Gettin’ Through January

Well here we are a week into February.  Getting back into the swing of blogging regularly is proving to be harder than I thought!    Winter time is a slower time here on the ranch,  but we still stayed fairly busy.  Normally January is my least favorite month.  It’s usually cold, dreary and lifeless,  but this year it seemed like we had more sunny days than usual, so that helped me get through it.   I snapped this photo on New Year’s Day.Sunny days with blue skies in January is such a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a little glimpse of the promise of spring…..

 

 

 

 

 

…..and hope for what lies around the next bend in the road.

I hope that all of you have had a great start to the year and that you all are well.

Be blessed,

-Lori

It’s been 7 months since I wrote a blog post.  I havent been away for any particular reason, it’s just sometimes life gets in the way of…well, life.

I havent been feeling well for some time now.  I won’t bore you with the details, except to tell you that in September I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Disease.  It’s an auto immune disease that causes Hypothyroidism and has damaged my thyroid .  My worst symptoms are extreme fatigue and “brain fog”.  Many times I sat down to write and couldn’t put 2 sentences together.  After getting started on meds, I am finally starting to feel human again.  I haven’t decided yet how much of this journey I will include in future blogs.  Please let me know if any of you are interested in hearing more.

I thought about going back and catching you up on all that has gone on here at CBR the last several months, but I just can’t wrap my brain around all that.  As we approach the new year, one of my goals is to get back to blogging at least once a week.  So, here are a few highlights from my 2015.

Probably the highlight of my summer was a road trip I took with my daughter.

We traveled through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and into Arizona along Route 66.  What a wonderful, fun, exhausting trip it was!  I was so blessed to have been able to do that with my girl!

She also helped me cross something off my bucket list.  I have always wanted to see Garth Brooks in concert, so when I heard he was going to be performing 3 hours away from Kansas City we decided to go.  Before the concert started, a young man struck up a conversation with us.  Before we knew what was happening, he told us his boss was Garth Brooks and upgraded our seats to the FRONT ROW!!!!!!   Such an amazing experience!  Best concert ever!The best part of the year is the birth of our first grandchild.  Carter Scott was born in August just a day after his mama’s birthday.  I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it is being Grammy!

Carter is 4 months old now and is such a joy!  I just can’t seem to get enough of him!  He is growing and learning new things every day.  I am so proud of my son and daughter-in-law…they are such good parents!

As far as things on the ranch, it has been a pretty uneventful year.  I look forward to sharing more as the new year goes on, and hope to hear from all of you.

My thanks to those of you who have stuck around.

Happy New Year!

Be blessed,

-Lori

Memorial Day Weekend at Bar-K

Over Memorial Day Weekend we took our annual trip to Bar-K Wrangler Camp for trail riding and camping.  This year was probably the coolest and wettest weather we’ve had since we have been going there.  The rain made the trails pretty muddy and while I enjoy riding, rainy/muddy conditions aren’t my favorite.   Jonesy on the other hand loved it!  We took 3 horses:

3-year-old Billy

4-year-old Jack

And 8-year-old KatJonesy likes to take a couple of young horses to Bar-K because it is a good experience for them.  It exposes them to new things on the trail.  It teaches them to watch their feet, to go through belly deep water, and that it’s ok to get their feet muddy.  Plus, the more miles they have under saddle, the better the horse.  The “veteran” horse us usually for me to ride. 🙂

One of the best parts about camping out is cooking over the campfire.One of our favorite campfire meals is just a simple foil packet dinner.  I just toss chopped potatoes, onions, peppers and smoked sausage into the foil and cook it over the fire until the potatoes are tender.  It’s really yummy!It was another fun time despite the cooler than normal temps and rain.  We alway enjoy hanging out with our “Bar-K” friends and look forward to next time.

For more about Jack click here and here.

You can also read about last years Memorial weekend trip to Bar-K here.

 

My Thoughts On Mother’s Day

 

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I think being a mom is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  So often when my kids were little I would second guess myself (as I’m sure many moms do).  Now that my kids are adults (27 and 23) I still tend to second guess.

Yes, I did the best I could with the knowledge I had, but I know there are things I could have done different/better.    I try not to camp out there, doing so wouldn’t change anything.

