Cattle Show, Worked the Cows, Sold some horses, a normal week in May.

Dad went to Palouse first thing Monday for pellets. Toni went out and checked and Eddie had foaled, cute filly by Sagebug. Only Mud and Butterscotch left. Anna loaded up two steers for Rob. Ben came down with the tractor and unloaded half the totes at mom and dads and half up for the show heifers. Kade and Toni took Roanie and Reina out of a ride around the alfalfa field. When they got back I kicked Toni off of Reina and rode her around for a min. We still have Peeps in so she got caught and worked on a bit. We also went out into Tank’s pen to try to pet all the beautiful foals out there. Toni has 2 she wants to keep in that pen. Style and Gritty.  The bulls calves were behind the house when I got home, so I grabbed the camera and ran out back to get a few pics of them.

                Anna had all the puppies out fixing fence on Tuesday. She is working for Toni part time while she is home for the summer filing. Then she is working on fences and taking care of her livestock. And training her 4 puppies. Dad took some heifers to a guy over in Sunnyside. Toni says I may have the heifers priced too low but they are selling, so that is good. Toni had a big hearing on Webex that she prevailed on.  Kade sold Roanie on Tuesday, so he started to leg up Boon to sell her. He bought Boon to rope off of, and she does not like roping. When Dad got back, Toni had him leave the trailer at his house so she could practice loading Peeps. Peeps is headed for a soundness exam on Friday. We went out to check the horses and Toni’s pickup started to overheat, so she went home, and Anna and I went out to check. Ben was getting the calves off of the wheat field, so Anna, Ben and I fixed the fence until 8:30. It is really hot, so hopefully the little devils stop getting into the wheat.

They did not stop getting into the wheat. Toni said they were back out there Wednesday morning when she checked. Wednesday night Ben got them out and fixed the fence again. I guess the sweet taste of wheat is worth getting shocked?? It is pretty hot. Kade rode Boon some more out in the alfalfa field. Toni worked on Peeps at chores. She is doing great. It was rainy Wednesday night. The desert grass is looking really nice with all the moisture we have been getting.

A little more moisture Thursday morning. Dad started the circle Thursday morning so it could make it around a few times before we sprayed weeks on Monday. We got the horses all rounded up on Thursday night for Toni and dad to take to Spokane.  There was only one calf out in the wheat and it had been shocked enough that Toni had to go get it out through a gate. So I guess the fence is finally hot enough. We practiced loading Peeps in the Featherlight trailer on Thursday. So now she has practiced loading in 2 different trailers.

I got some pics of the horses and calves Friday when I went out to check. Then I went to mom and dads and helped Toni load the trailer. Her and dad then headed to Spokane with Crystal, Miss Gen and Peeps. They brought Reba back with them too. Cross your fingers, she is in foal to Magneticat, Davis Ranch’s Metallic Cat son. When Kade got home we did chores and I got some pics of Kade riding Boon. Anna was working on her show stuff in the afternoon and Anna and the boys finished packing up the trailer Friday night. Toni and Dad picked up a friend for their trip to Spokane and risked the Memorial Day traffic to get up to their meeting. They had a long day, but productive. They saw lots of wrecks, but weren’t in one. They had a good trip overall with their friend.

We were up before the sun and on the road to Hermiston to Desert Storm on Saturday. Ben, the three older kids and I. We had a great time. Anna was Sr Champion showman and overall champion in Ring A, so brought home two buckles. Kade was 3^rd overall Simmental in both Rings A and B. Kaine’s steer won his class in Ring B.  Julian made it back in showmanship and his steer won his class, I think in both Ring A and B. Savannah was 4^th overall PeeWee in both rings. And Kayla and Baby Jewel were 5^th overall in Ring B. Everyone had a great time. Toni and Jaxsen moved the mares that had foaled out with studs. Dad, Toni and Jaxsen started fixing the irrigation valve in front of the house and had to call for reinforcements. That project went haywire. Lots of help from the yearling fillies and donkeys while the humans tried to fix the valve. Also lots of water all over. Toni and Jaxsen also loaded out Laroy to his new home. Laroy is going to live with his ½ brother Alme. Toni, Natalie, and Brad walked around awhile and looked at the other horses at the house. Toni and Jaxsen did most of the chores for everyone. We got home about 9:30 pm from the show so only had to feed the cattle we had on the trailer. It was a long, but good show.

Another busy day Sunday. Dad, Mom, Skip and Jaxsen went to St John to decorate graves. They stopped by and checked the house and ate lunch at the St John Tavern. Toni showed horses and did some work at mom and dads. We sold Fancy Like and got her loaded and sent to her new home. Ben, three older kids and I worked all of the cows and calves. It was a long day but we got it done. Kade decided to wear my chinks from high school, I have never been skinny, so he used bailing twine as a belt. I took a snap of him but forgot to save it I guess because it is not on my phone. Kind of disappointing.  Both boys got the crap kicked out of them pushing calves up. Kade has a club steer that he has been excited to show for next year that double barreled him, so I think the excitement is minimal at this point.

Getting the cows worked is always a big deal for us as it allows us to see the calves in their composite groups after they have had a chance to grow. We get to band some of the bull calves to make steers and start noting which calves we want to sell when weaned, which heifers we want to keep, which bull calves are potential herd sires for us, which cows maybe need some TLC. We also get to pet and love on all the old show heifers that come through. Some still have to be haltered to get through the chute as they are too tame. Yes, that is a thing in cows.