Tonight is Elsa’s last few hours to be, uhm… girlish? Female? Fecund? Yeah. That works. Her journey has been fertile. She is coming up on six years of age. She’s had five litters. Two when she was owned by De Butcher in Oklahoma, and three litters for me. Thirty puppies. Yes, thirty wonderful, gorgeous, working…
Petite Partner
This is what I like to see. A healthy calf and a good momma! I lost a calf last night… I was minutes late to his birth and the sack was over his head… no chance for the little guy. I hate that! I also know that it is impossible to be there for each…
Every Morning
Every morning, most people commute to work… Work being at a desk… sitting… pushing paper… or computer keys… Every morning, Vernon walks out the door (usually at 7 am) and is on the job. Occasionally, I help, so now you get to come along and share in our work! First, we feed the cattle. You…
Spirit Wind
Finally! Petroglyph photos! Yay! Last week, during our trip to the Dugout, we took a sidetrip… and visited these petroglyphs. Neither I nor Vernon knew they existed until a week or two before our visit. While helping our neighbors, Johnny and the neighbor just happened to mention the carvings. Vernon’s ears perked up, taking note…
Heifer Check, Check? Right…
Only two more calves today. Of course, I haven’t made my 10 o’clock run yet! Thanks for everyone’s concern for Dally. She’s perking up a little bit. She went along feeding this morning which involved jumping onto and off of the hay trailer. She’d try to land sidewise, protecting that left side. Once though she…
Ten O’clock Shift
Last night began my first heifer checking shift. For those of you new to this blog, or ranches, or cattle, you might investigate my Heifer Movies on the left sidebar of this blog. But basically, heifers are cows that are having their very first babies. We keep an extremely close eye on them. They are…
Home
Ugh. I am so tired. I can tell I’ve been sitting in town for 2 months! Flailing through the snow and mud yesterday, my legs were sore. Today I drove the tractor a bit for feeding… then drove a 4 wheeler through snow to bring the heifers to the corral… hiked back and forth in…
I’m Back… and There was No Axe-ident
I’m back home! Again, thanks to all of you and your prayers and best wishes and condolences. Though the loss of my mother has left a major hole in my life, my older brother and older sister and I are doing well. We spent the past few days going through much of mom’s belongings. Rediscovering…
I’m Off Again…
So sorry… Just as I get back and we reconnect, I abandon you for another trip to Casper. This time to sort through Mom’s belongings… write thank you cards… rediscover items from childhood… sort and pack and load 78 years of Mom’s life to go new directions. I will try to drop a note the…
Stories To Tell…
Today was a glorious day! Pretty… Clear… Sunny… Perfect for a winter outing… so we took one! Located on North Buffalo Creek perhaps 12 miles due west of this place is the Dugout. (Johnny and Vernon hiking to the Dugout ruins) Known to all local cowboys of the early days, the Dugout was a well…
Sleddogs
Sleddogs My view when I arrived home the other night… An *almost* perfect scene… Think the REA would be upset if I buried all our power lines??? ******************************************************************************* I need to share these photos I also took on my way home. I “almost” walked over and talked to these people… You see, back in the…
Remember the Mills Place
Remember the Mills Place? Thanksgiving 2008, this is what the kitchen looked like. Avocado green metal cabinets. A dishwasher you couldn’t open all the way because it banged into the stove. Laminate stuff on the walls. Not airy. Not full of light. We meant to change that! Destruction was relatively easy. They put 1/2 inch…