What brings me comfort is the fact that my son and daughter are two self-sufficient, strong, hardworking adults.  By the grace of God, I didn’t totally ruin them.  lol

I think being raised on the ranch instilled so many important qualities in them.  While there were times they hated it,  I think they would both admit to having learned a lot about life and who they are from growing up here.  They both chose to leave the ranch, but what they learned here are things that have served them well in their chosen careers.

My mom always says that you never stop worrying about your kids no matter how old they are.

My mom’s very first selfie

She would know too…her kids are 67, 66, 60 and 47 (me).  When I got married and left home she had had a kid at home for 34 years!  She spent all those years as a stay at home mom.  I am so thankful that EVERY day after school my mom was there.  I’m sure there were times she second guessed herself too.  I wasn’t the easiest kid to raise especially in my teenage years. To this day she worries about all 4 of us.  There has never been any doubt she loves her kids.

I can’t think about Mother’s Day without thinking of Jonesy’s mom.  I loved my mother-in-law.  I only had her for about 10 years, but in that time I learned so much from her.  Most of all I am thankful for how she raised her son.Now a new journey begins for me.  I get to learn to be a grandma.  I am thankful for this young lady who is the momma to my grandson.Even though I made many mistake, my biggest hope is that my kids will know how much I love them and how blessed I feel to be their mom.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Thanks for reading!

-Lori

Tuesday Tour: Signs of Spring

While a few are still dealing with snow, the signs of spring are everywhere here at CBR!  Most days are still crisp with a couple of warm humid ones mixed in.  Here are 6 ways you know it’s spring on the ranch.  (In no particular order).

The trees are budding with beautiful blooms and are being visited by honey bees.  Can you spot the bee in this photo?

Spring is a good time to burn off fields and pastures.  This is done to release nutrients in the ground, gets rid of weeds and brush, it kills tics and other unwanted pests.  Plus, it makes the grass green up real pretty.

MUD!  Lots and lots of mud!  While we are thankful for the spring rains, the mud and muck that results can make getting around a little tricky.                                                       

With all that mud, it’s almost impossible to keep the floors clean.  You know it’s spring when you need to clean the floors 2 or three times a day.

Spring is when the horses start saying good-bye to their winter coats.  Let me tell ya…that’s a lot of hair.  You always want to make sure not to wear chapstick or lip gloss while brushing a shedding horse!

You know it’s spring when you drive in to town and all the pastures are dotted with baby calves.  Our spring babies start coming in early March.  I love to watch them run and play!
What are some signs of spring at your place?  What do you love most about spring?  I’d love to hear from you!

Be Blessed,

-Lori

This Is What We Do

 

 

 

When I got up this morning I had my day all planned out…do some cleaning, some paperwork, make a nice lunch…BUT, it didn’t quite happen that way.  Nope, my morning didn’t go at all like I had planned.

I had just stepped out of the shower and had gotten dressed when Jonesy called me and there was urgency in his voice.  He had taken Leo (one of the horses) and rode over to check on the spring heifers that are calving and found one that needed help.  It was a pretty bad situation as the heifer had been trying to have the calf for some time.  She had gotten the head and front shoulders out,  but it was a big calf and she couldn’t seem to make any more progress.  Unfortunately the calf was already dead.

So after Jonesy told me what was happening and gave me a list of supplies to bring I quickly gathered up what was needed to pull the calf  and headed over to the pasture as fast as I could (wet head and all).  By the time I got there, our hired hand Kate (who I call Girl Friday) was there doing what she could to help.

Actually it’s kind of a helpless situation.  This poor heifer was clearly tired and in pain and I felt so bad for her.  All we could really do is get the calf out as quickly as possible so she could have some relief.  She was kind of in a tricky spot too with briar bushes and thorn trees on three sides of her.  Jonesy and Girl Friday worked together while I did what I could by “hold this, and hand me that”.   Finally, the calf was free and as the heifer breathed a sigh of relief.

Jonesy and Girl Friday were worn out.  I stood there with some long angry red scratches on my arm and a chunk out of the end of a finger and felt helpless.  All the things I wasn’t getting done, not being able to save the calf, seeing the poor mama in misery just got to me in that moment.  I felt tears trying to form and Jonesy gently reminded me that this is what we do.  When you ranch, there is life, there is death, and a whole lot of other stuff in between.  You have to do the best you can, when you can and then move on to what comes next.  (Or for me in this case, go back to what I was doing).

