From Working Cows, to Pictographs, to the Garden

It's already Tuesday and I'm just gettin' around to post about the weekend! It was a busy, fun weekend though. 

My Man left on Friday for Missouri to visit family (he came back yesterday, Monday), which left me all by my lonesome...but it was OK...nothing happened that I couldn't handle on my own ;~)

Actually I need to start with the weekend before! Let me introduce you to the sire of next year's calves...

Goof the bull with some of the herd.

My friend Andi, who we got our two cows from, needed a bull for her remaining 4 cows...and we needed a bull for our two...so, we rented a bull! The cows were all vaccinated last weekend and Goof arrived on Saturday afternoon. Everyone is here at our place grazing the 270 acres up behind the house. Goof is a very sweet bull, as far as bulls go (he's been shown and all sorts of stuff). His owner raises a lot of livestock and knows her stuff. I think we're going to have some mighty fine lookin' calves next year!

Saturday was my favorite day...I got a call from the Temple's and they needed a hand sorting pairs! Ty picked up me, Colt, and Bella Jo around mid morning (Cindy Sue needed to stay home, because I worry too much about her with unpredictable cows as she thinks she has to be right next to me...it just wasn't going to work).

Colt's surveying the situation...forming a plan ;~)

I've watched sorting before, but never actually did it...but Ty offered, and I took him up on it! First, it's hard  to read whether the cow & calf are a pair if it isn't obvious, like suckling. And my first couple of attempts weren't very pretty nor were they successful.

But, it started to come together. Colt and I are always cutting, which is watching one cow at a time...working a pair out is definitely harder! But, he and I were both picking it up...and it's fun and challenging! We even sorted a couple of bulls out too...I was very proud of my cow pony!

Bella Jo...the cattle dog in training.

Bella Jo is starting to think cows. Ty gave me a couple of tips and he doesn't mind that I bring her. He thinks with her being with his dogs who herd well, that she'll start getting it...and I think she will. In this photo, she found a spot in the shade that she could watch as we separated out the pairs. She knows to stay out of the pen when I tell her to and she's finding all of the spots to get around the corrals the Ty's dogs use...it's nice to watch her figure things out!

After the work was done, Ty hauled us home...but we stopped along side the road and walked to a rock rim...he and his grandfather had found these when he was a kid trapping in the area...

Paiute pictographs.

The Burns Paiute Reservation is just north of Burns. They are the descendants of the "Wadatika" band of Paiute Indians that roamed the central and southeastern Oregon area. There were many other pictographs, but these were the most legible. The elements have warn them away.

Look who was watching us!

Then coincidentally, we spy this lizard watching us...hmmmmmm...made my mind wander...envisioning what the area looked like in those ancient times compared to now. Our place is only about a 1/2 mile away, and I can see it from there!

Ty helped me get my round pen panels back up from where we vaccinated the cows. I tractor mowed a bunch of tall grass and weeds then changed implements and harrowed the round pen. After that, I called it a day!

Sunday was gardening day. I had bought plant starts on Friday, and they needed to get into the ground. But I had a lot of weeding to do as well as adding compost to the veggie bed.

First I get this lil' surprise!

One lil' birdie!

This is the encore photo from last week's Wordless Wednesday! It gets awfully hot in the greenhouse during the day, so I keep all the windows and vents open...hope the lil' bugger survives the heat...and then the critters...it's a tough world...

Either Momma bird or Papa bird.

The pair were not happy with me running the tractor, weeding and going in and out of the garden shed...but I got it done as soon as I could, so they could get back to their lil' one. I still don't know what kind of bird it is.

The garden is finally lookin' like a garden!

I still have more plant starts to buy...but I've got a good start on the garden, and it sure looks a lot better than the overgrown weed patch it was...oh, my aching shoulders might disagree!

A parting shot...

Chive flowers...they sure do grow quickly!

I get more enjoyment from the flowers than from eating the chives. I'll have to cut them back when the flowers die off. But they're lovely now!

Hope everyone has a great week!