The Bulls

There's something about visiting the bulls that's a little intimidating. Maybe it's the angry bull stare. This bull is definitely giving the 'Stay the heck away from me' look. 

Maybe it's because just on the other side of the fence is a whole corral of female cows. 

He can smell them. 

He can hear them. 

He can see them. 

He just can't get to them. 

These black angus bulls don't seem quite intimidating. They aren't standing right next to the fence that separates the cows from the bulls, so maybe they're on to something. Remove yourself from the temptation.

I stared at the bulls, and the bulls stared back at me. This one seemed quizzical and started walking towards me. 

I watched. 

I waited. 

I wanted to know what it would do. After all, for most of the year, the bull's life isn't too exciting. They eat, they sleep, and maybe they dream about the short period of the year they get to do what they've been selected for. 

Now before you go thinking that their lives are totally a bed of roses, here's a little more information. The bulls were "trich tested" this last week (they must be tested annually), with some fluid removed from a sensitive part of their anatomy and studied under a microscope to determine if they have any Trichomonas foetus protozoa. This sexually transmitted disease (yep, cows have'em too) causes the disease Trichomoniasis, which often causes miscarriages or infertility and reduces the size of the herd. There is no treatment for the disease, so there is a strong prevention program

By the way, the disease Trichomoniasis is also found in humans, but it is caused by a different protozoa, Trichomonas vaginalis. 

Please, let's get back to the bulls!

The bull took a few steps forward and stopped, still watching me. I watched him back, willing him to get closer.

But he decided sniffing the manure was a better option than getting closer to me. How do you think that makes me feel?

The Birds are Back

It's been a lot of fun listening to the different sounds in the air as migrating birds pass through the area on their way further north and breeding birds return to make their nests and get ready to fill them.

One of my favorite bird sounds is the sandhill crane, which sounds like sort of a rattling, gurgling goofball. I know, that's highly scientific. Maybe it would be better to call them pterodactyls like my husband does. If you want to hear the call, click here and go about half-way down the page.

The sandhill cranes like to hang out in the fields eating grain and insects.

The pivots are big attractions for ravens and hawks. We call the hawks 'pivot hawks' no matter what species they are. The convenient high perch helps all the birds spot prey, like gophers.

Another noisy bird that's back is the long-billed curlew. That long bill is slightly different between the males and females, and they use it to eat little invertebrates, including digging earthworms out of the fields.

Here's a closer view of that cool-looking bill. It almost makes the bird look a little unbalanced. You can find out more "official" information here. 

There are a lot of other birds that have come back lately, and with the trees putting on leaves, it's getting harder to spot some of them. Some of the birds are busy building nests, while others are more intent on finding food. It's definitely a busy time of the year, and it's fascinating to observe it. So turn off your computer and head outside for one of the greatest shows on earth!

Playing in the Field

My husband needed to check some fields and asked if Desert Boy and I would like to come along. We jumped at the opportunity, both of us wanted to see something different. So after we got there, I started looking for birds and flowers while my husband took Desert Boy to go make sure the irrigation pivots were running correctly. I walked in their direction, and when I got closer, I saw a strange sight. I looked closer.

No, I wasn't imagining it, my husband was down on his hands and knees in the field and Desert Boy was playing cowboy. This looked like a lot of fun.

As I got closer, I saw my husband was all wet from adjusting the nozzles on the pivot. I also saw Desert Boy had a good grip on his collar. He's learning.

My husband actually had a purpose being down on his hands and knees. He was checking the field for sprouts and checking the soil moisture. Of course I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't asked.

It must be tiring work hanging on.

Finally it was time to get off, thank Daddy, and run off to play with Henry.

Sheared Sheep

Around this area, April is the month for sheep shearing. A temporary camp is set up in the same location for a week each year, sheep shearers come all the way from Australia and New Zealand (they are on a sheep shearing circuit in the U.S. for a few months), and thousands of sheep are gathered. They (the sheep, not the sheep shearers) have thick, wooly coats that have spent the last year growing.

