The Working Ranch Blogosphere

This week we pulled bulls. Except these weren’t herd bulls, but oops bulls that were supposed to be steers. When these little calves came in, a handful of bulls was easy to miss, but as they’ve grown, they’re hard to ignore. We’ve been having problems with bullers so decided it was time to make the cut. Or in this case, the band...
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Some times there are cattle that require a little more tender loving care than others. Then there are times that I wonder if I am working in feedyard or a growing yard.
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A week ago, a good friend of mine went back to Iraq for the second time. He leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter. Two weeks ago, my brother went to Georgia to see his brother-in-law graduate from boot camp, with his next stop being Iraq as well. Well known western performer R.W. Hampton just said his goodbyes to his son as he was on his way to Afghanistan. This Friday, I'll reunite with an old friend who just got back from Afghanistan.
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I apologize for my absence from the WR blogging world. The summer got off to a rough start when an outbreak of polioencephalomalacia (or that’s what we think it was, still not completely sure) had us scrambling...
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Cattle Tracks, they are all around us on the ranch, but do we ever stop to think from where they come, or more importantly, where they will be going? The cattle industry is a big place. Do you take the time to learn about the structure of your production chain?
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I remember my first time in the feedwagon alone when I first started at the ranch. It was a cold, December morning and there was quite the frost on the ground. The yearling steers were staring at me through the gate like my kids when I take the last pancake at breakfast. They were packed up against that fence tighter than painted on jeans. I sat there for a minute, then two, and then five minutes later I called Kirk. Every morning Kirk had been a horseback to get the gate and shoo 'em out of the way and make sure no convicts escaped. How was I gonna do this alone? "How do I get through the gate without 'em getting by me?" I asked.
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Seems like a decade, but I have only been off-line for a month. Now that the cable company and I have worked out our differences, I can get back into the swing of things from Dalhart, Texas!
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Change is a frequent event on a ranch. Seasons come and go, cows are culled, heifers give birth, and bulls are sold when they just can't get the job done anymore. We're haying now, but it seems like winter just ended. Soon enough Cowboy Christmas (weaning time) will be here. Yes, life moves pretty fast sometimes. Some changes, like this Spring after a long, hard winter, are easy to take. Some, like a cow who has faithfully weaned off a 600 pound calf for the last eight years, coming up open, are harder to swallow. I've recently encountered a change that I have mixed emotions about.
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I don't know about you, but I've started on my ark already. I'm not gonna say I've heard a direct voice telling me to do so, but I can take a hint. This summer reminds me of 2004. That was the year I tried to go it on my own with a hay business. I think it quit raining that year about August. I didn't try and build an ark, but I could take a hint back then as well. That's how I ended up here at Tailgate. I've heard it said that when God closes a door He opens a window. That was true in '04, but I wonder what He's hinting at this time around?
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Every year about this time, I take off from the ranch for a couple days to go help with a Rodeo Bible camp that is put on at the Johnson County Fairgrounds by the Spoon Creek chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys (F.C.C.). There is a Jr. High camp that lasts three days and a senior camp that is five days. I always do the jr. camp. I only take off three days at a time so I can save the rest of my vacation days for family outings. That and those jr. high kids don't quite know everything just yet, so they are a little more pliable and easier to teach.
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