Ranch Cookin'

I've been making food most of the week for the cowboys and crew, Tuesday was Shipping Day, and for lunch I made my Rustic Chili, several loaves of Artisan Bread, and the traditional Chocolate Sheet Cake to rave reviews all around.

Thursday and Friday, ABEG was here branding and sorting and preg-checking cows. On Thursday, I served lunch in the corral: Beef Brisket Sandwiches with our family's Famous Barbecue Sauce, chips, and Neiman Marcus Cookies. On Friday, I served another corral lunch of Cashew Chicken Sandwiches, chips, and Classic Peanut Butter Cookies. Friday was a very long day, so I also ended up serving everyone dinner: Sue's Pesto, pasta, a salad, wine, and some leftover cookies.

Last night, one of our old cowboys showed up with his son and a friend, and we also had another three cowboys show up to help move the cattle, which along with our regular crew and families adds up to 14 people. Now that the cattle are all branded, we have to move three large groups of them to three separate winter ranges. I'm not sure how we ended up with so much help this year, but that's the way it happened.

So this morning, CG asked me if I wouldn't mind making dinner for everyone--all 14 of us! I told her I'd think of something...

Stay Tuned!

Cars & Trucks & Fence Posts

Here are some little things we've been laughing about on the ranch this week...

On shipping day, after "lunch" which we actually ate around dinner time, I couldn't find Number One's new mini truck he got for the farm work. It's cute and small, and the steering wheel is on the wrong side of it, which means the stick shift is on the left, takes some getting used to. I needed it to take the leftovers from CG's house to our house, and it was already dark. Ranch hand told me it was parked over under a tree. I found it, even found the headlights in the dark, and drove it over near the door. Ranch hand said, "It's a weird little thing, it took me 10 minutes to find reverse!"

I said, "You mean where the 'R' is on the stick???"

So last night I was telling this story to our friend from ABEG, who came down to help with the branding and stayed the night in our new guest room. She laughed and admitted that she had also had trouble in the Dodge...Ranch hand was telling her to go somewhere and do something, and she said, "Well I would if I could find reverse!" (truthfully, there is a little trick to shifting the dodge into reverse, it's been a while since I've done it, but there is a button or some catch to it)

Last night, we all had some wine at CG's house after a big day of branding with our crew and a few ABEG greenhorns. (they call themselves that, so I'll take the liberty to repeat it) Before we left, CG insisted on a shot of tequila all around. (Ick). So then we were walking from CG's house to our house, three ABEG's and me, and it was very dark and we didn't have a flashlight and the moon hadn't risen above the canyon rim yet.

The ABEG's were trying to follow me (and I'm pretty sure I was wearing black), and they asked how they would find their way. I said, "Just feel your feet in the gravel. If they're not in gravel, stop and reorient." No sooner had I said "reorient" (it could have been less eloquently stated, but I'm telling the story here), than I ran right into a fence post. And then, disoriented at I was, I thought I was on the right side of the driveway, you know, where the fence is. I was actually on the left side of the driveway, you know, the side where there are, in fact, ONLY TWO OLD FENCEPOSTS. So as I was stumbling around, tripping over a piece of wire and running into the other fence post, going, "where am I?" and I'm sure everyone was laughing at me, I said, "Don't follow me!"

And then. Before the three ABEG guys headed for their hotel in town (lucky ABEG girl got to stay with us, remember), Number One's brother had drawn a map for them and asked them to pick up his truck at the repair shop and drive it back down in the morning. "The keys are in it," he told them.

Evidently, the guys decided that they had better pick the truck up that night, rather than in the morning. I'm not sure why, since there was only one mildly designated driver and the directions Bro and I gave them were "turn left at the jail." The truck wouldn't start, so they were trying to jump it, and in the middle of it all, the keys, which were in the truck to start with, got locked IN the truck. Sheesh.

So now ABEG girl has to go to town with me to pick up H-Bomb from school AND Bro's truck. She said, "that's another thing you can write about in your book." And I thought, why wait? Practically everyone is implicated in this story, so no one is singled out now! (no whining from anybody!)

I hope the ABEG's spend the night again tonight, and I'll have more stories for you tomorrow!

Shipping Day

Number One and the rest have been gathering cattle for weeks, bringing them all down from the mountain, getting ready for shipping day. This year, my mom and dad were here for shipping day, for the first time ever. My mom took H-Bomb and Sawed Off to school, while my dad and I stayed to help with shipping.

This year, since my mom was helping with the boys, I got to go watch the early morning roundup. I'm sure Number One would have let me ride and help round up the cattle, but honestly it was before dawn and I was exhausted. So I just ran around taking pictures.


