Gobble, Gobble

Yesterday was turkey day. They were freaking every where I looked. Hard to see them in these photos. They tend to run away being prey animals & all, but I did the best I could with my cell phone camera. This picture has 3 toms & a few hens. The picture below has a tom in full plumage. I couldn't remember if a group of turkey is considered to be just a flock & it is. It should be something more interesting though. I mean, you can have a murder of crows, a gaggle of geese, a skull of politicians so you should be able to have a torrent of turkey or something of the like. It just sounds more interesting than generic flock...b-o-r-i-n-g!
You'll be glad to know that momma 37 & baby are now home & doing well. 37 did have mastitis in one of her quarters which, of course, was the quarter that baby liked best. Poor little guy was starving to death. So glad that I'm here to keep an eye on everyone & make sure they all get the care they need. Considering our dry conditions this year, we have been lucky to only have 2 calf emergencies so far. I still have a bunch of ladies that need to have their babies. With the commercial herd especially because if they aren't pregnant, they are going to market. It's too dry & there is not enough grazing to keep a bunch of nonproductive cows on the free meal plan around here.
I'm off to Houston tomorrow to get my car in to the shop to get its new top & then back to the ranch on Friday. It's going to be a fun weekend of trail riding & I'm really looking forward to some good saddle time on Miss Ruby.
OK - time to go in the house & eat pie! YUM!!!

We Have a Yard!

Busy days, as usual. We finally have a yard with grass & plantings in the flowerbeds like most normal people have. It doesn't seem that exciting but considering that we haven't had anything green in the yard excepts for weeds in over 2 years, I am about to burst I'm so happy to have a yard!!
Watering it all is a chore, but a welcomed task due to the above mentioned shortage of greenery around the house. I will also be more than happy to mow it as it will be opportunity to get some sun on my legs & it is super fun to drive the 360 mower!
Charlie & I had a great anniversary last week. He took the day off from work & we spent it giving my little car a super duper scrub (it was really filthy), lounging by the pool, a little nap & then a delicious dinner at Mo's - A Place for Steaks.
It was back to the ranch for me on Good Friday & Charlie was off to work then to begin a trip to Atlanta & Davidson, NC. Easter weekend was full of family, great friends & lots of fun. It's always sad when they all leave to go home. I wish I could keep them all here!
WB & I drove to Houston Sunday & spent the night. He had a Drs appointment in Richmond at 7:45 on Monday. All went well with his back procedure. Fingers crossed, that bulging disc at L5 & S1 will react to the shot & quit pressing on those nerves. He was feeling great yesterday. First time I've seen him walk without a limp in a very long time. Now that the anesthesia will have worn off from the injection site, we'll see in as little as 3 or as many as 10 days if the shot worked. Prayers & fingers crossed, it did!!
Once home yesterday, it was run, run, run. I tried to take a nap since I had been up since 4am, but I couldn't sleep knowing that momma 37 & her skinny baby were in the pens waiting for me. Momma was a good patient & let me milk her. Baby was not so compliant, but enjoyed his bottle of milk & had more spunk in him after a good feeding. Still not sure what is going on there so we are loading them up & getting them to the vet today.
Looking forward to the big trail ride this weekend & lots of time with Ruby!

Cows, Cows, Cows & a Donkey

Compared to most, today was not that crazy busy. After caring for the horses this morning, I spent the next few hours getting 5 bales of hay out to the cows & 1 bale for the horses. Everyone was quite happy to see the John Deere coming around the corner. They only tolerate me becuase I'm driving it!! Ruby got her shoes today for the trail ride next weekend, calves fed, side yard watered, dinner made & cleaned up & now to pack for Houston. Heading in early this week because Charlie & I are celebrating our 10th anniversary on Thursday. Can't wait for our dinner at Mo's. Being around all these cows makes me crave steak constantly!! Either that or I'm totally iron deficient.

We had a birthday today. Baby 37 was born late this afternoon. You'll be happy to know that mother & baby are doing well. As you can see, momma ain't to happy to have me that close to baby. I was in the Kubota as I'm not daft enough to get that close on foot! Still, I'm not sure I could get away fast enough if those horns were after me.
Here are a couple of little cuties. Those ears are ginormous. With the right wind, they might actually take flight. Can't wait until they are a little older & braver so I can pet them & teach them all about range cubes & how awesome it is to have that little spot between their ear & horn scratched! Oh & under the chin too. That's always a sweet spot. I have two older ones who will practically knock me down or stalk me to get those scratches.
My helper Donkey Hody on the evening run to check on 37 & baby. Danged old Hody snorted all over me, kept trying to bite me & almost got away with one of my gloves not once, but twice! Such a pillbert if ever was one. He's so funny though & cute. Just can't get mad at that guy.
MILK - it's what's for dinner. This was a difficult shot to get as I had to shoot over Honey & Hody while they were trying to bite my knee & steal my glove! Rascals!!



