“As long as I am on this side of Mom, you can’t get me!”

Had some yearlings out this morning, so got the horses in and put them back and found some more out and where they got out, put them all back and fixed the fence. Switched horses and rode down south and got a yearling out of the neighbors.

Came home and ate lucnh and been on the phone pretty much ever since.

I’m waithing on a kid to clean his room and thewn I’ll probably go haul some bales.

Tyler and Tris helped me yesterday and we did some changing in the corrals, getting ready for shipping. Got some yearlings going out on the 19th.

Don’t know as I’ll even make it down to the Artist Ride this year. Too many other things going on and I just can’t get too excited about it. Chance isn’t going, so it’s not as much fun.

“Why are my legs so long and my neck so short? Are you sure I’m not part giraffe, Mom?

Went up to faith this morning and watched them folks show their horses and what they could do. Dean rode along. We went and ate dinner, (thanks Dean for buying lunch) then got a few groceries, gave Teddy a drink of diesel and came home.

Caught the horses and moved a couple cows and came in a visited with a good ol’ boy from Arizona, on the phone. Tyler came home so we saddled up and rode north and made sure we didn’t have any yearlings stuck in the mud of the creek.

When we got home and turned the horses loose and came to the house, Cindy came rolling in.

Now, I think it’s time to go to bed and go do something advantages tomorrow.


Here’s a picture of Mijo for you Mad.

Been staying kind of busy but I really ain’t too sure at what. Don’t seem like I’m getting alot accomplished but I’m makin’ lots of tracks!

Have got about 80 bales hauled in and stacked up. Fixed up an old hay wagon to do it with. I can haul 5 bales at a time. Not near as fancy as some folks got, but it’s getting the job done.

Got the Artist Ride coming up next week and some people coming in and then more towards the end of the month. Faith Stockshow is going on now and I may make it up there yet. We’ll have to see.

Busy, busy, busy!

I may not post on here a whole lot for a spell, but check back once in awhile and I’ll try to get something on here.

Suzies filly is getting big.

Tris went over and helped a neighbor haul little square bales yesterday morning and I went up and hauled big round bales. After dinner, the neighbor brought Tris back and offered the use of his truck to help me haul my bales. We ended up with him driving his truck and me pulling my wagon. We could haul 14 bales on the truck and 4 with the wagon and tractor. We got two loads hauled and then quit for mechanical reasons. He took his truck home to work on it and I need to fix on my tractor.

Now I remember why I quit putting up hay! 🙂

We gathered the bulls out of the yearling heifers today. While we were at it we doctored anything with footrot and sorted Chance and my cows off and put them in a different pasture, as we run a later breeding season. I don’t like calving in March. I’ve lost too many calves to blizzards and had too many with frozen ears, so we dropped back to April. There is still a chance of cold weather and blizzards then, but it usually doesn’t get as cold and by the middle of April we usually have green grass.The calves might be a little lighter in the fall, but there are more of them and it takes less feed to winter the cows.

Here is our prey! LOL

Here’s my crew out starting the gather.

Pete ranches on a big place down south east of here. Some rich guys bought it and Pete was running the place so they let him stay on and made a deal with him where he gets to run his cows there. But he’s got to put up with out of state landowners who don’t understand much about this country. But it sounds like they are learning! 🙂

Here’s Pete and Tristin bringing a sore footed heifer to me while I watch the gate. Tristin said it was more fun sorting with Pete as he didn’t yell and holler at him!

When Cindy got home we went out and put out mineral for the cattle and then we went out and picked chokecherries. Now Cindy has to go to work and make jelly for some people. Not me, I ain’t that big of a fan, I’m more of a plum and wild grape jelly fan, and I really like buffaloberry jelly.

I have a couple of neighbors who came over and cut and baled some hay for me. So far we have 110 bales and it looks like we may get that many more. I figured if we had 60 we would make it throught the winter with our little bunch, but with this much we won’t have to worry about a tuff winter. And I expect one, one of these years. We sure used to get them. Start about the first of November and end about the frist of May. I think we need a snowy winter to break this long dry spell we’ve had. Snow drifts into the creeks and the dams get full in the spring when the snow melts. Winter of 96/97 was the last one we had like that. they aren’t much fun to get through, but I think we need to suffer through one. Maybe it will just be a mild winter and a wet spring. I guess if I was going to get any say in the matter, that is what I would order! LOL

As some of you know, I have a 4 wheeler. Yes, I know it comes as a shock to others, but we do have a four wheeler!

My four wheeler is better than most, I think, as it is capable of going over 75 mph down the road, only cost $2000, 3 years ago, can be weather tight or top less and will seat up to 4 comfortably! How many can say that?

Oh, and mine will go just about any where I want to go and maybe a few places I don’t want to go!

Cindy and I try to take a day and get away by ourselves every year just before the Rally, as when it starts, she will work for 10 days, straight thru’ with no time off. A few years ago we drove thru the Black Hills and enjoyed the time together and the beauty of our close area.

I’ve always wanted to take my four wheeler, which I have named Purple, for obvious reasons, and drive thru’ the winding, twisting roads in the Black Hills. We went thru’ the Needles, the pig tail brides and tunnels and quite a few other places, yesterday. It was better than a roller coaster! We even got 35 mpg!

We had a good time and it was very relaxing, tho’ there were a few tourists who should learn to drive before they come here! Notably people from Kansas who drive red Hummers and according to one of the Park emplyee’s, all people from Ohio!

Here is a picture of my four wheeler, topless.

Here is where we were headed. Needles along Needles Hiway.

Here’s some rocks on the Needles Hiway.

More rocks in the Needles hiway.

These rocks must be real cool as there were people all along the way taking pictures. So, when in Rome……

Now it’s back to work!

Sorry Mad, no pony pix yet, but I’m working on it.

Big ol’ full moon coming up this evening. Kind of blurry, but you get the idea.

Kids were all home this weekend. I don’t think Gus likes caps any better than his Grampa does!

No pony pix , Pixie!

I know, I know, I’ll get some new ones taken!

Hot and tired!

Tristin and I brought in the heifer bunch and sorted 13 head of sore footed ones off and ran them down the chute and gave them shots. I rode Woody and he is so punchy that I just wanted to kill him. And to think he used to be my favorite horse! I sure wish I would have trained on him better when he was younger.

And poor ol’ Tris got quite a little training on too! I guess I just need more patience!

One of my yearling guys and some friends were here yesterday. While looking at his yearlings we noticed several with sore eyes. Chance and I will go rope and doctor on them tomorrow.

Cindy and all the kids went to Pierre to see her mother today. Tyler and I drove Purple down and doctored on some of the sore eyes yesterday, with the crossbow and medidarts. Not a real good system, but better than nothing. I think the reason the yearlings have sore eyes is the tall grass. It’s maybe not too thick this year, but it is fairly high with lots of a type of cheat grass, that bothers cattles eyes and doesn’t really provide much feed value to them, except when it’s young and green. Oh well, at least they have something to eat this year.

Sorry Mad, no pony pix today.