Monday, July 28, 2014

Pregging Heifers

And the cycle starts again!
Seems like we just turned the bulls out with the heifers and now we are pregging them? Yep.
The bulls were put in at the end of April and pulled at the end of May. 33 days to get 'er done. And get 'er done they did! HA!

The vet likes to get here early, 6:30 am early, too beat the heat and just be done with it. I wasn't ready to get up at 3:45 am, but I ended up waking up before the alarm went off. Happens every time!

It was already 72* at 4 am! Yikes! And hot it got today! 100*! Suppose to be like this for the next week or so! Not good. The cows don't do well in this extreme heat.
Imagine weighing in at 1300 pounds AND wearing a fur coat with temps in the 100's! Yeah.

I've been leaving Bandit at home and taking Spook with me to gather cows. I must say for just a 10 month old pup, she totally gets how to work cows. I couldn't be more happy with her. She's quiet, calm and is always in the right spot at the right time. Or can get in the right spot quietly.

No pictures of pregging the heifers. I was at the chute, putting bug juice on the heifers, tattooing, keeping the ear tags rotated and getting covered in cow nasty! YUCK!

Here's a few pics of bringing the heifers in.

                                               Spook
                                       Keeping them going straight.
                                           Single file - good girls.
                                            
                                           And back up the creek they go.


 
My favorite view.
 
 
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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Fences and what they keep in

Here is my fence for Thursday. Your typical barb wire fence. It sure was fun to string the wire down hill! Check out some other fences and gates here Run Around Ranch


This is what the fence keeps in, most of the time!


Yesterday we had a crazy, wild wind, rain and thunder storm come through. It was wild! Blowing rain sideways! It didn't last but a few hours. I LOVE a good storm.

Clouds and a partial rainbow before the storm moved in.



A fiery, angry sunset after the storm.


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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Grrrrrrrrr asshoppers!

We have been over run by grasshoppers! They have destroyed the pastures, hay fields and anything they can get their grubby paws on!

Grasshoppers prefer to eat grasses, leaves and cereal crops, but many grasshoppers are omnivorous. The majority of grasshoppers are polyphagous. Many will eat from multiple host plants in one day, while some prefer to rely on the same host plant. Only one of the 8000 species of grasshopper is monophagous and will only eat a single species of plant.

In certain countries, grasshoppers are eaten as a good source of protein.
They can be boiled or eaten raw, sun-dried, fried, flavored with spices, such as garlic, onions, drenched in lime, and used in soup or as a filling for various dishes.
They are served on skewers in some Chinese food markets.

I'm thinking we have enough grasshoppers to have one heck of a party, with grasshopper as the main dish! Ha Ha Ha! But seriously!

Some of their destruction.
These are (was) my rhubarb, small tree, and chrysanthemum!


                            See all the grass hoppers on this plant? They are loaded on everything!!


On a lighter note. Cameron and I went to help a friend with his haying equipment. It was a beautiful evening.


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Friday, July 18, 2014

Wild Fires

There are many wild fires in Eastern Washington. Started by lightning. Whole towns being evacuated, hundreds of thousands acres burned, peoples homes burned. We are a few hundred miles east of the fires. Yesterday was so hazy. Blue haze and smokey. This morning it was real yellow and there was a light covering of black ash on everything. I couldn't imagine what its like a few miles from the fires!
Here is a link to some wild fire pictures
Please keep our wild land firefighters in your thoughts and prayers.

Last nights sunset


The sun this morning.


Yellow and hazy this afternoon. Temps here are about 25* cooler then they have been. Its 80* right now, as opposed to 105+ it has been the past week!


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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Super Moon

There are 3 super moons this year. The first full moon after the June 21 solstice. Around this time of year, in North America, buck deer start growing antlers, thunder storms rage and farmers struggle to pile up hay in their barns, according to folklore, we call this full moon the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon or Hay Moon.

The Super Moon coming up over the bluff.



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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The Sun and The Moon

It was another blistering hot day today. 104*! We moved the heifers today. Half were along the creek, the other half were at the solar well. Not to bad of a ride. Cameron got the ones along the creek, I got the ones at the water tank. Then the puppies decided to go for a swim in the creek.

We had another gorgeous sunset. And sitting on the back patio, the moon behind the trees was pretty too. Looks like the moon is wrapped in lace.

Can't you just feel the heat?



A lacy moon.


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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Photo Bombed

Its been hot here the past week. Got up to 100* today! Suppose to get hotter for another few days, then cool back off into the mid 90's. Makes for changing irrigation pipes sticky! At least you have the water too cool ya down.....and the pool at home. And gotta have AC!

Fire season is upon us. There is a forest fire in Ellensburg, almost 200 miles west of us. The smoke makes for some beautiful sunsets though.

Photo bombed by a bird!




My bottle baby, Beanstalk is growing like a weed!



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Thursday, July 3, 2014

Red, White and Blue

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th. May God bless America.


Tonight's sunset. I thought it was fitting. Red sunset, white contrails and blue sky.

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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Western Kingbird?

These cute birds are all over around here. I think they are a Western Kingbird. But, for whatever reason we call the B Martins.. I have no idea why!
They are always way up in the trees. But nest down low.
The adults are in the Honey Locust trees and the nest is in the Lilac.
When you go down by their nest, they just flip out and squawk and try to dive bomb you! I pay no attention to them and check on the babies....A few days ago the babies were just little fuzzy heads barely sticking out of the nest. Now they look a little cramped in there!





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