Throwback Thursday~March 2014

March 5 years ago...great memories!!!

Awwww...the newborn calves! How I miss them.
We sold our little herd two years ago in preparation of moving.

Red Dog & Rastus...running and chasing each other as spring is coming.
Not much has changed with these two! 

Sweet Martha Jo~we adopted her so she could live out her life with love.
She wasn't with us long, but it was a very special time.

What precious memories do you have in your heart from 5 years ago?

In Health & Love~ 

 #DoLifeBetter 

 gtyyup

Wordless Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday!!

Weekly Top Shot

Well, another great blogger is back from a blogging break...Madge Bloom at The View From Right Here.

She hosts the Weekly Top Shot meme which I always enjoyed. Glad you're back Madge!!

As of today, we are officially done with calving season as Number Three gave us a beautiful bull calf at 7:22 AM! Well, most of you know that we have a VERY small herd. But the amazing thing is that all five cows calved within one week! The sire, Willy, was a busy boy last spring and didn't waste any time in getting his job done!

As the morning sun came up yesterday, I found this calf snuggled warmly in the hay pile.
It always amazes me how their natural instincts begin immediately at birth.
Within the first half hour, they're up on their feet and nursing.
They also know the best places to stay warm and hidden from predators.

Thanks again Madge for hosting!

Weekly Top Shot

Random 5 Friday ~ March 6, 2015

One of my favorite boggers, A Rural Journal, has returned from a blogging break...of almost a year!

I've decided to join her weekly Friday meme...Random 5 Friday.


"...share 5 random facts about you, your day, your pets, your kids, whatever!"

So, here we go!

1.  I really am trying to get back into blogging...I know, I've said that numerous times in the past. But honest I am.

2.  Wet, newborn calves at dusk, in the sagebrush, are not always the color you think they are...Lucy's black calf turned out to be red in the daylight! And he's big too...we are so thankful that Lucy (a first time heifer) popped him right out.

Lucy needs to work on lickin' off her calf better!

3.  My Man intends to retire in October...I'm quite nervous about the whole thing.

4.  Spring has arrived...the Bald Eagles are hunting the alfalfa fields for sage rats.

5.  Lil' Mindy Mae (aka Stinker Pot)...really is a stinky dog. She seems to need a bath every couple of weeks! Is that a Chihuahua thing?

"I don't need no stinkin' bath!!!"

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!! 

I know I will...it's going to be in the 60's!!

Wordless Wednesday

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Happy Hump Day!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mornin' Surprise

Orphaned Calves~Trials 'n Tribulations

There's no better explanation than trials 'n tribulations when you try to graft a cow to a calf. It's something that I hope we don't have to go through again...but I doubt it...if you're going to raise any type of livestock, sh!t just happens no matter what you do to prevent it!

As you might remember, the lil' brown calf died on March 9 and we brought home the orphaned black calf on March 10. We've been struggling to get the cow to accept the calf ever since. The calf wants nothing more than to have a mamma that he can nurse from...Annabelle is just being a stinker...she threatens him by slinging her head at him and stomping her back hooves...but doesn't ever actually hurt him.

The day before yesterday, I was ready to through in the towel and just bottle feed the lil' guy...it would be a lot easier than going through the frustration with Annabelle. We took off the hobbles and turned them both out with the rest of the herd hoping that she'd step up to the plate and take care of her calf...24 hours later...nothin' doin'. I decided we'd get him separated out and just start the bottle. So, I've got him alone in the pen and am working at getting him into the stall to feed him and Annabelle comes running and bawling to the gate "what are you doing to MY calf?" Pffttt...alright, I put her in the pen with the lil' guy and she wants nothing to do with him. CRAZY damn cow! So, we bottle fed him and left him in the stall for the night...and fed him again in the morning.

Meanwhile, I'm Googling last resort ideas for grafting a cow and a calf...and came across an inspiring blog post at Double H Photography (photography, writing and ranching in rural Wyoming). She had written a post called "Calf Adoption Services" where her fiance had a bottle calf that didn't know how to nurse from a very willing mother cow (he wanted his bottle!). I know, the opposite of what my problem is...but she said "This would not happen like this at my house."

So...what did they do at her ranch? Maybe she could give me some pointers...couldn't hurt to ask, so I emailed her, and she sent me back a couple of very encouraging replies. "Sounds like you've won half the battle, if not the war, since she at least likes him when he isn't trying to eat!" said Heather.

Day 11...the best feeding so far.

