Steering the ship

What a day.

For starters, last night got really interesting. After I finished my blogs I checked my email quick and realized that I had forgotten to fill out a shortish application for an FFA position I was nominated for on teh national level. It said it was due by Monday the 17th...well since there is no such date Idecided that I had better get it done! Long story short- I didn't get to bed until 1:40 and then woke up just after 5. That's just great for a day like today...

I went down and started chores just before 5:30 and was able to get everything set up and moved for the day in time to saddle my horse and be ready when everyone else showed up. Delbert, Mike, Lee, Mickaela, and Delbert's hired man Michael came out. That made a crew of 9 for the morning. First off, we loaded up and moved the yearlings on the crick right on home. It really wasn't that difficult because Mike had the Ranger and just led them in with cake again. Once we got them into the corrals the sorting began. We didn't have any get back on us so this part wasn't too difficult. I guess there were quite a few of us there and a lot of people more skilled than I, so Mickaela and I got sent to get Delbert's pickup out of the pasture and bring it back home. We took off and grabbed it. After Mickaela opened that gate she rode on the running board of the pickup down to the trailer- it was hillarious...at one point she thought she saw a rattle snake and about glued herself to the window...haha! O the little things we get into. So, we grabbed his pickup and brought it home. I parked it up by the shed because there were already two pickups and trailers down below and we needed four trucks in there at a time. I later got told not to park it there becasue they thought it was still in the pasture...o my gosh, I parked it in a slightly different spot! lol

After we got back from that we felt pretty useless because they would let us help since there was enough help so we went and checked the fall calvers. We each took a four wheeler and ran down sunflowers the whole way- if you have never done this you must try, it's cheap entertainment. We didn't find any newbies so we came back home and watched them sort the last few. Then we were going to go eat rolls and Delbert was picking on Mickaela and I about not saying anything when the rolls came out...he was just sure we were starving. lol Well, we didn't get a chance to eat them because Merle decided to do a second count first. So, we moved steers aroudn and counted into groups again and then all at once the trucks showed up early. This was perfect because we had them all sorted out and ready to go way early. So...we loaded the first four trucks up. I ran a hot shot up the alley so my job wasn't too hard, but still needs to be done. Mickaela and I were just happy to have a function. After getting those loads of black steers out, we finally ate our rolls...that was pretty entertaining. We're sitting there eating them and someone makes a comment about the inbred cats- Delbert finds a way to relate it to the Allen housing. O, you can't miss a beat when he's around! lol

Since the brand and health inspectors couldn't come until later and the trucks for the second load out weren't planned to come out until 12:30 or so we decided to go in for an early dinner. Sloppy Joes were on teh menu and they sure tasted good with some fair cake to follow (we are going to eat that cake forever!). I sat next to Angie's son Dante (she babysat for the day) and it was quite entertining. He was certain that having the BBQ on his plate tasted wayyyy different than the stuff on the bun. Gotta love kids. We all chowed down and then almost ran out of ice cream becasue I forgot to bring the stuff down that I picked up yesterday afternoon. But, we snuck by! As we were just sitting there talking and killing time someone looked out the window and noticed that he brand inspectors pickup was there. We didn't know how long he had been there but I sure saw a bunch of guys fly out the door in a hurry! I stayed back and got the kitchen cleaned up and then went out to check things out. They were all just sitting aroudn talking because there wasn't much else to do until the trucks came. All at once we decided that since there was a crew there we were going to round up the other colored steers this afternoon as well. So, I grabbed a horse for me and a horse for Mike and started saddling so they woudl be ready after we loaded. As we were catchign horses Delbert hollered over to me to catch a horse for Mike too. The whole time I was so confused because I was thinking of Mike his hired help who already had a horse saddled. When Adrienne and then later Merle asked me why I had two saddled I told them one was for Mike and I didn't know why. Well, good grief we are all so dence or something today- it was for Mike Hicks, he wasn't going to take the Ranger out to these steers and wanted to go horseback instead. So as we are all looking at teh younger Mike's horse trying to figure out what's wrong with it and being all confused we were all off. I just got a kick out of that!

