Moving sheep and cow/calf pairs...

 

 

The last couple of days we've been moving the ewes and lambs to fresh pastures and today we will work through them, sorting out the lambs and giving them a dose of de-wormer before sending them out on the range to graze.  They've come through the harsh winter and spring and are finally picking up and looking much better than they were.  Look at that big baby sucking his mama.  Most of the time they get down on their knees to nurse.

Tally:  179 ewes, 289 lambs

We're getting down to the last 100 head of cows left to calve and in the meantime, we have been taking out pairs to larger pastures.  Gradually, we will work each bunch back to the barn to brand and vaccinate calves.  We branded one big bunch of calvies this morning. 

It has warmed up here and we've had some gray, drippy skies.  The moisture has been light, but still, we welcome it and are thankful for it.  The grass is slow-growing at present, but a few warm days should really bring it up.  The cows and sheep are really loving this fresh grass.  It feels like spring has finally arrived.

A Big Year...

 

 

If you are a bird watcher and you've never watched this movie, you should.  Even if you are not a bird watcher, I think you would enjoy it.  The Big Year is about three men's quests to find and count the most bird species in one calendar year.  The adventure takes them all over the USA and requires a few uncomfortable situations in order to find what they are looking for, and as it turns out, as they are looking for birds, they each come to realize what they are REALLY looking for in life.  It's a good movie that you can even watch with your grandma or little kids.

 

I'm a novice birder myself and after watching this movie, I was excited for my grandkids to watch it too, because I'm gradually converting more and more of them into bird watchers.  It's quite contagious, I think.  After watching the movie, I asked the kids if they'd like to do A Big Year with me.  And the eldest of the grands said, "Yes!  Are we going to travel all over the world?"  I told them we would do our Big Year wherever we are this year.  We won't chase birds much although we might chase a little, but we will be very observant right where we live and wherever we go.  I plan to have a special prize for the one who counts the most birds.  We've got our lists and our field guides at-the-ready and with the spring migration, we are adding to them almost daily.

 

If you want to watch the movie, The Big Year, you can find it on DVD on Netflix or you can stream it on Amazon.  I'd love to hear if you decide to do a Big Year where you live.

 

 

(same calves, different lighting inside the barn)

 



We took a morning this past week and branded and vaccinated about 100 head of calves -- the first bunch born to first-calf heifers.  They are really nice calves.  We are still in the midst of calving our herd and I believe we have about 100 head left to calve out of our 500 head of cows.  We've finally lost the majority of our snow and so it's turning spring up here in the north country.  Snow can still be found in the draws here and there, but for the most part, it's gone. The grass is slow to come because it has been a very cold April, but these last couple of days our temps have shot up into the 70s so that really helps to bring up the grass.  We've had a lot of run-off from the snow and every reservoir, creek, wadi, and dip has been filled up with fresh water.  What a blessing!  This evening as I type, there is thunder rumbling and a few lightening bolts and a little bit of rain is sprinkling down.  It sounds like we have good chances of rain in the coming week, so that's encouraging!

Tomorrow I will go to town and get my chickies.  Two of my grandgirls want to go along with me, and three others will likely meet us at the Feed Store.  It's very exciting you know!  Peach, the eldest, is getting two Silver-laced Wyandot pullets and one rooster while the rest will be Pearl White Leghorns which in my humble opinion, are the very best egg layers. 

I hope spring is treating you well and blessing you with sunshine and rain.  We've got to have some showers to bring up the flowers!

Mud. It's a beautiful thing...

 

We got another dose of snow today.  About 3-4" of wet, wet stuff.  It was all right because what followed in the afternoon was warm and sunshiny which made some of this.  Mud!

 

Mud means different things to different people.  To me, mud means we've had a good snow or a good rain that soaked into the ground.  It means that the run-off is going to fill reservoirs and stock ponds, creeks and wadis, and puddles.  It means fresh water for livestock and wildlife to drink.  It means grass, wildflowers, and hay meadows will get enough to drink to bring them up, full of life!  It means that robins will have mud for their nests in April.  Ducks and children will have their fun wading and waddling in it.  And lest you think my definition a bit lofty, mud also means my mudroom lives up to it's name.  The dog shakes her muddy body as she tracks in, the boots come in and leave globs everywhere, and my mop and bucket are always wet and on-the-ready.  It does help if we give our boots a good slap-together outside before bringing them in, but sometimes we forget.  Ah well.

