You know there are just some days when it would have been much much safer to stay in bed...the last two have been of that sort.
I woke up a little late this morning so I rushed right out the door to get chores done. Everything was full of water, and it took me forever to lift troughs and get the poured out because my dumb sturnam is so sore. But, I managed and was too stubborn to wait for someone else come down and help- I got it done anyway. I did the chores and Ross showed up and went to get the horses. Today we were going to take bulls out of the heifers. Well, when chores were done we could see the horses right over the hill, but no Ross in sight. He must have drove right around them and never saw them...he eventually showed up! Merle shot his coon (up to ten now and still seeing tracks) and then we saddled up and headed out. We loaded the horses in the little 5ft trailer which is a huge pain in the butt because they are used to turning around- but we got it done, sorta in a round about way. As soon as we got out there I noticed two problems: number one, I still had my rubber boots on that fit through the stirrups but are a little tight and hot, and number two, this was going to make me sore. Merle asked if riding was gunna kill and I said I would be fine, and I was... sorta, but I made it through the day- Aleve is a life saver.
We rounded up roundy bulls that were scattered all over, half of them where they weren't supposed to be in the first place, and put them in their own pasture down by Dicks. During this process I managed to get stepped on pretty good, leaving me with a lovely looking foot- although it is not nearly as bad as the neck and back, it really wasnt' pleasant...hence the first sentance of the blog! But, I will once again live...so we also sorted off some heifers to be spayed next week, I'm kinda excited to see that! We rode until about one, then talked to Jonni, loaded up and went home. I went in to start dinner (again, I don't think they realize my lack of skill) while they unsaddled. I didn't get too much done because I had to peel the tongue, not a hard job, but definitly not something a person does everyday, while doing this I managed to cut my thumb- not bad but right at the top where it bleeds a lot- eh. But, I did get it all done and heated (horray for me trying to cook)! We ate dinner and then Jeff and Tina went out to fence and Ross and Merle and I came down and cleaned the horse trailer out. After we got that done Ross and Merle went out to hay. It was already almost three by then, and I was hoping to go and visit my church group that is putting on a vacation Bible school near Mission at six, so I was told to go ahead and get ready for that- they kinda had to talk me into it cuz I hate ditching out. By the time I cleaned up it was 3:20, so I headed out and got a few things done in town. I had to cross the time line into Todd county so that put me in Mission right at about six.
It was really fun just to see some people I knew and visit. They fed me (of course really good food from the church ladies) and we just sat around a talked. There is nothing better than Lutheran Church bars and cookies don't cha know, which I had plenty of! lol I stayed there until about eight my time and then headed back home. I made it back to the ranch at about 9:20- pretty good time, it was just getting dark. That puts me here. O, I have a good one. So, we use those cute little yard/lawn tractor sprinklers that follow the hose to keep the lawn looking nice right. Well, Merle's gets used all the time and finally the tranny blew on his poor little tractor. So...when he was in Rapid yesterday he picked up a new one, only this one isn't a lovely yellow- it's John Deere!!! How dare him! He claimed it was all they had. Now, I have to walk past a JD yard tractor- I'm just not sure how I feel about that, but at least it's self propelled so I won't have to get behind the wheel like I do at Joels! lol O, good times, good times.
Now, I am going to take my sore body that has been bucked off a for wheeler, kneed in the head, stepped on, and cut to bed. I really haven't had much luck the last couple of days but I still seem to enjoy it- however that works! Hopefully I don't get into any trouble tomorrow. Sounds like we're going to string salt and mineral in the morning, that's usually a pretty safe job!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Boggin' Down
Today was nice and looong...
I did the morning chores with no unusual or unexpected happenings. As soon as I finished I went back in to pack my lunch and put on the mud boots- we were going boggin'. Merle headed out to Rapid with the pickup and trailer to get them both serviced right after he got his morning coon and Ross, Jeff, and I stayed back to fix the fences in the draws...a cruddy job, but it needs to be done. Tina had the day off today for something she was doing.
So at about 7:30 or 8:00 we got headed out. Jeff took a pickup and Ross and I each took four wheelers. (We weren't sure how muddy it would be in spots). Before we got too far down the pasture, Merle called and said there were red cows out in the wheat by Hilse. So, Ross and I headed that way and put them back in and fixed the fence while Jeff started on the first draw. We finally met back up and I started to help Jeff with the fencing. In the process, he ran across his fencing pliers that he had been looking for for months-but whithin an hour we managed to loose them somewhere down in the draw...haha just our luck.
We basically spent the remainder of the day fencing and fixing those bad spots in the draw. There were some pretty mucky spots, but we never got anything stuck. It took me a while to get use to some of the fencing because we hardly deal with barbed wire at home- mostly electric wire, steel posts, and insulators. Here, it's more barbs, staples, and clips. But, I got the hang of it and we managed to fence right on through the day. Some spots were so wet that the water was over my boots so Jeff had to put the hip waders on...talk about wet. At one point when we met back up with Ross (who was out looking for any escapees) and they gave me the sledge hammer to pound some posts in. It was pretty funny cuz I had no footing in the water and wasnt' quite sure I could pound it in with that hammer, but they said I could and I did. Darn them for being right.
