Errands

Another day in the land of State.

Ellie and I got up this morning and headed to the bookstore to buy her some good ol' text books. Afterward we stopped by the "free stuff fair" as I like to call it, and grabbed some coupon books and learned about Jesus from like every campus Christian group. Then, we headed back home and Ellie kept unpacking while I met my friend Megan and we went and talked to our boss at the plant science lab to see if we could get some hours this semester.

We were successful in talking him into hiring us at decent wages for about 13 hrs a week. So, I'll be keeping pretty busy- but money is a good thing when you're in college! So, I made her run me to the campus post office, which turned out to be like a ten minute ordeal just to get there because there is construction every place you turn around here! When, we finally got there and found an illegal parking spot I found out the dumb place wasn't open yet anyway...annoying.

She dropped me back off at my apt and I ran to my car to head to work at Hansen Hall. The stream of people checking in and having various questions was just constant for all three hours of my shift. There were two of us working but it still took forever to eat our lunch. I got done there and went back to running a few errands. Later on, Mom and Grandma and Grandpa stopped up with Virginia. They had decided to come up for the afternoon to see us and get some ice cream. So, we ate at the dairy bar (always good) and drove around Brookings for various things. They helped me with a few things like taking me to the post office and the place I need to go to turn in my rent. We also stopped at a bakery and at Mcrory gardens- they are really pretty this time of year:)

But, they eventually came over to my apartment and checked it out and dropped a few things off, then headed out. It was fun to see everyone and take a little break for the afternoon. I didn't have much time at home before I had to head back to campus for my 6pm class. It is focused on a trip I am taking with a group of 20 or so people to argentina over Christmas break- I think it'll be fun. Tonight we jsut went over the syllibus and due dates. I came home after class with a friend and chatted with her and Ellie a bit. Then, Megan and I ran to Taco Johns and grabbed a healthy supper...we came back and shortly after Cody was here! He had stopped in earlier and dropped his stuff off but had been at walmart for like an eternity. So, since then I have been working with my roomates and putting the kitchen together. We got that job done, and then I helped Cody with his room. Now, I'm waiting for my laundry and heading to bed! It's been another long day but I got a lot done. Tomorrow will be a full day of classes and work. Better head to bed!

Band Camp done!

Ok, just another day in academia.

So, it was a long day- imagine that. I worked on checking in people and making these obnoxious little sweater cut outs for name tags this morning. That went of from 7:30 until 12:15. O, get this, a bunch of us workers went out to the dumpsters and broke down boxes because people are lazy and don't read signs and think ahead. So, we're dumpster diving in the boxes and run across two dorm room mattresses. Yes, that's right, mattresses. Someone was dumb enough to throw away their mattress and think no one would notice... I think that's one of the dumbest freshman moves I have heard of yet.

But, anyway, I worked there and then ran to luch with some friends and went straight to band afterward. I spent my afternoon there from 1-5... o how fun, but today we did actually learn a chart (semi productive).

After eating band pizza I took off to Hansen to make sure they didn't still need me to work- and they didn't so I walked back across the street to talk with some people at the white for a minute. Here they were, all wading in the back of two pickups that they had filled with water... redneck swimming pool. Apparently they were slip and sliding all afternoon and had fun. Although, I also heard that they steaked out the slip and slide with steak knives...o how smart. But, as I was sitting there someone just hardly ticked the tailgate of one of them and it opened spilling water and beer all over the street hillarious! But, I killed a few minutes there so that I could get in to check out my band uniform at six.

I got the uniform checked out and payed up and then headed home. My roomate Ellie was already here and moving stuff in! Yey, another inhabitant:) She is still moving things around and trying to get settled, but Cody won't even be here until tomorrow.

As soon as I got back here I realized I left my phone over at the whites, so I went back with Lauren (my friend who lives next door) and found my phone. While we were there we wandered around and scouted out who we knew and where they lived~! That was cool, but eventually we came back home and Ellie and I worked on the apt a bit. I had to go find some girl and give her a ride tonight- Ellie came with- nothing like breaking her into SDSU! oops...but hey I figure it's better I go get some girl (even if I don't know her) than have them driving around.

Now, I am going to bed. Only classes that start after four are tomorrow, but I have one from 6-8 so I guess I will work and go to class. Otherwise, I'm sure the day will fill up with errands.

It sounds like Merle helped Delbert again yesterday and I'm not sure that I even got to ask him about today because he drove up on a rattle snake when I was talking to him! haha- gotta love it. But, I'm headed to bed!

The Whites

ok...this is gunna be short and sweet.

I woke up late this morning...all of my alarms had/were going off and I heard none of them apparently. So I threw myself together and went to marching band. We had camp all morning and afternoon. It was ok...kinda different from years past and a little monotonous for someone who has been in band several times before...but none the less probably a good thing.

I slipped away over the lunch break to drop off a friends keys that she forgot in my car and take a shower- I was desperatly wanting one! Then, went back to band. Band was done around 4:45ish so I went straight to Hansen to help out. I did that as well as met people and helped some friends move in. Then, came back to the desk and worked from 8 to 11. When I got off work I walked across the street to the lawn of an apt comple called the whites to catch up with some friends. As I was standing there on the sidewalk talking to him, the cops pulled up and he didn't step on the grass soon enough. They got him for open container because he wasn't on private property. They didn't even look at me because I didn't have a beer in my hand and never drink anyway- I would have been more entertained if they would have...nothing like stumping a UPD cop. Then, while this kid was in the cop car getting his violation or ticket or whatever you wanna call it, this other idiot walked up the sidewalk carrying and open beer and cranks the radio! Apparently he was wearing beer goggles and didn't see the cops. So, they grabbed him but he managed to talk himself out of it. He told us that the cop asked him to pour it out and he thought that was alcohol abuse...the cop told him the only abuse he could see was that it was a bud light. Seriously...what a college town.

So, the last twenty minutes were interesting- I stopped on the front lawn of some apartments to say hi and the cops came- they must be after me. That's not typically my venue, but I guess I picked an eventful evening.

But, that's about it. I don't wanna wake up late again!

O SDSU

Another work/school day.

I started the morning spending about $400 on books. I met with Lauren, my friend that lives right next door, and we headed out to the bookstore when it opened at 8am. I was glad we went so early because by tomorrow that place is going to be swamped and out of books. 400 isn' awful, but still burns a nice sized hole in the pocket book. Afterward I stopped over at another friends apt and rummaged through her stuff to find some books she had that I could buy from her too (she wasn't home and told me to go through her room :s)! So, that cuts down on cost a little too.

Otherwise I went straight to Hansen and started back on my Mr. Rogers poster...it took two hours! Ah! But, when I was done it looked pretty cool. I also had to make one for the back, but I was tired and that one doesn't stay up long so I made a huge orange trolly...yep, that's right- orange. It will be funny to see what people think it is...lol.

We worked well into the afternoon before we had to stop and wait for the new and updated resident list from the main office before we could do anymore. So...I went and ran a ton of errands on campus- how fun. I got most of them done and made it back to keep on working on hall stuff until about 4:30. I ran down picked up my piccolo for marching band before they closed up shop at five.

Then, I had an hour to kill before the band meeting/ supper, so I helped Jennifer carry her fridge upstairs and went rummaging for a bike. I didn't find a bike or a couch for that matter, but I did find this cute little dish thing for three dollars and after I walked up to the lady I realized that I had no money...even looked in my car. I was completely out of checkblanks and had no cash. So, I had to borrow money from a friend and go back- haha who does that for 3 dollar dish! During that time I also ran over to see if my boss from the plant science lab was around so that I could try and get that job back, but he wasn't in- imagine that.

I went to the band meeting at 6 and boy was that as boring as ever. But, there was pizza afterward and way too much left over so I ended up back home with an entire pizza! Cool, food for a couple days:) haha.

I spent the night chatting with Lauren, running to walmart and working on paperwork and whatnot for school- I don't think it will ever ever end.

But, it's time to think about sleep a little earlier tonight!

Internet!

I finally got internet off of my neighbors!

Haha, here I am at school- sorta kinda moved in. We got up here Tuesday and my stuff kinda sat around in my apt for an entire day before I had a chance to work on unpacking it. Yesterday got kinda crazy because I came here and started unpacking for an hour or so, then headed down to Renner to meet with Merle and Nicole at Heinemann Fire Truck Manufacturers.

Nicole's friend Brian gave us a tour (he works there) and it was pretty darn cool. Not to mention, I got to meet Nicole and spend a couple hours with everybody. We took a tour and then went to Applebees for dinner. But, all good things usually come to an end. We ate, and went back to drop Brian off and went our separate ways:( Sad day. But, life never quits it seems.

I headed to the barn to visit Joe and Ace- they were doing quite well, and Joe's leg was going down. We decided that the skin condition he had on a part of his leg probably caused the swelling- so we scrubbed it down with some iodine and hopefully it gets better. I gave Ace a couple vaccinations- wouldn't wanna catch those east river bugs! lol

After that visit I went home and spent a couple hours looking for a water leak that we can't find on the farm...left the water on- it'll fester up eventually. We are losing about a gallon and a half a minute...not good- but it could be worse. Afterward I ran back down to Sioux Falls and Mom and I loaded up my desk to go to Brookings. I headed back up here and she came shortly after me. We spent a couple hours on my room and got quite a bit done- enough to walk through the room and sleep here anyway.

It sounded like Merle got back home around 6:30 to the neighbors cattle in his winter pasture...how nice. Sounds like Ross was farming and nothing too exciting happened while he was gone.

