth in everything! Our favorite was Trail Class, because you didn't have to be a great mover, but a great thinker, and take your time to do everything just right. In Trail, Kenneth & I beat a AQHYA World Champion Trail Horse. She came to our 4-H Invitational two months before the World Show that year. It was awesome to work a course with Kenneth, because he would seem to read my mind & put his feet exactly where I was thinking I wanted them, with slightly any cues.

When I was in college, I wanted to compete in a Rodeo Queen competition. At that time I was riding my mom's stud horse, and the contest would not allow me to bring a stallion. I tried my sister's show horse, and did not get along with her (Sister has long legs, mine are very short). So, Kenneth was pulled out of the pasture, and tuned up in 24 hours. Once again we instantly clicked and I was ready to roll. At the beginning of this rodeo (totally unknown to me) they set off a LOUD boom firecracker. This is the biggest rodeo in IA (at the time) and I was standing with all the other contestants in a mob of over 200 horses, 4 of the other girls' horses freak, rear, and jump. Kenneth lifts his head and looks around like "what are you upset about"?

I could go ON, and ON, and ON with Kenneth stories! I just might sprinkle them from time to time. I won't forget him, EVER. He will live on in my life, as a wonderful person. Cause he was a people, not just a horse.

Work on the Ranch

2009-04-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is me. You can see me now. I don't like pictures, but I put this one up because you NEVER know what will happen when you work on the Ranch.

I have been twittering TONS lately. If you read my tweets or FOLLOW ME, you'll get real time updates on whats going on around the ranch.

So, now the story, because NO, that's not mud on my chin, it is a series of scabs and bruises.

After a quiet day Saturday, while Honey worked in town, we hopped in the dodge & went out to check cows. No new calves, but @#@$% there is Little Red in the pond! We saw her calf walking around scared, and managed to get him roped & tied down in the back of the truck.

We get over to the pond, and she is just beyond a drop off of 20 feet. We only had a rope in the truck, so we tied a knot in the end & hooked it up to the hitch.

Yes, you can see where this is going. As we were trying to get her out of the mud, THE ROPE BROKE. I had my back turned to the truck & my arm over my head, & I GOT LUCKY. The rope only hit my chin, not my neck, or my eye, or anything worse.

Instantly, my whole face swelled, inside and out. Only a little bit of blood from the rope burn. But MASSIVE swelling.

We left the cow, went to the house, I grabbed some Advil, Honey grabbed the tow strap & a chain, & we went back out. Honey hooked up the chain & strap & I drove the truck this time (couldn't hardly move from the pain, but I was NOT going to let that cow stay stuck). We hauled her up the hill & gave her a little grain. She was doing pretty good & hadn't been stuck that long, because she tried to stand right away. We didn't let her stand, but made sure that no other cows ate her grain. We (I mean Honey, cause I couldn't see 'cause it hurt SO much) put the calf in the trailer for the night & gave him a bottle of milk replacer). We got the kids in the house & fed them (sorry, I didn't get to put Mama P's fish in the oven). As soon as honey had it all under control, I took a pain pill & a fresh ice pack and went to bed.

Now, almost 2 days later, this picture is what my face looks like. The swelling is down dramatically, but it still looks like I have a huge dip in my mouth (I don't).

I have a post brewing in my head about how we judge people by their appearances. We hauled some hay on Sunday (I drove a truck & slept, he loaded & took care of the kids); and I paid for fuel twice. At each station they gawked & wouldn't look me in the eye. I think they thought that Honey had hit me, or I was deformed or something. We really need to think about all of the thoughts about others we have. Because that person can read ALL of them on our faces.

Another Rancher saw me this AM & from across the gas station asked me if "I had been working this morning, cause I had some mud on my chin", as he was talking he was walking closer, and realised it wasn't mud. His expression "said" OUCH! He realised it wasn't mud, & said "wow, what happened?" At least he asked, and didn't just stare!

I can't believe it didn't knock me out cold, and I am SOOOO thankful that I am healthy. I don't know how people who are in cronic pain handle it!! I know it will get better, and it already has, but enough about me.

I HOPE YOU HAD A BLESSED EASTER DAY! He is Risen, and we REJOICE!!

WARNING - Opinionated Nursing/Animal Husbandry Post Ahead!

2009-04-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well, this subject has been brewing in my mind since I was pregnant with Squeak. That's a long while! (about 19 months). And, I am VERY opinionated on this subject, so I apologise in advance if I offend you (but you should really change your mind & then you wouldn't offended).

I recently read this blog about a mother not being able to feed her child, when her child needed fed. That blog, had me thinking about most mothers and thier attitudes towards nursing, & starting to nurse thier children in the hospital.

Here's the story of the original time I talked about this with another person. I was in my Midwife's office for a routine checkup somewhere towards the end of my pregnancy. We were discussing nursing. Missus D (we'll call her) is quite the Lactivist (what most nursing advocates, or activists call themselves). As a Rancher, I am also quite opinionated about nursing, and also very much as a mother.

Missus D was explaining to me how important nursing was, and that it was important to get nursing off to a good start, IN the hospital. That's when the Rancher in me spoke up (& Missus D listened intently).

If a lamb doesn't get colostrum........Its as good as dead.

If a Colt doesn't get colostrum..........Its as good as dead!

If a Calf doesn't get colostrum...........Its as good as dead!

Then WHY do we think it is ok for BABIES (human babies) not to get colostrum???

I have a VERY wonderful Rancher Friend & Mentor, she chose not to nurse her sons. However, she did INSIST, that she pumped her colostrum for the first day and that it was fed to her sons.

She KNEW how important that this first milk was.

You see, colostrum has thousands of antibodies that provide immunity that is VITAL to the baby's survival. The rates of survival in an animal that does NOT recieve colostrum start dropping dramatically every hour after the 12 hour mark. If an animal has not recieved colostrum within the first 24 hours, their rate of survival is below 25%.

It is so imperative that an calf receives colostrum, that I have milked out 2 cows this year (not an easy feat to milk a beef cow) to give it to a weak calf that wouldn't suck. We tube ALL of our houseguests with powdered colostrum that we mix with hot water. AND we make sure that they drink from their dam as soon as possible.

Now, you should REALLY think about this. How many children do not get colostrum after they are born in the hospital??? How many nurses will provide a child formula in a bottle, because the mother doesn't feel like nursing or doesn't APPEAR to have enough milk? HELLO!!! You don't need that much milk when the size of your tummy is a WALNUT! You don't need very much if that milk has TONS of VITAL immunogens & antibiodies! The "first milk" is also VERY FATTY! (next time I HAVE to get a picture of some colostrum from a cow & then some later milk)

WHY, tell me WHY do we not have powdered colostrum for babies? We have developed (and realised we need) different milk for the first day of a calf's life; WHY haven't we done it for human babies (whose mothers do not KNOW the harm they are doing to their children)??

As doctors, WHY don't they REQUIRE ALL MOTHERS TO PUMP COLOSTRUM? I think that they should insist that mothers give their children MILK, NOT Formula.

Now, if you can handle the opinion.......On to the nursing side of things.

Farmers, if you had to choose between bottle feeding an animal or letting its mother raise it, Which would you choose? - - - - - Mother should raise it, with HER milk

Does a calf do as well on a bottle or bucket, as on a cow?- - - - - NO

Will you have higher death loss of bottle animals? - - - - - MUCH Higher up to 50% more, even under the cleanest conditions

So, why then, do we THINK it is ok for mothers to feed their children formula?

Why do some doctors try to push mothers to wean their children to formula?

I have no clue. It must be because they think they are smarter than Mother Nature! They can replicate everything she does, YEAH RIGHT! It is probably because the pharmaceutical companies pay them, to sell thier formulas.

OK. I'm done, I've said my piece. But, I will say that Missus D (remember my original story) was quiet. She had never thought about the animal side of it, and NEVER had anyone pointed these thing out to her. And she is a Lactivist.

Think about it, if an animal doesn't get colostrum, and just formula, it has only a 50% lower survival rate. Even dairy farmers give their calves colostrum before they pull them from the cow.

But, we (most of our nation) think it is ok to feed our children the same formula for the entire first year of their life.

Oh, and BTW, that is a bottle of Juice that Squeak is drinking. But he did wean himself at ~10-11 months. (Momma is still really sad about it, but it was just too hard for him to hold still)

Burnout at dawn

2009-04-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

If you ever think you're having a bad day on the Ranch, DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!!!

2009-04-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we were having a rough nite. Cows eating our lunch, trying to gore the horse. Pinning me in the pickup. Calving problems, kids being obstinate, etc. Generally, just a rough nite.

So, we decided to go to town & get supper. Cause it was 7:30, and I hadn't even started supper. We talked about ice cream @ the Dairy Sweet, & wondered what flavor they had on Wed nite. Crap, the line is like 8 cars long & there are 4 people standing @ the window. Amidst the tears, we decided to have Casey's pizza & get some ice cream from their freezer.

