Feeding the Hungry...Cows

Two blogs in two days?!  I know, I'm as shocked as you are!  But really, I shouldn't be, because the one thing that goes hand-in-hand with calving around here is...(drumroll, please!!)...FEEDING!  Yes, feeding.  It sounds so mundane, so boring, and yet it isn't.

We feed the calving cows hay so they don't get too thin while nursing their calf before the green grass starts to grow.  If our cows are too thin, they may not be able to get bred to have a calf again next year, and in the interest of keeping all of you entertained with pictures and videos of cuter-than-cute calves, we feed.  And also, it's what we do--raise calves.  As you can see, it's pretty important.

I learned how to drive a stick shift while feeding. I learned how to balance myself on the back of a huge flatbed that went bumping over hard cow pies while feeding.  I learned that you have to be sure to pick up every strand of twine after it has been cut so the cows don't eat it.  I learned that falling off the feed truck really hurts...and so does whacking your knee or shin on hard steel while trying to get back on the feed truck.  Even earlier than that, I learned how to steer a truck without power steering or any sort of shocks to speak of, and bouncing up and down on that seat while trying to see over the giant wheel and out the windshield will forever be one of my fond memories.

Our main feed truck is a huge 1967 GMC Stock Truck, painted a chalky pale yellow with some charmingly rusty spots here and there.  We refer to it as "the Yellow Stock Truck" or just "the YST".  Like Johnny Cash's song, it really has been everywhere.  My dad has told me stories of taking it down a steep grade, fully loaded, and having the brakes go out.  He also remembers hauling bulls from Smith Valley to Bridgeport in it, and looking in a sideview mirror just in time to see one of the bulls leap out over the side (when it still had sides on it).  When you start it up, it rumbles at a low frequency just loud enough to make your ears sort of hurt and your chest vibrate with the sound.  The cows can hear it a mile away and we can always hear them bawling once it's up and running.

  Here she is.  The Yellow Stock Truck.  The great and powerful.  The dinner wagon.

It doesn't take a 40 acre field to turn around...maybe only 38 acres.  I am so glad they invented power steering!   But this truck...this truck is about as cool as they come.  They sure don't make them like they used to.

My view from the driver's seat.  It was a windy day (always a good day to be feed truck driver), and in an attempt to clear the dust off the windshield, I only succeeded in smearing it around a little.  Also, the seat drops off sharply on the driver's side, so if you're short like me, you sort of have to use to steering wheel to pull yourself up to see out.  That, or open the door, stand on the sideboard, and hope you can steer sufficiently enough that way.  

I love feeding.  Cattle, horses, whatever, I just love it.  It's so gratifying to see the animals take a giant mouthful of hay and look up at you, defiantly chewing as if they have triumphed in getting the best mouthful.  I like driving the feed truck, too...particularly if it is windy.  There is nothing worse than getting hay down your shirt and pants and knowing you can't get it out for at least another hour.  Actually, there is something worse: getting hay IN YOUR EYES.  Worse than dust by far.  I think I might prefer to get poked in the eye than have hay in there.  Sometimes it feels like it takes days to get that stuff out and you look like you're overly emotional because your poor eyes are always weepy.  

One of the cool things about driving the truck is that you put it in 4-wheel drive low and let it cruise along like a tortoise, so if you need another hand feeding, no one really has to drive.  Sometimes someone has to jump off and steer to avoid a ditch, and tree, a fence, a patch of thick willows, then hop back on and continue feeding.  Since it's moving so slow, it's pretty easy.  Oh, and kids, don't try this at home!  

Blair and Haley feeding.  Gotta love the big bales--so much nicer than trying to feed a million tiny bales!  This cow is wondering who is driving since I'm out taking pictures.  

Getting down to the last few bales.  These cows are perplexed at me as well...

 The chow line.  Come and get it!

You can see a long, long ways from up here on this mobile haystack.  

We have a backup feed truck in case the YST is out of commission for some reason, and while not as loud as the YST, it's still pretty swanky.  It's a 1973 Ford flatbed, painted a flat orangey-red.  To me, it looks like it should be in a vintage photo shoot.  Definitely classy...in a ranch-y sort of way.  

Loaded up and ready to roll.

 That...that is a thing of beauty, even if you're not a car person.  Or an old truck person.  I wish my dashboard looked like this.

 I feel as if I'm sitting on a throne!  See the new calf waaaaayyyy out there at the top of the picture?

The hay is always greener on the other side of the fence....

This cow is convinced we didn't just feed a huge bale out in her field.  She is pretty sure we kept the best hay on the truck. 

