roll on

Fun times had by all today...haying, farming, and everything in between!

We started off the day pretty normally. I finished chores and met everyone out front where we figured out what we would be doing. Jeff and Ross went straight to the field and started cutting hay while Merle and Tina and I went and moved the fall calvers back to their pasture with four wheelers. We played drug store cowboys today;) We didn't have much trouble getting them back at all, it just took some time- as the pasture is a little ways away. The entire way Tina and I let Merle go up ahead and open gates while we ran behind them and talked about episodes of redneck wedding and how ridiculous people are when it comes to getting married. She decided she wanted pasture flowers in her wedding...I think I like the idea- cheap and pretty! haha

Anyway, we got them moved quite easily and then headed back home and split off in different directions. Merle and Tina went to they hay field to rake and bale and I went back to the farming tractor to finish my field. They got started pretty quick, but it took me some time. As I was greasing the first zirk my battery powered grease gun ran out of grease. So, I go to open it and put in another cartridge and as I do this the spring lets loose and pops out everywhere- leaving grease on everything in it's path, including me. O how fun. After fixing this small malfuntion I got everything serviced and managed to dump about a grocery bags worth of dust/dirt out of the air filer- probably a good thing I cleaned it. I finally got going and disked for a couple hours until I had the field finished up. So, I lifted the disk and pinned it and started to leave the field for home when I noticed one little strip that I forgot. So, being the slight perfectionist that I am I had to go back, take the pins out, let the disk down, and finish it up. After pinning it up for a second time I finally left the field for good. On the way home I met the road grader who was not the easiest to pass- I didn't even know that those existed out here-lol!

As soon as I got back I went down and disked up some bottom fields just for weed control and then parked the disk. I didn't have the pickup because it was still in the field so I went down and got my car and the list of things Merle wanted me to grab in town, and my list of things in town, and headed out. I got all the way to town when I realized that everything I needed to drop off or mail was left at home. It was 3:30, so I quick turned around and drove all the way back to grab stuff before every place I needed closed. So after killing a half hour just driving there and back I finally made it town and got everything I needed, including a much overdue grocery list! Then, I headed back home and pulled my tractor up to the shed to clean it out. I had to mess around with the air chuck for like fifteen minutes until I got it to fit and work, but finally I got going and at about that time Merle called and asked if I could come out and rake. So, I quick finished up and washed my windows when I noticed something rather important. One of my inside dual tires was clear off the rim just barely hangin' on. Hmmm, I have no idea how or when that happened but it could not have been for long, because the bead was still good and nothing was too beat up, so I lucked out. But now the tractor is parked completely in the way and the tire man will have to come visit again. But, I moved on and quick did chores and headed out to the field. We hayed until it got almost dark and headed in and ate supper. That puts me about where I'm at. Not too bad of a day, but something always has to happen! :p

Back at the Ranch

Back on the ranch.

Morning chores went as usual and we were all immidiately off and running to one field or another. Jeff fueled up and went out to the hydraswing, Ross went to the windrower, Tina went to check wells on the four wheeler, Merle had an appointment with his insurance man, and I went out to farm.

I just serviced and greased, and picked up where I left off. This time, I even managed to make it to the field without getting lost or bending anything. I disked all through the day and didn't stop until I got rained out around five. The wind kept switching on me, which made the direction of my movement rather intresting at times, but I think it'll all work out. I will only have about and hour or so left tomorrow morning. When I made it back, Tina and I started chores and Merle wsa out storm spotting because there were non-confirmed reports of a tornado west of Martin by Boomdocks. He said he never saw it, but I honestly think I might have from the tractor at one point, but it was so far away I wasn't sure just what it was exactly. But, nothing ever became of it and no damage was done that I know of. We finished up chores and Tina and Jeff headed home. I did some odds and ends and then headed in to get some groceries.

On the way to town I had a car coming toward me spin around and do a U turn, ending up facing the same direction I was. Yeah...it was a tish muddy right there and they didn't see it. But, in the process of going by them I almost ran off the road too! It was quite the deal- rain in town, but not much here. I made it to the grocery store just a minute or so after they had locked up- that was really nice to waste that drive. But, on the bright side, I did get my mail and at out at the steakhouse in town with Merle, Tina, and Tashina (friend of Tina's from Martin). It was nice to sit down and eat some real food that doesn't compare to my luchbox sandwiches. We ate, and headed home, and of course I had to win a game of cribbage before I left. That kinda concludes the day, tomorrow will probably be hay hay hay!

On the road again...

Today was another productive one on the home front.

We started at about seven with a nice tree cutting session. Joel, Wayne, and I kept busy cutting and pulling out trees and cleaning them up all morning long. At one point we secured the extention ladder into the bucket and lifted it as far as it would go so Wayne could cut a branch off that was too close to the house while Joel stood at the bottom of the ladder and I ran the loader...yeah a little scary. But, we had it all tyed down so it was safer than it sounds. We managed to take down some pretty huge trees with minimal problems; best of all no one got hurt. We also cut down a few limbs at Grandma's place and did some repairs on a building there. Otherwise, Joel spread the rest of the gravel with 'Kirby' (the ultra strength New Holland skid loader), and Wayne and I finished picking up all the little branches we left here and there.

All in all, the place looks so much nicer. I can't wait to see what it looks like after a paint job! For dinner, we went in to Grandma's place where my two aunts and Virginia made belgian waffles...very very tasty. Then, we went out and finished our tree project. I helped load up and drove Wayne's pickup back to Joel's and then had Joel bring me back home were we loaded up his skid loader. I talked him into helping get our weed eater started ... and we tried and tried but the sucker won't draw fuel- so he took it with him for a rainy day. I think sometimes those things are more work than they're worth!...but he'll get it I can almost be certain.

After he left, Virginia and I gave Olluv (the german shepherd) a bath. Now, if you can imagine giving a 100lb dog a bath in a tank...it's pretty hillarious. He actually stands still pretty well for the bath itself because I'd imagine it feels good (I let the water sit out for a day in the sun). But, we didn't quite have enough warm water to rinse with so the hose came out. That part, he was not a fan of. But, when it was all said and done he got the drying towel and ran around playing with it. Apparently that made it all better:) He is now fluffier and even smells good! As soon as we finished that it was time for me to head home and get packed up. It didn't take me too long to shower, get out the door, and say goodbye to everyone. It was a nice weekend at home- busy, but really good to be home and do some work on the place.

On my way back to Martin, I stopped in Kimball to see a college friend, Sam. Her family was grilling out so I got to see everyone and eat with them! It was really nice of them and lots of fun to see Sam and her family...can't wait to do it again! Otherwise, my drive home was fairly uneventful. Although, within 20 miles from the place I managed to almost hit a deer and nearly wipe out a little kid and some other people walking on the road in the dark...not all that uncommon out here. But, I missed them all, and made it back safe. It's getting to be my bedtime!

Home...Home on the Range...

Ok...I'll finish up Friday evening.

All we basically got done was went down to the other farm and do some little things. I happened to arrive down there right when my aunt LeeAnn was pulling in the yard. So, I had a chance to visit with her (she is from ND and coming for the weekend); my other aunt Charlene came shortly after. I pounded in a few screens on the second story, worked on a window...unsuccessfully, filled up a tank to give Olluv a bath (lol fun times coming there), and finally....I climbed up on a ladder that was leaning on the front doors tiny little overhang deal carrying a "sharp" knife and cut off a wad of spray in insulation that needed to be trimmed. Yes, it was interesting, but we got it done. Otherwise we chatted and went and got a pizza from Baltic and went home and to bed.

This morning I had my alarm set for six, but in order to have my phone plugged in it had to be quite a ways from my head...so instead of waking up at six I woke up to some pounding around seven fifteen! Yep, Wayne (one of the guys who helps us out a lot) was already here and starting to tear apart some plywood where we are putting in a window....oops. I felt bad, but he had only been here like ten minutes...and I can use the mountain time excuse! So, anyway, him and I managed to get the window in after a couple trips to the lumberyard and some serious shimming. But, it all worked out and looked pretty good in the end. Meanwhile, Virginia was running around the house and cooking dinner. When we finished with the window we went over to Joel's place (a good friend and neighbor that pretty much is the sole reason we keep the farm in one piece) and picked up his JD 4010 and helped him unload and empty a tank and move a few things around.

As soon as we made it back home with the tractor and skid loader that Joel hauled over, the three of us went to work. First, we filled the sistren, it took more than a full load of gravel- and is still settling tonight! I think that will be a long process. Then, we went at the trees. The whole goal of the project is not only to clean up some trees around the place, but to get them away from the house and barn so that the house painter can get to everything ok and the guy hired to give an estimate on fixing our barn can see and work on what he wants to. So the fun began. We pulled and cut down lots and lots of trees. Ranging in size from tiny to a foot and a half in diameter. Needless to say, we got quite a bit done, but there is plenty more to do.

We all shut down a little early in the afternoon cuz the guys were taking there kids out- one to the rodeo to mutton bust and the other to the tractor pull for quarry days. Virgingia and I had to be in Sioux Falls by six to have supper with the grandparents and mom and john. So, we quick loaded everyting up and I got stuck taking the John Deere back to Joels. In order to do this a person has to drive through town...yes that's right, people saw me driving a John Deere. So not cool! haha, but I guess I'll have to get over it after all the help Joel gives us, even if his tractors are the wrong color. Viringia met me at his place and we stopped and talked to his parents, Lois and John, for a while. Then, we headed home and helped the aunts paint the chicken coup for fourty five minutes before we finally went back to our house and showered for supper.

