ahhhhhh the wonderful Wendy set me up with a blog so I've got some catching you up to do. I'll start with one of my favorite stories and memories of all times, it's from last fall but worth sharing again.....
September 2008
I spent the weekend with Boyfriend Chad on his family's farm in Lincoln County, Colorado. I got to take part in the process that lands that juicy steak on your plate at Texas roadhouse. Hannah and I actually got on horses and moved cattle into pens. It was so interesting to see how it all comes together. There were nine of us. Chad went out ahead with the four-wheeler to get the cattle moving our direction. The rest of us were on horseback and waited until they moved our way and sort of fell in behind them. It was mostly a peaceful ride on a cool day with the backdrop being the big wide open Eastern Colorado sky. We could see clouds moving in and the air had a chill.
Moments later, we were done with the first part....now they had to be sorted. This is a little harder than organizing that pile of mail on your kitchen island. These beasts don't really want to move sometimes. The boys kind of did a form of human herding, jumping in with them and got them to move toward a chute. They were moved down the chute until their heads were secured in a gate, there's probably a more technical ranch term for this but let's keep it simple.
Once in place, Chad's brother-in-law Chip---taking turns with Chad's brother Travis, put on a very loooooooooooong plastic glove to Preg check the cows. In case you're wondering, Yep, insert arm and feel around. You can guess by now, the cows aren't really happy about this. BUT they are secured in a gate. Once they call out the cow's ear tag (ID) Chip and Travis call out whether or not she's "GREAT with CALF" and how far along. Niece Mikayla, who is seven by the way and already a formidable cowgirl for her age, records the info. Then they vaccinate her with three different medicines, spray some pesticide on her back. It soaks in and helps with disease and keeping pests away. IF she is NOT preggers, she gets a big chalk scarlet letter O on her back ...meaning Open...or not pregnant. Usually this is NOT the case. I think we only had two that were open the whole two days.
At lunch time, we took a break and Chad's mom Sandy and sister Wendy brought food. No sandwiches! HOT food. Fried STEAK, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies with cheese....cookies. Hot water for hot chocolate. Much appreciated, cause it was cold!
Now, because life is NOT perfect, it began to rain after lunch. Water, dirt and cow crap mixed together makes a sticky, icky messy day. We looked like we'd been mud wrestling at the end of the day....still, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. there were times we were cold, dirty, tired, frustrated at the weather but I had an awesome time. Thank you for reading this far and allowing me to share it with you.
September 2008
I spent the weekend with Boyfriend Chad on his family's farm in Lincoln County, Colorado. I got to take part in the process that lands that juicy steak on your plate at Texas roadhouse. Hannah and I actually got on horses and moved cattle into pens. It was so interesting to see how it all comes together. There were nine of us. Chad went out ahead with the four-wheeler to get the cattle moving our direction. The rest of us were on horseback and waited until they moved our way and sort of fell in behind them. It was mostly a peaceful ride on a cool day with the backdrop being the big wide open Eastern Colorado sky. We could see clouds moving in and the air had a chill.
Moments later, we were done with the first part....now they had to be sorted. This is a little harder than organizing that pile of mail on your kitchen island. These beasts don't really want to move sometimes. The boys kind of did a form of human herding, jumping in with them and got them to move toward a chute. They were moved down the chute until their heads were secured in a gate, there's probably a more technical ranch term for this but let's keep it simple.
Once in place, Chad's brother-in-law Chip---taking turns with Chad's brother Travis, put on a very loooooooooooong plastic glove to Preg check the cows. In case you're wondering, Yep, insert arm and feel around. You can guess by now, the cows aren't really happy about this. BUT they are secured in a gate. Once they call out the cow's ear tag (ID) Chip and Travis call out whether or not she's "GREAT with CALF" and how far along. Niece Mikayla, who is seven by the way and already a formidable cowgirl for her age, records the info. Then they vaccinate her with three different medicines, spray some pesticide on her back. It soaks in and helps with disease and keeping pests away. IF she is NOT preggers, she gets a big chalk scarlet letter O on her back ...meaning Open...or not pregnant. Usually this is NOT the case. I think we only had two that were open the whole two days.
At lunch time, we took a break and Chad's mom Sandy and sister Wendy brought food. No sandwiches! HOT food. Fried STEAK, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies with cheese....cookies. Hot water for hot chocolate. Much appreciated, cause it was cold!
Now, because life is NOT perfect, it began to rain after lunch. Water, dirt and cow crap mixed together makes a sticky, icky messy day. We looked like we'd been mud wrestling at the end of the day....still, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. there were times we were cold, dirty, tired, frustrated at the weather but I had an awesome time. Thank you for reading this far and allowing me to share it with you.
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