Visiting the Baby Goats

 My sister-in-law has some goats, and they recently gave birth. She posted photos and videos of these cute little baby goats (called "kids"), and finally we were able to find a time when we could get over and see them in person. Oh my, they were darling!

We came during feeding time, so most of the goats were pretty active. Two kids fell asleep under the trailer, though. They know they can eat from their moms anytime.

The kids had a chance to hold the baby goats. They were a little more tentative than I thought they would be.

They still managed some smiles, even though they were a little nervous.

Then the cousins came home and joined the fun.

We've had a cold spell, so that's been hard on the baby goats, but overall they seem to have done well. They certainly are getting lots of attention and will be pretty tame!

Fresh Snow

 Last night it snowed a little, and it was so beautiful this morning. I went in search of good images for a high key photo challenge (if I understand high key right, it's a white background with blown out midtones, so the photo looks overexposed and you don't see a lot of shadows).

Our dog Henry was glad to get out and run and check out what was going on around the ranch.

It didn't look like the mountaintop got much more snow than we did, but at least it's something. We've been very dry this winter.

The red really popped on this old fire truck. It hasn't moved in awhile!

Hope you see some beautiful things in your day today!

Our Chicken Mystery

If you've followed this blog, you know we have had trouble with chickens. Over the past year and a half we've bought 12 chickens. Several died in the first few days. A couple got eaten by dogs. A bunch got eaten by skunks. We killed a rooster who had started attacking us. And then we were down to just two chickens. They seemed to be getting on well, but then one of them started not laying in the coop. We searched our bushes but couldn't figure out where she was laying. Then she started disappearing at night. At first we thought a dog or fox had eaten her, but then she appeared again. And throughout the summer, she disappeared for stretches of time, sometimes up to two weeks. If there had been a wild rooster around, I would have thought she was raising chicks, but we're the only ones in the neighborhood who let our chickens free range. And then she disappeared again.

We shrugged our shoulders and accepted it, what else could we do? Our remaining chicken (pictured above) seemed to be getting on okay, although she stopped laying and we talked about giving her away so she would have company.

Then the second chicken reappeared, her comb duller, her legs yellower. And she kept reappearing every day, staying for the whole day, eating food we put out.

Now she's even staying the night in the coop. There must have been a good summer home for her to visit. But now it seems she's back for winter.

The color and size of the combs of the two chickens is quite striking. They used to be nearly identical, but now they're easy to tell apart. (Plus the resident chicken must have had something attack her because she only has one tail feather left.) We're back to an egg a day (the runaway still isn't laying in the coop).

It's nice to have the chickens wandering around the yard. But I still won't give them names.

Meeting the Llamas

 So my nephew got some llamas and we just had to go over and take a look. After all, it's not every day that you get to see a llama (unless you own one, I guess).

We got a little distracted by the lamb that was wandering around. I have a feeling one of those will be in our not-too-distant future.

Then it was time to inspect the llamas. Desert Girl was the bravest.

The white one was just as curious about her as she was about it.

What a great expression!

Finally Desert Boy had a chance to look up close.

Um, maybe you don't want to get that close--llamas can spit! (Fortunately these didn't.)

This is a family of llamas, mom, dad, and two daughters. My nephew is hoping to use them as pack animals, as apparently the larger ones can carry a hundred pounds. When I looked up llamas on Wikipedia, I learned that they are a domesticated camelid from South America, raised for their meat and as pack animals. Since the 1980s they also have been used as predator control for sheep and have been very successful. They usually live 15-25 years and have an 11.5 month gestation period. It will be interesting to watch them develop.

Branding in the Rain

 It's May, which means it's the month of branding. Actually on our ranch we don't brand, but the calves are ear marked, banded (a form of castration), fly-tagged, and vaccinated. And it's a lot easier to say brand than all those other things!

May has turned out to be the month of rain here, which is so welcome after our dry winter. But it makes for some messy branding. I took the kids for a quick look on our way to Grandma's house, but they didn't want to get out in the rain, and I wanted to get a few photos, so  I left them in the van. The cowboys were just getting started.

The first calf roped was by one of our neighbors.

The calf was secured.

Then the crew came in and administered everything in less than a minute. The calf was released and it went back to its friends.

I am amazed at how talented some of these young cowboys are. They already are more skilled with a horse and rope than I ever will be.

