Strawberry Jam!

I love Strawberry Jam!  And this years batch of strawberries have been excellent!  No, I didn't grow them, I stole them from my friends strawberry patch!  Well, I mean, I have a friend with a strawberry patch, and she graciously and willingly gave me strawberries!  

Don't they look beautiful!

I had a little help when it came to smashing the strawberries up!

She was a great helper!

Cooking the jam before putting into jars.

This Is How We Have Fun In Montana

A couple of weekends ago it was our county fair, and our saddle club holds the annual Ranch rodeo.  Last year we had our 1st Annual Women's Calf Dressing, and it was such a hit, we had it again.  The object of the three woman team is to take the calf, put the calf's head through the head of the t-shirt, and then put the calf's legs through the arm holes of the t-shirt and be the first team to get him across the finish line.  

We had five teams this year.  I did not participate last year, as I was pregnant and was not planning on this year, as I was busy helping with the rodeo.  But there was a mother/daughter duo that were there visiting from Idaho, that couldn't find a third member, so at the last minute I joined them.  Enjoy the video.  

OH!  And yes, I am the one in the turquoise t-shirt that trips over her own two feet while headed for the line.  But like any good team member that you just meet they just kept pulling the calf over top me while yelling 'We're Not Stopping!'.  It was a blast!

Like Flies on a Cow

Driving through the cows the other night, while searching for that hole in the fence that needed to be fixed, I was noticing how bad the flies are on the cows and calves. It got me to wondering, is there really anything that works for keeping the flies under control in your cattle herd? Let's face it; flies are a nuisance.  Nuisance to me and to livestock of all kind.  Even my four year old runs around the house with a fly swatter in hand attempting to kill the buggers!

Producers can put fly tags in their calves during spring working or branding.  How effect is that?  How long does it really last?

Do you use the mineral feeders that have the fly dust back built over top them like a canopy?  Every time a cow comes to get mineral, they rub up under the fly dust bag?

How about the cattle mineral that has fly control in it?  Help control flies from the inside out?

Do you have cattle oilers set up in your pasture for you herd to use?

 
 
Do you spray your cattle periodically as you are rotating pastures?

Have you discovered some biological control that works in your herd?

I am really curious as to what works for you and your herd?  I am always up for learning something new and maybe it's a technique that we haven't tried and may work for us.  Or

Flower Girl

Last week Little Miss T was a flower girl in a friends wedding.  After the wedding, there was a few free moments so we headed over to the John Deere lot and Angela took some pictures of her in her flower girl dress, and her Purple John Deere boots.  That's right!  Purple John Deere boots!! The bride and groom gave them to her to wear with her flower girl dress.

You can check out a few of the pictures over at Angela's blog:

Cali Girl Out On The Prarie

Where Do You Go?

Where do you go when you want to catch up on Agriculture news?

What Ag paper do you read from front to back?

What's your go to website for up to date information pertaining to your operation?

What Ag blogs do you keep tabs on?

I have my favorites, but am always curious to what other producers are reading and where they are gathering their information.  You just never know when you will find that next best information!

Missouri River Flooding 2011

The flooding this year is just unbelievable.  To the person who didn't understand the damage the river is causing due to new channels being made, crops being lost and houses floating away, it would be a magnificent sight.  

To me, it's amazing, sad, and devastating.

There should be no water to the right of Tally.  The river cut a new channel through that field.

Landslides.

The river is so wide.

Water is so wide it won't fit in a picture.

There should be no water in those trees!

Or in these trees.

See that water!  Under that water is a lentil field. 

More lentils; gone.

It's hard to tell, but the bank was starting to sluff off.  

More crops under water.

That water channel should not be there.  That channel showed up in a matter of hours. 

Another view of the new channel.  The water was just rushing through that field.

A lot of our crops are gone.  A lot of hay ground is gone.  The river will never be the same.  And no one really knows how long its going to take for the river to recede bank into its banks.  I am guessing when the river does decide to recede, we will be spending a lot of time moving debris and garbage from the fields we will still be able to farm in the future.

Branding 2011 Part 2

We finally got our calves at home branded.  It's been a long spring.  We had a nice night and great friends helping.

Jakob helping his mom vaccinate

The roping crew:  Travis and Jordan

Tally helping Papa Loren

Hard Working Crew!

Jordan.  Fishing??

Tally and Jakob were busy decorating the corral fence.

Getting the work done.

Roping calves.

Branding is a favorite time of year for me.  I love the work.  I love the weather.  I love getting to help neighbors.  I love getting caught up of friends.  It gives you quite the feeling of accomplishment.  But I always sigh a sign of relief when our branding is done.  

Branding 2011

Branding has been a long drawn out process this spring/summer due to rain, farming and everything else Mother Nature has thrown at us.  We finally got Schledewitzs' done the other week, and the day after we got ours done.  

