It's Branding Time!

 May is the traditional month for branding, but we got started earlier this year to avoid the heat that's likely to come. (And by "we" I mean my ranching family, I had nothing to do with it.)

Brandings are fun, because the cowboys and cowgirls like to do it the traditional way, roping the calves. This takes more time and people, but uses traditional cowboy skills. For this branding, cowboys were roping one calf at a time, and bringing them back to a harness type device that kept the calf in place.


The horses are well trained to move just when told and also to stay still while the calf is being processed.


A happy new recruit doing the beginner's job--loading ear tags.

Once the calf is in position, it receives its vaccinations, an ear tag that has pesticide on it to keep the fleas away, ears cut (instead of actual branding with a hot iron), a rubber band around delicate parts if it's a male to keep it from becoming a bull, and a mark on the forehead to indicate that it's done.

Brandings are fun to watch, as there is so much going on all at once, and so much skill on display. It's also fun to get a glimpse back into what life used to be like before all these modern day accoutrements.

Brandings are also an opportunity for family and friends to get together.

Young people learn skills from the more experienced.

And there are beautiful horses!

Have you ever tried roping? Desert Boy got a lasso for a birthday and we've practiced around the yard. We all need a lot more practice! Thinking of lassoing on a moving horse makes me admire the talent these folks have even more.

This calf made me laugh. Her expression makes it look like she's just out for a little ride.

Fortunately the weather was fantastic for this branding.

We couldn't stay too long due to other obligations. But in a later post we'll return to another branding, where the kids got to help out!

Time to Swim!

 So it was still March, but the kids wanted to swim. My husband had just dug out the settling pond, which is a place for the mountain water to slow down and for sand, sediment, and rocks to settle out of it before the water goes down a pipeline to the pivots to water the fields. We also use it as a swimming hole. And the kids couldn't wait to try it out. The temperature was in the high 60s, which apparently was good enough for them. There was a lot of pond scum, but they didn't care. So we went over and they gave it a try, first on a kayak.

Then Desert Boy had to try to run down the pile of sand (left there by request) and jump into the pond. I had him wear a life jacket because the water was cold and I didn't want to have to jump in after him.

Splash! He got out fast. And then since I didn't get a photo the first time, I had him do it again. Ha!

The other kids were content to stay on the edges or on the kayak.

 The kayak became more popular when the second time we went Desert Boy figured out he could go through the culvert on it. We love our red-neck water slide!



He even cleaned out most of the cobwebs.

Another time we went the excitement was seeing a snake. Of course the snake kids wanted to catch the little garter snake.

Isaac's a pro.

Then his sister caught another one. Garter snakes like water, so we see them by the pond a lot.

We like seeing them, but they don't seem to like seeing us so much, and they swam away and hid.

The day was a little warmer, so the kids got into the water. We can still see the snow on the mountains a few miles away, and that's where this water is coming from. I guess they will be tough!

The boats have been really popular. Desert Boy wanted to make his own raft. So he stuffed life jackets into a pallet. It worked, sort of.

 I can already tell that we're going to be spending lots of time at the pond this summer! Now if I can just figure out how to rig up a hammock, it will be perfect.

Return to Eagle Point

 We had so much fun on our first 2018 excursion to Eagle Point Ski Resort near Beaver, Utah, that we decided to go again. The weather called for more snow. That made me excited to hit the slopes, but worried about road conditions. After the treacherous road conditions on Highway 153 up Beaver Canyon on our first trip, and talking to others who were also really bothered by it, I sent an email to the Beaver County Commissioners notifying them of the problem. I received a response that they were looking into it and contacting the proper authorities.

So I was hoping that was all in place when we woke up the next morning and we had fresh snow! We had a leisurely morning with more swimming in the hotel pool (the kids love to swim!) and started out about 9:15 a.m. to give the plows a little more time. We saw a plow coming our direction by the golf course. 

But as we started up the canyon, we found that it had not been recently plowed. We passed the chain up area, but the lights were not blinking next to the sign that said When Flashing, Four Wheel Drive or Chains Required. The snow wasn't particularly deep, so I wasn't too concerned. Then we got to a corner that had an icy spot and we started careening towards the 15-foot dropoff that fell into the icy creek. While the kids were screaming in the back seat, I turned the steering wheel sharply to avoid the terrifying situation. Praise the Lord, we eventually found traction. Then our truck started sliding towards the 30-foot tall jagged cliff on the other side of the road. Fortunately we managed to avoid it. 