The orange tag is the fly tag, which is so useful later in the summer.

A couple more cowboys roped calves.

Three stations were set up, so when three cowboys were holding tension on the calves, that meant the operation was going just right.

Watching the roping was fascinating. The timing is critical to get that rope around the calves' back legs. If you think about it, those back legs are only off the ground for a fraction of a second as the calf walks, so the rope has to be there just as the legs come up and then tighten at just the right moment otherwise the rope falls off and the calf walks away. There are easier ways to do the branding, but this is the way the cowboys prefer, as it gives them a chance to practice their skills.

Below is the overall view of the horses and cowboys keeping the calf at the station and the calves getting treated.

Everyone seemed to be handling the rain really well.
We had to go, so I couldn't stay longer. Later some of the ladies took a turn roping, and you can see that and more on Life on the Ranch blog.

Distractions while Irrigating

 The main irrigator for a remote area of the ranch was injured in a car accident, so my husband has been spending a lot of time down there, including Sundays. So we've all been going down there on Sundays so we can at least spend time as a family. The kids and I tend to find the irrigating not so exciting, but there are other ways to amuse ourselves. I really like looking at the birds, and I was delighted when my husband pointed out this bird.

I had to take a better look to recognize it as a great blue heron. I'm used to seeing them on the ground or flying, but great blue herons do nest in trees, usually in huge rookeries, sometimes with hundreds of them together. This one was all by itself.

Meanwhile, the kids were finding some obstacles.

Then they decided to build a fort. They love building forts, and they usually get along well together when they do.

Eventually my husband finished the irrigating, and it was time to leave. The kids begged to stay longer to make their fort better. When we were driving away and realized our gas in the truck was low, Desert Boy suggested we could go back to the fort and hang out there, after all it was good shelter. If he ever gets lost, he'll probably do okay for himself!

The Sandhill Cranes are Back!

 Sandhill cranes recently returned to the ranch, to my great delight. These huge birds are so fascinating, and they really leave no doubt that birds are descendants of dinosaurs. Sandhill cranes have been around for quite awhile (although not as long as dinosaurs); their fossils have been dated back as far as 2.5 million years.

The photo above shows the reddish feathers on these sandhill cranes. Those are due to foraging in iron-rich mud. Also note the curved feathers on the rump.

I got out of the van to take the photo, and that spooked the birds, so they took off.

This photo isn't quite in focus, but the shape of the bird makes it look so much like a pterodactyl that I had to include it!

The sandhill cranes made a big circle and flew in the beautiful golden hour sunlight.

As I was editing the photos I saw that the birds flew in sync.

But then they didn't. Why not? Well, probably due to a small weight difference, although both sexes are nearly the same size. Sandhill cranes mate for life, which is sometimes more than 20 years. During the summer, sometimes up to 30 sandhill cranes stay at the ranch. I haven't seen baby sandhill cranes, but my husband has. Typically they raise just one young a year.

Back in sync again, with the shadowed foothills in the distance. For more about sandhill cranes, along with a recording of their cool sound, check out this Cornell Lab of Ornithology link.

Checking Out the New Calves

 The heifers have been calving for over a month, and I've been wanting to take a closer look. Finally we had an opportunity on President's Day. Cousin Clay took the kids and me out to look at them.

I think one of the reasons I like looking at the new calves is that they seem to have a lot of fun, running around and playing.

And they look a little funny, but in a cute way.

The calves spend a lot of time nursing, which means mom needs good food.

Our next task was to take some hay to the pasture that's in between the Circle Field, where the heifers give birth, and the Lane Pasture, which is where they go when they're about a week old. In between they spend a night, and they need some extra food. Clay backed up the truck to a pile of hay and lifted the heavy bales on board.

The human kids are always playing games, too, in this case hide-n-seek.

Almost done!

The kids had discovered some old hay and couldn't resist playing on it.

Then it was time to load up.

I drove in circles in the pasture while the kids helped Clay push off the hay.

The fun wasn't over yet. One heifer had gotten sick and wasn't producing enough milk, so her calf needed extra milk. Clay mixed up some milk supplement and the kids happily fed the little one.

They needed a little guidance on how to hold the bottle correctly so the nipple would stay on.

What fun!

And the calf was certainly happy.

What a wonderful couple of hours. Thanks, Clay!