When It Rains

There are numerous high-value assets here on the ranch. During my years working and living this amazing life I believe I have identified our top three – but their order of importance varies over the seasons. They are:

– a live healthy calf,

– a reliable, functioning tractor,

– a good solid three day rain.

As of last night, we are about to experience the latter and we are sure happy about that. (My regrets to the grain farmer at this time)

I also tend to unnecessarily stress a bit about those calves after a long rainy and windy night…that they’ll likely get separated from moms in the weather drama and when I hear the early morning bawling in the field it just reinforces my state.

Calves know best to lay low until momma comes a lookin’ for them.

But I have to remind myself yet again that the bawling is the seeking out for each other and a momma will always sniff out her babe. Peace and harmony soon returns if I just leave things alone.

It’s now a day to watch that rain gauge fill and listen to the grass grow…it’s a happy ranching day!!

Return To Thursday

I haven’t come up with a weekly feature to follow Calving Capers just yet but I do always plan to enter something to my blog, at minimum, every Thursday as I had originally set out to do.

As I write tonight I am in a state of happiness and gratitude as the rain has been coming down for the past few hours. Puddles are starting to form and the dust is good and gone at last. Or at least long enough to let the cows and calves clear their windpipes of the nasty stuff for a few days.  I hope and pray we are about to depart from the drought that plagued us through winter and now into our spring!

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Another highlight today was a little treat I have come to enjoy whenever I get the opportunity. From time to time I get to gather eggs from the chicken coop at my brother-in-law’s place. I even get to keep said eggs! I don’t imagine this would be so “romantic” a lifestyle that I would want to have my own laying hens…I can see there is a significant chore load that accompanies these happy little cluckers.

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