A specialized sheep shearing trailer is brought in, and the sheep are moved through it efficiently, with over 1,000 sheep sheared each day. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any pictures of the actual shearing (I guess I'll have to keep this blog going another year to get the photos!). But I do have some photos of sheared sheep to show. 

After being sheared, the sheep are put into a pen. They look a little strange without their bulky wool. I wonder if they feel naked. If you're wondering what the blue marks are on the sheep, it's paint. Instead of branding sheep, the sheep owners paint their brand onto the sheep. In this case, the "brand" is in the shape of a heart.

This big ram was watching me take photos. By the curl of his horns, you can tell he's been around awhile. He looked calm in the pen. He's obviously been through this procedure quite a few times and has resigned himself to his once-a-year haircut.

The wool is bundled into cubes and then loaded into a semi trailer. They were trying to push the cubes in a little more to get the last few loaded. This semi trailer is carrying wool from thousands and thousands of sheep. 

As the truck is getting packed up, the last sheep camps are being prepared to move to the next camp. During the week, many of the people involved with the shearing stayed at the remote sheep corral, being serenaded at night by the baaing of sheep.

After being processed, the sheep are herded back onto the range. These two pause for a drink.

Although our ranch doesn't raise sheep anymore (the boys sold the sheep they hated taking care of one year when their dad was on an extended trip), sheep are still a very big part of the valley. At one time there were strong feelings between cattlemen and sheepmen, but nowadays most everyone gets along. Both sheep and cattle graze specified allotments, and thus the two usually don't mix unless the owner has both and wants them to.

Most of the sheep will be leaving our area soon, heading towards their summer range. But they'll be back next fall. If you can't wait that long, here are some other posts I've done about sheep.

Burning on the Ranch

Some of the meadows near our house have become overgrown with rose bushes and willows, so lately Grandpa has been out trying to restore the meadows. He's been using various tools, like a grader and a tractor pulling a scraper, but by far his favorite method is to burn the bushes.

First he makes big piles with the giant loader. Then he gets out the gas can, spreads the gas liberally, and lights the pile on fire. Since we've had recent storms, the ground is fairly moist, so this is a good time to burn and not catch everything else on fire.

Desert Boy and I maintain a safe distance to watch the lighting, and make sure we stand upwind. I've started running again, but I'm not all that fast, especially if I have to tuck an almost-two-year-old under my arm!

Everything goes well, and Grandpa seems to be just as enthralled with the flames as we are. We didn't come prepared with our marshmallow sticks, though.

The smell of the smoke makes me think of campfires. Some of the piles burn for a few days, leaving a lingering scent in the air. The smell makes me want to go camping and eat food cooked over the fire and look up at the night sky with the thousands of twinkling stars. A good fire can do that, transport you to a totally different place. 

Crops are Growing

It's a stormy day here, which is a delight, as we need the moisture to get the crops growing. Alfalfa is peeking its green leaves through last year's broken stalks.

The fields are starting to get greener as we emerge from the winter. Hurray!

Here's the same view about 10 days later. It's amazing what a little moisture can do. 

The first crop of alfalfa should be ready to harvest in early June. Then, depending on weather, there will be two or three more crops after that.

In a nearby pivot field are little sprouts of barley poking up out of the ground. Barley is an annual, and once it gets cut, it's done for the year, it won't grow back like alfalfa. Crops are rotated periodically though the fields to help balance out nutrients and get rid of crop-specific pests. In addition to alfalfa and barley, we'll also have corn, orchard grass, fescue, and oats fields this year.

Seeing all this green in the fields makes me think I better get to work on my garden!

Sheep on the Road

While I was driving the other day, I had to slow down because these sheep thought they should be on the road. Sheep are just small enough and dull-colored enough that they often blend in with the surroundings, and it can be really hard to see them from a distance. So nearly every time I come upon sheep, I have to hit the brakes rather hard. 

Sheep aren't known for being especially fleet of foot, so it's important to brake for them. Then they take their time meandering, with some getting off the road, while others walk onto it. You can tell they just don't care much one way or another where they go.