We made it to town on time and had some tasty brautwursts with the family. It was fun, and nice to see everyone- even in one place! We made a few stops on the way out of town and then headed home. That takes me about to where I'm at...tired and ready for another full day of tree killing and then some lovely driving time! Ahhh- I will need lots of sugar and caffeine to stay awake on that drive!

Sounds like they have been haying away on the ranch while I've been gone- hope it continues to go well as the weather here is not cooperating and has basically ruined first cutting:(

Road Trip

I cheated and skipped a day! sry...haha.

So I will start with yesterday. We did chores as usual and then we all got ready to go hay. Tina and Merle went out with the rake and baler to try to put up the hay that was too dry the night before, and Jeff and I were supposed to cut hay in the next field up by the hisle dam pasture. I had to run around and finish a few odds and ends, grab some water, and fuel up the tank before heading out to the windrower. It took me almost an hour to service and grease, then I was on my way. Jeff came later with the hyra-swing after fixing some fence and having trouble with a dead battery on the tractor. We cut hay until noon when I decided I had better head in to get ready to go home. I brought Jeff to another pickup so that he had transportation, then I went to pick up Merle and Tina in the other field. The three of us ate a quick dinner, then they headed back to the field and I went in to get ready. I still needed to pack, take care of my horse, and clean some things up around the house.

I finally pulled out of the driveway at about 3:15 and headed east. I actually managed to pass Merle and Tina on my way! It took about five hours to make it back to Baltic. It was a pretty uneventful drive, although I did realize that I had better start using my blinker and stopping at stop signs! haha...oops. It was really nice to come home and see all of the crops growing up so tall. It's really hot, humid, and wet here...not so good for hay, but not so bad for the crops. Guess you win some and you lose some.

As soon as I made it home I went let Olluv (the dog) out and played with him for a while! He's lots of fun and really cute, I love Katie, but I missed Olluv:) After I unpacked a few things, I decided to go visit my aunt. I stayed at her place for a couple hours catching up on the Baltic news and what I missed...didn't sound like much. Then, I went home and Virginia met me there about the same time. We chatted for a bit and then headed to bed.

This morning I had a chiropractor visit (which was quite amazing I might add) and then stopped by Mom and Johns. After my stop there I went home, picked up Virginia and we went to Dells to get my lovely Hep A shot for a trip I'm taking to Argentina later in the school year. After that hour long visit we went to the Pizza Ranch for some tasty lunch. We spent the rest of the early afternoon in town running errands and then came home and have been trying to get some things done aroud the house since then. Otherwise, not much has happended thus far. Tomorrow will be a full day! It's nice to be home for a couple days.

A Rush to Rushville

Today was another fun filled...and very full day.

We did morning chores at 5am this morning...yep that means I was up by 4:30...gross. But, we got chores done and rearranged some things so that we could get all the cattle in the corrals and have room to sort.

First, we rounded up the dry cows, which was pretty easy. As we were bringing them in the two ladies that were coming to visit showed up. Tina and Ross and I were headed out to round up the fall calvers, so we brought them with us. It was fun to meet them and learn more about why there were here. Tracy is from Chicago and is a professional painter, but has recently picked up photography and loves to photograph cowboys. So, she came to visit and met up with her friend Brenda, from Martin, and somehow they got connected with Merle. Tracy had a little trouble trying to keep her camera from getting beat up while we were riding- but she did remarkably well considering all that was going on and she said she hadn't ridden since she was a kid.

We had a littel trouble trying to the the fall calvers in, but eventually managed. Then, it was sorting time. We sorted owners, cows from calved, dry cows, heifer calves, and steer calves. Needless to say there were a few gates running- but it all worked out pretty good. We even had fifteen minutes before the trucks showed up to sit around and talk with Tracy and Brenda. But, as soon as they got there (littel after eight) we got back to work. We didn't have too much trouble loading except for one crazy cow. She jumped (and almost cleared) the corral gate and the tub chute earlier, so we knew she was nuts...but when she got in the semi she decided to turn around and come back out on top of all the other cows being loaded. She had opportunities to jump right out of the alley way, but somehow she stayed in and we eventually got her penned up. As soon as they were loaded they headed out to Rushville and Merle followed shortly after.

The rest of us cleaned up and headed out on our own for the day. Tina and Jeff went to check wells and move equipment and Ross and I went to windrow. It took us an hour just to service it and it's 10,000 zirks! But we finally got it moved and got a pickup moved out to it for me. Ross rode a round or two and then set me loose. One of the very first rounds I did I managed to hit a skunk...and it will smell for decades...nasty. I windrowed out there until about 5:30 when Merle called and said I could come in for chores and then we might go out and hay if I was up to it. Well, we all know I can't turn down raking (lol) so I headed in. But, of course, on the way I was being a bit too observant and noticed that we had cattle that got into a cemetary that is supposed to be fenced off in their pasture. Well, the gate had broke and about 20 head and a horse were grazing in there. So, I went in to kick them out and half of them went back out the gate and the other half made a B line and just ran through the fence. So, here I am with nothing but a vice grip and some crappy crappy wire. That was the most redneck, horrible fencing job I have ever done! haha, I was so upset that there wasn't a plier in the pickup because I alsolutely despise vice grips in the first place. But, I manged to wire most of it back up to the posts (I had no staples) and fix the gate just enough that it at least stands.

By that time, Merle already had chores done so we headed out to the hay field...and it was wayyy to dry to bale. That kinda ruined the evening plans. So instead we each took a mower and went and mowed lawn instead of hay. It wasnt' real fun, but it got done anyway. I did some more yard work, went up for dinner, and now am headed to bed. It was a rather long day, but it didn't turn out to bad. I am headed home tomorrow afternoon and will stay until Sunday morning; not sure if I will be blogging or not, but maybe I will- I'll see how the internet is working. I need some sleep-goodnight!

Ride the Pony!

Last night it decided to rain and storm like craziness..making haying a bit difficult.

As soon as I finished morning chores, we saddled up and rode out to the fall calvers. While saddling up I managed to spook Andy with the saddle pad...what a great way to start a morning. It's a bit of a ride just to get out there (through three pastures) so that alone took some time. When we did finally get there Jeff and Tina (who were on four wheelers) had a majority of the cattle rounded up and headed in our direction. We jumped in and kept moving them on their way south. But, before we reached the corner we had to sort off about eight head of steers from the next pasture over and get them back where they belonged. Jeff and Tina ran them back, Ross and I held those that we had rounded up in the corner, and Merle and Glen went back to look for the few cows and calves that we were still short. About 45 minutes later Merle and Glen showed back up with most of the missing cattle and we moved our herd toward their's and met in the middle at a gate. Jeff and Tina continuted to scour that pasture for more steers (they found a total of like 20 or so) and they spent quite some time looking down into those deep...deep draws. After we got them out of the pasture gate, we didn't have too much trouble moving everybody back home to the closest pasture. When it was all said and done we were still missing one cow and two calves- guess they will have to show up later in the year.

After we moved them in, we headed in for dinner. O, and while unsaddling we also managed to spook Andy and the other horses- they managed to run over my saddle as well- lol- how nice of them! Pretty sure not much damage was done. So after dinner Tina and Jeff went and set up some panels for tomorrow and Merle and I decided to go get the rake and baler; it looked like the wind had blown enough to dry a lot of hay out, well, at least enough to rake anyway. We all go up to the shed before we split to grab the supplies needed for the afternoon. Merle started up the 560 tractor to hook up to the rake and I ran down to the house to grab my water jug. During this time (of course while I was gone) the wiring up at the front of the tractor decided to short and burst into flames...good thing the extinguisher was close. By the time I got back to the shed there was just a haze in the air and most all of the wiring was burnt up- but not the rest of the tractor...that's a good thing. That right there pretty much put a damper on raking. The only other tractor that was even remotely close and not hooked up to haying equipment had a flat tire. So, after lots of contemplation, we decided to unhook the baling tractor and hook it up to the rake. Merle managed to get no further than 300 feet down the driveway when he realized the rake had a flat tire. So he backed back up to the shed and we decided to change it and put the spare on. Finally, he was able to get out to the field. I followed him and drove a round or two just to get the hang of his rake and the field. Then, he kept raking and I went to town to get the rake tire and the lawn mower tire both fixed. I also had a chance to hit up the parts store, PO, and grocery store. By the time I got back to the Eagle Express (the tire place) they had the tires done!

So, I headed back home, put things away and started up chores. By the time I finished them and piddled around cleaning the shop up and whatnot it was time to go and shower for the fire meeting. We got to town about 7 for the meal (yum) and then the meeting started at eight. It was fun to meet some of the people and get involved a little in the community. I submitted my application and they voted me on. So I am now offically on the Martin Volunteer Fire Department- exciting! I even have a little patch and a radio to prove it! ...that's right, be jealous. After the meeting I tried my skills at cribbage and won again! -haha, a game I can win! That puts me here, definitly ready for bed. Tomorrow's chores are starting at 5am so we can load cattle up for the sale by eight.

cattle and dirt

Another productive day on the ranch. Right after morning chores today, we caught our horses and saddled up to head out to the dry cows.

