A Quick Horse Ride

We've had a lot of activity at the ranch lately, as it's time to ship some of the one-year old calves. They weigh about 800 pounds now. Wow! I am always amazed by how fast they grow. And a little grateful we don't grow that fast. I sure enjoy having little kids around for multiple years!

We headed down to see some of the activity surrounding moving the calves, and the kids were fascinated with the horses. Who wouldn't be? Seeing a bona fide cowboy galloping is the quintessential image of the West.

As we were wandering about, I noticed some metal artwork that captured the Wild West flavor. Hanging on the scale building was a cowboy roping.


I took two photos because it stretched around the corner and one part was in the shade and another part in the sun. But then I tried to capture the whole thing.


I'm not sure who put it up, but it sure is clever. And what cowboy wouldn't like to be able to lasso all those cows that are just out of sight!


Next we were very lucky to have Tierannie share her horse with us. Desert Girl took the first ride. She wasn't too certain about being up on a horse, but she really wanted to do it. It was interesting reading all the expressions going across her face.

She held on tight and enjoyed being up so high.

Then it was Desert Boy's turn. He sure was ready!

His most exciting part was when he got to hold the reins. Tierannie gave him a two-minute rundown on how to ride a horse, and Matthew declared that now he was a cowboy because he knew how to control a horse.

My little cowboy. He even was wearing his cowboy boots for the occasion.

As soon as he got down (all by himself, just like a real cowboy!) he declared he wanted his own horse. I guess he and his friend Ava now have something more to talk about!

New Arrivals on the Ranch

 The weather is working out great this year for calving. The heifers usually begin calving the end of January and continue for a couple months. First the ones that were artificially inseminated give birth, then the ones that were inseminated the old-fashioned way with the clean-up bulls are next. Gestation is nine months, just like humans. After birth, things change quickly--in one year, calves can grow from about 45 pounds to 800 pounds.

 This mama is enjoying a little snack while her young'un rests near by. The calves are usually tagged within 12 hours of birth with the same number as their mom. That makes it easier in case the mama cow has problems figuring out how to be a mama. By definition, the heifers are first time moms, so sometimes they need a little help.

 I just love looking at calves. If you want to see some more, you can check out this post (which includes the mom eating the placenta.)

 Desert Girl also really liked seeing the babies.

 Many of the heifers are snacking on the grass left from last year. You can find out more about what the heifers eat here (and see more cute calf and Desert Boy photos).

 Not all sights out in the heifer field are quite as cute. Above, a heifer strains with her contractions. She will give birth within a few hours. Sometimes they stand and sometimes they lay down (like in the photo below). We have a cowboy out in the field every couple hours around the clock checking on the heifers for over six weeks. If he comes upon any heifers with trouble, he can help pull the calf. Fortunately, though, most calves are born without any problems. The bull sperm is chosen for a lower birth weight to make an easier first birth. And as you might have noticed, nearly all the calves are black. That's because the sperm chosen for this year was from a black angus bull. (To get a glimpse of the catalog, yep, that's right, a sperm catalog, click here.)

Many calves were happily nursing. As they gain strength, they start frolicking and playing. The moms eventually allow other cows to babysit and will leave the calves for short periods of time.

A couple days after birth, the calves and their mamas are moved out of the Circle Field (aka the birthing field) to a meadow where they can hang out in the nursery. That makes it easier to check the birthing field to see how the cows are doing.

I didn't shoot any video, but if seeing all these cows makes you long to hear some cows, you can see my YouTube video. For some reason, over half a million people have wanted to watch cows mooing. You can be one, too! :)

The New Doghouse Project

 We decided that Henry needed a bigger doghouse, so a couple weekends ago we headed down to the equipment yard to gather our materials.

 It was a cold morning, so we put the kids in their snowsuits. They thought it was great fun to go on a treasure hunt to find wood. Especially since there were fun tools, like a crowbar. Doesn't Desert Girl handle it well?

 Henry is four years old and usually sleeps outside. During warm weather he likes the padded lawn chair. During bad weather he's in his little doghouse. We figured he deserved a larger doghouse that included some nice padding.

 A pallet was the base, and Desert Boy eagerly hammered boards on top of it.