It was interesting to wake up to a different room today-not really bad, just different. I had training for my job as an office assistan at the front desk of Hansen Hall all day long. They fed us two free SDSU meals...what a nice way to break us in- you can't forget about the lovely food here:s Someone who obviously has no idea that Hansen in the AG HALL decided to have this semesters theme be Mr. Rogers! If you don't know who that is google it- or perhaps just imagine a man in a sweater vest with puppets. Now don't get me wrong, I thought that Mr. Rogers was the most amazing thing ever (cuz it pretty much is) but not for the theme of a college dorm full of cowboys. So... I spent a good part of my afternoon painting King Friday's Castle on a huge sheet of paper for the "Welcome to Hansen Hall" sign...wow. I'm still not done and get to look forward to working on it tomorrow! lol ...oh well, it's sorta entertaining. At the end of our training day we went to a fire safety class and I felt smart! haha, I guess I must have learned something in the S130/190 classes. Afterward, they had a propane bath that they would light and made everyone put it out with a fire extinguisher...oooo aaaahhhh. Then, I came back to theh apartment and have since got most of my room ready to go. It's pretty small and cozy but oh well, it'll work. I met some of my neighbors and have already decided to share internet with them- awesome cuz it creates cheap bills and I have internet now! Sounds like they are pretty nice guys, so we might get along good with some neighbors- that would be cool.

Last I heard, Merle went over and helped Adrianne load out eight semi's this morning...wow. Not sure what's gone on since then:(

But, I need to hit the sack- more training and stuff to do tomorrow! I miss the ranch!

Last moments on the ranch :(

Well, this is it- my last ranch blog for the summer. I believe I will try to keep my blog up, but it won't be as detailed, and of course- won't have a whole lot of ranch info:( Sad day, but I'll do what I can!

My last day of work was a long one. We did chores as usual, and there wasn't a whole lot out of the ordinary going on. It was going to be a day to go to the hay field, but before we had to do the morning stuff. We help Ross get headed out with the chisel (the summer fallow really needed dug up again), bagged oats, moved vehicles around, got Ross's pickup out to him... and the rest of things that make you dink around and not get to where your going on time.

Before we even go to the field we came across some cow tracks and then a down wire..and then a cow. It looked like quite a few had been out there at the east corner of chief bears but she was the only one around in the hay millet. So, we played chase the cow with the pickup until we got her to run back through the fence- of course not at the same place that it was already down in the first place. We fixed both spots and decided that a pack of dogs probably ran the cows through that corner spot...nice. Apparently there are enough dogs around that aren't fed (not too hard to believe) that they pack up and do stuff like that once in a while. By the time we made it to the field and greased up, fueled up, and blew all the air filters clean it was like 10 or 10:30...but hey we got there.

We hayed until about 1:00 when we noticed Glen's cows had broke through the fence by the well and were out on the alfalfa we baled a day earlier. So, we quit and chased them back in. They had broken a post to get to the bales and we didn't have anything to fix it with, so Merle called the sale barn and they got ahold of Glen. He came out later and when we saw him we went down and helped put the post in and the fence back up. It was actually kinda nice because I got to see him before I left! So after we got all the girls back where they belong (at least temporarily) we hayed until about four when we finally finished up that field. We got about a bale an acre- for second cutting I think we did pretty good.

So, we went back to that windmill that Merle took apart the other day and put it back together. This time he had his little saftey belt so I didn't feel so bad about standing and watching him as the windmill whooshed around:s He managed to get it put back together on top, and then I lifted the darn thing so we could get it all hooked back up to the dumb and Voia La! After a few minutes of putting stuff away it worked. :) So we took off for home and did the evening chores. Here I am, on the last day on the ranch and my horse shows up with a swollen leg. I have no idea what he did or what stung/ poked him- but it was swollen. He didn't act lame at all, so I just put some DMSO on it and gave him some butte...who knows! Well, those two ate and I chatted with Ross for a bit and then went in to change clothes so that I could bring Merle into town to get the new pickup that we left in town the day before (forgot to mention that) to get a different trailer plug put in before we took off east river.

We got to town and sat down at the restuarant to have some supper- sometime during all of our conversing and chatting Ross and I had a minsunderstanding and he thought that Merle and I were coming for supper and I thought we weren't...so needless to say when Ross called looking for us things didn't go so well. But, I took the blame for it because I probably said the wrong thing and messed stuff up, I lost my appetite and felt awful, but that's how life goes.

By the time we got home I was soo shot- I definitly needed to pack, but instead I just went to bed and got up earlier this morning and ate and packed first thing. Merle did chores and got the pickup ready and all the other stuff while I packed and cleaned up the house. By the time we got it all loaded in the trailer and backed down in the yard we were already behind schedule...lol imagine that, I couldn't get out of there on time. We ended up loading up two horses. I got to thinking about how good of a babysitter Ace is for Joe, and how Merle was going to have to bring
Ace back out to pasture with the mares and thought maybe he could be put to good use. So, we decided it wouldn't be a half bad idea and loaded them up. lol- only I would last minute take someone's horse like that- but I think it'll be great cuz he'll get used and I'll have a babysitter and a work horse if I need one! - o good times, that was really nice of Merle.

So, we loaded up the ponies and got out of there around 9:30 (the new 8:00)! We stopped in Kadoka for fuel, Chamberlain for lunch, and Humboldt for fuel again. Otherwise it was a pretty smooth, quick trip. We had the two way portable radios so between that and the phone it went pretty fast. We made it back to the horse barn around 4 and stayed ther for about an hour and half visiting and having a tasty root beer float. The boys seemed to like the new pad; Joe still had his swollen leg, but we'll see what it looks like tomorrow. After finally getting unloaded and we finished visiting- which I might add was hillarious because Merle was like this shiny new toy or something- they (all the show horse girls) were all so facinated with a REAL cowboy- it was cute, not to mention that Courtney (Jayne's daughter) decided that she was absolutely in love with him because he had lots of horses. He sooo didn't know what he got himself into walking in there.

After we got out of there we stopped by my aunts and brought back some furniture of her's that I stole and then stopped by my place to show Merle around. I got to see the house for the first time after it was painted- I think it looks pretty good-- lots better than before anway! After those couple stops we finally headed up to Brookings. There were quite a few people that came over and helped unload so it didn't take long at all- that was really nice. I was able to unload and get Merle on his way before it go too late for him to find Nicole's place by Marion. All in all, it wasn't a bad day- move in went well and we got everyone and everything here pretty safe and sound. I am staying on a friends extra dorm bed tonight becuase I don't have anything set up in the apt yet and half the light arent' working...dont' know what the deal is there. So, I am pretty shot and I'm sure Merle is too. I think Ross farmed today on the ranch...that's the best ranch news I have.

I couldn't have asked for a better summer, a better place to work, or better people to work with. I loved all the parts of my job- even the things I didn't seem to want to do on certain days becuase in the long run the learning experience was worth it. I learned so much, and had the opportunity to do so many things I may have never ever done. It's normally hard to walk into a small community like that and try to fit in-but I was welcomed with open arms into the community and into a whole second family. I made life long friends and connections in just three short months! I think I will have a hard time staying away from a place I enjoy so much- and will miss it terribly. I could go on and on, but long story short- I loved it!

I hope that my blog was somewhat interesting or at least entertaining. I still plan to post some more cattle photos and sturgis pictures when I get my own internet and computer running this week. I will keep this up as often as I can- maybe daily yet- guess we'll see.

Thanks for Reading! :)

Semi Productive...

Sunday...was one of those days when I got something done but I know I could've done more... yeah.

So, I got up and did chores and then headed back in to get ready for church. While I was at church, Merle strung salt and mineral in the big unit for the black cows. When I got home I went straight to packing...not fun. Not only do I hate packing, but don't want to leave and go to school:( But, that's the way it is- so I packed until dinner time, ate, took a nap (absolutely ridiculous and uneccesary but I did it anyway) then, went back and packed for another hour or two. Merle was actually getting things done during this time, stringing salt, poisoning prairie dogs and working on a windmill...as for me- didn't get too much accomplished.

I did evening chores and ate supper and called it a day. I did get quite a bit packed, but will have plenty to do tonight yet:( It seems as thought things just don't go back in the boxes the same way they fit when I brought them here.

Today will be my last day on the ranch for the summer! I better make it a good one- I'm headed to the hay field!

Hay Again

OK- Saturday.

Friday night was a short one. We got back from the races really late, then at about 2:30 (right after I fell asleep) the pager went off three times. The last time was for the fire department. Pine Ridge needed assistance on hwy 18 north of Martin for a car wreck. Apparently the car was upside down in a 100ft drop off. They had found four of the people but one was still missing...found out later the guy was drunk and walking down the road. We decided not to go because we were both running on less than an hour of sleep and it was a loong ways away. Besides, I can't say that I know how to repel. So, anyway the pager went off and then my phone rang around 5. It was just plain impossible to get sleep but life goes on.

A hay day. We did chores and went straight out to the hay field if I remember right. We finished up the rest of one field and did all that we could on another. It was a hard decision because the leaves were just getting dry enough that we couldn't wait any longer, but the hay was still green. We ended up baling all of it- but probably shouldn't have- that was just the time when it would work, so that's how it goes I guess. Ross windrowed the whole time that we put up the old hay. We finished that and before we headed for home we stopped at a windmill that needed work. So there I was watching Merle climb this windmill in like 20mph wind...not so fun. Convieniently, the wind was blowing just right so that the hole where your head comes out to climb on top the the windmill wings right above it. That made getting down quite the task- but he made it. Ever felt completely helpless watching something...yep that was my job, watch and catch if fallen~lol don't think that would work out too well. But he got it taken apart and got down, we also successfully got windmill grease on everything...then went home.

