Bringing in the cows and calves
It finally stopped raining long enough to allow us to brand some calves. Clouds were threatening, but with lots of good help, we got through them. They were, as my Dad used to say, “Big enough to get ahold of.”
cows checking the clouds
Eamon watching Jeff chase the errant cow
Jeff bringing her in
Jeff and Mike watching the calves
It’s time to brand those calves which have been born this spring. We’ve been branding calves both in the mountains and the desert. We have our good crew of employees, friends and family on hand to help us with this endeavor.
Ready to gather: Cookie, Mike, Eamon and Karen
Siobhan and Dice
Taylor bringing in the cows
Mike and Tiarnan conferring
McCoy on the job
Pat and Cookie have a lot of irons in the fire!
Calves in waiting
Looking for the branding crew
Rhen and McCoy at work
David and Joe
calves in waiting
Branding season commences. We have most of our baby calves on the ground. We have to pick the right days for branding–after the calves are big enough to not be too stressed, but not so big that they will cause the branding crew too much stress. These calves have reached that “Goldilocks Moment”. In the last few days, we have branded one set of calves on the Home Ranch, and one set of calves in the desert at the Powder Flat Headquarters. We even had a photographer from the Library of Congress, Carol Highsmith, to document the great American branding. As usual, we had child labor on hand.
Nikki roping calves
Mike Buchanan, McCoy and Rhen ready to go to work
Cow and calf–at the ready
Rhen and Mara, on the job
Meanwhile, back at the Powder Flat Ranch…
Nikki holding the calf
Nikki, Megan, Mike Pierce and Jill wrestling a calf
Eamon with the irons
Mike B. and Mike P. branding a calf with help from Kate
Carol taking pictures of Mike B.
Carol with the cows
It’s that time of year. We have lots of calves on the ground, so it’s time to brand, castrate and earmark, so the calves will be ready for the rest of the season hanging out with their Moms and eating green grass.
brand goes on
JO
Brian and Tiarnan–‘rasling crew
Calves looking for their moms.
We have been really shorthanded this spring, so in order to get the calves branded, we had to call on every friend, neighbor and family member that we could rope into helping. I thought we might have to use literal roping to get a crew together, but in the end, enough folks showed up at each branding to get the job done. We started in early May, and finished the last branding on June 23rd. Thanks to all who helped us!
branding crew, ready to go; Dudley Creek
Eamon, Tony and Brian
Meghan and Brian practicing a marriage encounter
Raelyn and John vaccinating the calf
Raelyn and Siobhan, vaccinators extraordinaire
Iridescent testicles
Young bullhood gone awry
Gives lurking smirking cowdogs
Their testosterone supply
Peanut, Megan, McCoy, Rhen, Tiarnan and Sharon: training the future branding crew
branding the calf
Eamon with paddle
Tiarnan and McCoy with rope
Our cows spent the spring on our desert ranch at Powder Wash. When it came time to truck them to the mountains, our crew gathered them up.
Eamon, bringing in the cows
Siobhan in the dust
Pat with McCoy on Plata
The calves unloading at the Home Ranch
Heading through the gate
Then it was time to brand the youngest calves.
Morgan Seigal, looking for a slick calf in the St. Louis pasture
Margaret Cogswell, Cowgirl
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