Rural Thursday ~ Cattle Drive

Last fall we helped take Rancher Dan's herd to their winter feeding grounds...and now, before they calve, we're helping him drive them back down to Diamond...a two day trip (25 miles or so). Not a bad way to spend our weekend!

The small butte in the distance is where we're headed
 for the over night stop.

On day one, we had sun, clouds, snow showers, wind...a lil' bit chilly when you're just sittin' on your horse following cows. My chin is still a bit raw from the wind and cold.

My Man is bundled up. He looks much nicer than me though,
I was in my insulated bibs!

Day two was nicer; lots of sun and not as windy, but it was still cool.

Day two, the cows trailed out about two miles.

On day two, the cows trailed out almost two miles. Some were in a hurry to get where we were going, some were just getting tired. The road ahead T's in with another road in the upper right corner of the photo, and you can see the lead cows way out in the distance heading left.

The snow covered top of Steens Mountain can just barely be seen in the far distance.

Winter Warmth

This ol' barn is one of my favorite scenes in the Diamond Valley. Sunshine, hay, a barn...all the comforts critters need for winter on a ranch.

Almost there...on the home stretch.

We take off across a neighbor's field to cut out mileage. Shortly before we left the road, we spotted a cow who kept lying down.

I got close enough to see that she was about to calve. She held out for another mile. At least she was off the road. She had it along side the driveway.

Newborn on the trail.

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