So, on our last draw of the day I went down by myself with the four wheeler to check things out. I could only find a spot for one clip on first glance so I ran back to Jeff in the pickup and got some clips. I told him to just hang there at the top of the hill and wait for me because it wouldn't take lonsg. Well, there turned out to be a few posts here and there had missing staples so I started in on them. About this time Jeff drove the pickup as close as he could get to make sure I didn't need anymore tools. I just pounded in my last staples on a very stubborn post and decided to head back to the four wheeler. Before I left, I wanted to ride up on the ridge to make sure we weren't missing any important spots, so I hopped on and headed that way. So there i am on a ridge, not setting any speed records but moving anyway. I don't know how but I hit this smaller bumb and while trying to recover from the first on I hit a hug washout/draw adn sent that four wheeler flying. I went through the air in on direction and it in the other. I just should have payed closer attention I guess because now I have a huge swipe mark from the handle bars across my chest- it's actuall kinda cool! lol But, Jeff saw this whole thing go down from a distance and I got up pretty quick but that four wheeler took a run right down the ridge and into the post that I had just pounded! I was so mad that I forgot I didn't feel good and went right down the draw after the four wheeler- well to Jeff I just dissapeared so he came tearing down there thinking that I fell back down...not the case. That dumb four wheeler bucked me off and then had only one tiny adjustment made to the handlebars to make it right again- dumb thing~haha But, we got 'er done. Afterwards I drove home on the four wheeler and did some odds and ends and got the chores done, Jeff went home for the day. Right about that time Merle was pulling in from rapid so he stopped and helped me finish things up. I was going to then go with him to town to eat with Brandi and Andrea at 7:30 but he called and they were still opening weddign shower gifts...bet they still are there- so we turned around and headed back home for some hamburger. My theory was at least I was already showered and didn't have to worry about it before I went to sleep! We ate, and then I lost my first game of cribbage! Dang! I'm gunna have to brush up on my skills.
Tonight we had a pretty big storm go through , well it's not completley through yet but it sure had some lightning and made lots of noise. We put all the vehicles in sheds so of course it didn't hail- maybe that's a good tactic! lol Over the whole hour of two we got .52 inches- quite a bit! I really home it is done now so our fences won't get torn back out! Otherwise, I just decided to take my sore body to bed- I'm sure I will live, just might need some Tylenol tomorrow. Not sure what tomorrow might bring...we'll see.
I did the morning chores with no unusual or unexpected happenings. As soon as I finished I went back in to pack my lunch and put on the mud boots- we were going boggin'. Merle headed out to Rapid with the pickup and trailer to get them both serviced right after he got his morning coon and Ross, Jeff, and I stayed back to fix the fences in the draws...a cruddy job, but it needs to be done. Tina had the day off today for something she was doing.
So at about 7:30 or 8:00 we got headed out. Jeff took a pickup and Ross and I each took four wheelers. (We weren't sure how muddy it would be in spots). Before we got too far down the pasture, Merle called and said there were red cows out in the wheat by Hilse. So, Ross and I headed that way and put them back in and fixed the fence while Jeff started on the first draw. We finally met back up and I started to help Jeff with the fencing. In the process, he ran across his fencing pliers that he had been looking for for months-but whithin an hour we managed to loose them somewhere down in the draw...haha just our luck.
We basically spent the remainder of the day fencing and fixing those bad spots in the draw. There were some pretty mucky spots, but we never got anything stuck. It took me a while to get use to some of the fencing because we hardly deal with barbed wire at home- mostly electric wire, steel posts, and insulators. Here, it's more barbs, staples, and clips. But, I got the hang of it and we managed to fence right on through the day. Some spots were so wet that the water was over my boots so Jeff had to put the hip waders on...talk about wet. At one point when we met back up with Ross (who was out looking for any escapees) and they gave me the sledge hammer to pound some posts in. It was pretty funny cuz I had no footing in the water and wasnt' quite sure I could pound it in with that hammer, but they said I could and I did. Darn them for being right.
So, on our last draw of the day I went down by myself with the four wheeler to check things out. I could only find a spot for one clip on first glance so I ran back to Jeff in the pickup and got some clips. I told him to just hang there at the top of the hill and wait for me because it wouldn't take lonsg. Well, there turned out to be a few posts here and there had missing staples so I started in on them. About this time Jeff drove the pickup as close as he could get to make sure I didn't need anymore tools. I just pounded in my last staples on a very stubborn post and decided to head back to the four wheeler. Before I left, I wanted to ride up on the ridge to make sure we weren't missing any important spots, so I hopped on and headed that way. So there i am on a ridge, not setting any speed records but moving anyway. I don't know how but I hit this smaller bumb and while trying to recover from the first on I hit a hug washout/draw adn sent that four wheeler flying. I went through the air in on direction and it in the other. I just should have payed closer attention I guess because now I have a huge swipe mark from the handle bars across my chest- it's actuall kinda cool! lol But, Jeff saw this whole thing go down from a distance and I got up pretty quick but that four wheeler took a run right down the ridge and into the post that I had just pounded! I was so mad that I forgot I didn't feel good and went right down the draw after the four wheeler- well to Jeff I just dissapeared so he came tearing down there thinking that I fell back down...not the case. That dumb four wheeler bucked me off and then had only one tiny adjustment made to the handlebars to make it right again- dumb thing~haha But, we got 'er done. Afterwards I drove home on the four wheeler and did some odds and ends and got the chores done, Jeff went home for the day. Right about that time Merle was pulling in from rapid so he stopped and helped me finish things up. I was going to then go with him to town to eat with Brandi and Andrea at 7:30 but he called and they were still opening weddign shower gifts...bet they still are there- so we turned around and headed back home for some hamburger. My theory was at least I was already showered and didn't have to worry about it before I went to sleep! We ate, and then I lost my first game of cribbage! Dang! I'm gunna have to brush up on my skills.
Tonight we had a pretty big storm go through , well it's not completley through yet but it sure had some lightning and made lots of noise. We put all the vehicles in sheds so of course it didn't hail- maybe that's a good tactic! lol Over the whole hour of two we got .52 inches- quite a bit! I really home it is done now so our fences won't get torn back out! Otherwise, I just decided to take my sore body to bed- I'm sure I will live, just might need some Tylenol tomorrow. Not sure what tomorrow might bring...we'll see.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
dry hay and wet ground
Another sorta kinda productive Sunday...
