14 August 2025

My Trusty Green Mount

The 4-wheeler lurched then coasted to a stop.

I was a half mile from the pickup. In the middle of the pasture. The day was warm but not yet nearing the 100 degrees we had been promised. There were cows all around, but nothing too close. Now to figure out what to do.

My trusty and well loved green mount of Japanese breeding had been having issues. At first she would refuse to start without a battery charge once a month or so. Then weekly. Then she kindly started giving us warning she was having battery issues as all the lights on the dash would start blinking, we would rush her to her stable and hook her up to life support. Then finally she would blink at us briefly before dying. My husband had been stranded not far from home the week before now here I was out in the middle of the pasture.

I hated to leave her in the pasture. Cows love to chew and scratch on anything they can find, it gets hard on a 4-wheeler in otherwise, mostly, very good shape. We don’t hold this temporary sickness against her. No matter what I would be walking back to the pickup. At least I had boots on instead of my usual hot weather footwear of sandals. During my walk I called and made an appointment at the vet for my girl to get worked on. Soon she would be back to her normal dependable self. But for now I needed to figure out how to get my girl to safety. In order to get the running 4-wheeler loaded into the bed of the pickup I needed a bank, something to decrease the slope of the ramps. I am not brave enough to drive up there from ground level.

In order to get a non running 4-wheeler loaded I would need the perfect ramp. There was nothing like that in the gently rolling hills of the pasture/wheat field where she was currently stuck.

Coming back to the old girl with the pickup I thought maybe she would tow better backwards. The front wheels could turn freely to allow her to follow the pickup.

Nope. That sure didn’t work. It broke the old rope I had found amidst the other useful junk laying int he back of the pickup almost immediately.

So I hooked up to the front of the 4-wheeler.

That worked better as long as we were going straight very slowly. A few times I was able to send the pickup ahead without me, 1st gear low is a wonderful thing, as I ran back to do some steering. Then back to the pickup to get her back on the proper path. It was slow going but we made it to the gate out of the pasture. Now, even if I was unable to get her loaded, she would be safe from the cattle.

I had left my ramp at the place where I unloaded in the first place. It was a good place and I thought we would make use of it. But after the knowledge I gained from the experience of getting across the flat straight pasture it was clear that getting to that place would be impossible. It was on the other side of a steep draw with twists and turns. We could do straight. Anything else was out of the question.

Looking around, closer to the gate, I realized that the side of the road going into the draw might just be perfect. It was close, flat leading up to the possible point of loading, and close!

I unhooked the baling twine that had been serving as a tow rope, because of course baling twine! and backed the pickup up to the bank. It was great. Now I just needed to walk across the draw and get my ramp. Which was burning hot on my bare fingers. Back to the pickup for gloves, then after the ramp again. Then back to the 4-wheeler which in hind sight might have been nice to have pulled with the pickup to somewhere a bit closer to the loading site.

The kids push the 4-wheeler around all the time just for fun. I could push it the little ways across the flat to get to the ramp.

Being able to and enjoying the process are two different things. It was warming up quickly. Even flat isn’t ‘flat’. It took a while of huffing and puffing to get the 4-wheeler that short distance. Then there was the forward and back of getting it lined up just right with the ramps. My ‘perfect loading spot’ was perfect. It had a nice downhill slope to get to the slight up hill of the ramp. And if things weren’t lined up just right with the ramp before hitting that downhill it was going to be a wreck.

Finally deciding we were squarely on target I gave the past push over the edge of the hill from the handle bars, then jumped on. It was just a short hill, but it was as exciting as a roller coaster none the less. Just enough break to keep her going slow, not enough to ruin the momentum. Steering with a white knuckle grip and in a second or two the front tires were on the ramp! Where we stopped. If everything wasn’t lines up perfect I could injure my trust Japanese mount, and probably myself. So I dismounted to double check everything and pushed her the rest of the way in. It was done. She was loaded. I hadn’t died of heat stroke, or been run over. Floating high on the success I headed off through the pasture towards home. The rest of our days work would have to wait.

Sometimes I feel like an imposter. I’m not ranchy. My days are no longer spent horseback, checking cattle. Am I really even cowboy?

Then I spend a day wrangling my injured mount into the pickup like this and think I must be authentic after all. Never mind that my days are spent taking care of the cattle, working the horses, doing all the things, just usually done farmer style, instead of ranchy. Is there a farmer term alternative to ranchy? Instead of cowboy up do we farmer up? We’re definitely still getting western here sometimes. Just doing it farmer style.

