a little blue reminder
Mountain Bluebird
The Mountain Bluebirds are a beautiful splash of color against the brown drabness of the end of winter. They flutter from fence post to fence post while we walk to check on the cattle. A lovely reminder that springtime is on it’s way.
Foggy Monday
The Cooney Hills through a blanket of fog.
It’s a beautiful morning here on the ranch. I love when there is a blanket of fog through the meadows. The damp air is a nice change from the dry temps we have experienced these last few weeks.
I captured this image on the way to feed the little bum calf this morning. He’s a little spitfire y’all!
A Puzzle
Anything look out of place to you? What is odd with this picture?
I always loved those puzzles in the Sunday paper when I was a kid.
Not sure where this little lady came from but we’re glad she’s here. 🙂
Twins!
We got a set of twins this morning. The momma is only accepting one.
So I’ll be momma for a while.
We’ll draft this little booboo onto a cow that loses her calf in the future. But for now, I need to head out to give her a hit of colostrum and some milk.
We’re almost done calving out the black cows, now it’s time for the reds. ♥
on a Hilltop
An evening drive yesterday went from sunshine and warmth to blowing snow to overcast to sunny, all in one climb. When we reached the top of this hill, we saw young rams grazing and then they went over to climb the next hill.
We made our way down toward the river and we saw a large group of mule deer running up the hillside.
“My, what big ears you have!”
Happy first day of Spring my friends!
Spring Eve
The weather has been dreamy here lately. The snow has melted into ponds and streams and the cattle are enjoying the sunshine and warmth.
My favorite part of the day is our evening drive around the meadows checking on our soon-to-be moms.
Canadian geese have flown in and the turkey’s have returned, strutting their stuff for their potential mates.
We’ve even spotted a geese couple bedded down, showing some love. Most geese couples stay together all of their lives. I wonder is this is the couple I spotted last year with their babies.
Spring Equinox is tomorrow. I know we’re in for some more winter weather here in finicky Wyoming but I’ve enjoyed being outside every day all day these last several days. Happy Monday everyone, I hope you have been able to enjoy good weather in your part of the world.
Who’s the Boss?
Apparently the heifer is. She busted into the corral where her calf was and he sucked her dry. We talked to the vet and he said to just leave them together and just see what happens. He’s still rather skinny but seems happier than before and gets up on his own. Maybe he’ll be okay after all. Most times human interference in cases like this is for the best but this is one of those times where we’ll just have to leave them together and wait and see. We are not completely out of the dark but we’ll leave it up to nature.
After a tumultuous week, here’s hoping for a good weekend.
Cheers,
Leah
Up and Down
Round and round. The circle of life continues.
I forget how stressful calving can be. I’ve only been at this, and mostly in the background, for 2 years but here in my third year I’m more involved. Everyone so far is doing great but our calf from the first heifer is struggling. She unfortunately is not able to mother her calf. She loves him, she hums to him, but her milk has blood in every quarter and it is making him very sick. So two nights ago we took him from her. Awful experience, but it was a necessary move to keep him alive. Patrick tubed him with colostrum that he had in the freezer and yesterday I tried to feed him milk through a bottle. He just wouldn’t suck and was completely uninterested. So Patrick had to basically sit on him and force feed him to get his belly full. I’ve never seen a calf not eat! I bottle fed a couple bum calves last year and they would back me into a corner sucking on that bottle! So this morning Patrick went down there and heard him bellowing loudly. Turns out he is hungry but because he did not start off sucking when he was born, he doesn’t suck the bottle very well. He’s special we’ve decided and have hopes that we’ve turned a corner today.
On a different note, Crop Ear made it through another winter!
I’ve seen in her these past few evening by the river as we go check on the calves and cows. She’s part of our family and I’m always happy to see her when she visits.
ready, set, Calve!
The babies are landing, the babies are landing!
But it’s not all sunshine and roses. We had to pull 2 calves in a 12 hour period this weekend.
And it’s only the beginning.
