Let’s Check On the Cows

8 May posted by

This past weekend we turned the cows out to pasture, and as there are still a handful to calve, and they’re out in the pasture where there’s a dam, we try to ride through them at least once a day, if not more.

I figured I could take you on yesterdays ride, so here goes! (Photos compliments of a cooperative Siri)…

Gumpy and I heading out of the saddle horse trap to find them:

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There’s some of the girls! I love Gumpy’s ears. You can tell when he sees the cows because his ears always go forward!

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And there’s more on our way to the dam:

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There’s the dam:

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The dam seems to be in good shape. Or should I say, there’s no cows stuck in it, so the cows are in good shape?

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After we checked the dam, we rode up another hill to find the cows we hadn’t yet seen:

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Everything was quiet and happy when we headed home:

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I love riding through the cows when they nap in the sun. Oh wait- I like riding through the cows period!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, cowgirls, horses, ranching, spring

There’s Fence to Fix

27 Apr posted by

It hasn’t been until just recently that I’ve started to fix fence. Last year we had a hired man, and before that, the boys did it as need be. But with the Cowboy working in town, leaving his brother and I to run the place, I’ve had to step up my game, especially if I’d like our mares and saddle horses to stay in their respective pastures. If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know that recently there have been horses all over the ranch and Armstrong county, in places they certainly needn’t be.

So, I thought, since I fixed some fence this week, I’d give you a little tutorial about what I did. Some of you will be bored, others may think, “I’d pay to fix fence, just to get away from my day job!” And to you, I would reply, “We’re happy to have you come visit. We’ll drink wine or whatever poison suits you, I’ll cook something amazing, and you can fix fence!”

I’ve digressed. Back to fencing…

Let’s start with a simple project- replacing the clip or the staple that you place on a T-Post.

In the photo below you will see a three-strand fence. The middle strand is being held to the post by nothing.

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This next photo, will show you how the wire should be held to the T-Post:

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We have smooth wire running on a lot of our fences as the bottom strand. It’s more animal friendly for birds or antelope that are apt to go through a fence, as opposed to over it, like a deer.

Here’s what the top wire looks like:

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Here’s my attempt at taking a close-up of the T-Post Staple:

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Siri was NOT cooperating this day and was having a terrible time paying attention (focusing) on the subject at hand. Bad iPhone! BAD! Sometimes I crack myself up!

You can see the staple on the fence post now! Even though it’s out of focus. See, even photographers have bad days. I think I’m still blaming Siri. She’s been pretty mouthy and unhelpful lately!

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Basically my goal this day was to replace any missing T-Post staples, so that the fence got tighter and it was harder for the calves and cows to sneak through. There was a cow out this particular morning, in case you’re wondering what brought on my insatiable desire to fix fence. If you didn’t catch the sarcasm there, you might should go back and re-read that last sentence. I jest, I jest. My life is the best, even if all I do for the day is fix fence!

In taking a closer look at the staple, you can see that there’s a short side, and a long side. The short side, simply slips over the wire and goes around behind the post, and then the long side, gets twisted around the wire to hold it in place. It doesn’t take a lot of twisting. A little bit will getcha!

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And yet again, Siri was being belligerent. But you can get the idea. I’m simply going to twist the staple end under, then over the wire, and have it hold.

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I hope you enjoyed this little fence fixing tutorial. There’s plenty more where this came from!

Happy Trails and Happy Friday!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, ranching

Friday the 13th…In Photos

16 Apr posted by

There were dogs:

Higgins!

And kids:

Gorgeous skies and Landscapes:

And what would a day on the ranch be without seeing the girls?

I think that heifer 007 would like to say Hi too!

Let’s not forget the wildflowers that are showing up!

And a Curlew!

Here’s wishing you a week full of blessings!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, horses, photography, pictures, ranching, spring

Photo of the Week

16 Mar posted by

This week it’s all about the pickup men! They’re the cowboys that come to the rescue if you’re a roughstock rider, and they never get the credit they’re due!

