Category Archive

Got about 30 hundreds last night in a quick passing thunder storm…we will take it..

Eric and Rainey and Glen came over yesterday and helped us get the last bunch of calves worked.. Gus and Sam and Eli and Gabe and Rainey all roped and Eric roped on a colt he has in training… went well.. towards the end I stole the horse Gabe was riding and drug the last couple out… Game told Chance, while waiting on me to catch one.. Grampa stole my horse and he ain’t even catching any! And I sure missed several times..and in truth, I let Gave ride MY horse, Pard, so there!

I sure am loving the green color of this country!

Supposed to get hotter.. up towards 90… can’t complain, it has been staying cool..

Ari Cat and I were supposed to go up north and help sort cattle this morning, but the rain moved the date to Friday… roads are bad enough that if we get much rain, it is pretty hard to get anywhere with a trailer on..hopefully they are going to get these bad spots fixed in the near future.

Man, green is a pretty color, in the grass anyway…

Laramie came and reshod Feather.. been having trouble keeping shoes on him so he put ones with clips on.. hopefully that will help.. I rode him to gather on Monday when we branded the big bunch and he had some spring in his stride.. a little too much spring! But it was only one jump and he quit as soon as I asked him politely, to quit…

We had a good crew and got the cows vaccinated and the calves worked.. bunch of these runt cowhands were here and they sure did a lot of work.. at one point it was all the little ones running the calf forks, catching calves…real nice day for it, didn’t get too hot or windy.

Tuesday, Gabe and I took a beef in for Tate and then I went to the dentist and got a wisdom tooth pulled. Had one pulled a couple years ago.. probably should just pull them all while I am there, but hate to take out a tooth I might need someday! That part of my cheek is still pretty sore..

It’s tried to rain several times, but haven’t gotten much.. but this country sure looks good.. it is a sweet clover year and out on the gumbo there sure is a lot of it… some runt cowhands and I rode last evening and we didn’t see a lot of it down south… we sorted off and moved some cattle that had gotten in the wrong pasture with cows they weren’t supposed to be with…

I probably need to go fix some fence.. seems like there is plenty of that to do and I just go at it in fits and jerks… but I need to get it fixed and move some cattle around…

I just got a call asking if CC and Ari Cat can spend the day with me, so I imagine we need to go ride at some point. For some reason they like to ride with a crabby old Grampa, or maybe they just put up with him in order to get to go ride… 😀

Today, Addy Bear and I took the big draft mares back… didn’t use them nearly as much as I wanted this winter… on the way home we ate at Hardy’s.. all she ate was my curly fries… got some metal to weld a gate back together.. stopped near home at a neighbors and got a couple new branding irons as that is coming up fast.. Then Lige helped me fix fence when we got home and then he and I and Addy Bear rode out and moved some cows.. I rode Feather.. every time I ride him I am amazed at what a nice young feller he is.. nicest colt I’ve ever ridden…

Yesterday… let’s see, what did I do yesterday……. Cindy and I went over and voted in the school board election.. we got three young men from this country on the board…hopefully they can make a difference.. got some steel posts while there and some branding stuff.. when we got home I built some horn irons for dehorning… rode in the evening and moved some cows.. took Bit with me.. when I got home Gabe and Lige were here and Gabe was working with Hub, in the corral, getting him used to a rope.. roping the dummy, then Lige saddled Pilgrim and did the same…then Gabe and I worked with a dumb young two year old fresh cut gelding.. man he is dumb.. but give him credit, there ain’t much quit in him.. when we were done, the colt and I both were pretty sweaty.. Gabe is supposed to work with a couple horses this summer to pay for a car for him to drive to high school this fall.. so hopefully he learned something

The day before yesterday Cindy and I went to Rapid to get branding food and pick up a new cat.. bob tailed mitten Manx, Tom cat.. so far he has been hiding down in the basement, but he will come around… I heard him meowing last night before I went to bed.. they called him Bags , short for Bagheera, named after the panther in the Jungle Book.. he is black.. I think Cindy and I worked with the big draft horse that evening also.. I was tired!

