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!!  :-)