We did chores this morning with much less obstacles than yesterday! Then, we made our daily check of the coon trap to see what we might find. Today there was a big bore raccoon hangin' out in there. We got rid of him, or shall I say Merle's revolver took care of that while he pointed and shot! Then, I helped him hook up the horse trailer and load up the four wheeler. He was headed out to check the wheat fields and maybe some more fence. It was a toss up between that and fencing but if sure looked like rain so he opted to check wheat, although the rain never did materialize.
I went back in and spent the morning with my aunts and sister. We just kinda hung out and chatted. We ate leftover steaks and fresh eggs- now that's a breakfast! No one can say I didn't eat breakfast today! :) We weeded out my yard a little and made a group decision that my garden is a lost cause after the hail:( Oh well, it probably wouldn't have been much anyway. They packed up right about the time that Merle pulled back into the yard. I introduced them and talked for a while and then Delbert showed up too. So, they met one another also and then the family decided it was time to head out before it got too late in central time. This was about noon here, so I would think they made it home by five mountain time. After they left we ate dinner, (which I almost didn't need after my huge breakfast), and then started loading fencing supplies up to start working on the spots that were torn out in the draws- this will take several days, but we needed a start. During this time Sharla was trying to mow and got the mower stuck twice- the first time she couldn't even get it out of the shed because it was sitting in a mud hole, and the second was down in the driveway by the crick. It just must not have been the day to mow. So, we got everything all loaded up and then decided that since I have to do dog chores we should probably just go hay what is down instead of fix fence. This way we didn't waste time because it's all loaded up for tomorrow.
So, we 'hit the hay' and hayed all afternoon. The hay was sure dry enough but the ground was wet...really wet. We made some nice ruts. O, and Sara's dumb move of the day: The hay thinned out on one end of the field so I turned around and headed back, but didn't realize that I was headed the wrong direction (counterclockwise instead of clockwise) until Merle said something on the radio...wow I need to get more sleep or something! lol
We got quite a bit of hay put up- forgot to ask how many bales but it was probably about halfway or really close on this field. On the way back this neighbor guy just randomly popped out of the ditch and stood in the road pointing at us. After we drove by he flipped us off. What a friendly neighbor...pretty sure there were some drugs involved on that one! lol, you just never know. As soon as we got back, I fed the horses and left Merle with the rest of the chores while I went down to Dick's to feed tho se dogs. I made it down there alright with the pickup and even met Kevin (has a neighboring pasture) on my way. There are five gates and a cattle guard just to get from the road to the house, so the trip to feed the dogs is not exactly short. But, I got there fine and checked wells and played wtih the hyper dogs for about a half hour because they had been locked up all day. I coaxed them back in with food and headed off for home. By the time I got back Merle called and said to come over for supper. We had tongue and I hadn't had it before- I think it's really pretty good...and he was afraid I wouldn't eat it- heck if that stopped me from eating it I don't know if this would be the place for me to stay! haha
After dinner we watched the news and now here I sit. Merle and Sharla are going to Rapid tomorrow to make a run. the truck and trailer both need serviced so they will probably be gone all day. Sounds like the rest of us will probably be fixing fence...fun times!
We did chores this morning with much less obstacles than yesterday! Then, we made our daily check of the coon trap to see what we might find. Today there was a big bore raccoon hangin' out in there. We got rid of him, or shall I say Merle's revolver took care of that while he pointed and shot! Then, I helped him hook up the horse trailer and load up the four wheeler. He was headed out to check the wheat fields and maybe some more fence. It was a toss up between that and fencing but if sure looked like rain so he opted to check wheat, although the rain never did materialize.
I went back in and spent the morning with my aunts and sister. We just kinda hung out and chatted. We ate leftover steaks and fresh eggs- now that's a breakfast! No one can say I didn't eat breakfast today! :) We weeded out my yard a little and made a group decision that my garden is a lost cause after the hail:( Oh well, it probably wouldn't have been much anyway. They packed up right about the time that Merle pulled back into the yard. I introduced them and talked for a while and then Delbert showed up too. So, they met one another also and then the family decided it was time to head out before it got too late in central time. This was about noon here, so I would think they made it home by five mountain time. After they left we ate dinner, (which I almost didn't need after my huge breakfast), and then started loading fencing supplies up to start working on the spots that were torn out in the draws- this will take several days, but we needed a start. During this time Sharla was trying to mow and got the mower stuck twice- the first time she couldn't even get it out of the shed because it was sitting in a mud hole, and the second was down in the driveway by the crick. It just must not have been the day to mow. So, we got everything all loaded up and then decided that since I have to do dog chores we should probably just go hay what is down instead of fix fence. This way we didn't waste time because it's all loaded up for tomorrow.
So, we 'hit the hay' and hayed all afternoon. The hay was sure dry enough but the ground was wet...really wet. We made some nice ruts. O, and Sara's dumb move of the day: The hay thinned out on one end of the field so I turned around and headed back, but didn't realize that I was headed the wrong direction (counterclockwise instead of clockwise) until Merle said something on the radio...wow I need to get more sleep or something! lol
We got quite a bit of hay put up- forgot to ask how many bales but it was probably about halfway or really close on this field. On the way back this neighbor guy just randomly popped out of the ditch and stood in the road pointing at us. After we drove by he flipped us off. What a friendly neighbor...pretty sure there were some drugs involved on that one! lol, you just never know. As soon as we got back, I fed the horses and left Merle with the rest of the chores while I went down to Dick's to feed tho se dogs. I made it down there alright with the pickup and even met Kevin (has a neighboring pasture) on my way. There are five gates and a cattle guard just to get from the road to the house, so the trip to feed the dogs is not exactly short. But, I got there fine and checked wells and played wtih the hyper dogs for about a half hour because they had been locked up all day. I coaxed them back in with food and headed off for home. By the time I got back Merle called and said to come over for supper. We had tongue and I hadn't had it before- I think it's really pretty good...and he was afraid I wouldn't eat it- heck if that stopped me from eating it I don't know if this would be the place for me to stay! haha
After dinner we watched the news and now here I sit. Merle and Sharla are going to Rapid tomorrow to make a run. the truck and trailer both need serviced so they will probably be gone all day. Sounds like the rest of us will probably be fixing fence...fun times!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Hailing in the Company
Hmmm...where to start with a day like today.