Other than that, we ain’t been doing too much…. sure is pretty and green around these parts!

Still checking cows.. had a beautiful day yesterday… Laramie came and put a shoe back on that Feather had lost.. Chance and I went to Punkin Center and got some posts.. well, we told Tate what we wanted, and he brought them when he got off work at noon… also some salt.. we did stop at Tee’s and get some mineral.. that stuff ain’t cheap.. but a few of them cows weren’t cleaning earlier and we just decided maybe we ought to put some out for awhile…we tore out the old alley leading to the working chute and part of the chute.. it was getting pretty bad…we need to do more on it today and get it all ready for when we work calves as we are going to work the cows also.. Gabe and Lige rode north and south and checked cattle.. Gabe got a ride in on Hub and then on Brody, Lige rode Pilgrim, but as fat and sassy as the Pirate Horse has been this spring, it did him good… windy today, but warmer… supposed to get some rain this evening and tomorrow..I plan on going to town for a Memorial service for a lady I knew when I was growing up, who was raised around here.. and put some flowers on the folks graves. I hope people remember the real reason for this holiday.

Here is one I wrote a long time back..

Memorial Day

My Great Grandpa fought in the Civil War
Entered when he was 17 years old
He fought on the side of the North
Guess he didn’t think folks should be bought or sold

Grampa raised a family on a homestead
Raised food during the First World War
Never had to fight in the trenches
Fightin’ hard times seemed to be his biggest chore

Dad lost an eye in the 30’s
Uncle Harry had an arm that wasn’t good
Uncle Wayne fought in World War Two
Guess each helped out the best that he could

I never had to register for the draft
But my brother was in the Service for several years
Thank God, he never fought in any battles
But my Mom still shed her share of tears

I hope my children never have to fight
Never experience the horrors of a war
But we all owe those who fought and died for us
And you know, thats what Memorial Day is for

                    Robert Dennis

Got over a half inch this afternoon in a short time…kind of cool out there.. 40’s… weather shows we could get some snow late tomorrow night and early Sunday morning.. don’t think it will amount to much.. but might get cold enough to freeze the grass and set it back a bit..

Went to 5 branding in 6 days this past week…busy time of the year around these parts.. cows been calving, left and right here.. had a couple losses, but that is to be expected..those guys who claim to get 100% at calving time will lie to you about other things too! 😉

Sure is nice and green… I like this time of year.. of course, I kind of like all the seasons. There is good and bad in it all.

Worked in the leather shop this afternoon… got a pinched nerve in my neck evidently and been doctoring on it for awhile.. I sure notice it when I do much.. that arm is tired now as is the shoulder…went and had acupuncture the other day and it seemed to help.. I am doing stretches when I think of it.. about off all the different meds I was taking.. still taking some ibuprofen every day.. but not as much as I was.. I supposed I need to go get some X-rays or a MRI but I hear they are expensive and I don’t have any insurance that amounts to anything… O’Bummer care.. yeah, great stuff (he spat , sarcastically) I guess getting old isn’t something I needed to do.. as someone wrote on my Facebook page the other day, “If I didn’t hurt in the mornings when I wake up, I’d think I was dead.”

Got a real nice colt I been riding a little this spring.. sure is a nice little rascal.. drug out some calves on him the other day and he handled it well… looking forward to riding him a little this summer.. he is just coming 3 year old and doesn’t need too much riding.. I don’t like to ride one very hard until they are at least 5.. but I don’t want him forgetting all his training either..

Better go check cows and see if any new babies are born and chilled down..

Went to our 3rd branding in a row, yesterday. Chance and kids went along. Windy and had a little rain but got them done.. have another one today. Getting lots of calves. Had to pull one out of a heifer and it was quite a deal.

