Guess what y'all? Things are busy here! I know that comes as a surprise since I usually only talk about sitting around eating bon bons & clipping coupons. Today, I am going to get calf pictures. I can hardly keep track of how many we have now as they are hitting the ground faster than I can keep track. They are too cute & I just want to snuggle & love on all of them. Just wait until you see the baby Brahmans - they are all ears & a hump. They look like they'll take flight if they stand in the wind just right! Last week, we got a slab poured for the camper trailer. It will now have a permanent home under its wheels that is level! Mostly level anyway. There has to be some slope to it so that water will run off & not pool. I would say rain, but I'm not really sure what that is. I've heard it is when water falls from the sky. Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me! We had some equine guests this week. The sorrel is Shiner & the white one is Cowboy. They belong to my horseback riding friends Rosemary & Rita. I have twice gotten to go riding this week. Monday was a nice long ride & a shorter one yesterday. So fun & our barn guests were very good. I think they were a little nervous about being away from home. As you can see, they don't look happy at all & were quite excitable! WB got a new black powder open top pistol last week & has been itching to shoot it ever since. He finally got his chance yesterday evening. It needs a little fine tuning, but is fun to shoot. He had a little audience while checking it out, but they didn't stick around too long. Mainly, they heard the Kubota & came running thinking that there was some food to be found. Sad & disappointed, they walked away. Today is going to be get the camper cleaned up day from WBs shoot last weekend. Wash sheets & towels & general cleaning. I need to doctor on my momma cow one more time & then we'll see how she is tomorrow & if I can put her back in the herd. Baby is doing really well though. Need to get my hay man to start hauling hay into the pole barn & the yard man to get me a yard! Car must get inspected & then I can go back to clipping coupons & eating bon bons!

What a Day!

It starts off so nicely - help WB with the electric gate opener, get him packed & stuff stowed away in the camper for the big shoot & off from the house with camper in tow on time. Easy drive to the park, had some lunch, did some small grocery shopping & then set up the camper before heading back to the ranch for the evening. I'm almost home when I get a call that we have a calf that isn't doing well. Can't seem to find her mother & she is very weak.
After trying to feed her some warm milk to no avail, it was pack her up & run into the vet's office. They filled her belly with warm colostrum & gave her some antibiotics. She rode in the front passenger seat of the truck like she'd been doing it her whole life. So cute. She is now in a little makeshift pen in the yard to I can keep an eye on her. We found her mother & she has an awful case of mastitis which is why baby is so weak. Baby can't eat!!
So...today started at 12:48am which is the time that Sugar started waking me up & has had me up off & on since then. I gave up around 3:30 & turned on the coffee pot. Ugh! She's now sleeping quite soundly & lord only knows when I'll get to sleep tonight.
Before I can even think of sleep, Jack & I have to get all the cows up, sort off momma, doctor her udder & reunite baby with momma. Mary is going to run to town to get the medicine while we take care of the cow work. Once all of that is done, it is get cleaned up, packed up & head to Houston for the weekend. Sugar is going to stay in Houston this week because I am going to go insane if I don't get some sleep!
The top picture is of my sweet bull boys. They were out grazing so nicely yesterday morning & looked quite happy to be munching grass. The lower picture is of our little patient. She has been so good & Dog has been keeping an eye on her all night. He's been an awesome babysitter. Now, if I could just teach him to keep watch over Sugar & get her to go to sleep!!

Work, work, work & some fun!

