Happy Birthday.. to me

My birthday didn't go as planned.  It was my day off and I was going to stay around the house doing whatever I wanted.   Come to thinks of it, that is pretty  much what I do with all my days off.  Then the call came, 8:15 am.  My boss wished me a happy birthday then said the other vet called in sick with the flu and could I come work.  Well....ok.  So off I went for the day. 

I had a wonderful surprise visit from V.  She brought me a sweet tea from McDonald's.  A very nice treat.  Her friend, Jordan that works at the clinic said I don't have enough pictures of me on the blog so she took our picture.  Thanks Jordan.  

Then I got another surprise, cupcakes! Yay!  We have surgery time from 12 - 3 then appointments starting back at 3.  I chose 3:00 to eat my cupcake.  See that black icing?  Well, the dye was pretty strong.  I had black lips, black teeth and a black tongue.  Just the way you would want to look when talking to clients.  I asked to go home but was denied.   I guess black teeth isn't as valid an excuse as the flu.  So I rummaged around and had some mouth wash and dental floss and a paper towel.  After a few minutes the staff was no longer laughing at me so I thought it safe to see the public again.  But the cupcakes did taste good.

Second Ride, Much Like The First

I thought I would try out Draper again to make sure our first great ride wasn't just a fluke.  The camera was still an issue for some reason.  It started out focused then progressively got worse until we just looked like  ethereal beings.   These are just screen shots from the video this time. 

 Draper has gotten very good at standing at the gate.  I don't have as much bounce as I once did so it is easier this way than from the ground, bareback at least.

 A little neck flexion to make sure she will give her head when I ask. 

 Don't forget both directions.

 Then we were off.  She was much better about going forward without hesitating much.  I worked on turning, one rein stops and a little backing up. 

Looks like the first ride was not a fluke.  The second ride was even better.  

Maybe I will go for a saddle and a little trotting next time.  Maybe I need a photographer instead if my camera on a post set on auto. 

Miscellaneous Photos of Week

My sister has asked us to support her in a 30 minute for 30 days exercise challenge.   Part of my exercising has been going on photo walks or walking to find the dogs to feed them instead of riding the 4-wheeler.   Here are a few of my exercise or should I say Farmercising, photos. 

 This is one of our replacement heifers.  I am calling her Eyebrows.  Maybe I should call her Brook but that reference might be too obscure for some younger folk. 

 We continue to have beautiful sunsets.

 I didn't get a picture of the early morning lunar trifecta, but I did take a picture of it rising the evening before.

 Today I found three of the horses in a curious huddle.

 They look to be in some sort of great conspiracy.

 But when you see their faces...  I don't think they were plotting anything.

The goats have been roaming around eating from various hay sources.  This morning they chose the horse hay.  I was surprised to see Hank actually eating hay.  Maybe having his teeth floated has helped after all. 

Draper's First Ride

It wasn't much because she is still sort of small and there is no need to pressure or hurry her along.  But she is just so calm and accepting of everything.  So, I decided to just hop on her bareback and walk around a little to get her use to the idea.  Sorry for the focus problem, I was filming myself and didn't notice until I played it back, ack!

Then, because the weather was nice, little wind and in the 40's, and Otoelene had new shoes, I decided to ride her around the farm. 

 Where the ground has been frozen then thawed on top, the footing was pretty slippery, but we just walked for the most part.

 Otoelene always seems to enjoy visiting the cows,  especially if I let her move them around some.

 We were casting long shadows so it was time to head back. 

Good thing I went yesterday, because this is how it looks this morning.

Flu Vac Equivalent

We are getting our calves ready to send to the feedlot in a couple of weeks.  It's like sending your kids to kindergarten, they have to be up to date on all of their shots.  With cattle, respiratory infections are the usual problem.  So we used a 5 way respiratory vaccine and a pasturella vaccine along with the usual colostrum 7 way.  They will get booster shots once they get to the feedlot. 

 We had some excellent help.  V was great on the head gate. 

 And M took the dirty job, keeping them pushed up into the chute.

But he was all smiles back there the whole time. 

 J handled the vaccines after I drew them up.  The extra help made quick work of 85 head.

 Then it was time to turn them out and let them have their breakfast. J carries one 50 pound sack at a time. 

But I guess M had to show off a little and carry 3.  Did I say it was nice to have such good help?

Sticky Wicket

When I went to feed the dogs yesterday, I didn't notice a problem until I had poured the food out and they were all eating.  It's not unusual for the puppies to eat laying down, so I didn't think much of it until I saw Jett with her leg up in the air. 

 I did think that was a bit unusual.

 On closer inspection, she had some how managed to attract a piece of barb wire.  It was tangled in the hair around her leg and tail.  Fortunately, it wasn't tight or cutting her anywhere.  And she held still for me to untangle everything. 

 The puppies have really been growing and it is getting hard to tell them from Bumble and Bea at a distance. 

I just love my big dogs. 

Ten Year Anniversary

Can you believe that I have been doing this blog for 10 years.?!  I have been trying to decide about a special post for the occasion, top 10 posts, 10 horses, 10 somethings, but nothing really struck my fancy.  Then I would start going back through old posts and get lost in the time warp.  There has been so much, too much to condense in one post.  Ten years worth!  It's all there in the side bar. 

 V and E were 10 years younger.

And we didn't even know M back then.  But that is what it is really about, family.  That is why I started my blog, more as a diary and way to share what is going on here at the 4R's.  So nothing special today, just post number 1983 in a ten year run of blogging.  Hope I can find another 10 years worth of stuff to post about.