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
Tags: branding, calves, Carol Highsmith, cows, Eamon, Home Ranch, Jill, Kate, Mara, Megan, Mike Buchanan, Mike Pierce, Nikki, Powder Flat, Rhen
Three amigos ready for branding
It’s the time of year to brand the calves. We have a mixed crew–all ages, but generally experienced. Here are photos from three brandings–hence the varied backdrops. When we branded the desert calves at the McCullem Place, our long-time (not “old”!) friend Mike Buchanan helped us. Mike worked for my Dad back in the day, and spent a number of years managing the wild horse training program at the Wyoming Honor Farm. He’s back to cowboying now, in his spare time. When I introduced him to our young ranchhand, Cody said, “Mike Buchanan! Everyone’s heard of him!”.
Most of the calves are branded, but we have lots of spring work ahead of us. We have had great rains, after an open winter. We were worried about the drought, but for now, we have blessed green grass growing.
Cody and Mike, ready to rope calves
Cody, Eamon and Mike
Pat, tending the irons
Randel and Brittany rassling
Meghan and Tiarnan
Seamus and Tiarnan, ready to help (with McCoy a’horseback)
Siobhan bringing in a calf
Cody and Jayce at the McCullem Place
bringing in the cows and calves
Tags: Brittany, Cody, Eamon, Jayce, McCoy, Megan, Meghan, Mike Buchanan, Pat, Randel, Rhen, Seamus, Siobhan, Tiarnan
Cows and calves with Battle Mountain
Calf, posing
Sheep Mountain with a frost of snow
Lucky Butte over the Little Snake
Cowboy crew–Rhen, Eamon, Cody, Brittany, Brenden, Amy, McCoy, Megan, Amy
Tags: Amy, Battle Mountain, Brenden, Brittany, calves, Cody, cows, Eamon, Lucky Butte, McCoy, Megan, Sheep Mountain, Squaw Mountain
Dr. McFarland pregnancy checking a cow
It’s that time of year again. With the calves weaned, it’s time to learn which cows are pregnant, which ones are open (not pregnant) and which ones are due to calve later than we like. This keeps us from putting winter feed into a cow who is not going to raise a calf next year. Often the ones who were bred later will make a fine cow for someone on a different calving schedule, but do not fit our “program”. Our annual cycle is absolutely determined by our climate. We ranch at a high altitude, and even our low country is more than a mile above sea level. The long summer days and great soil mean that our grass is high in protein, perfect for raising strong and healthy livestock and wild ungulates. The short growing season means that we need to maximize that grass while it is available. Add to this our complicated schedule of a landscape scale rotation through private and state lands, and BLM and Forest grazing permits. This means that we need our calves to be born in a fairly small window, so that they will grow and thrive when conditions are optimal, and be a uniform size when it is time to sell them. We shorten that window for some of the cows by artificial insemination in late June. This does give us an added risk of bad weather during a shortened calving period–a risk we try to minimize by keeping them close to sheds and shelter during calving. But we will worry about that next spring. For now, we wait for Dr. McFarland’s cry of “pregnant!”, “late!” or “open!”. First he peers through the googles that show what the ultrasound machine is perceiving, then he follows up with an old-fashioned palpation if necessary. Some of the cows get vaccine, some get new eartags, and they all get a backpour for parasites. Then it’s on to the wintering grounds–just in time, for today we got our first real snow
Brittany and Megan taking care of business
Rhen and McCoy supervising, again.
Megan contemplates her next move
Eamon running the hydraulic chute, with “pregnants” in the field
“pregnant!”
McCoy bringing the cow up
Cow in squeeze chute with Brittany and Pat
Brittany and Rhen high-five
Brittany–the happy cowhand
Rhen and Meghan, thinking about cows
Tags: cows, Eamon, McCoy, Megan, Meghan, prenancy testing, Rhen
Cows waiting in the Elephant Corrals
Not all of our cows find Mr. Right Bull in their forest pastures in the summer months. Some of them meet Mr. Artificial Inseminator just before they trek to the National Forest grazing permits. After studying the bull catalogs and deciding on the future fathers of many of next year’s calves, Eamon orders semen and sets the wheels in motion.The process is complicated, but the day arrives, and the AI crew arrives, and the chosen cows are ready to conceive. This allows us to use better quality bulls than we can afford to buy, and means that we don’t need to keep as many live bulls on hand throughout the year. The bulls aren’t too disappointed though. They go to the Forest with the cows, and breed those who didn’t conceive or are in the natural breeding group.
The AI techs prepare the semen
This is romantic? No bull!
McCoy and Eamon working the chute
Family labor: Georgia, Jim, Rhen and Jeff
McCoy and Megan bringing up the cows
The bull team
Ready to ride
Tags: artificial insemination, bulls, cattle, cows, Eamon, Elephant Corrals, Georgia, Jeff, Jim, McCoy, Megan, Rhen
Siobhan and Chief round the barrel
Each year, the Little Snake River Lions Club sponsors, with volunteer help, the annual rodeo and Fun Day. Fun Day features an amateur rodeo and lots of family events like ribbon roping, junior bull riding and mutton busting. A high point is the pig and chicken catching by community members of various age groups, from under 2 to adult women (hey guys, are you cowards?!)
This year, an added feature was rain–the first in many weeks. Nobody cared that they were muddy as they chased barrels and pigs. All were really happy to see the moisture.
Kylie and Matt Feldman, ready to ride
Matt and Kylie heading for the barrel race
McCoy in the barrel race, with a little help from his Mom
McCoy doffs his hat to the crowd
Seamus mutton busting in rain
Tiarnan, Meghan ready to chase chickens
Rodriguez guys, of El Rio Restaurant fame, serving burgers
Eamon and McCoy’s pig
Sage, pig and Eamon
McCoy on fence
Tiarnan and McCoy with snowcones
Trouble on the fence: Maeve and the kindergarten girls
Megan and Meghan following an unsuccessful pig chase
Tags: chickens, Eamon, Lion's Club, Little Snake River Fun Day, Maeve, McCoy, Megan, Meghan, mutton busting, pigs, rodeo, Seamus, Siobhan, Tiarnan
McCoy, Megan and Eamon with baby Rhen
October 1st was a big day in our family. Pat and I welcomed a new grandchild, Rhen Jeffrey O’Toole. Our son Eamon and his wife Megan had a baby boy, 6 pounds, 14 ounces, 19 and 1/4 inches. His big brother, McCoy, will be two on Halloween, so they have a busy household.
Pat and I were in California, heading to a Partners for Conservation meeting in Fortuna. We knew that the baby’s arrival was eminent (but not whether a boy or girl was on the way) when we entered the redwood forest in northern California. No cell phone service was available. As we emerged from the trees, Pat had a message on his phone: “new baby”…then the service dropped. Finally we got close to town and learned that Rhen, to everyone’s surprise, was a boy baby.
Welcome, Rhen. You are a much loved child.
Rhen & McCoy cuddling
Birth is hard work
Hello cowboy!
Tags: baby, Eamon, McCoy, Megan, Rhen
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