Sunday, May 30, 2010

So far behind

Our springs are so busy that I find I not only get behind with posting on this blog but I'm also way to far behind with life and work in general. After awhile you figure you can only accomplish so much in a day and quit worrying about it so much and do what you can do. That's pretty much where I'm at now. I'd like to be able to catch you all up on what is all going on around here but it's to much for the time I have right now. So, I will try to scribble down the important parts and let you fill in the rest with your imagination. :-)

Lambing was successful and quick. 3 weeks and we were done. The ewes and lambs are out on grass now and loving it! Speaking of grass, we have it in spades right now and we're loving it!! Got the right amount of moisture early on and lately some sunshine so it has grown like wildfire. Most people are complaining because it hasn't warmed up enough yet but I would be perfectly happy to live in a sweatshirt every day of my life.

Brandings are a big part of our life in the spring. They started in mid April and we will have the last one (our own) this week. There are honestly few ranch related things that I look forward to more than branding season. It's so much fun to get together with neighbors and family. We work hard but it honestly feels like a bit of a vacation at the same time. It's enjoyable to watch my boys grow up and become such great help at these as well.

We still need to get lambs in one more time and give them a CD/T booster shot but will try to get that done right after branding. The stud colts needed cut so we got that accomplished yesterday. We're gearing up for a big haying season so trying to get the machinery all ready for that. Not sure I'm as fired up about haying as Mike is though. It gets really LONG!

Jag is back to full health and doesn't seem to favor that shoulder much at all. I can't even begin to explain how happy I am to have him back. Having him laid up all winter has made me appreciate him so much more. It did give the young dogs a chance to step up with him out of commission though. I'm pretty thrilled with how they're coming on.

Speck, the one who had ACL surgery, has been cleared for work again. Took him out for the first time the other day and he looks good. It will be exciting to get him really going this summer. He's nursery age for the CO finals so hopefully we can get him caught up now for that. If not, it's not a huge deal. He seems to have what it takes to make a really nice Open dog as well as very helpful on the place. He LOVES working cattle and is good at it likes his parents so looking forward to having another one to help with all the fall cattle work.

There is probably more I should write about but now I'm getting further behind on the real work. So, I will leave you with that and hopefully do a better job the rest of the summer!