I woke up sometime before six to the sound of pounding rain. It was pouring cats and dogs, lightining and thundering- then came the hail. It was about dime to nickel size, maybe a little bigger. By the time I got up, ate, and got ready to do chores it had just quit hailing and raining; seemed like a lul in the storm. So, I quick went outside and started feeding the cats. I got that done and went on to let the horses in. By the time I got them in and walked into the grainery to grab their feed and right then it started raining and hailing around. So here I am, hailed into the the chicken coup and the horses are wanting in the barn, but right about them, Merle showed up and let them in and saved the day. haha- o those poor horses, they'll toughen up. So, there we were, standing in the chicken coup, waiting for it to stop pouring and hailing. It eventually did, but the entire corral was under water before that happened. The fat cattle were all scrunched in a corner by the ridge, the horses in the barn, and the river flowing through all of it! We finally got chores done, but it was sure a wet start. When it was all said and done there was over 3 inches of rain dumped between 5 and 8am...that isn't completely accurate- I'll get the real stats sometime. In fact, when I came back in the national weather service called me and asked all sorts of questions about the storm. I answered what I could and then directed them to Merle- haha I figured he could deal with them and might be a littel more knowledgeable on exact amounts. So after two shots of hail and three inches of rain the place was under water. As the day went on we found gullys in every road and hill, and the draw that runs through the place became a lake and ran right over the road for the entire morning- that was fun to drive through!
After chores we just decided there wasn't much we could do because of all the rain so, we both went home and decided to meet up later. I cleaned a bit and got ready for my company- o how fun. By the time I finished that up it was about ten, and Merle had come back down this direction to let the horses out and check out the roads. We went for a short drive and decided that the rain came down so fast that most of it just packed it down and than ran off. So, we turned around and headed home. We had caught a couple more raccoons in the live trap, so he took care of those and then dropped me off back home so I could change clothes and head into town. The road was pretty good, just a few bad spots, and I made it to town in good time, just as my sister Virginia, and aunts, LeAnn and Charlene, were pulling into the fire hall to meet me. I took them right to Cho-Snazz, the restuarant in town, to have some dinner.
Dinner was pretty tasty, but next we had to decide what to do. Since it had rained so much it would be hard to go a lot of places around the ranch, so I showed them around town. We stopped at the quilt store and checked out the museum hours (we'll hit it up maybe tomorrow). Otherwise, I just gave them a nice little tour of the big city of Martin, or "Martini" as Virginia calls it. Afterward, the roads were dry enough that I had them follow me back home in the Blazer they brought, and boy was it a good thing they had it. We got back alright, and I quick stopped and stole some steaks from the deep freeze. Then, we "crossed the waters" of the driveway, which were pretty darn high, but we both made it. Then, I gave them a tour of my house and let them unpack a few things. We hung out for a while and decided what to do. I took them out to see the corrals and the horses and such, then of course we stopped at the fire trucks- lol I just think it's pretty cool that there are fire trucks on the place. After that, we headed out to see the badlands, via backroads to Interior. The roads weren't horrible, but pretty rough. You could see where it had washed out and there is even one spot where the culvert is coming clear out of the ditch, hanging on by just a few bolts at the top of a seam! But, we managed to make it and see lots of the pretty scenery along the way. When we made it to Interior we stopped at the cedar pass store and I also took them up to the Prairie Dog Ranch Store- fun times fun times. Nothing beats a photo with a ginormous p-dog! But, by about this time we were ready to head back. The trip home was fairly uneventful, we just stopped for gas in Interior and headed out.
When we made it back the water had gone down quite a bit. I came out to help finish chores but Merle had almost all of them done. He had been out checking fields and fences all afternoon and didn't have a very good report. All of the fences in the draws were washed out and the particular field he checked (not sure which one) was hailed out. This wasn't one of the amazing ones, but it's still a crappy deal. So, that wasn't real good, but what can you do but fix the fence and hope for the best for the wheat- maybe we'll have to hay it.
After chores I came in and the four of us grilled up some steaks and just kinda hung out. We had a nice supper, and pulled some weeds out of my hailed-on garden. After supper, we just sat down and my aunts read while Virginia and I worked on the computers. I went out for a bit and talked to Merle when he came back from very graciously feeding Jonni's dogs for me. While he was down there he got that darn bull back in our pasture- two of them actually, so really, he got quite a bit done. Virginia came out and had a chance to talk with us and then we all went home. That puts me about where I sit. It was a long morning, and there will be lots of clean up and fence fixing in the next week, but I'm sure we'll make it through! It's really nice to have some company, I hope they enjoyed the day, I know I loved the scenery! But, we are all tired, and they did a lot of drivng today, so we are all gunna hit the sack!
I woke up sometime before six to the sound of pounding rain. It was pouring cats and dogs, lightining and thundering- then came the hail. It was about dime to nickel size, maybe a little bigger. By the time I got up, ate, and got ready to do chores it had just quit hailing and raining; seemed like a lul in the storm. So, I quick went outside and started feeding the cats. I got that done and went on to let the horses in. By the time I got them in and walked into the grainery to grab their feed and right then it started raining and hailing around. So here I am, hailed into the the chicken coup and the horses are wanting in the barn, but right about them, Merle showed up and let them in and saved the day. haha- o those poor horses, they'll toughen up. So, there we were, standing in the chicken coup, waiting for it to stop pouring and hailing. It eventually did, but the entire corral was under water before that happened. The fat cattle were all scrunched in a corner by the ridge, the horses in the barn, and the river flowing through all of it! We finally got chores done, but it was sure a wet start. When it was all said and done there was over 3 inches of rain dumped between 5 and 8am...that isn't completely accurate- I'll get the real stats sometime. In fact, when I came back in the national weather service called me and asked all sorts of questions about the storm. I answered what I could and then directed them to Merle- haha I figured he could deal with them and might be a littel more knowledgeable on exact amounts. So after two shots of hail and three inches of rain the place was under water. As the day went on we found gullys in every road and hill, and the draw that runs through the place became a lake and ran right over the road for the entire morning- that was fun to drive through!