They loaded up the truck with hay in an effort to lure the cows into the corrals. Sometimes it works. My dad drove the hay truck through the fields, and there were four or five cowboys pushing the cows toward the hay truck. My dad drove the truck right into the corrals, cows bellowing and following behind him. With this many cattle, it takes more than one pass with the hay truck, and some fast riding to round up the stragglers who by now are trying to escape.


Essentially, one shipping day is the same as the last. You have the buyer, the broker, the ranch hands, moving and sorting all the cattle. You have the semi truck drivers. You have the folks working the scale and keeping records of weights and numbers. You have the dust and the dirt and the fussy cattle.

The cattle are sorted into separate corrals, heifers (girls) and steers (boys) and then the buyer and the broker go through them all and decide which ones they want. My job, again this year, was to keep the cattle from busting back through the gates, and to help my dad fill the alley and the waiting corrals with cattle. It moves pretty quickly when the cows cooperate. The cattle the buyer wants are sent to the scales to be weighed, then to a corral to await loading into the trucks.


The cattle the buyer doesn't want are sent to a separate corral and ultimately released back into the fields.

After the trucks are loaded, three semi truck loads today, the cows that are left need to be let out into the fields and then they all need to be fed.

And at the end of the day, whenever that may be, you have lunch. Whether it be 2:00pm or 8:00pm, it is still called Shipping Day Lunch. This year, I prepared a huge pot of my Rustic Chili, a humongous salad, and the now-traditional Chocolate Sheet Cake. Because I volunteered to be in charge of lunch, I got to leave the corrals about an hour early so I missed the loading of the trucks and the feeding. I had made the chili and the cake the day and night before, and tossed the salad while the chili was reheating. Everyone loved it, it was the perfect end to a hard day's work.

I was chased by a bull or two, and/or some cows in the past week, but I will post those stories another day because I honestly can't remember if any of it happened on shipping day or not...

Truck Drivin' Cowgirl

Number One woke me at 4AM and asked me to drive the truck and trailer up the canyon at noon, about 10 miles to pick up him, CG and RanchHand after their cattle drive this morning. I left the boys with Wifey and took off. It was a bit after noon, and they didn't want to have to ride home several hours in the heat. The road leaves a bit to be desired, it hasn't been graded yet this year and to say there are "ruts" is putting it mildly. Country music blaring (only because we only get one station out here), I hauled that trailer up there. I made it up there with no incidents at all, which is sort of amazing because I don't remember driving the truck and trailer since I hauled a load of bulls down the creek when Number One and I were dating. It's a pretty big trailer.

I got there before they all did, and I heard some cattle in the canyon so I hiked over to the edge. Not far, but I was glad I had some Gatorade with me. It was hot and it was beautiful--the cacti were in bloom, and some other wildflowers too.








At the canyon edge, I saw that the cows were pushed through the gate and the gate was up. I didn't see any riders, so I turned to walk back. Then one rider came out from behind a rock. He was looking all over the place. It was too far to see who it was, so I whooped. He looked around more, and I yelled "Up here!" It was Ranchhand, and he yelled back, asking if I'd seen "any people on horses." I told him it was me, and that I hadn't seen them. He rode for a little ways, then yelled, "I see them!"

When Number One and CG got to the truck, Number One asked if I wanted to go ride the four wheeler to check the other gates. I said sure, since Wifey had the boys. Number One and I, with Coffee riding on the back, took off down the switchbacks into the canyon. There were two creek crossings that were pretty deep, but the four wheeler made it. I was a bit nervous about the crossings since we had less than half a Gatorade and many miles to go to get back to the ranch. (for the record, people have left notes on their stuck vehicles that said "I'm headed to the ranch" and have never been found).

So there was this thistle in the middle of the road, and Number One drove right over it on the way to the gate. I made him stop when we came back to it so I could take this picture. Amazing how tough these plants are--run over by a four wheeler and still beautiful.


We dipped in the icy creek and headed back. I couldn't get as wet as I wanted to because I had to carry the camera in my pocket. We did take turns driving because of the darn thumb throttle--on a bumpy road your thumb starts to ache after a while. It was nice to be on the four wheeler with no boys to worry about, a little break. I wish it could happen more often.

Clearing the Fields

The other day I asked Wifey to watch H-Bomb and Sawed Off while I helped move the cows out of the hay fields. Number One saddled up my mustang, Calamity, for me, while I got ready.