On Saturday night, a cow was bawling around the meadow for a couple of hours but couldn’t have her calf. Patrick got her in the calving barn and could feel that the little one had not entered the birth canal. She needed assistance because it was definitely time. We put on shoulder high gloves and helped the calf enter the world. Now, I have only attended this procedure one time before but this time I had to help. It was breathtaking and nerve-wracking. The cow took to her calf and they are fine and in the meadow with the others.
Then Sunday morning we had a heifer trying to calve but was having a hard time. We got her in the calving barn and this one was much more difficult. Being a first time mom, she didn’t know what was happening. All she knew was that her belly hurt and these people are strapping hardware to her rear-end. The calf finally entered the world and it took a little while to get it breathing. The heifer didn’t know what to do with this thing lying on the barn floor so we left her alone. I peeked through the window a few minutes later and saw that she had finally gone over to it and was licking it clean. GOOD sign. But when we went back a couple hours later, the calf had not sucked. NOT GOOD. Patrick milked the heifer and we bottle fed the calf to get it through the night. Momma was a kicker and we think she was kicking it off of her milk bag. Finally this morning, there are signs it sucked and the heifer is being VERY protective. We’ll go down a little later to tag it, check the sex, and put them out with the rest of the cows.
Until then, Imma take a nap.
[Pictured here are calves and cows that have birthed naturally in the meadow. The special cases haven’t had their portraits made just yet. Been too busy bringing them into the world and I don’t think you want to see those details.] 😉
Seeds and Silk
I took a walk by the river yesterday after checking on the cattle and spotted silk all around the red willows. I put on the macro lens and saw these seeds escaping their pods. Can you say early spring fever? Again, I’m getting my hopes up for warmer weather but I’m sure we’re going to get hit with more cold before real spring arrives.
I mentioned checking on cattle, well, 2 new calves arrived yesterday afternoon and one landed early this morning. I’ll have images soon but as instructed, I need to leave them alone for a little while to bond with momma. It’s tough to stay away but I know it’s best. Happy Friday my friends!
Clouds in my Head
The sweet mountain bluebirds and I are very confused with this weather. It was warm and in the 60’s on Tuesday. Felt like spring but I didn’t fall for it because yesterday was overcast and in the 30’s. Could this confusion in temps be why my head is clogged and nothing is relieving this constant ache in my whole body? Well, today is sunny and in the 40’s, and I’m working up the strength to go for a short hike and check on our new mother-to-be cattle.
Hope all is well in your part of the world. I’ll get back with you once my head clears up and my eyes stop watering.
Hog Pigs
Musical meadows continues. Patrick moved the ladies even closer and they are eating it right up.
This meadow flooded when the river was so high and he couldn’t put it up for hay. So let the grazing begin!
They also like dips and sips in the river. That water is a little too chilly for me but more power to you girlfriend.
Oh…and one more thing.
At sundown yesterday, we put Kate and her filly in with the others. As you can probably imagine by the picture above, there was a lot of rootin’ and a-tootin’! She tricked them by going through the open gate to the neighboring meadow and Pepper, Alice, and Poco were running wild trying to get to them. It’ll be interesting to see if they’ve figured out they don’t have to be separated. In the meantime, don’t get kicked!
Whiskers
“This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine.” (name that movie)
Alice is always up in my business. Whenever I pass through the meadow she’s comes right up to see what I’m up to… and apparently to see what I smell like. ‘Cause when I turn around, I get this:
*sniff sniff snort*
It’s a good thing we’re not dance partners.
Speaking of up close and personal,
Kate’s baby is so cute. Just check out her whiskers!
The snow is gone but we are still dealing with high winds. Yesterday was warm but springtime really doesn’t kick in until June so…I guess I’ll take the tossed in warm days between snow days any time they want to appear.
Happy Monday my friends!
Delightful Faces
My welcome home committee when I got back from a shoot yesterday evening. They made my heart smile. ♥
Wyoming Longhorns, in closing
I love this image. And I loved our time with the Wilson’s.
Click on the yearling longhorn above to view a complete gallery of the longhorns that you’ve seen here over the past couple of days. I hope you’ve enjoyed these images as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you.
We look forward to visiting again and next time Linda, we’ll stay for the brownies.
Uprooted Magnolia 
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