A New Year is Here

I don't have much time, but I wanted to wish you a--

Happy New Year!

 

May you be blessed this coming 2014.

Time

Time is such a weird, wonderful, surprising, fast, yet slow moving thing!  We complain that things take 'forever' to get done.  Then, with a little time, we are complaining that it (time) went too fast.  Why is that?

This year has gone by so quickly, and yet, I can think back to something that happened in January and say, "That was a long time ago!".  I am sure you feel that way sometimes.  It's amazing that our mind works in this way. 

I have been busy so haven't taken the time to put up a post. You know how some days you could be sitting around with things to do but you put them off and then other days you are looking for something to do and it's like there is nothing to do and you are bored.  Some days fly by and you can't believe it's time to sleep when other days it seems the day is taking extra long to end.  I have now taken the time to sit, even though I do a lot of that, and create a post for you readers so that you don't leave me. 
 
For Thanksgiving, we went to the hospital to have a family get together with my grandpa, the one who had health issues, and grandma.  All but two cousins, one uncle, and one aunt were there.  You know, the place or time doesn't matter one bit when you have a loving family surrounding you.  I thank God that my family is that kind of loving family, who understand and try to agree and not make fuss over everything.  It was really one of the best Thanksgivings we had, I think, anyway.  Almost everyone was there, we were relaxed, my grandpa had easy access to his room when he got tired, we had wonderful food, and great family time.  I am so thankful for all of that.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well. 
I am happy to say that my grandpa and grandma were able to return to their warm home and are enjoying it so much!  Thank you, God!

Christmas is just in two weeks and that by itself seems crazy!  We have gotten our trees, lights, and a few presents ready, but we still have shopping, planning, and baking to do.  We have such a busy month all of the sudden and don't know where to fit everything in.  I am sure everything will turn out fine even if it doesn't go just as it's planned.

Since I don't have a whole lot to say, I will end here.  I kind of doubt that I will get back to post anything before Christmas, but who knows.  So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and New Year.  And may you take the time to remember what/who Christmas is all about!  

 

 Merry Christmas!



What are You Thankful for?

Today we all woke up to a wonderful one inch of snow!  It is one pretty sight here on the ranch.   

You all know Thanksgiving is just next week and it's hard for me to believe it.  I am really looking forward to a week of surprises and family fellowship.  I must say, though, that we aren't ready.

I had planned earlier this month that I would do twelve days of Thanksgiving, as in post a thing or person I am thankful for, every day until Thanksgiving.  Well, you can see that I didn't!  I guess there's no time better than the present to do such things.  So...

I am really thankful for my grandparents.  There is so much a girl (or anybody, really) can learn from their life and teachings.  My grandpa, 98 years old, had some health issues recently and is in the hospital, but keeps working so that he can go home.  So, as we have been visiting him and my grandma, I realize just how blessed I am.  I am guilty of thinking that my grandparents and parents are going to live forever, it's not true, though.  I have been realizing that these last few weeks.  You must enjoy every moment you get to spend with family and friends.  I really hope and pray that my grandpa will get to go home soon and live all the number of days he has left in peace and without pain.  I love them so!  I also have another grandma that is such a loving woman.  She makes the best pickles a person could ever eat!  I love her! 

I am really thankful for my family as well.  Dad, Mom, Big J., and Little J.  They are such amazing people to spend my life with.  Thank you for helping me with math, Mom.  Thanks for teaching me all about transplanting plants and growing them, Dad.  Thanks for being good little siblings, even when you don't do what I kindly ask of you, Big J. and Little J.  Thank you for everything you all do.  I love you all dearly. 

I am thankful for all of my critters, but here recently I have found that family is more special.  I still enjoy my critters just as much, though. 

We are so blessed that it would take a longer post to list every little thing that I/we are thankful for, but I wanted to list a few.  I hope you all can be just as thankful this time of year, as well as throughout the years to come.  May you all be blessed this Thanksgiving and realize, as you spend time with friends and family, just how blessed you are.  

God Bless~

Happy Thanksgiving!  From the ranch.  : ) 

Pumpkin Pies

Hello once again!

One of my pumpkin pies.  (Thanks to the help from Dad and Mom.

I have been somewhat busy making pumpkin pies (with the help of my parents) the last two days.  I have never made them before, and I found it fun to do. 

Yesterday we cleaned the pumpkin: chopped it up, peeled it, and then started boiling it.  My one pumpkin made two pans worth for boiling and just today, I made three pies.  We have so much more pumpkin "mush", as I call it, left over!  We also cleaned the seeds, put them in salt water, and roasted them in the oven. 

Something even more interesting is that my pumpkin came from a field that is near my grandparents' house.  It was neat to know that my pumpkin was Oklahoma grown and that we drove by that field on our way to NM, then go to a near by Wal-Mart (a few weeks later) and buy a pumpkin from that field!  Who knew that would happen?  : )

Fall

October has passed by and November has arrived, our trees are changing and it's about time for Thanksgiving! 