Another busy week has flown by. Here it is Friday Eve & although we have gotten a lot done this week, it feels like nothing got done this week! Maybe I feel that way because I did take off yesterday morning & went for a 2+ hour horseback ride with a friend. It was a great, Ruby did so well & we will, hopefully, get to ride twice next week. Miss Ruby gets her stitches out on Monday. She is too funny in the stock trailer because she can see where she is going - horse trailers let the horse see out the side, not the front. She's like a giant puppy in that she is more than excited to jump in the trailer & if she could pant & wag her tail, she would be doing just that!
The new shredder arrived on Monday & it is a thing of beauty. WB asked me to make some adjustments to the quick connect arms on the back of the tractor so that we can make tighter turns when pulling the shredder & now it is ready to shred, shred, shred. I can't wait to attack some of these weedy pastures! On one hand, the weeds help shade the grass so it doesn't get burned by the sun & on the other hand, the weeds take the moisture in the soil that the grass needs. It's a Catch 22.
Slow but sure progress is being made on the yard. The flower beds are dug out & ready for their lining & rock. The new gates are being installed. Next will be to actually have grass in the yard!! I just hope I can keep it alive - to keep dog from digging it up & from gophers eating it up!! The house will sure be a lot less dusty if we don't have a desert outside!
The "handy man" showed up yesterday. Seems wrong to call him that as he is more of a general contractor since he does all the work himself & does all sorts of work. First project was to lay out the form for the concrete slab where the camper will live. We have the 30amp electric set up & they found the water pipe with an axe, but at least we now know where the water line is & can make a hookup for the camper. Next to find the old sewage line & the camper will have all fronts covered & it will be like a little escape from the hubbub of the house when we have a full house!
Today, WB & I are off to get him set up at the camp ground for his 2-day End of Trail shoot. He's really excited & has been packing the camper since Monday. All I have to do today is get his food/drink supply set up, stow all his gear & hope that we haven't forgotten anything. I'll help with the full hook up of the camper & make sure he is comfy before I head back to the house to finish the days chores, check in with the fence building, calf birthings, slab pouring, yard planting &, of course, take care of all the animals.
Speaking of animals, Sugar dog is doing well. She has been very restless at night & that is making me a little nuts since I don't get a lot of sleep. Overall though, she is still her grumpy little old lady self who just walks around like she is a little drunk. Currently, she is tucked under the covers, head on the pillow, in bed asleep! Ummm, no! She isn't spoiled one little bit!!!

John Denver Lied!

If life on a farm, or ranch in my case, is supposed to be laid back as per the John Denver song, he was wrong wrong wrong!! Can't say there is much laidbackness going on around here these days. Maybe this summer when it will be 800 degrees outside at 6am, but that will be months away.
Another super busy week full of cows, horses, donkeys, counting calves & so much more that it is hard to remember it all at this point. I do know that it was productive, but that is about it.
Had a great weekend with the trail riding group camping out at our campground area. Ruby did really well on our first trail ride together. We need to do a lot more of them so that she will not be such a pill about stranger horses getting in her space. I did keep her from kicking anyone & was able to get her attention back to me. Next time though, she is going to be shod. Her little tootsies don't like the rocks one bit.
We had a gorgeous full moon & if not already, a super moon is soon to arrive. That would be when the moon is closest to the Earth in it's rotation. The sunsets are also quite lovely.
Very exciting in that our new shredder arrived yesterday. Watch out weeds & scrubby pasture because you are about to get shredded like nobody's business! We are going to hook it up to the tractor this morning & take it for a test shred. Can't wait!!

Today was Tuesday, Right??

What a crazy day!!!!
It started off with Steel breaking free from banishment.  At least he came thundering up to the horse barn.  He got out of the east pasture by pushing against the chain that latches the gate until he pulled the staple out of the post.  New gate, new chain, new staple & new post - that horse pulled a 2 inch steel staple out of a hardwood post.  Amazing!  I noticed that he has a few little wounds on his neck from his efforts & I'll have to doctor on those tomorrow.
Horses fed, gate fixed, Jack working on the new fence project so I thought I'd put the grapple rake on the tractor & clean up the trees felled for the other fence project.  That was a lot of fun & I got 8 trees stacked up before lunch.
Lunch made & cleaned up, I decided to make my meat sauce for the baked zitti dinner I had planned.  All that done & WB was going to take me to pick up the Kubota so I'd have wheels to get home after stacking more trees.  OH NO!!!  We just thought that was the plan for the afternoon.
Instead, we spent the next hour or so getting Freckles (she's a cow) unstuck from the cattle guard.  She decided the grass really was greener, ate her fill & then got stuck on the way back.  We were both afraid that her leg(s) were broken or that we wouldn't be able to get her out & we'd have to shoot her.  Not a pleasant thought by any means.  We worked & worked & pried & pushed & finally, popped both her hooves out.  In order to keep her from getting stuck again, I wrapped a chain around her front legs & drug her off the cattle guard.  It took her a minute to realize that she was freed from her bonds & OK before she got on her feet & limped off.  That done, it was change out attachments on the tractor & get more hay out. 
My day wasn't done at that point, but it was 5:30 by the time I was home, kicking my boots off & getting started on dinner.  Whew!!  What a day.  I sure hope tomorrow will be easier.
Seems odd that I go from cows & horses to getting a membership at the Country Club!  Ahhh, but that is my life & I do love it!!  After a day of cow & horse wrangling, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a fine cocktail & tasty dinner!  :-)

