winter weather

Winter on the Ranch

31 Jan posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Last week we had a thick fog roll in one evening. Whenever that happens and it gets really cold like it did that evening, we get a layer of Hoar Frost on everything. I hurried around that morning so I could get some shots of the scenery, pretty as it was with everything covered in frost. Here’s where I share them with you.

Mile View

Scatter Butte, From the South.

Trees in Scatter Butte Creek.

Camera Shy

Scatter Butte From the East

I hope you’re enjoying your winter!

Happy Trails and much love-

TSDC

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Filed Under: art, photography, pictures, winter weather

Chopping Ice

24 Jan posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, horses, ranching, winter weather

Come Ride With Me!

17 Jan posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

It’s a -6 this morning, but just as recently as January 8th, I was riding through a snow-free pasture, with a long sleeved shirt and a fleece on. It was even warm enough for me to don a cowboy hat again. Here’s a short video of Gump, me, and a couple of the kids long-trotting out to check on some crippled bulls.

I love long-trotting across the prairie!

Happy Trails!

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The View From Here

20 Apr posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

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It snowed all day yesterday, and by the looks of things this morning, another couple inches (at least) overnight.

Here’s what it looks like this morning:

This photo is brought to you, courtesy of Instagr.am and my new iPhone. The phone gets turned on tomorrow, so in the meantime, I’m making it mine, and getting used to the interface. It’s just as cool, if not cooler than the droid I’ve had since January.

I know that I mentioned on Friday I would have lots of blogs this week, but the best laid plans…There’s lots to share and say and photos to see, but I am behind so I don’t know where to start. Just be patient. There’s calving photos and snow photos and icy river photos, and running horses, just to name a few. There’s a shredded beef, green chili enchilada recipe to share as well, so you can see that there’s plenty of fodder. I just gotta take the time.

Happy Hump Day and Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: photography, ranching, winter weather

Coveralls, A Camisole and Calving

1 Apr posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to share this story with y’all. It’s a perfect example of ranch life and a perfect example of how every day is different. It’s also sad, but so is this life we live. Mother Nature, while she can have a sense of humor, can be cruel and unusual and often just plain rotten.

It was like any other winter day had been- cold, about 10 degrees, and snow was wafting around. I can’t say it was “snowing” per say, because if it were snowing, we’d not be able to see our hand in front of our faces! But there were snowflakes falling from the sky.

It was late afternoon and I had just sat down to eat a big bowl of nachos when the phone rang. I was asked to run to Granny’s and grab the chains and calf puller. So I dropped what I was doing, put on my coveralls (over my pj pants, of course), shoved my feet into some muck boots and headed out the door pulling a jacket and skull cap on in my haste.

I ran to Granny’s, she handed me the chains, and cruised to the barn to grab the calf puller. As I pulled into the saddle horse trap, I could see Jewel- my bottle baby from two summers ago, off by herself. She’d be a first calf heifer- which is a two year old heifer, calving for the first time. Heifers are often in need of help when they calve the first time, because they don’t know what’s happening. If you’ve ever witnessed a dog or cat give birth for the first time, they often act surprised and don’t know what to do.

Bud called me on the phone and asked that I please wait outside the gate, as he wanted to get done feeding hay so the cows would leave us be while we pulled Jewel’s calf.

About 5 minutes later he was done, so I headed in.

She was having a calf alright. But he was coming out backwards. That’s never good a sign. So Bud starts shucking layers down to his t-shirt and cap; meantime, I get on the phone with his dad, asking him how he needed to move the calf to help it get born. Up until now, Wayne Leo, another one of the four DX brothers, had done the majority of the calving, and if he needed help Zach was around. Well, Zach and Wayne Leo are working in town now, so that leaves Bud and myself to do this. As I’m getting instructions from Big Wayne to relay to Bud, he says “I’m gonna need your help”. My first thought was, “awesome. I’ve always wanted to do something like this!” And then I thought, “oh not so much-in this weather though!” So off goes my coat, and my sweatshirt, leaving me in Carhartt bib coveralls, and a camisole. Yes, that’s it folks. The plus side is it’s warm inside a cow! I’m not going to paint a more specific picture for you folks. Some of you don’t want those details, I’m sure.

I dive in and push the little guy forward while Bud tries to get one of his fingers between a toe. Since the calf was being born backward, feet first, there’s a proper way to get it it arranged to be pulled. We managed to get it arranged, and Bud gets the toe, is able to maneuver the foot and we pull it out. But it’s too late. It’s still-born.

Both of us think we’re done, so we head to the house to clean up; I phone Zach and ask him about her, and he says that since she didn’t get up, to head back out with some cake and hay and watch her for a bit. I get back out there and what do you know, she’s having another calf. Luckily for me, Bud headed back out about 5 minutes after I did to check on her and we pulled a second calf. This one was coming out right, but was still-born also. Next time, we’ll automatically check for twins. Sometimes you learn lessons the hard way.

You always feel bad when this happens- especially to a heifer. It’s so much work for them, and then to have it end poorly makes no one happy. Furthermore, since she won’t be having a calf by her side this year, she’ll have to go to town, so we don’t waste grass feeding something that is unproductive. That or we’ll eat her. Some of you just gasped, I know. But that is what we do- and it is the way of things.

So there you have it folks. Calving in 10 degrees in Carhartts, and a camisole. Only something a cowgirl could pull off! And this is not an April Fools’ post, though I know today is just that.

Happy Trails, Happy Friday and if you’re calving, well, Happy Calving!

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Filed Under: ranching, winter weather

Snow Buntings

24 Feb posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

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I’ve been dying for a chance to get outside and use my new camera, and yesterday I got the chance to capture some adorable little birds. I had no idea what kind they were, so I had to use my ~~master skills~~, um, I mean, my ability to Google, to come up with the answer.