For Halloween, since we don't celebrate it, we went out my dad's parents' house to celebrate his dad's birthday!  His birthday was on the 1st, but he said, "I don't want anyone over on my birthday" so we went the day before.  We had pizza and pudding, cake, and ice cream.
We came home at a late hour of night and got pumpkins on the way.  We have yet to cut them.  : )

This morning was still and just a little chilly, and as I fed my chickens, I paused to look around me.  It was so quiet and still.  Then a car horn blasted through the air, cattle started bawling, and I could tell that our neighbor was feeding his cattle.  Up over head, a few cranes honked to their friends.  The sounds were amazing!  The tamaracks on the river are turning from green to orange and every color in between.  The trees in front of our house are losing their leaves, too. 

It was so beautiful today that I had to get out my camera and snap a few pictures of my ranch life.  So, here are some of them for you to enjoy.

Since this is a ranch blog, I figured I should write about what I see or feel on the ranch, rather than waiting for something exciting to happen and I hope that this post gave you that feeling.  Till next time!  : )

 If you look closely, you can see one of my chickens doing some fancy foot work.

 

One view from the ranch.  Far out there you can see the tamaracks and few trees changing colors.



The Trees are Falling

It's a cold day out here on the ranch and I have found the time to put up a post.  Fall has come once more!  This last weekend our family took a little trip to the mountains to see the changing trees.  As you can see in the pictures, the trees have changed colors. 

We went to Red River, NM, to the Oktoberfest again and spent the night in Eagle's Nest.  On the next morning, we shivered and watched a group of people snag fishing.  That was new to us, but it looked fun.  The fishermen didn't use bait, they just throw the hook in the water and it would hook into a fish.  Pretty simple.  But we did not fish any.

We got to see some snow and had to step around some ice.  Later in the morning we went to Angel Fire and ate a nice breakfast.  Then we went to the ski lift and even rode on it to the top of the mountain!  I wasn't looking forward to it, but once we got on to come down, I really enjoyed it!  A person can see a long ways from up there, for sure.  We had dinner by the road on our way home and got some more pictures.

We drove out to my dad's parents' house and had great fellowship with them, our cousins, and Aunt and Uncle.  Oh, how we laughed after the supper meal.  We played Bananagrams and talked late into the night.  The five of us didn't get home until early the next morning.  : )
 

1 Year!

So, it's late at night and I finally get to sit down and write a blog post.  Yes, I should be in bed, but I couldn't let this day pass without a post.

It's my blog's first birthday!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOG!!!!

Last year on the third of October, I started this ranch blog and am still enjoying it.  I want to thank all of you who take the time to read it; it means so much to me! 

I hope you all enjoy my old posts and the ones yet to come!  ~Savannah, the writer of this blog, the one living the ranch life.  : )

Wait-Let Me Catch Up!

Yes, so it's been almost two weeks since our branding, and yes, I am VERY behind in my blog!  I am sorry, you will just have to live with it.

 

We did have a great branding* on Labor Day and at dinner we had 27 people of all ages eat with us.  The branding is like a holiday at our house (at least in my mind it is) and because of the toss I took on 28th of August, I wasn't up to flanking (pulling the calf over on its side and sitting on it). (Read about it in my blog post called Make That Odd...)  It was saddening because ever since I was big enough, that was the best part of branding.  Instead, I ear notched** almost every calf, and did in fact get my exercise, for the helpers decided to move to the pen next to the one I was in.

 

A lot of younger cowboys got to rope, flank, and give shots; one of those ropers was Big J.  He did really well and double hocked*** a lot of calves.  I am his sister, but I was impressed with his roping!  I even said, "He is doing really well, even if he is my brother."

 

The day was nice and we were done branding by 10 am., we had started at 7:30.  We then ran a few yearling mama cows through the chute and year branded them.  We finished that at 12 o'clock and headed to the house for a great, mostly-home-made dinner that Mom was in charge of.  It was a great day!

 

* A branding is when a lot of cowboys and cowgirls get together to help their friend mark his cattle so that if they get out, people will know who they belong to.  The brand is what the ownership mark is called.  Our brand is IE laying down.  The E is on top of the I.  Every rancher has a different brand to mark his ownership.  How do you brand the calf?  The brand is made out of an iron rod and the part with the brand is put in a fire to cause the iron to become very hot.  The brander then puts the iron on the calf and the hot brand burns the hair and skin, thus leaving the brand on the calf for the rest of its life. 

We also give shots for the reason you get shots, and cut them.  Or in other words, make the bulls, who make more calves, into steers, one who can not reproduce.  The proper way of saying it would be castrating.

 

** Ear notch is another way of showing ownership.  We cut out a part of the ear (the tip and on top of the right ear, and on the left, just the tip).  Just another way to see who owns the calf if the hair has grown over the brand.

 

*** Double Hocking is when a roper ropes a calf by both hind legs.  It is best if that is done rather than only one leg or the neck; it's easier to flank the calf.  

 

I went through 800 some pictures and picked these for you to see.



 

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY MY COUSIN, CALLIE SAIN.

