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. : )
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
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!
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.
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! : )
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Two of my female pigeons, Pigeon (top) and Plum (bottom). |
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! : )
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
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. : )
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. : )
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
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. : )
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! : )
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! : )
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| A female from a young yellow goat. |
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| Like mother, like daughter! |
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| 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.
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