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Brand those calves!

26 Jun
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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

branding crew, ready to go; Dudley Creek

Eamon, Tony and Brian

Eamon, Tony and Brian

Meghan and Brian practicing a marriage encounter

Meghan and Brian practicing a marriage encounter

Raelyn and John vaccinating the calf

Raelyn and John vaccinating the calf

Raelyn and Siobhan, vaccinators extradinaire

Raelyn and Siobhan, vaccinators extraordinaire

Iridescent testicles Young bullhood gone awry Gives lurking smirking cowdogs Their testosterone supply

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

Peanut, Megan, McCoy, Rhen, Tiarnan and Sharon: training the future branding crew

branding the calf

branding the calf

Eamon with paddle

Tiarnan and McCoy with rope

 
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Posted by on June 26, 2013 in Animals, Cattle, Events, Family, Folks, Folks who help us out

 

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Cows: from desert to mountain

15 Jun
Cows: from desert to mountain

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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Posted by on June 15, 2012 in Animals, Cattle, Family, Folks who help us out

 

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Branding calves

10 Jun
Branding calves

Last spring we could hardly find suitable days to brand calves.  Every day dawned cold and rainy.  Each day that looked like maybe it wouldn’t rain, we had to chose between docking lambs, branding calves and fixing fence (among other things).  This year is the opposite.  Each day is unrelentingly warm and dry.  While this gives us lots of suitable days, the weird weather has compressed seasonal work in its own way.  We had to start irrigating when we were still branding.  The fences are in much better shape than last year, when near record snow crushed them to the ground.  The early dry up and green up, with no following rains, has meant that fences have to be in good shape for early turn out.  And everyone is scrambling to take care of the early growth of feed, since it appears that not much regrowth is likely when we come back to fall pastures.

Except for the late calves, we have finally gotten all the calves branded and ready for their rotation to summer pasture on the Routt and Medicine Bow National Forests.

Bruiser on alert

The management team makes a plan

Seamus readies the vaccine

McCoy: he can ride AND handle a vaccine gun

Family labor

Megan O’Toole, R.N.

Our crew breaks for lunch

 
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Posted by on June 10, 2012 in Animals, Cattle, Events, Family

 

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