THANK YOU, CALLIE, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SNAP AT OUR BRANDING.  GREAT PICTURES!



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was also in the Beaver County Rodeo queen contest this year.  I had to sell tickets (which I got first place for selling the most), model, give a speech, be interviewed, and ride a horse in a reining pattern.  I didn't like everything that I had to do and it was a stretch for me, it was my first time.  I didn't win, but it didn't matter if I won, lost, or drew.  I finished and that's what mattered.  My parents were proud of me.  And I don't have to do it next year!  I am really happy about that.

 

The county fair was going on at the same time, and we entered things in it.  It was one busy week!

 

So, there are a few big things that have caused me to get behind in my blogging business.  We did start school and it's going smoothly.  And I am happy to say that my hip is much better.  I can flank again; we had some sick calves and got to flank today!  Our ranch life is still busy, but not as much. 

 

We have gotten a little rain this week and got to say good bye to the hot weather!  It is so lovely to walk outside and get chilled because it's 60 to 70 degrees.  I hope it stays this way.  You know, fall is just around the corner!  It's amazing that it's already that time again.  Well, it is time for Christmas...yes, I decorated a little for it already.  Why not?!  

 

On the sadder side: I had to let my turtle, Tortoise, go.  Because they hibernate, we couldn't keep him through the winter.  I will miss that little guy.   

 

Have a great day, all you readers!  : )  



The Garden

It's been a long while since I have said anything about the garden.  It is coming along quite well.

We have gotten to pick a lot of squash and zucchini.  We are also getting some cucumbers and peppers, including banana peppers, hot peppers, and bell peppers.  All of them have tasted good.  We have picked three okras, two tomatoes, two radishes, and one green onion.

I planted two watermelon seeds from a store bought watermelon and they both grew, but the big one died the day after we transplanted to the outside world.

It has been a lot of fun getting to hang out with Dad as he waters it and to search for little surprises.  

Some of these pictures are old, but it shows you how our garden was set up this year.  Enjoy!  : )

   

Make That Odd...

The title doesn't make much sense unless you know how many times I have come off my horse.  But here is the story about the fifth time I got ejected from my dear horse, Paradise.

It was a nice evening, last night, and we needed to move some pairs to a set of pens in order to haul them closer to where we are going to brand.  Well, we were starting later than planned so it was close to dark.  We were hurrying to get to the cows; Paradise had already stepped in an unseen hole and touched the ground with her nose.  Thankfully we were walking.  But that was nothing to falling off.

We went to the gate on the hill and went through it fine.  Dad and Big J. were riding faster ahead and I simply wanted to catch up to them, so I kicked Paradise.  Well, she got spooked at that and did go faster, but I wasn't ready for that speed, that sudden.  I lost my right stirrup, I grabbed my saddle, for I had no saddle horn to grab, and did my best to slow my running horse's pace.  I could see a yucca plant nearing, and that's when Paradise turned to the left, I lost everything and fell, skidding, sliding and going head over feet on the ground once I hit.  It wouldn't have been so painful, but let's remember that I came of a loping horse.

I rolled over and sat up fast as possible and tried breathing.  For a long time, or at least it felt like a long time, I couldn't breathe and to make things worse, Big J.'s dog ran into my face and started roughly licking me.  I couldn't breathe and for sure couldn't talk, but the dog wasn't helping, so I hit her and pushed her away.  Dad and Big J. were by me by then and my dog gently came over and just stood by me until I could breathe and mumble a little.

After sitting on the ground for a while, I stood up, but had to have help.  My left arm was scraped up and my hip felt awful!  My shirt wasn't torn but had indented dirt and stains; it was red like blood so Dad looked for any gashes and to make sure no ribs were broke.  They weren't and there was no blood.  We were very thankful that I hadn't fallen on/in the yucca plant and that there weren't any rocks, but I rolled over some tumbleweeds and sagebrush.

We almost went on to move the cattle, but because I was in pain and it was even closer to dark, we turned to go home.  The ride home was okay, and I never got blurry or sick, until we got off at the house.  I walked a few feet and that's when my ears started closing and my sight went to black spots.  Dad came up and helped me sit down.  I could not hear the locust at all, a little scary... Dad fanned me with his hat and cooled me off.  Then we walked arm in arm to the house. 

Inside, Mom quit her phone call and I sat down in a chair when Dad took off my boots and socks.  They got a wet cloth for my face and I sat in front of the fan.  Today I got up and I can walk, slowly with a limp, and I even got on Dad's horse for a while.  Riding her was not at all painful, but getting on and off was hard.  I really hope I heal quickly for our branding is just around the corner.  I am really glad we have a God that looks out for us!  So, as for the title, I will explain.  I told Paradise when I came off the fourth time that we should stay on an even number and not buck me off again.  But... let's make that odd... And stay odd!  : )   

Rain Helps Everything...Except Dirt Roads

As the title states rain is a helpful thing for plants and rivers, but when it comes as hard as it has the last few nights on the ranch, it can ruin a dirt road and fences.

Here is another spot of washed road.



Here is the washed away road.  Dad informed us today that a four wheeler might be able to cross. 



