Spent the day helping Tate on the new house… mostly getting the pump into the well and almost hooked up. Ran out of wire and Tate was missing a piece to hook up to the pressure tank….. then I used the big fork lift to go get some more big rocks for the north east end of the basements retaining wall… seems like we are moving slow, but it is slowly taking shape… Tate and Kass are off to a funeral tomorrow, so will pick up what we need… Chance wanted to plant trees tomorrow but I hate to without a water source for part of them, but then, Cindy and I planted the tomato’s and peppers tonight and the garden was muddy under a dry crust.. hope they all grow..if it’s muddy in the garden, it’s probably wet enough where were going to plant these trees.. we just sod them in with a special tree planter and then there is a ditch so I can water them..the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is TODAY! Neighbor told me that a long time ago and he was right. Got up to 80 or so.. we are not used to the heat yet, if we ever are, but when it’s 100 later on, 80 will look pretty nice.. guess I better get the air conditioners installed… one wasn’t working, hope I can remember which one it was…. another was barely working.. might have to try and find a sale.. not sure if anyone recharges window units or not.. I didn’t spend a lot on these, some years back so maybe I better just get another small one.. the new house is planned to not need a lot and hoping that window units will do the trick.. probably should put in central dirt, but we are going to be lucky to pay off what it’s going to cost to build it as it is.. but with no water in the basement and a stinky stinky house from that, it will be worth it… I hope! 😀

Tate brought Lige down this morning and he and I saddled up and moved cows around.. they were scattered here and there, now they are mostly in two pastures, the ones that have been worked up west and the others down south in the crested.. we need to get the big bunch in and run them thru’ the chute and give breeding shots then move them south and the smaller bunch north… after dinner ( and a nap) I walked out to where the branding had taken place and got the tractor and went up and moved some dirt around a water tank, then came back and loaded left over stuff from branding into the bucket.. when I got back Tate was working on dirt work at the house, so I went and stole the extend fork and went and moved the big panels back into the corral, then helped Tate bury the drain pipe around the outside of the basement, then he went to backfilling with the little Cat and I hauled ands stacked up rock for the dirt work and retaining wall on the south side.. I had enough rock, matter of fact Tate was complaining we are going to have to haul more dirt in, but I’d already figured on that.. just have to get a truck and go to hauling more dirty gravel in… looks better with them big rocks stacked up…

Lige and Beaver

Video of Lige moving pairs.. if you can see it…

It keeps raining along.. not sure how much we’ve had but it’s sure nice and green and muddy! Tate and I and his boys took the horses and Kass followed in this outfit with the rest of the kids and we went and helped Robert and Eric do their late calves the other day. JUst a few of us and not a lot, so we had the kids do the sorting while coaching and backing them up, then had them do most of the roping and holding of calves while we worked them. It was fun and I think the kids really had a good time and learned some stuff. Yesterday, Tate and Chance and Addy Bear rode with me to town. We picked up my new hat,. Chance got measured for one and we got a bunch of stuff for the well at the new house.. we need to get it hooked up so we can get trees planted and be able to water them.. Chance and Hope have been planting tree’s for the NRCS this spring, around this part of the country, when weather permits. Chance has worked a few tree patches for folks, but can’t do it when it’s wet and muddy, so it’s been hit or miss. When it warms up, it’s going to be muggy! And the grass is really going to pop. We had about a half inch in the bucket yesterday morning and then rained while we were gone and looks like better than an inch all together… we need to get the cows moved around and eventually, get them in and sort the calves off and give the cows their breeding shots.. sometime the first part of July we will brand the late bunch. May do it much as we did last time and let the kids do a lot of it. It’s how they learn and a small enough bunch they can take their time and not hurry them. Chance and I have a gig with Brent this Saturday, for a ranches 100 year anniversary. Hope and Chances 10th was the other day.. time sure flies by!

Set up portable corrals for branding this morning, tagged some calves, some were too fast and we will haves to catch them with a horse and rope.. took the head off a hydrant, down south, that froze up and broke last winter and replaced it with the one that was leaking behind the house, that we dug up and plugged awhile back.. then this afternoon I made a run to Faith to pick up a check for Chance and Hope and picked up big trees for them and Tate and Kass, that they had on hand.. kids are out planting them now.. I fixed up the new Nord forks for branding.. not sure if I did them right but guess we will find out when we brand! Cindy and I have to run across Wyoming tomorrow for a funeral for her Uncle Cork, who passed away a couple weeks ago.. it will be a quick trip as we need to be back for Gus’s First Communion on Sunday morning… rained on me up at Faith and looks like there is some heading this way… sounds like they have flood warnings out for people up next and in the Hills… rain, I love it!

