Love That Sweet Smell of Hay

Not much can beat the sweet smell of freshly mowed, curing in the field alfalfa....ahhhhhh~

Ann Mare drives a pretty mean swather ;~)

First cutting is on the ground...good to see the results of all that irritation irrigation.

Green hay and blue skies...crossing our fingers that the clouds stay parted.

We had visitors last evening...looks to be a bunch of yearlings. There were three spikes in the bunch. They were eating weeds in the barn yard while the field of newly mowed alfalfa was just behind them...eventually they moved on to the alfalfa. Can't stop 'um!

Evening Visitors

Spring ~ Always Too Much To Do!

This time of year is always so busy...I haven't had time to blog...let alone read many blogs!! So, you're gonna get about two weeks worth in one post!

But, spring has finally arrived here in the high desert...even though it's been pretty cold in the mornin's! Of course, this is typical of our area...it's been known to snow in July! The apple tree is blossoming out, and the lilacs are starting to pop out too!

Apple blossoms

We've started irrigating the alfalfa to stay ahead of the game. It was dry, so we started the wheel lines, then we had two days of rain and snow.  But, we started them up again last evening.

Cold Mornin' Irrigation

The freezing temperatures in the mornin's freezes the water on the alfalfa, but as long as the water continues to run, the alfalfa won't burn as the day warms up and the ice melts...strange, but it works.

Iced Alfalfa

My three-day Mike Bridges clinic was awesome...we even had warm weather which I think is a FIRST in the two and a half years I've been doing them!! Mike taught his techniques for ground training in a square pen. This develops collection, balance and re-balance, stops and turns. The horse also learns how to handle pressure because the energy level is high and everything is done at a trot or  a canter.

This isn't a new technique, it's dated back to the 1600's according to Mike. I found an article about Harold Farren on the QuarterHorseNews.com site that states that Farren invented the square pen...so, I don't believe that statement is accurate, but you can get an idea of the use of the square pen. Harold Farren was an interesting horseman.

It really was amazing how Colt felt when I rode him right after he had been worked in the square pen...really amazing difference! Now I'm planning how My Man's gonna build my square pen!!

Training in the square pen

In other news...my Ol' Man Toby has gone on an adventure!! He left last Wednesday to help a lil' 4 year old girl learn how to ride!

Toby...25 years young!

I read on FaceBook that a local family was looking for a dead broke horse for their daughter to ride...I thought about it, then forgot about it. The gal posted again what they were looking for, and just that day, while Toby was being trimmed I thought he should be doing something. So, I contacted her and we got together.

Toby took it all in stride, and we decided to give it a try. If he doesn't work out, he'll come back home...he's just out on loan. But, I think it's going to work. It was very sad to see him loaded into the trailer and drive out the driveway...I've had him since he was 6 months old...he's my oldest child!! You can read about Toby's life and times on this post if you're interested.

But, I know that he's getting good care from very good people...and he's doing something that I think is very noble for an old horse...helping the young ones.

Reata leads Toby to the horse trailer.

Yesterday was a simply gorgeous day...and a perfect day to help Rancher Dan take his second year heifers with their calves up to their summer pasture...the sun was shining and just a slight breeze.

Those aren't Colt's ears!!!
Nope, this is the view between Rohan's ears.

Rohan is my strawberry roan mustang that I adopted from the BLM when he was a yearling, and I believe he's eight this year. I did a lot of riding on him before I got Colt. Rohan's been standing around with Stetson and Catnip (the burros) for two years!! I decided that I was not doing him or myself any favors by not using him...he's a good, broke horse, and I should keep him going.

So, I saddled him up Friday evening, had him do a few laps in the round pen, and then stepped on...not a buck in him after two years of not being ridden. We rode for 20 minutes or so...decided to take him the next day to move the pairs.

It worked out perfect. We were in the saddle for 5 hours. His steering is rusty, but other than that he was awesome!

Waterin' Hole

It took three hours to drive them up to the pasture, and only two hours for us to ride back to the ranch.