The culverts didn't quite do their job...



You can see that this dirt road was really washed away by the hard rain.  But it made cool pictures!  All of this rain has also messed up some fences, so you know what will be worked on soon.

We went swimming in our river because of the rain we had gotten on July 31st had risen the water.  The water was really cold, but just as fun.  I had taken my camera and snapped a few pictures of the river and dirt road.

At the house, we got 2 inches of rain, but it came hard.  On the 6th we got 3 inches and again last night we got 2.75, and to beat all of that, our branding pens got 4.40!  Thank You, God!

All of it came hard, thus washing our roads, lining our fences with trash, and making huge puddles in the pastures, but at least we are receiving some.

So, now we are at the point of having too much grass and not enough cows, but we would much rather have it that way than too many cows.  : )

Rain Helps Everything

Rain is such a wonderful thing that, sadly, we don't get to see often enough out here.  But tonight was different. 

We were looking at the radar on the internet and were saddened by the news it showed.  We were again out of range of the near-by rain.  But as we continued watching, a nice sized cloud formed right over us and we looked outside just as it began to rain; not a heavy sprinkle, or a trace, but real, heavy rain!  The sight and sound of real rain was long missed and quickly welcomed to the ranch.

After a few minutes of rain, our county was put under a severe thunderstorm watch, with a chance of hail and a few rotations.  We personally did not see any hail.  When the rain had slowed down (about an hour later) we all went outside and played in the puddles and actually used an umbrella, though we really didn't need one.

The big rain had passed leaving two inches in the rain gauge and a few sprinkles still falling from a cloud above.  We three kids ran around the ranch bare-foot and had a race on our rock driveway, and yes, our feet were pink and kind of hurt.  It was barely sprinkling now and we all loaded up in the pickup to drive around and look at the water.

With we three kiddos in the back of the pickup, Dad and Mom in the cab, we drove through and around puddles made by the rain.  There was a lot of lightning around, so we got to watch a nice show while driving on the muddy dirt road heading south.  A few spots in the road were covered with water and some ditches were full.  In one low spot, the water was flowing under the road and do you know what's amazing?  Frogs are so amazing, but their Maker is even more so!

We were driving around and when we stopped to look at the water, there pretty close to the road, were what sounded like thousands of frogs croaking their joy of the rain.  We have been in a huge drought, we have not seen one frog in at least a year, but yet tonight after this big rain, there are tons of frogs alive and well!  How did God make them so well?!  He is God, he knows everything.  It is just remarkable that they can live through dry weather like this.

We came home after running bare-foot in a huge puddle which also crossed the road.  And to end this wonderful day, we lit some fireworks and watched the little display.  Such a fun life!  And we thank God for all of it.  : )

 

 

The Great Ranch Life

I hope all of you had a good 4th of July this year.  My family did.  We got to enjoy fireworks this year, and there were quite a few really nice ones. 

This week, though its just started, has been really cool--weather cool.  We went from the 100's to 60's.  Oh--it's so lovely!  The last two or three days have been cloudy and looked as though it should start raining.  But we have only gotten heavy sprinkles.

Yesterday the whole family went out to move our newly momma cows and their young calves to a new pasture south of our house.  The cows had been cooped up in a small pasture and with this cool weather, they ran about as though they were crazy.  Most of the time we were trotting behind them, trying to keep up.  We went towards a valley sort of thing and I was riding behind all of the running cows and calves.  They were kicking up so much dust, of course the wind was from the east and we were riding into it, so I got a face full of dust.  I was also trying to keep my horse from running down the hill to join in with the cows' play. 
We continued taking the cattle east and then south until we had reached the last gate.  From there the cows took off at a run with their tails up.  Right then I thought, They look just like Pumba on The Lion King!  And they did.  We held them around the water pit for a while before heading back to the house.  Feeling sprinkles on your face while riding is one wonderful feeling!

