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A Few More Ranch Pictures

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Soapweed

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Location
northern Nebraska Sandhills
Here are a few more photographs, taken while doing normal ranch activities.

RedCowAlert.jpg

Red Cow Alert------Spearhead Brand
TeaTimeforaTurtle.jpg

Tea Time for a Turtle
LittleBittyBabyFlowers.jpg

Little Bitty Baby Flowers
PrettyRamToughOffroading.jpg

Pretty Ram Tough Offroading
YearlingReplacementHeifers.jpg

Spearhead Yearling Replacement Heifers
ItsaLonelyLife.jpg

It's a Lonely Life
Scarlett.jpg

Scarlett, pretty good ranch dog
EndofaHayDay.jpg

End of a Hay Day
 
They are called sand turtles or box turtles. This one had climbed up into a water tank, and would have drowned sooner or later because they can't float forever. I rescued him, because when you see them out in the middle of a road, it is going to rain. He was miles away from any road, but with persistence maybe he can get to one sometime when we need a good rain. :wink:

No, we are not done haying. Have quite a ways yet to go, but at least it is piling up pretty good.
 
Enjoyed the pics. Is that a Vermeer baler, and if so, how do you like it?

Faster Horses, did you folks decide on one yet?
 
It is a Vermeer L model. We like it. It has super big airplane tires that are good for baling in soft ground. We also have an older Super J model, that has made a lot of bales and has stood the test of time pretty well. I've never made hay with any other brand of baler, but Vermeer seems to make a good one. They are also the people that invented the whole concept of big round bales, back in the early '70's.
 
Soapweed, I didn't realize (or if I did, I had forgotten) that Vermeer was the one who started the round balers...interesting!

Yes, we did get a baler. After much checking and looking, pulling and pushing, panting and hyperventilating (that was me), we decided on the Vermeer M. It has the big tires also, and rides really good across rough ground. Takes 15 seconds from stop to go when tying the net wrap. It is super heavy duty compared to some of the others. Our old baler was the Super J and it served us well. We have a Vermeer dealer right here and that makes it nice. Hopefully, this will be the last baler we will ever need. (That's what we always say when we buy something~) The guys have been amazed at how well it picks up the hay. The belts don't twist and we were told you can't plug them up. But that is not quite true~you can plug them... :wink:

The guys are just getting used to it but they are pretty impressed. Our swather makes a double windrow and that needs to be more narrow than they were making them, or so that is what I heard them say. The windrows need to be no wider than 5 1/2 feet wide. So hopefully, when the guys get everything figured out, the baler won't plug. It was "operator error" and not the fault of the baler. :roll:
 
I originally posted this little hay baler story back on March 27th of 2003, but will post it again, since we're on the subject.

Back in the early '70's big round hay balers were just being introduced to the hay country. Only one man in this area, for 75 miles in any direction, had one. Wherever he baled, an audience assembled to check out the new technology. On one of his first demonstrations, about five or six guys were following him closely, walking behind. When about the fourth or fifth bale came out, the men saw that the driver was distracted and used the opportunity to tip the last bale up on it's end. They then pointed out to the proud owner of the new baler that one of his bales had come out "differently." He was amazed, and thought it was for real. Then wherever he baled the next time, some of the old audience would "clue in" someone from the new audience to ask the fellow if bales always came out on the side, or if they ever came out standing on end. His standard answer was, "Usually they come out laying on their side, but one time a bale came out standing on end." The fellow died a few years later, and I know he went to his grave thinking that one bale on one occasion came out of the baler standing on end. :)
 
Thanks, Frenchie. You taught me everything I know about putting the pics on the web. And Mrs. Soapweed is my technical advisor, who understands all this modern technology much better than I. She is the one who gave me the camera for an early Father's Day present. Snapping the actual photographs is just the fun part. :)
 
Another group of interesting pictures, Soapweed. Especially liked your explicit horticultural caption for the white flowers! :wink:
Is the Spearhead one huge size for a brand or are they usually that big??
You must be able to see that a mile away with your telescope.
 
nr: "Especially liked your explicit horticultural caption for the white flowers!"

Scientificology is not one of my long suits. :wink: I follow the three S rule: see, shoot, and show.

What I like about our Spearhead brand is that it is fairly small, neat, and easily distinguished. It can be stamped on with one four inch bar, by applying it three times. We have made it a "one-iron" brand, which means the "arrow" is just stamped on all at once. It is usually applied to calves about two months old. As the calf grows, so does the brand. All things considered, this brand high up on the left hip ruins less hide (future leather) than most. The other brand on the left shoulder is a "3" which is a year brand, and means that the cow was born in 1993, making her twelve years old at the present time.
 
Thanks for the pics Soapweed, excellent as usual.
We started haying a couple of days ago (come to think of it, seems like we just quit feeding it), hopefully it stacks up like yours. Is that grass hay?
On another topic, are you near Blair by any chance?
 
I don't know if I loved the pidture more than Katie or not - - she will be 16 on Sept 2nd and wants to go out west again next year - - - If we get the chance I would love to show her you place in person. She's my baby and when you figure I'll be 60 when she is finised with high school I kind of dote on her a little.
 
Sharp pictures, Soapweed. Both in quality and subject!

How do you keep your tractor and baler so clean? Or had you just washed them off?

The hot wind is drying the hay up on the stalk here rather fast. Amazing, how it was too wet on July 4th to hay, and little more than a week later the hay is turning on the stem...

I think...I really think...

A GOOD RAIN WOULD BE WELCOME!
 
I guess I don't spend much time looking at or studying turtles, but it seems to me you have different ones they I do. I don't believe mine have the designs on their shell, They are just greenish gray or olive color. They have green heads and feet with a yellow or orange stripe. They are orange underneath with black lines forming squares.

I also had one in a stock tank a few years ago. I had a piece of 2X6 in the tank so tje meadowlarks wouldn't drown, he set on it but when I tried to get him out would dive to the bottom and center of the tank. Then when the tank was low I did get him out. He headed south towards the Minnechaduza Creek, although that is 2 miles away. Was determined as to where he was going, couldn't detour him or make him change directions. I followed him a ways to get pictures. It is surprising how fast a determined turtle can travel.

There are some Blandings turtles on the Valentine Wildlife Refuge. They tried to cross Hiway 83 and some were run over. The refuge people built a turtle fence to make them cross only where there are culverts. The ranchers have great fun talking about the turtle fence.

By the way, I think your small white flowers are Western fleabane
 

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