Come for a western Ranch Vacation!
Got home almost midnight last night. Had a good time riding and making poetry and music up in the Hills and we raised some much needed money for people fighting Cancer. Got to work with some old friends and enjoy their stuff. They all did great. Crowd seemed to enjoy it and they fed us good food.
Woke up about 6:30 and putted around and caught up on the computer and then off to Mass. Good crowd.
Been working on the family tree. This ancestry.com sure sucks you in!
Cindy got all done by 10 am and things went well. got a little infection so the doc gave her a prescription. She’s pretty wore out by the last couple days. While he was talking to me I mentioned my tendinitis so he called in a prescription for me also. Some pills I’ve used in the past that really make me feel good!
I ran up to Spearfish and got my chain saw sharpened and a new blade for it so I am ready to re-model! 😉
We went down to Rapid and got a few more things for the kitchen and I got me a new hula popper and some other lures to catch that nasty ol’ Northern who took my last hula popper. Also some steel leader. I am going to get that big booger! 😉
Muggy and had some rain showers on the way home. Gig tomorrow.
Not real hot but real muggy. Rode Mijo up to the heifers and chased and roped a single(finally, the grass is so tall it’s hard to pick up feet on a running critter. Hell it’s hard for me to catch them when they are standing still, in good conditions! 😉 ) and doctored her for a sore foot. I see a couple more who need attention. I brought a couple bulls back as that was my original intent, and a silly heifer wanted to come along. I trailed them all back and sorted the two bulls off and let the silly girl back out. I will go back with a fresh horse after bit and see if she made it back. I left all the gates open so she might have.
Had a lady come here yesterday who’s great great aunt was married to my grandfathers brother. She showed me all kind of family history so i may have to see if I can afford a subscription to ancestory.com. In the past, anyone who tried to trace our family history back, came to a stop when great grampa enlisted in the Civil War for the North. ( why do they call it the civil war, I don’t think it was very civil!)
I have to go with Cindy tomorrow as she has a doc appointment. Going to check her colon or something. She has to drink a whole bunch of nasty stuff to clean her out. They told me I should do this also but I think I am fine. 😉
Then I have a gig on Saturday. Been going to this one for several year. It’s a Cancer benefit trail ride and I and some others entertain afterward’s. Always a fun time.
Went up and re-fixed a creek crossing that I had fixed once this spring, that washed out again. I am not complaining. I’d rather fight mud than dust!
This morning early, Fr Tyler and Chance and I butchered a heifer that Chance’s boss is buying for the crew. We just gutted her and Chance hauled her to the butcher shop. We were up at 5 and he got out of here in good season, as they were going to finally get to shear and they are haying also. He stayed over last night after everyone else left. Hope got a bad, bad sunburn while watching the parade. So I bet she is sore today!
This afternoon Cindy and Fr Tyler and I went over to a neighbors dam and I caught a nice bass on the first cast. Only one we caught, but he was big enough for the 3 of us to all get our fill of fish. He was mild flavored and weighed about 3 pounds and was 18 inches long. Pretty cool to out fish the Padre!
Need to get another creek crossing or two fixed in the next couple days and then gather bulls and put some in with our cows.
Got a call today from a lady who is kind of related. Her great grandmother was married to my grand fathers brother, who homesteaded here also. She is supposed to be out tomorrow and I will show her the homestead and perhaps we can find where her great grandmother homesteaded over by White Owl. A neighbor who works in the courthouse put us in touch with each other. Thanks Katy!
Cindy’s family had a family reunion on Saturday while I was gone to Martin and one of her uncles and his wife are supposed to stop in tomorrow also.
Busy!
Read!
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/american_studies/how_beautiful_w.php
Sure sums it up very well.
Drove down to Martin SD yesterday to entertain for their 100 year celebration. Ran on to some friends, Ken Cook and his lovely bride Nancy, Beck and Pat Keegen and children, Paul Williams and met his wife finally, and even saw Ken Moreland.
Had a good set and got to meet some new people. Two of our young neighbor ladies are originally from down in that neck of the woods. I met Donelle’s maternal grand father who came up and introduced himself after the set. I drove home on the road north out of Martin and drove by Mellisa’s families ranch. Sure some pretty country down there.
About like up here. Hay down, windblown in places, wet in places and some baled up.
I stopped at Wall Drug on the way home for a malt and visited with some friend in the store. Big ol’ dark clouds off to the west and north west on the drive home.