The Pow Wow is going on down by bear creek and Merle was invited to the meal but we were both so shot that it was a no go. After dinking around here for a while, we did chores and that about did it for the day.

PIckin' up the Pickup

Today was a little bit of a change of pace. We did chores, and by that time Merle had decided that he wanted to go and get his new pickup (the one that I mentioned was ordered a month or so ago) in Belle Fourche. So... I had to run out to the hay field by Hisle Dam to get fuel to Ross, and run home and change and we headed out. It took us the full three hours to get there, and we stopped to eat on the way too- so that added some time. When we got up to the dealership, the deal was we wanted to get out of there asap so that we could get the pickup down to Blake's Trailer Repair and have them put the ball in it right away before they closed. So, we pull in and Merle asks if there is any way that the pickup could be taken right away while he filled out the paper work and the guys says: yeah, no problem. He moves is out into the parking lot and hands me the keys! Seriously...I hopped into a brand new (9 miles on it) 2010, red, four door F350- sweet! I drove it all the way back to Rapid with and through town to Blake's Trailer Sales- I cannot tell you how white my kuckles were driving that brand new pickup through Rapid, but it wasn't any worse for the wear! I got there and they started putting in the ball right away. After he had finished the paperwork and made some other quick stops, Merle showed up. It didn't take them long after that and it was ready to go~pretty cool. So, he let's me continue to drive it out of town to a shed where we parked it for the rest of the night until we left town.

I hopped in the other pickup and we headed back in. It was the first day of the Central States Fair today, so we stopped by there to kill an hour or so before the races (the big planned event of the week). The fair was pretty nice because there weren't many people around yet, but on the downside I don't think that all the vendors were neccesarily in full swing- but, non the less it was cool. After about an hour or so there we stopped at the Valley Sports Bar and Grill and ate a pretty tasty supper, then headed over to the race track. We met Harv and Carol there and found some pretty good seats in the grandstands. Since I love the races, and I haven't been to one in over two- maybe three years- I had a lot of fun! There were some pretty good races, and lots of close calls and burnouts. No one got hurt, well except some person in the stands that they called an emt for - no idea what was going on there. But, otherwise they were pretty clean fun, and I had great company, so that was fun too!

But, the races got done about 10:45ish and we started back for the new pickup that we left at a friends shed on the way home. I hopped back in it, and we followed each other back. Merle said he talked on the phone to Harv most of the way (no wonder I couldn't get ahold of him- lol), rather than talking on the phone I ate like 1,000 sunflower seeds, cranked the ac so I was freezing, and blared the radio. It worked- but results in a numb mouth, freezing body, and more hearing damage to already sore ears! haha, what a mess. But, we made it the two hours home with no problems, and I am sure glad because there isn't a grill guard or anything on that pickup yet. In fact, I got to thinking about how much work a new vehicle really is around here- just because we got it from the dealership and it runs doesn't mean it's ready. It still needs a bed liner, already got the ball; it'll maybe need mud flaps, new tires, a radio, running boards, and new bumpers/guards. Yeah...it's definitly not ranch proof yet, but it's good enough for what we needed it for.

The reason we went up in such a hurry like today is becasue the Ford garage doesn't think they will have Merle's pickup ready to bring me home on Tuesday, and he wanted to pick this four door up while he still had someone around to drive it back- so it'll work out good. As far as the pikcup itself goes: it runs like a top, the cab is so quiet you wouldn't even know it was a diesel, and it shifts so amazingly smooth- lots of fun to drive, but a little nerve racking. Now, I can say I put the first 120 miles on that thing before Merle even drove it! lol- cannot believe he trusted me to take that thing!

But, I think it's my bedtime, a busy day- not too difficult, but there was a lot of running. Not sure what tomorrow may bring- guess we'll see:) It was a fun day and a great time at the races!

Hay Day

Today was pretty cut and dry...literally and figuratively!

We did chores as usual and then moved out to the hay field. We were in some pretty wet and thin spots, so Ross came out and dump raked while I used the V rake and Merle baled. The hay was dry and cured for the most part but it was hard to do because we were really tearing up the field. But, what can you do? If you want the hay I guess you just deal with making the field rough (next year someone is going to hate me for that). We cleared that field off pretty quick, then picked everything up and moved south of the Hisle Dam pasture in that big hay field. We spent the rest of the day there and managed to get everything up that was ready to be baled without any trouble. Ross windrowed the whole time and went back after we were done too. I'm sure he has quite a bit down now too. This second cutting hay isn't too bad- we've been getting about a bale an acre, which isn't a whole lot, but the hay is good quality and thicker in some spots. After all, not everyone can be as cool as us east river people and cut three or four times!

There was cell reception in that field so I definitly got some phone calls made and stuff...kinda nice. Anyway, we got out of there at about four and headed back home. We did chores a little early because there was a picnic we were invited to through the fire department at the LaCreek Refuge. It's a national wildlife refuge just a few miles south of Martin. I hadn't been there yet, but it was worth the wait. Since it was a picnic, we spent most of the time mingling with people and stuff..this was nice, good food, good company. I'm even getting so that I know people when we go places-that's really nice, and a lot of fun. I was able to meet a few people there too last night. After we ate we went out and climbed the lookout tour there. It stands about 115ft tall with 132 steps (I counted so who knows if that's accurate). It is one of like 5 or 6 left standing in the nation. They used to use them as lookout tours for fires and different things, but now it's just for tourism. This one was just rebuilt a year or so ago, so it's really nice to climb and see. I need to post the pictures I took as well as my Sturgis ones very very soon. I swear I'll get it done when I have an hour to do it! :) But anyway, the tour was cool- it's the same kind of one that is only partially left on Eagles Nest Butte that I was talking about- in fact we found out last night that they may have moved the top half of that tour to Porcupine Butte- interesting.

But, it started to get dark so we headed home. That pretty much concludes the day, it sounds like we're going to string some salt and mineral this morning because there isn't any hay cured at the moment. I better head out- late for chores!

Steer Sale

A big day on the ranch.

Today started off with 5:30 chores. I was going to start earlier but it was so dark out that it seemed pointless. But, it worked out. I was a little worried this morning because Ace showed up for breakfast and Joe didn't. That's not normal at all. Well, come to find out Joe must have fallen asleep and Ace just walked off. Because about the time Merle went out with the four wheeler, Joe comes trotting up to the corrals...it was kinda cute- and quite a relief! Well, anyway, we got chores done by six and went to saddle up the horses. By the time we had that done, most everyone had shown up. Mike, Delbert, Glen, Ross, Adrianne (a friend from south of town), and Mikayla. We had a pretty good crew. We all loaded up and headed towards the south end of the pasture- because of course they couldn't have been up by the house like they have been every other morning.

Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, Heather (a girl who wanted to come out and ride Ace, because he used to be her families horse) pulls in. We had her follow us and when we got there she just rode Dan (who Merle saddled up). Merle had to go back and coax the steers in with cake anyway, so that worked out pretty good.

We didn't have much trouble at all getting them down to the corral, but when we got there three turned back. And those three were a pain, let me tell you. After chasing them too long, one took off towards the trailer house- Delbert went after him and got him back. We were chasing the other two through some thick trees and brush but eventually got them turned around. We got one back in, but this little fart that was left started jumping fences, after quite some time Mike and Delbert finally got him choked down and led him back to the corral.

We loaded out five trucks (about 270 head), with relatively no problems. There was one steer hip locked in the bale feeder, but by the time I got ahold of some chains he had already found his way out. We got them all loaded up and ran around putting things away and cleaning up. By that time it was time to get going to the sale barn. I was going to just stay here and farm and rake hay, but it looked like rain, so I rode along. It would have been smart to stay and pack, but who does that? lol

We made it to Rushville by about noon, and ate dinner with Brandi. It was her first day of teaching Kindergarten for the school year...o boy, the girl has patience! haha, I couldn't do it I don't think. But, we ate, then watched the sale- and you'll never guess who drove down. We walked in and there sat Glen and Ross. I sat right between them just to make sure they behaved! haha I think Merle was happy with how it went. They looked really good in the ring and there were lots of order buyers there. The markets are down a little right now, but it still went pretty fair.

So we stayed and watched for a little while and then headed to our next stop, Chadron. Merle needed to stop a couple places and we needed to drop a four wheeler off that has a locked up brake. We got that done and flew back towards Gordon to pick up a load of corn. We just barely made that right before they closed. Then, stopped in Martin for groceries and mail, and finally headed back home. By then it was chore time, then supper, then bedtime. I think everyone was shot after a pretty full morning. We got a two tenths of rain I think- so not much, but enough to keep the dust down. It was really a perfect morning for loading out cattle, not too hot or too cold and no rain or terrible mud! But I'm late- better go do chores!

Rained Out

Today started off pretty normal. I did the morning chores with no problems and then the day started in. We decided to go and get the 2 steers that Merle had found the other day that were left overs from when we rounded up. Ross and Merle and I saddled up and went down towards Dicks. We got out about halfway there in Kevin's pasture and decided to ride his spayed heifers and see if we could find the third and last missing steer that he told Merle he saw up there. Ross took the pickup on down to Dicks and rounded up the two steers we knew were already in that pasture. Meanwhile, Merle and I split up and he came across the steer. I kept on with him and he rode back and found a missing bull of his too. Once we got them sorted back out of the cows and headed in the right direction things went pretty well. We got them down in the corral, where Ross already had the other two locked up, and loaded all three and left the bull in the bull pasture he belonged in.