And finally, when we need to feed a group of old horses, or smaller groups of cattle, or to feed in a field where we can't get the YST because it's so wide, we use a truck or a truck pulling a flatbed trailer.  And of course, when you're driving a regular pickup truck, you need your feeding crew, right?

The Crew.  Yes, it is totally necessary to have that many dogs.

The Boss Man and his crew.  

 A common sight in my sideview mirror

Oh, hey there, Mr. Casual!

Keeping the horses from pulling the bales of hay off the truck

 The "Geriatric Ward" is happy with their breakfast

We also feed the cows mineral so they don't get deficient in something important, leading to problems down the road.  Our area here is deficient in copper and selenium, so the mineral we get has that added in.  Even though they have access to it all the time, the cows go through a period of not really eating a lot to absolutely scarfing it down.  When they see you over by the mineral feeders--it's a stampede!

How many mineral feeders can you see?  There are three, in case you're wondering.  And the cows in the background KNOW there is fresh mineral in them.  

The cows get overly excited about mineral.  Sometimes I can even scratch them.  I like that you can see cows shoving their way to the group to get to the mineral...must be like candy!

I promise, that's it.  Until next time, dream of green meadows, fat cattle, shiny horses, and blue skies! 

Calving Season

I apologize for the length of time it has taken me to post a new blog.  With all the goings-on between the new year and now, blogging has been pretty low on my list of priorities no matter how much I enjoy it!  Today, however, I am (happily) stuck in the office while a bitterly cold breeze blows and snowflakes try to fall, so I figured I'd blog.  I've built up quite a store of pictures on my phone, so it's time to share them!

Calving season is in full swing now, which means we are busy yet again.  Actually...we never stopped being busy.  We seem to move from one busy season to the next!  We have two groups of cows that are calving at the moment:  the first calf heifers (you can think of them as teen moms) and the spring calvers (the old professionals).  The heifers need to be watched a little more since they are first-time mothers.  Sometimes they get confused by the calf they just gave birth to, sometimes they are the communal milk bar for anyone and everyone (other heifers included), sometimes they need their calf pulled because of an abnormal presentation of the calf or the calf is too big to have on her own, and sometimes...well, sometimes things go perfectly.  We like it when that happens!  There always seems to be a lull in between the first calf born and when the rest of the group starts popping like Jiffy-pop.

The calm before the storm.  All the heifers eating their dinner and looking quite pregnant!

Say "Moo!"  

The first calf born in the heifer group--#189 had her calf on February 11th.  Welcome to the herd!

We like to ride through the calving cows horseback most of the time.  That way, we can get in the willows where you wouldn't be able to go with a truck or four wheeler, and we can see if there is a cow in trouble in there or make sure her calf is ok.  It's also handy if you need to get a cow into the corral so you can assist her with calving.  There are just some things that can't replace a good ol' cowhorse!

My mighty steed, tough as nails and grittier than sandpaper.  Her name is Princess, but you can call her "Your Highness."

Camouflaged in the willows!  

I love it when cows have calves whose markings mirror theirs or are pretty close.  It's like seeing a mini-me! Plus, calves are just too stinkin' adorable for their own good.  It's a wonderful time of year.

 Adorable.

The cuteness...it's almost too much!

Is it even legal to be that darling? 

 Snow White and the Dwarf.  Except he's not really a dwarf, but it seemed like a good name...

Nap time before dinner time!

The cows like to hide in the brush and will stay very still when you ride up.  Sometimes, they find a hiding place so great that you miss them entirely.  This heifer, however, failed...

 "Psssst!  Junior, get over here!  We're HIDING, hellooooo!"

"Sorry, Ma!  My legs don't work too well yet!"

"Wait, who's that?"  "JUNIOR, GET OVER HERE, SHE'LL SEE US!!!"

"I think I just heard the feed truck...scrap the hiding, I'm hungry!"

Most of our cattle don't have names except a few individuals who are uniquely marked, have a different hair color, or are special in some other way.  Last year, Aspen wanted to show a steer for the local 4-H club but was too young, so she halter broke and gentled a heifer that belonged to Dalton.  Aspen named her "Jojo", and Dalton showed her in the spring, then brought her back to the ranch to get bred.  This year, Aspen is still too young to show, but she has big plans to halter break Jojo's calf and see the pair of them shown.  She was so excited to see what Jojo's calf would look like and kept asking Megan if the calf had been born yet.  On Monday, Jojo had her calf, and I'm sure there has been a big discussion as to what to name this new addition!