After chores we just decided there wasn't much we could do because of all the rain so, we both went home and decided to meet up later. I cleaned a bit and got ready for my company- o how fun. By the time I finished that up it was about ten, and Merle had come back down this direction to let the horses out and check out the roads. We went for a short drive and decided that the rain came down so fast that most of it just packed it down and than ran off. So, we turned around and headed home. We had caught a couple more raccoons in the live trap, so he took care of those and then dropped me off back home so I could change clothes and head into town. The road was pretty good, just a few bad spots, and I made it to town in good time, just as my sister Virginia, and aunts, LeAnn and Charlene, were pulling into the fire hall to meet me. I took them right to Cho-Snazz, the restuarant in town, to have some dinner.
Dinner was pretty tasty, but next we had to decide what to do. Since it had rained so much it would be hard to go a lot of places around the ranch, so I showed them around town. We stopped at the quilt store and checked out the museum hours (we'll hit it up maybe tomorrow). Otherwise, I just gave them a nice little tour of the big city of Martin, or "Martini" as Virginia calls it. Afterward, the roads were dry enough that I had them follow me back home in the Blazer they brought, and boy was it a good thing they had it. We got back alright, and I quick stopped and stole some steaks from the deep freeze. Then, we "crossed the waters" of the driveway, which were pretty darn high, but we both made it. Then, I gave them a tour of my house and let them unpack a few things. We hung out for a while and decided what to do. I took them out to see the corrals and the horses and such, then of course we stopped at the fire trucks- lol I just think it's pretty cool that there are fire trucks on the place. After that, we headed out to see the badlands, via backroads to Interior. The roads weren't horrible, but pretty rough. You could see where it had washed out and there is even one spot where the culvert is coming clear out of the ditch, hanging on by just a few bolts at the top of a seam! But, we managed to make it and see lots of the pretty scenery along the way. When we made it to Interior we stopped at the cedar pass store and I also took them up to the Prairie Dog Ranch Store- fun times fun times. Nothing beats a photo with a ginormous p-dog! But, by about this time we were ready to head back. The trip home was fairly uneventful, we just stopped for gas in Interior and headed out.
When we made it back the water had gone down quite a bit. I came out to help finish chores but Merle had almost all of them done. He had been out checking fields and fences all afternoon and didn't have a very good report. All of the fences in the draws were washed out and the particular field he checked (not sure which one) was hailed out. This wasn't one of the amazing ones, but it's still a crappy deal. So, that wasn't real good, but what can you do but fix the fence and hope for the best for the wheat- maybe we'll have to hay it.
After chores I came in and the four of us grilled up some steaks and just kinda hung out. We had a nice supper, and pulled some weeds out of my hailed-on garden. After supper, we just sat down and my aunts read while Virginia and I worked on the computers. I went out for a bit and talked to Merle when he came back from very graciously feeding Jonni's dogs for me. While he was down there he got that darn bull back in our pasture- two of them actually, so really, he got quite a bit done. Virginia came out and had a chance to talk with us and then we all went home. That puts me about where I sit. It was a long morning, and there will be lots of clean up and fence fixing in the next week, but I'm sure we'll make it through! It's really nice to have some company, I hope they enjoyed the day, I know I loved the scenery! But, we are all tired, and they did a lot of drivng today, so we are all gunna hit the sack!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Late start
Another odds and ends day on the Ranch. I had some trouble getting up this morning, my alarms were all blaring but I didn't even hear them! Not sure what the deal was but I started out a little late...always a great way to start the day. This morning there were three raccoons in the live trap- holy moly! But, Merle took care of them while I was doing late chores. The first thing on the agenda this morning was to go and get one of Merle's bulls out of the neighbors pasture. Tina, Merle, and I saddled up while everyone else hayed.
We went way over west, almost to Mike's place (he was five miles away from where he was supposed to be) to get the bull, and it couldn't have been easier. He was right near where we parked the trailer, so we set up some panels and went out and got him. He loaded fairly easy and the whole thing was way simpler than it could have been, so we really lucked out. After we got that bull back home and unloaded, Tina headed out to the hay field. I couldn't believe it but it was already getting pretty hot and sticky by ten. Merle and I parked the trailer, put the horses back out, and then went in for an early dinner. After eating, he headed for the hay field and I headed out to do all sorts of things. First off, yesterday I was supposed to put this calf back through a let down in the fence. Well, I saw Merle stop there and chase the calf so I thought that the little fart had either crawled the fence, or he put him back with the let down. Well, neither was really true. When we drove out to get that bull, the let down was still down, with plenty of yearlings that could have walked right through on the other side. I was supposed to put it back up and just didn't realize what he had done- dumb on my part. On top of that, when we put the let down back up, I was standing on the wrong side...think I was a little slow today! haha So, got that done and headed down to the feed room to haul some oats and clean. This took quite a while since I had to shovel up oats into the agar and adjust the ladder that sits over the bunker head. But, I got it done pretty eaisly with Joe and Ace cleaning up any spills! After oats, I headed out with the hydra bed to pick up a couple round bales out of the ditch. I had never done this before but Merle told me it was really easy- and it was! Those things are slick, and I had never even used one before! So, after being slightly excited that I did at least one thing right today, I headed back home to move some waste oil out of the shed and headed to feed Jonni's dogs. But, first I had to make a quick stop through town to pick up some stuff at the General Store. While I was in town, I thought I was at this four way stop but wasn't, and ended up turning in front of this pickup...oops. Pretty sure I just kept on going and hoped that they wouldn't figure out who I was or who owned the pickup. I felt like a dink, but really wasnt' sure how mad they were so I jsut went home! Nothin' like stickin' your tail between our legs! So, I headed for Jonni's; today I had a method behind the dog feeding madness. Merle said to move this bed he has in that house back home, and it wasnt' hard to move in the house, but I needed help to get it to the pickup. So, I left the dogs to run around and play for a bit, while I went up the road and caught Connor (Merle's nephew) in the baler. Sure enough, I found him and he came down and helped- this really speeded up the process. After we got them loaded and I put the dogs back away adn dropped Connor off at his pickup. Then, I headed home for some chores.