Spring Has Sprung

First bluebonnets on the VW Ranch. I guess that means that Spring really is here. I just hope that this cooler weather lasts a while. I can wait for the 100+ temps.















Our first Brahman calf was born today. #30 had the first baby. They both look quite happy & healthy.












I can't say the same for my sweet Ruby & her head. Disaster struck this morning at breakfast. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but her head was split open. Really scarey. Quickly loaded her in the trailer & took her to the clinic where she got stitches. Doc says she'll be just fine & that it looked way worse than it was. They braided her bangs & painted her forehead silver. She was still a little druggy when I checked on her at 8, but should be back to her normal sweet self tomorrow.






Last photos for today. Here is WB as Bunk Stagner shooting black powder loads at The Best Little Cowboy Gathering on Saturday. It was a lot of fun & we are looking forward to doing it again next year.









I finally got to shoot my new rifle in a match style setting. Looking forward to getting the stock cut down so that it fits better & I don't loose my site picture all the time. Readjusting loses me time as well as messing with my accuracy!

Long day of tending to cows, horses, dogs, broken fences, camper trailer, grocery shopping, laundry, cooking & cleaning. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be quite so crazy!

Cows, Cows & More Cows

Very busy & tiring day, but super fun! We got all of the babies vaccinated & ear marked. The little bull calves got a band around their business so that they will eventually be steers & sterile. They'll be coming to a plate near you once they are old enough to go to market. They are very cute so they should be quite delicious! One momma decided to have her baby right in the middle of all the action. She is going to stay in the pens tonight for a little rest & relaxation with her little baby before heading out back with the rest of the gang. The baby is still wet from being born in this picture.
Tomorrow is taking Pepe to the doctor again. He dies in reverse & the speedometer shows 20mph even when there is no power running. That ain't right so off we go, again, to the repair shop. Hopefully, it is something minor & the repair isn't too expensive.
Thankfully, we have plenty of left overs from this weekend to tide us over & I won't have to cook dinner tonight. I am ready for the shower to wash off all the work from today. Doubtful I will have any troubles falling asleep tonight!!

Busy Bee

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Feb!  We have been super busy out here on the range. 
Sugar is making a fabulous recovery.  She is making her way around mostly on her own, but does need a little help here & there.  No help necessary when it comes to finding her food bowl though!  WB's comment on her status is that she is going to outlive us all & we'll probably have to shoot her on judgement day!  It's amazing though because I was sure we were going to have to put her down.  We even had a hole dug!  So thankful that we were able to fill the hole empty & I still have my little Sugar dog for a while. 
The camper is home & sitting in the back yard.  WB is already ready to use it for his big shoot in Columbus in a few weeks.  I'm going to be really busy getting it outfitted with sheets, pillows, dishes, silverware, etc.  Basically, everything you need at home only it will be mobile.  It's clean, but I won't feel like it is clean until I clean it.  Then I'll know it is as clean as it will get!
The Best Little Cowboy Gathering is coming up this weekend & we are loading ammo like crazy as we'll be demonstrating what we do at our shoots.  Should be a lot of fun & my new split riding skirt should be ready for me to wear.  The whole thing should be a lot of fun even though the set up & break down is going to take a lot of time.  We'll have fun & the spectators too, hopefully!
We are taking a little break from working cattle this morning.  We've gotten all the calves worked.  Lots of baby bull calves who will now be steers & not many heifers.  I guess that is good because that means we'll have more to sell.
Now to work the mommas & get that whole lot out in the back pasture on that fresh green rye grass.
Here's hoping that I'll have time to get some pictures & blog again soon.  I'm always either too tired or don't have enough time to blog these days.