Sunset on the ranch



Cameras just do not do proper justice to sunrises nor sunsets.  There were so many other colors in the sky this evening, but it still looks nice & you can't see all the brown pasture so I posted it anyway!

Busy week of working cattle & just go & run, go & run.  Glad it gave way to a fairly relaxing weekend.

Saturday was full of fun stuff.  I picked out a new top for my car.  The original convertible top has seen a better day & it is time to replace it.  Of course, the color I picked can't be used so I will have to go pick another one on Wednesday when I go back to Houston again.    I think it has to do with the way the fabric is woven & so it won't stretch correctly on the frame.  Leave it to me to pick the one color that I can't have!!  After the car appointment, it was off for a manicure/pedicure, tasty lunch at a Danish deli, IKEA for a new lamp with my Christmas gift certificate, Academy for a sun hat & some long sleeve fishing shirts because if I get any darker I might get deported, a quick nap, a haircut, delicious Collina's dinner, dessert at The Chocolate Bar & then to Miller Theater for Hairspray!  Sunday was much less hectic with a breakfast at home, some lounging pool side, another nap, quick grocery store run & then a short visit at a friend's house.  

  I am going to try to match up some of my Brahman babies & mommies today.  Will try to get some cute pictures.  Those babies are just darling.  All ears & a tiny hump.  So funny.  They look like they'll take flight if the wind is just right!! 





Trouble posting pictures

Hello.  I just found out that Google & Picasa are having issues with posting pictures.  Here is the picture from yesterday.  It probably showed up as a box with a red X.  They know about it & are trying to fix it.  I'll just have to post pictures differently.
No pictures from yesterday, but we worked cattle almost all day.  I started at 7am getting the horses in their stalls & finally finished the day around dark.  Fun day of hard work.  One of the calves got separated from his mommy & so I was able to catch the little bugger.  He thanked me by peeing all over my leg.  By the end of the day, my clothes were covered in calf poop, pee & dust from all the wind.  I was so excited to go pick up Ruby's repaired & new tack that I ran out of the house without even changing clothes!  I figured the saddle shop had seen worse than me walking in the door!!  I still need to make a couple of adjustments to her headstall, but she's going to look so good in her new outfit.  Can't wait to ride her & give all the new gear a whirl.
Today is going to be a more relaxed day.  Busy, but not so labor intensive.  I'll get feed in all the creep feeders for the calves, run in to town to exchange some clothes & other errands, have lunch with the girls, go to the grocery store, back to the ranch to do whatever needs doing next, feed calves & then go play bunco at a friend's house.  See what I mean, a more relaxed day!!  :-)

I'm Hungry! When's Dinner?

You will be happy to know that Sugar is doing just great since her stroke. It was close there for a while & I think she heard us discussing putting her to sleep & so she has recovered quite well due to a fabulous Vet & his incredible staff. She is back to her normal self. She was quite pushy about having dinner at the table with us this night - little napkin around her neck with fork & knife in hand. Not sure how she was going to do that since she has no thumbs! Fun weekend out here at the ranch. My sister came for a visit. We had a delicious dinner Friday night & got caught up. Saturday, Charlie & I went to Austin to visit some of his Dad's family. We had a yummy lunch at The Oasis on Lake Travis & then a drive out to the Honey Creek Ranch which is just east of Llano. The lake is looking really low & HCR could use some good rain too. It was good to get out there as it has been a few years since I was there. Sunday was full of cows & hay & a nap. The nap part was my favorite! Today is going to be busy. We have 18 mommas & babies to work & get out of these front pastures. That should take some of the burden off what grass is on the ground & maybe I can go back to only having 2 hay rings out instead of 3. We also have 10 Brahman babies so far this year making for a total of 51 calves to far!! Very exciting & successful calving season so far & we have more to go. There are a few that look like they are just going to explode any minute if they don't have their baby soon! I also have the yard man coming to start laying top soil in the yard & next will be sod. I haven't seen grass in this yard in 2 years. Can't wait & I know Mary, the housekeeper, will be happy to keep the dust down in the house! The hay man should start delivering today & the handyman is coming back to hook up the stove top vent & fix one of the roof turbines. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get into town this afternoon to return a dress that I bought on Friday & do a quick grocery shop. We'll see how exhausted or energized I'll be after this morning!

Yesterday...