Loading took about 20 minutes and Ross still hadn't shown up. So...Merle took Jonni's (the lady that lives on the place where the corrals are) four wheeler and went out and found him- he was looking for us- we were looking for him...that's how it always seems to go. But, we all got rounded back up and headed out of there. On our way out we came across another one of Merle's misplaced bulls. Him and I got out and pushed him back onto the road and started him back in the right direction. At that point, Merle went down to find the hole in the fence that the bulls were getting through and I took the bull down the road. Well, as you know men have a mind of their own- and so did this bull. He ran Dan and I way down through the pasture until I finally got the sucker to stop and cool down. The whole time my horse was being a butthead and trying to buck (I don't know what his problem is with me). So, it was a little frustrating, but I got him turned around and headed back right about the time I met back up with Merle and later Ross. We sent him along the fenceline and I got him back through the gate he needed to go through- although he did get caught up in the gate that was layed down the wrong way- but made it out.

After that little fisco we got back in the pickup and went home. We unsaddled and unloaded the steers in the corral. Then, it was time to get the pesky auto gate back in. Ross had drove it home this morning with it's new bar and patching. I went to get dinner ready while those two dug for a while. After dinner we all went back out and got that darn thing down in it's sill. It took quite a bit of time, but I think it was worth it for a nice, smooth ride over that thing.

By now it was like 1 or 1:30, so we decided it was time to hay. Where we are going is to so thin that it needed a dump rake. So, Ross and I went up and hooked up and serviced the rake while Merle went and found a round bale for the steers in the corral.

We got greased adn ready and headed out. We only hayed for like an hour or so because we got rained out...not to mention it was super wet and we were leaving ruts and almost gettign stuck.
So- I'm sure someone will cuss me and my tracks sometime down the road. But, it decided to rain so we got out of there and sat around until it quit.

When it stopped we went down to do the chores. I was kindof entertained for a few seconds. Ace and Joe were in the corral and I was feeding calves by and open gate (I do this all the time with no problems) and all of a sudden I hear Ace prancing in behind me all high headed and snorting. Of course Joe was following right along side... it was funny while it lasted. I got them turned around and headed back to their grain troughs. lol those two! After chores I went in and showered and got ready for the fireman's meeting. The food was good tonight but the meeting took forever and ever it seemed. In fact, during the meeting a bat flew in because the door was open. The chief said that the first one to catch it or shoo it out the door would get a new pair of fire pants...so (if you can imagine) they were all trying to get it with their caps- it was hillarious. Eventually it flew out of the meeting room and into the bays.

But, that's about the extent of it. I need to get some sleep- big day tomorrow, wer're hauling out all of those steers!

Rapid

This morning started off pretty chilly. It was an unseasonably cool day- not exactly sure of the temp but I don't think it ever broke 75.

I did chores this morning, and then decided that it was time to give my horse his routine shot. I was fairly impressed that I got the vein on the first shot- lucky duck I guess! But, it was nice to have that done and over with. So, as soon as I could change clothes and get my poop in a group I went straight to Rapid with Merle's pickup (again). Ever since we picked it up it hasn't wanted to stop the transmission and grinds between low and first gear...not convienient at all. So, I drove that pickup to the shop and picked up the one that was there and ready. I made a few stops in Rapid, like Runnings, WalMart, etc. Then, grabbed some Burger King and headed for home.

Meanwhile Merle and Ross finally got the auto gate out with a hydraulic jack- I guess it went really well and much better than last night. They got it to town to be fixed and by the time I came back it was time to head for the hay field. I met Ross in the field and brought him back home to his windrower. After I put my stuff away and changed, I headed out to rake and did so until about 7:30 when we decided we had better come in for chores before the calves gave up all hope of us! O...and while I was out there I definitly found a very wet bottom spot and almost got stuck- it was way wetter than we thought, so we could only do the side hills and whatnot- unfun.

We got that done, at supper, and I have been sitting around doing some school paperwork and other unfun stuff. That totally means summer is almost over :( I am planning to leave here and head east on Tuesday the 25th...suppose I should think about packing? Probably, but I don't wanna- so that's that! lol

I had better head to bed- sounds like we will have to get that auto gate back in tomorrow and do some more haying.

Slack Sunday

A slack day.

Sundays are for slacking off...right? Well, that's the excuse I'm gunna use anyway. I got up and did chores and came in the house to work on some school stuff on the computer for a while. Boy, that was fun...exnay on the school stuff. Then, I headed to church for the morning. While I was gone Merle went and found two of our three missing steers and checked wells after the lightning. By the time I made it home and got some more paperwork for school done it was dinner time. I ate and then layed around for an hour or so (that doesn't happen real often lol). The afternoon plan was originally to go fishing, but on our way over to get the fishing rods we noticed a few steers had walked across the auto gate. In fact, after getting another four wheeler, I noticed more than just a few had walked across- more like 40 or so. So, we rounded them up and sent them back through the gate. That kinda put a hold on the fishing trip- it was time to dig out that auto gate and it needed to be brought to town and fixed anyway.

Merle insisted that he would stay and work on it with the loader and I was supposed to go in and keep working on my dang computer. So...I listened (for once - haha) and went in. A couple hours later I did chores and then headed back up to the auto gate to see what in the world was taking him so long. As it turns out, the dumb thing is wedged in there and has so much mudd holding it down that the loader can't pry it out. He dug and dug, and then I came and helped dig and push out some more, and the dumb thing wouldn't even budge. So, it was getting late and I'm pretty sure he had spent enough time there for one day, so we gave up. I think we are going to try it again, maybe when it's a little dryer out. Merle found a plank that will have to sit in the hole of the dang thing for a while before we break it.

Afterward, I quick ran to the shed to grab a couple bags of pellets we were getting low on in the grainery. I put them in the back rack on the four wheeler and headed down to put them away. When I got there I seemed to have a problem. You see, the back rack on the four wheeler is like a little rectangular cage type thing and a sack of feed will go in great, but won't come out. So...after we both pryed on it we finally gave in a put most of the pellets in another sack before we could get it out of there. Talk about a ridiculous problem...only I would do something like that twice! haha, oh well. But, that pretty much ends the day- I ate supper, showered, and headed to bed.

Steer Round Up

Another wet day.


I woke up to a muddy place. It rained eight tenths during the night, making, haying, mowing, stringing salt and mineral, and basically going anywhere off (or maybe on) a road difficult. But, it didn't stop us too much because the plans were to round up Merle's almost 300 head of steers that will be consigned later this week. We did chores and met up with Glen, Ross, and Delbert and headed out. We drove a little over halfway there and rode in the rest of the way, becuase the steers tend to get strung out and it was pretty muddy. Round up went pretty well considering there were only five of us to that many cattle. We only had a few give us the run around and managed to have pretty good luck. We got them all across the culvert Boeman's and ran them all the way home. When we were almost there, just moving them down Hisle road a few hundred feet a black car came up behind them and was honking and rodding the engine. First, Ross told them to knock it off and get to the side of the road, then Delbert had to go over there. Right about this time I realized that it was the same car that started the bale fire a few days back. Delbert went up to the car and told them to knock it off twice- the second time didn't sound quite like that...! The girl driving had a Budweiser can right between her legs and they knew it wouldn't have been hard to pull their keys and stall them out right there, so they quit and just waited until we had them through the gate. But, now they have a license plate and can at least check to see if it was who they expected. ...and that's the res for ya.

We got them moved in to the pasture at home and went in for dinner. Merle thought that he had put a roast in the crock pot- turns out it wasn't just a roast it was prime rib! lol, so that tasted good. After dinner they all headed back to get the pickups and trailers that we left out where we started and I cleaned things up from dinner. Delbert came back and we loaded up his horse and he and Ross and Glen went home their separate ways and Merle and I went up and loaded salt and mineral and headed out to Hisle Dam, Chief Bears, and then to the Timber Reserve. We got all the way through without getting stuck, which was pretty good considering the mud. But, we cut it pretty close. As we were just getting back on the road around six it started raining and a pretty nasty storm moved in. By the time we got home it was way too nasty to do chores so we waited it out. They said the storm could produce quarter sized hail and wind gusts up to 70mph. Well, thankfully we didn't get the hail but it was definitly windy. We waited it out over a game of kings corners that I totally domiated at- haha. But, by about 8ish we were able to get back out and do chores. That rain brought in another half inch and it looks like it might rain more this week yet. We'll just have to see.

But, I think I'm headed out- need to get ready for church.

Fixin'

Another busy couple of days.

We had a huge thunderstorm on Friday night, and my computer needed to be plugged in; so that put a cramp in my internet use. I knew I would have some time before church this morning, so here goes.

Friday was a pretty straight forward day. We did chores and I hauled some oats around when Roger, the mechanic from Phillip showed up. We had a list ready to go for each tractor and had plenty to keep him busy. But first things first, we went up and pulled out an old car that Roger wanted to used for a demolition derby. Later in the day some of his friends came with a trailer to pick it up and they were pretty excited- I think it was a Pontiac Grand Ville? ...or something like that. The moral of the story is that they were so excited to have this car- it was funny. O, but the best part...this kid had a tilt bed trailer with fenders, and he got in the car to steer it up on the trailer while Merle pushed the bumper with the loader. He gets the car on and this guy realizes that he can't get out. The fenders are in the way- so we got to thinking. Roger pounded on a window and it didn's seem to wanna knock out too easily- plan B, try the power windows. So we hooked Roger's pickup up to this ancient battery and believe it or not there was enough juice there to roll down a back window for him to crawl out of. It was funny, and I'm sure nice and warm and mousy inside the car. Anyway, they got out of there with the car and we kept working on tractors.