Evening chores were pretty uneventful. I just did them and and headed out to the hay field Merle was at at about 6pm. We got quite a ways in the field, but probably will have an hour left in the morning before finishing it. When we quit, he told me to lead the way and he would shut the gates. Well, bad choice- I started going the wrong way! I found my way in there but couldn't get back out two hours later! lol It was just one of those days. So, we finally made it home, (without getting lost), and unloaded the bed off of the pickup. After we got that all done we headed in for supper. That puts me about where I'm at..tired...and in need of a shower! Tomorrow will probably be hay hay hay, until my sister and aunts come around noon.
We went way over west, almost to Mike's place (he was five miles away from where he was supposed to be) to get the bull, and it couldn't have been easier. He was right near where we parked the trailer, so we set up some panels and went out and got him. He loaded fairly easy and the whole thing was way simpler than it could have been, so we really lucked out. After we got that bull back home and unloaded, Tina headed out to the hay field. I couldn't believe it but it was already getting pretty hot and sticky by ten. Merle and I parked the trailer, put the horses back out, and then went in for an early dinner. After eating, he headed for the hay field and I headed out to do all sorts of things. First off, yesterday I was supposed to put this calf back through a let down in the fence. Well, I saw Merle stop there and chase the calf so I thought that the little fart had either crawled the fence, or he put him back with the let down. Well, neither was really true. When we drove out to get that bull, the let down was still down, with plenty of yearlings that could have walked right through on the other side. I was supposed to put it back up and just didn't realize what he had done- dumb on my part. On top of that, when we put the let down back up, I was standing on the wrong side...think I was a little slow today! haha So, got that done and headed down to the feed room to haul some oats and clean. This took quite a while since I had to shovel up oats into the agar and adjust the ladder that sits over the bunker head. But, I got it done pretty eaisly with Joe and Ace cleaning up any spills! After oats, I headed out with the hydra bed to pick up a couple round bales out of the ditch. I had never done this before but Merle told me it was really easy- and it was! Those things are slick, and I had never even used one before! So, after being slightly excited that I did at least one thing right today, I headed back home to move some waste oil out of the shed and headed to feed Jonni's dogs. But, first I had to make a quick stop through town to pick up some stuff at the General Store. While I was in town, I thought I was at this four way stop but wasn't, and ended up turning in front of this pickup...oops. Pretty sure I just kept on going and hoped that they wouldn't figure out who I was or who owned the pickup. I felt like a dink, but really wasnt' sure how mad they were so I jsut went home! Nothin' like stickin' your tail between our legs! So, I headed for Jonni's; today I had a method behind the dog feeding madness. Merle said to move this bed he has in that house back home, and it wasnt' hard to move in the house, but I needed help to get it to the pickup. So, I left the dogs to run around and play for a bit, while I went up the road and caught Connor (Merle's nephew) in the baler. Sure enough, I found him and he came down and helped- this really speeded up the process. After we got them loaded and I put the dogs back away adn dropped Connor off at his pickup. Then, I headed home for some chores.
Evening chores were pretty uneventful. I just did them and and headed out to the hay field Merle was at at about 6pm. We got quite a ways in the field, but probably will have an hour left in the morning before finishing it. When we quit, he told me to lead the way and he would shut the gates. Well, bad choice- I started going the wrong way! I found my way in there but couldn't get back out two hours later! lol It was just one of those days. So, we finally made it home, (without getting lost), and unloaded the bed off of the pickup. After we got that all done we headed in for supper. That puts me about where I'm at..tired...and in need of a shower! Tomorrow will probably be hay hay hay, until my sister and aunts come around noon.
Random Day
Alright...my dumb internet would not work last night and I was too tired to fight with it. The power surged for some reason or another yesterday and I think that may have had something do with it. But, either way, after some prodding and messing around I got it going tonight.
Yesterday was full of odds and ends. When I got up for chores that lovely dead raccoon was still waiting for me in the corral, we just threw him in the pickup to get rid of later. I went ahead and did chores as usual. We had set the live trap in a different place up by the cake feeder and managed to get another raccoon in there- thinning my chicken killers. The plan was for me to ride into town with Merle to make a few stops like the FSA office, the grocery store, etc. So, he needed to be in town by eight which meant as soon as chores were done we took off. Tina and Jeff and Ross went out to the hay field and we went to town to run errands and whatnot. I got done at the FSA office long before Merle did so I took a twenty minute nap in the pickup! lol, it was quite amazing. Then, we decided to make a few other stops, the post office, bank, grocery store, etc. Our very last stop just so happened to be the grocery store. He needed like a gallon of milk and I had this list...haha, I put it all together pretty quick. When we came out of the store Merle carried his own bags and I had quite a few so the bagger carried mine out to the pickup for me. When we got there I just told the guy that the back end would be fine and Merle was like "O, no lets put everything in the front". I thought this was kinda funny until I figured it out. Here we are in Martin, carrying around a dead raccoon in the back of the pickup...now that's ranchy! lol It was pretty funny, I dont' think the guy noticed but he did almost set my groceries right on it! We got rid of it later.