So, My Man and I are back at it again...I had visions of udder utter bliss between the two of them after they had been together for five days...OK...then there's reality where things take longer than anticipated. It could be worse...so, keep going and keep trying.

We've always had to put her into the lead up to the squeeze chute so she wouldn't threaten the calf when he tried to eat. This morning, I gave her a bit of hay (she had not had any hay since last evening's feeding), got her to stand against the fence in the corner, threatened her with my stock stick when she was going to be nasty to the calf...and the calf nursed while she ate...it was success! She didn't act nearly as cranky!!!

When the lil' guy had his fill, I put him in the arena next to her pen with water and a handful of calf starter grain, gave Annabelle half her breakfast, and plan to go out at noon to do it all over again. The plan is to keep her a lil' bit hungry, and she gets a reward for standing for the calf...and she also gets to have her bag pressure released...I hope she'll put two and two together and realize the lil' guy is a good thing.

Rear approach...it'll be so nice to see him stand next to her instead of behind her. But this is where the calf feels the safest...even though he keeps getting cow crap on his head...poor thing!

There you have it...we'll just keep pushing forward and pray for the ultimate success...a pair!

BTW...thanks Heather for all your help!

Oh...another BTW...my "pool time" photos from yesterday were taken almost two weeks ago when it was almost 60 degrees and Rastus just wanted into any water he could find. Now we're back to ice on the water tanks again and feeding in insulated bib because the wind chill is down to 10 degrees. Yep, it's spring!

Life's Rollercoaster

Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts and comments on the death of the lil' brown calf. CDNCowgirl said it very well:

"Despite what the end holds for most cows to lose such a young calf is so sad."

Yes, their beef cows...raised to be eaten. But it's so hard to stand by and watch a young life slip away...knowing you've done all you could do. But God has his own plan, and we just need to go with it.

Cindy Sue is lending her support.

It makes me feel better knowing that the brown calf's last hour of life was in warmth and love instead of dying out in the cold. A lot of tears were shed.

But, we forge forward...what to do with a cow that has lots of milk to give...but we don't know if she'll accept another calf. We decided that we had to give it a try.

We put phone calls out to all the neighbor ranches and posted on FB...then yesterday afternoon, dear friend Rancher Dan called and said he had a calf that might work for us. He was about a week old, and had been abandoned by his mother...and he'd been sneaking drinks of milks from all the other cows when he could...he wasn't shy!

So, we headed over with the trailer, got him scooped up out of the field while he was sleeping in the sun, and loaded him up for home.

We put him (a bull calf) in with Annabelle, and she wasn't violent toward him, but she didn't want him to nurse...so we got her into the first section of the lead up to the squeeze chute; a board in front and a board in back...she couldn't get away.

We brought up the lil' guy behind her, and he knew exactly what to do! So in less than 24 hours, we had a calf for her...our hopes are high that this will work!

Despite being pooped and peed on, he drank and drank...

...and drank until he was full !

I tried to hobble Annabelle's hocks, but being the rookie that I am, was unsuccessful. So, we turned her loose with him in the paddock. If she won't let him nurse today, we repeat yesterday's exercise.

It looks to me that she's going to accept him, it'll just take some time.

Last evening when we left the barn, the lil' guy was snug and warm in the calf shelter...and he was still in there this mornin'. It's good to know that he's safe...now we'll see if today will bring them closer together as a pair. Wish us luck!

In Memory of the Lil' Brown Calf

That may sound silly, but it was heartbreaking for me. She had a bit of scours, but we think she probably had other issues that caused her to die. We had her in the house in front of the wood stove when she passed away.

 ~

We're hoping to find a leppy calf that we can try to graft onto the mamma, Annabelle.

Spring Horse/Ranch Keeping

Last weekend I got all the horses wormed on Saturday, and they got their annual vaccination on Sunday. It's nice to get that out of the way. They'll still need to get their West Nile vaccination, but I'll wait until the weather warms up.

Colt had some saddle fit issues last year. I took my saddle to a local maker and he tore it apart to see what might be causing the white marks that Colt had gotten on his back. Well, there were a few things wrong with it's original construction, but he was able to correct them. But the major thing is that the saddle is just too wide for Colt's narrow body shape.

A friend of mine has a vintage/antique Visalia Stock Saddle Company saddle for sale (interesting history in that link), and I'm trying it on Colt to see if it fits him. The stirrup leathers have been replaced as well as the strings and the horn wrap too. The fenders are pretty warn also, but it actually seems to fit him...and it was a comfortable ride for me too!