The old wooden post, woven fence round pen is not the easiest to rope out of, but its tradition

A shot of the branding stove and irons

The Boss

Getting the job done

Ragtag Crew.  Jakob, Tally and Tenley.  Tenley was a trooper all day long.

Summer Sky June 7th 2011

Mother Nature still isn't in a very good morning.  She just keeps coming with the rain and icky weather.  They have opened the gates on the Fort Peck Dam and some of our crops are getting flooded as I type this.  The majority of our cropland lays next to the Missouri River, and are slowly becoming swallowed up by the water.    

Here are a few pictures I snapped early this morning of the sky.  It's been lightening for the past hour, and has started to rain.  

Looking North

Looking West

West.  The sky is so amazing.

Another shot looking West. 

Northeast of our place.

The weather man has heavy rains and thunderstorms predicted for the rest of the week. Our fields, pastures and my mood could use a good shot of sunshine!

Today

Please take a moment to honor the ultimate sacrifices made by our military men and women so that we may enjoy all our days.

We did get our friends calves branded yesterday.  Tally wrestled her first calf, and baby slept the day away in her stroller in the branding pen!  It was a good day of work, but also of visiting and catching up with friends.

My uncle is supposed to brand today, but we have had an inch of rain since last night, so I have my doubts if that will get done today.

We are trying to talk Big D into branding ours on Wednesday, as the sun is supposed to shine.  I shall keep you posted.

Enjoy your memorial day and don't forget to thank the military past and present.

To Brand or Not To Brand?

I hope to be spending my helping my good friends brand their calves.  In order to do that the weather man must be wrong and Mother Nature (after 9 months) will be in a good mood!

So hopefully all goes well and I will have some fun branding photos to share with you!

I Have Proof!!

I know I have mentioned a few times how much I love PW!!  It's true, ask my family and friends!  

I love her blog.  I love her recipes.  I love her cookbook.  Honestly I heart PW!  

Way back in March my good friend J and I traveled many miles to Great Falls to go to one of  PW's Book Signings.  It was so worth the miles.  I left my babies at home, but her son Colter John made the trek with us across the state of Montana.  It was the first road trip J and I have ever take together, and I can't wait until next week when we take the next; but that is another story.

Anyway, however you look at it I love PW.  I bought a few new cookbooks for her to sign.  No, I did not have her sign the cookbook I use, as it is falling apart.  Both Dana and I have used that cookbook so much it is falling apart.  

The pages don't even stay in anymore.

I wasn't kidding, its falling apart at the seam!

Falling out all over.  And you can't even see the stains from splatters from our cooking!

See the broken seam??  This is the first cake I have ever baked from scratch in my whole life!

OHHHH...cinnamon rolls.  To die for.  And so simple I can do it.  

Since Dana stayed home with the babies, and  he enjoyes PW's recipes as much as I do, I had Miss Ree sign a cookbook for my husband!

*the pictures aren't the best, as my four year old insisted on taking them.  Though she might have taken better ones than I would have!*

Kids and Horses

The girls and I spent a few days at my folks' house the other week.  We branded a few, rode some horse and hung out.  These pictures were taken the 14th of May, and it was cold!!  We branded on Friday the 13th, and it was cold.  We could see our breath as we were standing in the branding pen.  My dad snuck back up to the house and put his long johns on.  I was wishing might hard that I had packed a pair of my long johns.  

Despite the cold, the girls got to ride for a little bit.  They were froze when they got back to the house, but they had fun.  I didn't get any pictures, but they had the barrels set up behind the house, and were having fun 'running the barrels at the rodeo'.  

Miss Timber getting ready to ride Shambo.  Shambo is HER horse, just ask her.   Though her Papa will let her believe that, ol' Shambo is one of dad's good horses.  He uses him on the ranch, to rope off of and of course to keep his granddaughter horseback!

I love how Shambo lowers his head to let Timber do her reins.  He knows, and he takes care of her! 

Tally & Abe
Tyann & Streaker
Timber & Shambo

I might add that Tally's Auntie TyTy and Timbers mother TyTy is riding the oldest horse out of the three pictured.  Just thought I should share that fact!  Streaker is an uncle to my horses 6pack and Squirt I have talked about.  And according to Tally, he is a naughty (ie not a kids horse) and she can't ride him.

Streaker is not a kids horse, nor is he a Tana horse.  That horse has bucked me off several times, and tried to several more.  Him and I have a personality conflict, and I am ok with that.  If he has been ridden I can get away with roping out of the branding pen off of him, but that is about it.  When we lived out on the Powder River, we had to gather yearling out of the top pasture, which was 14 sections and had to trail down (another 4 miles) down to the Dippenvat pasture.  About 2 miles from our destination gate, Tyann wanted to switch horses with me.  While Tyann was riding him, he was stumbling as he was sleeping from being so tired.  But I got on and he had his ears back and was gonna buck me off.  I do believe that is the last time I have ridden him.  But that little story was off the subject, so lets get back to Kids and Horses.

We don't believe in ponies at our house!

And they are off!