Just got here and it went to cracklin’ and lightning. Got some rain and Cindy came by Enning as then she doesn’t have to drive on Indian Creek Rd so far, which is a little more slimy when it is wet.
Tate and Kass and kids came out last night also. About to head over for Mass at Red Owl.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday this 4th.
Seems everybody is having it in one way or another.
When I took the team and low boy wagon up to Harry’s old place to haul mineral to the girls up there, I saw the tank was overflowing so I just shut the power off. I ran back up there a few minutes ago and the float was broken, but Cindy is going to pick me up a new piece to fix it with, at Punkin Center, on her way home. No big deal.
Chance called earlier today and mentioned that they had got over an inch of rain last night so his haying plans changed to riding after missing cows. He called me later and told me the rest of the story.
He rode Peaches and made a long ride and found the cows, but about half were across a narrow little creek that was running pretty hard. He hated to leave them so decided they’d get wet, but at least they’d get the job done.When Peaches stepped off into this little creek her head went out of sight! Went plumb under! Chance got off her and they had all kinds of hell. At one point she had both of her front legs astraddle of his chest. Said he was pretty sure he was going to die right there. He finally got out but couldn’t get her out. He eventually got the saddle and blanket off her and she tried for a little bit, but the banks were real steep. She finally just rolled up on her side and quit trying. He was pretty sure he had just lost a horse. He let her float for a bit then went to pushing her nose under water a little with his foot and that made her struggle and go to trying to survive again and eventually they drifted downstream far enough that she could climb out. He had lost a muck boot in the battle, so let her rest and went fishing for it and eventually found it. Ruined his cell phone so there was no way to call anyone. He let her rest, then saddled up and rode a long, slow way home. Called me and he was plumb wore out from it all. He said Peaches has got bottom, as after all that she still hit a slow jog on the way home.
They both learned a good lesson and praise the Lord they both survived. It could have ended way worse.
So some peoples water trouble is sure worse than others. I am thankful mine is such a little thing.
What did I get done so far today?
I caught Mijo and rode north and moved a few heifers. Took the dogs along and did a lot of hollering at Bob. Came back and the wind was not right to move the rest north so decided to wait until later.
Drove over to Punkin Center and got the oil changed and new brake pads on Teddy. Picked up some dog food and foot rot/eye medicine and seeing as it was almost noon, I went to the cafe and ate a burger.
Came home and put a hose on the tractor and then took a short snooze and afterwords hooked up to the disc, aired up the tires and worked both patches of trees. Been too wet up until now and the grass and weeds are terrible! The cheat grass is grown up and starting to turn already and I mostly just mashed it down. I will have to give it a few days and then try again, hoping maybe some of it will dry out and I can cut it up with the disc. A rotary mower would have been handy to cut it with first and then disc it or better yet, plow it, but I can’t get too close to the trees with a plow.
When I got done with that I hooked up to the sickle mower and went and tried to cut some of the tall grass around the buildings that Cindy wanted me to get to. Lots of backing up and going slowly forward. Knocked out a couple sections so had t6o fix them.
Now I am cooling off a bit and waiting for Cindy and then I plan to go catch Q Tip and ride up west and see if I can move the heifers as the wind is out of the north now, so they ought to go that way now.
Dang, can’t seem to get nuthin’ done around here. 😉
Oh well it’s cooler today and got a nice breeze blowing.
COLT UPDATE: I caught Q Tip and messed with her in the round pen a bit, stepped on and she was fine. Lead her out into the big corral and opened the big gate off her and headed up west. She is green but nice. Trotted a lot and loped some and me and her and the dogs moved the heifers up into Harry’s place. Dusty did a nice job on her.
Saddled up Mijo and rode south to move some cattle. As I got near the old house I heard some splashing sounds from,here.
So I rode closer to investigate.
Hmm, the old dry well. Wonder what’s in there splashing around??
Uh oh! I loped home and got the tractor and loader and went to digging. Finally got this.
Yayyyy! I got to be a hero and save a damsel in distress. 😉
The hole is now filled in. Which it should have happen at some time in the past. Pretty bad when the grass is so tall a cow can’t see a hole big enough to fall into until she has!
By the way, we had a cow die the other day when we were working them, from some sort of reaction so we have another bum calf. Fred has a friend! He’s red instead of black hided. Guess what I named him?
Yup, Red. 🙂
He sucks a bottle real good now and hasn’t quite figured out eating the pellets. Fred thinks he’s annoying, as he sucks on Fred’s ears when Fred is trying to eat his grain.
Dennisranch