Calves, Tires, And Company

Yesterday was action packed from start to finish. 

 We headed to J.J.'s to wean the fall calves and met the mechanic there already changing the tractor tires.

 J has been using his dad's tractor at this farm and it was time for a new set of front tires before there was a blow out.   The mechanic made quick work of it and was done in 10 minutes.

 I can't help but think of something I heard one time about Loretta Lynn in her song Coal Miner's Daughter.  She is the only person that could rhyme tired and hard.  I'm pretty sure I could add J to that list.

 Next up was gathering the cattle which is always easy because of J's pre work the day before, already having them in a smaller lot and all the coral panels in place.

Then we just had to sort out the cows,

  pick out a few replacement heifers,

then load everyone else on the trailer for a trip to the house.  

Three trips later they were all here. 

Then J squirted them with some dewormer and they are ready to turn out on a bigger boundary this evening.
No pictures, but then we had a visit from the feedlot operator from Circle 5 in Nebraska.  He came around 1 and talked cattle with J until another local cattle produce showed up at 3 and the conversations started over again.  Then V and M came at 5, our cattle friends Robbie and Lynn showed up at 6 and then their son got here after 8.  Lots of cattle and crop talk over hamburgers and potato salad.  Busy, busy day.

Horse Shoe Woes

Last month our farrier was hit by a truck while riding his horse on a gravel road.  He broke a vertebra in his back.  No surgery but has to wear a brace for several week.  I don't know when he will be able to work again.  His horse was injured too and had to go to the Vet School for treatment of a deep laceration and cut artery.   Both horse and rider should make a recovery but it will take time. 

 Meanwhile, what to do with Otoelene?  Her feet still aren't in good enough shape for shoes anyway.  I had these Davis boots that I got as a back up for endurance riding but never used so I thought I would give them a try today.

 Our first obstacle was this plant with big leaves that Otoelene must have thought was made from plastic.  Once we finally got up to it she was fine.

 But I looked down and we had already lost a boot,

 out in all this grass somewhere.

 Luckily, retracing our steps we found it and put it back on.

 Then down through the bottom to check on the thistle spraying progress.  Looks like they are curling up and dying nicely.

 After losing the boot two more times I just tied it to the saddle until we got back to the gravel drive.  The other side was her bad foot anyway and it was staying on pretty well.

Then we found J out in the far field spraying more thistles.  It's a never ending job.  I was hoping the boot would work out and I could trail ride with them but it looks like they won't be that dependable.  Guess I will have to keep looking for another solution.

Just Kit Sunday # 120

Kit likes to walk around the farm with us.

The other day he ended up on top of the hill. 

Looks like a wild cat on the Serengeti.

Home and Garden

I spent most of today working in the yard and on a home improvement project. 

Here is an update on the tommy toe fence.  So far so good, they are staying contained.   

I picked six cucumbers today.  Ate one for lunch, delish.  

Not  much prettier that a border bed full of pink and purple.  

I caught a hummingbird moth feeding on the phlox. 

The first 20 years here I have spent planting.  I looks like the next 20 will be full of cutting down. 

I decided to do away with the evergreen that was draping out of the planters.  I also dug up a few horse tails a few weeks ago to see if they could live between the house and sidewalk.  Most have managed to live so I might dig a few more to fill them in quicker. 

And then my craft project was new covers for the chair cushions.  The previous ones were cracked vinyl from the 60's.  Now I just need to repaint the chair.  And if you have seen my porch furniture you will know that that is very unlikely. 

Dollywood 2017

J and I went with some friends to Dollywood this past weekend.  They had rented a cabin and had an extra bedroom so we said we were game.  I think they just wanted me so I could ride the rides with their kids (grown kids) and they could watch the shows and talk cattle with J.

Since V and E didn't go I didn't take my camera into Dollywood, but the view from the porch of the cabin was spectacular.

We had 2 beautiful sunsets.

And a great vantage point for the nightly fireworks at Dollywood.

It was at least 4 stories down from the deck.

There were 3 burned out cabins next door from the recent wild fires.  I think 2500 cabins were lost overall.

As for the rides I highly recommend the Drop Zone and the Wild Eagle Roller Coaster.  

In Bloom At The 4Rs

We have had plenty of rain this year so far so it has been a good season for the flowers. 

 We will be enjoying this sweep of day lilies along the driveway for the next 2 weeks.

 The cone flowers are beautiful this year.

 Sometimes they bloom until fall.

 The Easter lilies are a nice pop of white.

 And the corral bells are out doing themselves.

 The roses were pretty but they are done now.

As are my mother's day lilies.  But they were gorgeous while they lasted.  Hope you have something pretty in your yard.

This One Is For E

E is always asking why I don't ride Pep any.  When I tell her I have ridden Brother or Hank it's, "Why didn't you ride Pep?"  Since E is in Illinois for 9 weeks this summer I can't give my usual answer of, "Why don't you ride her?"  My second answer is because I'm afraid of making her lame.  But since there is no showing on the horizon for her to be sound for, I went ahead and rode her today. 

 First, I did some grooming.  Her mane is longer than ever.  But in retrospect, I think it was suppose to go on the other side.  So I looked up some old pictures to see, and look what I found....

 E and Pep at their first horse show 10 years ago this month.  E was only 10 and Pep was 6.  They made a good team.

 Pep is a challenging horse to ride.  Her jog is nice but her lope has always been stiff and she really fights having to do it.

But we got through it and rode some outside and even chased the goats around.  I think she liked doing that part the best.