Today Dad got us older two kids up at 6:25 AM and we got dressed to ride again.  Big J. was sent out for the horses, but got lost so to speak and it started to lightly rain.  Dad and I got in a pickup and headed out to look for him.  After passing the horses and reaching the other end of the pasture, we picked up Big J. and went back to the horses.  We caught the wet horses and led them back to the house.  It was pretty to see water run down their mane.
We saddled up and Big J. had to go back to the pasture and get 3 horses which had not come to the house.  We went to a set of pens in the pasture where we had put the cows from the day before, and Dad, Big J. and I started gathering.  It had been sprinkling/slightly raining for a while and all of the saddles were wet, but then I wasn't scared of just sliding off because now I was stuck to the wet leather. 
Anyway, we trotted for a while and finally found all 32 cows, and headed back to the pens.  There, Big J., Little J., and I stood as the gate as Dad and Mom sorted off two cows which were going to the sale today.  That didn't take all that long and they were quickly loaded into the trailer.  Dad and Big J. said good bye before heading to the sale barn, and we three girls mounted the three horses to ride back to the house. (It was a short mile back home.)  It sprinkled on and off and by the time we had gotten to the house it was just dripping a little.
We unsaddled, fed the horses a little treat and sent them back to the pasture, and they will stay there until further notice. 
I had not milked yet, so around 10:30 going on 11, I headed out there with my milk bucket in hand.  I quickly milked, fed my girl some hay, got some grasshoppers for my turtle, and walked back to the house just as another light rain began to fall.
Days like today are my favorite ever.  I like days that are cloudy and snow is falling just as well, but since it's summer, I won't be seeing any snow.  But what I mean is that cloudy days or misty days are so refreshing, sometimes they are exciting, or just pretty.  But they always seem to comfort me or something like that.  So riding today, in this weather, was really pleasing to me.  Getting to milk my goat and hear rain on the metal roof, being able to look out the window and not see our pasture because it's raining, and walking up stairs where it is normally a yucky warm and feel cool fresh air is such a great thing!  Living on this ranch on this day was one of the best.  I am glad I get to live here.  
Sometimes it is hard to put into words what you're really feeling.  And sometimes I find myself having a hard time writing for this blog, but ranch life is really amazing.  Our east view is wonderful, especially now, as the west sun is shining over the damp grass, and the remains of the rain clouds are moving away, but you can still see the different colored ones.  And getting to enjoy a lot of God's critters that Dad and Mom have allowed us to keep as pets.  Pretty much everything on a ranch is worth getting to enjoy.  So, unless you have lived on a ranch/farm, you will never, truly understand the feeling of seeing and doing the daily ranch life as I have been able to do.
In closing, I will simply say: Have a great day!  Until next post.  : )     
 

Lights, Rain, Action!

Well, I am sitting here in front of our open house door watching and listening to the rain fall from the roof and the thunder rumble across the thirsty Okla. Panhandle.  It is such a pretty sight for this girl.  I don't know how much rain we have gotten, but it smells and looks good!

I am really glad we got home from swimming in the river before the rain cloud hit...why...you'll find out.  Mom was talking with Grandma and a few lightning strikes rang in her ear.  It was time to hang up the phone.  After she did, we were watching the outside world and all of the sudden KA-BOOM!  Right before our eyes a lightning bolt stuck the ground just a few yards from the house.  And it was close!  I saw the sparks fly and the smoke rise from the beaten ground.  I literally jumped from my chair and my heart jumped from its normal spot and started to beat really fast.  Oh!  We have yet to find the spot and take pictures if worth it. 

The "storm" seems to have passed and Gus, the ranch rooster, had to let the world--ranch world, that is--know that all of his hens have survived the weather and that they were safe.  : )

P.S.  We did not find the spot where the lightning struck the ground.

What's Happening here

Hi to everyone still reading my blog, or more like willing to wait for me to create a post.  A lot has happened lately, and I will do my best to explain things in an interesting way so that it is enjoyable to read.

To start things off--Some of you dog lovers might enjoy hearing that we have recently added to our number of dogs.  We went from two dogs to three.  Lightning, Big J.'s own female dog, is half lab, half border collie--a great mix.  She is such a puppy and has been learning a few things like not eating chicks--ugh, she did kill one--and she knows to sit and play fetch (she even brings things back to you).  She has also gotten it in her mind that she should gather the chicken eggs for me.  Thankfully, she hasn't eaten any.  She is also a water dog.  Just today we went swimming in the river and she was acting like a crazy dog, jumping in the water and catching twigs and such.  It has taken me a while to get to liking her (she is just what my dog isn't), but I have to say, she is such a sweet, loveable pup.

Speaking of dogs, my dog came home a few mornings ago with sixteen porcupine quills in his nose!  Poor thing had to be sat on while Dad pulled them out one by one.  But he forgave us and still likes us. 

On Saturday the whole family loaded up in our nice truck and began gathering our cows.  Mom and Little J. gathered a few pairs (a mom cow and her baby) while Dad, Big J., and I gathered some other pairs.  Paradise did very nicely that day; we started the ride by trotting a ways to get to the cows quicker and then bumped the speed to a lope.  We had gathered and Dad started sorting all of the mammas that had heifer calves.  We sorted 14 pair with only heifer calves.  There was one calf which we didn't know if we paired up correctly, so with a little more waiting and watching the cows, we found the right mom and then started pushing all of the moms and heifer calves east.  We went in that direction for a while and then turned north into a gate.  We continued to push the Angus pairs to another pasture and held them for a little bit.  We came home after that.

We have also had the privilege of borrowing a donkey to breed our white buckskin mare.  His name is Mike.

I have also been milking three goats each morning for a while now.  They are giving a good amount of milk, though some of it doesn't taste too good.  We still have six out of eight kid goats, and they are still really cute!

 

Big J. has three female cats which all became pregnant around the same time, so we have seven kittens now.  One cat, Monster, lost all two of her kittens, so "adopted" Ghost's, her sister, three kittens.  Really, the two moms take care of the kittens and take turns watching them.  They now have a weird relationship.  Kind of gross, really.  And then Numbers, the other mom cat, had four kittens which are healthy and happy.  So, not only has our horse and dog numbers gone up, our cats did also.

