For ranchers every season has its own challenges and rewards

Well, Monday on my way to work, I checked out the surroundings to make sure the wind did not blow any shed over, all shed looks good. So I texted Toni, shed are in place and Maggie foaled. So since Toni checks Monday, she ran down to get pics, Maggie had a cute dark palomino filly by Jackpot. Sonny the cow was acting like she was calving and Bailey had a brown or blue roan filly by King, our first King foal. Anna tried going to school, but Toni had to go and get her. I left the 5^th message with the Dr, did not hear back by 10, called and left a message with her nurse. Toni went back out to check after picking up Anna, Sonny the cow had calved and her calf was big, pretty and dumb, so Sonny decided she wanted the bull calf from the night before, so Toni got her calf in and took it to the house to give colostrum. Then she looked down into Jackpot’s pen and could not see Chic, so she ran down there, she was sleeping. Toni was out of her bars, and it was 2, so she needed a lunch break. Kaine had a football game in Finley. Kade is hoping sports starts for the Elementary school, so he can get out of chores too. He literally does not care what sport it is, he would join the chess team if that was an option. Dad met me at work and we went to Finley to watch the game. Toni, Kicker, Ben and Kade did chores at the house, got Sonny in to nurse her calf, got the other bull calf back with his mom, Peanut was out in the alfalfa field, they got her in and got the fence fixed. Wow, what a Monday.

Tuesday morning was calm, nothing new. Anna had tennis practice after school, so dad ran her in. Toni is back to having the kids build fence after school. Dad got supplies Tuesday after dropping Anna off to tie the shed down better if we get another wind storm, or when we got another wind storm. So we put in more wood posts and clamped it down with plumbers tape. Which, in case you are wondering is like a metal zip tie type of a deal. When dad said he was getting plumbers tape I was kind of like ??

Wednesday was parent teacher conferences, all of the kids are doing great in school, no worries there. Toni took Anna to tennis practice and brought her home after her parent teacher conferences were over. It is really good that those conferences are a waste of time, that means the kids are doing great. I took Kaine and Anna to the burger factory after theirs.  Toni, Kade, and Jax were on their own for fence building.

Thursday, April Fools Day. Comet had a foal first thing, I stopped by and looked at her on my way by. Dad has claimed her, because she is bay, a filly and an original. He named her Comets Pepperbox, Pepperbox is a gun if you are wondering. Lura foaled later in the day, a black or blue roan filly, that is huge and Lura had her underneath of the circle. When I got home from work to help with chores Toni and the kids were putting in posts. So after we went back down to check on the filly. She had not nursed yet so we gave her some colostrum since it was getting dark. Also, Sonny and Jeanie came out on Thursday for cookies, and to look at the horses.  They then proceeded to swing by my house to see the kids, steers, pigs, and the new freezer. Mom went to tennis with Anna.

Friday morning the weather was pretty nice. Anna reported that Lura filly had nursed, or was nursing when she was out there checking. Toni, mom and the kids went to see Aunt Peggy and Uncle Tom, to go out to lunch for Peggy’s  birthday.  The kids were pretty rowdy, which translates to mean that Jax was being a pill. He actually said on the way home from the tri-cities, “Someone has to be the butthole in this family and no one else is stepping up.” And that sums up the lunch. Toni had to separate the kids after they got back for Jax’s safety. Anna had to get back for a tennis match, dad took her in and stayed to watch her match. It was a doubles  match and they were tied for most of it. Marlo, Kaine, Kade, Toni and I were putting up poles when Anna got there.  Toni, Kaine, and Kade had finished the weaning pen, there were 4 sections left, so that is the last 2020 project to get done. We got two sections of poles put up in the old mare area. This is the first 2021 project. Marlo came up and had dinner with us and then headed back.

Saturday Anna, Kaine and Kade caught all their heifers and steers and washed all of the ones going to April and May shows. Toni, Jaxsen and Kicker went down to mom and dads and Kicker got the alfalfa circle running. They used the case and move some branch piles around, dug some post holes, etc. Ben worked on circles up at our house and got them running. After lunch Toni and I went down to circle 5 and got Money and Bailey in and hauled them to the house. We moved Maggie out to the pasture and hauled Comet down to Gunner and Cleo back up to the house. Then Kade and I ran to Connell to get his Spokane steer and talk with Grandma. Toni, Anna, Kaine and Jaxsen did chores and then worked on the fence for the old mares. Then they went back to our house to feed steers, that is about the time Kade and I got back. As we were pulling down the driveway we saw Ben and Kicker bringing up cows from down below on the desert, I guess the cows decided the grass were too short and came home. So we locked them in the corral overnight to make sure everyone brought their baby with them and then turned them out.

Happy Easter Everyone. Ben and Anna went out and checked first thing. Then we went down to mom and dads to hunt eggs. Then Toni, Kicker, Kade and Jaxsen headed to Moses Lake to Travis and Stephanie’s house. Ben, Anna, Kaine and I headed home to cook the ham. Mom and Dad made potato salad and Lemon Raspberry cake and date bars. Terry and Erina drove down and had Easter dinner with us. After we ate Erina, mom, Anna and I drove around and checked horses. Then everyone went home and we went down and finished the old horse pen, with panels, we are going to change on the bottom to poles as time allows, and put Kool, Smoke and Katie and Rocky the bull in the old horse pen.

It is interesting to compare the noises of winter versus the sounds of spring. We have water in the canals, irrigation circles and pumps running, people driving all over. For ranchers every season has its own challenges and rewards. You wouldn’t think seeing water in a ditch would be beautiful, but when you have no other source of water, it is.