whether you're having fun or not. So you might as well enjoy it, right! Our summer is flying by at warp speed. We're actually only 2 week away from the boys starting school again. That seems crazy to me. Seems like they just got out.
Speaking of the boys, they are both gone to a Rodeo Bible Camp this week. I grew up going to these and absolutely loved it so was happy when the boys decided they wanted to go. I got a quick phone call last night and it sounds like they're having a blast. Brady is riding bulls (yikes) and team roping. Dustin is calf roping, team roping and bull dogging. He wants to ride saddle broncs so bad but he's just not built for it. He looks like a big yard dart to me and I've seen SO many wrecks with saddle bronc riders that I just couldn't bring myself to letting him do it yet. I'd rather having him ride bulls but the boys don't want to be competing against each other so they try to stay out of the same events. Team roping they'll hopefully be working together. Might be a challenge for those two!
We got a chance to go on a short family vacation to CO back in June. We were only gone two nights but the planning for all of us being off the place at the same time is horrible! It was a great trip though and got to see most of my family again. It was so much fun. Mike, Dustin, Brady and several of my relatives went white water rafting the last day. I think the boys would do it again in a heartbeat.
I haven't made it to any dog trials since the one in May. Just so busy with haying and ranch life that it really hasn't allowed for it. I think retiring Zac has played with my head a bit as well. A friend and I are headed to UT for one this next weekend though and I'm REALLY looking forward to it. Not sure if it's the dog trial aspect or just getting away from the hay field for awhile! :-)
Well, I need to get busy. I will try to post some pictures soon from the boys rodeo's if I get a chance.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Our rain dance
Well, it must have worked. People who live down dirt roads always say the best way to make it rain is to wash your vehicle. I'm guessing since we used SO much water that is why it rained SO much this past weekend.
See the water tanker beside Brady? That's what we use to fight fires and now wash suburbans!
We got 3 inches of rain (that's a LOT in our country) and the grass is actually making noise with how fast it's growing now! I'll try to get some new pictures of the ewes and lambs. I think the lambs might be having growing pains as fast as they're growing as well.
Mike is helping Dustin figure out how much pressure he can get away with without stripping the paint off my vehicle. They had a pretty good time. So did the dogs!
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Lambing is upon us
Well, it's that time of year again. We are officially supposed to be starting lambing today but have been going pretty steady since last Friday. The weather has been really good so far and I for one thank the good Lord for that! I pasture lamb and prefer to limit the number of ewes that have to see the inside of my barn. Cold, wet weather puts a bit of a crimp in my "style" so every warm, halfway dry day is a blessing this time of year.
The majority of the ewes are 4 year olds which makes things pretty easy. This isn't their first "rodeo" and they're still young enough to not have to worry about milk issues. It was a tough winter and I was worried about their body condition but they held up really well. We're getting quite a few singles but that honestly doesn't bother me that much. The lambs are healthy and doing well so that's all I can ask for.
Jag is pictured moving the rams back to their summer lot. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have him back to work in time for lambing! He's been my main man for the last couple of years and it's been a long winter around here with so many yearling steers without his help. Probably good for the young dogs but made life just a little harder without him for help. I have cussed this dog at trials so many times in the past. I hope I can remember how much I missed working him if things don't go just perfect on the trial field.
The weather is supposed to turn wet towards the weekend so I expect quite a few ewes to go today. It's already really foggy this morning. I guess that means I should quit for now and get out the door yet again. Until next time!
The majority of the ewes are 4 year olds which makes things pretty easy. This isn't their first "rodeo" and they're still young enough to not have to worry about milk issues. It was a tough winter and I was worried about their body condition but they held up really well. We're getting quite a few singles but that honestly doesn't bother me that much. The lambs are healthy and doing well so that's all I can ask for.
The ewes are a Rambioullet x Meat Merino cross and we bred them to predominately Hamp rams. The younger rams in the picture below just turned a year in March. I'm pretty pleased with them. We did this cross last year as well and they were some of the fastest growing, deepest bodied lambs we've raised. Hopefully they repeat that again this year! The grass situation is looking good right now so they ought to grow!
Jag is pictured moving the rams back to their summer lot. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have him back to work in time for lambing! He's been my main man for the last couple of years and it's been a long winter around here with so many yearling steers without his help. Probably good for the young dogs but made life just a little harder without him for help. I have cussed this dog at trials so many times in the past. I hope I can remember how much I missed working him if things don't go just perfect on the trial field.
