Weaning the rest of the heifer calves

[Soapweed]

Yesterday we trailed our first bunch of weaned heifers a couple miles to a different meadow, to free up the first one for the next bunch. We then gathered and trailed the next bunch up close to the corrals and left them in a small fresh meadow to mother up and enjoy life long enough for us to go to town and eat dinner at the cafe. When we got back, we corraled the pairs and separated the cows from the calves. The cows we turned south of the corrals to a small lot where we had several bale rings filled with hay. The calves we put north around on the other side of the barn,into another small lot that was fresh and different from the one where we weaned the last bunch. Two feeders were filled with hay bales, and four bales were fed out in windrows with the hay processor. There was lots of music for Saddletramp and his bride, and tonight will probably sound the same.

Pairs on the meadow

Contented cows

Cows and calves enjoying life

Riders of the range

Peach Blossom and Saddletramp

Saddletramp hauling hay

Filling the feeders

Smokey, my partner in crime

 

[Faster horses]

Everything looks good at your place, Soapweed.

And I recognize the roached mane gray. He looks like such a nice horse!

 

[Soapweed]

Yesterday morning was cold and blustery, when we were trailing the already weaned calves to a different location. I laughed and told Saddletramp, that it is pretty bad when I have to use my youngest greenest horse for the job, because he is the one least likely to buck me off on a frosty morning.

I have ridden Yellowstone oodles of miles the past several years, but a week or so ago he blew up before he got out of the barn. The saddle horn hit the rafters a couple times, and some curry combs and bridles were knocked off their hooks from the resulting earthquake. I had to lead him around a few laps of the corral before getting on, but then he was fine.

The new seven year old dun from the Philip horse sale is a nice horse to ride, but he needs a lot of warming up each morning. Saddletramp and I saddled up a week or so ago, and I led the dun through a couple corral gates, cinched him up a bit tighter, and led him for a little ways again. I got on, and he went about ten feet and then jumped high into the air. We were originally headed east, but when he came down he was facing west. He just made the one jump, but we traveled rather gingerly for the first quarter of a mile. He's a good horse, but sure takes some warming up.

And my roan distance horse is ornery enough that I don't even get on him unless I have a long ways to travel. Back to the grey, he's the gentlest horse in my string and I like him for that reason. He's also short enought that he's easy to get on when I'm decked out with lots of warm clothes. It's heck to get old.

 

[Jinglebob]

From the looks of things I better get some earflappers for Saddle Tramps hat! Brrr! :lol:

 

[Soapweed]

From the looks of things I better get some earflappers for Saddle Tramps hat! Brrr! :lol:

He's tougher than I am, but I've got the best of both worlds. As we ride along on a cold day, my ol' cap, face warmer, mittens, bib overalls and overshoes all feel pretty good. I can look across and see Saddletramp dressed fit to kill with wide-brimmed hat, gloves, chaps and big silver spurs hooked onto his cold bare boots. He's got the bad end of the deal, because he's freezing and only has me to look at, and I'm looking like the abominable snowman farmer.

No, seriously, he will put on warmer duds once in a while, but he's sure got about a twenty degree lower cold pain threshold than I do.

 

[Rowdy Ranch]

Thanks for the pictures of the kids and heifers-what a set of heifers. Our vet told me the other day,that a lot a guys are retaining more hiefers than usual this year.We have been the past several years and will probably keep more for ourselves this year. YOu sound like us when bundled up-cannot move near as quick. Have a wonderful day-all of you!