Jimmy's Comments

Ranch Sale

2012-02-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have not said much about the ranch being for sale so I thought I would let you guys know that it did not sale today! Now that does not mean it is off the market, but the person we have been working with for the last 4 months completely back out today.

In his defense he had an accident about 3 and half weeks ago. At that point in time he was prepared to call on Monday morning and buy the ranch. On the Sunday afternoon before that Monday he climbed a ladder to trim a limb that was in the way of making a 3 point shot. Once he cut that limb he saw another and reached out instead of climbing down and moving the ladder. Well you guessed it, the ladder fell and he broke his wrist, elbow and pelvis! Since then we have been on hold letting him recover from surgery and see what his prognosis was to be. This is what changed his mind. He has a long road to recovery. We all wish him well as he is a good Christain man.

The boss will be in next week to get a game plan for the rest of the year since the ranch did not sale. This will only be until the next person comes along. It is still for sale!

Back on the ranch, calving is coming along really well. The warmer than usual weather has sure helped the calves in getting up and nursing. We are pretty much even on the calf crop. We have lost 4 calves out of 200, but we have had 4 sets of twins! Yes 4 sets. We have been able to take a twin from each set and put them on the cows that lost calves. Again, this process this year has been seamless with all the cows taking the twins without any trouble.

The snow did not bother us as it only stayed one day. The weekend before was worse because it was soo cold. I did have to bring one new calf in for a few hours to warm up and get dry. When we took him back the cow she took him right away.

Everyone take care as we are. Until next time God Bless!

Just a quick update

2012-02-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well I just wanted to give you a quick update on where we stand with the sale of the ranch.

We are back in negotiations with the buyer after he had a terrible fall and spent some time in the hospital. Hopefully I will know something by tomorrow or at least sometime next week. I spent the whole day working on spreadsheets with equipment pricing. This seems to be the only place there is a hangup. Good thing I enjoy working with Exel!

Other than that calving is going really good. We are over half way done with Spring Calving and they are sure coming here healthy. The weather has really been great for calving. I still remember the last two winters how wet and cold it was. We were checking cattle all through the night. This year we have only had to go out a couple of night and that was because we saw a cow hunting for a spot when we were headed home.

The pecan harvest is over for this year. I have to say even after the drought that we harvested over 200,000 pounds of pecans. Price sure was a big factor this year. The Chinese were a big influence on that early on. Prices dropped some after the first of the year but stayed better than usual.

The cow/calf markets are hitting the roof. With calves weighting 600 pounds bringing around $1.68/lb. It sure won't hurt the bottom line this year. Cows are at an all time high due to the liquidation of cow herds due to the drought. There is a shortage of cattle of all ages. You know what this means? Price of beef in the super market is headed up.

I read an article the other day that says eating more red meat than what was first prescribed could help lower your cholesterol. Can you believe this? I tell you it amazes me how one year it will kill you and the next it helps, no matter what; eggs, whole milk, etc. I eat red meat, eggs (farm raised) and drink whole milk!

Well that's my thoughts for now. Until next time, God Bless.

A Special Meeting

2012-01-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a meeting I had at Wendy's just yesterday. I was there eating lunch with Jamie, Michael and Stetson. A young black man walks into the dining area with his tray of food. We were almost done eating, just sitting there talking. Michael sees him and speaks first and he back. He sat at the closest table to us and I see him then and speak. He starts talking about God and Jesus, at first I could not hear him. He was going on about how you need to walk with Jesus and talk to God and repent of your sins or you'll never be right with God. I starting listening closer and talking with him. All he would tell me was that his name was Chris and that it was his duty to spead God's Word to the drug dealers, prostitues and other bad people in town. Chris confessed that if you approached them with confidence and in a non-threatening way they would listen. Chris also stated that it could be scary work but God tells him that he is with him and do not be afraid. I had to go back to work so I bid him good bye and hoped to see him again. We shook hands and he asked me to remember him in my prayers. At first I thought, man he is doing an impossible job. The more I have thought about this, he will accomplish something big if he can help just one person. This has made me wonder what could I do or who can I help. If Chris is daring to go into those kind of places, surely I can meet someone that I can help. I have prayed for Chris since I met him. I will continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

My Pastor has a whole series on Radical Ministry that we are going through now. He has challenged us all to find someone to pray for. I read a book titled "Radical" that sure opened my eyes and put a little change in my life. I look at things so much more differently these days.

On the ranch, we have started calving several calves a day. Mostly with not trouble until today. We had a cow calve, get up and walk off. Now we have an orphan until we pen her tomorrow and remind her that she is a mother! Hopes she remembers fast or Emilio will have a set of homemade hobbles on here quick.

Until next time God Bless.

I'm Back?

2012-01-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know it has been awhile since I last posted and so much has gone on that I can't tell it all. We are all doing fine, finished the fall calving, harvested pecans and worked with real estate people to show the ranch. Yes, the ranch is for sale!

Pecan harvest went better than we thougtht. If you remember back, at the first of the summer I sure thought we would gather in the range of 700 to 800,000 lbs of pecans. The drought hit and we (the ranch guys) all thought we would only get 70 to 80,000 lbs. Well I sold the pecans just before Christmas and we had gatherd 112,000 lbs. Since the day after Christmas we have gathered another 80,000 lbs that I hope to get out of here before Friday.

Calving season has started again. We only have 12 born to date, but have a total of 300 due this Spring. We are haveing to watch our hay consuption. It sure makes it hard because the cows want more, but we don't have any extra. It will be close.

The ranch is for sale and I have met the prospective buyer and his family. Good Christain family from Dallas. They don't know anything about agriculture, but are wanting to learn. They really like the houses and the beauty of the ranch. The deal was to have gone through this week, but there is now a hold up. The man fell from a ladder on Sunday and broke his elbow and wrist, dislocated his shoulder, bumped his head (that part is okay) and broke his pelvis. He is in ICU awaiting surgery to fix his pelvis. I wish him the best however the ranch deal goes. I will try better to keep everyone posted.

We had a really nice Christmas. The kids were all here and so was Stetson! That is all I asked for this year and I was really happy to get my special gift. Hope that all of you had a great Christmas season. Well this is enought to get started back. Until next time, God Bless.

A Little Rain

2011-10-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we saw a little rain today. It was much appreciated for the quarter inch we got this morning. It was pretty much gone by mid-afternoon. Maybe it did some good.

We weaned all the Spring born calves on Monday. Been listening to lots of bawling all week. Most have quieted down by now. The cows, due to the drought, have mostly dried up and the calves weren't really getting much milk. The calves sure took eating the feed. We sorted out 70 head of heifers to keep as replacements. All the others will be catching a ride to Oklahoma City Stockyards to be sold by auction on Monday.

Tomorrow we will be semen testing and vaccinating the bulls and vaccinating a set of pairs. All but 5 have calved. This is our annual herd work when we draw blood from every animal to keep our Certified Herd status. The blood is for Brucellosis testing.

Changing gears, I got a text from Wesley this morning letting me know that he got the internship at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, AR. I am not sure who is most excited about this opportunity, Wesley or his mom and dad! I don't know a whole lot more than it will be this summer. The guys he now works with in Bryan said they would take him back for the school year. Those guys have really supported Wesley and my hats off to them.

I don't have to worry about my kids protesting with the 99%. They are too busy making lives for themselves. Cherrie and I pride ourselves in teaching our kids how to take responsibility for their actions and mainly don't be afraid to work for what you want!

I guess I better get to sleep so I can put in a good days work tomorrow. Until next time, God Bless

Been a While

2011-10-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I last posted. With the heat and everything else going on, I just lost interest in posting. But, I have decided to get back to putting something down everyday or at least I'll try.

Everyone in Texas knows that the heat and drought has taken its toll on the cattlemen and farmers this year. Looks like there is no end in sight. We are preparing to ship our Spring born calves. I have left a message for the order buyer to call me back as they need to go as soon as possible. The market is good and other than being a little lighter in weight (because of shipping 3 months earlier than usual) they are all in good flesh and health.

The Fall calving is going in spurts now. The majority of them came in the first half of September. We have less than 80 cows to calve now. Usually we don't have any problems with the Fall calvers, but this year is the exception. They are smaller than normal and some of the cows don't have any milk. I blame the no milk on the cow just trying to survive. We have had more death loss than usual this Fall, too! The calves that make it are doing well.

For those that have not heard, Jamie, our daughter, is due with her second in April. The 27th is what the doctor told them today. We are all excited about this. Stetson needs someone to play with and learn to share! His world will be upset when the new brother or sister gets here. I know that everyone is excited about the news.

Well, (deep subject) Cherrie and I are headed to the gym for some much needed exercise. Until next time, God Bless.

Just Things

2011-08-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

There are several things on my mind today. Our daughter and husband, along with Stetson are moving to a new campground, Wesley is off shooting his new gun with his girlfriend, Mark and Laura are packing to move to new jobs and I am really starting to worry about the drought.

Jamie and family are moving about 20 miles down the road to a new campground. The one they are leaving does not winterize for the winter, so they would have to move out by October 31 any way. There are several families on this job it would affect and so one of them had been looking for a campground with plenty of lots so they could all move together and be side by side. Kinda reminds me of the old wagon trains.

Wesley got a new handgun from his girlfriend last week. Since she lives closer to home than he does and they have land to shoot on, they made the trip to her home. He says it shoots really nice, not much recoil but it took him 100+ rounds to be able to hit center. Last night they were cooking steaks on the grill. I was picking at him to eat the raccoon that Noelle shot with her pistol. I tried giving him the recipe over the phone, but he would not listen! He has one more week till school starts. Two more years and it will be celebration time in Aggie Land.

After church services today we had a good bye lunch for Mark and Laura. Laura has been our DCE for the last year. Done a heck of a job and hate to see her leave. She and Mark both got jobs in a church in San Antonio. That is close to home for both of them. I wish them the best of luck with their new adventure. They will both serve the Lord well. I will go to their apartment tomorrow evening to help load up the heavy stuff. I am glad they asked, it will give me one last time to say goodbye and good luck.

The lack of rain in North East Texas is really starting to bother me. We don't have enough hay to feed the cows through the winter. I am looking for alternatives to feed them. Don't worry we will not let them go hungry. Our neighbor on Friday night called in a panic, something started a fire on the back of her place. She was able to call her cattle to the front while the volunteer fire department worked on the fire. It took them several hours to put it out. During that time we were rounding up trucks, trailers and drivers to move the cattle if it came to that. Luckily it didn't. Now she has lost half of the pasture due to fire the cows are doubled up on what little is there. We might still have to sell some of our cows and most likely will wean the calves in September instead of November. That is a two fold deal, the cows will have to only eat for themselves and not produce milk and the other is that the calves will go north where they will have plenty of grazing for them to continue to grow.

This has been a long hot summer with no rain, but I am sure the Lord has a plan for us all. We just need to take the quiet time to listen for his plan. Until next time, God Bless.

HEAT and it's effects

2011-08-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I posted anything on my site. I guess I just kept hoping for some good news. It will come, just hasn't yet!

The ranch is starting to really show the stress of 100 degree days without rain. The grass has been dry for some time. We have gotten one cutting of hay and that was the end of May. The grass started up but then the rain stopped and so did the grass. Now it has mostly turned brown and just standing there doing nothing. The cattle have eaten the pastures to the ground. They are starting to eat more of the liquid feed supplement to maintain there bodies. Every once in awhile a limb will fall from one of the pecan trees and its a mad dash to see who can eat the most leaves.

We ride the pastures everyday to make sure that the water wells are working and troughs full. We also check for leaks or broken pipes so as not to waste any water. We keep the cattle an ample supply of mineral and salt. Cattle don't sweat but they do pant, like a dog. The other morning we started at 5:30 am moving some of the cattle to a little better pasture. The cattle knew is was hot already and just walked along. I wish they would move like that all the time. We made sure we finished moving cattle by 7 am. It just gets too hot.

We are bush hogging the fescue pastures so as to knock the seed heads down. Its a high clip, not anywhere close to the ground. We are also dragging disc on the wheat fields. Not doing a lot of good, but we got to start sometime. We like to have the seed in the ground by fair time. We usually always get a rain during the fair.

For the most part the pecan trees are doing well. Starting to shed a few more pecans and we have has some limbs break due to the pecans getting heavy and the tree not having enough water. They do have a tap root that should be into the water table. I am sure that is why they look so well. The squirrels are starting to get worried and cutting into the nuts already. We have an abundance of squirrels on the place. Before we know it we will be harvesting the nuts.

Not much longer till the new calves will be hitting the ground. We try to start September 1, but we always seem to have a few born in late August. I am hoping that we get a break in the weather before the first one hits. I am sure you can imagine how the cow feels, especially if you have ever been pregnant in the summer.

The farmers here have lost most of their crops from burning up. My neighbor down the road lost his whole corn crop. He is spending a chunk of money on irrigation so he can keep going. Hopefully the water table holds up!

I made a trip to College Station last week to see some friends and visit with Wesley. The further south you drive the worse the conditions are. They have had less rain than we have. Not many cattle in the pastures if any at all. The markets all over the South have been running at capacity. In fact, some West Texas markets are turning cattle away due to the killing market being flooded. I hope that you all see where I am headed with this.......