So, the girls are eating their ice cream. Squeak is eating a pizza crust, I am talking on the phone to my Mom, & Honey is driving. We noticed in town that something SouthWest of town was burning......We get 5 miles from home, & it is still burning BIG BLACK smoke. We turn the corner 3 miles from the house & I say to mom that the fire is near our house.....

Then we are 1.5 miles from home & I say "SOMETHING AT OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE, gotta call you back" I call 911 and let them know something @ our house is on fire.....

We drive up to the house & see a HUGE fire all in one spot. Exactly where we left the White Truck, cause we were in a hurry. The flames are coming out of the windows, the hood, everywhere! A round bale of hay was 20 feet from it and on fire. We couldn't get to the hay trailer with the pickup, so Honey grabs the tractor & drags it out of the way, cause its tires were getting VERY hot on that side.

So, the old white truck is no more. I haven't looked for a pic yet, but I will. We were lucky. You see we usually park it right in front of the house, and the wind would have caught the house on fire, just like it caught the bale on fire. We were lucky, that we didn't park it in the barn like we do when it is cold. We were lucky, we weren't at home & hurt by the explosions. (Neighbors 5 miles away heard 3 or 4 VERY big explosions)

We were VERY LUCKY that we had hauled all of the hay yesterday. Otherwise we would have BEEN IN the white truck picking up a bale while we were in town.

We are lucky!!!
We are thankful for all the neighbors that stopped by & the wonderful firemen that were here so quickly!!!
I am thankful we had a bad night, & didn't "put the truck away" either in the barn or by the house.
I am thankful!!!

Breakfast, at 2 pm...

2009-03-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yup, I just came back in the house to have breakfast!!! Not my original yummy (but now yucky) oatmeal, but a pot pie that I microwaved! It says that it's organic, but it is in this paper, fake tinfoil thingy that cooks it. I don't think its very good for me. But, it was hot, fast, & filling.

You see, after I got up @ 6am, (I went to sleep well after 1am & Squeak was up 2x last night, & J got in bed with us around 4, so NO SLEEP) I readied all the munchkins for school, including Squeak. You see, he gets to go to daycare 1 or 2 days a week, at the old School gymnasium. I then checked out the Jeep @ the shop. Clutch is OUT!! EEK, it is going to cost me!

Picked up the White truck from Honey, and took the haybale he had on the back home, so I could feed the cows. I went out and fed then I came in & started some yummy Oatmeal (walnuts, rasins, pecans, & a touch of real maple syrup). Honey calls & says that the guys are ready to load hay in 15 MIN!!! And I'm at least 20 min away & have the wrong truck to pull the trailer.

So, I totally forgot my yummy oatmeal, ran into town, unhooked the hay trailer, rehooked it to the Dodge, & headed to the hay pile. We loaded 2 trailers & headed for the house. I had to try & unload the trailers with the unroller instead of the spear on the back of the tractor. IT DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL!! To say the least! I tore up nearly every bale, & it took forever! And I had 2 guys watching me. It drives me NUTS when I can't do something right, & there are spectators.

Unloaded the first trailer, & called Honey to bring me the White truck (it has a hay-spear bed on it). Started unloading my trailer, & Honey arrived as I finished. Well, at least he came & didn't complain!

With the next loads, I used the White truck to unload the bales. Worked pretty good except for the coughing and dying parts... Really, the fuel filter appears to be clogged & so it coughs and sputters, has no power & dies. AACK!

If it has a "dipstick", I'm gonna have problems with it today! (Men & Equipment; supposed to be funny, but true)
Honey says, If it has Tits or Tires, it will give you fits! (cows, women, & equipment)

After I unloaded the next round, I fed cows 3 bales, tagged a couple of calves, fed the inside cows, watered (it over flowed, flooding a stall, while I was haying).

Oh, I forgot to mention that our big Spring Special Sale (ABS Beef Semen) ended today, & all the orders had to be in by 1pm. So, inbetween all of these things, I ordered about 250 units of semen in 5 & 20 unit orders @ a time.

Then, I came in the house to "finish my breakfast". I think I feel like Abby! I need to stay home more. OOps, I can't. Tomarrow, I have an oil change @ 8am, and get to pick up our Front End Loader (for the tractor, & would have been REALLY handy today!) Thursday & Friday, I get to haul pigs.

Oh well, as much as I have griped today, I LOVE MY LIFE!!! I wouldn't change it for anything! I love being a Ranching Mama, & a stay at home Mama!

Mmmm, this nasty for me pot pie tastes good!

Horse Time

2009-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

I thought through this blog this afternoon, as I was 160 acres away from the house and any other human. Now, 160ac may not seem like very far to some and huge to others. But, when you're on a good horse, it doesn't really matter. Right now, its enough land, and we own it (almost, the bank still owns some).

You see, I had a rough afternoon, and Honey threw me on the horse to go check cows. A good ride always puts me in the right frame of mind (a pleasant, happy one). I took 'Koda today. He's our "new" stud.

We bought him last spring at the Pitzer sale. When we got him home, we took him for a ride only a couple of times before he went out with the mares for the rest of the summer. Last fall, we were still in the dirtwork stage, and didn't have our pens at the barn finished, so we didn't ride him much either.

Now that the weather is nice, and we are calving, we've been taking Koda out to check calves each night. During the school week, that usually means that I do chores with the kids in the truck and Honey takes the horse out to check cows.

Since we haven't ridden him much, each time is an adventure. You see, we are still trying to find out which bit fits him best. He is pretty sensitive. We started out just throwing Honey's regular bridle on him. He rides his big ranch horse in a correction bit most of the time. WOAH! That was waaaayyyy to much for Koda. Barely a touch to the reins, and his head was in his chest. Next, we threw on the next bridle Honey grabbed. It had a broken, twisted wire with a very small gag (1/2 inch, you might call it a slide) and short shanks (about 2 1/2 inches). This was ok, except when Honey went to rope anything. Koda would start backing up when Honey was just trying to hold the calf, so I could tag. Then, we threw on the next bridle which is a Heart shaped twisted wire. The Ring just has a little curve in it (like a heart), so your reins don't slide all around like with a ring. This seems to work pretty well. But, it isn't legal for us to ride him 2 handed in QH shows (which I really want to make my goal this summer). So, we are now out of bits already on bridles, and trying to decide what we want to put him in next. I know I want something with a little bit of shank (so it would work better for roping than the current bit). Any, suggestions???

Now, on to the actual ride! IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! Koda is such a great mover! Once we got through the mud, I was out on open pasture. AHHHH!! Can you feel my shoulders relax?? What is better than a great ride on a beautiful horse? Nothing! Koda is a beautiful bay roan, and has quite the pretty head. (I have plans to get some good pics of him this summer) It took about 2 seconds, and I had him collected in to a pretty little pleasure horse trot! EEEK! Koda is a CowHorse. But then why, you say, do I want a little trot? Well, you see it's because I CAN. He is a great mover, and we then extended his trot to cover some ground. AHHHH!!! More fun and relaxation! Then I let him into a nice lope. And got to the back fence. No cows back here. So we turned around and I let him out. We ran for about 20 acres and then relaxed right back into a nice little lope again (think reining, what I REALLY want to do with him besides Working Cow Horse).

We checked out a couple of lone cows with new calves, and found one in the process of calving, I wrote down her # (didn't have any paper, so I texted it to Honey) and went on to the next group to check all of those calves. They we all doing fine, & I was enjoying myself, so I took a nice little long trot around the pond. Just to check for cows at the bottom. Yeah, that's why I did it, to check for cows...... Not to stretch him out again and go down a hill and around some brush, Yeah that's why.

Then we crossed the creek again. Remind me to have Honey cut down the blasted THORN TREES! (Honey Locust trees) They are right in the middle of the crossing, so I just had to ride him down the side of the ravine to see if there was a different crossing. Never mind the fact that I know there isn't, and I had just come through the only crossing to get ON the far side. I just had to check. So, I took Koda back to the crossing and made him walk down into the water, & then let him jump out. We trailed through the rest of the cows at the bottom of the front pond. Wow! We have a ton of really great calves so far!

Then, here come the next 3 challenges for Koda... THE MARES! You see, we have "his" mares out in this pasture with the cows, and he WANTS them. He doesn't care if they are bred and ready to foal... THEY ARE HIS! He wants to talk (whinny, or scream) to them. So, I took a little time to school him and let him know that it is NOT ok to talk when someone is ON his back.

Then we went across the road and checked the next group of cows. Our custom cows that have NEVER seen a horse. That was much less horsey. Just a bunch of walking and watching to make sure they weren't going to stampede away from me or come and try to "eat my lunch" (that's Momma talk for trying to hit my horse and knock me off).

Did you enjoy your vicarious ride? I enjoyed it all over again!