Stephanie was back today, so we had four riders and Jeff on a four wheeler. Rounding them up went fairly smoothly ... minus the bull. Jeff found him in the next pasture over and got him all the way to the gate with the four wheeler when he decided to turn around and head back. So then Merle was chasing him around and then I joined and then eventually Tina joined in the fun. We eventually got so sick of him that Merle roped his front legs and Jeff went to get the trailer to load him up and ship him out. But, in the process we managed to push him back down to the right pasture...very carefully! We got that group moved home and then went up north to round up the other 23 of them. They were all together at the gate so we just took a quick look around and then moved them right on through. Right about then, Tina (not me for once) brushed up a rattle snake that struck at Tanner (her horse). She pretty much screamed for Merle (which was hillarious) and he came up and killed the dumb thing. It was actually really strange because he was right at his hole but never when down in there- we were just looking at the rattle tonight (he just cuts them off and keeps the rattle-kinda cool) and we decdied that it must have been a male. Who knows- the point is he killed it and it was a pretty darn big one- I will have to get some pictures up of the snake and some other stuff around here someday soon.

After we got all of them moved down to the calving pasture so they are ready to ship out on Wednesday we went in for dinner. After dinner, Merle went to bale, Stephanie went to try and hook up Merle and Sharla's new dvd player, Tina and Jeff went out to hay, and I went out to farm. It took me almost an hour to get there, fuel up, grease up, check everything, and set the disk down. But, I got it done and managed to put a pretty good dent in the field. I even saw a coyote in the middle of the day out there- kinda cool. If it doesn't rain I want to try and get it done tomorrow. It was actually pretty funny looking when I started because there are lots of hills and I took a shot in the dark at where I thought the opposite corner might be...I was a little off and the sun made it hard to see my line so needless to say I was wide awake trying to make it all look decent!

I came in for chores eventually around 5:50, but Tina had already done them so I just fed Ace and Joe (referred to as "my horses", haha) and then had to run in and shower quick so we could be to town by seven for supper. Since Nancy and her family are here and leaving tomorrow they decided to grill some steaks, and boy were they tasty! It was really nice to just relax and hang out with a super family! In fact, I even met another new person, Matt, who is Nancy's son who actually lives in Martin, I just hadn't run into him yet. We had a nice supper and visited for a while, then we made a couple stops in town and headed back home. It's Monday night- card night. I sorta kinda learned how to play cribbage- I really like the game but I'm just starting to catch on. Either way, I still won, haha! But, after a game I headed home and now I'm sitting her itching my stupid bee stings. I managed to get five today, a sweat bee got me three times in the shoulder and then once on the neck when we were moving cattle. Then, later on, I just happended to set my hand on my shoulder right when there was a bee sitting there and he stung me and left the stinger in my hand...boy what a nice feeling. I scraped it out with a pocket knife and went on with my day.

Here's to another great day (minus the bee stings!) out here on the ranch. Tomorrow we are moving the fall calvers and haying/farming depending on the weather.

Graduation Day

Today, I was able to get out of bed and outside before 6:30 because I opted to sleep for the full eight hours!

When I was doing chores this morning Merle came down with Stephanie, his niece. It surprized me- little did I know she had stayed last night! It was really great to finally meet her and have someone to kinda hang out with for a little while:) After chores, Merle invited me to come along to Andrea's graduation; my only plans for the day were to go to chuch and do yardwork- graduation sounded much more exciting.

So we left the place about a quarter after eight and headed to Kyle for Oglala Lakota College graduation. There was a pretty nice sized crowd there, and it was outdoor, which was different, and kinda neat. The whole ceremony was a lot different than what you would expect of a state school or a public high school. A few bits and pieces were in Lakota and there was some ceremonial dancing for the processional and recessional. The graduates wore a feather rather than a cap with a tasle as well. The whole thing was pretty neat to see, and really interesting, and best of all Andrea got her degree in nursing- congrats to her:)

After the ceremony, we went to her place and grilled out for the afternoon. It was a really nice to meet some more of the family and just visit with people. I was able to meet Merle's brother Harvey and his wife Carol (from Hermosa? ...I think), his sister Nancy and her husband John and daughter Stephanie (they came all the way from AZ), and a few others. I really enjoyed the day and it was a nice way for me to be social on a day like Father's day.

After a few hours, Merle, Stephie, and I took off for the ranch. On the way back we stopped by the pasture over at Craig's place to try to get a bull in...with the suburban. We got his all the way to the other end of the pasture- almost to the gate he needed to go through and, of course, he jumped the fence. So, we headed back home, did chores, saddled up and headed back. We found him along the road and the three of us managed to push him back to where he belonged. But, meanwhile Dan decided to spook...twice. I had both legs on one side of the saddle both times...but somehow- I have no idea how exactly, I managed to stay on. We were just battling it out today, but I hope I won in the end! Needless to say my back is feeling it a bit- but I'll live.

We dropped Stephanie back off at Ross and Marva's in town and Merle and I headed back home and unsaddled the horses. It was a really great day, and I had a lot of fun meeting and spending time with some great people! Sounds like tomrrow morning we are going to move the dry cows in so we can ship them out on Wednesday.

Fire Fighter at last!

This morning was painfully slow, but I did manage to roll out of my bed and become somewhat functional! I found a dead hen today...pretty sure that three eggs a day we're gettin' is going down to two! lol There is like fourteen of them and the average is three a day- something (Rhonda that cat I think) is eating them or they are just way too old- or a combination of the two! So I threw the chicken in the back of the pickup and planned on dumping it later.

We did morning chores and loaded up our fire gear and some sugar (to stay awake) and headed into town for our 8:00am fire training. About half way there I noticed we still had the lovely dead chicken in the back so we stopped and I chucked it out into the ditch- some coyote will love me! haha We got the the fire hall a little early so we could sift through some old nomex suits and coats and find me a set to keep at the fire station besides my set at home. After some looking we eventually found some overalls and boots that would work. When class started, we covered a couple more sections in the book and then suited up and went outside to do the hands on portion of the class. It was pretty cool to play with fuzees (like flares) and a drip torch and set things on fire just so that we could put them out again! I enjoyed it anyway. After we finished everything up there I got an application so that I can apply to the department and go on calls- sweet! So now I think I'm qualified to be a FFT2, but I'm not completely positive; I know I can join the department anyway. Yay!

After class we all went out with our instructor to the bowling alley and had lunch. Then, I dropped Merle off at the fire hall so that Sharla could pick him on and they could head to Hot Springs for Andrea's pinning ceremony. I took his pickup home and grabbed a grease gun and some snacks and headed back to the field. First, the grease gun battery died on me, then, I ran out of grease...and half the zirks wouldn't take. It wasn't a lucky day for disking, but I managed and finished the field. By this time I had to head back home and do chores. They went just fine, and now I'm inside ready for bed! I am gunna try the Episcipol church tomorrow I think, and then probably do some yard work (hm...not my favorite). But, sleep will be nice tonight!

My Martin Social Outing

Alright...this is gunna be short and sweet- it's 1:00am and I need to go to bed! haha

So, today was one of those slow start mornings for Sara again. I woke up right at 6:25 and didn't get outside 'till 6:40, which is later than normal, but I still get it all done in time usually. I got everybody fed but had a little trouble rounding up the bottle calves. They were hiding from me in their pasture- but ten or fifteen minutes later I found the little squirts! Then, I headed up to the shed where it looked like the meeting of the morning minds was being held. Jeff and Ross went on their way with the hydro-swing and the windrower and Tina took the hydrobed pickup to get my fenders fixed...and pick up some other stuff in Phillip. Merle and I loaded up all the filters and oil we needed to service my farming tractor and headed out to it- and yes, I found the field just fine this time! We repalced the cab filter, the oil filter, air filters, and added hy tran fluid. The rest was just greasing and general servicing. Once we got all that done (which is harder to do in the field than you think- but it's like ten miles home)- Merle headed out to put some cattle in that we saw out on the way to the field and i started farming. I disked all morning and afternoon until about 4:15 when I had to head in for chores. In between times I switched fields and had Ross come over from his hay field and help me get the pickup and tractor over there. It's nice because both of these fields are on hilltops so I have radio and cell phone reception:) Although, my tractor doesn't have a CB yet, which is sad, I'm missing out on lots of interesting stuff I bet! lol I will get one in their soon by the sounds of it. So I disked all I could and didn't find too many treasures. The only breakdown I had was a broken key pin which I was able to replace from the toolbox.

Merle is convinced that I will go back to wanting to be a cowgirl after a few days of farming, but I say otherwise- playing in the dirt runs in the blood! O, Delbert and Merle are also trying to come up with an Indian name for me after I told them my friends were calling me all sorts of funny stuff...I'm a little scared to see what these two come up with!