 

And the garden is planted!  We have cucumbers, squash, peppers, cantaloupe, okra, green beans, and maybe some other things that I forgot about.  Sadly, the grasshoppers are plentiful this year and think the garden makes a great café.  There are millions out there and when walking, waves of them fly up everywhere you step.  Our chickens are eating them and are doing their best to keep them somewhere under control; it's impossible.

I have also gotten a turtle whose name is Tortoise.  I feed him grasshoppers and give it daily walks in the kitchen.  Yes, we have lost him once and he has been kicked across the room, not on purpose, of course!

That cat which was attacked by a coyote is doing much better; he may not loose his foot.

 

We did get a nice amount of rain a few days ago, but other than that, it is hot and either really windy or really still.  Weather good for only swimming or staying inside with air conditioners.     
 
I thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Till next post...  : )

  

Life on the Ranch

I am still out here!  Yes, so it's been a long time since my last blog post--I am sorry.  Trust me, life on the ranch has not been slow, that is one reason why I haven't sat down and done a post...I've been busy.  So, let's get on with the post.

Just yesterday Dad, Little J., and I went out to move our cows and calves.  It has been very hot here so we got up before the sun, when it was still somewhat cool.  After we walked out to the horses, saddled and loaded, we headed south to the cows.  We started our ride horseback and slowly gathered all of the mamas and their calves.  Then we pushed them up and down a few little hills before we came upon a closed gate.  Dad dismounted and opened it, letting the cattle through.
  Little J. and I had a hard time getting the last calf through...see, it just loved my horse and me so much that it couldn't go through the gate without the two of us.  Yeah right, you might say.  Well, Dad finally told me to walk through and let the calf follow me; with some pushing from Dad and Little J., it did go through.
We kept pushing them through that pasture until we came to another gate, and we left them in that pasture.

Next, we rode the horses towards the tamaracks, which by the way, is not my favorite thing to ride in.  Dad had just gone by one branch and it spooked Little J.'s horse, who was in front of me.  Perfect start to a trip through those over populating plants!  So, we inched through, under, and around those things, only to come upon one which Paradise totally refused to go through.  No matter how much I kicked her and clucked her along.  Really, I didn't want to go through it either; the branches were so low and I had the thought of Paradise bucking and seeing me fly off of her nice, smooth back where the saddle sat.  (I think I need to face my fears a little better.)  Anyway, I came off-on purpose- and led her through, after breaking those scary branches in two.
  We made it out of the 'forest' and rode a ways more; but next came the river, which I thought Paradise might happily cross with no problem.  I am not saying that she caused a problem, though.  She did cross it, but not exactly how I wished.  She jumped it.  
  I got off to get a gate and we kept riding.  We were now searching for 33 cows and their calves.  We all trotted some and did a lot of walking.  Finally, after searching most all of the pasture, we found--well, heard--the cows and shoved them into a corner to get a count.  We got 29 cows out of 33, which wasn't too bad, but Dad had really hoped to get all of them.  He kept searching. 
  By now the day was warming up and us two girls were getting sweaty by just holding the cows while they munched on their cud.  Dad returned, but without cows.  He opened the gate and we pushed the cows through, and with that, after closing the gate, we started the ride back to the pickup. 
  The rest of the ride was nice, a little walking on foot and of course on horse back, some trotting and loping, to add to that, and a rest at the gate between us and the pickup.  We got home by noon and had dinner with an old western show.

As for animals, they are all doing well, even the cat that survived the coyote attack on him.  Yes, he looks bad and really stinks, but he's alive and doing pretty good.  My pigeon is growing like a weed and has some feathers now.  The garden is slowly coming along, and we hope to plant the plants soon.  It is still really hot, windy, and dry.  There is really nothing we can do about the dryness of this land.  The weather is depressing, mostly for the ranchers and farmers, but I think it has to have some effect on everybody.  We have our swimming pool up and have been enjoying the cool, refreshing water, along with the dogs.  I have trained my chicks to come when I call and they are also growing really quickly.  They love having all of the different kinds of grasshoppers to choose from out here.  There are a bunch!  Here are some pictures to end the post.  Have a great day.  My view on the ranch...  : )

 

  