I hope to let you enjoy some more rides with me this spring!! If you want to hop along with me you can follow me on Twitter! (check it out over on the sidebar and click!) I tweeted while I was out back riding! I had to keep up with the springtime birds you know!! : )

Personal Interests that Conflict

2009-03-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, after my last rant - er- post, I've discovered that most of my bloggy readers agree, that the decision of how to grow and the specifics of growing are quite conflicting. If you get to grow fast; you have debt. That's not good in my opinion.

Right now this is my main conflict. I don't want more debt, and I don't want to compromise the comfort of my animals (the future ones).

I have decided one thing, I am not going to cry (literally, this conflict has had me in tears) over milk that hasn't been spilled, before I even drive to the store to buy the proposed spilled milk.

So, I will try to blog more tomarrow about the details of what we have and what we want to have accomplished.

Now, I'm off to bed. I have to load "big, fat, stinky pigs" (J's description of gilts & cull sows) at 6 am. Oh yeah, I have to chore before I leave too, cause Honey will be getting the girls ready for school in the AM.

Conflict of Interests

2009-03-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sitting here (procrastinating) patiently waiting for my little Squeaky Man to fall DEEP asleep before I make too many weird noises cleaning, and putting away dishes & laundry.

These thoughts have been weighing on my mind very heavily for the past few days and in Honey’s mind for years. Literally, he has been talking about a FeedLot seriously for at least 7 or 8 years.

So here it is….My EXTREME conflict! We want/need to expand our operation to bring in more income so that Honey will not have to work in town. This means 2 different things will have to happen. (I am so conflicted, that I am tearing up talking about this)

Scenario 1 - We expand our old-school feeding operation and raise more beef in a natural setting, and sell more breeding stock (heifers, show calves or bulls). The main question is how do we really expand our beef sales.
Scenario 2 – We expand in a different way and build a cattle confinement feedlot for ~500 head. A completely enclosed, covered, confinement feedlot. We would bed the pens with corn-stalks and have a dry bedding mound for the calves to lay on. We would also probably try to allow double the "animal space" per actual head of calves. Thus giving them more room to move about.

I am very conflicted. You see, I am an “educated” rancher. What I mean is that I have an Animal Science BS degree from Iowa State (honey has an Ag Studies degree too). I have been taught all of the benefits of confinement feeding. This is a small list of benefits
1- Increased feed efficiencies (thus decreased feed costs)
2- Less chance of manure (nitrates) leaching into streams and contaminating them
3 - Increased “comfort” of the animal (THIS ONE I CAN ARGUE BOTH WAYS!!)

The list may go on and on. (I will expand and update later today as I think of them, but I have to get this blog out of my head, and out there for y’all to comment on, please)

Here is a small list of the benefits from continuing in a very “Old Fashioned” way of growing our operation slowly. Meaning that we will continue to grow slowly and increase our beef sales, bred heifer, show calf, and bull sales. Scenario 1
1 - Less impact on the environment (I can argue this both ways, this benefit is just from reduced numbers in one location ON the ground not tearing up the sod)
2- More direct relationship with the customer that has our beef on their table.
3 - A more natural environment for the cattle (pasture when we have grass, and more room to grow)

Well, these are my thoughts for now, and I’m sure that I will have tons more to come, as we really delve into this more and figure out what details we will decide upon, and what path we will take to pursue expansion of our operation.

I will prepare you that I do not mind talking dollars, and I WILL share some of our financial details.

Why I am WIERD

2009-03-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yup, I admit it I am WIERD with a capital W.
Why? Well there are tons of reasons, so I will give you a little list.

1 - I will do anything for my kids
When J. was in preschool age, we enrolled her in a Lutheran preschool 30 min from the house (because I couldn't stand our local preschool, headstart) So, in order to get her to school on time at 8 am, I had to get up at 3 am to load my pigs at 4am, and get the drive finished to be in the right town and my pigs unloaded by 7:30 and get J to school by 8.
Yup, I will work my a$$ of for my kids and will go WAY out of my way to have them benefit and grow to be great people. That is why I will also be Home/UnSchooling them next year. I have also let them pick out their clothes since they were 2. This is also sometimes very embarassing, but they learn to match, and be themselves, not a clone of a model in the clothing store. That and A.Cowgirl wore pink from the time she was 2 until last year. We are talking some form of pink every day, and sometimes (alot of the time) pink, from head to foot.

2 - I love to WORK outside.
I mean it! From head to toe dirt, sweaty, mud encrusted outside workout is my kind of exercise. I like to get work done, and I like to work (of course) with the horses and cows.

3 - I do NOT believe in the "D" word (d.i.v.o.r.c.e)
The important part is that my husband doesn't either. We don't believe in the word and don't say it.
With that said, I do have 3 reasons (from Dr.Laura) why I would believe in or recommend it (after tons of work and prayer). Adultery, Addiction, or Abuse. In my view, all three of things have totally removed all trust and broken the covenant with God. Honey and I, have vowed to work through anything and everything to make our marriage work. We also believe that seeing their parents working through any issues that may arrise will strenghten them and lead our children to also have successfull marriages.

4-I like getting dirty - (see number 2) But, I used to be a prissy, dolled up, hair curled out to there, Rodeo Queen. (I have to find a picture, so we can all laugh at my 90's "Queenie" Hair.)

5- I am not a very good "homemaker"
I don't decorate, I'm apprehensive to put a hole in the wall, and I generally just do the basics of clean kids, clean place to make food, and clean clothes.
I do like to bake, just not very often. But when I do, lookout cause there will be tons of sweets for weeks to come.

6- I did not grow up on a "real" farm or ranch.
I grew up on a 19 acre homestead with horses. I still have the first pony (he is 14.1 &1/2 hands) we ever owned. Mom & Dad purchased him for me when I was in 5th grade (I was about 10, I think & Kenneth is now 25).
I bought my first "Show Horse" when I was a Sophmore in High School. I showed him in everything, but I really loved showing in Trail Classes. We didn't have shows with cattle classes around us, and Trail provided the most detailed maneuvers that did not require an expensive, great moving horse (that kind of $ was not an option for me). I traveled with a lady that was great at Trail and was her groom and hired girl. I loved it! I went to Congress, Paint, Palimino, Buckskin and Quarter Horse World Shows. She won all of them except the QH World title at one time or another when I was traveling with her. I learned a ton from her and people around the shows. And I got to ride some amazing horses, not all were just Trail horses.

I feel very lucky to now live on a Ranch because "now my horses have a purpose". And I feel very lucky to give this opportunity to our children. And I can't imagine my life without horses and Cattle.

7-I am a KLUTZ!
I mean, I am truly un-coordinated. I can't throw a ball, catch one, or run with any coordination or speed.
The only place I am coordinated and somewhat athletic is on the back of a horse.

Have you ever heard this blonde joke?

What do you call a Blonde in a Mall?......................................A Pinball

Yup, that's me. Imagine the IA State Fair. Showday in a crowded indoor (airconditioned) resturant (The indoor Campbells in the Cattle Building).
I walk in, bump into someone "OOPS, I'm Sorry". Then I back up and bump into someone else! "OOPS!, I'm Sorry". We wait in line a while and I get my tray, start walking BUMP, "OOPS!, I'm Sorry!" (Whew, my drink wasn't filled yet, so I didn't spill it). Sit down at our table, and then get up to fill that drink BUMP, "OOPS!! I'm SORRRY!".

Fill my drink, and trying to be really careful, I slowly walk to our booth, looking both ways and being VERY cautious. I sit down, and reach for a napkin, AND DUMP MY DRINK in my Dad's lap!! "OOOPS!!! I'm SORRY!!!" Seriously, I bumped into 9 people within the 20 min that we were inside! And, I spilled my drink on my Dad!

We like to joke in our house, that we don't worry about the kids spilling milk, 'cause Momma always spills it first!

Also, never ask a Blonde what time it is when she has a full cup. Yes, you guessed it, I will always look and thus spill my drink!

Well, I think that's enough WIERD-NESS for now, but I know there are wierd-er things about me... I let you know when I think of another (or 7 more)

I have a TOILET!

2009-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! I have a working, FLUSHING toilet. After my mom, TWO plumbers, and much anxiety over having to put in a new septic system, I HAVE A FLUSHING TOILET.

It's fixed, and it doesn't leak, and I can pee AND flush!

Don't you love the small things in life!

Confession, I have an Outhouse.

2009-03-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a little confession to make. We have an Outhouse, and we are too busy to fix the indoor toilet (and get it to work right). And, we live in southern Iowa, where everyone is laxidasical (i can't spell) and plumbers don't really worry if you don't have a functional toilet.

The Outhouse was made by my wonderful Dad, for our "South Ranch". Because there was no house, and thus toilet on that Ranch. We have 2 girls, and squatting to go was getting really messy. (think little girls peeing on their clothes like EVERY time we were down working @ the South Ranch) Our Outhouse is FANCY! I mean it, really fancy. It has 2 holes, with seatcovers and such. A light, sunroof, two separate toilet paper dispensers, 2 coathooks, and an extra "pull rope" for little girls to pull the door open with.

