• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

What are some of your favorite ranch sounds?

Help Support Ranchers.net:

J

JF Ranch

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2006
Messages
508
Reaction score
0
Location
North Fringe of the Nebraska Sandhills
I returned home from the Nebraska State Trap Shoot at Doniphan, NE last evening around 9:30 pm to the sound of toads croaking in the vast puddles created by the wonderful rain we recieved while I was gone. (Incidentally this youth shoot is the largest of it's kind in the world, with close to 2000 kids competing over the 3 day event. Watching 24 trap houses of 5 kids each shooting at once is quite a sight to behold and the investment in guns & accessories represented is mind boggling! This goes on all day long.)

This chorus of croakers got me to thinking about some of my other favorite ranch sounds. Like the smacking of a newborn calf sucking his mother. And a mare knickering to her newborn foal.

There are many other wonderful sounds that many of us take for granted on a daily basis. I got to thinking that this might be a fun topic for Ranchers.net. Forgve me if this ground has already been covered.

What are some of your favorite sounds?
 
I also like to listen to the frogs. We have a ton of spring birds here :shock: so listening to them is incredible especially when the first song bird start chiming in around 4am when everything is so quiet. :) . Living in the Lakes District, the loons, geese and ducks on the lakes and ponds is pretty neat to watch and hear. A soft breeze through the pine/spruce trees. The distant bellow of a cow. Horses loping through the pasture.
 
JF Ranch said:
What are some of your favorite sounds?
Click to expand...

Like you, I love the sound of bullfrogs croaking their "I love water" song.

Another favorite sound is the lack of noise that can be "heard" when the wind doesn't blow. :wink: Then after a couple days of silence, it is again nice to hear the wind blowing and know that the water tanks are filling up as the windmills pump.

The chattering of blackbirds, as they fill the tree branches in the early spring.

The comforting creak of saddle leather and the jingle of spurs, as your saddle horse strides along.

The maternal "moo" as a cow accepts and loves her new calf.

The throaty roar of your tractor starting on a cold 25 below zero morning.

The sizzle of bacon and eggs frying, first thing in the morning.
 
The growling of the combines in the fall, the sound of the snowmobiles on a cold winter day, a newborn calf bleat, the sizzling of a branding iron, and the sound of everyone laughing and having a good time, no matter what kind of problem we have on our hands :D
 
That time in the evening just before the frogs and the coyotes and other night critters start up. The only sound you can hear is the breeze playing around. Sometimes not even that.Z
 
I also love the frogs in the Spring,the nuthatches pretty song,the cayotes in the evening,the horses nicker anytime,and a ma ma cow callin junior home.

Like Kola I like the auction barn too,the ranchers BS'in,talkin up the animals,the auctioneering...and esp the 'sold' when I can talk greg into yet another horse :D
 
I am kinda fond of hearing the phase "thanks dad, it sure was fun today" the older two are moving on in their interests, and I don't hear it often from them any more, but the smaller two make up for it!
 
Sounds of THe Sandhills

The drumming hoof beat of horses,
coming in to quench their thirst.
Playful running, jumping, bucking,
in a headlong race to be first

The complaining creak of a windmill,
awakened by a gentle breeze.
The staccato, chain-saw droning
of nectar seeking bees.

The mournful howl of a coyote,
on a clear cold winter night.
The challenge of ranch dogs,
to a raucous, yipping fight.

The plaintive childlike cry of a rabbit,
in the jaws of a canny foe.
The loser of a life or death race,
through deep, powdery snow.

THe frightened bawl of a subdued calf,
in the dusty, smoke filled air.
The sizzle of hot branding irons,
mingled with the stench of burning hair.

THe squeak of saddle leather,
the jingle of spurs on booted heels.
The contented groan of a rolling horse,
Oh! how good it feels.

THe symphony of croaking frogs,
after a summer rain.
The angry pelting of sudden hail,
against the window pane.

THe awesome clap of thunder,
the prayer of a child on his knees.
The moan of cold winter wind,
through the skeletal limbs of trees.

THe bellow of angry bulls,
with pawing feet and head toss.
The prelude to a mighty fight,
to determine who is boss.