 

These are the cows that are the most likely to calf in the next week or so.  We sorted them up by calving dates and this bunch is on the hill by our house for close observation.  Normally, we do not keep the mature cows this close, but the pastures where they would normally be calving are still knee deep in snow and there is nowhere for them to be.  So for now, this is where the action happens.  With all this melting, perhaps we will get to those pastures with cows soon. 

 

These little girls are all cozy and dry under the shelter in the straw.  The babies that are born out there in the small pasture are sledded in to a place in the corral where it is dry.  The calves can at least have a little dry, warm time with their mothers before the are kicked out into the wide world of mud.

Just a couple days after the Vernal Equinox, the Western Meadowlarks began to sing.  What a joy!  Come (scroll down), take a listen, and feel the joy!

The cows come home (and new calvies)

 

On a sunny and mild Wednesday, the men and I went over to The River Place and gathered the cows to bring them home.  The men had made a trail for them with the tractor through deep snow cross-country.  We couldn't have done it otherwise.  It was a 6.5 mile trek for the cows.  I led the way with the pick-up and cake feeder to coax them, and Hubby followed behind with the Ranger with the tracks on it.  The girls came home in pretty good time and were glad to find hay and water ready for them.

On another note, the heifers have started calving and right now we have four cutie pies in the corral with their mamas.  These are Hereford/Red Angus cross.  I love their splotchy faces.  So far, the heifers are calving with ease, and most of the time we don't know they are even calving until we see a calf on the ground.  Now that's how we want to do it.  

There are still three or four head of ewes at the barn left to lamb.  This past week we docked three bunches of lambs and so far we've had good numbers.  We still have the youngest lambs left to dock.

Tally:  115 ewes, 184 lambs equals 160% lamb crop.  These number don't account for the number of bum lambs we've had.  We took another 8 lambs to Dr. Liz last night and she is happy with her bummies.  We are hoping we can buy back some of the ewes from her when she gets ready to sell them in the summer.

It's been a mild week here which has been so wonderful.  I even took a little snowshoe walk around and enjoyed that.  On Sunday and Monday we are expecting more snow with high winds gusting to 70 mph which means BLIZZARD.  Thankfully, we have all the livestock fairly close by and have plenty of shed space for young livestock.  I suppose the county roads will blow shut with drifting snow, but we have stocked up at the grocery store and have our barn supplies so I think we're ready.  When I look at all the snow around us and the snow that's coming, I just imagine green grass and full reservoirs in spring!  One needs to keep that perspective.

Today I got to be at home for most of the day, being a housewife.  I enjoyed it so very much.  I've been tidying up, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, and catching up with the laundry.  I even washed my chore coat, hats, and gloves so they smell and look so much better.  Supper is in the crock pot and I'm looking forward to soaking in an Epsom Salts bath this evening.  Ahhh.  I hope your Saturday has been just right.  God bless you and thanks for stopping by.

Sunday drive on the prairie...

 Twogrooved Poisonvetch

purple flower in foreground.

The light yellow all over behind are

Meadow deathcamas.
Both plants are poisonous to livestock.

 Hereford cows and calves on summer range.

 Smooth Beardtonge

or

Penstemon Glaber

 Ballhead Ipomopsis

or

Ipomopsis congesta

Ballhead Ipomopsis

Hubby and I took a morning drive out to check cows and calves and to evaluate the grass and water situation.  Everything looks pretty good on the range, but the hay fields are not so great.  The hay is  very short and burning up fast so we'll start cutting this week unless we get a big thunderstorm.  We went from cold and windy to hot and dry practically overnight.  Such is life on the northern prairie.

Rainy results...

Over the past week we've had some warm temperatures, snow run-off, and rain!  There are puddles in the pastures, goopy gunk under gates, waters in the wadis, and we are happy as Herefords in a hay yard!  Yup!  It appears that we are going to get some spring showers and some wetness.  Even today we've had a few sprinkles and there's more in the forecast. 

We worked all the mature Hereford cows through the corrals and barn a few days ago and sorted them up by calving dates, three ways.  I was the gate swinger and all that muddy goop was where I was pushing cows through to their appropriate pens.  I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my job because not only was there mud to slog in, but there was warm sunshine too.  Perfect for this ranchgirl.

All of the cows are now out in their designated pastures doing what they are supposed to do:  eating grass and having their calves.  So far we've had no problems, but there are about 400 head yet to have their babies.  Driving out to check cows is like a daily Easter Egg Hunt, our eyes search and search looking for wet baby calves with their mothers licking them off and suckling them.