We went through the entire list and got all that we could done. There were still a few things that required more parts or time, but we did what we could. It was looking like rain so Merle and Roger headed out toward the windrower (that was way out west of Hisle) and I stayed back and parked tractors and put stuff away. Then, I did chores. Right about the time I was halfway through it started to pour and boy chores are fun in the rain. No one wants to come and eat their grain, your soaked, and the feed is going to get wet no matter what... always fun. But I got it done and ran for the house. I got ahold of Merle on the radio and he said they had just gotten out of there. It's a good thing because they were in a place you definitly don't want to stay when it rains like that- you could be stuck there all night! But, Roger went back to Phillip and Merle made it back home. I lost in a game of cribbage (not surprizing) and that was a day.

Mutton Bustin'

It was another extaordinarily hot day today- I think the mercury may have hit 100 again like yesterday.

Today started out like most. I did chores, and it was a much quiter and less traumatic version of chores because Ace can now have his grain and grass back and no more shots...and boy let me tell you that just made that little butterball's day! Haha, he's pretty cute, and feeling much better. So, anyway, we finished chores and since it's now just the three of us on a regular basis there were plenty of things to pick from to get done.

Ross went out along the road for a second cutting and then west of Hisle and windrowed all day long. Merle and I went and checked the second cutting from yesterday and decided that we had better put it up before it got too dry. The stems were still kinda damp but the leaves were falling off, so we didn't have much choice. We went back up to the shed and took the loader and three point off of the tractor Jeff was usuing and hooked it up to my rake. In the process we got ahold of Roger, Merle mechanic from the Case IH dealership in Phillip. Roger decided he could come down tomorrow and work on equipment, so we had to stop hooking up and go sit down and make a nice long list of things that are wrong with each tractor. Let me tell you, we came up with plenty to keep him busy all day tomorrow. The main thing though, is to get that darn rake tractor so I don't have to hold my breath everytime I stop or shut down. So anyway, we called them back with the list and went and finished greasing up and hooking on to the rake. Then took off to the hay field.

It actually baled up kinda decent, it was hard because so many spots were thick then thin then somewhere in the middle- but it worked out. Halfway through my fan quit working so I had to open all the windows in that nasty smoky cab (Jeff's cigarretts made it a little on the smelly side)- so hopefully that aired it out a little and let the hay smell overrun the smoke smell! Eventually the fan started working again, so I don't know what the heck might be giong on- could be a few things, probably electrical.

After we finished all the hay that was ready we went in for dinner. Afterwards we went back out and brought fuel to Ross and moved his pickup to the field he had moved to throughout the day. Then, went back home and put the sweeps back on the chisel. That took us right up until chore time. Then, I made a mad dash in and showered and got ready to go watch some serious mutton bustin' in Gordon. We only left a half hour after we wanted to...lol, oh well I guess. There were a few stops in Martin...as usual and then we headed out with pizza Merle ordered to go.

The rodeo was tons of fun- the girls got first and second in the mutton busing with scores of 79 and 80. Hadleigh, the four year old won it and Hannah was right behind her. If you don't know waht mutton busing is: They take little tikes and put them on sheep and jsut let the sheep out of the chute; the one who holds on the longest usually wins or gets the highest score. It was sooo cute, and I think one reason the girls do so well is because the ride them backwards so their feet wrap around the neck and then they grab the flank with their hands. Hannah rode a long time and then fell off but Hadleigh had a littel harder riding sheep and then when she came off just bit the dirt. She had an entire mouthful of arena dirt, and her shirt was all unbuttoned with dirt all down her face and chest and she was as proud as ever- it was adorable. They both got these really cute little buckles and were showing them off. They also had miniature bull riding for 11-14 yr old boys and a Jr. wild horse race- they were all awesome and really fun!

But, the rodeo finally came to an end so we headed home and Brandy started looking for kids- Hadleigh had just fallen asleep on her lap so that one was easy, but not so much with the other two!

We made it home without falling asleep, but boy did we miss a heck of a storm. We got .53 of rain and it must have come down fast because everything is muddy muddy and it even looks washed out again in some places. I'm sure it wasnt' real good on the hay, but proabably helped a lot with fire danger with the dry conditions, wind, and lots of lightning...nothing so far, which is good.

Well, I am faired out and headed for bed, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Work then Play

Back to work.

So, today was pretty normal- nothing too terribly exciting, well not until tonight that is. I got up for chores, which were pretty uneventful and from there we had quite a list of things to choose from. Ross came out and kept on windrowing- he thought that maybe the hay he had cut down while we were gone yesterday was ready...not a chance, it was so limp it felt like it had just been cut! So, we just dropped his pickup off with him and came back home.

The summer fallow looks like it's getting away from us again, so we pulled out the chisel and decided to start switching the chisels back to sweeps again. When we started in, we realized that the bolts were getting pretty worn and old and wouldn't last much longer. So...Merle called Jay at GE in town and it sounded like they would have enough. I got sent to town to pick up all sorts of things we needed and Merle stayed back and worked on the chisel. I went and got a tire fixed, picked up bolts (had to wait like 15 minutes to go five blocks because of road construction), had the run around on dropping off some table and chairs for Marykay but finally got them where they belonged, got the mail, got the groceries, went back to GE for the sweep that I left there (and waited another 15 minutes for the construction) and finally headed back home.

It was noon before I got here and Sabina had already shown up. Sabina and her sister Nicole used to work here - long before me and she now lives in Michigan. They pretty much seem like an extension of the family and are really nice people. She is down from Michigan for a wedding in Rapid this weekend. She had been helping Merle when I was gone. We all ate some dinner, and then those two went out to shoot prairie dogs (when Merle asked Sabina what she wanted to do when she came that's what she said lol!) and I mowed some grass. They shot a lot of dogs and I knocked down a lot of grass and sorta kinda got the mower cleaned out. I did chores and then got ready really fast and we headed out for Gordon around four fifteen. Sabina and I had a good time ganging up on Merle and giving him a hard time most of the way down there..haha, poor guy, he's probably pretty sick of blondes for the day!

It was the sale night so there was lots to do. Hayden was selling his cookie jar, cookies, both Morgan and his calves, and a chicken. The parents were on edge, but we got it done. There were no disasters and the calves behaved fairly well with all the commotion around. Hayden's calf topped the sale at 2.50- crazy! Merle bought his chicken and got run up to $150! For a chicken! It was hillarious, but hey if it lays an egg a day it will drastically improve our ratio of flock eggs! haha. The night was a little stressful for Morgan, Hayden and his mom and dad, but I think they still had a decent time, and him and Morgan made quite a bit of money. I hope the whole thing sits well with them all and they want to do it again. I don't think it's going to be a problem: next year Hayden want a pig too! We finally got out of there after Merle settled up for his chicken and home by about nine. Sabina hopped back into the little shoebox car they rented her in Rapid and headed back so she could get it in on time by the morning. I am headed to bed. We had a good time, but now I'm definitly ready to sleep!

O, and apperently Jeff is done here too now. No blow up, just plain quit coming the last couple days and come to find out he quit. So, now we're down to just me for hired help...wow I feel sorry for the guy who has to deal with that! So, if you know someone who is interested in ranchwork and is dedicated you know who to call!

Gordon Fair

ok...I have been informed that I'm a day off on my blogs...I'm not really it's just that when you post them after midnight they get labeled the next day...oops! lol, I swear I'm not making up days and putting them in the middle of the week!

Today was an early one. I got up at 4:15 and was out to chores around 4:30. We found everybody in the dark and got them all fed, gave Ace his shot (he's looking pretty good), and hit the road for the Gordon fair at about five. We had to stop in town and drop some stuff off with Ross, that took about fifteen minutes, and then kept on going. We made it to the fairgrounds by about 6:15. It worked out really good because they were just getting done washing the calves, so we pulled them up the chute and started drying right away. I helped Hayden most of the time (he's only like seven or so)- he could get the low parts and I could get the high parts and then finish it off for him. Morgan (Brandi's younger sister who it probably a freshman in hs) was doing a really good job with just some instructions. It was a rush against the clock to get them fitted in time as it usually is, but we got it done. they were looking really nice. Niether Morgan nor Hayden had every shown, so this was quite the accomplishment. They were right at the beginning few classes of the show of course, so we had them ready to go just barely in time, but we did it!

Hayden's calf (Duh-lila) behaved pretty darn well, he only had a little trouble handling her, but overall it went good. He got a 2nd purple- so he did awesome- not to mention his other bajillion purples with chickens and ducks and exhibits. I'm telling you- Brandy and Judd have no idea what they've gotten themselves into with this fair thing, haha! Morgan went in shortly afterward and had quite a bit of trouble with Oreo. The two hadn't been apart enough apparently and she was just being a terd, but she got through it and definitly isn't afraid of the calf- which is a really good thing. She got a third blue and that was pretty darn good because she had some fierce competition! They both did awesome and I think it was a great relief to be done. We watched the rest of this show - in which the mane-key cross steer dominated, and then went to take down calves and round up children. This took quite a bit of time (if you can imagine trying to find three kids on the fairgrounds- but they got it done and we all headed to pizza hut. After we ate, Merle and I headed out to Hot Springs to make some stops. We needed to be there by 2:30 and were told it was an hour drive so we left at 1:15. Just kidding, it's more like a two hour drive! So we showed up at like 3:15, but got errands done and I had some time to wander downtown- Hot Springs is a cool town! But, we eventually got out of there and headed back on the highway. We took a short tour of whiteclay and pine ridge...yep, enough said. If we had time before the fireman's meeting we were going to stop back in Gordon for mutton bustin' but it didn't look like we could get it all done so we headed back to Martin. We pulled into the firestation and it didn't take long to find out it was only the second Tuesday of the month...not the third. That was kind of discusting, we could have seen both the girls go sheep riding and we missed it for nothing! But, on the bright side it meant an earlier night than normal- woo hoo. So, we ate in town and came home. It sounds like both of the girls qualified for finals on Thursday- so I have a feeling I know were Merle will be headed!