One of my pet peeves is people who are worried about getting their branding done and not getting rained out.. heck, if it don’t rain, there ain’t no reason to brand them and if it don’t rain there will be no hay to put up. So I just smile and hope for rain.. one year we branded when we gave fall shots.. made some of the crew unhappy to have to rope and stretch out them big calves…. NOT!

Went to Franks and branded today. Gabe ran a calf fork all during the branding and did a great job.. Tate borrowed Pilgrim from men and roped and did good, tho’ he sez he can’t rope… Frank told me to go ahead and rope also, so i put the saddle Tate had been riding on Pard on Beaver and roped on the old fat kid horse.. he still remembers how… then when we got home this afternoon we rode out and pushed the rest of the pairs out of the east pasture and roped and tagged 9 calves who had lost a tag or hadn’t gotten tagged.. Cindy and I have to go across Wyoming on Friday for her Uncle Cork’s funeral service… we went to town last week and got an 08 Caddy and there are more bells and whistles on it than you can shake a stick at.. gets about 30 mph running in the 70’s, looks like…he Nitro is kind of my ranch rig now, tho’ it
s still in good shape.. she can drive it when the roads are bad as the Caddy is just front wheel drive and has them little short 20 inch tires… I was told to switch them over and get regular rims as soon as i can.. guess the gravel roads are hard on them tinny little rims…

Got an inch and a half of rain on Sunday.. more supposed to be coming this week.. supposed to help Lyle move cows to summer pasture tomorrow.. the boys are supposed to get all the stuff and get ready for our branding… we will get back late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.. Gus has First Communion at church this Sunday,. so we don’t want to miss that…

Rain is softly falling, not much of a breeze… Cindy and I went to Mud Butte for Mass last night as she wouldn’t her able to go today…then we went to Tate and Kass’s for a birthday party for CC.. we had cake and ice cream on her real birthday, but this one had lots of kids having fun… so this morning is a sleepy day.. I did the dishes, should be cleaning house.. went to check cows in the rain, a new one, still slimy as I tagged him…… he’ll be fine..

I think of tomorrow, Memorial Day… the folks called it Decoration Day.. a day to remember and honor all of those who came before us… whether they were Veterans or just ordinary hero’s… they lived so we could live…. we in time shall go where they go… we hope those still alive after us will remember us and what we have done to better this world… we hope we HAVE bettered this world… in the end, that is really all we can do, love others and try to make this world a better place..

When we were in town awhile ago, we bought some used baseball gloves and bat and balls… so this evening, all the grandkid, parents and Tyler and Gramma and I played ball.. sure had fun… the kids were getting the idea by the time we quit.. we need to get a better field than out in front of the house.. too many cars and stuff… but we sure had fun..

Weather has been real nice, not real cold or hot.. we sorted off all the drop bunch and kicked them south.. just getting a few calves now…

Went to a great branding the other day, real good crew, lots of little kids and it went great… one more to go and then ours…

Went well, cold and windy when we started and just got nicer and nicer.. when I got home Tate and Chance and I went and sorted the pairs off the drop bunch and kicked the drop bunch back south, they will stay there, no more pairs kicked out until our later branding… then Tate and I rode up west and looked at the pairs…. we have another branding tomorrow down in the breaks…

We got Glen’s calves worked this afternoon.. there was 2.5 inches of rain in the bucket in front of the house this morning… we started over there a bit after 2 and got done about 7 this evening.. got rained on a little at the end, then it cleared off.. another bunch tomorrow if it don’t rain us out..And another on Monday…I love rain…

It’s wonderful stuff. Praise the Lord! We are getting some and supposed to get more tonight… and into tomorrow! I love it.

Chance and Lori and I made a flying trip to Sheridan and back today.. getting stuff for Lori so she can learn to tool and carve leather… had a great time, spent more than I wanted too.. seems like Sheridan always does that to me!

Supposed to go to two different brandings tomorrow, they have backed off their start times and I hope they rain out. There is still lots of time to get calves worked!

Did I mention I love rain? 😀