THe contented chewing of cattle,
all eating prairie hay.
The demanding call of a cow,
to her calf, at the close of day.
 
First thing in the mornin...I love the sound of my perculator coffee pot with the lil glass knob on top jigglin tellin me "coffee's ready"

WhipperWills.......they make the neatest sounds at dusk, then on into the night. (leave your window open at night and go to sleep by their song)

Saddle leather creakin.

Bleave it or not, I like the moos of all the cows when they are penned and ready to work.

The quiet sounds horses make.....that's the only way I know to discribe it.......small snorts...and low nickerin.

The frogs here are DEAFENING!!!!!!! But I do like to hear em..cuz it means there's been rain LOL

Right before sunup is the quietest time here. Crickets, Katydid's, frogs, and numerous other bugs make lots of noise at night. They stop singin sometime in the early mornin hours...and I love to go out and listen to the silence.

I'mma go a lil farther with this.....Ranch smells. LOL

Cow Pies........Mr Lilly always says, "smells like money"

Horse smell.......if only it could be bottled

The smell of sagebrush after a rain....oh man!!!!!

Fresh cut hay...........but I like the way hay smells when ya bust a brand new bale too.

The smell of fresh coffee, and bacon fryin.

Ok I'll quit now LOL
 
Except for the windmills, which we don't have here, I think Been There covered the sounds I like very well, and much more peotically than I could, but he didn't mention the elk bugling in the fall, which is always cool to hear.
 
Pheasants in the morning
Cow calling her calf
Grandpas chant calling cows....years ago
Stanley Stout with the smell of woodchips
 
Big Muddy, I have spent the day trying to recall what those darn birds are called. It was even going to ask if any one knew which bird made the dee dee sound :shock: Figured you would all think I had lost the plot for sure . Thank goodness you answered that before I stayed up all night. I LOVE meadow larks and havent heard them for years.
 
Judith said:
Big Muddy, I have spent the day trying to recall what those darn birds are called. It was even going to ask if any one knew which bird made the dee dee sound :shock: Figured you would all think I had lost the plot for sure . Thank goodness you answered that before I stayed up all night. I LOVE meadow larks and havent heard them for years.
Click to expand...

You had better hurry up and get moved. :D
 
I like the sound of rain hiting the tin roofs on the farm.. Always ag eat sound.. Love the froks and the crickets, can live without the cicadia that are coming and loved the old creaking windmills we used to have enxt to the house... Beyond that I am partial to the meadowlark, amazing how you can be driving with the windows closed, going 40 miles per hour and somehow hear them as they sit on the fence posts next to the window..

I love the sound of the Canada Geese in the spring and hate it in the fall, lol..... Mourning doves and the sound a killdear makes... Ahh.. I even love the sound of bellering bulls during breading season, as long as they are a 1/4 mile away and not under the bedroom window.. Soft wind blowing the trees.. So many that I would miss if I wasn't here....

Folks come out and say how quiet it is out here... I agree, it is quiet as in we don't hear the neighbors, not a of honking horns or street traffic but it is far from quiet.. I think people have been so deafened by the sounds of modern city life that they can't appreciate the sounds of nature/country life... I know when I vist my bother, or even my folks I can't sleep.. I don't know if it is the noises, the stranges beds or the lack of my comfort sounds but it is something...
 
I like the sound of nails popping as it drops to -40 when I don't have to go outside to calve cows. Frogs are cool in spring especially when they all stop together when something scares them-it makes the hair stand on yoyur neck if your on a bear stand. I like how mares talk to their new foals and the way a proud horse farts when he trots off. Love the first geese of spring.
 
Didn't even think oof this one but it is one I do love, even if it means it is cold out..

When it is like, -10 or -20 out at night, on a real still night with a heavy snow on the ground, I just love the sound of stillness... I can't explain it very well, but the soft sound of snow crunching under your feet as you walk and when you stop there is just utter and complete silence.. I really got to enjoy this more in MOntana the first year I lived out there in the hills but we get it here too and it is something I cherish.. Will sometimes be out for much longer than I have to just to soak in that stillness that is so hard to find sometimes.
 
I think I see a bunch of ole fuddy duddy romantic ranchers here :) Ya gotta love it :)
 

Latest posts

Top