Jojo & Company

To end the blog today, I thought you might like to see some real, live action!  So, I took some videos and will post them here.  I wish they were better quality, but it's hard to get the action on cue, especially with animals, so you'll have to suffer through the iPhone quality videos...but they're so CUTE it's totally worth it.  If you're not smiling by the end of the clips...well, that is one cold, cold heart you have. 

This is a brand new calf that I came upon the other day.  She had just gotten up after giving birth and starting to clean him off.  Hear her talking to it?  She sounds like she's humming.  Best sound a mama cow can make!

"Curious George"--this was the fourth or fifth time this calf had come up to me that afternoon.  He is super curious about my horse...and he feels really good!

Well, that about sums it up for now.  Time to go feed horses, etc.  Until next time, dream of green meadows, fat cattle, shiny horses, and blue skies!

The Cow that Stayed Behind

We all have moments of total incredulity.  Sometimes those moments make you want to smack your palm into your forehead in disbelief and embarrassment.  And sometimes, after all that, you have to laugh a little at the whole thing, because that's all you can do.  We had one such moment last week--hence this blog post.

Betsy and I were sitting in our office, happily working away while snow and darkness fell.  My phone rang, I picked it up because it was my husband calling from Bridgeport to tell me what time he would be home to Smith.  We chatted a bit, and then he says, "One of those guys that does some maintenance on the Buckeye road said he saw a cow and a calf hanging out by the Hot Springs.  It's probably your cow because no one else puts cows up there.  I'll see you at 7, bye!"  I was speechless!  A cow?  I couldn't believe it.  I kept opening and closing my mouth like a fish (which is very attractive).  I looked up at Betsy.  "Soooooo.....there is a cow and her calf in Buckeye.  By the Hot Springs."  She looked like a deer in the headlights!!  "A...cow?"

At that moment, Jon came in out of the cold.  He was giving us and update on a calf that had just been born that day.  We both looked at him, explaining what we had just heard.  A look of utter disbelief crept across his face.  "Are you KIDDING me?" After the initial shock, he started to laugh.  Because really, what can you do?

We had gathered all (or what we thought was all) of the cows out of Buckeye and Eagle Creek way back in September.  One cow kept breaking back up canyon on our Eagle Creek gather, but the cold weather almost always drives the cows out of the high country before long.  Plus, we checked up there several times and saw hide nor hair nor tracks of a single cow.  So she must have really been hiding well to have lasted that long!

Megan, Jon and I decided to go up the next day to get her out before the next storm dropped another foot of snow.  Jon and I took horses; Megan drove. We stopped at the ranch to get some panels to help get the cow and her calf loaded into the trailer.

Megan drags a panel over to tie it onto the trailer.  I am taking pictures and watching totally helping!

 Jon tries to unknot a stiff rope so we can finish tying the panels to the trailer.

Snow!  At the ranch!   

Winter at the Circle H

The whole way up Buckeye, we were scanning the snow for cow tracks.  You'd think it would be easy to track a cow in relatively fresh snow, but when a million deer are using the Buckeye road as a migration freeway made it a little difficult.  By the time we got up to the Hot Springs, we found some cow tracks--not fresh, but cow tracks they were.  As we were driving slowly down the road, Jon was leaning out the window looking at the snow, Megan was trying to see in front of the truck--no cow yet.  I looked out the window on the passenger side, and there, under a huge pine tree, was the cow and her calf.  Once we spotted them, they started to leave, so we hurriedly drove ahead and unloaded the horses.  

It doesn't look that cold, I know.  But there was a breeze...and I'm a wimp.

See the snow blowing off the peak in the background?  We kept hoping the wind wouldn't come up while we were trying to get the cow. 

The cow is over yonder! That little black speck...see her?

I told you we saw her!  Those old tracks of her in the snow helped us find her.  

 Good thing Junior is tagging along.  He's probably a month and a half old.

The plan was for Megan to drive ahead and put the trailer up along a fence so we could use that to our advantage.  Jon and I drove the cow down to a little meadow where a spring had melted the snow and some grass was growing while we waited to hear from Megan as to where she was.

 The cow in the little meadow.  Jon is down there somewhere lurking in the shadows.  I was up here to keep her from escaping back toward the Hot Springs.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day!  