 If Desert Boy did it, Desert Girl had to also.

 Hard at work.

 We didn't quite have all the tools we needed so had to do a little improvising. Desert Boy was eager to help.

 Soon the doghouse was taking shape. Desert Boy decided that he should paint Henry some scenes inside the doghouse to make it more like home. We agreed, as it kept him quite happy.

 He did some cute paintings, but I didn't manage to take a photo of them before the insulation went on.

 This weekend it was time to finish the roof and paint the doghouse. The kids loved painting with real paint.

We are almost done, just another layer of paint, a little more work on the roof, and some decorations. Check back soon to see the final product.

And, by the way, Henry is using it. I think all the padding made it especially appealing. I understand where he's coming from, I like a comfy bed, too!

Irrigating, Bones, Cows, and More

 It was my husband's day off and he said he just needed to spend "a few minutes" irrigating. I raised my eyebrow--as much as I could raise just one eyebrow--and pursed my lips. "Plus driving time," he amended. I sighed and agreed to go. If that was the only way we could spend time with him, we might as well make the best of it. I grabbed my camera, as I figured there would be a good chance of some fun photo opportunities.

 The kids were happy to go on a little trek, Desert Boy in his new cowboy boots that are too big (but much preferable to his better-fitting gym shoes), and Desert Girl in her ladybug irrigating boots. She's been wearing those almost every day for over a week. The kids are getting pretty good at negotiating barbed wire.

 While my husband moved irrigation dams, I found myself interested in pollinators on the rabbitbrush. The huge eyes on the fly help explain why it can be so hard to get one with a flyswatter--they see it coming from a long way away!

 Here's a different fly. Although we often think of flies as pesky, most are actually really important to the ecosystems around us, helping to pollinate and perform other functions. If we could just put up signs at our houses and campsites for them to stay away!

 The kids trailed Dad, checking out the sprayed thistle on the way.

 At our next site I found some lovely sunflowers attracting a wide variety of insects.

 At our next stop (oh, yes, we had many stops and driving over bumpy tracks!),the kids spotted something that they had been looking for. It was across the ditch, so they needed help getting over.

 Daddy's hip waders made it easy.

What were they looking for?

 Why, bones, of course! We didn't find any at the first site, but we did find a couple at the second site, along with a dead cow that will be a good bone source in a couple of years. The kids occupied themselves with taking bones over to the edge of the ditch and matching them up. Some of them came home with us. Desert Boy still lists paleontologist as one of his top ten career choices. (National Fossil Day is coming up on October 17--we'll be celebrating!)

 My husband didn't want to carry me across the ditch (why not?), so I wandered down the track to the next stopping spot.

 I found a lovely cow out in the meadow.

 Then I came across a crowd of cows near some dead trees. This used to be a homestead, but has long been abandoned. Although the humans had fled to more populated places, the cows were happy hanging out there. Most of them took a break from chewing their cud and got up to take a look at me. Cows are curious creatures.

 As I watched the cows taking a few steps and pausing, looking at me, then taking a few more steps, I started thinking of them fashion models.

 Here's one sauntering through the meadow. Swing those hips, babe! Show off that eartag.

 They have the look down pat.

 Hello, ladies.

Before they could get really close, my husband came with the kids and the bones. Some of the bones were a bit on the smelly side and we had to leave them behind. Another year and we'll pick them up.

This turkey vulture may help clean those bones.

It was a fun morning. Even though it took a few hours instead of a few minutes!

Moving Cows

 On the way back from Cedar City, I saw something up ahead. As we got closer, I could see horses, trucks, 4-wheelers, cows, and dust. They were moving some cows.

 It looked like the cows weren't the only thing on the move--a flock of birds flew alongside some of them.

 The cows were strung out for miles, cows and calves plodding along towards their summer pasture.

 Most of the time they were single file, with fabulous mountain scenery in the background.

 Isn't that great geology? Or are you looking at the cows?

 A Red Angus is daring to mix in with the Black Angus.

We rounded the corner and the cows were a little bunched up. But then they figured it out and continued as far as the eye could see. When I see cows like that, I feel like I'm in an old Western movie.