#473

We were out tagging calves, feeding corn to cows the other night when Tally captured this video.



#473 has become braver over last few weeks, and she finally decided to eat out of the bucket and let me scratch her head.  There's one in every crowd!

Spring in Montana

Mother Nature isn't letting up.  April Snow Showers will bring May flowers, right?  Snow in May? Sure, why not!

 Now, why were are truly grateful for the moisture she is giving us, couldn't Mother Nature at least warm up by 20* and send us this much needed moisture in the form of warm spring rains?

Here is a few snapshots I have taken in the last couple of weeks.  Sadly, this is the most snow we have had all winter.

Wet, cold horses begging for some hay

Mama taking care of her brand new baby

Hubby filling hay feeders for the heifers calves

Snow covered hay bales kind of makes for a pretty picture

Black and white

TC enjoying the snow and helping do chores

nom nom nom 

slushy, watery muddy mess

Tearing into the bales before they got put into the feeder  

Heyyyy Bossss!

Ok, let's try posting this video once more so it can actually be viewed.  Sorry!

TC is (so she sometimes informs me) mine and papa's cowboss.  She's learning at young age, though honestly most of her time is spent catching an nap while we are out feeding cows.
This morning I had to stop and capture this little video of her.  She cracks me up.    Enjoy!

Tis the Season

Tis the season to be buying bulls!  Last week we attended our first sale of the season.  We went, we looked, we liked and we bought!  My checkbook is a lot lighter as we came home with 2 bulls for ourselves and 1 bull for the corporation.

I love bulls sales.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's as simple as bull sale means a trip to town.  Maybe it's because I can remember going with my dad as a young kid and later on in life going with him as a serious looker/buyer.  Could be it's just all the excitement, the cleaned up and cattle and getting to see and visit with people.  Whatever the reason, I just simply enjoy a bull sale.

Last week on twitter, I tweeted asking what EPD's are most influential to you and your operation when choosing new breeding bulls.  It was a quite a conversation and there is no right or wrong answer as each cattle operation is different.  The one big this we talked about is how some people forget to actually take phenotype into consideration.  I feel that is and should be a big part of our selection process.

 On that same particular twitter conversation it was discussed how many cattlemen and women actually understand and comprehend what each EPD stands for and means.  Do they understand their importance or how one may correlate with another?  If I was smart enough I would post a link to the conversation, but that is way over my head!

So how do you use EPD's?  How much influence do they have in your selection process?  What are the top 3 EPD's you look at while browsing a sale catalogue?  Do you take the time to actually look at the bull?

Family Friday Night

Family Friday nights around here in the summer are not your typical family outings.

Nope, on any Friday night (and really any night of the week) we load up the kids and dog and head out to go check cows, check crops, go do some irrigating or a hundred other things that need to be done.  We take this time to be together as a family, but do get our work done and teach our kids.

T and TC just love going to check cows and helping putting out mineral.  I could say its because they are with mom or dad, or because we are spending time as a family but I would be lieing.   They enjoy putting out mineral so much because 'mixing' and 'stirring' the mineral is just the most fun!  It really is, just ask the two little blondes in the picture!

Putting out mineral is just one of the many things we do together as a family.  We irrigate, we seed, we hay, we move cows, we work cows, we harvest, we play, we fight, we hug and we love.  Its just what we do.

The kids, though they are young, have already learned you can't go check cows, put out mineral without checking on the water!  And maybe so mom can snap some pictures.  

 I just love old windmills.   Our Family Friday nights may not be typical, but they are who and what we are and do!  Pretty sure I wouldn't change a thing!

I Like Cows

I like cows.  

They are beautiful.

They are survivors.

They are stubborn.

They are good for one's soul.

I just really like cows.

Wordless Wednesday

Spring 2012

So, how was your day?

I have several posts written, need to do some editing. So tonight I gonna do something new, if not a little crazy.

When asked the question; 'How was your day?' or 'So, what did you do today?' how do you answer? Wel, I am going to answer that question(s) now.

What did I do today? Well let me tell you.

1. Woke up, got myself ready for the day. Threw a load of laundry in.
2. Snuck out and did chores while girls were still sleeping.
3. Woke girls up, got them ready and made them breakfast.
4. Put roast in crock pot and loaded dishwasher.
5. Packed diaper bag and loaded girls into to take them to babysitter.
6. Forgot to load flat tire so turned around and went home and got it
7. Tire and girls dropped off.
8. Husband had gathered heifers this morning, and it's was my job to haul them to new pasture.
9. Loaded first load onto trailer. Crap, bad tire on trailer.
10. Unloaded heifers. Need to change tire.
11. Can't get all the lug nuts loose on tire. My cousin came and rescue.
12. Ok, new tire on.
13. Load heifers again. Haul them to new pasture and head home for second load.
14. Get second load of heifers loaded. Take second and last load to pasture then head back home.
15. Run into house switch laundry, pack myself lunch, water jug. Oh, can't forget iPod.
16. Head to hay field.
17. Spend next 6 hours making hay! I was round baling which I prefer over baling big square bales.
18. Husband shows up at field to relive me. He picked up the girls on way out to field.
19. Load girls in my pickup and head home dreaming of how good that roast in the crockpot is going to smell and taste.
20. Get home. Don't smell anything. Forgot to plug crockpot in. I hate when I do that. Frozen pizza for supper it is.
21. Girls fed, washed, bedtime stories and in bed.
22. I pour myself a drink and head outside to weed garden, feed dog and take care of bum calves.
23. I make myself another drink!

Such is a day in my life as a ranch woman, farm wife, mama, woman!

This mam is going to bed!