We got the second group of trucks loaded up pretty easily. No major problems or escapees. After the last truck took off we all decided we should saddle up and head out. We crammed seven horses in the trailer and took off for the big unit. The goal was to fish the steers that had gotten loose in there out and them move the whole crew from their original pasture on duck creek up and out all the way home to be shipped out the 23rd. Well, by the time we got to the pasture i realized that there was no way I could do this and get down to Jonni's on time to pick up all the food for teh firemen's meeting at 7 and have it ready. So, very reluctantly, I left Nelly in the trailer and rode back with Merle as the others went and rode the unit. We got just about to the Hisle road when Carol (MVFD secretary) calls and says they want to cancell the meeting because some of the officers can't make it. Seriously?! ugh. So Jonni and I say it's ok and the food she had made will ahve to be frozen or eaten before next Tuesday. So, aside from being annoyed about that, now I can't even ride my hoses cuz we're so far away. When we got back I unsaddled her and turned her out and then hopped on a four wheeler adn Merle and I headed out for the pasture. He took Adrienne's four wheeler with teh new basket thing for the dogs. He filled it up with cake to see if it woudl work as steer bait at all. We made out way out there slowly but surely as to try and not spill all the cake out. We went all the way to the far gate to start with. There was one yealing there that had jumped the fence after they have moved them back into this pasture. Merle quick kicks me off of my four wheeler and sticks me witht teh slow one. So, I got to pretty much follow him and this steer around as he fought it and fought it. Eventually it went in and he took off after it to make sure it was moving int he right direction. At this piont the others have moved the yearling they foudn in the unit (about 30 or so) into duck creek. But, Mike (Delbert's help) was missing. After staring off into the hills i saw him way way out there. I know that Merle had in mind that I would go and get him but I wan't goingt o take all that time to go way outt there so I just shut the gate and didn't lock it- hope that he saw me and left. I met up with the rest of the bunch and followed with them a while until we caem to a stopping point where we needed to wait for the others to bring steers in. Delbert had told me to sit on top of the hill and wait to make sure they don't loop around. So, I sat and watched them while waiting for the others to show up behind the hill. Before much else could happen Delbert was back and watned to tade the four wheeler for his horse. Ok, whatever- I hopped on his horse and he took teh four wheeler. I had to laugh becaue I knew the cake was now a lost cause and sure enough when he came back it had all bounced out- either that or he found some mightly hungry steers! We waited there until Delbert and Merle showed back up again with a few yealings and then took off for home. Delbert's horse was out of gas before I got him and so was everyone elses so it seemed long and hot. But, we got them all teh way to one of the last gates when they spooked at a horse sneaking through the gate with them and split and went all which ways. In the end, we only lost one out of the deal and that's becuase he had his mind made up and and I was out of horse power to catch up to him. Lee and I crossed the creek and tried to cahse him back but he eventually said that had better quit adn just leve him because we were out of horse. You know it's bad when cowboy admits that the horse is done for the day...but they sure were. So, we turned around and took teh short cut home. The rest of the bunch showed up shortly after and Merle come limping his four wheeler down the hill. He deicded that he better be able to ride horse soon because he was way too hard on it today and broke the frame on a washout, got a flat tire and a steer tore the fender all apart....not to mention that we have been pull starting it for a couple weeks now too. It's got an apt in Chadron sometime this week!

We all sat around adn talked and decided we were gald to get that done. We will probably have to ride that pasture again to grab a few that we left, but we didn't do half bad. I guess they had to choke one down this morning and get pretty hard with those calves at teh beginning, but that's how it goes with yealings. At teh end of the day we coudn't change it anyway. So, we all had a pop and went home to do our own thing. i put things back together at the corrals and am jsut now thinking that I never roped the paneling upt hat the truckers move when we load out cattle. This may mean that there will be loose bucket calves inteh morning...guess we'll see! I did chores and put teh little chickens away for the night adn home I went.

I havne't been this tire sinece who knows when. This time I'm off to bed.