We will all need to be prepared for food prices to climb this year. With the flooding up North and the drought down South farmers are struggling to produce a crop and to keep their land. With all the cattle being sold due to no hay being put up for winter and no grass to sustain them now, and China importing all the American beef they can, we can expect our beef prices to rise. On a side note China buys from the American rancher due to the fact that we raise the safest product in the world and the US is importing foreign beef that have no restrictions put on them. Go figure and think about that the next time you are looking at beef in the grocery store. Hence, we raise our own! Beef is not all that will be high, fruit and produce farmers are being hit hard, too. We are not feeling it yet, but just wait.

On a lighter note, Cherrie and I celebrated 26 years of marriage last week. We are so simple that it was not a big celebration. We went out to eat, after the animals were fed. I have a few goals: I would like to make at least 50 years of marriage (I hope longer), see Wesley graduate college in 2013, see Stetson show his first calf and hopefully be around to see him graduate college. I would like to be able to meet all my grandchildren someday. Not sure when Wesley will have any, but Jamie and Michael have mentioned at least one more, someday.

Well I have rambled enough I need to go read my book, Radical, some more. I have got church meetings on Monday and Tuesday night, Livestock and Forage meeting at lunch on Tuesday and then we have our annual 4H Achievement Banquet on Thursday night. I always enjoy watching the kids get the awards. We are blessed with so many good youth. I even get to give the "I Dare You Award" to 4 deserving young people. That is the highlight for me, seeing their faces when I call their name to come forward.

Until next time, God Bless You and our country!

BLIND FAITH!

2011-07-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

We hear about following Jesus, a person we have never seen, and are supposed to follow him without question. I have learned more about my Faith in the last 3 years than I ever have. I think some of it is age. I really never went to church until I met Cherrie. If I wanted to see her on Sunday we had to go to church. One of the better decisions I have made in my life. I enjoy going to church to hear the Word. We have raised our kids in the church and help out as much as possible.

I have learned over the years how to keep my tongue and watch my mouth. It has not hurt me one bit and I even have gotten my guys at the ranch to say prayer with me before lunch. It give you a Great feeling inside.

I got a real lesson in Blind Faith on Friday. We were gathering the cattle to wean calves to be shipped out to the feedlot. We started about 5:30 am, it was still a little dark but we could see the cattle. The first pasture of cattle are always the hardest to get out, but we had no trouble this morning. After the cattle ran out the gate into the road and turned down toward the pens, I notice a fairly good sized heifer just standing in the road like she was lost. As I got closer to push her toward the other cattle, I noticed she was trembling. I got off the four wheeler and walked up to her. I waved my hands at her face, she didn't flinch. She had gone blind since we vaccinated the group in March. I started talking to her and she responded by coming toward me. The heifer let me touch her without jumping back. I just kept talking to her and stroking her back. I got Ciro to come over and take up what I was doing. He stood beside her, talked to her, stroked her back and got her to follow right beside him. Now if that is not Blind Faith, I am not sure I would know!

The heifer walked with him a good 100 yards till her momma came out of the herd and met them. Ciro backed off and the cow took up where he left off. We have her in the pens because the feedlot won't take blind cattle. Not sure what we are going to do. But we all learned a very good God given lesson in real life.

I just wanted to share with you this story. The Lord takes care of us that will follow. I have added a short clip of the heifer walking with Ciro.

I believe we need to follow more in Blind Faith. This has sure strengthened mine. Until Next time God Bless!

Other Work Besides Cattle

2011-07-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, cattle does take up most of my time, but I do find extra time to do other things.

Friday I took off from ranch work to help Cherrie all day. It started out as it was one of our projects that wouldn't take long. Ha! If one of us says it will only take minutes you need to clear your day!

After tending to our animals that morning, I hooked to the dump trailer and we took off to get a load of compost. Three yards would be way too much, but better not to make the second trip. Got to our church and dug up a few remaining shrubs. The week before I took my guys and the backhoe to the church and pulled up all the overgrown shrubs and trees from the flower beds. Cherrie and I started shoveling the compost into the bed. It was hot and we were drinking fluids like they would never run out, except through sweat. After shoveling 3 yards of compost we had only covered half of the bed! That gave us a reason to drive back for more. It was very refreshing to be able to cool off.

Now, back with the second load of compost, another 3 yards, we started shoveling again. This time we had left overs, a whole 5 shovel fulls. The bed looked nice just full of compost. It was lunch time and we ate a small burger and cooled off again. After lunch we went to the nursery to get plants. We had already had Bruce come by and give his ideas and plant count so that helped. After loading all the plants in the trailer, more than on the list because we just thought Bruce had to have missed his count!

At least we had sense enough to lay out all the plants before we started planting. You know I hate to admit it but Bruce missed his count by one plant. It sure hurt to tell him he was so close. Bruce is a good friend and we have know him a long time, so it was just a funny.

After digging all the holes and putting in the plants it was time to start watering. We haven't had enough rain to help much of anything. I saw on the weather last night that Texarkana was 9.69" behind for the year. The bed was powder keg dry before we put the compost in and the compost seemed to be building heat. It took lots of water just to get each plant soaked. We then put a soaker hose down weaving around every plant. It was getting late so we headed back to the nursery with the extra plants to return. While there we got pine bark mulch to finish the bed and it helps hide the soaker hose. When finished we were able to sit back and enjoy the work we had sweated over all day. I hope that all enjoy the bed as we do. It sure does look better to us.

Until Next Time, God Bless

My cattle loading day

2011-06-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when we sell our Fall born calves. I only have 140 so it is considered a small amount of us. Over the years we have moved to a Spring born calf crop, but now are going to start growing our Fall herd again, but that is another story for later.

I finally made the deal last night about 10:30 pm. We were to ship only 40 head today along with our neighbors cattle. He had almost 3 pot loads of cattle. That would have made the cost of trucking higher if we weren't able to pitch in. It was so late making the deal that I would not call my guys and ask them to start early. Our regular time is 7am, so I made sure I was not late! A brief meeting to get all the details of moving the cattle quickly but calmly to the pens was outlined. The cattle moved just perfect, came right out of the pasture and walked down the road to the pens. I left my guys to sort the calves from the cows and then sort steers from heifers. I went to get the trailer so we could haul them to the neighbors pens. Still no problems!

We got the first load of steers loaded on our Gooseneck and headed down the road to the pens. No problem! When we got there to unload is when I saw the mess we were getting into. Then I got a call from the order buyer. He was up all night with the "trots". If you don't know what the trots are asked your grandpa or grandma. He ask me to weigh all the cattle and be in charge. Now I just met this man at 11 am yesterday, but I agreed if my neighbor didn't mind. He did not mind at all, and I took charge. I sent Ciro and one of the other trailers back for the rest of our calves and I headed into the pens to get the pecking order straightened out!

I only ruffled a few feathers, but all that quickly settled down. We moved cattle into position to be weighed as quickly and safely as possible. Loaded out a couple of keeping heifers loads that were in the way and we needed the room. Ciro was back then with the last of our calves. I put him in charge of the all the guys in the back and he was charged with bringing me the cattle in groups to weigh and then put them back without mixing them up. All went smooth without much trouble. See my neighbor has a fabrication shop and brings men from there to work and load his cattle. They don't know much about how to move them quietly. They were all telling us that they are crazy! With the right direction and not being allowed to yell or use a stick, which Ciro took a couple of sticks away from some of the help, the cattle never got upset or anyone hurt. Now before we got there there was one fellow that got his wrist broke. I am not into broken bones or getting hurt, me or the cattle.

About the time we were finishing up on the weighing the order buyer showed up and was trying to tell us what to do. Wrong, I was already in charge and things were running smooth. I ask him to sit back and talk to my neighbor. Which he did without much trouble. When I get ready to sort and load cattle I like to have the trucks waiting. This time I was not in charge of getting the trucks so there were no trucks when we finished weighing. Now by this time it is about 11 am and it is hot. No breeze, dusty, thirsty and just plain hungry and I know the cattle felt the same way. The trucks did show up at 11:30 and as soon as he bumped the chute we got the loading order (number of head per cut gate in the truck). I did not waist any time. I gave Ciro the number count and he kept us with a pen ready to load. The order buyer by then was back in the pens trying to give orders. I promptly put him back out and we loaded the 3 trucks in less than 2 hours with no one getting hurt and no cattle down. The first driver wanted to wait on his buddies, but we put him on the road to get air under their feet.

The haul will be long and hard for the calves, but I think we got them wet down enough to get cooled off as the truck goes down the road. They are headed to Davis, Nebraska. I was told that is about 700 miles away. That means the calves will be on the truck for about 11 hours.

The order buyer will be back next Friday the get the rest of my cows. I bet you we can get them penned, sorted, weighed and loaded quicker with my 3 guys plus me than we did today with 15 guys helping. Setting in the cool now it was kind of comical how this all played out today. I thought were going to drop our calves, get the weights on them and leave. Boy, was I wrong. But, it was not a problem the help our neighbor out. The guys told me that it took them til 4 pm last year to do the same amount of cattle. Well Cherrie will be home tonight. The sky is dark, wind blowing and I hear thunder. I sure have my fingers crossed for that much needed rain.

Until next time, God Bless.

A Bad Headline

2011-06-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

End of last week I got an email from the Drover's Journal, a cattle magazine that I have been reading for about 20 years. Greg Henderson is the editor and I have enjoyed his editorials for years. But last week Greg crossed the line. His headline: Commentary: Does 4-H create cold-blooded killers?

Now for all of you that know me and my family we are 4-H to the core. Cherrie is our county 4-H agent and has been for the last 11 years. Our kids grew up in the program and still support it. I am a volunteer and have no plans of retiring from helping the kids.

The article was written after an interview on CNN's Eatocracy. They talked with chef Kelly Liken on the topic of Five Reasons to Buy from Your Local 4-H. Ms. Liken stated that she liked to purchase the animals from the local 4-H and FFA market show auctions because she knew the animal was treated with respect and fed properly. What prompted the commentary from Greg was some of the comments posted on CNN's site following the story. Some people wrote that 4-H and FFA have desensitized our kids on death of the animals. The lady that commented even went on to say that the animals after being purchased for slaughter were tortured before being killed.

For those of you that know me know that the animals come first. They eat before me and sometimes get better treatment than me! How could someone think that the animals are mistreated. You can not get an animal to grow properly if it is mistreated. Our kids raised animals for breeding and market shows. I can not think of a single one that was ever mistreated. They had plenty to eat, clean bedding, fans and misters when it was hot. Always had a shed over their heads and got brushed at least twice daily and bathed. Now if that is mistreatment, I guess I just don't have a clue.

I do have to say that after the first lady stirred up all the controversy that the other comments came pouring in in favor of 4-H and FFA programs. The kids are not desensitized but educated. My kids grew up quick on the ranch. They understood the difference between heifers, steers, bulls and cows. In fact, Jamie came home from the second grade with a note from the teacher that Jamie corrected her on what type of terminology she was using to describe the "daddy cow". Now the fact that Jamie went on explain the differences between cows and heifers and bulls and steers may have had a little to do with it too!

To Greg, you made a bad choice of words and it struck a nerve with me and several others. I would hope that you choose your words more wisely.

Until next time God Bless.

End to a Great Weekend

2011-06-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well just as the title says, it's an end to a Great Weekend! Cherrie and I were lucking enough to have Jamie, Michael, Stetson and my mom stay the weekend with us.

My mom just had knee replacement surgery the first part of May and was able to drive herself to our house. She has done really well with the rehab of her new knee. Mom did still have to ice her knee some due to the fact that we did over do it some.

Jamie and her family are passing through finally headed to Pennsylvania for Michael's new job on the pipe line. They are both excited for the new start and nervous about being so far away from home and family. I must say that I am proud of them for taking this leap, but I too am a little nervous. I have always been able to get to my kids fairly quickly when they have ever needed help. This trip will put them over 1,000 miles away. I know that they will be fine and the phone still reaches all the way back to Texas and hopefully mine will work back to them!

We ate really good this weekend. Steaks on Friday night on the Cowboy Cooker using Pecan wood. Saturday we just mainly messed around, shot the pistols down at the river and just enjoyed every one's company. Saturday evening Jamie and I went to the airport for a short ride so we could take pictures of the crowd at the Four States Fair. We flew in a small single engine plane. The wind was really rough and part of the time we were almost flying sideways, but we had a safe trip, got lots of pictures and landed safely. After the flight we came back to put my ribs and chicken on the cooker. Again cooked over Pecan wood. If I do say so myself, they were some of the best ribs I had eaten. My mom even said they were some of the best ribs she had ever eaten. They must have been good, we all ate like starving hounds. The chicken was good, too.

Our grandson, Stetson, has been such a joy to be around. He is 11 months old and walking every where. He is so happy and funny. His facial expressions are priceless. As you can imagine we got lots of pictures and videos. As I stated in an earlier blog post, Cherrie nicknamed him the "Champ" due to his ability to fight sleep. Well I am going to tell you that he has not changed and maybe even more stronger willed than before. It's gonna be real quiet around here tomorrow after they leave. Go from a house full to just me.

Here on the ranch it is still hot and dry. The grass is holding, but I really don't know how. The ground is just dusty. I know we have it better than some of our friends out west. At least we are not fighting or too worried about the wildfires. Every county around us has burn ban. I am not sure why we don't. The rep from Laura's Lean Beef made a stop by today to check out our calves that are ready for market. We made a deal last year and hoping that we can come to a deal again this year. Last year's calves even brought us a premium check later for the grades they got.

The guys on the ranch are spending most of their time cleaning up on the ranch, raking limbs and bush hogging. Ciro is working on fixing us a new hay wagon. I just hope we get the rain and need it to haul a bunch of hay. The Farmer's Almanac says that July is supposed to be wet. I sure am praying that it is right!

