Saltin’ the Cows
Patrick is working with Crazy Alice these days. She’s a two year old filly here on the ranch.
He loaded a pack saddle with two hundred pounds of salt and led her out to the cattle. Cows need iodine in their diet just like we do.
We walked her through the cattle, tagged calves, and made small commotions to get her used to the real world.
Putting weight on her and walking her through the cows is a way to get her warmed up to an eventual ride. Stay tuned for that. I’ll be standing on the outside of the pen to tell Patrick what happened when he gets bucked off!
What a Week!
The last few days have been utterly amazing, very busy and extremely heartwarming. Three of my most favorite friends came out for a visit and we had a blast. While they were here we worked on a video shoot for a client of theirs, a photo shoot for a client of mine, Uprooted Magnolia was featured on the WordPress list of “8 Gorgeous Nature Blogs for Earth Day”, and I received a call from an ad agency here in Wyoming for several photo shoots for this upcoming summer. Wow, it’s been a whirlwind! I now call this trio my good luck charms. I did put them to work on the ranch however. We moved some cows and brought Poco and Kate and their colts to new pasture. They watched a calf being born from a distance, viewed several turkey struts, and we even stumbled on a snake or two. Yikes!
I’ve got to get back to work on processing the images from my shoot this past weekend but I wanted to check in with you and say THANK YOU. Thank you to my now 510! followers, new and old. You all have been a great support and inspiration. I love hearing from you and am flattered beyond words that WordPress would feature my images for the community to see. I am truly grateful.
I’ll see you soon.
L♥ve,
Leah
Various Ramblings and Images ’cause I Miss You
A few things…
We woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground this morning. We’ve been desperate for moisture.
It’s busy ’round here. I’ve been more of a cowgirl than a photographer lately and I miss my camera.
I fixed that this morning ’cause I miss y’all.
I have some stories to share and hope to find time to write them. There is one in particular that had our family howling over Easter lunch. I’m not much of a writer and there aren’t too many pictures to go along with it but I’ll make it work somehow.
Our little Pinrow has a new cow mommy. Yay for him. Sad for me.
We had a new shipment of heifers and calves this weekend. You see, heifers (first time mothers) don’t really know how to be a mom so they’ll let any calf suck. There were times down in the corrals while we were sorting them, that a heifer had a calf on each side and one in the back suckling. “Nobody’s gonna go hungry in this herd!”, Patrick said. I stood there in shock. Bunch of hippies I say.
Mother cows that have done this a few times will kick and headbutt a calf if one other than hers tries to suck.
The gobblers are gobbling daily.
And strutting daily.
We wake up every morning to the song of the meadowlark.
I was finally able to capture the elusive Merganser Ducks in the pond this morning.
This couple is always around but so difficult to capture. I sneaked up on them this morning.
Geese honk constantly. It’s become annoying. At least they are photogenic.
I’m working on a project for a client where I’m adding color to black and white landscapes. I think it’s going to look good and I hope to share some of that with you when the job is completed.
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had to pull about 4 calves out of mother cows because the calf was either backwards, too big or the cow was weak after pushing for too long. Eeeesh. Sometimes when I use the word “we” I tell you that I use it loosely. Usually “we” means Patrick but here lately, I’m in it up to my elbows.
I have good friends flying in tomorrow for a visit. I can’t wait. ♥
Bees and Blossoms
The bees were busy around our blossoming apple tree this morning while the sun was beaming down.
But now the temperature has shifted and clouds have rolled in. The forecast calls for much needed rain and our fingers are crossed that lightning won’t follow. It is sooo dry here that an active storm is simply not what we need.
I’m hoping for a hike this evening but who knows, we may get a dollop of snow. Hey, it’s been known to happen, even in April.
In the Thick of it
It’s hot and dry and we are in full calving mode.
The pregnant ladies enjoy cooling off in the pond.
The ladies that have calved are in the brush or in the willows, most likely to try to hide from us.
But we find them every time.
Once their calf has gotten up and sucked, we step in to vaccinate them and give them a shiny new earring with a number that matches mom’s. Once they’ve gotten up from that, mom hums and leads her calf away from us.
While we were tagging another calf, the cow in the distance in this image came running up thinking we had her calf. It wasn’t hers and she ran off from us in a panic. We found hers seconds later and Patrick bahhhed like a calf until she came over the hill.
It took her a minute but she soon realized we found her calf. She came over, claimed it and we tagged him and sent them on their merry way. I bet she’ll keep up with him after that episode.
Now this lady was scary. I mean flat out mad. So I stayed in the rhino.
She was so mad she would bellow and holler with her tongue hanging out and slobber flying everywhere.
Patrick had to swat at her with the plastic paddle. She was so mean and oh so mad. We barely got out of this one alive. Cows are mostly mellow creatures but once they have a calf, they can be dangerous.
Here are some peaceful and rather cute babies and mommies portraits.
I’m quite partial to the red and white spotted cuties.
This calf is one of my favorites.
I love this time of year.
On Guard
This hawk was circling above me protecting her nest. As if I can climb her tree and come get her babies. As if.
I’m not too wild about this creature. She and her hubby are attacking the wild turkeys. I stumbled upon a crime scene in the meadow yesterday below their nest. I know it’s survival of the fittest out here but goodness, don’t attack my gobble gobbles!
Serenity Now!
Name that show! (It’s one of my favorites by the way.)
Now that we are entering springtime, the irrigation ditches are flowing and little ponds are forming all around the ranch. They provide a serene escape on those occasional stressful days.
I hope you have a great weekend. Here’s hoping for a stress free one!
Songbirds
The Meadowlarks are out in full song and are fluttering all around the ranch.
They sing sunup to sundown.
A daily private concert is just what the doctor ordered during calving season.
Our Little Pinrow
Patrick calls him Pinrow. Don’t know where he got that from but I’m going with it… I guess.
Anyway, our little bum is doing well and is a handful. After we got him from the meadow to the barn, it was a battle to get him to take the colostrum and his first feeding. He definitely wouldn’t have made it with his mother. He was so limp that first day and would not have gotten up to suck.
On the second day, once the colostrum had settled in his belly, we were finally able to get him on his feet. He stumbled around for a while like he’d had one too many.
He would jump and buck and really enjoyed his new found legs. I think he startled himself with his smooth moves.
Then he fearlessly came right up to me. I had to get Patrick to help me get him started on the bottle. He just didn’t know what he was doing since he was out of sync with his instincts to suckle his mother’s teat. But it didn’t take more than a day for him to get a handle on the bottle.
And now, he’s happy and healthy and full of life. Therefore getting in the pin with him can be brutal for me. He will chase and butt me so hard with his head, it’s better to just feed him through the fence.
As much as I enjoy feeding him, it would be so much better if he had a cow momma. All I can do is keep him alive and well. I can’t provide for him what a real momma would. He’s a sweetheart and I love looking in his deep blue eyes while he sucks. So, I’ll simply cherish this time with him while I’ve got it. ♥
Uprooted Magnolia 
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