I’m making this photo available as a 16×24, for this week only, if you order through me, for $40 plus $10 S&H. It’s regularly priced at $55.92.

“No Guts, No Glory”

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Available until Friday morning, March 30th.

Happy Trails, and Happy Weekend.

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Filed Under: #Agchat, art, photography, pictures

This Week in iPhone Pictures

1 Mar posted by

I have been absent, this week, I know.

But I did catch some shots of horses, and the snow and a cute new charm/necklace.

This past week we had a cow prolapse, the tractor loader went caput and we had a blizzard.

The necklace is $35 and the charm is $10.00 Both are $45 together.

Higgins, the dirtiest papillon in America, kicking it in the snow:

My pretty filly, Dolce:

I didn’t take this photo, but you can see that the loader kind of gave up the ghost. It wrecked the hood and the radiator, and of course isn’t usable. Poor Big Green- at least he’s at the shop now.

At some point I’ll post my recipe for Chicken Marsala:

Because Big Green is caput, the neighbor had to come feed the cows on Wednesday before the blizzard got here. I got to pull netwrap off the bales. It’s good exercise.

I made blueberry waffles. From scratch. I’m sure you’re all shocked. I decided next time I make them, I’m putting bacon in them. I’ll call them Bacon Blueberry Waffles. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

The old home of Chief Swiftbird. I thought the light in this shot was pretty.

MJ! She’s such a good dog!

I took this photo of Gump and Dino yesterday. They’re so handsome. Dino (L), Gump (R)

There’s snow everywhere:

And finally, a photo from yesterday afternoon, after the blizzard:

Happy Trails! Enjoy your weekend!

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Tug-Of-War

23 Feb posted by

Sometimes you can catch horses doing the funniest things! They all have their own personalities. Sunday and Dozer are no exception to this rule. In fact, if any two are the herd instigators, it’s them. Sunday’s always picking up a feed tub, or a water hose- or a left-out-lead rope And inevitably, someone else comes to play with him.

I caught him and Dozer playing tug-of-war the other day.

This is what it looked like:

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, horses

The View From Here

14 Feb posted by

Today’s view:

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A Day in My Life

13 Feb posted by

Friday morning didn’t start out like any other day on the ranch. I say that tongue in cheek, as there really isn’t such a thing as a “typical” day.

At 6:30, when we awoke, I looked out the bedroom window to find a dozen saddle horses in our yard. That’s never a good sign, but it’s not usually a big deal either, save for that this morning, of all mornings, outside it was in the negative digits, temperature-wise. Add that to the fact that I had a non-negotiable trip to town planned for the morning- which involved taking calves to the sale barn, and well, I knew it was going to be one of “those” days.

I don’t fret over such things, though, as it’s just how life is sometimes. It’s better to just smile and get along than it is to be upset about things that happen.

As I got around and had a cup of coffee, I glanced out the living room window. What do you think I saw when I looked out that window?

If you guessed horses in the neighbor’s pasture, you’d be right.

I went outside and started the pickup.

I came back in, bundled up and got ready for the sale barn.

Then I climbed in the ranger, headed to survey the fence damage. Thursday, a cold front had come through, and the horses just got pushed through a not-so-hot, hot-wire fence.

Gumpy, and about 15 of his partners, were still in the pasture where they belonged, like good horses, and when I headed towards the hole in the fence, he took all his compadres towards the corrals, because he was certain I would feed him or something!

Then I set about rounding up the others.

Here’s some video.

They were in four different locations and it took a little bit of work. It was also discovered Saturday that I’d missed several head in the neighbor’s pasture. So that’s on my list for this week- at least it’s going to be in the upper 40s, as opposed to barely double digits!

Once I got all the horses situated, I went to the corral to sort off a stud horse named Nukie, a bull that isn’t ours, and to whom we don’t know who he belongs, and a wayward mama cow who came home a few weeks ago when we weaned her from her calf. We’ve been too busy to put her back to pasture, so she’s just been in the corral. That little job took a few minutes, and left me with 16 calves in the corral.