I was kind of glad to stop because the scenery was spectacular. The higher elevations are still snow-covered, making the mountains seem so much taller than when the snow melts. I wonder if the sheep ever look up at the snow and wish it were cooler down where they are. After all, they are wearing extremely thick wool coats.

If you ever do get stopped by sheep crossing the road, be sure to roll down your window. Listening them to baaaing is quite enjoyable and will put a smile on your face. Trust me, it will.

Finally they had cleared out of my way. In fact, they almost look like they're taking in the beauty of the mountains. Sheep contemplating. Perhaps that's an oxymoron. Oh well, I was entertained by them.

Baby Calves

The heifers are nearly done calving, and it won't be long until the cute little baby calves are turning into teenagers. I'm a sucker for the baby calves, so I have lots of pictures of them! Here's number 77. Each calf gets the same number as his or her mama, so when they're being moved from pasture to pasture it's easier to keep track of them. Although the older range cows are often better at pairing up, heifers can easily get confused and lose track of their little ones. (Perhaps that same phenomenon applies to humans and is why Desert Boy made it to the post office five minutes ahead of me yesterday.)

And there are quite a few little ones. Unlike some earlier photos where they were chasing each other around, on this day they seemed to be resting. I must have missed the play session.

The additional hay is to help keep the calves warmer and drier, because when they are first born they are all wet. When a stiff wind is blowing on a cold night, it doesn't take long for a calf to get chilled. 

Here's a wet calf--it is only a few hours old. It still looks so unsure of the world and is sticking close to mom.

Mom eats on. The calf looks slightly less worried.

Mom is keeping a close eye on me. Never get between a cow and her calf--that's a good way to get trampled by a 1,000 pound beast. Yet the cow is very gentle with her brand new calf. And this calf is still getting accustomed to an entirely different environment. Do you see the umbilical cord hanging down from the calf?

The calf is starting to explore a little more. And mom is still eating. Do you wonder what she's so intent on eating? There's no green hay in sight.

She's eating the placenta. It's full of nutrients and apparently she wants them. If she doesn't eat the placenta, there are plenty of other animals that will: eagles, coyotes, ravens, and dogs. 

If you're groaning, keep in mind this is a nature blog. I'm just showing it how it is!

Baby Goats

Aunt Tana has some baby goats, and Desert Boy and I went over to take a look the other day. Baby goats are irresistible. The goats greeted Aunt Tana enthusiastically. These are orphans--the mother of three of them died soon after delivering them, and two others were part of a litter of four and the mother had mastitis and could only feed two of them. This is unusual, most years the goats and their moms do just fine.

Tana keeps goats for milking and sells the meat goats. She gets too attached to the goats to ever eat them herself, though. I can see why, they are so cute when they are babies.

The little goats love to play. The long ears are from their dad, a boer goat. Goats have been domesticated since about 6,000 to 7,000 B.C., making them one of the longest-domesticated animals. There are many different breeds. Boer goats are considered to be meat goats and can get quite large.

Boer goats have a variety of color patterns. It was hard to get a  picture of a baby goat standing still--like most babies, they move around a lot! Look at this cute baby goat--now we're going to look at the daddy.

"Howdy." 

That's right, the goat spoke. Well, at least in my mind. The goat smelled a lot--it wasn't a goat I wanted to pet.

The goat wanted some attention. Somehow the grown up goat wasn't as cute as the baby.

Here's a mama goat with her two babies. Look at her udder--she is so full of milk. 

This is a first-time mama goat. She has two kids, about four days old, and one is happily feeding. The mama goat has very small ears because her mom is a LaMancha goat. This breed is known for its very short, almost non-existent ears and excellent butterfat milk.

Here's a mama goat still waiting to deliver her kids. There is just something about goat eyes that makes me just want to say "Ahhhh" and scratch her neck.

Jewel, the horse, loves baby goats. Goats make great companions for horses, keeping them calmer and possibly keeping them healthier.

I just had to end with a picture of some more cute baby goats. It won't be long until they've grown up!