My friend Raymond was here, photographing at the branding, for material to paint.. he is a great artist, so comes out when he can for background material. He and I drove down south where the drop bunch is and found a heifer calving.. we drove on and checked the rest of the cattle, came back and sh hadn’t made any progress, so stopped at Chances when we got back and told him to go check his heifer after bit… we putted around the house for awhile and then the three of us and Addy Bear went back and even took some supplies along, in case we needed to help her, and if we could get her caught.. sure enough, she is still trying, one foot and a nose.. it’s getting late so we decide to try and just rope her out of the Nitro… Chance ties a big knot in the end of the rope, hangs out the door with one leg out the window, door open and I build to her.. she can run real fast.. and she is smart enough to go down in the creek when we get in pursuit. Yeah, this will be much “faster” and “handier” than going home getting horses and taking her to the house!!! After several attempts, Chance gets her roped, I run up on the tail of the rope with the tire of the Nitro and bang, we got her caught….she drops over the edge os a shadow creek that is dry and we wait for her to choke down so we can hobble her and pull the calf… no dice, she won’t choke down, tho’ she sounds like she will never get enough breath.. So Chance attempts to walk up to her and work on the calf… she makes a sideways run, almost clotheslining Raymond and me and pops the rope out from under the tire and away she goes… we do this about 3 times before I manage to get two wheels on the rope and she is pretty short… Chance goes to work on her and she’s had enough and takes a run, swings around the backside of the Nitro and bashes in the side, behind the back door. Addy Bear and Raymond are in the back seat and they thought she was going to come in the window!

I have been on steroids for thew past few days trying to remedy a pinched nerve in my neck/back, so I am starting to have a “road rage”! I scream, “Lets go get the horses and do this right!” No one argues!

We go home and saddle a couple of broke horses and head back south on a lope.. Raymond and Tate come down with the Nitro, but can’t find us in the dark.. Chance and I get split up in the dark and I luck onto the heifer as I see her cross a creek in the dark but there is enough moonlight I can see the rope trailing her in the water! I start hollering at Chance that I have found her. No answer! I holler at Tate, that I have found her. No answer…! Reid rage in a fever, I am cussing everyone and every cow , stupid enough to not lay down and calf by herself….. she joins up with several other cows. All are black angus… it is real dark now.. I don’t have a flashlight, I am over a mile away from the buildings, in rough and rolling grassland, with water in creeks and no help… I lose the cow, as they all split and I can’t see which one is trailing the rope…Finally Chance finds me, then Tate and Raymond. I cuss and swap with Tate and now I am in the Nitro and Tate is horseback…I go tearing around the pasture, shining the lights all over looking for cows and one specific cow trailing a rope….It seems like we drove 100 miles, back and forth and round and round, looking… finally we decide it ain’t going to work and we will just have to come back at daylight…Next morning reallllll early, Chance and I have two horse in the trailer, drive down to the pasture and set up the trailer next to a fence with the gate open, trot out and find the heifer… still no calf! We trot her to the trailer, she jumps in like she has been pasture loaded in a trailer all her life. we had horse, get her in the oral and successfully remove the calf from her. Of course, by now the calf is dead, but she isn’t so thats a partial win….the things you do, trying to “save time” and “this will work slick”!

As rain and then switched over to real small flakes of snow… not real windy…yet! But sure wet out there…

We’ve been getting some rain of late…a quarter to half inch, here and there.. cows are calving.. getting a new pairs kicked out.. getting some riding in..