I came back, did chores a little late, watered the plants (including the unplanted ones on my kitchen table...), and showered real fast and headed into town with Merle and Tina. We dropped her off at her car and then went to the fire hall for our last evening class. It was all about the actual fire suppression- pretty interesting, although I still had trouble staying awake! Afterward we drove over to the legion hall where Merle's daughter Andrea is having her college graduation party. It was pretty quiet when we got there, but it picked up as it got later and turned out to be a pretty good time. I got to dance a little (which I like to do) and met some more people. We stayed there 'till 11:30 or so and then came back home. And we all know you can't come home from something as exciting as that and not play a hand of cards...so we did...and I won! That's right- document this day in history! haha

But now I need to go to bed, we have our final fire classes tomorrow starting at 8:00am. It will all be hands on so we'll see how I do playing with fire;)

PS: By request, my email is sara_berg07@hotmail.com I know that some people can't figure out how to comment on my blog, I will look into how to do that because that is the easiest way to say what you want about each day, but if you want to get ahold of me or respond to a post just email me until we figure out the comments:)

One of those days...

I was so slow waking up this morning that I had to put a granola bar in my back pocket and eat it later...couldn't even think about eating! lol, I am terrible at eating breakfast anyway.

Morning chores went pretty normal. By the time I had them finished everyone was around and meeting up at the shop...today we tried to start haying. Note the tried! Right after chores I helped move Ross's pickup to the field he was windrowing and then got a ride back. My instructions were to take the hydrobed pickup (one of the 'good' pickups) to the field we started disking a few weeks ago and never got finished because of rain and then a flat tire. So I started over there and when I got there I had to wander around for a bit because I couldn't quite find the right field approach or remember exactly how to get there. No one was answering on the radio so I drove around for a while and decided I wasn't quite in the right place yet. I went to drive out of a field approach I hadn't driven in and...the pickup stopped. Yep, I had successfully high centered it on a complete three foot or so vertical drop off that I had no idea was that steep. So I got out, had a few choice words for the situation, and after trying I decided there was no way to get out without a pull. So, I called Merle who was headed my way to meet a well repair man right about then. He came over- wondered how the heck I managed to get the pickup like that- and pulled me out. All that I bent was the running boards but I was still mad! I mean really, how ridiculous! But, it is sorta funny. In the process of trying to bend the running boards back down we broke one, so I guess it'll have to go to the shop sometime this week. I hadn't really broke or bent much yet, so I probably had this whole deal coming. Merle was a little late meeting his well man because we were wiring up the running board, and I finally went on my way feeling as dumb as ever.

I finally did find the field and tractor and greased up and headed out. Meanwhile Ross and Jeff were haying and Tina was picking up four wheelers in Chadron. I disked all morning up until about 2:30 when I fuel gage started flashing at me. So I headed back home and got Merle out of the field so we could load up the portable fuel tank for the summer and bring it out to my farming tractor. By the time we loaded it, I filled it, got it out there, filled the tractor, and came back, it was chore time. Appartently things just didn't work out too well today. I high centered the pickup, the well man wasn't sure if he remembered to completely fix one well, I ran out of fuel, Jeff ran out of fuel, the baler had a flat tire and was never serviced this winter like it was supposed to be, and whenever we needed something it was no where to be found. I think it was just one of those days- I'm hoping we got most of the crap overwith for a while so that the rest of haying can go fairly smoothly! We'll see:)

We got evening chores done and then I went in, showered, watered my lovely dormant garden, and went to town for S-190 and S-130 class. Tonight's class was pretty interesting again. We learned a lot about gear and how to use tools. Sounds like tomorrow will be some more of that. It's lightning out like crazy tonight, hopefully we don't have any fires-but if we do you know where I'm headed! lol

I got to farm today, so that made a lot of the crappy stuff better, but hopefully tomorrow I get to finish the field and start another one- that would be cool!

Sorting

Today was a day full of sorting.

After we finished morning chores Tina and Jeff headed out to fix some fence and Merle and I hopped on four wheelers again and went out to sort some steers that were in the neighbors pasture. In the process of going there we came across a heifer that we had pushed into a close by pasture and decided to move her in closer to the corrals. So, we stopped quick and did that and then headed out to Dick's to sort steers. We got that done with little to no problems, there were just seven or eight of them. As we were headed back out we decided to stop in our pasture and sort out all of the yearling heifers of the neighbors that had been haning around...and there were wayyy more than we thought. After lots of looking and driving many miles we sorted off 16 total and put them back into their pasture! This took quite a bit of time, but it was nice to get done, and we really didn't have many problems. When we got that done we headed back towards home and decided to try to find a bull that we saw the other day in a different neighbors pasture that looked like Merle's. While we were still looking for him we ran across the neighbors hired prairie dog poisoner...not a fun job, but he was gettin' it done. We still hadn't seen the bull when Merle got a call from another neighbor's hired hand saying that we had heifers mixed in with their cows! Really!? We spent all morning sorting! So...we ran back home without ever seeing the bull and saddled up because this heifer pasture has too steep of creek banks for four wheelers. By the time we saddled up and headed out it was past noon so we stopped by the H and grabbed cheesburgers to go- and off we went. We met Beau (the guy who called) at a let down in the fenceline and started pushing them back to where they belonged. This didn't take much time and went fairly well; we decided to follow them to the well once they were all on the right side of the fence (just to make sure they stay in). This is what took most of the time, but we got that done, and went back home. Before we unsaddled we went and rounded that first heifer from this morning up and put her in the corral to watch- she's spayed and just looks sick- we'll see. Once we got her in the rest of the day was odds and ends. We put in my air conditioner, unhooked the trailer, moved some salt blocks around and did evening chores. Nothing was too difficult and speaking of which I still need to go and lock the chickens up, so I should probably go!

Fire classes went well again tonight- I think it's really interesting and useful information- looking forward to tomorrows :)

Four Wheelin'

An ode to another exciting day on Hicks Ranch.

So I was a little slow this morning and did morning chores while eating a bagel...not something you see everyday! lol Right after chores Tina and Jeff went out to fence, Ross stayed here and did some odds and ends, and Merle and I went out on four wheelers to meet Delbert and get some steers out of the neighbors cows.

When I say four wheeler ride I mean it. We went through maybe five or six pastures (I think?) to get to where we were going. And this is not nice, flat, smooth country, oh no this is like watch where you're driving every single step of the way so you don't roll your four wheeler! Let me just say that I think I gained a year's worth of four wheeling skills in just one day! So, we made it out to the pasture they were in and started looking around for the steers and Delbert (the pasture is about halfway between Delbert's place and here [maybe 15 miles or so]). Since this pasture is only about 8,000 acres...this took a while. But, after some serious searching we found him with the steers and got them moved in the right direction fairly easily. Then, we pushed a calf back to the right side of the fence, and split up with Delbert. Merle and I went back through another pasture and pushed bulls back in with the cows. The dumb things- there are eight in this pasture and we came across four off on their own! ...men. Delbert gave me some words of wisdom about this: (something like this anyway)" God sure messed up when he put nuts on cattle and horses, but boy did he make a great creature when he decided to put them on man!" ...leave it to Delbert to say something absolutely ridiculous like that! lol

So we moved the bulls back with the cattle, well sorta, we had three at one time and only ended up with one, but hey one is better then none. We also tried to sort Delbert's bull back out of the cows but this was pretty much pointless, so we kept on going. While heded home, Merle spotted a weather ballon. I guess you come across them every once in a while out here. It was pretty cool, this one was really beat up though, and all we could read of the date was 2008, but it still had the computer chip and parachute and such. So, we used the little mailing bag and stuck it in the mail with my name on it tonight- ooo maybe I'll get some mail back in my PO box from them! ...and believe me the part that said "FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE" got a nice long ride on my four wheeler- oops! haha On the way back we also brought four horses back to the corrals too, so it definitly was not a wasted trip. But, we rode all morning and I would love to see how many miles we went, it was quite the trip- and really beautiful out there this time of year. But, we made it back without me tipping the four wheeler over (which I thought was a pretty big accomplishment considering my lack of body weight)!

Right about the time we got back we met up with Tina and Jeff, and Delbert came by to pick up a bull. Then, we worked a steer and headed in for dinner. After we ate Tina and Jeff went back out to fill in culverts and tanks while Merle and I loaded out some steers and horses. Then, we left the trailer and went to check some wheat fields for hail- and they missed it, and are looking pretty darn good! On our way back to the trailer we stopped through the neighbors pasture and managed to find two salt blocks we knew we lost somewhere the other day waiting for us on top of a corner post! lol, guess they beat us to the chase! By the time we got back to the trailer and made it home it was chore time.

Everything was fine, although I am watching Joe a little beacuse he sweat quite a bit today, which is a little odd- but his temp was not extremely high so maybe it's just the heat and him running around, we'll see tomorrow. By the time we finished chores there was just enought time to shower and eat supper on the way to town for fire classes. Tonights focus was mainly on weather, which was pretty interesting. We finished part one now, so tomorrow we will start a new unit-cool! O, and we took a test tonight- I think I will pass just fine (open book;). We came back and played a short round of cards- I managed to win 2 of 3 but still had a poorer score :p lol, guess I'm just not gunna be a pro card player anytime soon.

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring! O, and I forgot to say that yesterday Dan and I kicked up another rattle snake- we seem to have a knack for that!

Heifer Heifer Heifer

Yey for Mondays. Today started out pretty normal. We did chores and all seemed well. The first task of the day was to move the spayed heifers quite a few miles to their summer pasture. Since it was the first not so rainy day in quite some time we were finally able to get it done!