It has been another crazy busy week filled with livestock, running errands, taking WB to check-up appointments, etc.  Nothing too unusual or out of the regular routines.  Yesterday was one of the crazy busiest days yet though.  Do you agree?
7:15ish - out the door & call up horses for their breakfast
8:00 - hop on Pepe (the 4-wheeler) to go find #230 to see if she has finished expelling her afterbirth from calving Wednesday morning.  Found her & no she hasn't.
Time gets blurry here, but...
set gates to trap 230 along with the other cows so we can drive them to the alley & then the cow pens.
get my group of young boys & girls out of the way as I don't need them in the mix of things.
by now, WB has moved the camper onto the slab (which really looks great!) & I help him get everything leveled, plugged in & turned on.
back on Pepe & to the horse barn to saddle Ruby
off to the east pasture on Ruby
Jack & I call the cows in - most of them follow him in the Kubota down to the pens.  Of course 230 thinks, well I don't think she really thinks, but she ain't going anywhere right now.  Ruby & I had to go get her & get her a moving.
11:00 - 230 & calf are in the trailer, cows & donkeys out of pens & headed back to their pasture & Ruby has gotten lots of praise, grooming, extra feed & treats before being turned out for the day.  Call the vet clinic but they won't be ready for us until after 1.  Perfect since I am starving having had no breakfast!
11:45 - back on Pepe & down to the pole barn.  Got 2 round bales of hay out for the Brahman group that got to practice going in & out of the pens
12:45 - WB & I are off to town with the patient
1:15 - at clinic.  Doc took care of h230.  WB took Dog in for some something in the office & I stayed with Doc & 230.  Really gross to watch what he did to get the afterbirth disconnected, but it had to be done.  It was funny though because 230 would go nuts when Doc would walk by but paid me no attention when I would!  Had to give him a hard time about stressing out my cow!
2:30 - back at the ranch with a belly full of chocolate shake & now 230 & calf are back in the pasture with their friends.  I send WB & Dog off in the Kubota to the house & I'm off to the pole barn to park the trailer.  Once back at the house, I space out the planter pots in the flower beds that are being filled with rock.  Soon soon we will have a yard with grass & flowers in the flower bed!!  Yippee!!
3:00 - back on Pepe.  Off to front pasture to check on 29 who is licking her brand new baby & then out to the east pasture to check on Jack & the fence building.  All going well just wish the fence building would go faster as that is a whole bunch of acreage with fresh green grass on it that the cows can't eat because we have no fence!!  ARGH!!!
3:30 to 5ish - restack the round bales of hay in the pole barn. 
5:30 - trade Pepe for the Kubota, get horses out of cow pasture, feed the calves & go let the horses back out
6:00 - BEER!!!  OH MY it was delicious after such a hot dusty day.  Helped WB put the new license plate on the camper trailer
7:00 - dinner on the table.  Salad & homemade pizza was delish.  WB & I fed, dogs fed, dinner dishes cleaned up & my day is almost done
7:30 - I finally get to take my boots off & go take a shower. 
Somewhere after all that, I got showered, talked to Charlie, got Sugar all her night time meds, set my coffee pot alarm clock & made it to bed.
Long day - yes  Busy day - yes  Tiring day - yes
Did I love every minute of it??  YES!!!

Calves, calves & more calves

The ladies have been super busy. Calves are hitting the ground faster than I can count them. It's hard to get out & count them in the Kubota because all the mommies think there is food in there & surround me. Not to be outsmarted by a cow, I saddled up Miss Ruby & we went calf counting. 14 in all in this group. 10 are commercial & 4 are Brahman. I don't think I got any pictures of the full Brahman although this little cutie looks like her daddy was a Brahman bull. If she stands in the wind just right, she might take flight with those giant ears! Some are hiding out in the brambles, some are just napping & some are curious as to why there is an animal on top of an animal with a silver thingy in their paw doing some something. That would be me on Ruby taking pictures! Such little cuties & they are in all colors & sizes. Such a fun time of year. I just wish that we could get some rain. That green stuff on the ground looks a lot greener & more plentiful in pictures than it does in real life. We need rain, rain, rain!! Other than a quick trip to town to run a few errands & get my car inspected, I was a plummer finishing the job on our new yard faucet water lines, laundress & maid getting the camper cleaned out & linens washed, cowgirl riding Ruby to count calves & doctoring on the momma cow (fingers crossed I won't have to mess with her anymore & will be able to let her back with her herd) &, finally, chef cooking a delicous dinner. I'm giving myself an easy day today. Maybe just a quick trip to pick up the 4-wheeler & not much else before or after that!!