Sale Time

2016 calves went to the sale on Sunday, January 29 with the help of family and friends. It took seven trailers to haul all the calves safely to the sale yard in Davenport. 

After unloading, we stopped for a quick lunch at Billy Burgers and headed home through the fog.

Big healthy calves unloading at the Davenport Sale Yard.

Branding 2016

Seems like just yesterday we were branding calves. Same ole' routine just another year.

Miss B sure has grown in a year...

 

2015

2016

Nowadays there really isn't a need for a lot of help when branding the calves.

One guy pushing the calves down the alley toward the chute and the "board" guy shuts the plywood door once the calf passes by. There are usually two guys operating the chute and another 3 or 4 that give shots, nose spray and castrate the bulls.

Most of the time you can tell who the "Boss" is...he's the one running the branding iron.

Then there's the rest of the crew AND the next generation learning how it's done.

One of the best parts of growing up in a ranch family is spending most of your time outside getting dirty.

After the first set of calves are branded we take a short break and head up to the ranch to finish the rest.

Spending the day with friends and family is the main reason I love branding calves!  

And it's fun to entertain ourselves by riding the bucking babies.

Quick Trip

My cousin, Sharmon, and I decided to take a quick trip to check on cattle out in pasture. It took longer to drive to the location than we spent on horseback. That's alright tho...it was a beautiful hot August day and it gave us more time to chat.

Sharmon's puppy, Ringo, got to join in on the fun too. He thought he was a real cow dog. Well, at least until we got to the cows and then he scurried behind our horses.

Not knowing exactly where the cows would be we continued on down the dirt road and finally spotted the babies having their lunch in the shade of the large pine trees that grow near the creek bottom. Dunner noticed them right away...before I could even see them.

Sharmon and Dixie checked the cattle while her puppy hid behind.

I love taking my little Dunner out to check on cows. This is his element. He loves to be around the cows and trudging through sagebrush. Dunner would rather be out here than loping circles in an arena.

Poor Ringo had to ride shotgun part of the way home so his little legs didn't get too sore.

We also stopped at the next trough to let the horses drink before loading them in the trailer. They must really love the fresh natural water coming from a nearby Spring. The way the horses snort and snort at the water before being brave enough to take a drink will be a memory I won't forget.

Alright Ringo...time to get down...it's time to go home.

Wheat Harvest

It was an early wheat harvest this year due to extreme heat early in the season. The combines rolled along in the field.

Trust Your Neighbor But Brand Your Cattle

On a Spring Sunday, we gathered with friends and family to celebrate the newest additions to our herd.

The cowboys branded the calves which means using a hot iron to burn the hair so a symbol called a "brand" appears on the calves forever. This makes sure our neighbors know who the calf belongs to if it were to escape from our pasture.

We also gave the babies shots and medicine in their nose to keep them healthy so they are ready to go to pasture for the first time.

The burning of the hair is a distinct smell. 

It also gets very smoky. "Now you see them... 

now you don't." 

Here are a few pictures of the shots we give them,

the bottles of medicine,  

and the "nut bucket".

The calves that are unlucky enough to be born boys also get castrated on this day. Before we sell the bull calves, we like them to be steers instead. The younger the calves are the easier it is for them and for handling the calves, especially if the calf is large.

This branding was also very special because it was our daughter's very FIRST branding!

Branding is a tradition in a lot of cowboy families... 

It's a time for learning new tricks, 

for exploring new textures and tastes...unfortunately...one small piece did manage to get swallowed,

for riding bucking bulls...well, at least bucking calves,

and this Cowgirl loved every minute of it!

 



 ~Photos by Country Dove Photography taken at the Bromiley Ranch

Branding with Friends

The Meaning Behind the Name

Last Saturday, we moved our momma cows and their babies home from the 'Home Place'. Right about now you are asking yourself, "Aren't they already home if they are at the 'Home Place'?" Well, when you have a family-owned farm that has been passed down for generations you tend to end up with many "landmarks". 

 

For instance, the 'Clark Place' wasn't named after our Uncle Clark, it was named after a family who lived there with the last name of Clark. The 'Home Place' is were the first generation farmers homesteaded but nobody lives there anymore so when we bring the cows 'home', we are really referring to Uncle Clark's ranch...but not the 'Clark Place'.

 

I really enjoy listening to all the stories behind the landmarks. Why they were named that way, to learn about the kind of people that lived there, and to hear about recent stories too.