The pecan trees have started shedding some of their pecans, but that is natural when you have a bumper crop. The pecan cluster's are in 4's and 5's. The little pecans are big enough to see. In fact, we have ordered 2 new harvesters for this coming season.

I will have more tomorrow. I read an article on Friday that really upset me and it has taken me awhile to cool down enough to talk about it. I will write about it tomorrow night. I want make sure I have my facts straight and some links so you can check out the articles for yourself.

Until then, God Bless

Missed the Rain!

2011-06-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well we missed the rain today. It was so promising looking this morning. I should have never put the welder up. That probably would have made it rain.

Cherrie and I have decided after 23 years to build us a set of cattle pens at the house out of pipe and cattle panels. We took off on Friday to dig all the post holes. The first digger I got had only gone about 5" in the ground in about 20 minutes. I knew we would be there about 2 weeks at that rate! I swapped it for a heavier duty model. Sure made a difference. Dug about 34 holes in 2 hours. It was a real hot son of a gun out, about 101 degrees. We had a church meeting that night. Afterwards we picked up a pallet of concrete mix for Saturday morning. We started early setting the posts in concrete, making sure they were plumb. Got done about 1:30 and it was already 103 degrees and the sun was burning hot. Cherrie really burned the back of her neck. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the house out of the heat. About dusk or 8 pm we decided to cut the yard. Cherrie got on the tractor and I push mowed the front yard and ran the weed eater.

If you haven't figured us out, we don't sit still too long! always got something going on. We went to church on Sunday, Father's Day. Neither of the kids were able to make it home. Pastor was at the College World Series so we watched him on the TVs. Very good sermon as always. After church we checked out Tractor Supply and then down to the new western store, Baskins. I didn't see anything I wanted but enjoyed seeing the store. Cherrie got a nice tooled leather case for her gun and a bunch of free goodies for purchasing something. We had malts from Sonic for lunch.

Sunday afternoon we just piddled around the house. I hauled water to the cows and scratched on DJ. She came up like a pup wanting me to scratch on her so I did. It sure is nice to have gentle cattle that we can put our hands on out in the pasture.

I started the fire about 4 pm in my Cowboy Cooker. I had rubbed some chicken legs and thighs along with a couple of pork chops. After about 3 hours the fire was just right. I use pecan wood to cook and want it just right before putting the meat on. With the cooker being open topped the meat gets just the right amount of smoke flavor along with the rub. I have to tell you that the chicken and pork chops turned out just right. Man, we ate too much. Kind of went to bed too full.

Jamie, Michael, Stetson and my mom will be here this coming weekend. I plan on cooking a couple of times on the cooker. Jamie always wants pork ribs, so that is one thing for sure I will be cooking. Might do some more chicken, who knows?

I spent Monday back working on the pens at the house. I cut all the pipes to the same height and then cupped the tops so the top rail would fit good enough to weld. It was hot and the torch kind of blistered my neck, which was the height I was cutting the pipe.

My conceal carry holster came in Monday, so I spent a little time getting it adjusted to fit. You will never know if I am carrying or not! Spent time with Cherrie while she was packing her bags. The District 4H Horse show is going on today and Wednesday in Sulphur Springs. She always goes over and helps out.

Today, the guys helped me put on part of the top rail on the pens. It sure makes it look like something now. Before it was just posts sticking out of the ground. I will have to take my truck to the shop tomorrow. The key won't always turn without jiggling it around. The guys have also agreed to help me pull some trees up at the church. I promised TaMolly's for lunch and then back to working on the pens. Unless it rains! Which would be a welcome setback.

Until next time, God Bless.

About time!

2011-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Well I guess I have taken enough time off from writting. I have had several things that just always seemed to take more time than I thougtht. I have had a heavy weight on my shoulders for some time now. Something that I could not talk about and still won't talk about. Luckily it has now gone away, at least for the time being.

On the ranch we have cut one round of hay and did fairly well. It was mostly volunteer ryegrass that need to be off so the bermuda could get some sun. We will feed it during times of short grass and then use the rest for bedding should we get any real wet or snowy weather this winter. One of my guys was gone to Mexico to attend his mother's funeral during that week. That means that I have to step up to the tractor and operate it. It also means that I always get the one with NO air conditioning. The first day of raking hay I did not put the little top on the tractor. Big mistake as I blistered my ears, face and neck. I told the guys the only way I would do it again is if they helped put the top on. I had no problem getting help, they knew I was fixing to take an AC tractor away from someone! We worked late everyday that week, past 7:30 every night. Glad we did too. We finished on Friday afternoon and that Sunday we got an inch of rain. The lst rain too.

Things at church are going fairly well. Got our Leadership Board working right along. I am still reading the book Radical and it is really making me think about my life and a lot of other things. It is a hard book for me to read as it has a totaly different way of thinking about wealth. If you get the chance you need to read it. Our congregation had extended a call to our DCE intern. Laura has done a terrific job with our youth and she and Mark, her husband, are first class folks. Well the Lord had a different avenue for them to take. He has let both of them to a church in South Texas. We will be loosing them here at church but we will be friends for a lifetime. I wish both of them the best of luck in their new positions.

Cherrie is off at Texas A&M this week for the 4H State Roundup Contests. Bowie county had a Grass ID team that has made it to the state competition. One of our young people won a very nice sized scholarship already. She was very deserving of the award.

Cherrie and I just got back from Henderson, TX this weekend. The Texas Junior Charolais Association State Show and Field Day were held at the Rusk County Expo Center. These are some of the best kids you will ever be around. We had our general membeship meeting and elected a group of juniors that will lead the organization into next year, had a our skill-a-thon contest, livestock judging and our speaker. The speaker was Dr.Faries from Texas A&M Vet school. He spoke to the group about heifer selection and then calving difficulties. He always brings a calf for his demonstrations. The juniors were all into what he was saying. Dr. Faries is a great speaker and involved the juniors, too. On Saturday night was the Awards Dinner. During that time I wear two hats. I am advisor for the juniors and secretary for the Charolais Association of Texas. I did most of the presentations that night. I also took the notes. The show on Sunday was small but the quality of animals and showmanship was unbeatable. We all had a really good time.

It sure is good to be home. Until next time, God Bless.

Rain is finally here!

2011-04-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I posted, so this could be a long one. I will try to do my best not to bore you.

We are finally getting much needed rain in our area. We were about 5 inches behind for the year in rainfall. My guage shows that we have gotten just under 2 inches so far and it is still raining. Although I am very excited for the rain and so thankful to our Lord for providing for us once again, I have some close friends out in West Texas that are hoping their house doesn't make today's news. They live around Decatur and Mineral Wells, Cliff sent me a picture of the fire approaching an oil rig not far from him. It was dry here, but I was never worried about a fire. We have enough green growth that the fire would not spread, at least not as fast. Last time Cherrie and I traveled to Ft. Worth we saw first hand just how dry it is. I just have to keep asking God to provide some rain for all person's in fire stricten areas whether you are in Texas or another state.

Last weekend Cherrie and I traveled to Mississippi to spend time with family. Our nephew Hayden was confirmed on Palm Sunday. It sure was good to see my sister and brother-in-law along with the kids and Betty. If you know me and Cherrie you also know that we did not sit around just talking! We spent Saturday hanging new lights in her dad's garage, picking up limbs cut by the State along the roadway. Also did some cleaning up in the shop and checked on the water pipes under the house. Saturday night we all went to supper, then back to the house to visit. (it was too dark out to work)

Sunday we drove to Collierville to attend church at Faith Lutheran. I enjoyed the message and watching Hayden be confirmed was special. After church we all gathered at Julie's house for lunch and some more visiting. As usual we stayed longer than planned, so we were later getting home than planned. The animals were all glad to see us and us them. Got them all petted and fed before unloading our clothes.

While in MS Jamie texted me to say they moved Michael's start time on his new job from the middle of June to the middle of May! That has put us all in high gear finding them a travel trailer to live in. We are also trying to find some time to go help them pack and load the things they can't take with them. Cherrie and I will be storing their things. I guess that is what Mom and Dad do! It will be a long 3 or 4 months for us, but we are hoping for the best.

We will be having the Curtis clan here for Easter weekend. Cherrie and I did all the grocery shopping last night. If anyone says they are hungry, it will be their own fault. Along with celebrating Easter we will also have my Mom's birthday party since she will be 74 next week. Cherrie is also making Stetson a little cake of his own for his early bithday. I have also gotten him ice cream sandwiches, Goldfish and a container to put them in. I also have a trip planned to Sonic to get him his first chocolate malt. That will be a treat for me, too!

That is all for now. I am hoping that all of you go and enjoy the special services offered at the churches this weekend. Until next time God Bless.

Sunday with the FLC Youth Group

2011-04-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

After church today we rented the youth of First Lutheran Church to help around our house. They are doing chores to raise money for a trip later this summer. Cherrie and I always have something that need doing.

We had a total of 20 including the youth, parents, Mark and Laura. We fed them pizza before the work started. As you know teenagers stay hungry!

They did all kinds of chores: window washing, stuffing envelopes, picking up sticks, planting color in the flower beds and mulching the beds. It sure made our place look great. Cherrie and I would still being working on it up until Easter. Family will be in for Easter and joining us for church. We will need a row or two!

Trip to Ft. Worth

2011-04-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Cherrie and I got to travel to Ft. Worth, TX this past week. It was business. I was one of 3 ranchers that got a chance to give my opinions on a Tru-Test scale head. We met with the company president for North America and a couple of his people. We also got to meet the head of production who was in from New Zealand. Shane was a heck of a guy, very enjoyable to visit with.

We drove over on Tuesday, checked into the Stockyards Hotel, visited with Cliff, the President (Cherrie and I went to college with Cliff and we could tell some stories from that time in our lives, but that is for a later date). Cliff took all of us to Del Frisco's for steak and fixin's. Had a really nice time just getting to know everyone. I knew everyone there already except for one ranchers wife. Cherrie got the chance to visit and meet the others.

After supper we visited with some old friends in the cattle software business about some changes that I thought might be helpful, at least to me!

Wednesday was an early rising morning so we could travel to a ranch and see the new equipment, some will be in stores next month and others are still under construction. Some really neat ideas. After seeing the new ideas and using them we all headed back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch is when we went into the meeting room and talked about what we saw, what we liked and what we didn't like. It took most of the afternoon. A very good session with lots of progress made. I feel very confident that they will produce some very useful items.

They took us out to eat at Joe T Garcia's for supper. They only have two menu items to choose from: enchiladas and fajitas. I had the fajitas and Cherrie had the enchiladas. It was more than enough food. If you think I may have gained a pound or two on this trip, you would be right. They did not let us go hungry.

I will be posting more as these items are for sale. I can not give any specifics on anything as of yet.

Until next time, God Bless.

Sunday April 3, 2011

2011-04-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is how Stetson shops. I wish I could still lay down in the cart while Cherrie is grocery shopping.

This has been a busy week at the ranch. We got the working corrals all set to vaccinate and pregnancy check the cows. Did some last minute cleaning and planting around the Big House for guest coming in. Had a meeting with Truman and worked cows.

After getting the house all fixed up, which it always looks nice to me, we had some time to finish getting everything ready to work cows. The vaccine and dewormer were all set, the chute was greased and checked for wasps. Yes, we have had some out lately.

Wednesday morning we started the cow work. Right now only doing the ones that should be due this coming Fall. For the heifers it was do or die. The die was if they were open or not bred. 95% of them were bred so that meant only 4 got the ticket to town. The older cows we worked after that the same way. Most of them are old and really can't get around very well. A higher percentage were open in this group. This is not unusual for the older cows that missed being bred 6 months earlier. Thursday we finished the rest of the cattle due for Fall. All in all it was ok. Not a very impressive outcome but we had some really old cows.

Friday we worked the Curtis cattle. Now if you have ever had to push jello uphill on hot day, this is what it is like working our "pet" cows. No one gets in a hurry! Not even the bull. It took us as long to work our 20 head compared to the ranch's cows we could have worked 50 to 60 head in the same time. The Vet and the ranch guys give me and Cherrie a hard time all the while. It is all in good fun, but true they just don't get rushed. For our cows we did have to draw blood and get a TB shot for everyone. Cherrie and I have a certified free herd for Bangs and an accredited herd for TB. Always have and will always work to keep this certification. Just makes transporting our cattle much easier. The Vet will be back on Monday to read the TB results. The serum from the blood has to be sent to the State lab to be checked. It usually takes a week or two to get the results.

Back on the ranch, we are down to about 28 cows left to calve. Had two born today and looks like they will need help in the morning with finding the teats. I am praying that the calf figures out how to get a grip and suck during the night.

After church this morning, Cherrie and I ate at Fuzzy's Taco and then ran a few errands around town. We spent about 5 hours weeding the flower beds and trimming the trees around our house. I am sore now but will be super sore tomorrow! We are getting a head start on cleaning for company coming Easter weekend. I know that my mom, brother and his family, Wesley, Jamie, Michael and Stetson will be here for sure. Don't know about Julie and her family yet nor do we know about any of Michael's family. We hope that they will all make it. Not sure what we, or should I say "I" am cooking for Saturday, but hopefully it will be good. Planning on celebrating my mom's birthday that weekend. Her actual birthday is on the 26th, but she will be back in Mississippi by then.

Stetson seems to have gotten his sweet tooth from my side of the family. So, I have promised to take him and my other niece's and nephew's for a milkshake sometime on Saturday. And I had to promise to take Jamie along, too! She also has the same sweet tooth.