Get along lil' doggies

Rohan got his first introduction to peacocks and turkeys at Rancher Dan's place...he thought the peacocks were bad...until he saw and heard the turkeys!!! OMG!!!  Dan had to get between the approaching turkeys and Rohan so I could get Rohan through the gate...we'll have to have more "turkey" lessons I guess!

We loaded up the horses and headed for Hotel Diamond for burgers and beverages...great way to end a perfect day!

Today it's laundry, checkbook, garden and weed spraying...never a dull moment!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Cold Mornin'

 ~ 

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

March 8, 2012 ~ National Ag Day

 ~ We are proud to be part of today's agriculture ~ 

Today is National Ag Day. In fact, this whole week is National Agriculture Week! Back in 1973, the Agriculture Council of America and National Ag Day was started. Things have changed over the years with technology and research, but the concept of celebrating this day is still the same...

"National Ag Day is a day to recognize and celebrate the

abundance provided by agriculture." 

quote from the Ag Day website

My Man and I produce only a tiny amount of alfalfa hay in the large scheme of the agriculture industry, but every little bit, added together with other little bits, makes a whole bunch!

Alfalfa in Bloom

Small operations don't work any less than the big outfits...they may even work harder because they don't have the capital to make improvements on equipment...if they're like us, they just get by with what they have. There are thousands of small operations like ours across the US producing hundreds of products: livestock, produce and fiber.

Water ~ The Key Ingredient

Is it hard? Yes! It seems that nothing is ever easy!

Do we do it for the money? Yes, to help pay some of the bills, but it takes a lot of money to get a little bit of money! Hence the reason My Man works full time in town and I have multiple part-time jobs!

Beginning the Harvest

What is the main reason for doing what we do? Because we love the lifestyle. My Man and I were both raised on farms; My Man in Missouri and myself in Oregon. Back in those days, I NEVER wanted to be a farmer or rancher, and neither did he! But as we aged, I think we got smarter. We wanted to get back to the roots where we came from. Away from progress (I hate progress...in case you've never heard me say that before). We wouldn't be able to live here on the land without working the land...and taking care of it as best as we know how.

Mother Nature Calls the Shots

There are obstacles that make things challenging...equipment breakdowns and Mother Nature are the biggest. My Man is always saying that he couldn't sleep because of all the things running through his head about "how are we going to get this done?" Well, whatever it was was still there the next day...we dealt with it then...and with help from Above, we always make it through.

The End User 

The feeling of knowing that you've put out a good product is awesome to say the least. Most of our hay is sold to dairy farms that of course provide us with milk, cheese, butter, and more. Good quality hay brings higher milk production.

In today's environment, more has to be produced with fewer acres and fewer animals (such as in milk). Technology has allowed that to happen.

Celebrate this great day with me!!! Here are some links that you can explore...

Thank a Farmer on Facebook

Thank a Farmer website

National Ag Day website

National Farm Bureau website





Have a GREAT day...and hug a farmer!!

Farm Photo Friday~Hay & Hollyhocks

Come along on the Farmchick's Farm Photo Friday Linky Party!!

With the dry weather, it took a few days longer to get the hay baled...no moisture. Yea, I know, folks say that they usually have too much moisture...not here on the high desert. We pray that the night or the morning brings in enough moisture to get some baling done.

Cindy Sue says "I love farmin' wiff  my mom!"
As I drove the backhoe stacking the big bales into twos,
Cindy Sue has to co-pilot of course!

We were extremely lucky that Hay Man Rudy was able to get the baling finished on Wednesday. My Man and I got the big bales off the field that same day, and Rudy came over with his hay wagon yesterday and picked up the two-string bales and got them stacked...just before a huge storm came through!

It started with distant thunder...then we could see the lightening coming in from the east...and then it started coming in from the west...the wind took off blowing huge clouds of dust (quick...close all the windows in the house) and then the rain followed that...and it rained for a good three hours!

I know there were lots of ground strikes, but no reports of fires yet...hopefully the rain put them out. But a hay stack was hit and burned...bummer.

Second cutting...two-string and 3x3 bales in the field.