Back in the Saddle

Today Dad and I went with the horses to move our cows and calves.  First of all, we mounted and moved a few new cows and their young calves just across the fence.  Next, we went to where we call over west, and mounted there to gather and move some other cows and calves.  Paradise, my horse, had been going well, and we crossed the river with no problems.  We were pushing some cows through and around tamaracks when we reached the river once more.  There, since we had the cows and calves, it was harder to cross.  Calves don't like to cross water and on horse back, it's hard to just walk them across.
Anyway- we had most of the cows across with their calves (don't forget, it's just me with my dad), but two calves needed to still cross.  One of which was standing in the middle of the water, unmoving or anything.  Dad, worried that it was sick, rode out to it and tried pushing or pulling its tail to make it cross.  That only made the protective mother angry.  She lowered her head and opened her mouth only to let the angry moos and slobbers come out.  She faced Dad and his horse and took a few jumps towards him.  All at once, the calf plunged out of the river and ran straight to me, his mother right behind him!  That all means that the angry mama was coming, at a run, right to me!  I turned my horse and kicked her to run away from the cow; she realized what was happening and loped up a hill and turned between some tamaracks, causing the cow to loose track of us and run some where else.  Dad told me that the cow wasn't after us, but that it just felt and looked like it.  Either way, I am glad that no one was hurt.
But that was just one crazy incident during the day.  After we left that mama and her calf, we continued to push the others to the right pasture.  Again Paradise got jumpy and tossed her head.  I don't what's gotten into her, but she is a little different.  Then we rode to the pickup and drove home.  Big J. and Little J. had gotten their horses saddled and ready to ride, so we all, except Mom, rode out to our pasture just east of the house.  We have had a cow and calf in there for the longest time, and they needed to be removed from the pasture, so we rode out there and gathered the two animals.  Tonzo and Belvadere, our two dogs, also went along for the ride.  The gather and moving only took 5 or 10 minutes and then we headed back home. 
Now that doesn't sound crazy to anyone, does it?  I am not finished yet!  While we were riding back, my horse thought we would run, and did so for a little ways before I stopped her.  Nothing happened out of the blue, yet.  But as we were reaching a huge dip in the ground, Paradise started loping down the hill, and without any sign, she jumped a little and tossed her head.  I am sure she was just feeling good, but I lost my seat and was REALLY close to loosing the whole saddle, which means that I would have hit the ground.  Thankfully, I stayed on, calmed down the jumpy, feeling good horse, and rode her all the rest of the way home.  I did get off early because we were coming close to a spot where we would have walked between the pickup and a dog cage, but they were only a yard away from each other.  I could just picture my horse and me in a mess and someone getting hurt. 
But, over all, it was a nice day for riding and no one was hurt in any way.  And we ended the day by having FMN (family movie night).  So, just another day on the ranch has ended.  : )     

Another Day on the Ranch

The weather here has still been a little on the stormy side, but today was pretty nice.  I tried riding, but my young horse decided she would do everything that I didn't want her to.  So it was frustrating.  But she is getting slick and pretty!

Paradise all slick and shiny.

 

Yesterday was the first day that I milked my goat and was able to keep the milk to drink!  It was fun to do so, especially after a long wait for her to have kids and milk.

The fist jar of milk to drink!

Now, we are working on our garden.  Hopefully we will get a nice crop this year, even though we are in a drought.  This year we are trying something new; instead of planting in the ground, we will be planting in some black tubs which are put in the ground.  So, we'll see how it works out.

Two of my female pigeons, Pigeon (top) and Plum (bottom).

Also, (this might be weird to some of you) but today we welcomed to the world, a baby pigeon!  I had been patiently awaiting for something to happen to the four pigeon eggs being sat on.  And the day finally came.  Now we will see if the other three eggs hatch or not.  The whole process took eighteen days and now I will get to enjoy the new pigeon.  I will probably name it Little White Dove or Running Bear.  But who knows, I might think of some other name before the pigeon gets its wings, and feathers.  I would put pictures, but my pigeon, George, and Big J.'s, Ralph, are always sitting on the little one.  Makes it hard to get pictures, for sure.  And it will take a while for it to get pretty; it just has skin and a few yellow hairs.  Ugly to most people.

Sadly, I can't write about any rain because we have had none.  We just have the wind and dirt.

So, that about ends this post.  We just go enjoy the night by sleeping outside!  : )   

The Weather in the Panhandle

We have lately been watching the Ken Burns videos about the Dust Bowl, well, right now, it looks very similar to those days.  The dust is blowing so much that we can hardly see the horizon, the wind is very strong, and the sun is blocked.  It is DIRTY!  And because nowadays farming has changed, it has caused us to wonder where all this dirt is coming from.  Trust me, it is nasty.

I had been wanting to ride Paradise for the longest time, but the weather has been against me.  Sunday, we were at church and my grandparents' house, Monday, was way too hot to do anything outdoors, and today, I went to the sale barn with Daddy. We just got back as the weather changed from nice, to nasty.

But I had a good time with Dad at the sale barn; I had the pleasure to help my dad unload cattle, put tags on their backs, and push them to a pen.  It was really hot, so I carried out an ice chest full of ice and bottled water.  Yes, it was heavy, but I handled it.  I also took two of my kid goats along to sell to a family who had talked with Dad about buying one.  So, with Dad's help, we carried the dog carrier to the guy's pickup and trailer to gave him the two female goats.  He was happy with how the nannies looked and his wife paid us a little later.  I watched part of the sale and then headed to the café to see if they needed my help; they didn't.  So I sat there for a while and talked with whoever sat next to me.  Then I went back and watched the rest of the sale and spoke to a few other people I knew.  After the last bull sold, Dad and I ate dinner and went to get our pickup which was at the mechanic.

