A neighbor had branded most of his calves by hiring some high school kids to wrestle the calves, and they had already branded on at least three other occasions. Somehow the oldest calves were farthest from the place, and were the last bunch in line to get processed. He was worried that the calves were big enough to really put wrestlers to the test, so I offered to let him try out our "calf trap" contraptions. Being "machines" it doesn't matter how big the calves are.
My neighbor is only three months younger than me. We grew up together, as he is also my cousin and life-long friend. I told him we'd loan him our outfit, and our crew would come along just for the fun of it, to "teach" them how to use it. It was a pleasant morning, and we did 164 great big ol' Charlais cross calves before noon. His delightful bride of quite a few years prepared a wonderful dinner to top off the day's activities. Three of their four boys were on hand to help, as well as a couple of their ranch hands. A lady and her son from sixty miles away came to take part in the adventure, and they were both top hands at dragging calves to the fire. Everything went pretty slick, and no one got wore out from having to man-handle the calves.
The boss supervising the roundup
Saddletramp in action
The Kosmo Kid demonstrates the calf trap
Peach Blossom, considered armed and dangerous
The crew in action
The lady guest who is a top hand. She took most of these pictures using my camera
Her son, who is a super looper
Where there is smoke, there is a brand
The brander, with the boss in the background
The boss and his number one son
The boss's number two son
The boss's youngest son
Me, having too much fun
Men with muscle
Good shot
Happening like it should
Efficient crew
Setting a trap
Mom, Help!
Up and over
Things getting done
Getting advice from my kid
Close up
Kicking high, but still caught
Bringing him in
Attacking from all sides
Another one goes to the fire
About to become subdued