Time to wear flourescent clothing ...

Opening day of the early elk season ! So far so good .. the people we had in today have hunted here for a few years, nice people and I am happy for them that they got their tags filled tonight. We have had about 100+ head of elk on the north end of our place for the better part of the summer. They were camped out on some alfalfa we had down there ... made a darn mess of it to tell the truth. Still ... I love to see them. One day when we were haying down there I went to change some knives on my Moco .. and when I went to stand up from under it I was so surprised to see that herd of elk standing right there beside the machine ! LOL !

I am just hoping that this herd stays north ... back at home here we still have all our greenfeed/silage to put up. Elk (and bears) just love that .. and they can sure cause a lot of damage if they find it. Come to think of it ... so can the damn show cows who seem to think that they should be out there too !!! LOL ! Fixed them today though ... got an electric fence put down by the river where they were coming in.

... about the show cattle ... well .. I'll leave that story for another day ..

Jen

Summer ..

Well .. seems like summer is coming to an end. Somehow it feels like we never even had a summer ! One shouldn't ever complain about moisture .. but it has been a really rainy season these last few months. The grass is still green though .. and it is hard to remember when it last stayed this green for so long. For awhile we were wondering if we were ever going to get our haying done .. but this last week has been good and I am hoping to have it done by the end of the week. Just like most everyone else .. we will have some late greenfeed to put up in a couple of weeks.

Of course we have a few cattle in that we are thinking of showing this fall. The above pic. was taken about 2 weeks ago .. they are still out on native pasture .. so we have to chase them in twice a day so the calves can get a bit of grain. Kind of a pain to do this twice a day .. sometimes I wish they were just yarded ! LOL ! BUT .. I am sure they are happier out on grass.

I was just thinking that it is time to start thinking about our fall ad/picutes too. Somehow I am not ready for it to be fall yet .. and the list of things to get done seems to get longer all the time ... I am sure you know how that goes !

Jen

Building the Ark ...

Well .. only a month since my last post .. that's not so bad !! LOL



It has really been raining here .. the ground is just saturated. I guess one should never complain about moisture .. but a few days of sunshine in between the rain and snow would be nice ! Finally decided that we had to move cows today .. regardless of the weather and really it was quite nice out and the cows we happy to go to a new pasture. No flooding YET ... supposed to warm up and be nicer by the end of the week. At one time I had thought we would be really efficient and brand this weekend .. but it is looking like that will wait for awhile.



I am glad we had most of our calving done by mid May this year ... not much fun for those who are calving in this late snow/rain we have had. In fact .. I liked it so much that we have decided to turn the bulls out with our purebred cows/heifers a whole cycle early this year ... bulls should go out in the next day or two. The following pic kind of sums op our May storms (taken May 5th) .. not a great pic ... to dark and snowy out !!!

Will have to see if I can get some more "weather pics" posted up here ... that is .. if we don't all float away .. LOL !



Jen

CALVING 2010

What stared off as a calving season with perfect weather it looks like we will end it with snowy, wet weather ! LOL . Really we are lucky to not have had as much snow as last year at this time .. but these last few snow storms have been hard on the calves. We treated a couple for some scours yesterday, everyone was still nursing their momma .. so hoping this is NOT a sign of things to come !

We also had some trouble with wolves/coyotes this year. As a result of this, about 2 weeks ago we turned our main cowherd north, out of the cavling pasture. It has made it a bit hard to check everyone in these last snow storms .. but the good side of this is that they all have lot's of clean ground to lay on and everyone there looks healthy.

Last year we used 4 new yearling bulls on the registered cows .. and I am REALLY happy with the calves from all of them. They are a really stylish set of calves this year and all of them we born a super nice size. Hopefully I can get some pics' once this weather straightens up.

Like everyone else ... we have lot's of spring projects to get done. Can't wait for the sun to shine here !

Jen

Too Much Travel I Think ..

Been a busy few weeks .... seems I am always running some where. Was at Calgary Bull sale for a day .. glad I went .. and wishing I had got our bulls in sooner so we could have taken them. Plans are already in the works to make sure we are better organized for next year.

On the weekend we went to Great Falls for a night .. then to Holdens sale in Valier ..nice little break .. but we seemed to be so rushed to get away that I wouldn't exactly call it "restful". Lot's of good bulls at Holdens .. they are such a uniform group .. a person could really add some consistency to their calf crop if they picked up a number of them. We are getting pretty excited to see the calves from the bull we bought there last year .. should have some in a couple of weeks !!

So .. apparently some where in our little "travels" I have picked up a cold ... feeling right crappy today !! LOL ! I guess it is wise to get sick BEFORE one starts calving though .. .. better than when you are in the midst of it !!! And so .. of course I am a bit grumpy tonight .. I always know when I am because Jeff starts hiding in his "cave" ... haha !! .. Maybe I will find the energy to make something yummy for supper and lure him out of there !!

Hope you are having the nice weather we are !!

Jen

Ruby

Well ... I love this dog .. but man is she a handful !!! LOL ! No worries about her not having the "herding" instinct... as she want to "work" everything .. cows, deer, horses, the other dogs, cats ... ME !!! She really is a sweet affectionate thing once you get to know her .. but she is really unsure of "strangers" ... might be a sign that I need to get out more .. either that or have more visiters.

Good news on the horizon though as it looks like I have found someone to give us a bit of a start before we get into calving. The poor thing .. I think she is just frusterated as she want to work so bad and all I let her do at this point is "get in" , "lie down" .. and come back to me.

Really we should all be more like Ruby .. she thinks everyday is an adventure .. and everything she see's is interesting .. now if she could just chase the heck out of something I think she would just think that life is perfect !!!

Hopefully the next pic's I post of her will actually show her listening to me and being a bit helpful !!!

Jen

Chicken Ranching

Well .. got the chicken coop cleaned up this weekend .. and I am ordering chicks this week !! YIPPEE !! I might add that others in this household do not share my enthusiasm ... LOL ! Not sure when I will order them for .. but not at least until May if I can. Dad is happy though .. as he can get them eating some grasshoppers again this summer !!

I am not sure what Ruby will do with them ... herd them for sure .. HURT them ?? well .. possibly. Hoping to actually keep them locked in their yard most of the time anyway .. tired of feeding the coyotes !!

Jeff is away clipping bulls for the neighbor .. bet he is freezing his butt off right now .. damp and foggy here today with a north wind .. BURRRRR .... Really I guess a person should not complain .. better than 6 feet of snow and 40 below !!

Now I am off to get some paper work done .. I have been wasting time here on the computer .. but .. the time has come ..

Jen