Until next time, God Bless!

New Bulls

2011-03-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the day either traveling or sitting on the bleachers at a bull sale. I traveled to Marshall, TX this morning to attend a Charolais bull sale. I needed at least 6 bulls for this Springs breeding season. Due to the higher prices we have been receiving on our calves, I had to give more for bulls than I ever have. I also bought 5 bulls for a neighbor that could not attend. I bought a fifth of the bulls offered! Should have gotten a cap or something? I did enjoy catching up on the news with all my fellow cattlemen.

Yesterday was the first day in almost a month that we had a problem with calving. First thing we spotted a cow hunting a spot to calve. After giving her an hour and she was still walking around, we decided to examine her. The exam gave us the bad news, the calf's head was coming right but both of the front legs were still back. I also realized that the calf was already dead. The front legs were not hard to pull into the right position and I pulled the calf with no help. Then the cow decide to lay down in the chute. Nothing would make her get up, so we just left her with the head gate open. We were fixing the lights on the trailer in the shop, so we could keep an eye on her. After about an hour she stood up and walked out.

We are almost done with calving. About 25 cows still hanging onto their calves. This coming week we will start vaccinating and deworming the cows. The Fall cows will be pregnancy checked. Of course, it is dry right now, but the weather man just said that we would get wet on Thursday. I really wish it would rain the first of the week. I have the Vet set up for Thursday.

Cherrie left town of Thursday to attend a wedding in Nebraska. She drove half way to her aunt's home and then drove the rest of the way on Friday. It was good that she got to see her aunt and they visited her uncle who is suffering with Alzheimer's. It sure is funny how different parts of the country are. Here in Texas we were in the 80's today and it was 33 and snowing in Nebraska! Glad I am here.

Talked to Wesley on Friday at lunch. He had been setting the hole's on the golf course. They let him do the putting green and practice green. He did not get to do any on the course of play. Making sure he can do it right first. He seems to be doing okay, planning on taking some summer classes and working at the county club.

Visited with Jamie a little this evening. They are all doing well. Stetson finally has one tooth that has broken through the gums. That means no more chewing on my fingers! Jamie continues to send photos to keep us posted on his walking progress. He pulls up on everything and walks up and down things like the couch. Got a couple of new bumps from falling down.

Time for me to retire to the bedroom. I have trouble sleeping when Cherrie is gone. I am looking forward to church in the morning. Until next time, God Bless.

March 23, 2011

2011-03-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well followers, I know it has been awhile since I posted. As always I was way behind on getting our taxes ready to go to the accountant. I finished up last night around 11:30. I will drop them off tomorrow at 4. That means I have another year to before going through this again. I am going to do my best to stay on top of things this year!

Since the last time I posted, I have been to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Cherrie and I are still the advisers for the Jr. Charolais Assoc. We had a meeting and then stayed over to watch the juniors show. It was a good show with lots of good heifers and kids leading those heifers. For some of our kids this will be their last major show in Texas. This is due to them graduating high school. We have several invitations for graduation already. The problem is most are on the same night and scattered all over the state.

Jamie and Stetson made the trip to Houston with us. Michael came over after work on Friday. We always enjoy the kids and our grandson. Jamie has really matured into a beautiful young woman and a great mom. Michael is really good to both of them. They really make a nice little family. Stetson kept us all jumping around. He is the Champ of fighting sleep. He is almost walking, pulling up on everything and walks up and down anything he can hold onto. He does not want baby food, he wants whatever you are eating. We made our annual trip to Baytown Seafood restaurant for the fried shrimp and crab legs.

Cherrie and I took the Concealed Handgun Class the other week. It took a whole Saturday for the class between watching videos, Power Points, shooting at the gun range and then the written test. We were both proud of how we did. I made 96 on the test and Cherrie made 94. The shooting part of the class did have us both a little worried. You shoot from 3 different distances: 3, 7 and 15 yards. You shoot a total of 50 rounds and have a chance to get a total of 250 points with 178 points being the lowest you can get to pass. I shot a 250 and Cherrie shot a 242. All the paperwork has been sent to Austin. Now we just have to wait for our license before we can legally carry our guns.

The ranch is doing good. Almost done with the Spring calving, grass is growing (at least the weeds and cheat grass), we are spraying the hay meadows and fence rows. Working on getting the ranch back in shape after the wet winter. We will be working the cows next week. (vaccinating, deworming and pregnancy checking)

Until next time, God Bless.

March 4, 2011

2011-03-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

Howdy from Texas! It has been a few weeks since I posted anything to my blog. Not a lot has been going on. With the weather turning spring-like it has made calving no problem.

The wheat fields are growing with the warm weather. We were able to put some fertilizer on this past week. Now the fields are dark green and you can almost see the grass grow. In the hay meadows you can also see the weeds and undesirable grasses growing. We turned the cattle in to graze the volunteer ryegrass before we spray the meadows with a chemical to kill all the undesirables.

Most of the cattle have gone to grazing on the cheat grass and leaving the hay. That helps us get the morning chores done faster. We have gone to cleaning up after the winter: grading the roads, smoothing out the ruts and piling sticks to burn. Also the chore of mending fences that were cut to allow the cattle to move through another opening rather than drag the mud in an old gap.

We will semen test the bulls on Monday. It gives me a head start on knowing who has to make the final trip to town and who gets to stay for another round. The cattle prices are high along with gas prices. Yes, we have to pay the higher prices just like everyone else. Some people think we are making lots of money with the higher cattle prices, but our input costs are up so we make about the same.

Our Pastor took time off to help minister to the young Pastors in Haiti last week. It took lots of courage in my book to make that trip. All the uncertainty in that country. But I know that God was looking after him and the rest of team from the U.S that Pastor traveled with. He was also watching over the Haitian Pastors as well. I can't wait to hear about the trip.

Cherrie has been busy with the county market show and sale. The show started this morning and the sale was this evening. She is going to Morris county tomorrow to help a young man with his heifer for the market show in that county. Hopefully she will bring a couple of pigs home for the freezer! Nothing like good home grown meat.

I have been catching up on paper work most of this week. My laptop is starting to die. It is four years old and made every cattle working day. Along with me and the guys it has been covered in dust, mud and crap. It has been a good one, so much so that I ordered one of the same brand. I decided to spurge for the really high end model. The web site says 3 to 4 weeks before delivery. I am hoping before then.

The kids are doing well. Jamie, Michael and Stetson visited last weekend along with one of Cherrie's college roommates and her daughter. Cheyenne competed in the college rodeo at the fairgrounds. Stetson was the life of the weekend. He is trying to walk and talk. Just 7 months old. It sure was nice to have everyone at the house, kind of livened things up around here. Of course, we always eat too good when company comes. I had to cut back this past week. Wesley is having some trouble with Chemistry, but seems to finally gotten a good hand hold on the situation. He still likes his job at the gold course.

Cherrie's old mare is really feeling the arthritis in her joints. We have been giving the two old mares something to help with the pain, but old Pokey hasn't been eating too well. The pain reliever is put on top of the feed, so she has been missing out. Well I started today mixing her share with Karo syrup and putting it in her mouth. Old Pokey doesn't like it when you put things in her mouth, never has. But I have to say after she got the taste of the Karo maybe it will be easier tomorrow. Although I think she likes being difficult. Probably a game we will have to play. That's alright as long as she gets some relief.

After testing the bulls on Monday we will start our Spring working of the rest of the herd. We will get all the Spring calving cows first and then wait until late in the month to work the Fall bunch. That gives more time for the calf inside to grow which makes it easier to palpate.

Cherrie and I will be making the trip to Houston to watch the Junior Charolais Show and hold a meeting with the juniors. It should be a good trip. More on this as it gets closer to time.

Until next time, God Bless.

Saturday Feb. 19, 2011

2011-02-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

We have had a beautiful week here at the ranch. The cattle have been really enjoying the sunshine and it sure made calving easier. Due to the warm weather we have not had to do much late night checking nor have we picked up any cold calves. To make it even easier we sorted the pairs and now have all the calving cows in two pastures.

On Thursday morning Ciro found a cow showing feet and not making any progress. The calf was backwards. How did he know? The hooves were turned up. When the calf is backwards we don't even try to pull them in the pasture, too many things can go wrong. With all this to work with we brought her to the pens and into the chute. After putting on my OB gloves I checked the situation out. Sure enough the calf was backwards and one foot was angled to block the opening, so there was no way the cow could have calved. After getting the foot straightened out, we were able to deliver the calf without any trouble. One of the worst thing you can do with a backward delivery is rush the pull. That puts lots of pressure on the lungs in a negative pressure. Meaning you can burst the lungs!

After delivering the calf, I loaded up and headed to Athens, TX to meet Jamie. She was bringing Stetson to me so that Cherrie and I could keep him till Monday. Jamie and Michael are going to the big Bull Riding at Texas Stadium. Cherrie and I have had a blast with our grandson. He is such a happy baby. Our only problem is bed time. He fights sleep like a tiger. Cherrie showed him off on Friday with a lunch date. Stetson has helped with the chores, checked cows and helped shop. We even went to the fairgrounds to watch the cutting horses. He studies everything from those horses down to us working on the electric fence. Our house will be very quiet when Cherrie meets Jamie on Monday.

On the same Thursday after we got home, done the chores and had supper, Ciro called to say he had another cow that couldn't or wouldn't calve. I took off to help with this delivery. The problem this time was that the cow just wouldn't lay down to have the calf. It wasn't a hard pull and the cow turned bad after we helped her. The cow did claim her calf so we all went home and gave her some alone time. On Friday morning the calf had nursed and the cow was even worse than the night before. After tagging the calf we turned them back to the pasture. Today the cow is fine.

After checking the cows and helping feed hay I spent the rest of my day with Cherrie and Stetson. This was a much needed Day of relaxation we will be in church tomorrow to here Pastors sermon. We will be praying for Pastor Kolb and the others joining him on a trip to Haiti. Pastor will be teaching and preaching while there.

I will write more on Monday after Stetson has gone home. Until next time God Bless!

A Warm Sunday in February

2011-02-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

The temperature this morning as I was leaving the house was warmer than some of the last few days high. It was 39 degrees at 6 am.

I would really like to start with Saturday evening. It was the first night out that Cherrie and I have had in a long time. That was my fault for not having more time spent with Cherrie, having to ride the calving cows pastures all hours of the night during the cold weather and snows. We had decided to eat a good steak, but the steak houses all had an hour and half wait. So I decided to take Cherrie to the new Mongolian grill. The wait was short and the food was good. We sat next to a bunch of high school kids eating before the Sadie Hawkins dance. Several couples were a sight to see, couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other.

After supper we decided to just kill some time in Best Buy. We looked at everything except the appliances. Really enjoyed just being together. Came home to watch Saturday Night Live. It was okay, not like the old days. I can remember when it started. So, that gives you some idea of how old I am!

Back to Sunday morning, it was going good. The warm weather sure helps the calving go much better. The calves are not cold when born and that tends to help them get going faster. The first pasture had 3 new calves all up on their feet and had already nursed. Ciro said his first pasture was the same way. When he entered his second pasture he saw the problem: the cow was bloated and had a calf lying next to her. The cow had laid with her back downhill when she calved. That made it impossible for her to get up after calving. That also causes one to bloat. Those are not hard problems to fix. The third problem was that she had tried to get up straining hard each time until she prolapsed. That was the big problem. Exposure is one aspect of the problem. We gathered all the help, got ropes on her back legs and pulled them straight out behind her. Then we rolled her upright. Believe it or not that helps in putting the prolapse back in. It took me less than 2 minutes to put it back in place, then I sewed her up. When we left her she was setting up, not licking or even looking at her calf. I knew that was going to be a problem for later.

I finished checking my calving cows and had no problems to report. Ciro and I helped feed the hay so everyone could go home early and get ready for church. I ran home, ate, showered and made it to church on time. I was the Scripture reader today. After church we had a Secret Valentine Lunch. Cherrie and I had picked two young men at church to eat lunch with. We also got them a little Valentine happy. The two young men were very interesting telling us about school sports and playing in the snow. They were very well mannered and we enjoyed them.

After the lunch, Cherrie had to go to a 4H club meeting. I went to check on my prolapse cow. Well it wasn't such a pleasant find. She had gotten up and walked away about 75 yards, laid down with her back downhill again, bloated and died. So that left me with an orphan calf. I picked her up, took her to the barn and gave her something to eat. The calf will be fine, not sure I will be able to find her a mother or not. Until that time comes around, me and the guys will have to give her a bottle 2 or 3 times a day.

I spent some time this afternoon catching up on some paperwork and bills that need to be paid until Cherrie came home. I helped put up groceries and then it was chore time.

I have spent this evening watching TV and just unwinding. The last two weeks have taken its toll on me mentally and physically, so it was good to have down time.

Tomorrow we will take the bulls off the Fall cows. We use controlled breeding and calving seasons to match our grass and timing of sales. But I will get deeper in this subject some other time.

Until next time God Bless

Third Snow of the Season

2011-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Like the title says "Third Snow of the Season" and hopefully the Last! The ranch has about 3 inches of snow covering it today. I really thought that we would miss most of it, that is until lunch time rolled around. We probably got 90% of the snow from 11:30 til 1:00 today.

I picked one new calf up first thing this morning. The cow had him in a mud hole and he was covered in mud and wet. Luckily after getting him dry and warm and filling his belly we took him back to the cow. I saw him just a bit ago nursing. Now that is a sight for a tired body.