My Man and I got all the wheel lines up and running before the storm came in too. So, we're back to the early to rise and late to bed schedule...only one more cutting to go!

Then there's my pretty Heirloom Hollyhocks. And I'm calling them heirloom because I found them in the alfalfa field close to where the old farmstead used to sit. I dug them up and transplanted them to spots around the house.

Heirloom Hollyhocks

They look gorgeous at this angle...but then look at the whole plant...

They're dying on me!!!

It started about two weeks ago with these cobweb type things encasing the shorter plant tops...and then the leaves started dying. It's slowly working its way up to the top of the plants.

I've looked for bugs and didn't see any, but I sprinkled Sevin on them anyway. I hope the problem doesn't kill the plants forever.

Does anyone know what the problem is? How did you treat it? Thanks for any info you can give me!

We're off to the last cutting show tomorrow...see ya! Have a great weekend and do lots of fun stuff!!

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!

SkyWatch Friday

~When I'm finished with a man, I never look back.~

~Virginia Barry 1900~

Alfalfa hay in bloom.

We're getting close to begin our 2nd cutting of hay. For the dairy quality that we strive for, it's best to have no more than 10% of your plants in bloom. This year we just aren't getting the 90-95 degree days that are normal. We've yet to hit 90 I believe! I'm not complainin' 'bout the weather at all...I like these 75-80 degree days, it sure is strange though. But, what the cooler weather means is that we're way ahead on irrigating, so we've stopped...we'll see how much it continues to grow in the next week or so.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and a super weekend...and go on over and check out some other sky photos from around the globe at SkyWatch Friday!

RattieRanch Dog Tells it Like it Is!

Lil' Miss Cindy Sue was insistent that she get to  

be the blogger today...how can you argue with her 

 cute lil' face 'n that flop ear?!?

Hey!!!!! Howdy everyone...RattieRanch Dog aka Cindy Sue here!!! Finally...mom's lettin' me do the talkin'!!! 'bout time don'tcha think?!?

I've been havin' a pretty big summer. We've had lots of ranchin' 'n farmin' to do...'n I keep mom 'n dad on the straight 'n narrow! I just wish we didn't have to get up so early in the mornin'...it's still dark out!!! I need my beauty sleep!

Oh well...I'll make up for it in the winter when we're not irrigating. You know, that's my main job... besides keepin' the couch warm... "head irrigation helper." Yep! That's me!





There's a slight problem when the alfalfa gets real tall...but that's when my ears come in handy! I know exactly where everyone is at all times...even if I can't see 'um!





Here you can see my dad movin' the #1 wheel line...they all got numbers so we know which one is which.  In the afternoons, I get right out there in the field. The wet alfalfa sure cools a pup off on the hot days.

But, I'm no body's fool dog...In the mornin's when it's cold out...I stay on the edge of the field!!! I can see if they're doin' their jobs just fine from that vantage point too! I let mom 'n dad get all wet and cold...BOL!!!





But, even when the alfalfa gets really tall, I can always tell where home is...I just have to look for the rim rock and there's home!!! Hey...look closely on that hill...





Look at those lazy critters! Rohan, Stetson and Catnip. All they ever do is laze around and eat and sleep. They should be doin' a job like me!




After we're done with the big field, we head on over to the smaller field. This field is my favorite. There's lots of deer tracks to sniff and bunnies to chase too!!! But, I smell lots of coyote stink...gotta be careful 'bout them no good knivin' @&%#$* OOPS! Didn't mean to say that...well, yes I DID mean to say that...they're NASTY!!

I suppose a lot of you have been wonderin' how I've been since the Coyote Attack...well, as you can see, them two coyotes didn't do me any permanent damage...just maybe wounded my pride a lil' bit. But, I sure appreciate how y'all helped me get better. I'm fine as frog hair now!!! Who made that sayin' up...it's stupid isn't it?!?




Well, that's all I've got to say for now, so I'll head on back to the couch while mom does inside stuff. Hopefully mom will let me back on here again sometime soon!

Hugs 'n lots of wet, sloppy Rattie kisses to y'all xoxoxo

Cindy Sue~