I rode Dan today, and we all thought the ride went fairly well considering that they were yearlings...until the nose fly's came out. Well, first, you must remember that Dan is only three and male...which means everything is typically exaggerated! lol He got some kind of a sweat bee sting or something on his nose at about the half way point and from that point on the poor guy was itching that nose on everyone elses knees, posts we walked by, and my personal favorite, he would just drag it on the ground! So, shortly thereafter his sting, the nose flys came out like crazy and everyone's horses were throwing their heads and it was getting really annoying- but probably more annoying for the poor horses. Overall, the move went well, we found a stray bull on the way and put him back where he belongs, and also sorted off a sick heifer and one that needed to be sorted off into another group.

Tina and Glen were supposed to take those two back while Ross and Merle and I took the rest clear down to their water. We did that and doubled back to the trailer and drove home .... and Tina and Glen still weren't there. Come to find out the black heifer they took ran the whole way and the sick one layed down in the crick and wouldn't come out! So, they came back with only one heifer and at that same time two guys showed up to switch my dryer door and replace Merle's water heater! So, I babysat those guys and got the table set while everyone else went out with the pickup and got the heifer at least out of the crick...but she will stay in the pasture until tomorrow. Then, over dinner, while the hot water heater guys are banging around in the back, Merle finds out that some of the steers he runs were out in the neighbors cows...eh. So, the morning didn't turn out all that great- but life goes on.

After dinner Tina and Jeff went to fill in tanks and Glen and Ross went home. Merle and I stayed to haul out cattle. He doctored a cow and then we loaded some pairs out and came back and picked up a heifer and a lawn mower. I was gunna mow the lot for Ross and Marla in town while he dropped off the heifer but they already had it done, so we just unloaded the mower, stopped by the bank and post office, and went and dropped the heifer off. Then, we ran home, did chores, I took a five minute shower, and we ran back to town to make it to fire classes by 6:30.

There turned out to be only me and one other guy...who seems to think he knows quite a bit. haha- kindof annoying but entertaining all at the same time! When we pulled up and got out at the fire hall I could hear a tire leaking and sure enough there was a nice crack. So, during class Merle changed the tire- just our luck. I thought the class was pretty interesting and I really think it's useful info. I grasped most of it anyway- probably because the instructor was really good- we'll see how much I retain tomorrow!

It was really raining and lightning out tonight, but much more so in town, we didn't have near the moisture out here. When we got back, I said that these classes are so not cool because they cut into card time! Haha, so I got schooled four times in concentration until I finally gave in and decided it was bedtime! Speaking of which...I should go do that.
Sounds like some odds and ends tomorrow depending upon the weather.

In this issue of: Egg Coffee Drama...

So there I was rolling out of bed at 6:20 for 6:30 chores...let me tell you I can eat a bowl of marshmallow maytes faster than anyone you know! haha Chores were pretty uneventfull, Otis is looking quite good now and there were no extra or missing livestock!

When chores finished I went in the house and got ready for church and Merle started to saddle up to help Delbert sort a few cow and a bull out today. It rained a little over an inch last night I believe- can't remember for sure what we got here but I know that's what they got in Martin. I took the one ton 4x4 pickup to church...and let me tell you, it was muddy. I had cars ahead of me going way too slow and one behind me pushing me going way to fast! Then, coming up a hill (of course that would be my luck) I meet Delbert pulling a stock trailer and I almost fell right off the road- but just barely hung on and made it to church without getting completely stuck in the ditch! The service was fine, but during the communion the usher told me to feel free to talk to the pastor about communion after the service (since I can't take it in that church). So, I greeted him and proceeded to tell him that I am a ELCA Lutheran and was wondering if there was any way I could take communion at his church. ...he went on to say that I couldn't because the WELS synod does not agree with the ELCA synod on some issues including this and that and the other thing. And that was right about where the conversation ended. It wasn't like he said ... "O but you're welcome to come worship with us" ...it was more like, "we have to wash the pew when you leave". (figuratively- I think!) So, I came back home annoyed about that and told Merle and Delbert and they said I should have asked for my money back! LOL, now that is a good one! So, next Sunday I think I might check out the Episcipol chuch in town- idk- apparently I won't be going to the Lutheran one anymore.

When I got back I made a few phone calls and then went out and met Merle and Delbert just in time for dinner...which was amazing. For one reason or another Sharla made prime rib and baked an angel food cake! Yum...sooo much better then my frozen pizzas and cereal! After dinner I helped with some piddly things and we moved the lawn mowers around. Then, I finally got ahold of Gordo (my friend that was in Rapid this weekend). She had been sleeping all morining and by the time I got her on the phone it was one o'clock. I needed some things in town anyway, so I drove to Rapid and met up with them for some pizza and a Wal-mart run. Then, we hung out for a bit and I decided I had better head back before it gets too dark and this nasty storm hits. And that's just what I did. I think the storm might miss us- but I wouldn't wanna be in it, that's for sure! Well, I think I'm gunna shower and sleep.

Snoopy and Baseball

Today...the sun was out when I woke up! Exciting- well sorta anyway. I did morning chores before everyone got down this direction this morning. Delbert's dog (Snoopy) - I don't think he's a beagle though, he's really big, almost as big as their St. Bernard! Anyway, Snoopy followed them down here yesterday on a cattle drive and they couldn't catch him to get him back. I guess this has happened before, so this morning we had to get a rope around him and loaded him up into the stock trailer. I got to drive him the 30 miles or so home! Haha, poor guy, I bet he wasn't too happy with me- but I got him over to Delbert's and then picked up Merle's lawn mower and brought it home in exchange.

Tina and Jeff were down at Dicks working on some old feed bunk mess I think...and stringing some more salt and mineral. Merle's grandson was playing baseball at a tournament in Martin so he went in for 7-9 yr old baseball! -haha- and I brought the dog home and then dumped some trash from yesterday into the hole in the pasture with Merle's loader tractor. ...I about had a coronary because when I parked the tractor back in the shed I noticed the grapple fork brace was crooked and kinda bent- I was almost positive I had done it and freaked out about it for like the entire morning. - well at least until I found out that it's been like that for a long time. Yep, leave it to me to freak out about something that I didn't even do!

So after that whole deal I brought some salt and mineral up to the dry cows on a four wheeler and checked the cows and that well. Then, I headed back to the prairie dog holes we poisoned the other day. It was a little dissapointing cuz most of them had dug back out- but on the bright side I did spot one laying out dead! So, if nothing else we killed one! lol We will have to hit em hard sometime soon. Then, I came in for dinner and Jeff and Tina must have left for the day about the same time. I decided I needed groceries while the store was open so I headed into town and stopped at the baseball game on my way in. It's been a while since I was at a little kids game- or a game at all :( So, it was fun to see, maybe a little hard to watch, but very cute! It was also nice to meet Merle's daughters and Brandi's family as well. So, when the game was over I got my stuff in town and headed back home. Since I couldn't think of most things to do on my own at the moment I decided to put my garden in. I planted watermelon, canteloupe, carrots, tomatoes, and sweet corn. I doubt much of it will even come up but we'll see, and I will have you know that I marked each row with a colored straw written on with sharpie markers! ...only me.

That pretty much took most of the afternoon. I drove up on the hill and got my cell phone to work for just a bit and then headed down to help Merle unload a pallot of salt and some blocks before they got completely soaked! Then chores, and some more rain. Sounds like we might have some severe thunderstorms tonight and Merle said he would call me if the fire dept. has to go out and watch- sweet! ...we all know I'm easily amused (and was deathly afraid of storms as a child) - guess I got over that one. I also had a chance to try on some fire gear today so that if we did have a fire I had some gear that fit- I think that'll be pretty cool. I'm going to take some classes starting tomorrow night for a week to get some basic fire training, I think it'll be really good for me to know a few things and fairly interesting.

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot else to report on- can I just say I'm really sad about the SF stockyards deal...it sucks, but life goes on. Anyway, that's all I got, gunna go find supper.

Salt and Mineral

This mornings chores were fine. I had them finished by the time most everyone made it down. The bucket calves are still a bit unhappy but seem to be surviving! haha, poor little guys. Other than that things were pretty normal.

Today was another wet, drizzly day (well at least this morning) so Merle and I set out to string salt and mineral and Tina and Jeff went out to check on wells and fix a few. We all spent the morning doing that and came in for dinner at one or so. Sharla had made some very tasty pasta- yum! After dinner, Tina and Jeff built some new salt troughs and Merle and I loaded up another 25 bags of salt and 25 of mineral and a few cobalt blocks and headed out. I really like stringing salt and mineral because you get to see the cattle and the country...and it's not a tough job. We moved a few troughs here and there and I even kicked up a mouse nest out of one, but other than that- there was nothing too terribly exciting that happened. We went through the timber reserve pasture and on a day like today it was pretty muddy but very beautiful! We had some spots where we had to cut branches and even hooked a dead tree onto the pickup and pulled it out of the trail once- dang that Ford looks good pullin' a tree:) Throughout the day we saw a few white tails, some elk (really cool), lots of turkeys and chicks, pelicans, and antelope. Now, too see that all in one place is pretty darn cool.