Category: Cows, Farming | LEAVE A COMMENT
12 August 2025

School Bus Pickup

It was supposed to be fairly cool. In the mid 80s, that’s fairly cool for August. The kids had declined to ride over the weekend. Si thought fine, we wont ride now, but, if I show up to pick you up from the bus with horses you wont have any choice but to ride! Or to walk home I suppose.

It was pretty warm by afternoon. I saw 90 showing at home. But I had made plans and we were going to stick to them dang it! I gave myself an hour to get cows here at home checked, saddle horses, and leave with half an hour to get to the highway. Everything took longer than hoped. My dog did not want to be left behind. She had to be caught and forced to wait in the nice cool house, she hates being outside anyway. I saddled the mares and let them loose to graze. Got Rusty saddled and went to catch mares.  Lady let me grab her easily from Rusty’s back, I thought she’d be the hard one. Jerry would not let me near her on Rusty.

She was following nicely though and Rusty and Lady get crazed together when we first start out. I let Jerry follow loose and turned Rusty and Lady loose, in a different way, to use up energy and make up time dashing across the hayfield. They were off. Jerry trailed behind, sometimes falling way back, sometimes passing us. At the road I got off and caught her. Then had to get back on. Then enjoyed ponying two horses the rest of the way to the highway.

We waited in the shade of the neighbors driveway for the bus. We hadn’t beat it there by much.

I could see the delight in my children’s eyes before they ever got off the bus even. Or maybe horror. Why did I have to bring the horses? They didn’t want to ride home. Please never do this again! But, they’re out of luck. Both on that day and in the future. No one died. We’re doing it as often as I can manage.

Lady was perfect. For all the energy she had getting to the bus stop she plodded home barely keeping up with the other two speedy horses. She always goes faster away from home, she seems to enjoy the adventure.

Jerry, our slow lazy one was off. She would have beat all of us home by at least half the time if she’d been allowed to go. And that was mostly at a walk. She got to be ponied instead. That made her and Rusty both mad. Then we had to stop regularly to wait for Lady, that was even worse!

It was hot. The horses were lathered. The kids were mad, one more than the other. Lady’s rider went through a stage there where he wanted nothing to do with her but he is back and riding better than ever. He didn’t mind it at all. Jerry’s person might have been happier about it if they could have plodded slowly like they usually do. I was exhausted and not entirely sure why we think this is fun, but ready to do it again next time it cools down a bit!

 

Category: 8, Goblin Child, Horses | LEAVE A COMMENT
9 August 2025

Flower Garden

My daughter and husband have been watching Gardener’s World, and English gardening show, together. She wanted to make a garden like those.
Of course we can never make something quite like an English garden out here in the hot, dry, windy area where we live, but we can do something.
My husband left a bit of ground when he worked up the rest of the garden. We went to work, me and the kids, transplanting all the little volunteer plants around the garden. Radishes are my favorite this year. Their airy, floaty little flowers that turn to yummy edible seed pods. Dill, cilantro, mustard, the greens that bloom beautifully and also taste good. Cosmos were coming up like crazy in last years garden plot, so was ornamental corn. Those got added in. Marigolds and zinnias were added from seed. We bought a few flowers, some moss rose and petunias.
It was pretty tiny and sparse at first. When the flowers went on sale at the stores in town I bought a bunch to fill in the holes. Then we hit that week in July when everything grows a foot or more a day, or so it seems.
The flowers I added in got dwarfed. The big wide paths we left grew in until we need to squeeze to get through.
I love to stand and stare at the pretty flowers, as I swat mosquitoes. Irrigating the slightly sloped patch is a hobby all on its own. We dig ditches and spread the water across the plot instead of running straight down. Children wander through picking a bit of whatever is growing to snack on as they go. Bees buzz about, spiders catch their prey.

I think we’ll need to do this again next year.

Category: 8, Family, Garden, Goblin Child | LEAVE A COMMENT
20 June 2025

The Brockle Face Calf

That brockle face calf had been nothing but trouble from the time he was born.

Sickly and weak I doctored him and kept him coming along. He made it to branding time. We hoped the vaccinations would keep him healthy enough to get to grass. He made it to pasture but I kept a close eye on him and he wasn’t thriving like the other calves. I let him go, he was on all the grass he could eat and with his mama. The best thing for him was to stay out there.

Until it wasn’t. It became apparent that he was not getting any milk. His mom was showing signs of sickness and they were quickly getting worse. The swollen brisket meant heart failure. I would need to catch the calf and bring him home where I could supplement his feed. Maybe one of the milk cows could still adopt him. But, I had a 4wheeler in the back of the pickup and nothing on me to catch or tie him with anyway. No way to get him home immediately. He had survived this long, he could wait a couple days till I was back that way again.