Came home a little early this afternoon as all the cattle chores were done, except the nightly checks. Just before coming home to rest a bit, we checked all the calving pastures one more time. I had seen a cow about an hour ago looking for a spot to calve. As I rode in the pasture I could see the cow standing, but no calf at her feet. First thing through my mind is we're going to have to put it. That wasn't the case. She had stood up before the calf's hips has cleared her pelvis. That left the calf hanging from the cow. It was alive, even bawled a time or two. The easiest way to make the cow stop tensing and release the calf is to make her walk. So I eased over her direction and made her walk about 50 feet until the calf dropped out on its head. Well, the cow immediately turned and starting licking the calf. So I only need to check on it to make sure it has nursed before nightfall.

While watching the cow lick the calf, I saw another new one. This cow was doing nothing at all an hour prior. (kicking at her belly, walking, hunting a spot to have it, etc.) The calf was licked and had nursed. Now that is my kind of cow and calf. Just like nature intended, with no interference from me!

On to another aspect of the ranch: I am looking for a stallion, along with Nora, Truman's granddaughter, to breed one of our mares. Princess was on the show circuit for about a year and half. She was shown in the "Working Cowhorse" events. That is a three event contest: cutting, reining and working a cow one on one through a set pattern. The points for each event are totaled and the horse with the most points wins. She won several shows in Texas and qualified for the World Championships in Las Vegas. She finished 6th out of 125 horses entered. We have buckles, trophies, banners and even won the use of a horse trailer for a year. She won about $90,000 and it cost us about $90,000 to have her shown. At least we didn't really loose anything! That was 3 years ago and now Nora wants to breed her for another "Champion". We have found 2 so far and still looking.

I will be looking for the sunshine tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. Supposed to be in the 60's by Saturday. I'll let you know how the mud is. You know if you have snow, you have mud later!

Until next time God Bless.

Jose's Sled

2011-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Jose decide to have a little fun on Saturday moring. Our roads were packed down hard and slick. He found a piece of metal and put some hay on to pad his knees. Between pastures he would let Ciro pull him on his sled. Sometimes you got to make your own fun!

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl has come and gone. Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers. The Lombardi trophy is going home!

Well most all the snow melted yesterday and pretty much finished up today. Now we have mud! and lots of it. With the sun shining bright yesterday, it changed every one's outlook. Even the cattle looked content. All but one calf born yesterday did not need any assistance. That sure makes my job easier and the way it is intended for nature to be.

Cherrie and I were able to go out last night. Ciro watched the cows with no trouble at all. We made the trip to Paul Pewitt High School to support the Morris County Junior Livestock Associations fundraiser. We enjoyed getting out and seeing some friends and eating a good BBQ dinner. The fundraiser was a draw down with a top prize of $10,000. Cherrie's number was called early on and we came home with only the satisfaction of helping the juniors and their projects.

Today was an easy one to start off with. No problems with the cattle. I was able to make it to church and do my part as Elder today. It was so nice to be back in church. I sure have missed hearing Dr. Kolb give his sermon. As you remember we have missed the last two Sundays being at Ft. Worth. The first Sunday was the Junior Shows and the last one we took our bull to the Open Show. As I suspected Pastor approached me, introducing himself like I was a newcomer. We had a good laugh. I just can't tell you what it meant for me to be back!

I gave Ciro the evening off. He likes to go to church, a movie and do his grocery shopping on Sunday's. It was such an easy morning that I could see no reason for him to miss having some time off.

I helped Cherrie move one of our cows to the pasture with our bull. He was glad to see her! We hauled hay for all our cows and looked them over real good.

I checked on the ranch cows this afternoon. Found one new one that the cow had had fairly close to the road, easy to see. She could have moved 20 feet and been on little rise and not had the calf in the mud. But that would have been too easy. I picked the calf up and took her to the barn for a good drying and warm place to take the chill off. In another pasture was a cow looking for a spot to have her calf. She was uncomfortable and kicking at her belly. I knew it wouldn't be to long before she would have it or need help. I came home and got a quick bite to eat before going back to check on her. Well she had it right in the mud hole! Man that makes the hairs on my head turn grey. Where I left her she was on dry ground. Again, too much like right to have stayed put. I picked that calf up and almost got a hernia. I bet he weighs 100+ pounds. The trucks tailgate seems 10 foot off the ground when you pick up a heavy limp wet calf. I got him in the back and away we went to the barn. The other side of that coin is that you have to unload them when you get there. It was a little easier that he was waist high to start with. Both calves will be fine and I will put them back with there mama's in the morning.

I am praying that the weather forecasters are wrong. First they are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow then snow again on Wednesday. I can do without any of it. Our calving pastures need to dry out and we need to be able to catch up on our rest. I am a little worried that myself and my guys immune systems could be getting weak. Hopefully not, I am trying to make sure we all get a good warm lunch everyday. Sometimes I am just too tired to eat supper, or at least not much. But I can't tell that I am loosing any weight!

I need a little help with some prayers for two of my good friends, Ted and C.N. Both are not feeling well. A short prayer would very much be appreciated. I am hoping that I can get some free time to visit them tomorrow.

Until next time God Bless!

A rough week

2011-02-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

This week has been a rough one. The cold weather moved in and the calving started up in high gear.

We on the ranch have been out early to early the next day. Not much rest during these cold weather days. As you know when calves are born they are spit out into what ever elements the day gives. They are wet, so the cold wind tends to chill them fairly quick. If it is a quick birth they usually get to their feet faster. That gives them a better chance at nursing quicker. The ones that are lucky enough for all these factors to fall into place are more likely to survive without any interference from me.

To the calves that take a little longer to be born or maybe not as strong when born, they need help. I ride through the pastures real regular looking for the cow that is hunting a spot to calve or who has just calved. I keep an eye on the cow and the calf until all is ok or I have to help. So far I have only had to pull (deliver) one calf this week. But, I have brought more than 20 into the barn to be warmed up and given colostrum. The barn has a couple of heaters, hay piled deep on the floor and help to get them fed. After they get warmed, fed and strong enough to stand I take them back to the cow. 99% of the cows take the calf right back and I have no more trouble. Remember we all need a little help now and then.

This snow today was not supposed to be this deep. The last report I got last night said it would be 1/2 to 1 inch. So much for that forecast. We got about 5 inches of snow today. Also had about 15 new calves born. I only hauled in 5 calves to be warmed. I got one cow that would not claim her calf this afternoon. She had decided to take a calf away from another cow. This presents a problem, the other cow can't let her calf nurse due to fighting the other cow back. The calf is the one that suffers. So, I had to rope the cow that would not claim her calf and haul her to the pens. There I put the cow and her calf in a small pen. Hopefully by morning she will decide that that is her calf.

On last check before I got a supper break I checked on a cow that was calving about an hour before. She had it fine, but did not clean it up too good. She decided to lay down and rest. So the calf got cold. I thought I was going to get a hernia loading it in the back of the truck. Must have weighed 100+ pounds. On the way out of the pasture I spotted another cow looking in the ditch and the snow was bloody. She calved too close to the ditch and her calf was delivered into the ditch full of water. I was too late to do anything except say a prayer for the calf and the grieving cow.

Now that I have had my supper (after all the cows and calves), I have a little down time before I have to make the round again. I usually make rounds at 10 pm, 1 am, and sometimes 4 am before being at work by 7 am. It is starting to take its toll as I am really tired. But, this is part of caring for animals. When they need or might need help you have to be willing to go.

The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow. Up in the high 40's. That will make all the difference in the world on the newborn calves. I really hope to have an easy night! I can always hope.

Until next time, God Bless.

Ft. Worth Open Show

2011-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Cherrie and I decided to take one of our yearling bulls to Ft. Worth so we could see how he would compare to someone elses bulls the same age. Well, there weren't but two. Ours and one other. The Charolais cattle numbers were down. Only 42 entered and 36 showed up!

We arrived about 3:30 on Thursday evening for check-in. Got the bull unloaded, all wide-eyed. A country bull in the big town. Unloaded all the other stuff that goes with livestock showing, show box, front panel, feed, hay, etc.

Friday morning we got check-in and spent most of the day visiting with other breeders we haven't seen in a while. Cherrie washed and dried the bull. I clipped on him some. There was a cow/calf pair across the aisle from us that was listed in the sale catalog. Cherrie and I really liked the cow when a junior was showing her. She also has a great looking bull calf on her side. We never let on when we are interested in a sale animal. The sale was Friday night and the pair was close to the top of the sale order. I waited until everyone stopped bidding before I bid. That was all it took, we own a cow/calf pair.

Jamie, Michael and Stetson drove up Friday evening to join us for the show. Actually Jamie came up to show the bull. We had supper and retired to the motel room. We were all tired, but Stetson caught his second wind and we didn't get to bed until about 12:30!

I got up at 5 am on Saturday morning and Cherrie wasn't far behind. We wanted to get there early to get the bull bathed and fed before the placed started buzzing. We were all done and the bull resting by 8. Makes it real nice to not have the hassle at the wash rack. After lunch I clipped the bulls back a little tighter and his forearms and hocks. We let him rest a little more before the show. The show started at 3 pm.
The cow/calf pair we bought Friday was entered in the show. The pair won the class and also won Champion Cow/Calf. We were happy with the judges decision. I fit the bull for the show. He really looked good if I say so myself. The bull won his class and then was named Junior Calf Champion. He got the chance to go back in for the Grand Champion Drive. It is really hard for a young bull to win when there are good older bulls in the drive. We were happy with our bred and owned bull. We are ready, including the bull, to be back home!

We get released at 6 am on Sunday morning. We won't be up that early but not too late.

Until next time, God Bless!

Ft. Worth Junior Show

2011-01-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well I got back from Ft. Worth about 9 pm Monday night. Should have been home a little earlier but made the mistake of leaving in the 5 o'clock rush hour!

I did not get to go over until late Saturday afternoon, so I missed all the shows on Saturday. I did make it in time for supper. The drive over was easy, made it in 3 hours and only stopped once.

Cherrie and I had the Texas Junior Charolias Meeting on Sunday morning. Had one of the best turnouts ever. The kids were very attentive. It's a great group of kids both as members and our Jr. Board. Macie is our President and she ran a good meeting keeping everyone on task and all the business was handled. The kids had great ice breakers to start with games from the Minute To Win It series.

I fit a Limousin heifer for show on Sunday afternoon and then touched up the clip job on a couple of Charolais heifers. The Limi did fairly well, she finished 5th out of 14. The young lady was disappointed, but it was a better showing than last year.

We got there a little early on Monday morning to make sure that all 3 Charolais kids go there calves fed, watered and washed. I am a stickler for having them ready early enough for the calf to have time to rest before preparation starts for the show. Two of the calves were in the first class. One finished 5th out of 9 and the other one finished 7th. It was the first major show for both the kids and both the calves. I though they did real well to have such green calves. Cherrie also had two of her 4H kids do the opening prayer and the Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.

The ranch was taken care of by my crew. They had a few problems, but handled them well. Had to rope a cow so they could help pull her calf. Usually we don't have any trouble getting this done, but I am the driver. With a new driver, it took Ciro a lot longer to catch the cow when he couldn't get into position to throw his rope. They got her caught and decided to load her in the trailer to get her to the chute at the pens. This calf was coming right except that his front feet were turned back. Normal calf position is with it's head on top of the two front lets all coming first.

Back on the ranch today and pretty good weather brought on several new calves. It is so much better calving on good dry days. Probably had about 8 born during the daylight hours. There was nothing new at 10 pm tonight. I will try to get a few hours of sleep before the 2 am run.

Cherrie and I will be taking a bull to Ft. Worth on Thursday for the Open Charolais Show. Not sure he is fat enough for the show ring, but he sure looks good to us. We are not politically connected, but this something we have always wanted to do. Check-in is by 6 pm on Thursday, the show is at 3 pm on Saturday and we will be released to come home at 6 am on Sunday. Hate that we will miss church two Sundays in a row. It sure is nice to see Pastor and hear the sermon online.

Until next time God Bless!

Cold Morning

2011-01-21T19:21:00.001-08:00

Today started off cold, about 18 degrees. My day actually started last night about 8 pm. I picked up a calf that was born about an hour before. I picked her up because she was too cold to get up and try to nurse. When this happens we pick them up so they don't die of exposure. We take them to the barn with a heater and give them a colostrum substitute by letting them nurse a bottle or we use a esophageal feeder.

This morning I got up earlier than usual to do the chores for Cherrie so she could get on the road headed to Ft. Worth. It was cold! I started out checking my calving cows and found two new ones in the first pasture. Problem is neither one had nursed. One was following his dam around the pasture, the cow is a little flighty. The other calf was laying there shivering, so I put it in the back of the truck to take to the barn. Before I reached the barn one of the guys called on the radio and had a cow that could not deliver her calf. I finished putting the calf in the barn with the heater and got the necessary tools to help deliver (pull as we call it) the calf. Of course, this cow was mad at the world and chased us up the fence several times, almost getting one of the guys. We finally got her in the chute. I pulled my jacket off and got on the OB sleeves to check the calf. I knew instantly it was backwards with the hind feet under the body. I tried pushing the calf forward but had no luck with the cow pushing to try to deliver it. I had to call the vet.

Doc showed up shortly afterwards. I explained what I felt and the trouble we were facing. He gave her a spinal block so she could not push. It still took him about 30 minutes to get the calf out. It was already dead before I tried. Sometimes we just don't get a chance to save one. The cow will be fine.