The weather is supposed to turn wet towards the weekend so I expect quite a few ewes to go today. It's already really foggy this morning. I guess that means I should quit for now and get out the door yet again. Until next time!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
My teenagers
My boys are growing up! Dustin is 15 and Brady is 13 now. It's hard to imagine that time can go this quickly. People warn you about it and when your kids are little and into everything. You say you believe it will go quickly but I don't think you really comprehend the full extent of it until they are older. I'm sure when they are both gone to college it's going to be even more shocking to me.
They have gone back to public school this year as I was pretty sure high school math was going to start getting over my head. I'm convinced the transition was harder for me than for them. I thought I'd be overjoyed at having my "time" back to myself again. I'm loving being able to go with Mike so much again now but I must admit this last fall was pretty tough on me. I felt lost with my boys gone so much of the time. It didn't help that they were in football and were gone from 7 am until almost 7 pm most days.
They have made me very proud in school. They have both been on the A Honor Roll all year and are consistently getting glowing reports from their teachers on their attitudes and work ethic. I know the cardinal rule about never bragging on your kids or your dogs but I just can't help it right now. I know they will both make plenty of mistakes (trust me we've already had several "good" ones) but right now I couldn't be more proud of how they're growing up.
Yesterday the boys barely got home from school and got put right to work. We had a broken legged yearling that need roped and loaded in the trailer. Another yearling that we missed castrating and needed to brought in to get cut. There were still 600 hd of yearlings that needed fed again before dark. So, Dustin took off with the tractor and processor and took care of feeding while Brady, Mike and I managed to get the broken legged yearling loaded and hauled to the house. Dustin is sporting a good welt on his leg today from holding the yearling for his dad to castrate him. No complaints from either of them though.
The other day the season's first branding brought home to me how much they've matured. They know the work, they have the ambition to get in there without having to be told and they both have enough heart to finish the job. I'm not always the best at telling them how proud I am of them but I made sure to take the time when we got home that night. I tell them "I love you" so much they probobly think I'm a broken record but I need to work on pointing out how proud of them I am as well. Everyone likes to hear they've done a good job and teenager's are no different. I think I'm going to try harder to show them how much I appreciate them from now on.
They have gone back to public school this year as I was pretty sure high school math was going to start getting over my head. I'm convinced the transition was harder for me than for them. I thought I'd be overjoyed at having my "time" back to myself again. I'm loving being able to go with Mike so much again now but I must admit this last fall was pretty tough on me. I felt lost with my boys gone so much of the time. It didn't help that they were in football and were gone from 7 am until almost 7 pm most days.
They have made me very proud in school. They have both been on the A Honor Roll all year and are consistently getting glowing reports from their teachers on their attitudes and work ethic. I know the cardinal rule about never bragging on your kids or your dogs but I just can't help it right now. I know they will both make plenty of mistakes (trust me we've already had several "good" ones) but right now I couldn't be more proud of how they're growing up.
Yesterday the boys barely got home from school and got put right to work. We had a broken legged yearling that need roped and loaded in the trailer. Another yearling that we missed castrating and needed to brought in to get cut. There were still 600 hd of yearlings that needed fed again before dark. So, Dustin took off with the tractor and processor and took care of feeding while Brady, Mike and I managed to get the broken legged yearling loaded and hauled to the house. Dustin is sporting a good welt on his leg today from holding the yearling for his dad to castrate him. No complaints from either of them though.
The other day the season's first branding brought home to me how much they've matured. They know the work, they have the ambition to get in there without having to be told and they both have enough heart to finish the job. I'm not always the best at telling them how proud I am of them but I made sure to take the time when we got home that night. I tell them "I love you" so much they probobly think I'm a broken record but I need to work on pointing out how proud of them I am as well. Everyone likes to hear they've done a good job and teenager's are no different. I think I'm going to try harder to show them how much I appreciate them from now on.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April Fool's Day
It's that busy time of year around our place again and I've been slacking on writing on here because of it. So, I thought I'd share a Rory and Stan cartoon that I thought was funny this morning. You can check them out at http://www.creators.com/comics/the-barn.html
Friday, March 12, 2010
Growing up!
I love training young dogs. I especially like that year to two year old range. They grow up so much in that time frame. I start using my young dogs for real work as soon as I have a reliable stop and recall on them. Then we train as we go. I still take them out for official "training sessions" from time to time but a lot of what they learn is on the job.
