Ranching 101–Part 2

If you recall from part 1, we had just taken a cow to the vet to get a little nip and tuck. As soon as we got home, my dad got a call from another ranch hand that a cow was bogged down in the mud. So we loaded back up, and went back out to the ranch to get her out.

The poor thing was up to her stomach in mud from a broken water pipe. To get her out involved tying a rope around her buried back legs and dragging her out with a truck.

The kids and I were quite entertained watching these three men attempt to maneuver through the mud.  

Their first attempt to pull the cow out ended in a broken rope, but thankfully, the second attempt was a success, and Audrie…well she made a new friend.

After the rescue, we ate a late dinner at a restaurant, the guys still covered in mud, went home, and hit the hay, knowing we would be getting up at dawn for another adventure.

The next morning was met with excitement as we would be watching the guys herd cattle with this:

The helicopter has made a cowboy’s job a lot easier. It does the job of a whole team of horses and riders in a fraction of the time it would take to locate and round up all of the cattle. And it’s a trip to watch. I would show you some awesome pictures of the helicopter right over head, ducking down in trees, and hovering just above the cows except that my camera quit just as it was taking off. It decided to work again right as they were bringing the last herd up to the pens, so here’s what we did manage to capture…

It really is an amazing thing to watch.

After the helicopter landed, my dad saddled up his old grey horse, Lonesome Joe, and got to work separating the cows from the calves.

[Picture of Lonesome Joe by Audrie]

Even with modern technology, ranching is hard. I was glad the kids got to see how hard ranchers have to work. It’s easy for us to grow accustomed to a leisurely way of life not getting a taste of plain old, gritty, hard work. I want the kids to appreciate such labor. I want them to be able to get in there and get their hands dirty even when the work’s tough, the days are long, and the weather’s hot.

No one ever says that doing what you love is easy. My dad sure works hard…

but he loves being a cowboy.

xo

nessa dee