So, there I was, folding laundry and deciding what to cook for dinner when my daughter popped her head around the corner asking permission to go outside. She informed me she planned to take her little brother on a field trip.

Thinking it best that field trips have parental supervision, I asked her if I could tag along.

Soon, the three of us were traipsing through the mud and negotiating a cattle guard. I had no idea what she had in mind, but I let her lead the way.

And lead she did! She broke trail for us and called a halt to our procession, as necessary, to discuss strategy with her younger brother. She also let me know when I was getting too far astray, asking me to please get back in line and try to follow her footprints.

Yes, ma’am.

After several moments spent hiking through the field, I finally spied what I thought might be the eventual destination of our little outing.

The horses. More specifically, this horse. Her horse. Mack.

Both of my older boys rode Mack. He is the best kid-friendly horse we have. Nothing phases him. Nothing. The boys learned to rope while riding Mack. Consequently, there were many times they managed to have a rope dragging under Mack’s belly, caught under the back of the saddle, draped between his ears, or looped around his leg. Each time Mack just stopped and waited patiently for someone to untangle him from the rope.

Now, it’s my daughter’s turn to learn to rope. She can hardly wait for warm weather to arrive so she and Mack can get to work.

I might be wrong, but I think Mack and this little cowboy-girl will get along just fine.

In order to artificially inseminate these heifers, we synchronized their estrus cycles, which basically means that they all end up with the same due date. That translates to a fast and furious calving season for these heifers (and the cowboys!).

It has been cold the past few days, so it’s important that we make sure each calf is up and moving around. It’s easy for them to curl up and try to stay warm when the temperature drops. But they really need to be moving around and nursing their mama.

As we drive around the field checking for heifers that look like they are going to calve in the next few hours, we also help each calf get up and guide them toward their mama cow.

As soon as that calf is up, the heifer comes running to check on her baby. A good sign indeed. Love to see that mothering instinct in these heifers!

Each new calf receives an ear tag with the same number as it’s mama. We also write down (on the tag and in our record system) whether the calf had trouble in delivery or if it was a twin. Keeping this information helps us track which bulls performed well with our genetic program and allows us to make informed decisions when it comes to buying bulls or semen in the future.

This little guy was just a few hours old and still in the barn. His mama was quite opposed to an ear tag in her calf. She did a little snorting and blowing, but finally gave her consent…right after my husband told her to “Stay!” in his best dog-training voice.

I laughed, the kids giggled and the dogs ran in circles while wagging their tails.

My youngest child spends his days: reading stories, playing with his toy tractors, wrestling with our dog Lucy and learning how to build cowboy-snowmen.

We had so much fun building this snowman! He tried several different cowboy hats until he found the perfect one for his snowman. He even named our creation: Zane the Snowman.

My youngest spends most days playing with Mom and wondering when the kids will get home from school. He was so excited to show his older brothers and sister his new friend Zane the Snowman. When they finally arrived home he quickly pulled them into the backyard and within minutes they were all busy making their own snowmen.

As much fun as we all had that day, I find myself hoping that spring weather is just around the corner. We are still calving heifers and those little calves do much better if they don’t arrive in the middle of a snowdrift!

Although, if we do happen to get another snowstorm, I think it’s a safe bet that I’ll be in the backyard helping my three year old build another cowboy snowman.

Every winter we look through the colts while they are still on the mares. We are looking for the colts we want to add to our own string. My husband, father in law, and oldest son spent a lot of time looking at these colts. This is always a fun time and something we look forward to each year, but this year was special because for the first time my son was allowed to select a colt for himself.

We had all chosen our favorites and lobbied my son to pick one that we liked, but, of course, he had his own opinion and decided that little blue roan was meant to be his. He named the filly Twinkles and has been happily caring for her every day. Twinkles is out of a popular family of horses that we ride and use for brood mares. Her father is a big blue roan horse that came from Leachman’s in Montana. Twinkles was born late and is a little smaller than the rest of them, but we think she will be a great horse for our son. (She is still a little camera-shy though.)

It’s always exciting to picture what the colts will be like when they are fully grown. It just adds a whole new level of fun to watch a ten year old boy select his first colt.