We stopped at the bank first to cash some checks.  We were going to pick up the Ford, but decided to go do some other business while the pickup was worked on still longer.  We went to PTCI to return a phone we had been using to see about the service out here, and while we were in there, the lady working there had a phone that started an odd sound.  She read out loud that a tornado was tracking through the town we were in and other towns near by.  My heart jumped and a lady which was a customer panicked, saying, "Can I leave?  I am leaving now!"  And she ran out of the building.  Another customer nodded and added, "Me too, I am leaving."  The two ladies working at the PTCI store, also panicked and one said, "I have to leave.  Like can't we move to another place?"  Dad sat there and asked her where she would go.  The girl was taken back by that and told him a basement, which that building didn't have.

Right then, a police car sped by, lights flashing and sirens on.  He was followed by a couple of others.  By the time we got outside, a handful of other people had gathered on the sidewalk, phones in hand and looking to the sky.  We over heard a man say that he saw a tornado in the sky, but Dad and I did not see any sign of one.  We called home and then went back inside.  Dad had called a good friend and he had called back so I answered.  He and his boys had seen a tornado just outside of the town we were in, but there was no sign of it causing any damage.  We walked to another business and then picked up the pickup.  We drove in a lot of wind, of course, and also some rain and a little hail.  But the window was down all the way home and it was quite refreshing.  We got home and it was windy and since then the dirt began blowing.  We can kind of see the horizon now, but the wind is very strong. 

I have got to say, this is stormy weather!  I think the people were as panicked as they were because of the tornado in Moore, Okla.  I just keep praying that no tornados will come near us.  I hope where ever you are reading this from, you are safe and sound.  So far, we are all fine here on the stormy weather ranch.  : )       

A Monday Ride

Dad had some cattle work needing to be done and Mom headed to town to play the piano for a children's program, so we did the cattle work yesterday.

We went to our pasture and caught the horses, rode bare-back up to the house, and saddled before leaving.  Once reaching the pens, we moved some gates around to be able to sort once the cattle were penned.  After that, Dad hauled us to a gate where we three kids mounted and began gathering the cows and bulls.

We are taught to count when we move or do something with the cows, so we counted a few times before heading them to the watering tank.  We mostly got different numbers each time, but once in a while we reached the right amount.  We moved the cattle across the pasture and Dad met us half way through.  We sorted some to sell and keep, and took a herd to meet up with some other cattle.  They fought for a while and we moved them to the pens where we had moved the gates. 

I help Dad sort different girls (cows) and Big J. and Little J. handled the gates.  One time we almost had a dilemma, but we worked it out; our gate runners were great and we worked together.  After finishing shorting, we counted then mounted and pushed the girls back to their pasture.  We headed home when we had finished the little touches such as closing gates, and had checked the goats. 

Mom had gotten home and had made up wonderful hamburgers for dinner.  The weather got to where it looked like it was going to rain, big clouds built up and the wind grew harder.  I went out to water my goat and take pictures.  Before long, Dad, Big J., and I were headed to move some heifers.  We drove a little ways and mounted.  We got sprinkled on for a little while but it stopped.  The heifers moved nicely, but they have been moved over a lot of miles!  We finished up and drove home.  When we put the horses up we found my goat with her babies and took care of them for a little bit. 

It was a nice day and the horses did great like always, plus we got an air freshener rain.   : )  

More Kids

Yesterday, a beautiful day, we went to check our goats again; to water and feed them treats.  As you know, my goat had 3 kids on April 24th.  Well, we still had 3 other nannies due anytime.  We have two yellow goats which we call banana goats or the big one and little one.  And Carmoll, my other goat. 

The little one had been penned up for a long time and we were tempted to turn her loose, but didn't.  We are glad we didn't!  On May 2nd, she had two females.  They both looked good except one, the dark brown headed one, was bow legged.  Dad said that she would straighten up and get better; she did.

Then on the 3rd, our big yellow one had gone missing.  I walked over most of the pasture, only having to go to a shed in a different pasture.  There was that nanny; sleeping beside a little kid.  Sadly, she had lost one, a male.  But she kept the female alive and healthy.   I moved her and the kid back to the other goats who were penned up for safety reasons. 

Well, yesterday we went down there and all the kids and moms were fine, but my nanny goat was gone.  This time, I went straight to the shed.  She was there but had not had her babies.  I got Dad and we ended up bringing her home.  With in an hour and a half or so, she had had two kids; one male and one female!  The timing was perfect!  (We took her to the house because she has never kept any kids alive; her bag is bad for kids to start on.) 

I am so pleased to have all of the kids.  After at least two years of trying (one year both my goats lost theirs, some kids were never even found, and the next year they didn't get bred) we have finally succeeded!  And with eight!  They are so cute and fun.  One black and white male is a people goat, he just loves people, so he's everyone's favorite.  Now, we will get milk before too long!  : )  



A female from a young yellow goat.

Like mother, like daughter!

Here I am holding my favorite little guy.

 This is a daughter from our big yellow goat.

 

 This is the happy father of all 8 kids.

 

 My goat Carmoll had this big guy.

 

She also had this little girl.