Category Archive

Been getting some rains.. country is really looking good. We got the calves branded up on Saturday, with the help of a great crew. Been raining ever since, seems like and supposed to rain off and on this whole week.. let it, it makes the grass grow and after last year, maybe some people will remember that…

I tho to the Hills on Tuesday and stay over.. drive a team hauling people to a chuckwagon dinner and show each evening.. they fit me out with a real nice team of big black Percherons…. sure would be nice to get to winter them and feed with them all winter.. or maybe better yet, just use them once in awhile, because we will have so much feed available, we won’t have to feed! 😀

This morning me and the three little urchins in the photo on  top of this blog, saddled up and rode out amongst them… we got some cattle moved to better, fresher grass.. got back and unsaddled at noon… we also moved some bulls away from neighboring cattle across the road… this afternoon a whole bunch of little and big urchins went with me and we fixed some fence, so I can move some cattle tomorrow into that pasture, if i want or need to.. then this late afternoon, a bunch of them urchins and one dad went with me to the corral, one big urchin rode a young horse while the male urchins and I worked on the roping dummy, practicing.. they are getting the hang of throwing a pretty decent heel loop under the dummy… we did it al afoot… when they get good enough a it, then we will try it horseback… got pretty warm today but had a breeze earlier… kind of warm now and the breeze has died down.. sure ought to be making the grass grow…

Soon….. evident;y Brody does NOT like snakes… Brody is a horse I started quite a few years back, got turned out, sent to somebody to ride for a bit, came home, got turned out, Tate rode his a bit, then he got turned out… Lige rode him a bit but didn’t care for him… Tate rode him a week or so ago and said he didn’t like him… I needed to move some cows, pretty easy job, so I thought I’d just ride Brody and see why no one like him… I warmed him up in the round corral.. he wanted to be silly, I got him to understand I don’t care for silly horses… 😀…fiddled around and got on, rode him a bit and everything seemed fine, so went out to move the cows.. heck, we got along fine, his ol’ ears were really working, looking for a buddy or something, when he sen a cow he wanted to go to them and work them… got most of the cows moved and gates shut…one cow tried sneaking back, so we went after her.. we were just walking along, trying not to spook her, to get around her and all of a sudden, my left knee is about even with my saddle horn! Wow, he can really jump fast, gave one more half hearted hop and I got squared away… then I seen the bull snake.. come on Bro’, he’s just a bull snake! Not even a rattle snake… we discussed it and agreed that we would avoid any kind of snake in the future… sure was glad my guardian Angle was looking over me, I am too old and fat to hit the ground..

Got a strong inch of rain at the tail end and into the weekend… we love it! Green grass everywhere baby calves dropping out of cows around here… found a bummed twin calf this morning… brought him in and got good stuff in his belly.. sounds like several people are looking for baby calves, os they can have him for the right price. nice F1 blackbaldy bull… had  lost of the local branding already… got one tomorrow and another on Saturday.. we have another scheduled for the 2nd of June.. not sure when we will work ours, probably the mid part of June… with Chance being the Schwans man we about have to do it on a Saturday and most of the local kids are all in rodeo’s every weekend until July, seems like.. maybe it will just be mostly a bunch of older people… that’s fine, we will get them done.. heck, I can turn just my grandkids loose on them and that is a bunch of kids! Not much else to report.. sure nice weather…

The rain (a small amount) and the snow ( a larger amount, but not too bad) and the wind ( oh yes, that again!) came and went.. now we have mud.. beautiful day today and yesterday.. must have got up into the 40’s.. bring it. I need grass to grow as we are about out of hay…I have been cleaning much and manure out of the corrals and trying to get the water to drain fro the corrals… it’s fun.. it’s not like I get to play in the mud that often in this country.. I am sure some would be bothered by the smell, but it just smells like spring to me1

Seems some don’t know that Easter is more than just one day… we will be in the Easter season for some time, so I hope you all have a blessed Easter season.

We have been blessed with some moisture… it came mostly as snow… so it is making some peoples lives harder… but with out moisture we are in a drought and I am plumb feed up with drought….as are my cattle, who get scant rations instead of all they can eat… we all are looking forward to green grass in abundance… and it is coming, but we want it now! 😀

Cindy came out and helped me after lunch and we attached a gate to a portable panel I got awhile back… works slick, then I went and moved all the panels on the north side of the corral to hopefully make it easier to pen cattle in it… time will tell..

While feeding this morning I saw one cow who needed to come out of the main bunch and go into the hospital bunch (which gets all the feed they want, so to speak)  while resetting the corral panels, she got inquisitive and came into the corral, so all I had to do was switch a few gates and let her into the other bunch..  am sure she will like it better..

Now I am setting and waiting for a truck load of hay, hopefully the last one I will need to buy this spring..

We love it!.. Well, some don’t seem so crazy about it as it came as snow.. but what do you expect for SD in March, magical duck feathers falling from the sky? I’ve never understood people who live in western SD and complain of snow storms any time from end of October to first of May.. it is not unusual, it is to be expected… sure rain is nicer, but come on, really? Snow is much more apt to happen… I hope we get a bunch of warm rains to keep the moisture coming and yes, the snow is somewhat of a pain, especially for those calving at this time, but with out it we have drought and no feed.. mud is much nicer in this country than dust!

Other than that, not much to report… same old same old, feed cows, do odds and ends around here.. always seems like there is something to occupy your time if you just look a bit…

Sunny, got up in the 30’s.. supposed to be the same tomorrow… yesterday was windy and not as warm.. we sorted some calves off and hauled them to the salebarn for the sale tomorrow and the roads were not pleasant. I met Fr Ricardo at Plainview this morning about 8 and hauled him t Red Owl for Mass and then took him back.. he missed the turn off and plowed into the snow so Gabe rode back with me and we got the car out.. not a big deal… fed cows when we got home.. we will get cows fed in the morning them run up to watch the calves sell. Hoping for a high market.. I have to leave fairly early to get Cindy to the airport as she is flying south to see her sister.. Fr Ricardo and Fr Mike are supposed to be on the same flight, so it ought to arrive safely! 😀

And cold. Sue took me to task for not writing on here as often as I used to.. Facebook has taken up most of my writing time and I seldom if ever read anyone else blogs anymore, for the same reason, Facebook.. with it I keep up with so many people.. kind of a bad habit..snowy and cold here.. we hauled some extra horses to the sale today, that no one rides and feed is too expensive.. we need the moisture so it is hard to cuss the snow, but sure wish for warmer temps!

Cindy and I went dow to Rapid to watch the ranch bronc riding this morning.. good watching.. the guy who won it flat rode his bronc, one hand on the rein and another in the air, at the buzzer he doffed his hat to the crowd and then put it back on his head.. classy.

Yesterday afternoon, Tate and Cindy and I picked up Gabe for a wrestling duel.. he ended up wrestling a girl and tho she put up a good fight, he pinned her.. it was kind of disappointing, tho’ probably not as bad as if she had pinned him.. I guess I am old fashioned, I don’t like watching girls wrestle.. if they want to and there are other girls to wrestle than so be it, but these preteens, girls and boys wrestling each other, just doesn’t seem right.

Had a some warmer days and it is cooling off. we are supposed to butcher a steer and haul him to the plant tomorrow.. got a guy who wants to buy half… hopefully he will be tender and he is fat and shiney so he ought to be…