And the red roan? Well, we thought she was just too cute to leave behind. Plus, she loves having her picture taken!

So, while I am busy getting my family back to our usual routine, I thought I would share a fun website my kids have been playing with lately. It’s called Cow Chow. It’s a short quiz on what cattle eat and then a few little videos to explain it. Check it out:  Cow Chow

I will be back with a real post soon!

Winter was bound to arrive at some point. The snow is needed to increase our moisture level for the year, so it’s a bit of a relief to see some white stuff on the ground. We can deal with the snow, but the worst part of winter’s arrival is the wind.

Wind is cold and miserable for all of us. These cows are eating more hay than normal, just to keep themselves warm. Brand new baby calves and their mamas are moved into the barns to give the calves time to warm up and start sucking.

Three year old boys and their mamas spend the days indoors, playing cowboys on the floor until this mama’s knees wear out and I beg for a break so I can do something less laborious. Laundry, for example.

As I uploaded the photos from my memory card last night, I had to laugh as the photos came across the computer screen. I have taken several landscape shots this month and somehow had forgotten that until I saw the photos again. I don’t know how I could have forgotten, once I glanced at the photos the memories came right back.

“Mom, why are we parked in the middle of the road?”

“Are we ever going to get to school today?”

“Mom, is something wrong? Why did you pull over?”

Soon, they started taking advantage of these brief delays. As I was taking this picture of the canyon, I could hear the kids talking behind me, but I didn’t really register what they were saying until I heard my eight year old yell, “Ready! Aim! Fire!” Glancing over my shoulder I saw all of the kids pointing their “finger pistols” out the window. Giving them a puzzled look, my eight year old said, “It’s okay Mom, we are protecting you from the imaginary coyotes.”

Well, that’s a relief! You can never be too careful when imaginary coyotes are around.

Baby calves are still arriving on the ranch. In addition to the early calvers we (inadvertently!) bought last fall, we also have a small group of older cows that have started calving.

These cows were grouped together as dry cows to go to market and then… a fence-jumping bull decided to visit them. Consequently, we now have a group of cows calving in January.

They require a little more care, because many of them are older cows. They are in a large pen right now, which makes it easier to move them to the barn if it starts storming or the wind is howling.

We can also keep a closer eye on their feed consumption while they are in the pen. Mama cows need a boost in their nutrition levels right before they calve and during the first couple of months after the calf is born. Increasing their feed helps the cows maintain their body condition.

Their menu consists of corn silage with chopped hay.

My helper for the day.

AKA: The Girl Who Loves Pink

My Future Running Partner

My Artist in Training

My Favorite Cowboy-Girl

When we bought a couple of loads of bred cows last fall, the buyer assured us that they were set to start calving in March. That would work perfectly for us.

Apparently the cows did not get this memo. This calf was born early this morning. Early this January morning.

Fortunately, the weather this week has been absolutely perfect for calving! 50+ degrees and no wind. We couldn’t ask for better weather. Even in March.

Due to this little guy’s early arrival, I find myself in the odd situation of agreeing with my husband…about the weather, at least. I’m going to have to abandon my hopes for a winter wonderland this year. Instead, I am forced to acknowledge that this mild winter is ideal for the upcoming calving season.

I am really look forward to winter…next year!

Today we had our veterinarian at the ranch to preg-check cows for us. At the end of the day we sorted the cows based on when they are due to calve and then took them to separate pastures.

To determine when the cow is due to calve, our vet does a rectal palpation and feels the cow’s uterus.

It is not a job for those with an aversion to mud or muck. You may look at this photo and feel some compassion for the dirty job our vet had to do all day long. Me? I look at that photo and thank my lucky stars I am not responsible for his laundry!

It is a quick process, the cow is in the chute for less than a minute. While the vet is working on one end of the cow, the cowboys are at the head of the cow. They give vaccinations and make her a new ear tag.

While the cowboys were hard at work, I was busy tending to the resident three year old. I would like to go on record here that I was doing a perfectly fine job of watching him and playing with him…until the phone rang.

It was a dear friend from California that I hadn’t spoken to in a while. I stepped a few paces toward the house to have my conversation and when I turned back toward where I had left my son this is what I saw:

A proud parenting moment indeed!