By this afternoon the clouds finally broke into sun (seven days later)! That was nice, but the rain we sure good too. By the time we made it back we unloaded the few bags we had left and did chores. I ate some leftovers at the other place tonight and now I'm headed off to get some sleep. Not sure what's in store for tomorrow~:)

No more milk!?

Today was a bit tragic to the bucket calves...no more milk! Yep, they were on their last bag and there wasn't enough for milk this morning, so now they are all done and down to grain and hay only! I definitly heard about it all day long...Wally (the first and tamest calf) was (and still is) exceptionally upset! Other than that, chores were fine. O, and Otis is still around, he seems a bit better... we'll see:s

I headed out to Rapid City to finally get rid of our rental car and pickup the last truck that was finished being fixed. Merle and Tina loaded up horses and went to help a neighbor sort yearlings away from pairs- the neighbor had a death in the family, so everyone pitched in and helped. They are definitly all great people out here and it reminds me a lot of home in that sense. While Merle and Tina did that, Jeff headed down to Chadron with all three four wheelers and the push lawn mower to have them all worked on. Meanwhile, I drove the rental car to Rapid and exchanged it for the fixed hydrobed pickup. I just turned around and headed home...that's about four hours of driving- made me kinda sleepy! But, I recovered when I got back, I ate and took a ten minute nap before Merle showed back up with the horses and we unloaded and unsaddle. This was interesting because he had to use the old stock trailer that is much narrower...JD had never backed out of a trailer before because we use the stock trailer all the time~ so I thought that was just kinda interesting. But, we got em out and sent back out to pasture. He had dropped Tina off in town so she could go home a little early and Jeff was going to just take the truck to his house and bring it in tomorrow.

We headed out to pick up troughs and string salt and mineral for the rest of the afternoon. Fun times, fun times. During this time we managed to stop and I showed Merle a worm that creates foam on the weeds (they thought it was the plant) and he showed me this cool wild turnip that is really popular with the Indians...but I didn't think it was too tasty! Then, we did evening chores, and moved some pickups around (now that they are all home and in working order). I ate some mashmallow mayteys and a muffin with toast for supper and now I'm headed to shower, put Joe's blanket on and sleep:)

P-Dog Olympics

mmm...today...

First thing first, we did chores and poor little Otis cat was still in the barn, not feeling well this morning. Tina is a vet tech student and she looked him over and couldn't find any obvious problems with him so we brought him some milk, and hopefull he continues to feel better tomorrow- he did purr for me today! Otherwise chores were fine and it was just the beginning of another wet, soggy day.

We went down to "Dicks" (another place with corrals that Merle owns) and loaded up buffalo this morning. This made everyone a little on edge as buffalo are not easy to work with in small quarters. We were supposed to do this yesterday but since it was so wet we didn't think we could even get down to Dicks...but upon further examination we found out that it didn't rain near as much down there and we could have done it- so...even though it rained this morning, we sorted anyway. We wanted the two bulls first so Merle goes and get a round bale and tries to sort them off with the tractor...yep that's right we sorted buffalo in a corral with a tractor and round bale-haha! It was great, and it worked! Tina and I were laughing later beacause it was all these guys chasing and freaking out about the buffalo bulls (rightfully so) and we were given the wimpy jobs of closing the trailer gates. She had a rope to pull the center gate and seaparate them and I had the back sliding door. They came barreling through and she managed to get them separated and I kept em in...and for some reason the guys were so amazed by this. They told us that we get an A+! It was hillarious- guess the simple jobs earn you brownie points. The rest of the buffalo cows and the one adorable calf loaded pretty easy into two trailers. After it was all said and done it went remarkably well and no one got hurt so we had a successful early morning.

Delbert, Tyler, and Merle headed out to Belle Fourche...they thought (later Merle found out they needed to go clear to Buffalo!) and did not return home until just now. (9:40pm- my blog post times are never right) So, they all had a long day driving but told me they didn't have any trouble. As for the rest of us who stayed here...

We cleaned up all the tarps and panels from buffalo moving and headed back home. Tina and I began cleaning the barn (always a fun task...) and Jeff headed out to Gordon to get a load of cracked corn in the black pickup...and he didn't have any trouble...darn that chevy! So, we cleaned the barn while it rained some and left the pickup door open the whole time so we could hear the radio- this later led to wet butts and door handles full of water, lol. Then, we headed in to Merle's house and ate his food for dinner and headed back out. Food always tastes better when it's not yours- haha! We spent the entire afternoon putting out phos-toxins to poison prairie dogs with. First you stick a tube down the hole as far as you can get it to go without plugging it- then you put in a few pills of toxins...which are really rank and well toxic- then you shoot some water down the tube with a pour gun and then quick cover the hole with sodd and dirt. Then, you go to the next one, and the next, and the next, and- well you get it. We managed to do this in two spots until four when Tina and Jeff had to get ready to go. At the end of the afternoon both Tina and I had major headaches from this crap. We wore latex gloves and such but you really have to be careful! So, I told Tina and Jeff to get going so they could make it to Jeff's second job in town on time. I did evening chores and finished stringing some straw in the barn, followed by some piddly things and then decided I had better get a few more things off the list. So I filled up the fire truck tank and swept out the other end of the shed at the same time. By this time it was eight and I was plain pooped so I came in and made a pizza and now I'm headed to bed. Merle just called and said he about came up here and rolled me out of bed cuz he has been trying to get ahold of me for hours- well my cell is dead and I've been outside, and I'm having trouble with the land line so- oops? He said he was worried the phos toxins got to my allergies- so it's definintly a good thing it rang through, he sounded relieved! lol, nope they didn't gas me out!

Sounds like I'm taking the rental car back to Rapid to pick up the last truck we have in the shop tomorow! We'll see if I can even get the car out of here in the mud! Nite.

Rapid City and Country Corner Cowboys

Today was sorta like a day off. I did chores this morning, with the help of Tina. But, then headed back to the house to take a shower and get ready to head to Rapid City to meet Mom, John, and Ann. I brought the old chevy pickup to the chevy dealership to get the darn lights fixed and had them pick me up there.

From there we did a little tourist trapping~ First stop: Cosmos. Ann and John had been there but Mom and I hadn't. It's one of those things you always drive by but never actually go see. So, we went...it was Cosmo like? I figured out most of the phenomena minus the whole appearing taller and shorter thing- now that was strange! It didn't help that we had the biggest cornball for a tour guide ever as well! Next stop: Mt. Rushmore...is not visible in the fog! lol, I have been there several times and I think everyone else had been there a few times as well, but today you couldn't hardly see a thing up there, it was way too foggy. So, we toured the gift shop, ate some ice cream (yey for rb floats!) and went on our way. Final Stop: Reptile Gardens. Now, this place is pretty cool. We got there during the alligator show, which was so amazing. It made me nervous that this dude was just walking around with probably thirty alligators all around him. But, it was really cool and his demos were nifty as well! So, after touring all the cool snakes that were molting and birds and lizards and such we headed back to the chevy dealership where Merle had switched trucks and picked up the chevy, leaving me the ford that was just fixed at the ford garage.

We ended up following each other home because of the timing we left. So, we stopped at Country Corner, this little middle of nowhere place on hwy 44. Merle beat me there and called and said to stop and meet up with him- so I walk in the door of this joint and it's jam packed with cowboys! Haha, I was definitly not a local, and it was pretty funny to watch some heads turn at this random girl who entered their turf! But, it was worth the short entertainment, and we headed on home. We used the CB radios most of the way and pretty much held an off and on conversation about who's land we were passing and the weather just to stay awake!

After surviving halfway up nasty (freshly graded?!) Hisle road we come across one of our cattle that is out in the ditch and chase her back in...and fix the fence she jumped. She really challenged me and wanted to run me over that little turd- but I got her beat! Finally we made it home and did chores. Then, headed in and had hamburgers at the other place and I tried to redeem myself in Kings in the Corner- and did not succeed! But, the good news is I watched the news tonight for the first time in like forever- GM and Chrysler? wow!

Anyway, I better head to bed, it sounds like a pretty likely chance of rain tonight yet...maybe we won't get to the buffalo tomorrow either?

Out in this country...

Ok. This one is gunna have to be shorter than normal cuz it's late!

Today was a fun one. I did chores like normal and then helped Merle round some things up so he could go set up the buffalo corals for loading them up tomorrow. He was leaving and wasn't planning to be back until the afternoon. Mom, John, and Ann were planning on meeting me in town around eleven so I stayed back here. Meanwhile, I started scraping and shoveling out the shed floor and cleaning it up in a few spots. Jeff was building a gate, and Tina came later to help me clean. We got almost done when I decided I had better head back and clean up to meet everyone in town. I met the fam around noonish at the fire hall and we went to Cho-Snazz- the nicer restuarant in town- it was tasty...although I think I was the only one hungry! haha-thanks for dinner John! Then, we stopped by the grocery store and headed out to my house. John was able to follow me in the pickup because the road had dried out enough this morning to get a car back on it. Due to our lack of running vehicles, I was driving the old, black chevy pickup and we had some trouble with the doors...it was a sight to see, me pushing and mom pulling! lol, I'm sure the locals got a kick out of it.