About a month ago, I started have some pain in my left shoulder blade. I’ve had it off and on for years.. but this just kept getting worse and worse… finally I went to a Chiro.. he popped and snapped some stuff in my neck and back, but it didn’t seem to help the pain too much.. he showed me some stretches to do and they didn’t help much either.. had to go to town the next day, so went back and saw a different Chiro.. about the same deal, some pops and cracks, but not much help for the pain.. went in the next day and saw a PA and she prescribed some pills… they helped, but not all night long.. I’d wake up in the morning with screaming pain… morning being any time after 12 am… I’d go to my chair and watch TV while alternating heat and cold on my shoulder and neck… after a couple days of that I went and saw my doctor and she prescribed some other pills… they’d help a little, but still not completely.. couldn’t get much sleep…finally I went and saw a Physical Therapist who had helped me in the past.. he showed me some stretches to do and my doc sent me a different prescription… so now most of the sharp pain is gone, but still some dull pain and numbness in my fingers and that arm just feels weak and weird… hopefully these new stretches will get it taken care of in time…

Not sure what kicked this in, but sure hope it goes away in time.. I can afford MRI’s and such as our insurance is a joke…very high deductible and still can’t afford the premiums.. yeah, Obama care…. what a wonderful deal it is!

So that is one of the reasons I haven’t been posting much on here… branding season has started…. Chance took my place at the first one.. got another scheduled for tomorrow, but with this weather I bet they hold off.. then 4 in a row end of this week and the weekend.. hopefully I will be able to go to all and even help with the work.. may have too just set on my horse and get in the way! 😀

Been pretty nice, warmer temps, some wind of course, some snow, some rain, water is running down the creeks.. we are getting a few calves.. cows prefer eating short green grass over dry, old hay.

Next week is Cowboy Poetry week, so Shelane Graham, who is the rural library teacher for our area, talked me in to going to the rural schools while she has her class, and discussing and presenting poetry, especially cowboy poetry. It’s been fun and hopefully we have stirred some young minds.

Good Friday, today. The day our Lord was scourged and crucified for us. Cindy and I watched the Passion, by Mel Gibson last night. It is hard to watch and from what I can read it was not even as bad, the way they show it, as it probably actually was. Hard for me to comprehend that kind of determination, courage and love, that a man would go thru’ all of that willingly, just for me…and you.. and everyone who believes in HIM. Of course, he was God/man so we can rationalize that he had super human strength and endurance, but I think we need to remember, that as a man, he felt every lash and nail and curse and all other pains and ridicule, just as we would. As God, he understood and had such deep compassion, that he was willing to allow this to happen. To save all who believe in him. And of course, we know, as Paul would say, the Rest of the Story! We know he will rise on the morning of the third day. And if we believe in him and follow his commandments, we too can do the same, on the day we leave this earthly life behind!

I hope you have a Blessed Easter and remember, it isn’t about bunny’s Easter eggs and baby chicks. It’s about the One who rose up and reigns in heaven! Viva Christo Rey!

Yup, it is that time of the year.. started raining Tuesday night, woke up at daylight to snow and it has snowed of and on since with up to 40 + mph winds. Looks like over a foot of snow here, but hard to tell as much has drifted and some has went into the ground.

We’ve seen worse, but never much fun for those who have livestock out in it. Especially those who are getting calves now. All the ranchers are out in it, doing their best to feed and save the lives of those baby calves.. sleepy and tired and still going… this is the test of cow people on the northern ranges… South of us they just had a real bad one with terrible flooding a few weeks ago.

The frost is out, so it is snow on top of mud.. the good thing is that this will melt right in, where the soil will take it.. the bad thing is, it will run off and flood where the soil is saturated.

Yeah, ranching on the the northern plains sure is fun. Good thing we have God with us, holding us by the hand and helping us…if we let Him.

We went out and saddled up a bunch of horses and moved all the cows south of the road, up into the 80, across from the house… looks like we got a spring blizzard coming in.. starting with rain on Tuesday and then switching to snow Wednesday, early morning.. lots of wind.. they are predicting about an inch of rain and 6 inches of snow as of now.. but that can all change as we get closer… Gramma rode Pilgrim and I rode my colt, Feather… Chance and his crew rode their regular mounts. Nice warm day today, a little breeze. We have had a few heifers calves that weren’t supposed to until later and a couple cows, as the bull got out early last year… but we are not really calving, so it won’t be real tough, but we still have to watch them close in case something does calve and it’s amazing how a spring storm can make cows calve.