Weekend at the Ranch

It’s been getting colder & we’ve seen snow several times, though not too much accumulation.  DoRight has been enjoying the weather & loves to play with children in the snow.  He knows how snowballs work & will try to “catch” them in his mouth or bounce them off his chest.  It’s quite funny to see.  I’ll try to get video of that sometime soon.  (Pippin, however, is another story…) After a particularly cold & snowy day last Friday evening,  DoRight stood at any window that I could see him through.  He would whine & look quite pitiful.  Normally, he’s not the “whiney” type, so I figured he needed something.

He had had his dinner, so I knew he wasn’t hungry…he had to be cold…poor puppy!!  So, I went to the mudroom & made a bed for him.  I called him & that is the fastest I’ve seen him run yet.  Ha!  As I began to dry him off, what I had thought was wet fur was actually ice crystals all over him.  He was so pleased to be dried & petted…”See, I told ya I was cold!!”  He immediately settled in his bed & was quite content.

So, his new routine is:

Greet children in the mudroom

Eat breakfast

Wait very impatiently for the children to leave for the barn

Herd goats

Eat manure – gross, I know, but he has a great affection for horse poop  *sigh*

Keep watch on the front porch

Actively looking for someone to come out to play or ride Gold, share a snack or just to say “Hi!”

On watch for any creature they may not be where it’s supposed to be…goat, calf, horse, dog, etc & send it where it should go

Greet Daddy

Eat

Look pitiful

Go to the mudroom to snooze on comfy, warm bed

We’re hoping The Boss will let DoRight come out to work cattle with them in the near future…It’s been so busy around here, we haven’t talked about it with him yet, although I don’t think he will care.  Do is a natural header & has only worked with our few steers we raised for meat.  He looks longingly at the cattle around here.

Now this is the life…

Also, check out what I saw Saturday morning…

This was on our truck’s windshield.  Since the mailbox is 2 miles from our house, we usually drive down to it.  Although, before winter weather began to set in, there were a few times Afton rode The Gold down to the mailbox or someone walked.  With the cold, gusty winds so common now, we prefer the warm truck method. 

Then, on Saturday evening, we were invited to a fish fry at our nearest neighbor’s house.  All the ranches in the area were invited, I think.  We had such a wonderful time.  We were able to meet more of the area ranching families, although Joey had met some of the men at the various brandings held over the last month or so.  (I’ll update more about that this week, I promise, with more pics & video!  For now, you can see some of the branding pics on our header above.  Just refresh your page to see a new pic.)  I met some really wonderful women, most all of them born & raised in the area.  Either they are from a ranching family nearby or they married into one.  Many of the men, like the Boss, are several generation cattle ranchers.  (The Boss is a 4th generation rancher.  We live in his grandparent’s home that was built in 1918.)  I heard stories of hard work & the concern over the recent election outcome.  Of calves born too early in the spring, bringing them into the basement or bathroom to nurse them until the little guy gains strength and doesn’t freeze to death.  Of Bible studies started 30 years ago & still going, although not as regular as they think it should be.  (“How is it when the children are grown we seem to have less time?”)  Calling your neighbors before you run to town (40 miles away) to make sure they don’t need anything.  And how the stores have more food selection than they ever have…you can even find pomegranates, unheard of in years past.  People gardened more then.  Although many things have not changed, many things have.  Searching the internet for the latest weather update…Registering with NAIS in order to sell your cattle to someone that will be selling the beeves internationally.  Or grown children leaving the ranch to find a way to more…something…I’m not sure they even know.  All in all, life & traditions have endured much the same, in spite of the whirlwind changes going on in the world.  At least, the most important things…

One thing I know, however, is how privileged we are to live among such honorable & hard-working people.  The LORD led us here, in that we are certain.  The “why” we don’t completely see yet.  Maybe we’ll never know.  That’s ok…we will find joy in the journey wherever it leads…

Tomorrow, we’re going to a local school event to celebrate Veteran’s Day.  We are looking forward to publicly celebrating a very special day, but also the day will be extra fun because our new friend, Mrs. K, invited us to go with her.  Her children are grown & her son & daughter-in-law are running their ranch now.  Much to our surprise & excitement, Mrs. K found fresh cow milk for us.  Yea!!!  I had only mentioned, in passing, the town in which we have bought fresh milk.  We’ve been missing it so much, as the only place we know of is about 2 hours away.  So, when we run out it’s not just a hop, skip & jump.  Uumm, nothing is a hop, skip & jump around here, I suppose.  I am so appreciative of her & yet, she thinks nothing of it…I think we’ve been accepted into the “neighborhood”.  That is an answer to prayer… 

~~  Faydra