The Important Things Are Good

Well, we are finally getting caught up on our Fall work.....the calves are all weaned and the cows are out on winter range.  Granted, there isn't quite as much winter range as we'd like, but we are blessed with something to get us by until about the first of the year.  Then it will be time to feed hay to the cows, regardless of the weather.

We still have one bunch of calves left to give booster shots and two bunches to sort for sex and the replacement heifers to sort and the rest of the heifers to get EID (age and source) tagged.  That MAY seem like we have a lot to do, but compared to everything that's behind us, we are definitely on the downhill side of Fall work.

It's gone pretty good.  A couple bunches of cows have not penned very well......we're trying to cull out the nasty bunch quitting old sallys and give them a much deserved trip to see the sights of town.  We culled down a little heavier than we usually do, but it was a necessary evil.  Some of those old gals were getting quite a bit of age on them and it was starting to show.  But the ones we kept, pregged up good and look really good into this first week of December.  The calves have been healthy, such a blessing.  And I'm so doggoned proud of my replacement heifers, I darn near bust a button every time I go feed them.  I wish somebody would come look at them.....so I could brag on them a little.  And I hope I'm still bragging come the first of March when they start calving.

We made a couple of improvements this year that helped us a bunch.  The first was the purchase of a hydraulic working chute.  Boy, I tell ya, my shoulders sure enjoy standing there letting my two hands do all the work!  It seems to be easier on the cattle and getting rid of our homemade, "made for elephants" palp cage, made it much better for the calves to not get turned around in the alleyway.  The second improvement was just me using Maggie (who has turned into quite a little cutting horse, I must say!!) to bring cows up the sorting alley.  The cows have a lot more respect for Maggie than they do little old Dad and me waving our arms and sorting sticks.  Maggie pins her ears and most of the time that's all it takes for them to trot right up to the chute.

So despite the fact that summer was rough....the roughest anyone around here has ever seen, we are getting along.  And doing well.  We are blessed.  And we are still grateful to have the opportunity to do what we love in a place we love and I'm with the people I love the most.....Matt and Dad.   My friend Virgilene often says, "the important things are good".  And she is right.