That about sums up the day- it was a lot of fun to help the kids with their calves and I got to meet Brandy's mom and her step dad too. It seems like I meet someone new everyday! But, I think I'm headed to bed early!

Killing Time

Today was a little on the long side.

When I did chores this morning I decided that Ace was very sick and probably collicing. He wouldn't eat his grain hardly at all, and just wanted to lay down and sometimes roll. His temp was normal, but I could hardly hear a sound in his gut, so I told Merle we should proabably do something pretty soon. We kept an eye on him, and in the mean time unloaded a trailer load of straw bales that's been patiently waiting for us for a few days. It was nice to get that out of the way, then it was back to Ace. He called three vets and one could get us in by 10am so we went with them. It took a while to hook up, bed the trailer and throw down/load up some square bales that I needed to take with me to Gordon (where the vet was at) and drop off at the fairgrounds for Hayden's calf. Then, I caught both Ace and Joe and took them both with me- life is just less traumatic that way!

When I got down there the vet was already in and got to it right away. He decdied that it was an impaction type collic. He mildly sedated him, pumped him full of oil and gave him some Banamine. After I woke the poor guy back up I loaded him back in with Joe and headed into town to drop off the hay. When I found them at the fairgrounds I knew that I would probably be there for a while. They had just got there and were still unloading calves and everything else. So, I helped out there for about an hour and then finally headed towards home because I didn't want the ponies to get too hot waiting for me in the trailer! We got headed down the road and made it all the way to Martin before I found another excuse to stop. I needed to fax some farm paperwork so I stopped by Marykay's office thinking she would have a fax machine. Well, she probably does but I wouldn't know because no one was around except the people in the newspaper office next door. I asked them if they knew where I could find a fax machine in town and lo and behold they had one! Yey..the faxing stuff took forever again because I couldn't get my faxes to go back through, but they finally did and I finally got back out to the horses and got them home. After I unloaded them, unhooked, and shut them off of grass and everything else Ace can't have right now I headed up to the shed to get started haying. Merle had started this morning, but didnt' get far before he two flat tires and then had to run to town for some errands anyway and Jeff was already gone for the day because he got the burned hay from the fire all cleaned up and couldn't do his next task (wintering the square baler) because I took my car keys and left my car in the way of the pickup he needed (oops...my fault). So, he just went home. That left Merle and I to finsh up some second cutting hay that was ground pounded three times this week :( We got it up and just as I was unhooking the rake at home I had to shut down my tractor so I could pull out my hydraulics. Of course, as soon as I got to start the dumb thing back up, it's dead. That whole deal is really getting annoying, hopefully the mechanic, Roger, can make it down soon from the dealership in Phillip. But, we jump started it and put it in the shed because it still only has one door on. Then, we did chores and ate dinner. That pretty much sums it up. Ace is looking much better but is not impressed that he can't have grain for a while! ...I think he'll get over it about the time he gets it back!

Tomorrow is going to be an early one, we need to be down to the fair in Gordon by six to help fit calves- better go to bed!

Gettin' Ready for Fair

It seems to be getting increasingly harder to keep up with my blog as summer winds down... things must be speeding up!

Yesterday was kinda fun. I got up and did chores and noticed that Ace wasn't quite eating normally, so I opted to watch him pretty close for a day or two. Otherwise, things looked good. Almost right afterward we hopped in the pickup and headed to Rushville, where Brandi and Judd live.

I tried to teach Hayden (Brandy's son) and Morgan (Brandy's younger sister) how to fit their calves. No one there had fit calves for a long time, so it was a good refresher for everyone...and kinda fun to see reactions to all of the stuff that gets put on a calf. We got them looking pretty good, but it took some time. After eating some really tasty steaks for dinner and having some cake for Merle and Chris's birthday we headed back home. by the time we got back it was already past three o'clock. It was Sunday and I was going to take a nap before chores, but instead this really random isolated nasty looking thunderstorm came over. According to the national weather service it was headed pretty much right for us. So, we got out the fire truck and storm watched for a while. It had some pretty nasty looking cloud formations, but we never got much out of it. It went just a tad bit north. So, that killed my nap and it was time for chores.

Afterward, I showered and got geared up for the second night of the BC Fair Rodeo! Yey! It was fun to watch and there seemed to be a small crowd, but it was a very involved one. The stock was good again, which really makes things a lot more enjoyable to watch! The rodeo went late enough and we came home and I headed to bed.

O, a day full of fairness again! haha

Yee Haw!

Back to the drawing board.

Today was pretty slack, we did chores and then sat around for a while because it just kept raining- making it kinda hard to do a whole lot because it had already rained the night before. When it was all said and done we had an inch at ten o'clock this morning. That's pretty good for the grass...but not so good for the second cutting that has been down and wet since three rains ago- but what can you do?

After it quit raining we went and strung salt and mineral at the Pow Wow grounds, then came back home for dinner. After dinner we reloaded and went back out towards the Airport Pasture (I put the names in because believe it or not some people who read this might know where that is! lol). We strung there into the afternoon and came home for chores. I noticed that Ace had a little bit of a bloody nose earlier, or that's what it looked like. I thought that was kindof odd- but he seemed no worse for the wear and extremely concerned about his food as usual. After chores I came in and showered and got ready for the rodeo in town. It was a lot of fun, and a darn good showing. A little muddy, but that's rodeo. There was a little kids calf chase (where they put ribbons on a few tails out of a bunch of calves and just plain send a stampede of little kids after them to see whe can get them first) and it was probably the funniest most entertaining ten minutes I have ever been a part of. The mud was so sticky that all the little ones were getting stuck and couldn't even move. They were leaving boots everywhere and running around in their socks and some never did move- they were just plain stuck until it was all over and someone came and lifted them out. It was hillarious and pretty darn cute, I even took a video of the action! But, as far as the actual rodeo goes, the stock was good and so were the cowboys/cowgirls. It was fun- afterward we headed for home and that puts me here, definitly ready to hit the sack! Tomorrow I think we're going down to Rushville to help Brandi (Merle's daughter) and her kids learn how to fit calves before their fair showing on Tuesday. I think it'll be a fun time! haha, yey for fitting calves again!

Fair Time

It's fair time!

Talk about a busy week. The Bennet County Fair is going on in Martin, so things are a movin' and shakin'. We had to be in town by five for the firemans pancake breakfast, which means chores had to be done by 4:30...ew. So Merle was moving and started chores a little while before me, but I got out of the house somewhere around four. We did chores in the dark and managed to find all the calves and Joe and Ace. Got everyone fed, and headed for town.

Merle started cooking ham and I helped set up and then was given the job of pancake batter mixer girl...and what a job it was. We were using ten pound bags and mixing them with a cordless drill mixer in a five gallon pale. I had pancake batter everywhere. In fact, I got more crap than anyone because I splattered it all over the fire chief and the assiatant chief! Haha, they looked too clean! But, I tell you what, when it comes to making pancakes, I can mix them so their good and fluffy! We ended up using about 90lbs of pancake mix- yeah that's a lot of pancakes. The breakfast went over pretty well, it was rainy, and the crowd was a little smaller than usual they said, but we still had some pretty big rushes. It was a lot of fun, and there was plenty of bs flying around. What would a person expect to happen with that many men in one kitchen! But, we got done there about 9:30 and headed home so that Merle could meet with and insurance guy and look at roofs after our lovely hail not too long ago. I went along and watched this guy do all of his measurments and stuff- some of that is pretty in depth and kindof interesting. I was mostly taken by his ladder that folded up and fit in his trunk very easily- I so want one. Anyway, he left, we ate dinner and then got the tractor ready to bring to town with our load of wood that Jeff and I cut up and loaded the other day. Merle started in towards town at about 15mph and I dinked around here for a half hour of so and then headed in with the pickup. I met him at the bbq pit where we dropped off the wood. Harold already had the fire going. He said they put the meat in at about 8 that night and let it sit in those coals until this morning, so it takes a lot of wood. Then, we left the tractor and stack mover by the fire hall and went out to unload a trailer load of bales that we left in town. We couldn't find anyone home at the place they needed to be, so we just came back to town- Merle started back with the tractor and I ran some errands and headed back for chores.