I'm going to take Colt and the Visalia saddle to the local saddle maker to have him check it out and see how much repair the saddle needs and the cost...it may be better to just have another saddle made with a narrow tree. But, it's kind of a neat ol' saddle, and I bet it has a lot of stories to tell! It was probably built before I was born...strange to sit in and think about that~

Visalia Saddle

Yesterday we were blessed with another newborn calf...and another heifer too. We'd prefer bull calves because they will weigh more at weaning time and bring more money, but I'd prefer a healthy calf than no calf at all!

This lil' girl is a Hereford/Jersey/Angus cross.
I think that's why she's a much lighter red color than Early Girl.

Speaking of the "one month early" thing...my error...these calves are born right on schedule. I can't seem to get my May and June dates correct!

OK...you pick a caption for this photo...I think the look on Annabelle's face is priceless!

My Man's been working REALLY hard to get the cow corrals up...and he's almost there! With Number Three being a first year heifer, we needed a place to keep her close to the barn. We also needed the corrals for working and sorting the cows when vaccination and weaning time comes around. Basically all that's left is to put up the gates.

My Man is pulling nails from the used poles we got...it was a really cost-affective deal!
LOL...there's Stetson in the background givin' him moral support!

We'll be able to get Number Three corralled this afternoon. She doesn't look like she's going to calve real soon, but that's the funny thing about heifers...they don't show signs like a mature cow does. She could very well need assistance (from us) to get her calf born safely into this world, and we'll be checking on her frequently through out the day and night. My Man put a good light up on the outside of the barn too!

We don't have any green plants sprouting out of the ground yet, but we have new calves, and spring's just 'round the corner!!! Yeah!

Sunday Stills ~ Two-In-One Edition

This week's Sunday Stills Adventure in Photography photo challenge was "fruits and vegetables." Last week's challenge was "sunrise or sunset with buildings." I missed last week's because we were moving cows...but I had the photo...so, I'm posting it today!

I'll start with last week's challenge...

Snowy Sunrise

I think this was the last time we had snow...February 19. A sunrise with our barn.

To see other sunrise/sunset photos, go HERE.

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For this week's challenge:

Veggies for my Swiss Steak recipe

Cantaloupe...a few fresh fruits are becoming more affordable.
It was a tasty change for breakfast today!

To check out other fruits and vegetable photos, go HERE.

OK...I can't help myself...this photo at least still goes along with the "food" category...someday anyhow...but she's just too cute not to show off!

We've nicknamed her "Early Girl" since she was almost a month early.

Shirley asked if she was going to be part of our herd, and the answer is no. We're limiting ourselves to 5 breeding cows because that's about all our grazing land can sustain. So, this year's calves will be sold after weaning.

Hope you have an awesome Sunday!

Napping

Tucked neatly underneath the sagebrush, our lil' new one is napping...rays of the early morning sun giving her a lovely glow. She's just 15 hours old...and doing great!

Such Sweetness!

Hello World!

Three weeks early...but our first calf was born yesterday!

Wide-eyed with wonder

Ellie Mae didn't pick a very good spot to have her calf...right in the middle of the feeding pen. They usually go up into the sagebrush and find a nice quiet spot away from the other cows. Not this time.

I went out to clean stalls and feed horses at the big barn about 3:30 PM. All was quite until about 4 PM when I heard a cow bawling. I walked out into the barn yard to look down at the cow paddock...saw two cows eating; nothing seemed amiss, so I went back to feeding. Then I heard bawling again. OK, as soon as I'm done here I'm going to the cow barn to see what's up.

Good momma cow

There was Ellie Mae with a calf...soppin' wet and shivering...she had just given birth! She kept bawling at the other cows who were crowed around to see the excitement...especially Paddy and Tumbleweed who are just yearlings. They were really curious about this lil' wet thing on the ground!

Time to get up...and look...it's a heifer!

Momma kept lickin' and cleanin' her up...and not long after the lil' heifer makes it to her feet.

She's up! Paddy is giving her moral support ;~)

I decided I better get some fresh hay out for the cows and they would probably leave Ellie Mae and the calf alone...yep, that did the trick.

Shortly after that, the heifer found the right end of momma for the groceries...she's a good lil' eater!

Momma could have picked a better place to have her!

She's a pretty big calf...her sire is "Herfy" a polled Hereford. We're kinda (a lot) concerned for Number Three since she's a first year heifer. We'll be keepin' a VERY close eye on her.  Annabelle looks like she should be next to calve though.

