Category: The Ranch
-
Maternity Ward
The only bunch of cattle I bring home and watch close to calve is the first calf, two-year old heifers. Today was the day that we trailed them home. We got a light skiff of snow on the ground and it was windy and cloudy and cool but it worked out really well and we…
-
Testing The Hired Hand
When I hired my new hired hand he was real upfront that he wasn't a cowboy and that his skills on a horse were not very good. Hell, he doesn't even have a saddle which is almost a sin in my book if you want to do this kind of work but what the heck,…
-
Mud And Ice
<center><a href='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/misc/mudice01252006?full=1'><img width='187' height='250' border='0' hspace='5' src='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/albums/misc/mudice01252006.thumb.jpg' alt='' /></a></center><br />n<br />n<center>The sun reflecting off the ice in a mud hole. Mud at this time of year is unusual and takes forever to dry since it freezes up every night and then thaws, but doesn't dry, every day. I'm tired of the mud. Could be so…
-
Melting
<center><a href='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/misc/drip12232005?full=1'><img width='250' height='172' border='0' hspace='5' src='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/albums/misc/drip12232005.thumb.jpg' alt='' /></a></center><br />n<br />nThe warm weather really has us melting off the snow and ice. This picture was from earlier but it feels the same now. These warm temperatures are weird. I am not complaining right now. It makes it easier on the cattle and they don't eat…
-
Viewpoint
Here on the ranch I classify all my female Bovine critters by age. There are the:<br />n<br />nCows – three years old and up<br />nTwo- year olds- self explanatory<br />nYearlings- In their first year, self explanatory too<br />nCalves- first year of life<br />n<br />nThe reason I bring this up is it's funny how my viewpoint…
-
Question
I have a question to ask that I have never been able to find an answer to.<br />n<br />n<center><a href='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/misc/stone01142006?full=1'><img width='250' height='188' border='0' hspace='5' src='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/albums/misc/stone01142006.thumb.jpg' alt='' /></a></center><br />n<br />nIn the foreground of the above picture on the fence line you see a rock sticking up out of the ground. You will find rocks sticking up…
-
Omens
It was just one of those miserable days yesterday. Why you may ask? Lost my first calf for the season all ready. The two-year olds should start calving in almost 4 weeks but yesterday morning guess what? One was just starting to try to calve when we got over there to feed. This is not…
-
Disappear
I found <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/01/10/hunters_find_calf_buried_up_to_its_nose/">this story</a> over at <a href="http://northviewdiary.blogspot.com/2006/01/this-is-quite-story-from-wheeling-west.html">Northview Diary</a> and it reminded me of a similar story of my own.<br />n<br />nOne day many moons ago I was moving a cow with a 4-5 day old calf from one pasture to another. The pair was running along in front of me and disappeared over…
-
Delivery
<center><a href='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/views/snow01102006?full=1'><img width='250' height='188' border='0' hspace='5' src='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/albums/views/snow01102006.thumb.jpg' alt='' /></a></center><br />n<br />n<center>The fresh snow cover we got the other day is gone now. Back to mud and ice in the afternoons.</center><br />n<br />nI have been trying to get a semi load of cake in since after Christmas and the weather has been too warm to manage…
-
Ice
It seems like the ice that has formed as the snow melted is never going to go away around here.<br />n<br />n<center><a href='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/horses/ice01062006'><img width='188' height='250' border='0' hspace='5' src='http://www.sarpysam.net/gallery/albums/horses/ice01062006.thumb.jpg' alt='' /></a></center><br />n<br />nYou can see the sun reflecting off the ice sheet by the barn here and there are ice sheets like this all over. Most…