I don't believe I've been on a horse since last summer. I was in a hurry to get ready because Number One and RanchHand were already saddled, and I was NOT going to wear my Citizens jeans to go riding. I changed into my Levi's 501's, slathered on some sunscreen (imperative) and got my hat wet so it could stretch to fit my head better while it dried. I totally forgot to grab my new chinks that I got for Christmas, and also forgot spurs. At least I was wearing Levi's. They help me feel like a cowgirl. My boots too!

We drove out to Field One, and started gathering the cows. The basic plan was to gather the fields, pushing cattle from one to the next, until Field Seven, at which point we would push them out into the canyon. We've started irrigating the fields, and the cattle love the fresh greens that are coming up. But we'll need those fresh greens to grow in order to feed the cattle later, so the cows can't be hanging out in the fields right now. RH rode down to the beginning of Field One to bring these cattle back, while Number One and I rounded up some that were under a tree in the opposite corner of the field.




The picture above was taken in Field One, across the fence in the foreground is Field Two and just past/in front of the Island (left) is Field Three (right) where the hay barn is. We gathered cows in every field, and pushed them around in front of the Island toward the next field.


The cattle were fairly well-scattered, but once they saw us coming, they knew the drill and moved right along, for the most part. The calves sometimes get confused and lose their mamas, but Number One helps them figure out where the gate is. (unless they walk through the fence first) This one needed a little help, but it didn't take long.



I probably shouldn't admit to you that at some point, right around here, I thought I saw a few cows that we missed. You know, back in the dirt hills and sagebrush, at the edge of the plowed fields. I even told Number One we had missed some, and we rode back together through the previous field. And then, there was nothing there but dirt hills. Red dirt hills, I feel like I must clarify, red dirt hills that, from a distance, look like red angus cows. I swear they do.


This cactus was blooming! I convinced Calamity to stand still for two seconds while I took this picture. Cactus blooms mean Spring is here! Finally! Right?





There are lots of interesting things to see out in the desert. Honestly it's just nice to get OUT! This cow didn't make it. One day we'll come back to pick up his skull for H-Bomb and Sawed Off's skull & stone sculptures.


I don't know who rode my saddle last, but man oh man did they have short legs! My knees were killing me! Number One had to come over halfway through our ride and lengthen my stirrups. He's helpful that way.


After we pushed the cattle through this gate, and they were heading off to the right, Number One had to ride around to the front and turn them back toward the left of this picture, toward the gate to the canyon. Not hard, you just have to anticipate where the cows are going to go, and get them going the right way. Calamity and I brought up the rear. Beyond the corral is a hill, followed by a bunch of prickly brush, and the gate is somewhere down there. So it was a bit challenging keeping the cows together and heading the right way. Some of them simply Did. Not. Want. To. Go. that way.


Calamity isn't used to me, and really hasn't been ridden a lot of hours. Plus I didn't have my spurs. So you should have seen the speed at which she chased a runaway cow. NOT. I got a little frustrated with her. Especially after essentially w a l k i n g after a cow, losing it through the gate we had just pushed her through, and then (then??) she starts breathing hard? Are you kiddin' me, Calamity?? Anyway, maybe next time, with my spurs on, she will be a bit more responsive to where (and how fast!) I would like her to go...

And the runaway cow? Well, she kept trotting, almost all the way back from whence she came. Yes, she trotted ahead of us, from Field Seven almost all the way to Field One. Crazy thing. Number One and RH had already closed the last gate, and they'll have to re-ride the fields and the creek anyway, so they didn't really care. And my horse couldn't care less. In fact, she almost (almost, just barely) actually trotted herself. Back to the truck and trailer! Sheesh.

Bull Sale 2008!

Every spring, Number One's Uncle P. has a Bull Sale. The whole family (and tons of folks from the surrounding area!) gathers for an awesome meal followed by the auction of some of the best Angus bulls you will ever see. This year, they estimated that around 650 lunches were served!

This is a huge family effort. It's a good thing Uncle P. has 7 brothers and sisters, and 7 kids of his own! Incidentally, many of those 7 kids also have kids...I don't believe it will ever end! Number One has a humongous extended family.

The bull sale is a haven for little cowboys (and little cowgirls too!)

It could,however, be a potential disaster for the likes of Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Uncle B. (and perhaps a cousin or two) get up around 4:00AM to start cooking the meat in this huge grill. I don't know all the details, I just know the end result is delectable.


