The Working Ranch Blogosphere

How is it that any ranch duty that includes the word "heifers" in its description invokes other words such as, "late nights", "dumb", "long days", "no", "stop it", "no or little sleep", and "frustration" ? For those of us who so tenderly and lovingly work with those young, mothers-to-be, do, indeed, know the answer to this question.
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We branded our last group on Saturday. Kirk was perty happy that we were done and could focus on breeding. This was probably the first time in the six years I've been on the ranch that we haven't had to schedule a branding in between an A.I. session. It'll be nice. Maybe we could actually find time to work on a tractor or fix some fence. Breeding is a busy enough time in and of itself. Unfortunately, not everyone is as blessed as us this year. To say the least, when I heard what a friend of ours, Cowboy Bob, is going through, I was shocked. Bob has a little more on his plate than just scheduling a branding in between A.I. sessions. Let me explain.
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The semester is coming to an end and I am getting restless, finding things to procrastinate my studies. However, today I am once again reminded why I am thankful to be a part of Agriculture.
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What can I say? It's been a busy week. In between brandings, moving cattle, chasing some ornery calves while trying to move cattle, getting ready to A.I. (Artificially Inseminate), listening to horseshoer stories, and putting a neighbor's bull back (again), I managed to sneak in a cattleman's meeting, some family time, and some sleep. Today, though, other than putting the neighbor's bull back again (Oh wait...Did I already mention that?) was kind of an easy one.
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You’ve heard the saying, “Behind every successful rancher is a wife who works in town.” There are a couple things I take offense to in that sentence...
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As the semester ends, classes are wrapping up. Students are getting anxious to get outside and away from the classroom. What better way to get outside than learning all about pregnancy checking your cows with a Reproduction Physiologist! Yeah that is right; they have a class for that.
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This morning was one of those cool, spring, Kansas mornings where you open the door, step outside in your button-down and jeans, and sip some coffee while you ponder the all important question: felt or straw?
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Yesterday morning we woke to heavy fog and decided to postpone moving cattle ‘til we could actually see the cattle. The fog had burned off by midday and after lunch we caught up the horses...
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You gotta love working cattle. They're always throwing you a curve ball when you least expect it. Last Friday we shipped our Fall calves. We considered holding onto them and putting them out on grass to gain a little more weight. However, when Kirk found out how hot the market is right now, he decided to fold faster than Superman on laundry day and cash in the chips so to speak. Now what could be easier than bringing in 68 Fall cows with 6 month old calves? Well, turns out bringing in First calf heifer pairs is.
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This weekend I had a run in with a stirred up cow at my dad’s place in Arkansas. As I stood there straddling a gate with a determined Angus cow at my feet, my mind went back to a similar episode in Wyoming.
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