Megan finally called us up on the radio.  "Umm....I think you're going to have to send Jon up here to help me.  I'm stuck."  I rode down to where Jon was blocking the bridge and he rode up canyon to help Megan out.  I waited by the meadow, keeping an eye on the cow.  She was happy just to see some green grass in that little warm spring, so she stayed put.  I waited.  I tried to draw pictures in the snow with my horse's feet.  I made up limericks about the cow: 

There once was a cow who stayed

 Up in Eagle all Fall she played

     A storm drove her out

     No feed was about

Then the Hunewill's came to her aid!  

I ate a Lara bar.  I listened to the burbling of the Buckeye Creek.  I made a haiku for the cow:  

Skin and bones is she

Her calf is fuzzy and fat

Next time, join the herd! 

I may have been a little bored.  Now and then I radioed Jon and Megan to hear the progress.  I may or may not have made up some limericks about the cow being too dumb to come out with the rest of the cows...

The cow, grazing happily on some short, green grass. 

 Buckeye Creek.  And my horse's ears.  

Finally, Megan radioed that they were on their way.  She pulled up to the flat above the meadow and set the panels up so we could try to load the cow.  

 She took one look at the panels, the trailer, and us, and decided she was NOT going to cooperate.

 It was like a Merry-Go-Round.  We went around and around and around the trailer, with her not ONCE looking like she was even thinking about loading up.

\

Jon kept trying to rope the calf...

...but it was hard with all the brush.  Plus, neither the cow or the calf helped anything.

Finally, the cow decided she'd had enough.  She blew past Jon's horse, ran down the meadow, and was headed for the bridge.  I raced down the hill, flew across the meadow, and tried to block her from crossing the bridge and going into some thick trees where it would be much tougher to get her in the trailer.  As she got closer, she never let up on her speed, just closed her eyes, lowered her head, and pushed through my horse.  I had to lope my horse up a steep spot in the road just to get in front of her, and luckily, she was winded enough from running uphill that she stopped...but her calf didn't.  He took up straight up the side of the mountain and as Jon had arrived to hold the cow, I followed the calf.  This is where it all fell apart...

The calf circled up, up and around, finally dropping back onto the road and heading back to the meadow where his mother had been grazing.  The cow took off down the road in the opposite direction, headed toward the notch where we take the cows from the canyon down into the meadows.  She ducked and dodged through the trees, shoving through Jon's horse when he tried to block her.  He eventually got her turned and finally had to rope her to get her to stop before she did something really stupid.  He let her lay in the snow for a while to catch her breath while I brought the calf back up to meet them.  The cow was on the fight even more at this point, and when Jon let her up, she came right at his horse.  He dodged her, then roped her by the head...except she ducked at the last second and he caught her on her tiny, stubby horns.  

Plan B!  It's easier to control a cow if you have her roped by one hind foot.  If she tries to go the wrong direction--dally up, stop her forward momentum.  If she turns around to come at your horse--dally up, back her up, stop her forward momentum.  If she is going in the right direction--give her slack, let her go, and if she changes direction?  You guessed it--dally up, stop her forward momentum.  So, in I go, and get her roped.  

She didn't have a lot of energy after running around, so she was fairly easy to control.  Jon needed to get his rope off her so he could rope the calf and get him in the trailer, so we had to convince her that laying down was a good idea.  She was not impressed.

You can see my leg on the left side of the picture..and no, she isn't choking.  

Jon got the calf roped and rode towards the trailer, bringing him closer so that when Megan went to flank him, he wouldn't have to be carried quite so far to the trailer.  Just as Megan moved in to flank him, we had a stoke of luck:  the calf saw her and LEAPED away from her and into the trailer.  We closed the door of the trailer and Jon got in and tied him down so that he couldn't get out when we opened the door up to load his mother.  He laid the calf in a pile of hay that we brought to bribe the cow.  When Jon got out of the trailer, he kicked a bit of hay out onto the ground and the cow could smell it from where she was standing.

It smells so delicious...but I really don't want to get in!

She headed for the trailer, stopping only to go after Jon's horse (I kept her from doing any damage by dallying up and holding her while Jon's horse got out of the way), and then stood there at the edge of the trailer, contentedly munching on the hay.  Megan came around the back side of the trailer to see if she could push her in...and the cow went after her!  Luckily I saw it coming and stopped the cow with the rope.  Jon had to get inside the trailer and act as bait for her so she would load.  He batted at her ears and she tried to headbutt him...he did it again, so did she....and finally, she made a huge leap and then skidded to a stop at the delicious pile of hay.  Jon escaped out the side door and shut it with a bang before she followed him.  He went around the back of the trailer to the main door and was able to sneakily untie the calf so he could get up before the cow decided to muck him out inside the trailer.