We had to go back to the pasture and get another cow out that would not claim her calf. In this situation we put them in a small area, just the two of them. If she still won't claim the calf we'll put her in the chute and let the calf nurse. Believe it or not, usually once the cow smells the poop from the calf, after nursing her, they will claim it. It smells like them. Sometimes we have to hobble the cow so she can't kick the calf when it comes to nurse. Once the calf gets scared of the cow it make our job lots tougher.

We finally got all the calves to nurse whether it was it's momma or a bottle. The sun really helps us warm the calves. This afternoon was a much better end to a day that started off pretty tough.

I like my job or I'd do something else. I have been here for 24 years and don't plan on changing anytime soon. I do my best to let the public know what ranching is all about. The animals always eat before me, morning and night. I stay up at night to go check on those calving. We tend to the sick and hurting, not letting them suffer. If you have never walked in a ranchers shoes, maybe you should talk to one before you believe everything the news posts. As we all know they only report the bad stuff. I do not condone what they catch on tape, those folks don't need to be working with animals, even with death is around the corner. I still say a prayer every time I find a dead calf, cow or horse. I say a prayer every time I have to put a suffering animal down. I say a prayer every time a run over a squirrel that runs one last time across the road.

I take pride in raising a safe product for human consumption. I know that God put these animals here to nourish our bodies. But He did not put them here to be mistreated!

Until next time may God Bless You.

January 19, 2011

2011-01-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Today has been a little slow, just working on catching up with reports and bill to be turned into the accountant. I did take the boys to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. It was good as usual, but there were less than 10 people for lunch. I guess the new place around the corner has all the hungry people for now.

We gathered and shipped our calves to Oklahoma City last Friday. It took 3 pots to haul them all. It's about a 6 hour haul on the cattle. They shrink on the average of about 5%. That is why we ship on Friday's so they have Saturday and Sunday to gain their weight back plus rest from the trip. They sold on Monday and the prices set a record. Prices were up $7 to $10 per hundred. We have a nice check on its way here!

The calves are starting to hit the ground. I wish the weather was a little better. The cold is okay if it is dry. When it is wet and cold the calves sometimes have a hard time getting up and going. We do have one pair in the corrals. The calf has not caught on to the nursing thing as of this morning. That means the guys have to put the cow in the chute and them help the calf find the teats. That's twice a day every day. We keep hoping that he will catch on real soon!

We picked out 80 real good heifers to make replacement cows. Now trying to decide if we want to sell them and try to buy back bred heifers later in the year. It's a tough decision. We know our cattle and how they will perform, but the money is good. Cattle numbers are down in all aspects of the cow market, so prices should remain strong. That makes it harder to sell these because it could cost even more to replace them later.

Wesley is back in school and seems to like his professors, at least for now. The Texas Tomorrow Fund was a smart move. Texas A&M tuition for us this Spring is only $250 plus books. Now the books might cost me a bunch, but so far, only about $300. Seems like a bunch but last semester's books cost almost $1000.

Jamie keeps sending pictures of Stetson, our Grandson. Sure makes it hard to stay here when he is down there. We will get to see him in Ft. Worth next week.

Until nest time, God Bless.

January 13, 2011

2011-01-13T21:03:00.000-08:00

It has been a few days since I wrote anything. We still have snow on the ground, although it is starting to melt. That means mud and more mud. The cattle seem to be taking it all in stride. We are giving plenty of hay and they have their liquid feed tubs. So far, we only have 3 new calves on the ranch. The first one was born before all the bad weather, so it was able to make it in the snow just fine. The second calf was born Monday night and had to be brought in for the night. I believe that she enjoyed the heated barn. The third one was born today and was strong enough to get up and nurse. We were all glad that the second calf was taken by her dam when we took her back to the pasture.

Cherrie and I had one of our cows calve in the snow on Tuesday. I picked it put and put her in the barn along with her dam. Our cattle are all halter broke so we don't have trouble moving them around. They are used to us handling them and their calves. After they stayed in the barn for a couple of days we have turned them back to the pasture. She is a pretty thing, our first calf sired by LC South Paw.

We have moved the old dogs into my shop. I have a couple of heaters in there to help with knocking the chill off. It is by no means as warm as our houses but it's not freezing! Old Chip is getting up in age and has pretty much lost his sight and hearing. We just know you have to give him time to figure his way around. Being here for his entire life he remembers where the big objects are. He just can't tell where you are all the time. Cujo and Patti are young and enjoy the snow and cool weather. They both have a good cover of fat!

Cherrie and I are still going to the fitness center and feeling better all the time. I am not going to try to be a body builder, it's too late for that! I just would like to prolong my health as much as possible. I want to see Stetson graduate high school and maybe college.

Wesley and his girlfriend, Noelle, are coming in tonight for the weekend. They both start school back on Tuesday. Noelle is excited about the snow still on the ground. I am not sure she has ever been in much snow. Her home town is about 125 miles south of College Station. It doesn't get that cold that far south.

Been overseeing some construction at the Big house. It should be finished by tomorrow afternoon. I sure hope so, it has been long enough in getting it all lined out.

Had our Elder's Meeting at church on Tuesday night. Only 3 of us and Pastor showed up. I guess that everyone else is still on Christmas break. Maybe they will remember next month?

We have been getting our bull ready for the Ft. Worth Livestock Show coming up in about 2 weeks. The junior shows are earlier than that. Can't wait to see all our friends.

That's about it for tonight. God Bless until next time.

January 9, 2011

2011-01-09T18:09:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since I posted, but I have just been busy. I am going to try to do better.

Well today is Jamie and Michael's first anniversary. They have gotten Wesley to baby sit for them so they can go out to eat and the movies. Wesley and Noelle called shortly after Jamie and Michael left because they could not get Stetson to stop fussing. The cracker stopped him for a little bit, but then he started back up. Good thing Andrew's mom came in. She took Stetson and shortly there after he fell asleep. That gave Wesley and Noelle time to regroup.

It has been snowing here since about 10 am. Cherrie just took the ruler out to check the depth. It is 6.5 inches deep here. It is also too cold to be out. We fed the cattle extra tonight and put the old dog in my heated shop. Only one new calf so far and it was born on Saturday afternoon and doing well. It's not too crazy about the snow, but in good enough shape to survive it.

I have posted some pictures and a couple of video's on our web site. www.paradise-acres.com

Until next time God Bless all.

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a very good Christmas Day? We sure did. Wesley was home, although his trip was cut short due to having to be back at work on Sunday. The golf course will be open so people can play. Being the new hire, he has to be there to cut the tee boxes and greens.

We enjoyed the service on Christmas Eve at church. I was the reader for the night and also helped with Communion. The service was great as always. I really enjoyed the slide show, which was a modern day Facebook version of Mary and Joseph. It is kind of hard to explain, but it was great!

After church we had steak, baked potatoe and salad for supper. After supper we opened our gifts. I got a much needed dress watch. I am more appreciative of the "time" I get with family than the presents. Jamie, Michael and Stetson will be here tomorrow for a few days. My mom along with Doug and his family will also be here for tomorrow afternoon and supper. I can't wait, it will be a good time to catch up and enjoy family.

I helped Wesley put his new cab protector (used to be called headache racks) on his truck. It looks really nice with the LED lights and all. He also took back some wood for his fireplace and I filled his tank up for his grill with gas. He had to wash his pup before she was allowed in the truck. She had found some poop while running around our place. Can you image that?

Cherrie and I spent this evening being lazy. I downloaded some new software and spent time working with it. It will allow me to post video's on our web site for everyone to see. It took me a little time to fully understand it, but it works great and fairly fast download too.

Well it is time for me to retire to the bed as I am getting tired. Until next time, God Bless You all.

December 23, 2010

2010-12-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Well here it is December 23rd. It reminds me of my Grandparents on my moms side. Their wedding anniversary is today, if they were still with us. I remember as a young man having to put on a suit and go to supper at a fancy restaurant every year, up until Pa passed away. I sure wish I had it all to do over. There were times that I did not want to go; had better things to do than dress up and sit in a fancy restaurant. I sure wish I could of had more time with them. I sure spent a lot of good times with them.

As I get older, family means more to me than anything else. I enjoy spending time with Cherrie, no matter what we are doing. I wish I could see the kids more, but Jamie has her family and Wesley is in school and working. I am going to make an extra effort to spend more time with my parents in the coming year.

On the ranch I sold what few pecans we picked yesterday. The crop is short everywhere. That does help the price for me but it makes it high on the consumer. The cows are in good shape with several of them starting to spring. We might actually have some early calves.

I am ready for Christmas. It is my most favorite holiday. Although it would not bother me if we did not exchange gifts except for the little ones. All I asked my kids for Christmas was some of their time. Wesley only gets a couple of days off so he will have to leave after lunch on Christmas Day. Dang golfers want to play on Sunday instead of going to church, so he has to be there to help cut the tee boxes and greens. Jamie and Michael have to split their time with three families. They are going to Michael's moms for Christmas Eve and Day. Here on Sunday till Wednesday. Cherrie and I are looking forward to all of them coming home. Stetson turned 5 months today. Jamie says he can get up on all fours, but takes a nose dive when he tries to move forward.

Cherrie and I have decided to cook beef for Christmas and when the Baldwins come home. Since we raise it, we should eat it.

This weekend also bring about church services that always bring a tear my eye. They are joyous tears. I am certain that our Pastor will some very good services for us to enjoy and I always like the music. I can't sing, but I try. I am the Scripture Reader on Christmas Eve. Everyone is welcome to join us. Service starts at 7 pm.

Until next time, enjoy your family and friends. May God Bless you during this Christmas season and beyond.

After the Las Vegas Trip

2010-12-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well we are back in Texarkana after our trip to Las Vegas. We decided to make the trip back in August since that is when our 25th Anniversary was. Instead of going somewhere then we wanted to go back to the NFR (National Finals Rodeo). Last time we were there was 20 years ago. The kids were small and we figured we better go before things got too busy..

The trip was great. Although Cherrie did get patted down in both Texarkana and Las Vegas. The card her doctor gave her for her knee was not even looked at or considered for setting the metal detector off. It was not as bad as the news media makes it out to be. The TSA is not consistant though. A lady about 3 ahead of us in Texarkana made the detector off. Her expaination was that she had an underwire bra on. They only waved the handheld unit around her breast and called it good. But they wouldn't do that for Cherrie. Oh well, that is our luck.

It did not ruin our trip! We got there on Thursday just in time to put our bags up and catch the bus to Thomas and Mack Arena. The rodeo is a fast 2 hours. There are no clown acts or intermission, just rodeo as fast as they can do it. Afterwards we went back to motel and then walked the strip.

On Friday, which we got up at 5 am due to the time difference, we went shopping at the Cowboy Christmas and Country Christmas. Good thing we had joined the fitness center a couple of weeks ago. We must have walked what seemed like 50 miles! Was not any "deals" like were told there was. Same things we can buy in Texarkana at the same price. But we enjoyed the day together and looking at the crafts. We walked the stip again that night.

Saturday we took a cab out to Sam's Town where there was another big sale tent. It was not as big as the others but there were some deals. I got a new pair of boots for about half price. They did not have Cherrie's size in anything she liked, but she did figure out the correct size in the brand name she wanted. So, we make the trip back to Cowboy Christmas and she found a pair that fit. No deal, but they fit perfect and that's what counts.

The rodeo was really good Saturday night. That was the last night and the cowboys went all out. Some of the events went down the then to decide who would be Champion of the event for a year. Trevor Brasil, from Texas, was the overall cowboy for the third straight year. There were a couple of the boys that got hurt riding bulls that night. I think everyone in the arena was saying prayers, because you could have heard a pin drop in the dirt while the doctors were checking them out. One was carried out, but was able to wave to the crowd and the other one walked out with some help. The "power of prayer" is very strong. It is so nice to go to a public event and everyone expects the National Anthem to be sung and a prayer said before it starts. Everyone stands, there were no unbelievers!

After the rodeo we met up with an old college roommate for supper. Had a really good visit and a good meal to go with it. After supper we looked down the strip and our motel didn't look that far. Boy were we wrong! After the walk I think it was about 5 miles. I know it wasn't, but it sure seemed like it. The sidewalks were really crowded and the "nuts" were out! Cherrie got lots of pictures along the way. Most of them turned out really well. She took a bunch while walking.

Sunday morning started early, 4:30 am. We needed to be at the airport by 6 am because TSA shuts down 45 minutes before the plane is to leave so they can make sure all baggage is checked. We got there at 5:30 thinking we would beat the rush. Everyone else had the same idea, so it was crowded. We made it through in plenty of time to sit down for breakfast with our friends. They were leaving at the same time just on a different plane and direction. We got back home about 4:30 that afternoon. It sure was good to be home. We like to go, but we like to get home, too.

Since being home we have been very busy. Already been to 2 Christmas parties and Cherrie is gone overnight for a training that deals with her job. I am back to ranch work. Getting ready to sell some pecans, not many.

Until next time, God Bless,

December 4,2010

2010-12-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well lots has gone on since my last post. We celebrated Wesley's 21st birthday on November 27th. Actually went to a couple of bars just to let him order the beers.

This has been a busy week. Had a church meeting, had my permanent crown put on my tooth, the start of Advent Season, and a meeting with the county levy board and Corp of Engineers. On top of all the meetings we picked up a few pecans every day. Not getting much but every little bit helps.

Still going to the gym almost every evening. Sometimes I am the only one there. I feel better since I have going.

Cherrie and I vaccinated our cows today. Took our time, it's sometimes hard to push jello uphill! After the cows we picked up some of the pecans in our yard.