We obviously moved the Outhouse to the new Ranch this last summer, but we never really set it up. We didn't dig a hole and we just set it down off the trailer when we moved it.

Now to the toilet issue. A couple of weeks ago, we thought the base, seal, ring gooey thing was bad. It was a little damp around the base. I had a wonderful, friend all lined up to come and fix it, but I said that WE (my mom and I) were going to take up the toilet and replace the floor first. OOOO NOOOO! Honey didn't want to replace the floor. (Momma stamps foot!) "Then you take care of it!" "I will!" Honey says. Well, its a day later (hence bringing up the Outhouse issue) and Honey finally pulls up the toilet. Seal isn't that bad, but the toilet sits IN THE KITCHEN for another day until Honey sees fit to put it back down. In his defense, we have had about a dozen calves in this time and he works 7-5 in town. And I can't lift the heavy toilet onto its proper place. That and the kids, pigs and calves and dogs, oh my!

So, today, the toilet is in its proper place, but it still ISN'T working!! UGH! Sombody save me!!
Oh well, I'm wierd. The Outhouse doesn't REALLY bother me, except at night, when a little girl has to go, or I do. Oh, yeah, I just make Daddy take them. Maybe he'll remember to help me fix it tonight.

Btw, I think a little someone flushed something they weren't supposed to, and its stuck in the crook of the toilet. EWWW!!

Oh, and the Outhouse will stay, but its supposed to go on the other side of the road, by the Arena.

A. Cowgirl's Special Day

2009-03-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't believe that 9 years ago today, I became a Mom! My world has changed SO much since then! When you are pregnant the first time, you are excited, and think you know what being a mom will be like, but you have NO clue!

You think you know what type of discipline you want to follow, and how much you will love your child. But, you don't. You have no clue about REAL discipline, real mothering, and REAL Love.

I have grown so much! SHE has grown so much!! (well a little anyways) Like the day she became a REAL Cowgirl. Yikes!! That added about 50 gray hairs to my head (thank God for being a blonde, so nobody knows I'm gray, sorry for honey, he's almost more salt than pepper)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY CowGirl!! I hope you have a great year! I'm so excited to see how much we can learn together!

A rainy day in Calving Season

2009-03-11T05:48:00.001-07:00

Well, here it is, the beginning of March, and we were successfull last year. Or should I say, the bulls were successfull last year.

You see, while Honey worked for "the top of the hill ranch" (bloggyname for the previous operation), we moved our cows to calve in late April-May. This was so that in the event of a calving emergency, I could get help from my honey. Because during their calving (March - April) I would not see my husband for days at a time, and the hired men were also way busy!

So, last year, we decided (due partly to the CRAPPY weather) that we would not AI (artificially inseminate) our cows, and just throw the bulls in early. This would group the cows together, and breed a good bunch of them to calve in March.

Well, we were successfull! We have had a total of 8 live natural (bred by the bull) calves so far in the past week or two. Thus, the picture! We are now in full calving mode. Meaning, that laundry will be sporadic! And, I will be scrubbing floors daily! You see, we are having awful, warm, cold, rainy weather. And NO, its never warm when it rains! Therefore, we have been warming calves anywhere we can.

The laundry room, the truck, the bathtub, if its warm, and dry, we've probably had a calf in there before. Last night, I had some running to do, picking up some corn stalk bales and getting fuel, etc. Guess who went with me? The girls, Squeak, and a bull calf. Yup, inside the cab. On my front floorboard getting all warm and toasty! Were the girls supprised, no. They know we had to warm him up, and its normal for them. Ahhh, the life of a country kid.

Then, we had a new houseguest in the laundry room before bedtime. This little fellow had fallen into a creek, and couldn't get out. And, a new guest this morning. (the picture is of 404's heifer calf).

We will, be DNA testing some of these 100+# calves to see if one bull is throwing all these big, dumb calves! He doesn't get to stay. Cause big calves have more problems getting here, and when they do, they are lazy and slow to suck (thus earning the title of DUMB, with a capital D). In addition, we might have a TWINNER. we have had 5 sets of twins. And this creates a whole nother group of problems for a ranch of our size. Usually, one or both twins are small and weak, or dead. So, if any of y'all have a small operation (20 cows or less) and would like to have twins, which can be more profitable in that setting. Talk with me in August. Because no matter what, we will have a mature bull to sell.

Crazy as it is, I LOVE MY LIFE! And the next two months will be crazy busy! Yeah, but we will make some great BEEF!

WOW - Last week, and Eating Cookies

2009-03-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a long week, and if you read my sidebar, you'll see that I've been sick. But, I'm better now. The Jaegermeister did the trick. What, you ask?? Well, an old cowboy remedy for a cold is Jaegermeister (it's a black licorice liquor, like 90 proof). At the first feeling of a cold, take a shot or 2 of Jaeger (at bedtime, instead of Nyquil) and you'll sleep like a baby and wake up feeling great! Seriously, I gag at the taste, but IT WORKS! I took some (3/4 a shot) Thursday night when Beau came in the house, and within a half hour my plugged up head (that wanted to explode) was relaxed, and within 1 hour, I could blow my nose. I slept the entire night, and woke up able to function on Friday. Today, I have no sign of a cold at all! AHHH! I don't like the sinus drainage, plugged head, sore throat feeling.

Tuesday, I was able to go to the semi-Annual garage sale for the Des Moines Cloth Diapering group. FUN! I didn't find any snap diapers to fit Squeak, but I enjoy getting together with other like-minded moms! And, we talked about the current legislation in Iowa regarding legalizing Midwives. If you have any interest, I would definately urge you to check out the Friends Of Iowa Midwives blog. They have all the details there, and anything you could do to show your support would be great! I strongly believe that everyone should have ANY birthing option available, and with the support of a Certified Midwife.

And, after the group, I stopped by a new retail store for the natural Mom, Little Padded Seats. They just opened their retail store in Valley Junction, but they've been on-line for quite a while. I found some of THE cutest snap diapers for Squeak! That way, this summer, he can't take his diaper off during nap, and do his stuff all over his crib. Shopping therapy, after monday's frustrating day!

BTW, I have a good blog in draft about Tuesday morning's activities on the ranch. Will be posted soon!

Thursday, I hauled pigs. Friday I hauled pigs, & delivered some eggs to Kim! I love it when I get to stop and visit. And she doesn't even kick me out for being piggy stinky! : )

Saturday, well what can I say except temporary INSANITY! It rained Friday night (1 inch) so we couldn't do much work. And then we went crazy! Honey and I took the girls to Kids Fest. Yup, nutz! Imagine 1000 kids and their parents. Kids all hopped up on candy that they pass out at every booth, blow up slides and obstacle courses, and did I mention the crying, screaming BRATS? HUH? I usually don't tolerate other people's kids very well. Let me correct that, I don't tolerate bad parenting very well. And Honey? He doesn't at all! We say that he is "allergic to people". And he is HIGHLY allergic to brats and lazy parents! But we survived. And the kids had fun. Squeak had fun with Grandma at her house, teaching the puppy how to pee on command by pulling her tail! Yikes!

Well, we did have one crying episode. (So here's your laugh for the day.)

So, we are at the end of 2 hours of Kids Fest, standing in line to spin a wheel and see if they win a small prize. We had just gotten a cup of cookies. [Back up a second in time, at the last booth, J was having a problem saying Thank You, and I told her that she would give "it" back if she didn't say Thank You right away.]

Honey gives A. a cookie, I get one, and J gets one. Guess who didn't say Thank You before she took a bite? Yup, J didn't. So, I take her cookie and feed it to Daddy. She starts crying. I explain that she didn't say Thank You. She nods understandment, and slows down to a sniff. Honey, asks her if she would like a cookie, she says yes and takes one. And THEN TAKES A BITE. HUFF! I take the cookie, and eat it. She is now back in HUGE tears and sobs! "Well", I say, "you didn't say Thank You again". She cries for a minute and Honey once again asks her if she would like a cookie (there are now only 2 left). She takes one, (both Honey and I are silently praying "please say Thank You", I don't want to eat another one of your cookies) then, she looks at us and says "Thank You" (hiccup, tear, sob, bite). Thank GOD! We wanted her to learn, but we did not buy the cookies for us! But lessons must be taught (and the cookies are good, so it didn't kill our tastebuds to eat one or three) even if it does break your heart.

Then, a woman walks over to us and says "What are you doing to make that little girl cry?" Huh? I turn around and see that it is a wonderful woman I haven't seen for about 5 years, and she has a smile on her face. Cause she knows I wouldn't really want to make my child cry. But, she had been watching the whole thing from the side, and found it amusing (I would too if it wasn't my child, and it is funny today)! And, she needed an opening line to talk with us (cause she forgot my name, I remembered her first name 4 hours later).