 I tried to get a picture of the cow and her calf in the trailer, but she nearly smashed my hand.  I got this one while she was in between slinging snot at me and banging her horns on the trailer.  She is such a sweetie  You can see the devil in her eyes!

Megan drove down the Buckeye road while Jon and I followed.  We didn't want too much weight in the trailer on that slippery road, so we met her at the bottom, stopping for a photo op:

Bridgeport Valley is covered in snow.  And the sun is going down, so it started to get COLD!

Trotting down the Buckeye road...trying to stay warm and catch up with Megan & Company!

We were SO HAPPY to have gotten the cow and her calf out of Buckeye before the next big storm hit.  She is now in the corral, eating hay so she can get some of her energy and fat back.  But don't try to get close to her...she's still cranky.  

So that's it.  Our big adventure before Christmas.  Hope you all had a GREAT Christmas (or Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you celebrate).  We can't wait to hear from you or see you this coming year.  2013...it's gonna be a great one.

Until next time, dream of green meadows, fat cattle, shiny horses, and blue skies!

Blog neglect has been rectified!

I have been an absolute blog neglecter.  It’s true; here it is December 10^th and I haven’t posted anything in a month.  A month!  Terrible, terrible.  But it’s not as if I’ve been lounging, oh no.  I started a blog right after Thanksgiving and was all ready to post it, all I had to do was get the pictures and videos off my phone.  It hasn’t been a problem in the past—I have downloaded, emailed, Facebook-ed, and Twitter-ed pics from my phone before, but it has decided to go on vacation for the holidays.  I don’t know when it will return to full function (if ever!), so it has taken me ages to finally get these pictures.  The videos have yet to surface anywhere, even though I've downloaded them about a bajillion times.  Technology! 

Today's blog--new and notable things going on at the ranch:

• All animals are out of Bridgeport and down at our Smith Valley ranch as of November 30^th.  We hauled the last of the horses out just as a series of storms hit—we were leaving the ranch with the snow already obscuring the mountains and the hill to the south and west.  I don't know exactly how many inches of snow and/or rain we got, but it was enough to blanket the mountains in pristine white snow.  It's gorgeous.
  

Here it comes!  

Snow in Smith Valley on 11/10/2012, the day after the cattle drive.  So cold!!!

• We have had RAIN!!  And SNOW!  Why is this exciting?  This means lush, green meadows for you to ride in next summer as well as fat horses and cattle.  We get really excited about precipitation.  Really, really excited.  In fact, it's what ranchers talk about a lot of the time when they see each other.  So if you happen to see us away from the ranch and we get to talking with you, now you know why 9 times out of 10, we will say something about the weather.  I think it's hardwired into our brains...
    

The ranch in late October/early November, before the leaves blew off the trees and the snow came.

• We sent almost 200 calves over to the west side of the Sierras to get fat on grass over there.  Our growing season is different here so while we are grazing our cattle on last year’s feed and have to wait a few more months to get new grass growth, on the west side of the Sierras, they are already starting to get green grass…and green grass = happy, fat calves, and we get really excited about that, too!
  
• We have acquired 2 new mares and a new filly.  They are currently pigging out on some great hay and eating as much as they can hold—they were severely underweight and pretty neglected when we got them.  It was a sad story, but we hope that we can give them a better life where they never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from!  They are all very sweet and easy to be around and we have high hopes for them.  None of them have names yet and I will try to get some pictures of them when they are looking a little better.  They already feel much better since being on a consistent plane of nutrition, so it looks like it's all uphill from here.
  
• The Fall calving group of cows is nearly finished calving—which means we have about a hundred of the cute little buggers running around!  Before we know it, the spring calvers will start popping calves out like popcorn (bad image?  I like popcorn and calves, and they do sort of pop out...) and we'll be inundated with cute tiny bovines once again!
  
• The 2013 Newsletter is finished and will probably get mailed out around the first of the year--very exciting!  We hope you will like the changes we made to it this year.  Feedback is welcome and we would love to hear what you think of it!
  
• Christmas is coming...and I don't think I need to add too much to that.  It pretty much encompasses all that is the stress/shopping/joy of the last big holiday until next year.  

There are a million other little things that we have been doing, but you get the idea.  Winter is still a busy time for us, as it is for nearly everyone, I imagine. 

Shiloh & Company say hello on their last cold morning in Bridgeport until next spring.

Blair and Potter, satisfied after running the horses in!

I am madly working on the blog for the Cattle Drive, so this will just have to tide you over until I get it posted.    Until next time, dream of green meadows, fat cattle, shiny horses, and blue skies!