After chores Merle said he was going to go in for the 4-H auction. I figured it sounded like a good time so I went along. They have this cake decorating contest and they all exibit their cakes as well. Then, after they get placed they have this auction, and you would not believe what a cake is worth. I think I highest was up to over 600 dollars and the lowest around $85. Not to mention the market cattle that they sold- most sat around 1.20. Merle actually bought the one and only market hog- so yey for pork! haha, it was a lot of fun to watch and they had plenty to sell. The money goes between the 4-Her and a Washington DC trip fund. After the auction it was already pretty late again. On the way home, we could see a lot of lightning and rain. We turned on the radio and found out that the storm was headed pretty much right for us. So, we ran around putting in vehicles again and then went and pretty much waited for a fire call. There was so much lighning that it was pretty much inevitable that something would get stuck, but there was also enough rain that you would think a fire wouldnt' get going. But, there was a call in town. A trailer got struck by lighting and had five people inside. They couldn't confirm that it was on fire and the road was already so muddy, I don't know if we could have even made it so we didn't go. After that it just seemed to keep on storming. I finally just went to bed and now today it's all rainy again- guess we'll see what tonight brings.

That's about all I got- just had some time while it rained and thought I should get caught up! Sounds like we'll spend a lot of the day stringing salt and mineral if the rain ever stops!

Sturgis

the seemingly strange guy with a dog, cat, and rat piled on top of one another

Proof...I was at Sturgis (Merle, me, and Harvey)

Outside the Knuckle


The "thing" to wear...I mean who wouldn't want pink fuzzy chaps? (ugh!)

ridiculous

I thought this bike was pretty cool

the lettering on the back right says "wasa kawasaki"

vintage

wohoo cheap babysitter!

Bike wash babes

Sign coming into Stugis on the interestate

...and I'm behind again-slacker!

So we'll start with Thursday:

Rally Day! But, we had quite a few stops to make before heading out. We did chores as quick as we could and hooked up to the trailer so we could load a bunch of empty lick barrels to bring back to Harvey at the Crystalyx Plant. Then, I ran back home and changed into my rally clothes! lol- don't get too excited, I had promised everyone I would wear my little white tank top, and I did- under my coat. It wasn't a very nice morning for the rally, kinda cold and rainy, but later on the sun came out and the coat came off- haha! Ross was sticking around to do evening chores, and Jeff was gone for the day- so it was pretty quiet after we left.

We headed towards Rapid City at about eight. We had lots of stops to make before the rally, because you never know how long it might be before we get back. First, we stopped by the Ford Dealership and picked up Merle's pickup- with it's new clutch! We swapped it for the one we were driving, which was left there to get the clutch worked on too. When we were headed to our next stop this kid pulled up along side us and wanted me to roll down the window...he didn't look too creepy so I did. He said our rear right pickup tire was low...great. So, we headed over to the lawn mower place and picked up the riding lawn mower that Jeff brought in a week or so ago. Then, we stopped by the John Deere Dealership (I tried to hide my face- hopefully no one saw me!) and picked up some baler parts and right afterward went up to the Windmill truckstop and had them fix the tire. They couldn't actually find anything so they aired it up and we were about ready to head out when Harv called. His wife, Carol was stalled downtown, so we unhooked and were going to go help her, but she managed to get moving before we got there. We just went back to the truck stop and hooked up again and finally headed towards Whitewood. The tire didn't seem to be our only problem either. Ever since we had gotten the pickup from the dealership the transmission didn't want to stop for first gear and would grind every single time...so that's going to have to go back and get fixed sometime!

It didn't take long, to see bikes everywhere. We pulled into Whitewood (where the Crystalyx Plant that Harv works at is) and unloaded the empty barrels. I've been waiting to get down there to see the plant, and tour it, so it was kindof exciting. He gave us a tour and explained how things worked. They mix the molasses, base mix, and other ingrediants and cook them just for the right amount of time and then they go into the lick tubs, and fill and seal the barrels. (It's a lot more complicated than that but you get the picture). They also had a separate area where they washed/ rebuilt/ repainted old recycled bins. It was really interesting to see how the whole process works and was totally worth the wait to see. The rest was a lot of warehouse storage and offices- pretty cool. I was also pretty impressed by some of the technology they used- some pretty nice stuff. But, eventually we finished up there and headed on to Sturgis in Harvey's pickup. I had to make fun of these two because they both put their black Sturgis shirts on and Merle wore this biker hat too...wow, I felt pretty cool sitting between those two guys! haha

Woo hoo for the rally- the first thing you see when you come into town (besides bikes of course) is the bikini bike wash girls...yep- I think I have a picture I will have to put up. We met Carol and their two kids there and spent most of the time there wandering around together. There aren't many words to describe the rally... except pretty wild and woolly~ haha. It was fun, all we really had to do was walk the streets and you could see it all. Every bike you could ever think up and then some. Along with some pretty special outfits. We saw a few places where people were getting body painted, and no not on their arms or legs- haha, talk about a culturing experience. We walked through a couple bars and looked at quite a few t-shirts. I finally found one I liked and was sick of shopping (I hate shopping) so I grabbed it and brought it to the counter. It was one of those places where they do screen printing after you pick out the shirt. I thought it was going to cost like $25 dollars- which is still ridiculous, but I don't know how many times I will be visiting the Stugis Rally in my life, so I just sucked it up. Well, they got the thing printed and I got to the register and the girl said $42!!! Ahhh, are you serious. I was dumb and there were a lot of people waiting and they had it printed for me so I just payed and left. Totally should have just walked away, but hey- it's a good story to tell I guess. I'm not a big spender so I'm sure it won't break me but I hope I wear the dumb shirt! haha- I'll have to take a picture of it so you can tell me if it's worth even $20, lol. But, otherwise we just took in the sites on the street. It kindof made me laugh that the locals rent out their yards and rooms for bikers to camp out and park, I bet that brings in quite a bit of money! We saw lots of leather and chaps- plenty of grandmas who "just shouldn't wear that" or better yet should wear something! At one point we walked by this couple and this middle aged guy was wearing a set of fake boobs outside his shirt. This girl comes from behind us and grabbs them and told him..."nice boobs". Only at Sturgis...lol. I could go on and on, but I'll just put up some pictures so you can make your own opinions. We stayed for a few hours and saw most of the rally. O, funny story- Merle is slightly addicted to diet Pepsi and during the rally vendors are only allowed to sell coke. Well, this one kids stand had a Pepsi umbrella, so we went over there to check it out, but it looked like only Coke in the cooler. When, Merle asked for a Pepsi, the kid said that maybe he could help, and reached way at the back of this coooler and pulled out a diet Pepsi...we couldn't believe it. Merle bought a Pepsi on the black market! It was pretty funny! But, there are plenty of pictures to tell the story and I have lots more to write yet!

We finally left the rally and headed back to Whitewood for the pickup- it was about to rain anyway, so it was a good time to go. We split off and headed back towards Rapid, on the way it started raining and we saw two wrecks. One was car vs. motorcycle and had vehicles still coming to the scene and the other one was just a tipped over motorcycle and the ambulance wasn't even there yet. The rain must have made it just slick enought for wrecks- and that first one looked pretty nasty. But, we kept on going- we made a stop at Joannas (the bookeeper) and then Pizza Hut. This took quite a while, and it was getting later by the time we headed back. We saw one more wreck on the way out of town, but after that it was pretty quiet. When we got back it was pretty late (I don't remember what time, but I was tired)! So, I jsut went to bed- the reason why I'm so behind.

It was a really fun day, with lots of offer! I will put up my pictures later probably tonight when I have more time.

Trees

ok, finally today's post.

I got up and did chores as usual. We had gotten .38 of rain last night- that's a decent amount anyway. The only issue is that we had some second cutting hay down and about 30 straw bales that got wet. Oh well, what do you do after the fact?

Merle and Ross went to a funeral this morning, so Jeff and I were on our own. Today's project was to clean up some trees in a fence line down this lane. We were cutting them up for fire wood to bring to town for the fair this week (woo hoo) and use for the big public BBQ. Sounds cool to me. So anyway, we spent the morning pulling out the trees with the loader, then Jeff would cut with the chainsaw and I would haul them onto the chain mover. We got a pretty decent sized load and decided to call it good.

Then, we both headed in different directions to check wells after all the lightning last night. After I finished with that I saw that Merle was back home so I went out to round up the horses out of the pasture. When I was doing this Jeff was helping Mike unload some bales down at the hay pen in that pasture so they got the privalege of watching me make laps around the pasture until Merle came and found the littel suckers. When we finally got them in we saddled up and headed to Dick's. We needed to load up sixteen steers and haul them to town for Steve Erwin. Glen came out and met us with his trailer which helped a lot. It took some time, but we eventually found all of them and sorted off what we didn't need. We loaded them up and Merle took them to town while Glen, Jeff, and I went and put the same heifers back in that seem to always be getting out up in that area. We got them back where they belonged and headed home. Ross had already rounded up the heifers we needed to haul there so all we had to do was load them up. Glen took those in for us, which made life a lot easier. Everybody pretty much took off after that, so Merle went and cleaned the trailer out with Ross and I did chores. I spent some time cleaning out a pretty deep cut that Ace managed to stick into his rear end. I have no idea how, but it's far from the heart! It's clean now anyway- probably won't stay that way for long!

We finished up chores and headed in to shower. I had a chiropractors appt at 7:30 that we were shooting for. Merle cooked his catfish that he caught the other day for supper- yum. That was pretty darn tasty with pancakes! haha. We ate and ran into town for my appointment. Afterward we went back out to the square bales to pick up the few that were left before it got completely dark and they got wet again. They were in remarkably good shape considering the rain the night before. We got them laeded up and dropped the trailer off at O'Brians (where most of the straw goes). Then, we finally headed home.

But, I need to hit the sack- tomorrow we are taking a day off. It's Merle birthday, and it's rally week...so Merle and Harvey and I are going to the rally! That's right- be jealous! haha, I'm excited, it should be fun. But, it'll be an early morning and a short night I'm gunna hit the sack!