Around the home and gardens, I've been raking up dead willow branches in the backyard and digging out clumps of grass and weeds from amongst the tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth spears that are shooting through the moist soil.  It's so exciting to see the new life happening right before my eyes.  It's days like these when we are so glad to live in the country and watch cows calving in the pasture right out of our front windows.  I told Hubs the other day, "People would pay to have our views and see what we see out of our kitchen windows -- even for a weekend."

On the topic of birds -- Peach, Toodles, and their Mom spied these Eastern Bluebirds in the tree patch next to their house.  They were  so kind to share their photos with me!  Will the bluebirds stay or migrate further south?  I don't know, but they do like rotted trees with holes in them for nesting, so it could happen that they decide to stay with us.  We have a large amount of flickers who like to nest in our  rotted trees too so time will tell.  No matter what they decide, it's so fun to see their bright blue wings flying amidst our leafless trees.

On another note, the septic system is clogged.....again.  Likely the roots from the Willow tree are interfering.  We will find out tomorrow.  Bummer.

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush." 
~Doug Larson

ring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglarson107646.html?src=t_spring

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglarson107646.html?src=t_spring

Snow day and eyeing sheep...

 

  

The snow blew in this morning around 6:00 and didn't stop all day long.  I suppose we have 3-4" of snow on the level, but since the ground was warm, there was plenty of melting underneath despite the constant snowfall on the topside.  We are so grateful for the moisture it's providing.  It settles the dust and softens the grass to make it more palatable for the livestock.  The sheep love to eat snow just like children like to eat snow!

Hubby and I went out to feed cows and sheep this morning.  They were glad to see us.  It really wasn't that cold -- maybe 25* -- but they always love to hear our horn honk and see the cake feeder driving up to them.

Yesterday our neighbor sheep shearer came over and we eyed the sheep.  That means he sheared the wool off the sheep's faces so they can see in winter conditions.  Some sheep have lots of wool on their faces despite our efforts to select "open faced" ewes when we choose our replacements.  When they have so much wool on their faces, we call them "wool blind" and it can be a bad thing since sheep flock and follow one another.  You know the phrase:  the blind leading the blind?  That's what can happen when the majority of the sheep are wool blind and get a layer of snow and ice caked over their eyes.  They can drift in with the snow and not know where they are or where they're going.  But as you can see, our sheep are not wool blind but have nicely sheared, open faces -- and in just the nick of time!  The snow came the following day!  I'm happy for the sheep being able to see and to lick snow today.

What is your November weather looking like?  We built a fire in the wood-burning stove today.  Nice 'n' cozy!

Calvies galore! and more to come...

 

Most of the first-calf heifers have had their babies with a dozen more left to calve.  Then we begin calving the mature cows.  We brought them home so they are in nearby pastures so we can check them easily and keep tabs on them.

I am so thrilled that we've had some early, spring rain this week!  Yesterday morning we awoke to rain coming down.  I captured .3" of rain in my cute, garden rain gauge.  The utilitarian rain gauge is cracked.  This morning we had more wetness to report and tallied up another .25" of rain.  Every little bit adds up here on the prairie.  What I love about this good land we live on is that it takes very little moisture to produce the native grasses that grow here.  Our annual average rainfall is about 11-12" per year.  Not much, is it?  But it is enough.  I'm hopeful that the rain keeps falling and the sun keeps shining.  Actually, it's perfect when it rains at night and the sun shines in the day!  I'm all for that!  Have a happy day!
........................................................

The friendly cow, all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Feed my sheep....

 ....and while you're at it, feed my cows too!

 

I loved seeing this morning's setting of the moon while the cows walked up to the feed ground.

The sheep were waiting at the gate for the tractor and for the 

pick-up truck to bring them some breakfast. We didn't disappoint them.

 We are all done lambing except for one ewe who has yet to have her lambs.  

We turned her out with the others.

 It has turned pleasantly warm these past couple days. 

The ewes and lambs are enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

Me too.

 

Can you pick out Baba Blacksheep?  

She's outstanding in her field.

After chores, all of us went up to the Old Shed and docked the early lambs.  My goodness, but we had some big lambs there.  They were hard to hold. There were 66 ewes and they had a total of 102 lambs.  That's a lambing percentage of 154%.  Not bad.  We'll see how the rest of the bunches dock out.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you're having a pleasant day.