Don't you love being a mom? I do, tears and all!

BTW, we are still eating cookies, because the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES are in! YUM!!

My Total Perspective Vortex: Five Alive

2009-03-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

My Total Perspective Vortex: Five Alive

Animal Rights people should visit my ranch

2009-03-02T18:59:00.001-08:00

Yup, That's what I said, and I MEAN IT!! Anyone who thinks that most ranchers/farmers are mean to thier animals, needs to come to our Ranch!!

After the day I've had I'll chew em up and spit em out again!

To put it lightly, today was a rough one. But, I haven't cried, yet. (uh oh, the eyes are getting wattery)

Honey usually does AM chores, and this morning was no different. He was done before 7, and decided to run out back to check those cows on the 4-wheeler. (Yes, we have one of those nasty things). I was getting kids fed and ready for school. (Squeak included, since its monday).

J reported that Daddy was back, and he was grabbing a bale of hay with the tractor. He stops in the house, tells me Scooter's down in the pond, and we need beet pulp (high energy) and HOT water. I load everyone, grab some stuff, and take the Dodge out to the big pond. S%$T! The tractor was on a hill and ran low on Diesel, so he had to shut it of before it ran out (shoulda loaded the tank yesterday and filled it then). We pushed and shoved, and moved her so she was level.
It is now 8am, so, we head for the house, load J's snacks (cause she's the snack girl ALL week), load the diesel tank, and head for town. Honey calls the Co-Op and lets them know he's not gonna be in (THANK GOD!!).

We drop the girls of 1 min early, and I let J's teacher know that I won't be volunteering today. I then look at my clothes...Oh well! (note to self, make sure you have other boots handy when Honey needs you, DO NOT WEAR OSTRICH in pond MUD, everything else will wash). Drop Squeak at his school, and go to get diesel.

We formulate a plan to feed hay, get some energy into her and then make a cow sled to get her to the barn. So, we pull her up out of the mud. While we were in the house, we grabbed Honey's pump (from his Steer Jock Days) and 4 gallons of Hot water, Colostrum (energy), and 2 gallons of Fruit Punch (all the High Fructose Corn Syrup). We pumped her with 2 gallons of H2O and the other stuff.

Then we head back to the barn to make the sled. A piece of plywood, two 2x8's later we have a fancy dancy cow sled (I hope I never have to use it again!). We use the tractor and slide her onto the sled and strap her down. The sled works great to glently glid her to the barn (she was about 40 acres west of the barn). Now what? Well, we get the heater and throw a tarp over her to heat 'er up.

Breakfast time (it is 11:30). When we get back outside, we decide that she isn't warm enough, and we head to town for some LP. Yup the little tank that goes under your grill. We have a torpedo heater that works with LP, and we didn't think we had enough.

Shure enough, we fire up the torpedo heater, and she finally stops shivering.

We decide that while we keep an eye on her, we'll set the next water-er. Yeah!! It is pretty tricky working in a very tight area! This water-er goes in the middle of one of our pipe pens, so we can water two pens, thus the not much room.

Then, we have the fun part of ponies and colts "helping". In other words, their noses were in the way, the ENTIRE TIME! Leroy, what a pest. That pony is going to have a ton of fun with the kids this summer!!

After we checked on Scooter, we then decided to sort off heifers/steers for the auction this week. All the steers went, and heifers stayed. We checked nuts, and decided to just send the spring (2008) calves. Wow! We only have 8 left to send!!! YEAH!! That means I'm doing a better job of selling beef! (send me a note if you want any GREAT beef that should be harvested in late June) We get to keep 11 spring heifers. We decided to wait on the fall calves, because their nuts haven't fallen off yet.

The girls got home and Scooter was still hanging in there, so we picked up Squeak. Got home. Scooter was gone. We chored, and fed kids, and here I am. Still TRYING not to cry.

You see when a cow has a NAME (not just a number) it is a bad thing when we loose her. Scooter was a great old registered Angus cow that we bought in our first group of Sweeney cows in 2000. She has raised at least 4 cows that are in our herd right now. She was a pet. AND She was ON The LIST. That means, she got to die on the Ranch (not get culled to the sale barn).

And she did. We did everything to care for her! THIS is why I DARE any animal Rights person to stop by our ranch. If they think for one minute that we don't take care of cows. THEY ARE WRONG!! When we stopped in town earlier, more than one guy mentioned that the cost of a bullet was cheap, and she probably wouldn't live anyway. TUFF! We tried, and tried some more to save her. But sometimes a 16 year old cow just dies, no matter what you do. That's why most people cull them before they're 8. But Scooter, she was on The List.

And now, I'm going to go cry, and go to sleep.

I promise, the next blog WILL be funny!

ps, sorry for any typos or wierd phrases. I didn't even re-read this before I posted. (couldn't see thru the tears anymore)

Busy time of Year

2009-03-01T09:20:00.001-08:00

Well, this time of year is pretty busy. But wait, we only have a SMALL group of cows calving right now! We still have another 80 or so cows in the pasture behind the house!

Oh, well! Right now we are down to crunch time with preparing for calving, and finishing the barn, caring for the new calves, getting the '08 calves ready for the sale barn, trying to sell more beef (so I don't have to take those calves to the sale barn), and dealing with puppies and Rosie trying to wean them, and kids and "school issues"

I am excited that our beef business is expanding rapidly, and I don't have to take 2 more calves to the auction. I'm also excited about how the colts are growing, and becoming tame and loving attention. If you need a puppy, horse, or BEEF; drop us a note.

The school issue should be resolved soon. I have met up with a couple of GREAT Unschooling Mamas, who have greatly improved my confidence! If, J still has "behavior" issues at school, she won't be IN school until the end of the year. I STRONGLY believe that she has been labeled as the "bad kid". Any sort of issue, in a location where the teacher can't hear, is J's fault! She IS NOT A BAD KID! She's bored, and she speaks her mind! I have always said that she will "tell you where to go and how to get there". She has spoken her mind since she could talk, literally. I don't want this independence taken away from her. So, if school isn't helping her, it is hurting her!

Now, I haven't decided exactly what form of school we will be doing at home. But it will involve some "curriculum" because Honey thinks it is necessary. I think that they will thrive and GROW, not just stay stalled as A has in school. A will do a TON of creative writing (because she just isn't doing enough at school to encourage this passion), J will do all sorts of creative learning methods, that don't require sitting still for an hour at a time.

CHICKENS!!

Almost forgot our new additions to the Ranch!! We went into the Co-Op after school on Friday for a new chick for each of the kids (Squeak included!) and ended up with 10 chickens. Yup, you guessed it! The husband who thought the chickens weren't a good idea, MADE us get 10 chickens. Same said husband now wants to build a fancy "portable coop" for the chickens. Yup, about a month ago, he said that "Chicken Tractors" were silly, didn't want to listen to me, or pay attention to my plans. Now he is designing the coop, planning the coop, and taking over the coop. Gotta love men!! Oh well, he is on board with the chicken thing, and excited to have them! He even Loves the eggs! In our new group are 2 broilers. We are also looking forward to the barred rock hens from Runnin Roan!

On the bloggy front, SORRY I haven't been posting much. I do have several blogs brewing in my brain. Some are now in draft form, and pretty funny!

Oh, and RanchGirl is gonna be a Momma! YEAH!!
And I'm ADDICTED TO FACEBOOK!!!

Bag Tag

2009-02-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

Just a cute TIRED picture of Squeak, cause I had my camera out. (The girls were in bed)

Well, RanchDivaRachel tagged me for this. And its easy and doesn't require many brain cells to be awake, so here we go.

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are using today.And I am guessing that you have to post the contents of your bag too....
2. Tell us how much it cost. This is a no-judgment zone -- there will be no ridiculing or eye rolling here. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Then tag some friends.

A little bacwards in the picture order, so these are the contents of my bag at the END of my day today.
My book, for any waits that I have. A scarf for my neck (I always wear one this time of year).
An empty (ICKY) sippy cup.

A diaper that didn't get used.

Knife, Nail files and polish (DUH, doesn't every working cowgirl have both of these in their possession at all times :-) )

And, at least 50 rounds of Ammo (I cleaned it out of the backseat floorboard of the pickup, so the girls wouldn't step on it) No, Farmgirl, I haven't tried the new Hornady Lever Revolution, but Honey LOVES it! But the rest are half spent, half good 243 rounds for the Coyotes that may mistakenly pass through our pastures.

This is how simple the contents of my bag started for the day.
Breakfast - Protein bar and a DrPepper (and a spare). Oh woe is me, I've fallen of the wagon and again rely on that wonderful liquid to survive the day.
Knife
Nail Files and Polish
Two Diapers
Hair Brush (J's brand is on the back, and she wanted to make sure I said it was hers)
A single Squeaky Shoe. I had to find the other one before I left for the day.