I have two young dogs right now. Rock just turned 2 the middle of February and Bet will turn 2 on March 15th. It has been fun to watch them come along and mature. They are both quite different and it's always fun for me to adjust my training and handling to different dogs.
Rock reminds me a lot of most of the males from my lines. He's pushy, confident on stock but has a little tension. He also has a lot of his mother in him (Jamie's Reece). No quit, great balance and about the most fun dog to just hang out with ever!
Bet is off of Tim Naasz's Ryn (Nell x Spot) who is a littermate to Jag. Her sire is Don Helsley's Cap. I'm not as familiar with Cap's lines obviously but she has been a bit slow to mature. Most of the female's I've worked actually get pushier with age and sometimes I'm not sure if they're going to be "enough dog" for me when they are a year old but most times they catch up with the males before their two.
Bet has been this way. She had all the natural ability in the world just wasn't sure she wanted to take the training early on. Driving was tough for her and because of that she just got to the point she wouldn't push at all. The winter has been a "bit long" in our area and because of that she got a couple of weeks off from all work. That must have done the trick because she has come back better than ever. She's full of confidence in herself as well as our partnership. She is driving with gusto now and it won't be long before I have to tap the brakes a little more with her. Right now I'm letting her be a bit pushy.
This past week has brought quite a bit of snow to our area again. The wind picked up and we were in the middle of a blizzard again yesterday. So, we needed to move the sheep to a better place. There wasn't any way to get around other than the tractor's so I took one and Mike took the other. I grabbed Bet as she's the smallest dog I have and loaded her in the tractor with me. She thought it was great by the way!
We couldn't see very far at all and the sheep didn't want to move through the snow very well. Bet handled the whole situation with a ton of maturity. She never got silly or dirty but pushed hard enough to get them going and keep them moving. I took off ahead in the tractor and she brought them behind me down the road. Several missed the gate coming out and tried to go up the fence line as the other sheep were in the ditch. I saw her cover them and move them back to the gate and through. So, I knew they were all there and then we were off down the road. They tried the same thing at the gate I turned into but she handled it just as well there. I LOVE a thinking dog.
So, I think my young'uns are officially growing up and making the transition to adulthood smoothly. I'm hopeful for their future's and quite proud of how far they've come!
I have two young dogs right now. Rock just turned 2 the middle of February and Bet will turn 2 on March 15th. It has been fun to watch them come along and mature. They are both quite different and it's always fun for me to adjust my training and handling to different dogs.
Rock reminds me a lot of most of the males from my lines. He's pushy, confident on stock but has a little tension. He also has a lot of his mother in him (Jamie's Reece). No quit, great balance and about the most fun dog to just hang out with ever!
Bet is off of Tim Naasz's Ryn (Nell x Spot) who is a littermate to Jag. Her sire is Don Helsley's Cap. I'm not as familiar with Cap's lines obviously but she has been a bit slow to mature. Most of the female's I've worked actually get pushier with age and sometimes I'm not sure if they're going to be "enough dog" for me when they are a year old but most times they catch up with the males before their two.
Bet has been this way. She had all the natural ability in the world just wasn't sure she wanted to take the training early on. Driving was tough for her and because of that she just got to the point she wouldn't push at all. The winter has been a "bit long" in our area and because of that she got a couple of weeks off from all work. That must have done the trick because she has come back better than ever. She's full of confidence in herself as well as our partnership. She is driving with gusto now and it won't be long before I have to tap the brakes a little more with her. Right now I'm letting her be a bit pushy.
This past week has brought quite a bit of snow to our area again. The wind picked up and we were in the middle of a blizzard again yesterday. So, we needed to move the sheep to a better place. There wasn't any way to get around other than the tractor's so I took one and Mike took the other. I grabbed Bet as she's the smallest dog I have and loaded her in the tractor with me. She thought it was great by the way!
We couldn't see very far at all and the sheep didn't want to move through the snow very well. Bet handled the whole situation with a ton of maturity. She never got silly or dirty but pushed hard enough to get them going and keep them moving. I took off ahead in the tractor and she brought them behind me down the road. Several missed the gate coming out and tried to go up the fence line as the other sheep were in the ditch. I saw her cover them and move them back to the gate and through. So, I knew they were all there and then we were off down the road. They tried the same thing at the gate I turned into but she handled it just as well there. I LOVE a thinking dog.
So, I think my young'uns are officially growing up and making the transition to adulthood smoothly. I'm hopeful for their future's and quite proud of how far they've come!
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