Week 14/52: Spectacles

Andy was hanging around while I shopped for new eyeglasses

Calving 2013 (Part 1?)

We will pretend that I fulling intend on writing more about calving season and call this entry "Part One"!! 

I just don't think I have shared anything about calving this year.  It is basically the same every year, but still, it is our business so I should share something, right?

Today I was helping Brett with some of the chores so I snapped a few photos to share.

This little guy would "graze" inside of the bale feeder for a while then jump out to wander for a while and then go back in the bale feeder!  For a little while he even was chewing on the twine string that is hanging from the feeder.  It is fun to watch these young ones at play!  In a few months he will be quite big and we will have him for sale as a bull.  Maybe I will remember to post a photo when he is bigger and for sale - remember 0735A  (that is his number).

This guy entertained me for a while (it doesn't take much when one is running on little sleep!).  He kept grabbing his tail to chew on!  Calves have sharp teeth so I would have thought it might hurt, but perhaps it was more sucking than biting!  He should go find his mom to eat -  not his tail.

Here are two of the dogs that run around at NoDak Herefords.  Eli is the black one and Lori is the white one.  Eli belongs to Christopher and Paige but he spends most of his time at the ranch (especially during calving season because he gets so dirty & stinky!).  Lori is our White German Shepard.  She loves attention from anyone and everyone.  She has gone deaf in the past few months but still enjoys running around and playing - especially with Eli.

0520A was born just minutes before I snapped this photo.  This was the first time it had stood up so it was maybe 15 minutes old.  In this photo the calf is looking for mom's udder to get some of the very important first milk called colostrum.  Colostrum is vital in the newborn calf if it does not get any it likely will not survive.  Colostrum contains the antibodies the baby needs to grow "big and strong".

Well, that was a little bit about what happens on the ranch at calving time.  I don't take photos of the routine stuff - like putting bales in the bale feeder or feeding silage.  I suppose I should really do that sometime too.  If you ever have any questions about what we do here or something I have written about, feel free to ask and I will do my best to explain things to you.  Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to leave a note so I know you were here.

Week 13/52: Easter

For Easter, Andy was hangin' with his Peeps!!

Our family enjoyed church this morning and a meal with the Rockeman family.  Oh, and much laughter!  Of course, since it is calving season, there was a slight delay in eating.  We had a new calf who could not figure out how to eat.  So, the guys made sure the calf ate before them.  This evening they are out tagging calves.  Though it is a holiday, the routine must continue.

Week 12/52: Raggedy Family Reunion?

This week's entry in Andy's life...

Andy is pictured here with a couple of friends/family.  The big Andy belonged to Mark (or his brother?).  Mark just had a birthday (50+) and received Raggedy Ann from his Mom. I think she thought Andy needed a little buddy and this was a good excuse to give it!!  The sizes are about right for Father, Mother & Andy.  The ages - well, maybe Grandpa and grand kids? 

Anyway, I just had to get a "family" photo!

Week 11/52: Andy - "It's a forest in here"

 

This week Andy got lost in a big plant.

 

 

Week 10/52: Andy watching a future architect at work

Today I had the pleasure of spending a little time with my sister and her daughter.  My niece is attending college planning to become an architect.  She is home on spring break but still has so much homework to get done.  She was working on an assignment while I was there.  Andy sat nearby so he could watch this architect at work.  Some of us are still trying to understand what drawing a beautiful bouquet of flowers has to do with designing buildings!

Thanks for letting us invade your space and for your time Miss Ashley. 

EDIT:  I wanted to add a photo of the artwork after Ashley finished it. 
(Yes, I am proud of my niece.)

 

Week 9/52: Andy & the blizzard

We have been warned about an incoming storm so had been doing things to prepare.  We tucked a young momma and her twin calves into the barn, put extra straw into the barns so there is a nice, comfy spot for the cattle to lay and tried to mentally prepare for trudging through deep, blowing snow.  (Okay, my guys did the first two things and I did the last!)

The storm didn't come quite as soon as expected but the weather folks were correct about the storm a-comin'.  By the time I went out to see if there were any new calves at 3 AM it was snowing and starting to blow.  When I went out again at 6, it was really blowing.  I had sent a text to Christopher and told him to stay home (he lives in our little nearby town).  He usually is out here at 5 or 6 AM to check cattle but today I asked that he stay put at least until daylight.  He & Paige came out later to tend to their horses and help with cattle chores.  The visibility actually kept getting worse.  Sometimes we can see quite a distance, but the ground drifting is terrible making the roads bad.  Plus, it is very hard to see the edges of the roads when everything is white and moving.  Brett had to help Christopher & Paige get "unstuck" a couple of times after they decided they had better get back home.  After Brett was back home, he said, "I watched for the fences to find the road."  He made sure he could see the fence in either ditch but even that was tricky sometimes.  Anyway, everybody got to their respective destinations safely.

Andy went to see the blizzard and didn't even get the screen door open when he found this.

Guess that is what happens then the wind is blowing straight at the door.  Lucky for us the inside door is tight!

I went to the other door and could hardly get the screen door open.  Here are a couple of photos from that door (I wasn't going out into this mess unless I had to). 



















 

The visibility in the yard isn't too bad right now.  Heck, we've had blizzards so bad that we couldn't see the barn.