My bag of the day is my "Pot Bag". As many of you know I have a little one that is..... thinking..... adding.....15 months old (WOW! My baby is growing so fast!). So, I usually have a bag, rather than a purse. I prefer a bag over a "Diaper Bag" for my days. I can fit more of my stuff in a bag, and then I have more room for the days' requirements.

Where did I buy my bag? At a craft fair. We call it the "Pot Bag" because the booth smelled rather peculiar, and the bag stank for a week until I washed it. Lets just say the guy was REALLY nice, and his bags we sewn very well, or I wouldn't have stood in the aroma for long enough to buy the bag (I was pregnant with Squeak when I bought it). I think I paid about $70 for it. But, it is really sturdy, and does have some great inside pockets, and its reversible.

Now for the tagging.

Abby

Tattooed Mama

Heather

Nothing to report

2009-02-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Well, our life is boring....
Feed Cows
Check Cows and Heifers
Feed Calves
ooo a different thing - Gather Eggs
Check cows (listen to them screaming at you the entire time to "FEEEEDDD MEEEE")
call the house yelling "we got feet" (meaning that a set of calf's feet are sticking out of a heifer's hooey)
Then you repeat the above list
"Yeah, another calf ! It's a HEIFER!" (this is our first 26T2 out of a registered Angus cow, so it'll be a very exciting halfbood)
Then you keep repeating the above list over, and over, and over. Remembering the midnight heifer checks, just incase. And even if we don't PLAN on a Midnight heifer check. My body doesn't remember this, and wakes me up anyway. And Squeak is liking to wake up at 2:30 or 3. Just as I'm getting back to sleep really good.

On another front, I think I'm finally ready to take the homeschooling/unschooling plunge! I really have to meet up with the Iowa group this Thursday on "park" day. J doesn't have school, so she'll get to tag along and maybe meet some friends. They didn't have shool on Friday, and so we "did school" on Friday.

You will really be amazed by the things that my girls want to learn (and did) about.
Context - how and where you say something matters, and what you were saying before makes a difference too.
Spine, and types of muscular and skeletal structures. Cartilage structures too.
I was totally suprised by what they wanted to learn about, and happy that I could discuss these things in detail. We even used a puppy demonstrator or two, to show the different structures, and how they are the same or different for different species.
We learned and discussed all the different species on our farm too. I have two that we didn't research to find. Chickens and they wanted to know Goats. Ladies help! What is their proper species name? (like bovine, canine, equine)

Now, I just have to find out who I need to contact, so that we are "allowed" to homeschool/unschool. But, I think I can do this!!

Gizzards & Calf Fries: Lil Man Learns Ranch Lesson

2009-02-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

Gizzards & Calf Fries: Lil Man Learns Ranch Lesson

Red Neck Mommy is HILARIOUS

2009-02-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

This is the type of thing that happens to me (not really, but maybe)

RedNeck Mommy had me literally falling over laughing, and trying to shut my laptop fromthe girl's eyes.

Have fun Laughing!!

The Wreck and a 7-UPdate

2009-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well, some of y'all were wishing for a 7-UPdate so here is a total horsey update.

The last couple of weekends have been BEAUTIFUL! Two weekends ago, we were going to pour some concrete pads for atutomatic water-ers (seems redundandt spelling, oh well).

So, since it was about 50 or 60 degrees, Squeak was napping in the truck, and we saddled up some horses for the girls. J rode Kenneth, my first pony, who is 14.1 and 25 years old. We saddled up Ozzie for A, and asked them to keep it at a walk, since it was mud on top of frozen ground, and still slick. Honey and I got started, and I needed to tote 80lb bags of quick crete about 40 feet to the first waterer.

Well, we had a horse and a calf sled, sooo. I decided that it was time for the girls to start to learn to use a rope and drag things. Started out with A, and Ozzie (did I mention the warm SPRING weather, and how well the horses were feeling, and Oz is only 5, and was started as a 3yo?). Just used an old lead rope for the girls to drag with, so they wouldn't have much tail, and no rope burns. I dallied up for her on Oz, and started leading her. The sled is RED and PLASTIC, and apparently a little scary. He twitched his ears, and turned a little, but he got into it and just drug it away. I had loaded about 400 lbs on the sled. I was trying to teach A to just let go of her dally, when she got in a tough spot and Oz would jump or turn hard. She got the hang of it and was having fun. J (5 year old) got to drag the empty sled back to the pile. Kenneth wouldn't spook for anything. And I seem to remember pulling my sister on a sled at a full run when we were kids off of Kenneth (SOOO FUN!!!)

I also had the kids practicing (sp) steak race. In other words, I passed them the trash from the bags, and had them put it in the trash can. (What, kids aren't my personal slaves??? The gotta learn these things somehow, and I gotta keep em busy!) We kept up with 3 or 4 rounds of dragging and (daddy was really nervous about a fresh horse that we hadn't warmed up) finished that waterer.

We decided to finish the other waterer, and loaded the truck with all of the supplies, since this one was over some icy ground. The kids were out in the pasture close to us now, and since the ground was good we let them trot around while we were working.

Then, they decided they felt good. The kids were both turning to come back to us side by side, and Oz wanted to stretch. He crowhopped 3 times, and A lost it. She held on for the first two and just couldn't keep her seat during the crowhops at a lope. My baby got bucked off. (well she fell off, but we're not telling her)

J was crying, A was crying, Ozzie was confused and sad (cause he was upset A was hurt), Daddy and I were relatively calm. Dusted her off, and she seemed ok. She decided to get back on, and walk around. YEAH!! I went in the barn to get another bag. When I came back out, A told me that she was OFFICIALLY a Cowgirl! Cause she got bucked off!

WOW! That one hit me hard! My b.a.b.y. is not my baby any more. She is a big COWgirl. Oh, the fun things I have to learn as a Momma. The end of an era! We all know it is going to happen, but when your baby grows up it is still a hard thing!

Now for the 7-UPdate. Since we've been calving, our stud, Koda, has been getting moved around alot. The night before he had been locked in the barn behind 7-UP's tiny pen. Koda decided he wanted 7-UP's premium alfalfa, and unhooked the chain latch, and helped himself. Not a big deal really, except we had taken off 7-UP's wrap to let his leg air out for the night, and now he was in a BIG (only 20x18, but big for a little shetland with a broke leg) pen. Well, he was feeling good! When he realised he was going to get caught, he started running. YUP, RUNNING, on his broken leg!! YEAH!! Well, kinda, but he felt comfortable putting weight on it and even stretched it out a little with a couple of good bucks. We caught the little fart (yes it took two of us). And Honey helped me put his boot back on, and his leg felt good. Didn't feel any movement and no pain for him when I felt the break area!

WOW!!! Thank you EVERYONE who helped with advice and encouragement to at least try to heal his leg. We put his boot back on and will keep it on for another month or so.

Whew!!! It's done!

2009-02-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been on what most call a blogation (blogcation? Blog vacation). It was, only because I was working NONSTOP on Calving heifers, and getting ready and handling the IA Maine Anjou Beef Expo Show and Sale.

It's done.

I'm Tired.

My wonderful parents-in-law watched all 3 kids and my cows, while we were in Dsm Wed and Thursday. I'm and admitted control FREAK, and this caused much distress! (But I'm really trying not to complain! and I'm really lucky that Squeak was alive when I got home. OOPS, forgot, not complaining!!)

I did find out on Monday, that the childcare I have for Squeak on Mondays is AWESOME!! When I said I didn't know the plans for this week (cause I didn't know if my childcare would bail on me) Esther said, she would take the kids for me. And she meant it. She did warn that squeak might have bruises on him, from her girls fighting over him. SO SWEET!!!

Tuesday, was a rough one. Honey and I went out to feed all the pens hay early, and in the second to last pen, the IH1466 (tractor) BROKE!. Uh oh! Well, we'll just mix the ones that don't have hay (2yo colts) with the heavy cows. Then after the girls were off to school, I drove the White truck (the one that has our hay spears on it) to the shop... Did I mention that It was broke down too?? In Dsm (the Big City), I had the dealer drive me to my parent's where I promptly stole one of their vehicles (THANKS DAD!!!), and took care of all the stuff at the fairgrounds for the Beef Expo (THANKS BRAD n JULI!!!). Then I headed south (home) to pick up my trailer for my sub-driver on Thursday, and tried to get the house ready for us leaving (again for Expo). It was too nice out and Branden and his girls stopped over, and the kids rode the horses around . Oh well, you gotta have fun, and it really doesn't matter if your house is trashed, right???

Wednesday, we were off and running early. Had two heifers trying to calve when we needed to leave (Sorry Abby, you will really get your beef! I PROMISE!!) I arrived just before Check-in of calves, and it went pretty good. Only one person who didn't have their paperwork in order and wanted to give ME grief about it.