They’re Snow Buntings! I just want to hold one and feed it out of my hand! They tweet and fly and hop around and are otherwise just happy to be alive! We could all learn a lesson from these birds. It was a sunny, windy, twenty-degree, snow-blowing around kinda day yesterday and these birds couldn’t have loved it more!

And by the way, I love the camera! I hope to capture more shots of these cuties today.

If you want the technical details here you go: ISO 400, 300mm, f/9.5, 0 ev, 1/2000

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: photography, winter weather

Unwrapping Round Bales- A Vlog

3 Feb posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Hey y’all! Just thought I’d show you how I unwrap a bale. I mentioned it here the other day in case you missed it.

I probably understated the amount of time it takes me to pull it off- but seriously, the boys have said doing it this way is much faster than cutting it off.

One other thing you don’t see above, is that when I get to the final over-lap, I stop and go the opposite direction the bale is wrapped, and try to pull from bottom to top, that way the bottom comes off first, and the top stays on longest so I don’t get hay all over myself.

Now, just picture me doing that 10-35 times in a day, and you’ve got a pretty good idea how I’m spending some of my time!

Happy Trails!

P.S. BONUS! Here’s a couple photos I snapped with my cool phone whilst I was on the way to unwrap bales:

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Filed Under: horses, ranching, winter weather

Calling the Cows to Cake

3 Feb posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Here’s a short video I made yesterday of us calling our cows to the cake truck. I love how they all mill around and sniff at me. And I like that the horses will put their heads in the pickup window (sadly that didn’t make it on to the film). There’s nothing in this world as rewarding as caring for your animals on a cold winter’s day. They’re always glad to see you. It was about -7 when we headed out to do this at 1:30pm.

Happy Trails!

As a bonus- here’s some photos that I took with my phone yesterday. I couldn’t use the big camera as it and that kind of cold just don’t get along.

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Filed Under: ranching, winter weather

Cold Weather Gear

2 Feb posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I have been asked, I don’t know how many times, how I stay warm in this climate. Because whether the world realizes it or not, the ranch doesn’t close for inclement weather. With a massive winter storm sweeping across the US- you know it’s cold when it’s 17 degrees this morning where my parents live in North Texas- I figured there was no time, like the present, to share with you what I wear to stay warm. Maybe since we woke up to a -23 I was motivated to share my secrets!

It’s all about layers.

You cannot have too many long-sleeved cotton t-shirts, and cotton camisoles. Every girl knows this. And if she doesn’t, here’s your “heads up”.

I start with both of those.

And then add the following:

A mid-to heavy weight fleece- my favorite is of course by LL Bean. They’re strong, durable and super warm. I prefer a mock turtleneck. Zipper or no zipper works for me.

If all my fleece are in the wash, I will wear a heavy hooded sweatshirt over them. Hoods are very handy this time of year.

I don’t usually wear long-underwear unless I’m riding a horse in this God-forsaken cold (at which time I’ll don a pair of chinks- more on those later), so for pants I wear a heavy denim, such as a wranglers, or I’m even known to kick it in fleece PJ pants, soft yoga pants, or something of the sort that matches whatever top I’m wearing. I’m going to cover them up anyway. I figure with this many layers, I might as well be comfortable.

From there we add some Carhartt Bib Coveralls like these.

Must Have Carhartt Bibs

My parents blessed me with two pairs for Christmas. They are certainly one of the most practical, warm gifts ever. And two pairs, you need them. Trust me!

Over all of that, I will wear a heavy pull over fleece (more practical when you’re not wearing coveralls), or a fleece lined denim jacket. I wear a men’s jacket, because it allows more freedom of movement with all the layers underneath, and you don’t want tight clothing in the winter. You want to trap your body heat between the layers, and move the freezing point away from your body.

Mine is just like this one:

On my feet, I usually just wear plain cotton socks but cover up with some insulated Muck Boots.

I love my insulated Muck Boots. They’re good to ride in if you have to, and easy to get on and off. Mine are plain black like these. But they have all kinds of fancy colors if you’re so inclined.

For the finishing touches of outerwear, I love matching beanies and gloves such as this one from LLBean.

I don’t have this set (yet)- but I do have two pairs of insulated ragg-wool fold down gloves such as those you saw above. They come in handy when you have to remove net-wrap from 15-30 bales of hay per day.

And that my friends, is the very functional, not-so-fashionable, stay-warm, winter wardrobe of your South Dakota Cowgirl.

Happy Trails.

*I was not paid to endorse any of these products. None of these companies even know I exist. I’m just sharing what I love and what works for me.

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Filed Under: fashion, ranching, winter weather

A Day in My Life- Vlog

28 Jan posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Life on the ranch always changes. It changes with the seasons. It changes insomuch as how we decide to do things. And how we decide to do things changes as we learn more, and have the need to do something different. In the world of ranching and agriculture, you can’t be rigid. You’ve got to do what’s best for your animals and the land at all times. We’ve seen what’s called “bale grazing” used and we thought this week would be a good chance to see if it doesn’t make for happier cows. I am the first to tell you that so far it’s been awesome.

Sunday, 23 January 2011

I took this video Sunday Morning when Zach and I did chores around the house. This video is about 7 minutes long, but you get to see how much snow there is, and kinda how things look in winter around here, and what’s required to do chores.

I also took a few photos of the cows this morning while I was unwrapping bales:

If this cow looks familiar, it’s because she is Oreo’s daughter. Oreo belongs to Zach’s beautiful daughter, Kelsey. I think she thought I had cake with me or something!