As I pulled into the pasture I saw his mom. She had been grazing with the other cows and they were headed in to water as the day got warm. The calf wasn’t with her. Maybe I had been wrong and he couldn’t wait a couple days. Or maybe he was off with some other calves. I drove on to the tank.

Walking through the calves there, checking the water and salt, I wandered around the water tank. Then I saw him. In the pond that catches the over flow was the brockle face calf. Laying there with his head barely above water level I had to look close to see if he was alive.

He was alive, but barely. I stepped to the edge of the mud and reached to pull him out. He didn’t budge. Like not even slightly. It was like pulling on an anvil.

I kicked my sandals off, because of course I check cows in sandals. I might get bitten by a rattle snake but I’m guaranteed to die of heat stroke if I wear boot on a hundred degree day.

Sandals off I waded into the mud of the pond. Reaching into the water I grabbed him around the chest and lifted him out of the water. Except he didn’t budge. Reaching down one hind leg to pull it out of the mud. I kept reaching and it kept going deeper. His leg was buried in the mud clear up to his belly. Grabbing hold of it I pulled with all my might and finally managed to drag it free. The procedure as repeated with all four legs. It was iffy whether I’d manage to pull them free or not.

He must have gotten in the mud and struggled until his legs got worked in deep. There was no way he would have gotten out on his own. He could have been there for a full day, his legs were cold, he hung limp as I drug him away from the waters edge. I left him and went to bring the pickup closer. He was tiny but water logged and a lot to carry. The cows gathered around sniffing him while I was gone. His mom even came over to take a look.

I heaved him into the pickup bed and took off towards home. Pansy dove through the back window into the cab of the pickup. There was not enough room in the bed for her and a calf.

At home I wanted to take him into the cool darkness of the barn, but his legs and mouth were still cold. As wrong as it seemed on a 100 degree day, he needed to be warmed up. With painkillers and feed he made it through the afternoon. After a couple of hours he lifted his head and was looking around.

Only time will tell if he lives or not. He has some scratches, there is a good chance they walked on him while he lay in the water. There could be damage inside. He was already in bad shape before this ordeal. Hours spent submerged in mud and muck would have been hard on a healthy calf. Hopefully he makes the morning.

Category: Cows | LEAVE A COMMENT
25 May 2025

Summer Time

School is out for the year.

The Goblin Child got to get out a day early. The school tries to do some positive reinforcement, this was part of her reward for good grades and behavior. The school fails in most of their attempts, this is one that was appreciated. She helped feed cows this morning. For some reason she is willing to drive the feed truck, in the rain, with the windows so covered in muck that you can’t see anything, but she wont drive a 4wheeler or a cor. Granted she only drives a few feet, but that’s still more than she will do in other vehicles. She’ll get there eventually.

8 had a playday at the park for his last day instead of the usual field day. He enjoyed it quite a bit. The he brought a couple of friends home with him. They played all afternoon then helped bring a cow and calf in for an attempted adoption. One went home, the other stayed the night. They started out the evening sleeping in the tent but got rained out and blown away so came in around midnight.

The next day we put everyone to work helping brand calves. Along with the neighbor kids who came over to help. Everyone worked vary hard. The neighbor kids got all grown up since I saw them last!

After the hot dry dust storm of the winter it is raining! We got rain a week ago. Once it got all soaked in it is raining again. It is supposed to be rainy and cold for the next week. I’m loving it. This will be wonderful for the grass. We should be able to get the cows through the summer with these couple inches of rain we’ve gotten. My darling husband is not as thrilled. He just got corn planted, in the fields and in the garden. All the wet without any warmth and sunshine will rot the seed. My pumpkins, recently planted, could well rot too. Droughts never break easy, there always has to be something that pays the price.

We didn’t get the terrible hail storm that went by just to the south of us at least. It destroyed everything in its path. Any corn that had already come up, cars, the poor cows. There were drifts of hail and fog afterwards.

Just before school got over, I was picking the kids up at their bus stop. The neighbor boy, not the one who helped brand, came over to say hi. He told me how one of the boys on the bus didn’t know Jesus loves me! He was horrified. I thought at first he meant that the boy didn’t know that Jesus loved him, personally. Then he made it clear me meant the song. We were all horrified and burst into a rendition of the song right there. This is the reason we don’t home school. There is still good in this little local school.

 

 

Category: 8, Family, Goblin Child | LEAVE A COMMENT
31 March 2025

Calving Season

What a season it has been. Now that we are all of one week in.