Then I got in my now, warm pickup, backed up to the loading chute, and in about 30 minutes had all my calves loaded. Sometimes the babies don’t know how to look for a “place to go”, so it takes longer to load them than it would if there had been cows or bulls that needed to go to town, plus I’m not nearly as handy as a rancher who’s been doing this since they were knee-high to a grasshopper!

Once that was finished, I realized my trailer tires were low. And as the queen of blow-outs, I had to rectify that situation prior to leaving. My fingers got cold.

And then I was off.

The calves got unloaded at the sale barn.
I ran errands and bought wine.
I headed home.

I got home, left the groceries in the pickup.
I started the tractor and watered some horses.
I fed hay to our escaped saddle horses, because the fence wasn’t fixed in their pasture.

I drove home, unloaded the pickup, cleaned the kitchen, and made hot-wings for dinner.

And then I had wine.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my life.

Happy Trails!

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The Weekend, on the Ranch

6 Feb posted by

This weekend we got all the mares in and weaned the babies, pulled all the stud colts off and put them in with all the saddle horses, and then turned the mares back out. Needless to say the corral has been noisy and there’s mares hanging out on the fence lines chatting with their babies.

I got to take some cool photos of the mares and babies as they came in to the corrals.

Did I mention it was a frosty morning?

One of my favorites:

At some point this week, I’m sure there’ll be a photo or two of a cute, fuzzy baby, but for now, these will have to suffice!

Happy Trails, and Happy Monday!

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Red Wine Roast

26 Jan posted by

Yesterday I posted “What’s for supper” at our house on my Facebook page, and managed to get everyone all excited, so I figured I’d share the recipe.

I cooked a Home-raised, Sirloin Roast in Red Wine. I should warn you- your house will smell amazing for hours and you will be good and hungry by the time it’s done.

As with any roast, low and slow is the way to go! Now, I cooked mine over the stove, but that’s not to say you couldn’t cook it in the slower cooker, or the oven, after, of course, you’ve seared the meat.

Here’s what you’ll need.

3-5 TBS olive oil
1 large yellow onion, quartered (purple would work too, but I think white might get too mushy)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled.
Salt
Pepper
2 cups of beef broth (or 2 beef bullion cubes disolved in 2 cups water)
2 cups of red wine (or more if you feel naughty!)
1/2 cup water
fresh or canned portabella mushrooms
red potatoes, quartered (optional)

Season the roast with salt and pepper or whatever else suits your fancy. Season all sides. (note- fresh rosemary would be lovely in this dish, but my rosemary bush has, sadly bit the dust in this winter weather).

In a large stock pot, skillet, or dutch oven, heat olive oil over med-high heat. When the pan is good and hot, add onions and garlic. Stir for about a minute. Then place the meat, fat side down into the pan. Cover and cook until seared, repeating on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Then add 2 cups of red wine, 2 cups of beef broth, 1/2 cup water, and potatoes if desired. Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, then turn heat to low, cover, and let cook for 3- 3 1/2 hours (or until roast is tender). You’ll need to turn it a few times to best distribute the flavors. With 30 minutes left, add mushrooms.

And voila- gorgeous, tender and oh so tasty meat!

Now, we’re on a slow carb diet at our house, which is why there are no potatoes in the photograph. But if I were eating potatoes, it would have been even better. It was melt in your mouth tender!

If you wanted to do this in a slow cooker, You could sear the meat in a large pan first, then transfer it, the onions, and garlic to the slow cooker, add the broth, wine and water, place on high for about 1/2 an hour, and then turn it to low and go on about your day.

If you were going to cook it in the oven, I think 300 degrees would get you. It will take about 22-25 minutes per lb. of roast for a medium rare roast. So if you have a roast that’s 4 lbs, about an hour and half will get you. Please keep in mind that a sirloin roast is one of the more tender cuts of roast. If you were using say a boneless-top round roast, it’s about 35-38 minutes per lb to get the desired tenderness/doneness.

No go. Cook. And be merry.

Happy Tails!

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