Full Day's Work!

Another day full of lots of work!

I did morning chores and met up with the crew when I finished. Jeff was gone for the day so it was just Merle and Ross and I. To start things off we unloaded the horse trailer full of bales in the barn and got it ready for another load. The plan was to go out and finish baling and picking up what was left of our straw bales south of town. I dinked around getting ready to go, hooking up the trailer and such, and met the other two up at the shed where they were unloading some salt. Merle was going to stop at the house quick and fill out the fire report for the day before and Ross and I were going to get started ahead of him. But, Merle called us on the radio just as we were leaving and told us to hold up, turn around, and grab the fire truck. The bale fire just had some smoldering hot spots yet that Ross saw when we was coming in and he figured we could just as soon put them out. So, we loaded up and the two of us went up there and strung out what was hot and sprayed it down. While we were actually on our way there the sheriff's office called Merle wanting him to go put it out again- yep that's right we're just that on top of it! haha

So, we went back home and started to fill the truck again. In the mean time, I was wandering around looking for my cell phone that I though I lost at the fire, but it turned up behind the fire truck seat- phew! We kinda dinked around while the truck filled and then finally got back into the other pickup and drove towards town to pick up bales. Ross wanted to stop at his place for dinner, so we did. It was pretty nice to eat something at a normal rate and time- unlike the day before. We ate there and had Marva pack a lunch for Merle and then headed out to meet him. He just had a couple windrows left to put up so I finished them while he ate his lunch. We loaded bales for quite a while until we got two trailers full (around 200 bales), this only left about 35 out in the field. Merle sent Ross home with one load for Delbert that he could bring over there in the morning, I took one load and headed for home and Merle took the tractor and baler over the the shed where the baler gets stored to put it away for a while (woo hoo! lol). I didn't get a mile down the road when I realized I forgot to get some keys I needed from Merle. So, I got turned around and went back to get them from him. I worked out good because I was able to help him get that baler into road position at the same time.

I stopped at the grocery store and True Value and then finally got going towards home. My afternoon task was to mow the lawn at the other house. I can handle a push mower... easy job just hot. So, I pulled up and mowed for an hour or two until Merle showed up for a little bit and then headed back out to move some bale piles off the road before another one gets lit on fire. I finished the yard and then realized that I left all of my groceries in the truck the whole time...not a good idea. I came back to my house and unloaded what was left of them and did chores. By the time I got showered we were already late for our fire training meeting in town. But, they hadn't even started when we got there so it worked out good.

Training meeting are really cool because they are a refresher for some and a learning experience for others, like me. We worked in groups of three and had to hook up a fill hose on the taker at one spot. Get the jaws of life out and running in another, and run a cutting tool at the last spot. I didn't know how to do any of it, but it turned out not to be that hard- just engines and hydraulic lines- coolness! Afterward we drove around town in our groups and had to find the closest fire hydrants to certain locations. That was a really good deal for all of us so people have at least somewhat of a clue where they are. Many of them were harder to find than I thought because of weeds and different things.

We finally got out of there around ten, after I got done beating on the younger guys who were throwing tennis balls at me lol! O good times, good times. When we got home we spent some time out in the nasty rain putting vehicles in beacause it looked like it might hail. Afterward, I pretty much went home and went to bed. It was another really eventful day, and we got quite a bit done and hopefully got our fire completely out. It rained and stormed quite a bit that night.

Fire!

ok... my lack of blogging is not due to laziness- rather we've been a bit busy around here. I will explain as I go!

So...backtracking to Monday. Yey for being back at the Ranch! I did chores and met Jeff, Ross, and Merle down by the corrals. It sounded like we had a pretty busy day ahead of us. We had a whole list of things to try and get done, and just picked and prodded at it all day.

Jeff went out to stack bales that morning after Ross and him took a pickup to town to get the rattling window fixed. Merle and I went out to put up hay on the bottom. The rake tractor still doesn't have a door, so it was a bit more "traditional" raking shall we say- haha. I managed to get all wound around and confused in all these little spots where you have to cross the crick and when it came time to go I had to ask how to get out! lol, not uncommon for me! We got that all done and headed back to the shed to fuel up my tractor and help Merle hook up to the square baler. He had some straw to put up in little squares south of Martin and he needed to get headed that way because the drive takes quite a bit of time pulling that baler with the tractor. It turned out that we didn't need the rake, he was getting help from the girl that was buying what we didn't put up in little squares from him. So, he headed out with the baler and Ross and I went down the hill and cleaned out the trailer so we could start stacking bales in the afternoon. We finished and I dropped him off at his pickup so he could finish up the windrower and I went in to grab a quick lunch.

So there I was, sitting in my house eating a 'luchable' (yeah, I serisouly needed to go grocery shopping) listening to the CB radio. All of a sudden I hear Delbert say "Merle your bale pile by the winter pasture is on fire". Um...not good. I could hear them but they were just far enough away that they couldn't hear me well. I didn't know where Ross was and Jeff was out with the loader moving bales. So...I quick put my shoes on and ran up the hill towards the fire truck (yes, Merle owns a fire truck, there are two here actually). I got it pulled out of the shed and realized that Ross was right there yet with the swather so I grabbed him and we headed out. I was really glad to see him, because I wasn't sure just where exactly this bale pile was. We took off down the road headed south about four or five miles and passed Jeff in the loader on our way. You practically have to have a loader for a bale fire so he just stopped what he was doing and came out way. Delbert flew past us heading the other way to try and chase down the car that he thought started it. He was windrowing down on a bottom and saw it go up in flames, die out, and then light again. He said it looked like someone put gas all the way around it and lit it.

So, Ross and I pull up and I was able to remember how to get the pump started (miraculously) and run the hose. The entire pile of 11 was entirely engulfed. We started wetting it down and right when Jeff pulled up we realized we also had a grass fire going by that time. We managed to get that out in a scramble and start back in on the flaming pile. Within a few minutes the fire department showed up and had Merle with them. He was still headed south on the road with the baler so they just picked him up on the way. Within a couple hours we had put 4,000 gallons on the sucker and strung all the bales out in the road ditch. Ugh, it was out for now anyway. We knew it would probably smolder for quite a while. The fire department headed home and Delbert eventually showed back up. He had tailed a car all the way to Wamblee just to find out that it wasn't the right one...just really similar. Although, they did figure out who did it almost 100% sure of the car and what house it's from anyway. Both Delbert and Merle saw it at one point and Delbert just thinks they cut off the road early and that's why he never caught up with them.

For those of you who are confused...For starters, government checks come on the first of the month so... the first few days of each month on the reservation are often (not always but often) spent with a lot of budwiser and some drugs mixed in here and there. This results in a lot of stupid behavior..like starting a random bale pile beside the road on fire. They just started it for the heck of it- to give someone trouble and get a rush, or whatever you wanna call it.

So, after we all left and went back home we headed back to work. We fueled the fire truck back up and filled it up with water. Then, hopped in the pickup that was hooked up to the horse trailer and headed south of town where Merle was baling. We picked up quite a few and then I hopped in the baler and kept on moving and Adrianne (the girl who needed the rest of the straw) came out and her and Merle kept on loading bales. We finished up and I dropped helped her move her baler home. Right about the time we were gunna take off Merle radioed and said to come back into the field and get him...our bales were on fire again and the neighbors were getting nervous. So, we dropped Ross off in town so he could call it a day, grabbed a pop (hey if it's gunna burn, let it burn), picked up the other pickup that was fixed that morning and headed back to the fire. As soon as the Risses' saw us come over the hill they headed home, it was our deal from there.

The fire had started up pretty good again and was really smoking, but you have to let a bale fire burn out. Jeff had dug in a pretty good fire line with the loader on one side, the road was on the opposite, an approach on another end, and Merle dug in a fire line on the last end. It was pretty well contained but needed babysitting and maybe to be strung out some more. He stayed there and I went home to do chores and brought the fire truck back with me. We sat there for a good 3 hours at least- probably four when it was all said and done- and watched it. Finally, it was about 9:30 or so and we were both getting hungry and tired. We called and asked the assistant fire chief his opinion and then decided to leave long enough to shower and eat supper and then probably just turn around and come back. Merle told dispatch what we were doing and not to page the fire department out if someone called it in. We were gone no longer than an hour- in fact I had just literally sat down at the supper table and the pager went off. They described a lightning fire 5 miles north of Martin and south of Scot Hicks. Well, that would be about five miles south of where our other fire was so we just hopped back in the fire truck and took off. I had a feeling about this...when we came up on our original fire there was a pickup and trailer parked on the side of the road- and the guy there said he had called the fire in. So, we were all after the same fire with the wrong description. This guy said that he had been beating it with a wet rag but it kept on relighting- um yeah duh! lol Anyway, he headed out and we radioed to everyone else that it was the same stupid fire but to come anyway and douse it so people would quit calling it in. We probably dumped another 1200 or more gallons on it and put out all the hot spots we could find in the dark. It was quite the deal. After an hour or two the department went back to town and we headed home. We got by without having to go back that night...lucky ducks.

Neeless to say, it was a very eventfull day full of fires and straw bales. It was pretty much my first time driving a fire truck and being the first person on scene...scary :s But it all worked out pretty good- at least I think so! I'm really glad I joined the fire department becase I not only learned a lot, but it is a great way to meet people and have fun once in a while. They like to give the east river rookie a hard time!

Basically, at the end of the day we could have saved a lot of time, energy, and money if it wasn't for one car load full of people being complete idiots! They probably won't ever get caught either- we'll see.