It's October, but you'd never know it. It's dry and still hot. Afternoons are still in the 80's with an occasional 90. It's crazy!
Sometimes our cow boss brings his family. They always make me smile.
We have most of the calves weaned and have been moving cows around a bit.
We also have been trying to get the remainder of the cows off of the mountain and brought back home. They have been hiding up there and it has taken several attempts to find them.
We also have been trying to get the remainder of the cows off of the mountain and brought back home. They have been hiding up there and it has taken several attempts to find them.
We ride in some pretty high country and pretty steep mountains. It sure is beautiful up there though.
This year I didn't make my horse, Gaucho, climb the mountain. Which I'm sure he was very grateful for. I got a new horse and he climbed it well, but I think he was a bit in shock when he saw the places I took him.
Finding the cows is tricky enough, but when they run into the trees and hide or go the wrong way, it can be really difficult.
We managed to get all but about 15 or so pair and 3 bulls off the mountain and into the meadow.
We will continue searching for the other renegades.
We managed to get all but about 15 or so pair and 3 bulls off the mountain and into the meadow.
We will continue searching for the other renegades.
We were able to wean the calves from the cows that we got into the meadow.
This is a little slide show I'm playing with. I hope it works.
Fall is when we preg-check all of our cows. The vet comes out and checks each cow to make sure she is pregnant. Yes, he does it the old fashioned way. No fancy ultrasounds for us.
The cowboys give shots and de-worm the cows once the cow has been declared pregnant, or in this case, the vet shouts, "good".
If the vet shouts, "open", well, I imagine you can guess what that means.
Then the cow is put in a separate pen, with a big fat circle drawn on her. This will be the end of the road for the poor old girl.
If the vet shouts, "open", well, I imagine you can guess what that means.
Then the cow is put in a separate pen, with a big fat circle drawn on her. This will be the end of the road for the poor old girl.
This isn't anyone's favorite job. But it has to be done.
We have several more herds to bring in and check. We'll gather them out of the pastures, and check each one. This will ensure we are putting healthy, bred cows onto the range for the winter and hopefully they will come home with healthy calves in the spring.
The fall work continues. I assume it will be cold soon enough.