I should have taken more pictures of the food. It draws people from surrounding counties and indeed surrounding states, and is an example of community that seems lacking in other places these days. The recipes are largely the legacy of Number One's grandmother, with some changes and embellishments by her daughters and grandaughters. Dishes including the infamous Prairie Fire, Cowboy Beans, coleslaw, and BBQ sauce that is to die for. Top it off with a branded brownie and some lemonade, and you have one heck of a meal!

We always take a walk to Aunt D's ranch house to check out her beautiful blooming flowers, take a break from the sale activity (and noise!) and relax and visit for a while.



There are usually a number of colts for sale, this year only two. This one was so tired by the end of the day, he just had to take a nap. "What, who, me? I'm not...oh, it's just you."

"I'll go back to sleep then."

I don't know if there is anything cuter than kids on a hay bale.

And, just so you get a feel for the action, here is a video of the sale of one bull. (this one went at a steal, by the way, it seemed to me most bulls were going for more than twice this price!)

At the end of the sale, bull buyers are eligible for prizes, including a Peg Perego Kids John Deere Gator, Pendleton Wool Blankets, Cabela's gift certificates and for the big kids, and a Yamaha 4X4 Rhino.

After all the excitement, part of the family heads to the old ranch house, AKA Annaley's house, to play cards, visit and eat leftovers.

What a fantastic day. We can't wait for next year.

Spring & Sprinklers

Number One is out in the fields, getting the wheel lines ready to start irrigating. H-Bomb didn't want to go help him. Neither did Sawed Off. So they were outside playing.

Then we heard barking out in one of the fields. The hounds, Sonny and Rico, along with CG's dogs Taz and Hank and perhaps even Coffee or Donut (it was too far to tell) were bugging some cows and bulls out there. I yelled at them, but they didn't bat an eye. I ran around and tracked down the four wheeler, then grabbed H-Bomb and Sawed Off and chased the dogs out of the field.

Number One heard the barking from the next field, and the hounds heard his jeep coming, so they hightailed it over to him. I said to the boys, "Do you want to go see what Daddy's doing?" Despite the fact that they had on no shoes and no sweatshirts, they decided they did want to go see Daddy.

And that, my friends, is how I tricked them. I took them out there, showed them all the kinds of fun that Daddy was having replacing every single broken sprinkler head on the wheel line, out in the freshly spring-toothed field, AKA the dirt. I asked them if they wanted to stay. Offered to go back and get them shoes and sweatshirts. They said YES! Coffee came with me on the four wheeler. Sometimes she just has to get away from her five puppies. I can relate. I came back to the house, faster with just me and Coffee on the four wheeler, grabbed shoes and sweatshirts, and went back to the field.

Sawed Off was in Daddy's jeep, handing him sprinkler heads.

H-Bomb was barefoot, walking the wheel line.

I put on sweatshirts and H-Bomb's shoes, then I left.

Well, I couldn't stay, could I?

You can't fix wheel lines wearing sparkly sandals.

Branding Time...

It is Spring, and calves are being born all over the place. All the calves need to be branded, and it's easier to do it when they're young (and relatively small). Yesterday, it was a three person operation. I'm not sure how many calves were branded, but there were quite a few. Number One, riding my horse Calamity, roped the calves, then RanchHand and CowGirl branded them, earmarked them, castrated them (if they were steers, of course), gave them a shot of vitamins and a shot of "7-Way," then sent them on their way. (Number One is going to bring me the "7-Way" so I can better explain it later)


Number One is an excellent roper, but he likes working the calves on the ground too. These days, he's the only person on the ranch who knows how to rope, so that's what he ends up doing all day long.



After Number One ropes the calf and drags it over, RH and CG tie up the other legs and do their work. The earmarking is actually cutting the ears in a particular pattern that is assigned to our ranch. In addition to the branding, it makes it harder for cattle rustlers to steal them. I'm not kidding. Sometimes brands can be doctored to look different, but it's harder to do that when the cow's ears have been cut. And there have been cattle rustlers in these parts, more recent than you might think.


The branding irons are kept hot in this firepit thingie (it's too dry and windy to have an open fire in this particular corral out in the desert).


Yesterday was pretty windy. And dusty. But Number One kept at it. If you look closely, you can see that perfect loop in his rope, despite the wind. He is a good, fast roper. RH and CG couldn't stand around if they wanted to!

H-Bomb and Sawed Off were there also, sitting calmly on a cooler the whole time. Then of course after their snacks, they played in the dirt and avoided protective mother cows. Our dogs Coffee, Jack and Donut were there as well, cleaning up the spoils from the castrations. Hey, at least WE didn't eat them.

I took some other pictures with my 35mm camera; I will post them after I get them developed this weekend. Now I have to thoroughly clean both of my cameras!