More grief at the banques in a smart ass style from same person, n that was IT! I'm done, I will not volunteer for this job next year... Then came the awards part of the banquet. Have I mentioned that Honey is the President of this association, and we have been trying to finish up the awards this year, and getting nowhere with all of the old board members, that decide these things? And so, we had NO idea that they were awarding Honey and I as the Maine Members of the Year. Wow, They do appreciate all the work we do. Honey was being a SmartA$$ later, and asked me if they "bought another year with, the coat they gave me?" Did I mention there was plenty of Crown N Dr. Pepper at this banquet, and Honey hadn't eaten all day? So, he was unusually outgoing, after only one of his (think, half a glass of Crown Royal, with a quarter glass of Dr. Pepper). The banquet was fun, and I was slightly convinced that I was appreciated, and might, do the sale again next year.

Thursday was the day of the Show and Sale. It went pretty well! The cattle sold good and were very consistent in their prices. The Bulls Averaged $2350 and Heifers averaged $2655. We had a couple of calves over 5000, but after that prices were very consistent, with only a couple of calves below the average.

I had a system, so we were done with the closeout by 6pm! WOW!! Last year we were there until after 9pm. and the sale ended before 5pm.

Then It was back home. When we got home all was well. Girls were asleep, house wasn't quite a disaster, Valentines were ready, no dead calves. Then I went to our room to go to bed. (Squeak's bed is in there). And. I. Found. An ADULT PILLOW, and 4 BLANKETS in bed. With. My. BABY! He was VERY tangled. OMG!!! I am SOOO Lucky he wasn't dead. (I really hope those P-I-L) don't ever read this blog...) Really, I'm trying hard NOT to complain, but the US Government spends millions a year educating people about SIDS and how to prevent it! And she is a NURSE! I thought she would know these things. I really wasn't joking when I said that I hoped my kids wouldn't die when they were watching my kids. I'm still not over this, and I won't be. NEXT TIME THE KIDS R COMING WITH US!!! Even if it IS Cold!! I can't do this. I was sooooo stressed out, and I found out I DID HAVE A REASON to stress! Yikes!!

Now, I'm off to think of something romatic, and loving to do for my honey! I have the movie Fireproof, and think it will be a good one to snuggle up with tonight.

A gate and my chin

2009-02-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

Yup, Shanen is a Klutz!

My darn chin always gets in the way. I’ll have to tell you about the bicycle accident later. Right now I’m sporting a big black and purple bruised chin. Two days ago in the morning, I’m sitting in my chair reading blogs and watching Squeak play. The night before we trailed the cows back out to pasture and the calves had quit bawling. Then from the south I see a cow go by, and then, the pups were trailing her. These are the now 6 month old pups out of Chilli and Rosie.

I quickly scooped up Squeak, and asked J to sing to him while he was in his crib. I turned Hannah Montana on the iPod radio, and ran out the door, with the real dogs following me. Apparently, I didn’t need to run. The pups put her away. Yup, we hadn’t put the cows in that pen but 2 times, and as I came out the door I watched Lola turn her for Big Dog and they worked together to put her right down the hay pile. I ran for nothing. Huff, Huff, Puff, Puff. I “Stayed” the dogs, and snuck down the fence and opened the gate. I brought the dogs on slow and walked her down the fence line and right into the pen.

Wow! The instinct that is bred into the dogs is AMAZING! They have been following along for about 2 months when we’ve moved cows across the road, and when we moved them into different pens, but as of yet, they haven’t shown anything other than basic interest in herding. They sure surprised me, and impressed me too!

Just goes to show you what good breeding does for an animal. We have 3 more pups bred back the same way that are looking for good working homes.

Life and Death on the Ranch

2009-02-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning brought two suprises. One Great, one not so great. First, we had a heifer that suprised us with a 50 pound Gigolo Joe Bull Calf. Yup, just one. No twin. This calf is so tiny and CUTE!! It was pretty cold, so we made a makeshift blanket for him. We took an old pair of Honey's sweat pants, and cut the leg off. We cut a hole for the legs to come out. and the end covered up his ears pretty well, to keep them from freezing.

I have to modify this "slinky" cause it keeps dropping down over his eyes, and honey cut the cuff, so I can't just cut eye holes. See how fresh he is, with his bright red umbilical cord! She really calved him easy!

You can see, he got up right away and nursed. He should be a GREAT CALVING EASE bull! So excited to get all these new calves on the ground to market them!!

Then, the other side of life on the ranch. We had a dead spring born heifer. Honey noticed she was a little bloated the night before. I went into the pen, and couldn't pick her out of the line-up that was eating. We decided that we were going to wait and see if she would go down on her own. If she was bloated in the AM, we would tube her with some oil. Well, no need to tube her. She died. That part sucks, an 800 pound heifer, dead. Her gut was probably twisted, since she died so quick, and didn't look that bloated 8 hours before. She was fine at the midnight check too.

Ahh, the realities of life on the Ranch. Both the wonders of life, and the realities of death.

I think I'm going to take Pony Girl's lead and make a Blogging Schedule. That way, I'll try to post on a regular basis about different aspects of Life, and Life on the Ranch. If you want to learn more, or hear more funny stories, just drop me a comment. I love em!

This Weekend, and Music on the Ranch

2009-02-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well, after loosing our first calf this weekend, the rest of it went pretty well. We did move cows on Saturday, and weaned and worked the fall calves. A friend came over with his two girls. I love my barn!!! Sorry, but I do!! Even though the entire working system isn't finished, we have the working chute set up where the roping chute will eventually be, and it works well. Honey and I were able to sort all the calves off easily and move colts around so they have a pen next to their mamas.

That's where we get the music. Mama cows singing and crying and SCREAMING for their calves. Some take it harder than others. Those are the one's that give us fits. But, not really this year. Because of our wonderful new pens. Steel Pipe pens. That means, unless they jump really high (6 feet) no cows are getting out and going for a run. I am SOOO thankful for our new setup! You see in the past years, cows were always out! And calves would get back out to their mamas. And then its a mess! The cows know they are about to get separated, again, and head for the hills! So, this year, when I hear a cow bellering in the middle of the night, I go back to sleep (unless it's my turn for heifer check). I can sleep because of our wonderful new pens, and knowing that everyone is in their proper place! And honey is sleeping this year, because I'm not dragging him out of bed to chase cows in the dark!

Then, as you see in the picture above, we let the girls ride. We even put on saddles later for them. The girls were able to ride inside the open end of the barn, while we worked the calves. It was great! Squeak was taking a nap in the truck, and the girls were in heaven. I love these old horses! The paint was my first pony. He and the Palamino are 24. The sorrel is 13. These three let the girls climb all over them and trade places about a million times. AHH, to be a little girl again, wait, I AM! I never grew out of the love of a horse and the pleasure they bring to me!!

Sunday, we (I mean Honey) clipped a bull, for the Iowa Beef Expo Sale. He turned out GREAT!! And he is such a pet! UH OH, yes, you hear me falling in love with him. And, we do need another bull! We'll see. Hopefully for his owner's he brings a ton more money than we can afford!

Hope you like the pictures, and THINK SPRING!!

Puppies - New pictures - Reasons you need a puppy!

2009-02-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

So, I know I haven't put new pics up for a while. Here you go. Rosie (Dam)is in my profile picture. Well, here are some updated pictures.

I would like $250 for the merle and $150 for the Black Tri's. Sire and Dam (sorry, we're cattlepeople)are both very good working dogs.

I love this cross because the Heeler (sire, named Chilli) is very strong and unstoppable when it comes to an agressive cow. Chilli is my husband's dog and would protect my husband with his life. I take him when I help work our neighbors cattle, and he also watches me. He will take directions from me also. The only reason I have been taking Chilli, is so that Rosie (could stay home with the pups).

Rosie is a mini-Aussie registered with the National Stock Dog Registry. She is a large mini at 19 inches. Rosie was a slower dog to go to work (around 9 months) but now she would do ANYTHING for me. She has ridden with me every day of her life, except for when she has had pups. This is her second litter. Rosie always has the look that she does in this picture. She just wants to know what I want her to do? She'll go for a run with the kids, or she'll help me walk in a pair, or she'll load a trailer very aggressively.

On a personal note, my youngest child is just a year old. While pregnant, Rosie was very protective of me. When Squeak was born, she would not leave his side. When anyone else would hold him, she would sit by them and "come get me" when he fussed or cried. She is simply wonderful with the kids and will let them do anything to her (so will Chilli). I truly believe Rosie and Chilli would die to protect me or the kids.

We kept two of the last litter, for our girls, and they are working great, and staying right with their girl. Another one of last year's pups is started by another friend, and proving VERY aggressive. We have started ours slower, but they have the drive and are intent on their mission.

If you think you might be interested in a pup, just drop me a note or comment, and I'll get you my phone number, so we can talk.... on the phone.

