Over the last couple months since moving back to the ranch my wife, parents and I have been getting into the "All Creatures, Great and Small" series based on the Jim Harriot short stories with it's name sake. We've really enjoy it, though we only get an episode watched every couple weeks or so, but that's okay. It has great story telling and I've found myself getting invested in the future of the characters. Very wholesome show. In the same, though much inferior, vein I wanted to tell a handful of animal stories over the last month or so.
Our dog, Baron continues to be my eager sidekick. He is really living his best life as a ranch dog. No more narrow, two lot boundaries like he had in town. The cats and cows to chase as a big plus. But by far, to the point of shaking with excitement, his favorite is riding along in the pickup or 4-wheeler.
Here he is checking cows with me:
And here he is lounging on the 4-wheeler while I fix fence.
Speaking of cats and lounging, we also did a little cat swapping recently. We have had several kittens born this year, a litter of 2, a litter of 5, and a litter of 3. Of the litter of 5 we were able to give 2 away to friends in Stromsburg. Here is one of the adoptees when it was a few weeks old.
But then Denise on that same trip delivering them came back with three gray kittens more from a different set of friends in Stromsburg. Here they are perched up together in the barn rafters:
But that is okay. Mixing up the farm cat bloodlines is usually a healthy thing.
I also learned just this summer that a woodchuck and a groundhog is the same animal. I had no idea, did you know this? This was discovered because I kept catching glimpses of the brownish grey creature who was making holes all throughout the barn. We did catch it with the help of a brave young man of 9 years old who was visiting with his parents who setup this first trap with an apple. Here he is after being caught and dispatched.
It was a relief to have him no longer disturbing the foundation of the barn, but not long after we started seeing glimpses again from another one who has a hole by our mulberry tree. I setup the trap with an apple in it, immediately outside its hole. First check resulted in this not woodchuck:
Second day catching something got this sad looking gray fella:
and third catch got this one:
Now I've discovered I'm not much of killer and have opted for relocation when possible. Though the woodchuck did receive a lead pill. As of the writing of this I'm still trying to catch the second woodchuck/groundhog.
Last spring we were bringing in a group of cows around 10am in the morning. I mention the time as we came across an animal that is typically not seen during the day.
Our assumption is that he was sick and had a fever, so was separated from the pack and trying to cool off in the water. He would not have stood much of a chance to the cows had they had a chance to trample him. When we returned later that day he was gone.
Anyway more stories to come, but it's a blessing to not know what surprises the Lord may bring each day.
Upon returning to the ranch I've felt on a number of occasions that I have a lot to learn, mostly in moments working with my dad when he sees something I missed, like the signs of a heifer in early labor or being shown by the previous hired man how to change the bearings on a tractor tire. I for sure have as good of a foundation as one could have coming into a job, having done a number of things up until high school, Yet I'm lacking in certain technical skills, like welding, or oversight skills like herd and land management. But its exciting to have things to work toward. I'm an old dog learning new tricks. But, I didn't really want to talk about myself with this post. I've been trying to get Baron (our currently 10 year old dog), acquainted with moving cows, and maybe even more so get the cows acquainted with him. He hops and spins and whines when I move toward a pickup or 4-wheeler, hoping to come along. He has obedience down...
Throughout the summer we had several cows die in seemingly unrelated ways. Two died in late July in two separate pastures. One was 9 years old, and another was 10. The life span of a cow can be 15 years old. I've heard of steers getting into their 20s if they were treated like a pet. Though My dad has typically sold them as cull (to slaughter for hamburger) around the age of 11 or 12. The first of the July deaths we simply found a cow dead in the pasture with no obvious reason. A week later cow #649 had gotten foot rot, so was lame. She seemed really weak and immediately pretty irritable. Covered in flies as well. Pitifully she would get easily into fight mode and try to charge but then her legs would give out and she'd crumple beneath whoever she was charging at. After getting her sprayed for flies and bringing in a tractor and a lot of patience we got her up into a small pen. Fed and watered her, gave her an antibiotic shot, ...
I have felt compelled to journal these beginnings days after moving from an office job back to ranching. I want to use this to help me observe to details, difficulties, and joys in the time of life, but mainly to see God's providence in things. Upon arriving on February 27th I did the 11pm check of the first calf heifers. First one I went to was #315, upon her standing up at my driving up to her on the 4-wheeler I see 2 feet sticking out. I decided to check on the others then come back to her. After a quick lap around the lot I came back to her, she had laid down again, but though I tried to keep my distance at my slow approach she got up again, retracted the calf's feet back in, walked 20 feet away or so, laid back down and resumed pushing. I debated trying to work her up to the pen, but decided I could give her a few moments. She pushed and got the legs out again, pushed another time and I could see the nose. Another push and the h...
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