The two brothers dreaded the walk they knew they must take. Leaving the relative warmth of the log cabin, they trudged outside into four inches of wet spring snow. The softness and beauty the snow would normally lend to the land now lay eerily upon shapes unknown. They stepped across Spring Creek’s small meandering flow…
Category: Family
The Zone
For the women out there… (sorry, guys… estrogen area ahead!) Do you remember “The Zone”? For those of you my age… we endured childbirth the “natural” way… no drugs, nada, nothing. My oldest, my daughter, took forever! My middle child was a large baby boy with a round head. My baby… I “zoned” on him……
Heifer Vaccination
While the boys were here for spring break… we managed to do those jobs that need everyone on board. We’ll AI (artificially inseminate) our young yearling heifers in May but the process begins now… vaccinating them with PregGuard. Since Daniel and I work the front of the chute… and Brandon works loading the alley and…
Even though…
Even though you’d think the entire ranch has come to a standstill to watch and ooooh and aaaah over Elsa’s litter of puppies… of course, that isn’t true. Thanks to Vernon and Johnny’s hard work, the cattle are still being fed… the calves are still being born… and tagged… and reunited with their mommas if the…
Big Sister
Dally is confused. She woke me up the other night at 2 am with a “barking fit”. Turns out she was telling me Elsa had gone into labor… but I ignored her… at 2 am, I try to ignore many things! Her best friend has suddenly turned into a “bitch”. Any attention she asks of…
Lucas’ Ride
When we herded our cats calves the other day, Lucas was the designated dog of the day. Why? First and foremost, Lucas works quietly. If he was as barky as Elsa can sometimes be, the momma cows would turn back, ready to defend their calves, and forward progress would be non-existent. Lucas’ bark applies to when cows turn,…
Herding Cats
Today we had to move our cows… some have newborns… some don’t. Herding baby calves is much like herding the proverbial cats… they don’t know what to do… they don’t know that mom just took 3 steps that a’way… they have no clue that even if they touch noses with her… that that *really* is…
The bunkhouse
The bunkhouse sits just under a south facing hill. On the left side is the living quarters with bed, table, and at one time an old stove. Many a hired hand has slept here… many a visitor… On the right side is the remnants of the blacksmith shop with various tools and mysterious pieces in…
Ten Days and Counting
Ten days and counting… Butcher’s Foothills Elsa, (United Kennel Club Registry, English Shepherd Club Registry, Canine Good Citizen, MDR1 mutant/normal, OFA Good, light shaded sable female, born 5/10/2004) is gravid, fecund, replete. Gravid is a great term for her. Heavy, burdened. Slowed by the extra weight, she rocks to achieve a standing position. Fecund. Prolific….
Those old Tales
I’ve been going through old papers, finding papers 100 years old to the day… This is a warranty deed, this a homestead filing, that a mortgage. No stories. Just names we’ve heard for years. Signatures in ink… real ink… dipped, bold to fading… Surprised that the man I pictured as rough and tumble had great…
Puppies
‘ve known for a while now… and I did post it on my website… but I’ll make the announcement here… We’re gonna have puppies! The due date is March 24th. I’m thrilled. Elsa is feeling… well… fat! Slowing a tad, too. I will get to enjoy them in good weather as opposed to her last…
Heifer Story 2
Along the Nowood River exist many industrious beavers. While the Nowood wouldn’t qualify as a river in most other states, it does in Wyoming because it flows a large amount of water for this dry country. Probably because of the Nowood’s size, these beavers have developed into “bank” beavers instead of the usual “dam” beavers…