My Man fed the cows this mornin' and said that the new lil' one is up and dancin' around already (in the dark)!

One down...two more to go!

Early Mornin's at the Rough String~Post #500

~No man can know the thoughts of a woman.~

~Martha Austin 1899~

Unbelievably to me...this is my 500th post! I had no idea how much enjoyment I would get out of blogging...or the number of wonderful people I would meet...or how much I had to say! I started in October of 2008 when a Dogster mom friend mentioned her blog (an awesome artist and her sidekick Rat Terrier Cloud)...I hadn't a clue what the word "blog" even meant!

Well, it didn't take long to figure it out and because of all of you it's been quite a ride!

I want to thank everyone for stoppin' by and reading about my snippets of life here at the Rough String, and I truly appreciate your comments! I will try harder to respond to your questions (I'm very bad at following up in that department and apologize). I've really enjoyed the photo aspect of blogging too...telling a story through photos...well, it's probably 'cause I'm a lil' more of a visual person.

But...


Really what I want to say is...

I'm glad you're along for the ride!!

Well, it's Friday again, and I've enjoyed posting the past few weeks with a couple of blog hops that focus on farming/country life living/ranching. One is Dandelion House (but her blog has disappeared...I hope she finds her way out of the internet black hole pretty soon), and the other is Farmchick's Farm Photo Friday ~ Link Party. Please visit her blog...good food recipes and farm life abound over there!

So...on with today's post!!

This mornin' before the sun came up, we woke to the wonderful sound of a tractor and the squeak of the rake. There was moisture in the air and the heavenly smell of alfalfa filled our home. Ahhhhh...life doesn't get much better than that!!  We hope to be stacking bales out of our field on Sunday!! Second cutting is gorgeous...beautifully green...those dairy cows are gonna LOVE it!

Hay Man Rudy's wife is at the helm...along with three dogs in the cab!
Now that's a Farm Girl!!!

As I make my way out of the house with a cup of coffee in hand, I enjoy the droning sound of the tractor and squeak of the rake at the end of each row, deeply breathe in the aroma (I'll need to remember these days when it's 0 degrees and the snow is blowin' sideways), and watch the sun come up over Hat Butte. The barn is the first stop...I let Colt out of his stall/run to graze on pasture for the day and clean up the manure.

Then I head for the garden. I know there's peas to be picked and hope they're not too ripe. I'm sure glad My Man and I worked so hard at expending the raised beds this past spring...I had room to spare for more plants...OK, next year I'll do that!

The new section of the garden has bush beans, zucchini, tomatoes
cabbage, bell peppers and hot peppers.

Oh good...the peas look like I'm not too late!

A basket full of peas with a cherry tomato on top!
I picked that one tomato before the birds ate it like they did the first few!

Walla Walla Sweet Onions...my best crop of them yet.
I have another section just like this one.
We're gonna have onions comin' outa our ears!

A volunteer onion from last year popped up,
and it has these beautiful seed buds on top...
guess I better pull that onion, it's ready to eat!

Yesterday was another yearly mornin' too...up at 4 AM to get Colt fed...myself fed...the dogs fed...get Colt saddled...Ty would be there by 6 AM to pick us up to help move cow/calf pairs.

Ahhhhhh....it sure felt good to be out movin' cows again!

These pairs are grazing on BLM allotments. They are rotated between three allotments so they don't over graze the land. So, we gather up everything from one field and trail them to the next one. Proper grazing management is essential for the continued healthy growth of grass for years to come. These allotments cover thousands of acres and gathering and trailing by horseback is the only way it can be done.

Colt loves his job!

As you can see by Colt's head gear, I'm still riding him in the two-rein, but am working more and more off the bit. He's doing well...I've got to have him straight up in the bridle by September...just a month away!

Colt 'n I have a lil' bunch moving west. Ty was off on our left pushing more
pairs up to us...our bunch kept getting growing.

One happy, cool Cow Dog! There are water troughs through out
the BLM allotments. They not only supply water to cattle but to
the native wildlife too...and occasionally a hot dog or two!

The view across the valley...Steens Mountain is on the horizon on the right.
Riddle Mountain begins with the rolling hills on the left.

We rode back to the ranch house and arrived by 1 PM...and it was plenty hot by then. Colt got unsaddled and put into a paddock with Ty's horse Cole for a good roll and some cool water. Then a tasty lunch and a cool drink ended another good day in the saddle.

Thanks for ridin' with me...have a great Friday and a fantastic fun-filled weekend!