Well when we got back here I gave them the tour and we gave Joe some shots that he was due for. Then, we hopped in Toro (my car) and I took them for a drive out to interior and the badlands. There was lots of scenery and it's very pretty all through there. I took a back BIA road, so it was pretty desolate with some open range. On the way up, I realized the Ann really liked the prairie dogs so I took them all the way up to the "Prairie Dog Ranch Store" (the same guy we buy cattle feed from) and she was able to feed the dogs some peanuts- what fun, haha! So, afterwards we made a stop and the visitors center and a few other little ganders here and there and then I took them back to their car at my place. It was lots of fun to see everyone and I am planning to bring the rental car back to Rapid tomorrow and spend the day up there with them. I think I have cultured everyone enough for one day.

After they left I did the horse chores that were left and then helped Merle hook the haybuster up. He invited me up for leftovers again so we ate and played a game of kings in the corner...a very relentless game! We decided to play to 200 (first person to reach it looses) and I sat at 199 points exactly for four or five rounds until I finally lost! We ended up playing like eleven hands...hence the late night! O, it was worth it to have a little fun once and a while. But, I better go to bed or the boss will wonder why the heck I'm so tired in the morning- haha!

Blanket?

Sunday...Sunday...
I woke up later than usual today- about 7:00 and went out the help Merle with chores. I sorta had the day off because of church being at 9:30 this morning and Merle was leaving for Delberts earlier than that. So, I helped feed and headed back in the house for breakfast and got ready for church. Merle brought a pickup down for me to drive because there is too much mud for my car- I probably wouldn't make it to town!

So, I took the black pickup (we don't always get along the best...remember that trip to Gordon?) and headed out for church at my little Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church. The pastor was gone today so the Leigh person did the service. It was nice, with about the same amount of people there as last week. Afterwards I had a chance to talk with some people and it turns out the congregation for today was pretty much one big family! lol There were only three or four other people there! It was nice to meet some people and sing some somewhat familiar hymns...haha! After church I went over to Ross and Marlas (Merle's parents) and had dinner with them. They have been wanting me to come over so I finally did- which was really nice and made them happy:) I ate amazing food there and visited and then headed back home. O, and I had one letter in the mail from the past week, it was one of those survey offers that puts two dollars cash in the envelope- yey for $2! ...I gave it to the church.

When I got back to the ranch I realized that Joe didn't have his blanket on anymore and I was just sure that I had left it on him this moring because it was really cold and wet. I looked all over thinking that Merle took it off and hung it somewhere...nope turns out that after a little four wheeler blanket hunt he just simply dropped in in the middle of their little paddock...that terd! haha, so I took it in and hung it up- if he didn't want it on than so be it! When I got back from sloshing around in the mud I decided that sitting in the house was wayyy too boring so I got a four wheeler out, aired up the bad tire and started cleaning up the shed a little bit. I spent the rest of the day cleaning out the tractor cabs and washing windows. It seemed like something to keep myself busy with that was actually constructive! By the time I was done with the second tractor it was chore time. I did chores with no problem and put Joe's somewhat dry blanket back on a bit later this evening.

The rest of the night I did dishes, ate, and tried to watch "50 first dates" but it took forever because my phone kept ringing! But, that about covers it- it was a nice day to just get a few things done. Sounds like we might move some spayed heifers in the morning and then mom and john and ann are coming up tomorrow. Should be fun to see someone new...well sorta new!

Buffalo Chips

Today was cold and soggy. It never got over 50 degrees. It rained 7/10ths last night! That is super, but it really boggs things up and creates a lot of mud! It just kinda misted and was foggy all day long.

I did my morning chores this morning; Merle came out and helped me finish and then we decided to start putting up panels at the corral down at another place that Merle owns to get ready for the buffalo chase. O, and we turned the bucket calves out on a bigger pasture this morning and they were hillarious running around kicking and such! It was just Merle and I today, Jeff and Tina had the day off and Ross stayed home. I could have had it off but I would much rather run around and help do things than sit in the house all day- that would drive me nuts!

So, we hooked up to our panel trailer and started up the driveway with the old fencing pickup. We got no further than halfway up the hill when we fell down into a slight rut and got stuck. Eventually with lots of horsepower and some seriously locked in hubs we got out without completely jacknifing the trailer. So, we headed on up the road to meet Delbert. While we were waiting for him we kinda took a gander through the pickup and found all sorts of treasures and food- including: snuf, copenhagen, sunflower seeds (new and used), nachos, doritos, wheat thins, sweatshirts, water jugs, and the best of all- a shed antler that had drawings all over it! lol, you could tell that it was the fencing pickup. But, eventually Delbert showed up and ruined the fun, and we went in and set up about sixty panels around the electric fence. Then came the fun part.

We went back to the house and each got on a four wheeler. Then, drove up the road to meet Tyler (Delbert's son) who was bringing a fourth four wheeler. He and his girlfriend Cassie showed up and rode double and we all headed off on a wild buffalo chase. These suckers (Merles' buffalo) have been all over the country and have been chased in tons of times, but they continue to run through every kind of fence that is put up- including electic. ...and yesterday Delbert found them in his wheat so he decided that was it, we were moving them into the corral. There were fifteen of them and one little cute calf. Merle had a deal to sell them and was going to keep them until winter but decided it wasn't worth chasing them around all summer and decided to trade them for partial payment on a new pickup! haha- I think that's awesome and quite hillarious:)

We started in the wheat field, but didn't find them there. After searching for a while we found them in with some of Merle's cows and started in with the chase. If you don't know anything about buffalo (and I would probably fall close in this category having no prior experience with them) they don't drive like cattle do. You can't use a horse because they challenge horses and upset them, so you have to use a four wheeler. They will usually stay in a herd- and that sometimes is a problem because when one does something they all do the exact same thing, and when you start to chase them they just take off- you definitly don't wanna be in the way! We didn't have too much trouble getting them in through all of the gates except the last one- but very very luckily we got them turned around and up into the paneled area. With some time and slight coaxing we managed to get them into the corral eventually and gave them a bale of hay. But, if they wanted they could easily jump the fence so we are really hoping they stay there until we can haul them out on Monday! On the way out I did something pretty funny. I pulled up to a gate, opened it, let Merle and Delbert through and then started to shut it...with my four wheeler on the other side! They laughed and said I was getting way to used to opening and closing gates! Merle made the comment this evening that today..."You went chasing buffalo with three wild Indians!" Lol- o man! It's true!

After our little fun time with the buffalo we headed in for a tasty dinner that Sharla made and Delbert, Tyler, and Cassie headed home afterwards. Merle and I decided to string salt and mineral and pick up troughs. So, we go to pull out the hydra-bed pickup and I notice this nasty wet spot on the shed floor...so we crawl underneath the pickup and sure enough it's leaking antifreeze like a siv. So, now we can't drive that and need to get it to Rapid somehow- and we already have the main ranch truck there right now...so that leaves us with the old old chevy, the fencing pickup that has an entire five miles of fence in the back, or the other ranch pickup that the back window is busted out of. Lol- non of which have the reciever hitch we need for the trailer. So, we resort to getting the truck with the busted window out and used the fire truck to power wash the bed that was full of nasty smelly rotten hydaulic fluid that got caught under the mat. Then, we decided to clean that pickup out too and found lots more treasures. The best of all was a book called "The Vetrainarian's guide for Farmers," it was published in the fifties and really cool. Merle had no idea how it even got there. But, we got the pickup cleaned out and the troughs and empty barrels picked up and hauled in. Then, it was chore time- Katie was picking on a chicken and Joe and Ace would not be chased with a fourwheeler, and the bucket calves are getting really big...the usual chore time stuff. Merle and I chatted for a bit and then I headed in and baked some Jiffy mix muffins (only requires an egg and 1/4 cup milk) - definitly my style. I also managed to fry myself some hamburgers...this is very impressive for me! haha But, I think I'm gunna head to bed and try church somewhere tomorrow!

Run to Rapid>>>

Today was a little different than most- When I went out to do chores this morning it seemed like something was a little off. The calves were bellaring at me and still turned out from the night before and the steers were acting the same way. I just figured it must be a full moon and kept on with my chores until Merle pulled up in his fire truck- and it began to click. Usually he starts chores at 4:30 in the morning and I finish them at 6:30. But last night (well really this morning) there was a fire call and he was out fighting fire in Wanblee all night long. When he pulled up at 6:45 he was just getting home. So, everybody was hungry because they hadn't been fed yet! Poor little guys...but it was time for me to get going to Rapid so Tina and Jeff finished chores when they showed up and I headed off with the Pickup to get it serviced at the Ford dealership in Rapid.

