Monday Mornin' Moo's

~There ain't no time for lookin' pretty when

ya gotta slop the pigs.~

~Haddy Rennet 1877~

Hey, I feel like that some days...and we don't even have pigs!!!

The momma cows are still bawling and running up and down the two track up to the hill pasture, but not quite as often as on Saturday.

Saturday was weaning day for the calves...'bout time...those calves were almost as big as their mommas! Since Number Three is going to be permanent in our herd, we decided to take them to a friend's place for 30 days.

Number Three and Black Calf at 7 months...and probably 600 pounds.
Yes, they should have been weaned a month or two ago!
Here they're having a quick snack before we loaded them into the trailer.

And they loaded very nicely...we still don't have our corrals set up, so we used my round pen panels, got them squeezed in to the back of the trailer and in they hopped...well, they didn't have anywhere else to go!

Arriving at the destination resort!

Ha ya...the resort...the first thing we do is get them in the squeeze chute and vaccinate them!!

Number Three was very quiet in the chute...I like to see that.
Black Calf bawled and kicked like crazy...he wanted nothin' to do with us!

They'll be fine. They've got some other heifers to run with and they'll have plenty of good hay. Black Calf will go to the sale when our friend takes a load of his after Thanksgiving. The prices are good...hope they stay that way!

Checkin' out the new digs.

My Man also got the fertilizer spread on the irrigated pasture. With the little bit of snow we've had, it should take it into the ground nicely as we get warmer temperatures this week. It's cold this mornin'...20 degrees...and we had another skiff of snow fall last night.

Looks like winter really is here~

First Snow & Farewell to Brego

~I have a very special talent: I know how to make a man laugh.~

~Nancy Paston 1879~

We woke to the first snow of the season Friday mornin'. It started spitting snow Thursday evening and by mornin' we had just a 1/2 inch. By noon, when it quit, we had about an inch. Not much, but enough to settle the dust!

My lilac bush/tree is bowing to the arrival of winter.
The leaves are hanging on longer than normal this year.
They're freeze drying!

I think even my lil' hardy pansies are done :(

Friday was also Brego's big day to head off to his new adventure in life. It's amazing that he's gone...it took 4 years to get him sold...something we thought would take 6 months...but, he's found his person, so life will be good for him.

~The Last Supper Breakfast~

Corinne the trainer came to pick him up about noon. He hadn't been in the horse trailer since the summer of 2008. I asked him to step up to the trailer and he cautiously did so and took a couple of sniffs. Then I just asked him to come forward into the trailer and he hopped right in!! He does retain training from years ago obviously.

Good bye Brego...we wish you and your new mom all the best!!

The End...of a very long story with a happy ending~

Farm Photo Friday~A Day In the Saddle

~Young 'uns are better off farmin' than schoolin'.~ 

~Pauline Hunter 1910~

Yesterday was a good day in the saddle helping the 3J Ranch gather, sort and move cows. The calves had already been weaned off and moved to their other ranch.

Ty on Cole...the dried grasses and the sun shining through
 the low, thin clouds make for a pretty photo.

We gathered over 150 head and brought them to the corrals. Then the fun part begins...sorting! Cows like the red one below are old and not productive for the ranch and need to be culled out. Colt got to use some fancy moves on those old, wise cows that didn't want to go out the gate.

My fav view. You can see by Colt's mane that the wind was blowing.

After sorting out the culls, taking them to a field by the house, it's time for lunch...and warm up! The wind was unmerciful and eventually drives the cold right through your winter clothes.

Then it's time to move the herd to a winter pasture where they will stay until it's cold enough and the feed is too sparse to sustain them and their unborn calf that they're carrying. They'll then be driven back to the ranch and be fed hay.

Counting...the cow boss always does a lot of counting...
it's important to know how many cows you turn out to a field.
When they come back a few months later, you hope you have the same amount.
It's not always the case. There are predator and illness deaths...and cows
seem to think the grass on the other side of the fence is better.

The whole trip was probably only 2 miles. But the cows had never been to this field before. Cows have an amazing sense of direction once they've gone there before...they will draw a line across the desert in their mind and start walking...most often they're right on.

So, we had to keep adjusting their course when they wanted to go left and they needed to go right.

Across the flat...up and over the ridge.

At the top of the ridge it was an awesome view, but the cloud cover was increasing...and the temperatures were dropping.

Father and son...and a few good workin' dogs.
Notice the butte in the background?
That's Hat Butte from the SE...it's out my kitchen window from the SW.

Cows love to run downhill...they do it every time!! Behind the little rise there's one last downhill stretch where the water source is. If you don't show the cows where the water is, they'll tear down the fences back to where their last known water source was.

It's a downhill cow race!

We arrived at the ol' homestead where the water trough had lots of cool, clean water...I wish I could have tied Colt up and explored the old buildings...but, there wasn't any time to dally.

The ol' homestead...imagine what it looked like in the early 1900's.

Water...everyone takes a turn...

Ahhhhh...good stuff!

We left the cows milling around the ol' homestead and the water trough...hoping they decide to stick around there and not try to come back home...you never know with a cow!

Happy Friday everyone...have a great weekend!!!

Linking into Farm Chick's Farm Photo Friday and Farm Friend Friday ~