I am on Elder duty this month at church. If you need a place to worship or just want to visit you are always welcome. First Lutheran Church on Texas Blvd. Texarkana, TX.

Until next time God Bless and remember the Season!

Day after Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

Well its the day after Thanksgiving and while most are at the Black Friday sales we are at Wesley's home with our grandson.

This year we traveled south to spend the holiday with our kids: Wesley, Jamie, Michael, our son-in-law, and Stetson, our grandson. Stetson is only 4 months old and rules everything.

I got up and walked a brisk 3 miles on Thanksgiving Day. Since I won't be back at our gym until Monday. We all spent the morning visiting and passing Stetson around as he entertained us all. Cherrie buzzed around in the kitchen fixing the big Thanksgiving Dinner. We had deep fried turkey, dressing with giblet gravy, corn medley cassarole, cranberry sauce and so many other dishes. I have to say that I did really well for myself and did not stuff!
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We all layed around most of the afternoon watching "Cake Boss", one of Wesley's shows. Then the Saints and Cowboys played football. It was a good game and my team came out on top. The main event for the night was Texas A&M vs. Texas. It was a good game, too. A&M came out on top so that made for a good night.

Wesley's girlfriend, Noelle, joined us after she ate with both sets of grandparents. So, needless to say, she would not eat leftovers with us! Too full!

Wesley has to work all day since it is his last day at the Coop. He starts at the private golf course on Monday. He is changing jobs since Turfgrass Management is his field of study. We will spend the day with Jamie, Michael and Stetson. Michael and I are going to change the faucet at the kitchen sink. I am tired of the dripping.

Well that's it for now. God Bless and I will be posting again real soon.

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

2010-11-21T18:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I have let another week pass before writing a new post. It just seems that I have a hard time remembering to post to the blog. I will try to do better.

This week has gone by so fast and next week being Thanksgiving will be no slower. The first of last week we installed gas logs at the duck cabin. That means no more wood cutting and hauling for the cabin. That is good, because the logs for the cabin were 3 feet long! The gas logs really look real. They are also 3 foot long. After that we finished getting everything set for opening day.

On the ranch we started and finished sorting the open and sale cattle from the bred cattle. That took us most of the week and some long days. I feel that we have everything set in the pastures and now just waiting for Spring calving to start in January. As I have stated earlier we are feeding hay every morning. The cows are in really good shape going into winter. The bulls went out on all the Fall calving cows and the heifers on Thursday. They will be out for about 75 days.

The guys have been working hard this week, so I treated them and myself to TaMolly's on Friday. As you may have figured we all enjoy Mexican food! Saturday morning we hauled the sale cattle to the sale barn.

To my personal week: On Monday I met the trainer at the gym so he could get me lined out on my exercises. I rode the bike, teadmill and eliptical. About 10 minutes each. They want my heart rate to be between 128 and 158. With me being out of shape it didn't take long. I made it through the first night okay. The second night Tuesday was even easier. So far, knock on wood, I have not gotten sore. I missed Wednesday due to a root canal and having a post inserted, then straight to my dentist to put a temporary crown on. I have not had any trouble with the proceedure. Just can't bite down too hard on that tooth just yet, but it is getting better. Thursday at the gym I could not keep my heart rate below 165 and they would not let me push through it. Made me get on the treadmill, which I can barely get my heart rate over 138. Back to normal workout on Friday. Have no idea what caused my problem on Thursday.

Saturday night we hosted the youth from our church for a cookout and hayride. It was not as cold as last year and we had a full moon. Never had to turn the lights on the tractor! The kids are great! Cherrie and I really enjoy working with good kids and their parents. We hope that the kids will want to come back next year. I didn't have anyone lined up to scare them because Ms. Laura doesn't like to be scared! The hotdogs and smores were tasty to say the least.

Sunday we did our chores and went to church. As always we had a good sermon. I always enjoy hearing God's Word and Pastor Kolb knows how to get the point across. We also had a baptism of a little baby girl. It was so nice to have her gradparents in attendence today. We also need your prayers for Logan, I sure hope they find out what is causing his problem and get it fixed quick. We also had the Titus' with us today. They are from Christ for India. As you may or may not know our church has helped them to build at least one church in India. It is so good of them to come share with us what is happening in India. Always god to see them.

Sunday afternoon our 4H Livestock Club met at the high school meats lab to clean the 100 turkeys we will be deep frying for Thanksgiving. We had good fellowship as usual. The new folks all had to learn how to clean out a turkey! It didn't take us too long.

Cherrie and I came home to do the chores and I made omlets from fresh farm eggs. This next week for us will be short as we will be headed to Bryan to spend Thankgiving with the kids and our grandson. Wesley will turn 21 on Saturday and has invited us to join him at the bar for a beer. It really means a lot to me that he would invite us to join him and his friends.

I have to brag a little on Wesley as he is going to Orlando, FL in Febraury with his fellow Aggies to compete in the turfgrass competition. I will post more as I know more. I am so proud of the young man he is turning out to be!

Until next time, God Bless!

Sunday night 11/14/2010

2010-11-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well I have had a fairly busy, but productive weekend. On the ranch we got the keeping heifers moved to the wheat pasture so they will have good nutrition for breeding season. We also moved the weaned calves to wheat pasture so they can gain weight! Later on we will pick about 75-80 heifers to keep and the rest will go to market sometime in early January.

Friday night Cherrie and I enjoyed our time with two amazing young people, Mark and Laura. Mark got a new grill for his birthday and decided to show off his grilling skills. Laura prepared the rest of the meal. We really enjoyed the meal, but for me the conversation was the best. It is so refreshing to meet and be friends with young people that enjoy life and have a mission.

Saturday afternoon I joined Cherrie and the 4-H'ers at Raindrop Hill to help with the CPS Fall Festival. (Child Protective Service) 4H has been helping with their Fall Festival and Easter Egg hunt as long as we have been 4H'ing. Had a good turn out and lots for fun and games. Had chili dogs for lunch.

After the Fall Festival, Cherrie and Courtney took all the 4H'ers to College Bowl to let the kids play and bond. As far as I could tell everyone had a really good time. The professional bowlers have no need to worry about being replaced!! After the group got through bowling we all caravaned to CiCi's pizza for supper.

Cherrie and I got home to find out that we have another new little heifer. She is as beautiful as we hoped. To top it all off she had nursed! That is the best plus.

Sunday we enjoyed the Pastor's sermon, which can be heard by following the link from www.flctexas.com If you get time, you should check it out. After church Cherrie and I went Christmas shopping for the kids. Picked up some gifts, but still have some to do.

I have a busy week ahead, but that makes it pass fast. Until next time, God Bless!

November 11, 2010

2010-11-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I know it has been a week since I wrote on the blog. It has been really fast paced here. After we finished vaccinating the cattle, I had to make sure all the paperwork for the State Animal Health Department was in order.

Last Saturday we had our Showmanship Clinic and Show at the Four States Fair. It sure was cold to start the day off, but it warmed up to just right for a livestock show. The turn out was a little lighter than expected, but the cold weather probably had something to do with it. The kids really enjoyed the showmanship clinics. I conducted the cattle showmanship clinic with a little help from Andy. Chris did the goat and lamb clinic and the kids really enjoyed him. After the clinic we all had some lunch and moved on into the show. You could tell the kids paid attention in the clinic because it showed.

Monday I had my yearly check-up. Everything is fine except for my cholesterol. The doctor put me on a low dose pill to help. My problem is remembering to take the thing before bedtime. I will have to go back in 6 weeks to make sure my liver is doing okay on the medicine. Cherrie and I decided to join the gym. She had her evaluation done today and I will go tomorrow. Now that Cherrie's knee is much better we have decided to get into shape, loose a few pounds and probably feel much better. We are not trying to get "buff".

At the ranch we are down to the last 10 cows to calve. We always have a few straglers. The calves are weaned and in the pen, almost done bawling. Soon as they are settled down, we will turn them on the wheat pasture so they can gain more weight! Not really any pecans this year, but we are going to run the harvester around a few trees that do have some nuts.

Cherrie and I went to a fundraiser for the Texas High School Rodeo Association. They served us a good steak dinner and had some good sponsors tell about their products. We also enjoyed the company at our table.

Tomorrow we will join some good friends at their home for supper. We are looking forward to getting to spend some quality time with two of the finest young people we know.

Until next time, take care and God Bless!

Herd work week 11/3/2010

2010-11-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a fast paced 3 days. We are doing our annual herd work. Which includes vaccinations, drawing blood, and pregnancy checking. So far it is all going well. We worked 255 cows the first day. That was a record for us, but we also miscalulated the size of the second group of cattle. The pregnancy checking is going well or at least about the same as every year. I wish we could get better results, bit I will take what I can get until I figure out something better.

We had our Livestock Club meeting Monday night to discuss the upcoming Livestock Show. The Show will be held at the Four States Fairgrounds this Saturday. Along with the show, which starts at 1 pm, we will have Showmanship Classes starting at 9 am. The big thing on our agenda was our upcoming Cajun Fried Turkey Sales. We ordered 100 birds to deep fry on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It's loads of fun staying up all night cooking turkeys and playing pranks.

Pastor called this morning. He had a limb fall from the tree and land on the house. I called the tree service men and they came right out and got the treee cut down and hauled off. The tree was dead already.

I am not feeling well today. Hopefully it is just a stomach virus that won't last too long. I hurt all over and am really tired. Well going to get some rest so I can make it another day working cattle.

Until next time, God Bless

Halloween Night

2010-10-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last week was fairly busy and fast paced. I didn't get any time to post on my blog. I will try to catch you up on the ranch and me.

I spent a lot of my time this week on the ranch overseeing and answering questions on the new landscaping going in at the boss' house. We had a few calves born this week, which is good and bad. That makes a fairly young calf to make it to the pens this week.

We had another 4H Animal Science class on Tuesday. It was on rabbits. I have to say that I know more about rabbits than I ever thought I would! Attendace was a little better than some of the past classes. Still wish more kids could have attended.

Thursday is my meeting day of the month. I have Four States Fair Executive and General Board meetings back to back. Starting at 11 am till 1 pm. We had a good BBQ lunch. Same as the 4H meetings, not enough members showed for either meeting to have enough to conduct any business. I have Novemeber and December as Chairman of the Board and I am out of that position. I have been COB for 3 years and our by-laws say I can only serve 3 consecutive terms. I will not be leaving the Fair, I really enjoy working with the kids during the livestock shows at fair time. I will continue to volunteer.

Thurday night is my ESD (Emergency Service District) meeting. We had a full board at that meeting. I am the secretary for the group. We are actually Commissioners. We are in the process of getting a new fire station built. Right now the vounteeer fire department is using a below standard "shed" to house the trucks and equipment. We got all of our business covered in a timely manner. Those guys are really good to work with and we all have the same goals.

Friday was a fairly slow and easy day. I took the guys to Shirley's in New Boston for lunch. Shirley cooks the best down home cooking you ever ate. In fact, I did not eat supper!

On Saturday we got our things ready for this weeks working of the cattle. In the afternoon I traveled to Morris County to clip cattle for a couple of junior showmen. I always enjoy working with the youth and their animals. I clipped 2 steers and 3 heifers. I was pretty beat when I got in. Took a shower, ate a bowl of cerel for supper and stretched out on the bed.

Sunday I cooked breakfast and we went to church. The congregation attendace was down. I helped with the offering, Communion and did the reading. Pastor had another good sermon. Be sure to listen to it online if you missed it live. www.flctexas.com Cherrie and I stayed for the 'potluck' dinner and enjoyed the company. The rest of the day was spent just spending time with each other. I have all my 'tech toys' ready for use tomorrow. Packed and setting by the door.

Till next time take care and God Bless.

Morning of Oct. 26, 2010

2010-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a fairly good day. We had one new born calf that is doing great. Tagged her this morning. But we also lost a new calf Sunday night. Born, but the cow did not get the sack off his head in time, so he sufficated. I hate that, I did not even have a chance to help. To make matters worse, we found one of the Longhorn cows next to the creek. Looks like she was been hit by lightening! When she didn't come up this morning we went looking for her. Luckily her calf is old enough to make it on his own. In fact, next week is cattle working week. So he would be weaned then anyway.

Speaking of Cattle Working week: I'll tell you a little about that. We will start Monday morning and should finish by Friday afternoon (hopefully early afternoon). This when we give the cattle their shots (kind of like kids or us with the Flu shot) for respiratory and reproductive diseases. We also give the cows due to calve in the Spring a shot to help protect her calf from the scours. Every animal gets a dose of dewormer and blood drawn from the tail. The blood is to test for Brucellosis, which if the cow has it can cause abortions and it is contagious to the rest of the herd. All the cows with last years Spring calves will get pregnacy checked. We keep all this info in the computer for easy follow up and reporting. Every animal on the ranch has an EID (Electronic Indentification Device) in its ear. This really helps when a cow looses her tag and the brand is too hairy to read. When she enters the cattle chute we wave a stick reader in front of her and all her information shows up on the computer screen to be added to. Really speeds up the work and means that I don't have to spend my nights manually entering all the information gathered during the day!

I have to mention this because it is getting to be a problem down in the bottoms and I am sure anywhere in the country. Yesterday we had a dog dropped off just short of my house. Some SOB not wanting to get the dog help. The dog was old and sick. I cautiously approached the dog (who was a 100 lb Pit Bull) and got him in the back of my truck. Paid my vet to look at him and it was decided that whoever owned him had let his problem go too far to fix. Meaning he was going to die. So, since I can't stand to see animals suffer (regardless of what PETA says) I paid to have him put down and brought him back to bury. Now I am really watching my language, but I have NO sympathy for people like this. I am going to stop there and cool off.