The Goblin Child has somehow managed a one day calving season with her whole herd calving today. Her heifer calved this morning. I saw a single hoof and went to check on her. She was a bottle calf. I do love very tame heifers like that. I was able to ‘check’ for a second hoof while she stood there quietly out in the pen. It was there. The calf was big. I went back for supplies. She laid there, not terribly concerned about me while I helped her deliver the calf laying out in the pen. A pretty, not little, red heifer.

Her cow had a darling little black white face calf this evening. I think it might be a heifer too. She was brand new when I was out last, I didn’t want to bother them enough to look. That cow was NOT a bottle calf.

Over the weekend one of the cows presented a single large red hoof. The kids were with me walking through the herd. They helped bring her up. Or one of them did. 8 got in there and tried. He was too scared to actually try to stop her when she wanted past him, but he tried. His sister cowered outside the fence. We managed to get her brought up to the front. They were much better help getting her into the chute. Beg safely on the other side of a fence gave them great courage.

Once in the chute they got together and managed to get the puller down off the wall. It took some team work and they didn’t drop it on their heads. I checked the cow and found the second hoof, thankfully, and the head. The calf was all there, just big. She gloved up and helped me pull while he held the tail out of the way. We ended up not not needing the puller after all. Between us and the cow we managed to deliver a BIG bull calf.

With him moved into the barn where his mom could clean him both children who had been wonderful up until then broke down. She had gotten some on her arm. A remarkably small amount all things considered. She needed a shower immediately. And could I please do a load of laundry. He had seen more than he could handle. I thought he had helped with this before. Maybe just not as closely? It was more than he could handle. He didn’t quite empty his belly but it was close. He was rather traumatized. I felt awful. Tried to huge him, but I had more than a small smear on my arm.

He seems to have recovered nicely.

Both kids have been coming with for the night check. They bounce all over the place having fun scaring each other in the dark and generally raising quit the ruckus.

Ghost and her calf got cold in the rain and snow the day after the calf was born. I was going to bring them up to the barn to get warm and dry. The calf didn’t want to get up and moving. It occurred to me that they were laying in the straw that had been put out for them to keep warm in. I covered the calk with straw. He was toasty warm in his blanket so I went to rubbing Ghost down. Trying to get her dry so she could be warm. Then I decided to give her a blanket too. She seemed to like it. She didn’t shake it off immediately.

Category: 8, Cows, Goblin Child | LEAVE A COMMENT
29 March 2025

Calving

By the time calving ‘officially’ started March 25th, we had ten calves on the ground, had pulled three and lost two. It’s been busy.

The weather had been in the 60s and up to 80 degrees. So hot, windy, and dry that dust was blowing everywhere. A welder was out to fix some of the older feedbunks. He quit around noon because the wind was coming up and he worried about starting fires. The kids spent the afternoon hauling water to dump on the hot spots that were smoldering away despite his quitting early.

Acorn calved. I brought her up front, really, leading her in a halter was so much easier than trying to push her and the calf. We have been milking her once a day. First for colostrum to save for future needs but now we’re starting to keep some of the milk. Made our first batch of caramel yesterday. It got burnt. Guess we’ll have to try again today! Dang. What a shame 😉  Then cheese, and butter, and hmm, what else can we do besides drink it?

The kids slept outside in the new tent they got. They said it was chilly, but it stayed well above freezing and they didn’t give up and come inside. The next morning we made them take it down. Snow was predicted.

We woke this morning to freezing rain. It has alternated between the rain, sleet, and snow so far today. Not complaining of course. This is beautiful weather. Going from 80 and dry to 32 and wet is hard on the animals, but so is not having grass to eat all summer.

The low pressure has brought on more calves. They had taken a break over those really warm days. Ghost calves first thing this morning! A big healthy bull calf 🙁 Oh well. She does tend to have bulls. We were pulling for another heifer. Maybe next year.

Category: 8, Cows, Family, Goblin Child | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 March 2025

Why Are My Cows Wet?!