We are!

Calvies...

 The first baby calves were born today!

They were born to heifers (first time moms).  We are just about finished lambing with only eleven more ewes left to have their babies, and now we are starting in on calving the heifers.  They require a little more attention and care since they are having their first babies.  Birthing is the name of the game around  here!

This photo looks a little distorted since I took it through a crack in the wall of the barn. This pair was experiencing their first time nursing, and so I didn't want to interrupt them or distract them in any way.  Both calvies and mamas are doing well. 

It's been a cold, cold week here so we've been busy keeping the ewes and lambs fed and watered and sheltered until we get through it. There has been a lot of mucking pens and carrying water buckets and hay.  I feel like now that we are nearing the end, I am finally in shape!  Perhaps I should hire out?  It sounds like the weather is going to shape up and warm up for us later this week.  It'll be a good reward!  I look forward to seeing little lambies and calvies skipping and playing in the sunshine.  Are you ready for some warm sunshine too?

Bloomin' paperwhites, beans, and other stuff...

  

The paperwhites I potted are blooming on the kitchen counter right next to my window. They seem happy.  I love real flowers -- growing indoors or fresh cut -- especially in winter.  Oh, I guess I like them in all seasons, but there's just something especially wonderful about flowers in the bleak midwinter.  Do you have flowers in your home? 

Today we have a sunny and warm day with a temp of 42 degrees, but oh does the wind blow!  I took my daily walk anyway and just tied my earflaps down tight so I wouldn't get an earache. The little snow we had is mostly melted down and turns to ice overnight.  Sure does make it slippery for the cows to walk across the pasture.

 

JJo and I went feeding cows and sheep this morning and we took the baby with us.  He slept the whole time.  The bumping and rocking of the pickup truck made it easy for him to doze.  He's now one month old and cute as the dickens.  His lil cheeks are so chubby from his mama's rich milk.

The sheep will get sheared in a couple weeks or so in preparation for lambing.  Then our slow, winter days will come to a halt and busier days will commence.  I do look forward to baby lambs.  I hope it stays nice and doesn't turn frigid.

 

Yesterday OnlyDaughter came for a visit and brought her two girls.  They had fun feeding cows and sheep and chickens too.  There's a handful of cows and several ewes that will eat out of our hands and the kids think it's the greatest thing ever.  It is!  OnlyDaughter is getting a big belly as she waits for her new baby to be born in the first week of March.  You can see it sticking out on the left side of the photo with the purple plaid coat over it.  This will be their third baby.  The cousins were glad to get together, and they had fun sledding on the last of the snow.  I did too!

I've been reading up a little bit about the health benefits of eating beans of all kinds.  Did you know that eating beans, especially black beans and lentils, can help reverse aging?  I don't mind getting older, but I'd sure like to preserve as much spunk as I can.  Since Hubs and I are trying to keep carbohydrates fairly low, I find that I need to keep my intake of good protein and nutrient-dense foods high, otherwise I really crave things like chips and cookies and sweets.  Even though beans are considered starchy, I thought maybe if I added them to our diet, it might help curb cravings for junk and keep our tummies satisfied.  I think it does help.

I made myself a Black Bean Chocolate Brownie Smoothie this afternoon after seeing a recipe here.  I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but since I had a few black beans leftover from last night's meal, I thought I'd at least try it.  I'll admit, it wasn't bad, but next time, I will change it up a little.  Actually, I changed it up today so I could use what I had on hand.  Instead of dates, I used a fig.  I also thought it needed a little more sweetness, so I added about 1 tsp. of honey and 1 tsp. of peanut butter.  I didn't have hemp seeds so I added a tblsp. of ground flax seed.  Next time, I'll leave out the fig.  It kinda made the smoothie chewy in a weird texture kind of way.  I do love figs, but not in my smoothie, I guess.  While you are at The Muffin Myth reading about the black bean brownie smoothie, check out some of her other ideas for healthy smoothies.  The Chocolate Banana Bread Smoothie sounds interesting.

There's a really good article I found by Dr. Alan Christianson who is a naturopathic medical doctor.  I've been receiving his newsletters for a few weeks, and he's got some really smart ideas for keeping people healthy.  The article is about how beans can improve health.  I always thought of beans as a way to stretch a family food budget, but they are also very nutrient dense and full of fiber and goodness.  Do you like beans?  How do you incorporate them into your diet?

Thanks for stopping by, Friend!