I took highway 44, which was pretty nice until I hit the construction, but I got through the whole pilot car deal alright and made it to town. I had a few place to stop, and wasn't completely positive where any of them were, so I was relying on the sorta kinda land mark directions I was given and my slight familiarity with Rapid. I stopped at the Ford dealership first to drop off the pickup and realized that we never cleaned out the box so I left about half of a fenceline in the back! Oh well, from there they had the rental car guy pick me up and he got me all signed up for a car. So, I headed out and didn't have too much of a problem finding the boot shop Merle had me stop at or the implement where I picked up parts. I spent the rest of the time at Wal-mart, the post office, and Borders Booksellers. It was kinda nice just to hang out. But, aroung 2:00 Merle called and said that Ford had called him and decided that they would need until Monday or Tuesday to finish the pickup. So, I figured I better head back home for chores. I was going to try to meet my friend Collin when he got off work in Custer at two, but that was right about the time that I was going to head home. So, sadly we are going to have to hang out another time:( But, I made it back here with little trouble except having a rock from the constuction I drove through hit the rental car's windshield and make a really small chip...I'm banking on them not noticing! ...we'll see... By the time I got back here I unpacked and put the car in the shed (just in case it would storm- on second thought maybe I should have left it out so we could get some rain)! I did evening chores and then decided to go for a short ride on Joe. I had trouble getting his eazy boots on so we just went in a bridle and bareback and walked around the paddock- this way Ace could come too and the separation anxiety wouldn't be so traumatic! But, it didn't last long because we got sprinkled out! Between the time I brought things into the milkhouse and locked all the gates up, Joe managed to roll in his favorite straw and get manure all over him...gross. I'm just gunna let the rain wash it off this time. Later on Merle stopped in and said that he almost called and brought me with to the fire last night- that would have been cool. I told him to definity do so next time! But, that's about all I've got, I'm gunna shower and go to bed. I have no idea what tomorrow holds:)

Cowboys that Farm

Today started out similar to most. I rounded everyone up for breakfast and fed them all their grain. It took me a little longer than usual because Ross wasn't in today, but I got it done- including putting the steer that escaped back in the corral...

So, the first thing we did was work the 26 calves that we grain every morning- I fly tagged again. We didn't have much trouble working them and had them out and loaded in trailers by 8:00. We brought them over to their next pasture and let them find the water while we picked up some old empty lick tubs. By the time we were done, we decided to let them out into their pasture- this is pretty cool cuz it's one less chore to do in the morning :) When we made it back to the ranch and unhooked the trailer Mike was here ready to pick up Merle's semi trailer and haul it to town with his semi tractor (Merle doesn't have one). So we worked on the tires and brakes quite a while until we finally got them all to break loose. We had already cleaned it out earlier, so we aired everything up the best we could and then sent Mike to town to bring it in and have the tires fixed/replaced. Later on Merle will bring the trailer up to the Crystalix Plant and a relative of his fills it with the reject lick tubs- lucky! By this time it was time to come in for dinner. After we ate, Merle and Jeff went to town to help put Merle's parents new garden shed down on it's foundation. He sent Tina and I out to check wells and string some salt in a few places. By the time we were done doing that and made it to town they had the job done and the shed already set down...haha yey for being fashionably late! Afterwards I dropped Tina off at her car in town and I took the truck home and started chores. But, before I got too far Merle showed up and asked if I could go out and give him a ride to the tractor so he could do some disking. So we headed out that way and I dropped him off and came back to finish chores. Once I had them done I went back out his way and did some disking. During this time there was a fire in town and they wanted Merle to come in but we were so far out there is no way he would have made it! Sounds like they got it contorolled anyway. So by the time we were about half done Bill (the neighbor who sprays for Merle) called and needed to get his two cars home. So after playing musical pickups we got him back here and then went back to get my truck out in the field. That...eventually puts me here. O, and I almost forgot, Merle showed me the inside of this little garden looking shed by his house tonight...the thing is stacked from the floor about four or five feet hight with horns of all types and there are mounts all over the walls! Haha, I made fun of him cuz he hides them- seriously it was ridiculous.

So I think that makes a day. Tomorrow I might get to go to Rapid and get the pickup serviced. We'll see!

Rough Start...

Today was pretty much cold and rainy...except the rain never really amounted to anything! grrr...but it looks like rain later this week, although I'm not going to hold my breath.

We started off the morning a littel rough today...we were saddled up and ready to haul the chute, horses, and four wheelers over to the site where we were going to work the rest of the steers today when Merle realized we were short on pour on. He knew we had some left yesterday and couldn't find it. So, a couple of us are looking all over the milkhouse while Merle goes out and finds it, as well as a tagger that only had a bad spring in the trash! Yeah- I didn't put it there, that's all I'll say on that one! He was not happy. But, shortly after that I found out that I did mess up! Last night after I fed the first round of bucket calves I locked them in a small pen until the next round was done like we always do- except this time I forgot to let them out! The worst part was I went out later after dark to check on everything and since the barn was quiet I didn't walk all the way in. So, those four little calves weren't feeling too good this morning :( I felt terrible, but I'm sure they'll be fine.

So we got over and rounded up steers with no a whole lot of trouble. Today we ran 70 through- yesterday I said we ran about 80 (or so I thought)- just kiddding it was actually 200! All together we did 270. I fly tagged today, oh what fun. The whole time we were running them through it was spitting wet stuff from the sky, making it a little uncomfortable and wet and a bit hard to pour! But, we got it done and moved them out (I rode Tanner today:). By the time we loaded everything back up it was time to head home for dinner. O, and we saw the buffalo (well half of them) on our way out running around outside of their pasture again. I don't think they will ever respect a fence, dumb things.

So I got dinner warm again while they unloaded. This works out pretty good so that by the time we all get in it's ready to eat and we can head out when we're done. Well, we ate, and it was still nasty out so Merle pretty much gave us all the afternoon off. I helped him move the calves around but a had a few hours to myself which was nice for getting ahold of people and getting some odds and ends done around the house. I took a short nap before chores and then started in again. By the time I had everything cleaned out from this morning and we got evening chores done it was about six. I came it and talked on the phone for a while and then headed up the Merle's house for some leftovers (he offered and I was getting sick of looking at these walls). So we ate and played a few games of concentration. We tried best of three but we tied on the third so we played again and he beat me! Dang...lol it was fun to just sit around and talk since it's always quiet around here after work at night. But, I suppose I should probably head in, sounds like tomorrow all depends upon the weather!

Steers and Salt

Another day on the Ranch...
After finishing morning chores some of us saddled up and the others drove four wheelers and headed out to round up steers this morning. McKayla, a girl I had met at Merle's branding came up and helped, so it was nice to see a halfway familiar, new face! Anyway, we rounded up the steers just fine and brought them into the corral to work. This took the entire morning and then some. I vaccinated intermuscular, and everyone else had a job or two. We got all 80 or so of them done thanks to lots of help and an amazing hydraulic chute...so jealous! After we finished with them we drove them several miles (it took about two hours) to their summer pasture. They were pretty darn happy to see fresh grass, and we were pretty happy to see them go there so we didn't have to cake them every morning anymore. O, and when we moved them in we found one of our missing cows and a calf from yesterday! haha

We came back in for dinner, and then headed out to do some odds and ends. Tina and Jeff went one direction, while Merle and I loaded up the cow and calf pair. Glen went to town to get a flat tire fixed and Ross eventually went home too. After we loaded up the pair Merle said he would haul them to pasture if I could go into town and get salt. So, I filled up the hydrobed pickup with fuel and went to the Martin GE store to get a pallot of salt and 20 cobalt salt blocks (that's a whole lot of salt). When I got back home with them, no one was around because Merle had some trouble with a well...so I had the pleasure of unloading a lot of it by myself until Tina and Jeff showed up and helped me finish off the pallot of salt bags...and apparently I am no artist with stacking bags- oops. By then it was chore time, and I took care of that. Merle came and helped me finish them up. He had a meeting in town tonight so I dinked around with Joe and Ace for a while and came in and made myself grilled cheese- yum! I managed to stay busy the rest of the evening with things around the house. I really hope it rains...haven't hardly seen a decent rain since I left home- and it's not raining there either!

Dan the Man

Most of today was spent on horseback, and as the title implies- I rode Dan, the three year old.

We got chores done fairly early this morning and saddled up right away. The whole crew was in today, including Glen (six all together) and we were going to move cattle out to summer pastures. We started with some cow calf pairs. We sorted them out then drove them a few miles, then paired them off when we got there. This whole process takes quite a bit of time, but we got it done and were only four cows and one calf short (which is pretty good for this country). By this time it was about eleven and the plan was to go and brand the few bottle calves we have. So, Merle asked me if I could go start dinner while they did that...lol, me, dinner? But, I managed not to screw anything up too bad, most of it was just microwaving! Most days, we come in and Merle has to cook while we sit there an wait, this way it was ready and we could eat and go.

After dinner, we saddled back up and loaded up and moved out to another pasture of pairs. This time we split up and I ended up alone trying to clear out a corner, making sure there weren't any calves hiding. This was one of the first times I was riding alone and felt like I sorta knew where I was going and what I was doing- pretty cool! During this time Dan and I had a few wars- like we sometimes do, but I win most of them, and he eventually gives up. He's grey, and real cute and gentle, but sometimes has a mind of his own when it comes to neck reining!

So we got that set moved and paired off and were only one calf too many...so we either lost a cow or picked up someone elses calf- who knows! Then, we loaded back up and headed to a few dry cows and moved them, and then loaded up another time and moved some late calvers in to brand. By the time I ran and got some extra vaccines for branding they were about done and it was time to do chores. Tina helped me, and we got them done pretty fast. After chores she invited me to eat supper with her in Martin. So, we went to the "H" (the local bar) and had a burger- it was kinda nice to just hang out like that, haven't done that since I got here. But, it was short and sweet. She headed home and I went to the grocery store and post office and headed back to the ranch. I sat on the hill a while and chatted on my cell phone, then did a few more chores and that puts me here.

It's sprinkling and looks like rain~pray for rain!!! ..here and at home!