When we got back home we unloaded everything and had a quick dinner. Merle was headed out to hay and I was headed out to farm some little bottom pieces just south of the place that I had already disked once a few days ago. I didn't have too much trouble getting everything going, but those little tiny pieces can be really frustrating and time consuming- but I got 'em. After my couple hours of farming my job was to try to get Merle's new dvd/vcr player hooked up. Everyone has tried to get the dumb thing to work at least once and has had no luck. So, after lots of cords, telephone calls to tech support, and yelling at the dumb thing, I got it to work. I can see now why people couldn't get it working...it took more time than the disking did!
By then, it was chore time. So, I did the evening chores and left the horses the same was I usually do but left the gate between Ace and Joe open a hare. It's amazing, but horses must smell open gates...I went and fed calves and what not and when I came back they were both still eating, but in the opposite one's grain! lol, it was pretty cute and funny. After chores, I had to run down to Dicks to feed Jonni's dogs. She is gone for a couple days so I'm feeding two dogs and checking the place. It takes a half hour just to get down there if you go to the right gate. I've only been there like 15 times, but still had to call and make sure I was headed for the right gate becuase I had never driven myself without following anyone...talk about dumb! But, it still takes time because you have to open all the gates to get there, play with the pups, and feed 'em. I also checked a well down there. I fed them, packed back up, and headed home for the night. I tell you what, it was an odds and ends day, but I was sure tired. When, I got back home I was going to write but I had no internet so I showered and went to bed.
Yesterday was full of odds and ends. When I got up for chores that lovely dead raccoon was still waiting for me in the corral, we just threw him in the pickup to get rid of later. I went ahead and did chores as usual. We had set the live trap in a different place up by the cake feeder and managed to get another raccoon in there- thinning my chicken killers. The plan was for me to ride into town with Merle to make a few stops like the FSA office, the grocery store, etc. So, he needed to be in town by eight which meant as soon as chores were done we took off. Tina and Jeff and Ross went out to the hay field and we went to town to run errands and whatnot. I got done at the FSA office long before Merle did so I took a twenty minute nap in the pickup! lol, it was quite amazing. Then, we decided to make a few other stops, the post office, bank, grocery store, etc. Our very last stop just so happened to be the grocery store. He needed like a gallon of milk and I had this list...haha, I put it all together pretty quick. When we came out of the store Merle carried his own bags and I had quite a few so the bagger carried mine out to the pickup for me. When we got there I just told the guy that the back end would be fine and Merle was like "O, no lets put everything in the front". I thought this was kinda funny until I figured it out. Here we are in Martin, carrying around a dead raccoon in the back of the pickup...now that's ranchy! lol It was pretty funny, I dont' think the guy noticed but he did almost set my groceries right on it! We got rid of it later.
When we got back home we unloaded everything and had a quick dinner. Merle was headed out to hay and I was headed out to farm some little bottom pieces just south of the place that I had already disked once a few days ago. I didn't have too much trouble getting everything going, but those little tiny pieces can be really frustrating and time consuming- but I got 'em. After my couple hours of farming my job was to try to get Merle's new dvd/vcr player hooked up. Everyone has tried to get the dumb thing to work at least once and has had no luck. So, after lots of cords, telephone calls to tech support, and yelling at the dumb thing, I got it to work. I can see now why people couldn't get it working...it took more time than the disking did!
By then, it was chore time. So, I did the evening chores and left the horses the same was I usually do but left the gate between Ace and Joe open a hare. It's amazing, but horses must smell open gates...I went and fed calves and what not and when I came back they were both still eating, but in the opposite one's grain! lol, it was pretty cute and funny. After chores, I had to run down to Dicks to feed Jonni's dogs. She is gone for a couple days so I'm feeding two dogs and checking the place. It takes a half hour just to get down there if you go to the right gate. I've only been there like 15 times, but still had to call and make sure I was headed for the right gate becuase I had never driven myself without following anyone...talk about dumb! But, it still takes time because you have to open all the gates to get there, play with the pups, and feed 'em. I also checked a well down there. I fed them, packed back up, and headed home for the night. I tell you what, it was an odds and ends day, but I was sure tired. When, I got back home I was going to write but I had no internet so I showered and went to bed.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Caught in the Act!
Today started wayy too soon! But, I managed to perk up and take on the day fairly well. I did morning chores pretty normally, except that there was a cat in the live trap, and a horse snorting at it; I had a little trouble getting those dang bottle calves in, and I noticed that something had once again gotten into the chicken coup. We have tried to anchor the door shut lots of ways, but something continues to get in and eat the feed. It also managed to make two chickens magically dissapear a few days ago...hmmm. So, other than that thing went well but I was sure missing my little helper!