It may be slightly hard to tell, these pictures are of my pet cow Ghost from last nights check.
The night was gorgeous. Perfectly still and clear. A million stars shining overhead. Dust kicked up with each step I took. I love night checks. Ghost came over to visit as she so often does while I walked quietly through the herd in the dark. Following along while I walk she demands her share of scratches. I need to remember to bring a curry comb.
As I scratched her itchy spots I noticed my wrists, above the gloves on my hands, got damp where they touched her. I turned on the light to see her glistening with water drops.
She was covered in a fine mist.
I went looking for another cow I could get close enough to see the water drops on and found Rose laying nearby. She was wet too.
I rechecked the sky. Still clear and bright. I kicked at the ground. Still dusty.
The going theory is that the cows were warm from the very nice day. The dew point was 27 degrees. It was no where near that, still well above freezing. But maybe the added warmth from the cows cooling after a hot day caused condensation/dew to form?
I stopped and checked the horses on the way back to the house. They were dry.
Why were my cows wet?!?!
Category: Cows | LEAVE A COMMENT
24 February 2025

Happy Birthday 8!

And what a birthday it has been. Hopefully it gets better from here.

8 decorated his own cake and did a wonderful job at it. We had the neighbor boys over for lunch, cake and ice-cream, and playing out in the snow. It was a perfect dya for sledding. Warming up enough the snow was starting to melt, but it wasn’t gone yet. The boys had to go, but cousin Cade showed up and the play continued. The drove out to the big hill in the pasture and tried to sled. It must of worked a little. Then they came home. Stuck the 4wheeler on the way. Got it unstuck. Then The Goblin Child and Cade dog piled poor 8.

That drove his arm hard into the ground and hurt really bad.

Their father and I went out check to check cows. I looked up and say the three of them and the 4wheeler silhouetted on top of the hill. I started pondering how impressive it was that we had made it this far without breaking an arm. Oh well, the streak had to end sometime. They would be missing the robotics tournament the next day. Then the day dream was gone and we continued out to the cows.

Where we were when we got a phone call. The Goblin Child was calling to say 8 had hurt his arm. Where were we?

So we rushed home. She had already gotten him ice for it. There was no swelling, no bruise, the bones all felt very straight. There was just hurt. Bad hurt. I got him Ibuprofen. He seemed to be ok. Unless he moved. We gave it until morning.

By morning it still hurt badly. I had had enough. We hurried to get to the clinic before it closed at noon. He was a good sport, happy and interested in the whole thing. Xrays showed a ‘buckle’ fracture. The best kind to get according to the doctor. Everything was held in place still, no need for a cast. All it would need is pain control and rest. That was the end of wrestling for the year, and with his first tournament coming up next weekend. Not prescription pain killers, just plenty of aspirin and ibuprofen and keep it iced. Nothing we hadn’t been doing already.

He was doing better yesterday and went off to school today. Hopefully the arm will keep feeling better and the rest of his birthday will be better!

Category: 8, Family | LEAVE A COMMENT
20 January 2025

Cold

It’s officially cold out. Yesterday was chilly but the temp did climb above zero and the wind didn’t blow. Today we are up to -4 with a stiff wind.

The cattle are eating as much food as we can get to them. I’m taking a short calving course from the extension office. They were just saying that 17 degrees is when a normal healthy cow starts needing to put in a bit more work to stay warm. Today they were bunched behind windbreaks looking decidedly chilly as they soaked up what warmth the morning sun had to offer.

No school today. which means the kids get to go break ice! Lucky they let them stay home from school so they don’t have to go out in the cold. Usually on weekends they take a fourwheeler and drive out to the tanks. It’s to cold to do that. Yesterday I said they could take my pickup and drive themselves out there. But it was to cold for the old girl to start. No point in even making an attempt today. That’s the only vehicle they’re allowed to drive so I went along the last couple days to drive. And help out a bit.

The feed truck can get around the fourwheeler. With a suburban parked in the middle of the lane I need to move around to get out of the way. When I got back from maneuvers today I looked over to see my son picking ice chunks out of the water with his gloved hands! I ordered him to the vehicle immediately. He may not be feeling the cold yet but it wouldn’t take long to set in. His sister and I finished pitching the ice out, with a pitchfork this time. Then we all headed back. When I got in the car he showed me his snow pants, frozen solid and stiff already from the knee down where he had been playing in the water.

They went inside. I went to check horse water. They are heated and had only a ring of ice around the edges. The horses were sleeping in the sun or grazing on their hay. They looked happy. Hopefully there wont be anything to trigger Rusty’s random cold induced lamenitis.

Their father finally made his way inside after finishing feeding the cows. He did get to ride a fourwheeler and was nearly frozen. Now we will all fight the dog for a seat in front of the fire. It’s a good day to spend looking through garden catalogues and ordering seeds for next summer. It’s nice to be reminded that although it is so cold outside seed starting time is coming soon. Spring not too far behind that. We are grateful for a toasty warm house and plenty of feed for the animals.

Category: 8, Cows, Family, Goblin Child | LEAVE A COMMENT