Fall weaning time....

My morning was spent in the saddle, and a perfectly beautiful morning it was to be astride a horse.  Do you remember the old song, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning?"  Well, that's exactly what it felt like out there on the prairie rounding up the cows and the calves.  The sun was shining, the meadowlarks were singing and all was right with the world.  The fellas and I gathered them up and brought them into the corral to sort the calves away from their mothers.  Man, was it ever dusty in out there with 300 cows milling around!  You should have smelled my hair when I finally got into the shower.  I swear there was muddy water dripping off my head as I stood under the water spicket.  And then there's the nose blowing. 

This time of year we must wean the calves from their mothers.  The weaning process has already begun naturally by now.  The mama cows gradually suckle their calves less and less the older they get, but we intervene in the fall and make it a final weaning.  We do an "across the fence weaning" where the cows and calves can see, hear, and even sniff each other for a few days, but they are separated by a fence or gate.
And this is really how it is all day long -- one mama and then another comes looking for her baby.  Kinda sad.  Hubs says the process is more psychological than anything and is the very best way to wean, for both mama cows and calvies.  After a few days, the cows will be trailed out to another pasture and the calves will continue to be fed ground hay by feed bunk.

Around Home...
I thought I'd share a little of what our mild, beautiful fall has been like here.  We have yet to have a frost and so the flower pots on my front porch are looking better than they have all summer long.  The leaves are turning and falling from the trees.  I love being outside when there's a good wind blowing and the leaves come falling down on me.

I hung out the sheets today for Monday is always wash day -- in particular sheets and bedding.  This afternoon we had a shower of rain come over and my sheets got fairly soaked.  Now they are draped over chairs and furniture to finish drying.

This is one of the lovely cottonwood trees that lives in our yard.  Isn't she a beaut?  She has since lost all of these glorious leaves, and they have been gathered into the compost heap to make rich garden soil for next spring.  There is yet another cottonwood and just today I spotted a chunk of gold leafage developing in the center of him. 

Out on the Prairie and Among the Trees...
Look at these two enormous cottonwood trees still green and looking full of life despite what has happened to them.....

Some over-zealous beavers decided to gnaw them down for their dam.  Now really, Beavers, do you sincerely think you could have carried these big boys to the river?  Do you?

Here are the yearling heifers coming up to see what we are doing.  They are so curious.  These girls will become first-time mothers this spring.

If you enlarge this picture, you'll see the sky is full of birds.  Robins!  They have all flocked together and the shelter belts are loaded with robins.  It's the same sound of chirruping that I remember hearing when they all arrived in spring, but now they are gathering to bid me farewell and to fly away together to warmer climes. 

I always, always miss the sound of birdsong when fall comes to a close.