A bit further on, we found a car stopped in the middle of the road, the driver out with chains in his hands. If he had known that chains were required, he wouldn't have had to stop in such a precarious place.

Later I talked to my grown nephew who had gone up to Eagle Point with a friend that day, and he said he had hit an icy spot and nearly slid into the guard rail.

It wasn't safe to turn around, so we kept going up. Fortunately we made it, and the snow was fantastic. Fresh powder on top of other new snow, so we could ski in the woods and not worry about tripping over downed trees. It only took till mid-March! Desert Boy was delighted to be back with his instructor from his first lesson. Meanwhile, Desert Girl and I hit the slopes. And when we went over to the big mountain, the first run she wanted to do was the black diamond she had done before. I told her to make sure she waited for me (I wasn't kidding!). She did awesome. I figured we could probably go about anywhere on the mountain as long as we took breaks. So when we got off the lift the next time, we took a right and headed into country we had never seen before.

This involved finding a tow lift with a frisbee-like disk that you don't sit on, but it goes between your legs and you hold on to a pole and go up the hill. Desert Girl found it really hard to get on. She crashed about five times. But after watching some other people do it, she finally made it. We had a fun run and then she wanted to go back and do it all over again. Way to go, girl!

 

When we caught up to Desert Boy in the afternoon, he had improved a lot.

It was fun watching him rip the slopes. We found his older cousin who rode with him and made the snowboarding look easy.

We tried some selfies on the lift.

I was in the middle and couldn't get us all at the same time.

On the way back down, the road was much better (but still not plowed a full two lanes wide). I wrote again to the Beaver county commissioners but heard nothing back. I also wrote to the regional UDOT supervisor, and he wrote back that they were looking into conditions. I sure hope they can make some improvements!

Eagle Point had a really crummy winter season, open just 27 days. How can it go on? They posted a letter on their website and Facebook page that said they will indeed be open next year. They'll even have some snow making equipment. So hopefully the highway will be in better shape, because it sounds like Eagle Point will be an even more popular winter destination!

A Bike Riding Adventure

 We haven't traveled much this spring break. When I proposed to the kids that I could take them to Cedar City for the afternoon and the next day go skiing, they said no. (In a few years, they might wonder about passing up a paid ski trip!). So I went out for a run, and when I came back, they had a plan. They wanted to bike alone to Ely.

"We've figured it out by math, Mom," said Desert Boy. He explained that if they left by 8:30 in the morning, they should arrive by 8:30 at night, covering the 64 miles. That's because they could ride 16 miles for the Wheel-a-thon (a school fundraiser) in three hours. I was impressed, they were actually doing some logical thinking. They might have left out going over two mountain passes, but they did have headlamps packed and blinky lights for the bikes, front and back.

So I said what any good mom would say. "Okay, you can go, but I'm going to go with you." They were surprised by that. And then I made them reduce the weight in their backpacks. We didn't really need a hatchet. Or a book for reading. Or two changes of clothes. Or sand from the broken snow globe. But they had water and food.

We put on sunscreen and saddled up and started out of town.

Desert Girl wasn't as convinced that riding for 12 hours was that great of an idea. "Why don't we go to the Border Inn instead?"

Desert Boy resisted. I told them we could wait until we got to the cutoff road to decide. And less than two miles later, when we got to the cutoff road, we were all unanimous. The Border Inn would be our destination.

We turned and enjoyed a delightful downhill. Desert Girl rang her bell, honked her horn, and sang. We kept an eye out for burrowing owls and kit foxes. We didn't see any, but the clouds were beautiful. We were under a wind advisory for later in the day, so the clouds moved fast.

We took a break, and the kids still had smiles.

Then it was onto the highway.

Even the highways out here have cattle guards.

I was very nervous about them riding on the highway with a speed limit of 70 and no shoulders. Fortunately there was very little traffic, and everyone that passed us moved into the other lane.

A strong tail wind propelled us to the Border Inn quickly.

Desert Girl rode to the Utah sign. We rode to another state!

Just past it was the "Next Services 83 miles" sign. Desert Girl mimicked a reaction. It might not have been too bad a ride with the tail wind. But we were ready for a break.

So we went inside and had brunch. Yum!

We took the back way to return home. This time we had to bike into the wind.

Desert Girl was not happy. Tears were shed.

We had a long break at the Stop sign. It's the beginning of the runway and also marks the ranch property boundary.

After more tears and more wind, we made it home. It was a good 3.5-hour adventure. I was so glad the kids had decided to do something outside.

And Desert Boy already has his alarm set to go do more bike training tomorrow morning.