After chores Merle and I went and loaded up some salt and mineral. We strung it across Boehman's Dam and shot a couple prairie dogs and then realized it was time to go back home so that he could meet up with a friend at 9:30, and I could take my mom and Mary out riding. By the time we got there Merle's friend Pat was already there in the house talking with Mom and Mary. Bet that was the last thing either one of them expected to run into! lol, but they were having a nice time. So, Merle and Pat went off to play with a Catepillar and I took the other two out on a ride. I was able to take Joe out under saddle for the first time since I've been here! It was kindof exciting, and I think he really liked it, I will have to try to make time to do that more often. I took them up through the horse pasture and on some ridges and then down through cottonwood canyon (a pretty draw area with lots of ridges). It was really nice, and lots of fun. We even got some good pictures from it! They both really enjoyed the horses they picked (Nelly and Joe) and the scenery too! It was really fun. But, eventually we made it back and Mom grilled some steaks that Merle set out for us, and boy were they tasty. There were four steaks and between Merle, Pat, Mom, Mary, and I we only ate three of them! Yeah, they were amazingling tasty and huge! So, we ate and visited and then split up. Merle went out to hay and say goodbye to Pat and I helped (or tried to help) Mary and Mom pack up and move out. It didn't take us long and they were ready to go. It was really fun to have someone around for a few days and have an excuse to take them out on fun trips. Not to mention the 300 or so .22 brass casings that were left in the Explorer! haha, it was great! So, they headed on there way and Merle came and picked me up so we could go service the baler tractor and get it moved as well as the rake. This took a littel while, but we got the job done and decided to hay for a while until it really started to look like rain. We still had a whole bunch of new filters in the back of the pickup, so the rain wasn't worth the chance. We shut down then, and went home to do chores. After chores I brought all the left over steak and food from the last couple of days to Merle's and we ate it for supper. About the time we finished, we got paged out on a storm watching call. Now, this was really interesting. There was this absolutely huge billowing (like 4 layers of mushroom) while fluffy cloud. It had pretty much constant lightning in the sky and a few black littel tale clouds here and there. We grabbed the fire truck and were told to station ourselves right the turnoff for the place, so there we sat. We couldn't decided if it as moving toward us or away from us, and I'm pretty sure both were happening! It was pretty crazy looking, and we saw a couple (for sure one) horizintal funnel clouds. But, eventually it got far enough away and there were storm trackers closer to it, so we headed back home.
As soon as we got there I was trying to watch the news and fell asleep on the couch. By the time I woke up or was woken up- it was 11:30! Ah...dangit, I'm terrible at going to bed at a decent time! So, I drove over the hill to go home. As I was walking up the doorstep I thought I could hear something, and sure enough- it was chickens. I knew exactly what was going on. We have been trying to catch whatever is getting in there in the live trap, but it was in there right now. I dont' have any amo for my gun, so I quick called Merle and he came down to get that little sucker! We crept up on the crack in teh back of the sliding door, and there, eating the feed (caught in the act), was a huge raccoon! Somehow, I have no clue how, Merle managed to wedge his barrel through the hole in the door and nail that thing right in the jugualar (or at least I think so conisdering all the blood)! So, the culprate has been caught, but I'm sure there are more where he came from. Talk about ending the day with a boom. We just tossed him out in the corral tonight- tomorrow morning that could be interesting- oh well~Anyway, it's past my bedtime, sounds like tomorrow is some more haying and such.
After chores Merle and I went and loaded up some salt and mineral. We strung it across Boehman's Dam and shot a couple prairie dogs and then realized it was time to go back home so that he could meet up with a friend at 9:30, and I could take my mom and Mary out riding. By the time we got there Merle's friend Pat was already there in the house talking with Mom and Mary. Bet that was the last thing either one of them expected to run into! lol, but they were having a nice time. So, Merle and Pat went off to play with a Catepillar and I took the other two out on a ride. I was able to take Joe out under saddle for the first time since I've been here! It was kindof exciting, and I think he really liked it, I will have to try to make time to do that more often. I took them up through the horse pasture and on some ridges and then down through cottonwood canyon (a pretty draw area with lots of ridges). It was really nice, and lots of fun. We even got some good pictures from it! They both really enjoyed the horses they picked (Nelly and Joe) and the scenery too! It was really fun. But, eventually we made it back and Mom grilled some steaks that Merle set out for us, and boy were they tasty. There were four steaks and between Merle, Pat, Mom, Mary, and I we only ate three of them! Yeah, they were amazingling tasty and huge! So, we ate and visited and then split up. Merle went out to hay and say goodbye to Pat and I helped (or tried to help) Mary and Mom pack up and move out. It didn't take us long and they were ready to go. It was really fun to have someone around for a few days and have an excuse to take them out on fun trips. Not to mention the 300 or so .22 brass casings that were left in the Explorer! haha, it was great! So, they headed on there way and Merle came and picked me up so we could go service the baler tractor and get it moved as well as the rake. This took a littel while, but we got the job done and decided to hay for a while until it really started to look like rain. We still had a whole bunch of new filters in the back of the pickup, so the rain wasn't worth the chance. We shut down then, and went home to do chores. After chores I brought all the left over steak and food from the last couple of days to Merle's and we ate it for supper. About the time we finished, we got paged out on a storm watching call. Now, this was really interesting. There was this absolutely huge billowing (like 4 layers of mushroom) while fluffy cloud. It had pretty much constant lightning in the sky and a few black littel tale clouds here and there. We grabbed the fire truck and were told to station ourselves right the turnoff for the place, so there we sat. We couldn't decided if it as moving toward us or away from us, and I'm pretty sure both were happening! It was pretty crazy looking, and we saw a couple (for sure one) horizintal funnel clouds. But, eventually it got far enough away and there were storm trackers closer to it, so we headed back home.
As soon as we got there I was trying to watch the news and fell asleep on the couch. By the time I woke up or was woken up- it was 11:30! Ah...dangit, I'm terrible at going to bed at a decent time! So, I drove over the hill to go home. As I was walking up the doorstep I thought I could hear something, and sure enough- it was chickens. I knew exactly what was going on. We have been trying to catch whatever is getting in there in the live trap, but it was in there right now. I dont' have any amo for my gun, so I quick called Merle and he came down to get that little sucker! We crept up on the crack in teh back of the sliding door, and there, eating the feed (caught in the act), was a huge raccoon! Somehow, I have no clue how, Merle managed to wedge his barrel through the hole in the door and nail that thing right in the jugualar (or at least I think so conisdering all the blood)! So, the culprate has been caught, but I'm sure there are more where he came from. Talk about ending the day with a boom. We just tossed him out in the corral tonight- tomorrow morning that could be interesting- oh well~Anyway, it's past my bedtime, sounds like tomorrow is some more haying and such.
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