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Game Changer
A few weeks ago I spent a couple of days out of town attending meetings. As I was boarding the flight to return home, I received the following text from my husband: “I bought some first calf heifers...
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Thanksgiving
What a whirlwind! Thanksgiving was nearly perfect for our family. The food: roast beef & ham & turkey, potatoes & dressing, salads & sides, and my favorite Thanksgiving dish: Pie! I...
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Calves & Trees & Kids
This fall and winter we have been in the process of buying calves and shipping them to the ranch. My husband and I have a system worked out. He goes to the place we are purchasing the calves, helps...
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My Daughter
That little girl dressed in pink from head to toe is my daughter. My only daughter. Most days I am caught up in the world of muddy, smelly boys and feel vastly outnumbered. Last night my family was...
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Welcoming 2013
Happy New Year! Okay, I have to admit that the new year began a week ago, but my kids didn’t return to school until today. In other words, I was so busy enjoying Christmas Vacation that I am just now...
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Weekend Work
A friend of ours is running cattle on some of our pasture this winter. He needed to process his newly purchased cattle last weekend and we had just enough cowboys and cowgirls around the ranch to get...
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Ranch Life
Three not-so-great things about living on a ranch: 1. Mud and muck everywhere. Vehicles are muddy, clothes are mucky and kids are both. 2. Mother Nature. Frozen fingers & toes. Sunburns. Howling...
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Handling Animals and Kids
No school this week! My kids were so excited to discover that they got a week off for President’s Day. (I believe it’s actually for teacher furlough days, but either way my kids are home this week!)...
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Vacation Branding
(All photos courtesy of Gwen Melshaw. Thank you Gwen!) Recently, I was visiting with a friend about raising daughters. Our daughters are in the same class at school and we were discussing the day in...
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Cowboys?
As much as we enjoy our time horseback, there are occasions when we use the Gator for ranch activities. It is unbelievably easy to throw protein supplement in the back of the Gator to take out to the...
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Rotating Fields
Rotational grazing is a ranch management practice that we use with our yearlings. We have several fields that we rotate the yearlings through, moving to a different field every few days. This allows...
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Sorting Cows
I love weekends, mostly because my kids are home from school and we can do activities together as a family. I realize these days are short-lived; my older boys are nearing their teenage years and will...
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Antibiotic Use
Antibiotics. What a controversial subject! There are many articles and a great deal of science to consider when discussing antibiotic usage, but today I want to share with you my perspective on this...
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Trailing Pairs
Some days just don’t turn out as expected. We like to plan shorter rides for the younger kids to help out on such as, gathering this field of cows and calves, then moving them down the road to a new...
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Caring for the Calves
Part of our day to day job is checking on the various groups of cattle on the ranch. Recently, during our check of this group of pairs we noticed we had a few sick calves. We brought the pairs into...
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Fair Time!
My older boys just completed their 4H steer project at the local county fair. It was my nine year old’s first year in 4H and I have to tell you that it was a struggle at times to convince him of the...
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Nevada
The past few weeks found my family traversing across northern Nevada gathering cattle and branding calves. My husband and I successfully convinced the kids that this would be a perfectly acceptable...
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Preg-Checking Heifers
Brought the heifers into the corral for a date with the vet. He did a quick ultrasound to determine if they were bred or not. It was a long day, but my daughter earned the title of #1 Helper! It was a...
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Mooooo!
This mama cow is ready to unload from the trailer! We hauled her and her calf to a new meadow where the rest of the pairs are grazing for the next few weeks. She was spending a little time by the barn...
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