The rain was very much needed and the cooler weather is great too. The wheat pastures are growing and ready for the weaned calves to be turned on as soon as we get the bawl out of them. We started feeding a little hay to help the cows out. They we very thankful for the handout! It is very relaxing to me to watch the cattle. I am blessed to enjoy work like this: long hours, hot and cold, wet and dry. But I get to watch God's creatures through their life cyles first hand. Probably not much I have not seen.

Had a good lunch with Cherrie and the guys on the ranch. We always enjoy each others company. We are like a family, I have been here 24 years and two of them were here before me. Cherrie is doing well with her rehab. She finally feels like helping with the chores and neither one of us is too worried about her getting hurt at the barn anymore. Not that it is dangerous, but with the dogs and cats under your feet and the cattle are just big, but gentle. Accidents can happen. I like having her back at the barn, we have spent many hours talking, working and planning our future together while halter breaking a calf or just scratching the back of a grown bull or cow. It is our life to be with the animals!

This is enough for now. I have things to do, but did not get the time to write last night. God Bless until next time.

Week of 10/18 through 10/24/2010

2010-10-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not posted in awhile. I have been working a litte more physically this past week. That means that this ole boy being out of shape and all has come in, eaten, showered and piled up on the bed for early nights.

I will try to catch you up on this past week: The calving is still slow; but we still have several due in November. The grass is getting really short and the cows have grazed the hay meadows down as low as we dare going into winter. We'll have to start feeding hay a few days a week to keep them going until it really gets cold. Then we feed everyday. The winter pastures are green and growing (that's were the cows with new born Spring calves will be moved after the calf is a week old) and getting harder to keep the cows off. They just don't understand how we have that pretty green field and they can't be on it.

This past week we removed most of the landscaping from the bosses home. They decided that the plants had grown up too much and you really couldn't see the house. I have to agree. After removing all the plants it made the house look a little better. I know with the new landscaping theme they are going back with it will be really nice and neat. That is the physical part that wore me out.

On Tuesday night we had another 4H Animal Science class on swine. The speaker was well informed and had a Power Point presentation to show the kids. She even brought door prizes that were given away.

Thursday night we hosted the TSCRA (Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association). There were about 60 people that attended the "ranch talk". We had a good beef meal and then Ranger Bradshaw talked about ways for us to protect our ranches from theives. He had lots of helpful ideas and as always he tells stories about catching some of the cattle rustlers. Kind of like the dumb crooks on Jay Leno's show.

Saturday we had another 4H Animal Science class on goats and lambs. We met at the New Boston FFA farm. The speaker is really into goats, with his kids showing and raising champions. It was very informative and I learned a lot. I am okay with goats and lambs as our kids started out showing lambs. Our speaker told the kids about feed, shelters and parasites that affect goats and lambs.

That brings me to Sunday. I kindof slept in and extra 30 minutes before doing the chores. Cherrie and I had breakfast then went to church. The youth led the service today. They always do a good job, but they also have a good leader. Laura does such a great job with our youth. The youth even played the instruments and did the singing. Pastor did the preaching and as always had a really good sermon. We have finished our 8 week series and will be starting anothter series next Sunday.

We had lunch at the Pastor's house with a few other couples. Ms. Nancy out did herself on the meal and dessert. The conversation was great! Lots of good stories told on ourselves. There was another couple that owned a dairy for a long time so we had stories that made our city raised couples just laugh.

All in all this has been another good week. We are getting much needed rain and that makes me sleepy. Until next time, have a good day and God Bless.

October 17, 2010

2010-10-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well this has been one good weekend. I had to work Saturday morning but that is normal. Me and the guys got the horses all cleaned up and ready for the pictures to be taken. Even old Woody was feeling good with the cool temperature. He thought he was in good enough shape to buck a little! No one got thrown or hurt, Woody really can't buck he just thinks he can. We got all the pictures that taken that the Arnolds wanted.

Came home to a good lunch with my family. My mom made the trip so she could see Jamie, Michael and Stetson. Boy, Cherrie and I have got to not schedule our weekends so full. Stetson is growing up fast and we had not seen him since his Baptism in August. I can tell you that won't happen anymore. I will not let that much time pass between visits. He has changed so much since August. He smiles and trys so hard to talk. I did have to share him with Cherrie and my mom, but I sure got my time in. He is getting heavy, especially when he falls asleep!

We took him to church this morning and he was really good. Only once did Cherrie have to take him out for a few minutes. Once he starts fussing he has to get it all out. After he had his say, and took his boottle Cherrie brought him back in. He made it through the rest of the service just fine. Pastor had a really good sermon again today. I always enjoy hearing Pastor Kolb's sermon. They are NOT boring that's for sure. He speaks in our language.

We had to take Jamie to TaMolly's mexican resturant for lunch. We always go at least once when she comes home. Stetson slept through most of lunch. None of the noise ever bothered him. Jamie's friend Meghan joined us for lunch, she is such a good person.

After everyone left, Cherrie and I are back in our quite house. We have done the chores, eaten supper, cleaned out the inbox and are headed to bed. Hope everyone has a good night. Until next time...

October 15, 2010

2010-10-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today started like any other. Checking the calving cows. No new ones. The two we have in the pens are still there. One is nursing and doing well. The other one is not out of the woods. His momma has blood in the milk and not much to start with. We are having to milk her twice a day to try to clear up the blood in her udder. The calf is on replacement milk and really not doing well. We are not going to give up on him, but it is an uphill battle.

Me and the guys finished up on the painting and cleaning of the horse barn. Even got the new shrubs and mulch put out front of the porch. The Arnolds are taking their Christmas card photo tomorrow. We are going to clean and trim up on three of the horses to be in the photos first thing in the morning.

We have been turning some of the cows on a hay meadow for extra grazing, but they are starting to take advantage of being out. They have found the way to the hay barn. Wish the cows could understand that if they eat it now, there will not be any or enough for winter. They bawl every morning like they are starving to death, the sound so pitiful!

The 4H group is having a beef cattle clinic in New Boston at the Barfield ranch. The guest speaker will be Dr. Dusty Abney who is a nutritionist with Nutrina. He will be talking about nutrition in the different segments of a cows life: replacement heifer, bred cow, cow/calf pairs and show heifers. The times are 9 am till 11 am.

Cherrie and I will be having company this weekend. My mom is coming for a visit, mostly to see the other part of our company: Jamie, Michael and Stetson will be here late Friday night. It will be the first time that we will have seen our grandson since August when we baptised him. Our schedules seem to stay too full. Cherrie and I are going to have to work on this problem.

Till next time, hope you have a good day!

October 13, 2010

2010-10-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

There were no new calves today. Sometimes we just have a bunch and other days nothing. You just never know what to expect. The two calves born yesterday, I told you one was fine and the other one we had to give a bottle because he had not sucked. Neither one had sucked this morning! Just what we needed. We didn't get to pick them up first thing today due to the new dining room table for the hunting club was coming in. It is huge and weighs huge! It took 10 of us to get in and set up. That took several hours out of day.

As soon as we got back we penned the cattle and picked the calves up. Emilio has the patience to work with the calves. I wish I had half of his patience. He got both calves to nurse enough to fill their bellies for the night. Oh, and of course, one cow is real easy to move around in the pens and the other one, let's just say you don't take your eyes off her. She has a bad attitude and wants nothing to do with our help. What she does not understand is that if she doesn't raise the calf, we don't need her! That means a trip to the sale barn.

Cherrie is coming along with her rehab on her knee really good. She called and gave me good news today, that she has 110 degree flex! That is very good, since she did not have that much flex before the surgery.

Cherrie and I still have a yearling heifer and a 10 month old bull that I tie to feed twice a day. Really good looking and gentle cattle. They each have a personality that you just have to be around them to understand. But everyone that we have ever halter broke has been that way. We like to move real slow and halter break in a gentle way. We don't use force and I feel that is why we can still go into the herd and put a halter on the older cows and lead them most anywhere. They are not afraid and so we aren't worried about being kicked.

That's about it for today.

October 12, 2010

2010-10-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well we finally had a couple of calves born today. It had been about 4 days since the last one was born. One calf if fine, up running around and nursing. (That's important) The other one is having a little trouble finding the teats. We had to give him some Colostrix this afternoon. Maybe that will give him enough strength to nurse sometime tonight. The cows have finally started eating more of the liquid feed since the pasture is getting short. We will probably start feeding hay a couple days a week just to help them out.

We had our first Animal Science class tonight. The topic was general health, in which we discussed cattle, horses, sheep, goats and dogs. Attendance was way below what we had expected! Just a little embarassing for me and Cherrie. I am hoping that the attendance picks way up for our Beef Cattle class on Saturday at the Barfield Ranch in New Boston. Dr. Dusty Abney with Cargill will be our speaker.

October 10, 2010

2010-10-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to combine yesterday and today in the same post. I got busy yesterday and just ran out of time before I go sleepy!

Yesterday was fairly easy. I only had one new calf to tag in the morning. We had gotten the spray tractor ready to spray the Army worms so it was already in the field. After checking the calving cows I ran to town to pick up some supplies. We wrapped up the ranch day at noon.

I got home to help Cherrie, she had penned the cows so I could pregnancy check them and put fly repelant on them. Our cows are all old show heifers so they are sometimes like pushing jello uphill! We finally got all of them put through the chute. All were bred but one and she is "iffy". Should be bred but I could not touch a calf, so I called her "iffy". The cows sure appreciated the fly repelant so they could get some rest. We still had some young animals to get weights on. So we put the scale in the chute. The bulls and heifers were just about right on target. The one yearling bull weighed over 1300!

Cherrie had to go to Gander Mountain for Ladies Night Out, so I just rested a bit before doing the chores. I then showered and met Cherrie for supper.

Sunday was not too busy. I did the chores in the morning before we went to church. I really enjoy church, the Pastor always has a good sermon. After lunch, Cherrie had two 4H clubs meeting today so she joined each of them. I installed our new ice maker. The old one died after 6 years. I suppose that's not too bad. After Cherrie came back we did the chores and hauled water to the cows across the way. Time to slow down and get ready for bed. Till next time, hope you have a good night and great day tomorrow.

October 8, 2010

2010-10-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

I have decided to post on my Blog what I do on the ranch each day. Some days it could be exciting and other days it will be just, well probably boring.

Today I checked on the calving cows like I do every morning. I didn't have any new ones. Checked in with Ciro and he did not have any new calves in the pasture he checked. I really enjoy checking for the new calves. They make my day when I see what the matings turn out. Most of our calves are white or grey in color. The bulls and heifers are running about even on their numbers. I have a couple of small calves (60 lbs and less) that I have to check on every day. The calves are getting stronger and bigger each and every day.

A fitting on the irrigation pump broke and we have been unable to water the golf green. Decided today was the day to fix it. The water has been too cold to think about getting in. It was no different today, but Ciro and Luis volunteered to wade int he lake and pull the pump. I ran to town and got the parts after we saw what parts we needed. After we got the pump back in the water it works great.

The last thing of the day, we found Army Worms in the wheat fields. That means we have to spray the little varmits in the morning.

For now, thats it. Be back tomorrow.

Showmanship Clinic

2010-01-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

I will be doing a Showmanship Clinic for heifers on Sunday January 3, 2010. The event will be hosted by the Bowie County 4H Livestock Club Boosters. We will be haveing the event at the Western Sport Areana in DeKalb, TX starting at 2 pm. This will be a hands on event so bring your heifer. We will have a question and answer session that is open to everyone. Parents, Ag Teachers and CEA's you are invited too. The only admission is that we ask you to bring some can goods to donate to the Mana Kitchen in New Boston, TX.

Hope to see you there!

Christmas and your livestock project

2009-12-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a busy time for all of us. Parties and family taking up a lot of our time. And let's not forget the FOOD! We usually all seem to over eat during the holidays. I can remember my grandmother always pushing one more helping on us! God love her.

Let's not forget our livestock project. They still need to be tended to. I do realize that at times you will be a little late or maybe feed before time due to a function you have to attend. Try to keep up with your daily grooming and feeding as close as possible. Remember your project depends on you! We are getting too close to Ft. Worth to mess up now. If you are like us, the rain just won't quit. No telling how much we have had today. Keep a close eye on your steer and heifer's feet. This is perfect weather for foot rot. Foot rot can make you animal go off feed and just not feel good.

Watch them close and go talk to them at midnight Christmas Eve, they may just talk back! Merry Christmas to all.

Considerations for Beeding the Show Heifer

2009-12-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is the time to be breeding your show heifers if you are looking for a September calf in 2010. I have started this blog a little late for breeding season, but will try to catch up. Your heifer needs to be about 14 months of age and in real good flesh so she can cycle. Have a good bull picked out that hopefully will complement your heifer. If you are considering Artificail Insemination your semen should have already been shipped. For AI, heat should be checked at least for 30 minutes first thing in the morning and in the evening. Pay close attention to your heifer as her temperment can change during times of estrus (heat). Once you see your heifer stand for another animal, breeding should take place about 12 hours later. Keep the heifer as calm as possible as this will aide in conception. The heat cycle runs on the average every 21 days, with 18 to 24 days being the possible range.

First Post

2009-12-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is my initial post. I hope to share information that will be helpful to the young showmen with a heifer project. I am a Livestock Mentor trained through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.