Cryin in my Crown N Pepper

2009-01-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Well, we lost the calf. : ( Not for lack of trying!! We got her in the headgate and pulled. Then we got out the calf jack. Sorry, no pictures. I was covered in fluid and blood. So no camera, besides we were too busy. This angus heifer just had NO pelvic area! We worked on her for about an hour. 45 min into it, the calf quit breathing. You can coach a woman and MAKE her push. Or you can push on her stomach. You can't MAKE a heifer push, and you can't push her calf out for her. And this heifer just quit trying!!

We finally got the calf out, and along with it came a glob. We took the calf inside the house and worked on it for about 15 min. We breathed for it (yes, mouth to mouth) and drained its lungs (hung it upside down) and pumped its heart. No dice. We worked and worked and worked. Nothing. So, we both spat out the fluid from our mouths and "called it quits". We weighed the calf, only 74.5 pounds. Not that big. Heifer should have had her easily. We took the calf back outside to have the heifer lick her off and mother her (yes, the calf was a nice heifer). The heifer was still laying down. A good amount of blood behind her, uh oh. Honey felt in her hooey, and pulled out two big globs, of FAT. We estimated all the globs (including the first one) to be about 5 pounds. WRONG! Just Wrong! A heifer should not put that much fat into her uterus! That means that she was too fat to calve, and most of our calving issues were due to the fat. Hmmm.

Got her in the barn and she laid back down and started mothering the (dead) calf. Good. Just hope she doesn't bleed out. Honey made a call and we will have a (reputable) bottle calf in the AM to replace hers. We will skin the dead calf and put the skin on the new one to get the heifer (now cow) to mother the new one. Honey has this neat little trick to skin a dead calf and keep the anus intact, so you just stick the live tail thru it and tie a string around the neck (live calf) and into the hide. That way the skin will stay on pretty good for at least a week. I know its gory, but its the truth, and it IS useful info to a cattleman(woman).

So, I hope she(the cow) makes it thru the night. And we can at least graft a calf on her, cause she has a really good udder.

But, that doesn't mean I'm not sad and upset (and feeling my Crown n Pepper, wait I poured a full glass, and still have half of a can of pepper left, oh well, I'll sleep well till midnight check). If it were any other heifer, she should have had this calf VERY easily. And it did look like a good heifer.

So, now that we have gotten that out of the way (loosing a calf) for the YEAR, I'll sign off and go to bed. Yup, at 7pm. Honey has the kids snuggling and watching Hannah Montana.

Thank God for Midwives, Doula's and Hospitals! I'm glad my last 2 children were in the prescence of these! Heifer should have had a C-section, and the vet that does them was at least 2 hours away.

We've Got FEET!!!

2009-01-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Just got home from taking Squeak to the Dr. And sending the Freegrazers home at a run (Rosie LOVES her job). Stopped in the barn to check heifers, while on the phone to my sister, and screamed in her ear, "We've got Feet!, gotta go".

I know, we live on a cattle ranch, and these things are supposed to happen. BUT, it's the first one of the year, and we bought her, and I'm really excited and nervous! So, I went in the house to fold laundry. Nothing like something mundane and annoying to get your mind off the subject. But, I will be back outside checking her in another half hour....

I have no clue how you midwives and doula's stay so calm and are so wonderful! I am as nervous as a cat on ice! So, I will check her every half hour, and see if I can help her stretch when the time comes. Then I'll help take care of the calf. I might even try to take some pics. The one at the top shows how long I have to wait,..... a LONG time.

BTW - Calving is 506T (44 from Juli's sale) She is a SPA Blackbird 1407 (angus) bred to Gigolo Joe (Maine Anjou) and was due 2-9-09. This should be a very exciting halfblood Mainetainer calf!

Dam Freegrazers!

2009-01-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Name that movie! - No offense to those that live in freegrazing states. But we don't; we live in IOWA. You are supposed to have fences. And you are supposed to CLOSE the gates to keep your cows in. AND it would help if you actually fed them and chopped ICE, so they would have water. Ahh, I feel a little better.

Apparently, we live in a freegrazing area of the county. NO ONE keeps their cows in their fences. And the latest and most frequent to our house, cattle visitors, are "owned" by our county assessor. He lives 1 mile north and 1 mile east. Down a Level B road. [A level B is basically a dirt road, that is maintained 2 times a year, wait then our main road to our house should be a Level B].

The cows have been out since 3 or so, and Honey did call to let him know. And, SO HELP ME, if those cows are on my hay pile when I go out at midnight to check heifers.... The dogs will get a workout and "I'll scatter them to the 4 winds" (can't help it, once I get on that movie, I can quote it all night). No really, Rosie has been so penned up (with the pups) she is itching to work, or just chase something!! She was begging me all night as I chored with those big blue/brown eyes and begging "pllllleeeeaaaaseeee, come ON, they're not in a pen, we gotta go get um! Ruf!" circle spin, run to the road circle spin! IF any of you have aussie's or working dogs, you get the idea.

She KNEW they weren't supposed to be there and she just HAD to put them away. So, after an hour or so, I walked to the road and said "SKOOO" (that's her word to move the cows away, and bite if they aren't going). You would have thought that dog won the Lotto! She took off, barked for her pups (the 9 month olds) to get up here and took off. At this point, the freegrazing cows were 1/4 mile north of our land and headed towards us at a trot, 'cause I had been feeding our heavy cows. Well Rosie and the others turned em! She stopped them, turned them East (took a good direction from me after waiting to see which way I wanted them). She even called off pretty easily considering they were so far from me when she got them turned. She brought the pups back and was praised to high heaven!! She even tried to show her pups that my praise was a good thing. She danced on her hind legs and pranced and was SOOO excited! I wish everyone could love their jobs as much as Rosie and I do!

Still can't figure out whose nuts stink. It doesn't smell as bad, but there is a faint odor. So, tomarrow, I'll put them in the alleyway and check nuts to see if we need to re-band one, or doctor someone. Yes, I consider all my animals people. They all have their own personalities and feelings.

Today was a good day. Got off to a slightly rough start. Honey went out to hook up my truck to my pig trailer (so sweet!) and 2 mares were waiting in the yard for him. I hustled outside and we gently led them to the pen. One, wasn't a broke mare, but she was tame. The other was our one-eyed mare. As soon as Tasha could hear me, she turned her pretty little head and let me take her back to the pen. I knew the gate they had knocked over, and wired it up right this time.

Hauled my piggies, and arrived home after noon. Squeak still doesn't feel good, so we fussed and fretted till he passed out with me at 3. I snuck out of the house when the girls got home at four and started choring. While the waters were filling, I moved some more tin for my "real" round pen. The pen we made the other day is about 56' x 56', and looks like we will have it filled with cows/heifers for the next several months. So, I hope to build a 30' ROUND pen this weekend. I want it small for slow work with some colts.

Honey got home, and kids were still doing great, so we hooked up a new bale unroller on the tractor. (as soon as I figure out how to get them off my phone, you'll have pictures). I went out and honked the cows up. [Imagine a crazy lady in a painted up, dented up old crew cab pickup, driving out through the pasture honking her horn and calling "come baaaaassssss, um baaaassss"] I brought the cows up to the new hay and fed them a little corn. They love the taste, and were chasing me the last 60 acres! It was all I could do to keep from bouncing out of my seat, and staying infront of the cows, so I could cross the creekbed first! Honey drove the farm pick up to work and the seat was all "messed up". You have to remember he is 6'4" and I am 5' 0" and we keep our seats as opposite as you can make em, so it takes me a while to get the seat "right".

I came in the house, and to my suprise, he was cooking! AND, he had the girls picking up the house, squeak was getting fed, and there was no yelling or whining! WOW, what a man! He does supprise me sometimes, and it was wonderful for them to all help pickup the house since I had been so lacking today, with my pigs and a fussy one. AHH, I love my honey.

Seriously, has anyone guessed that movie yet??? It's my current favorite, and has been for a while.

One other odd tidbit, I just put Pomegranate & Mango Chipotle Sauce on one of our chairs. A pup has been chewing, and I didn't have any tabasco (must have used it on tales when the colts were chewing) and this sauce really heats up your mouth. But it is good, so I didn't waste the whole bottle.

Night y'all, I'm headed for a nap until my midnight night check, or Squeak's teeth hurting wakes him up, whichever comes first. I'll bet Squeak wakes me up at 10.

I'll have to figure something out and do a drawing for something fun, for all of you who guess at my movie lines.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-01-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

Well, my dad's officially OVER the hill. Cause he's been perched at the top O that hill for a whole year now. I'm sure you guessed, he is now 51.

Wow! I used to think 30 was old. Then 50 became old.

I once heard a teenaged cousin at a family gathering say that this guy was REALLY old, like 80 or something. Then someone cleared his throat. It was Granpa Smith. He had just turned 81 and we did not consider him really old. That small snipped of a conversation changed my whole idea of old. Now age is something you strive to attain. Because you have a ton of knowledge when you get there! And you've actually made it!

Congrats Dad! You've survived your own childhood, AND us two girls. Hope to congratulate you on another 50 or so birthdays!! LOVE Shanen