My mother-in-law always used to say “It’ll Be There”, and guess what…all my paperwork, dishes and dirty floors were waiting for me when I got back.

Some days are harder than others.  Trees fall on fences, cows get out, horses get hurt.

But…This is what we do.

Some days are easier than others.  Trees are in full bloom, cows have healthy calves, we can enjoy the view between the ears of a horse.

This is what we do.

Thanks for reading,

Be blessed

-Lori

One Year of Blogging

 

This week marks one year of my blogging journey.

I have found it is something I really enjoy doing.  Actually, I’ve always enjoyed writing.  In highschool I took a creative writing class and thought I might take it further.  But then life happened and  I got married and started a family.   Now as an empty nester, I can occasionally squeeze out some time to do at least one post a week.

Looking back at my WordPress Stats my most read posts were:

A Little of This and a Little of That

Christmas: Then, Now, and Someday

Don’t Be In Such A Hurry

My stats also tell me that I have readers from Australia, South Africa, Poland, Germany, Russia and France.  Wow!  That is humbling.

On my About  page I stated that I wanted to start a blog in order to give people a glimpse into the good, bad, and not so good things about the hard work and love that goes into day-to-day life on a working ranch.  My goal for this year will be more of the same.  While there are other bloggers out there that are much better at AGvocating for this kind of lifestyle, I feel if I can just show my readers real, everyday happenings in an honest way, then I have served my purpose.

I want to thank all of you, especially those who have been there from the beginning and those of you who provide feedback.

Thanks for reading,

Be Blessed,

-Lori

 

Tuesday Tour: Clearing Brush and Other Projects

Well, spring has sprung here at CBR!  We’ve enjoyed several days of mild temps and sunshine, but today is a whole other story!  It’s about 40* and we have gotten about a half inch of rain with more expected.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful for the rain, but after such nice weather it’s hard not to feel like Mother Nature is being a tease!  lol

The springtime tasks are gearing up.  One of the rental properties was in need of having fence rows cleared out.  In this photo, the fence is on the right and the brush that was removed from it is on the left leaving a clear path.

Once all the brush has been cleared the fence will be repaired in order to make the pasture cattle ready.   The “crew” spent several days on this project and I took them lunch so they wouldn’t have to leave the field at lunch time.

 

 

This was goulash day

Another project this week was the beginning of spring maintainence on some of the equipment.  The tires on my tractor needed to be moved out for better stability and while it’s in the shop it will get an oil change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last fall Jonesy tore this post hole auger up digging through some rock, so today he was able to get it completly rebuilt…good as new…well, almost.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The signs of spring are everywhere!  I am working on a post about what spring looks like around here.  Watch for that.  🙂

Hope you all are well!  Thanks for stopping by!

Be Blessed,

-Lori

 

How It All Began

I have been thinking lately about how it all began for us here at CBR.  When Jonesy and I moved here back in 1989, there was nothing but a 40 acre field that we pulled a teeny, tiny 2 bedroom trailer onto.  Our son was about 18 months old and we were just younguns ourselves, but Jonesy had a dream.  Me….????  I didn’t have a clue!  lol  I just knew I would follow him anywhere.  (Still would).  🙂

We started out with pigs.  Jonesy traded an old Chevy Luv 4×4 pick up similar to this one;

Image from Google

for 4 sows and a television set.  Then he turned around and traded the TV to another neighbor for a used roll of woven wire and some barbed wire to make a pen.  And just like that we were in the hog business!

We spent about 3 years farrowing sows, (mama pigs) keeping back gilts (female that hasn’t had babies).  Meanwhile, I got pregnant with our daughter and helped take care of the pigs until the day she was born.  Our son used to go out in the heat of the day during the summer and spray them down with the hose and make sure they had a nice mud hole.  The pigs loved it and so did he.  The pigs would shake and he would come in all speckled and needing a bath himself!

When I went into the hospital to have our daughter, we were running about 30-35 sows, a couple of boars and a couple hundred baby pigs.  While I was still in the hospital, Jonesy sold the whole operation…lock, stock, and barrel!  Pigs, feeders, waterers…everything!  We had enough from that to buy 10 cows and a bull.  And just like that we were cattle ranchers!

Shortly after we sold out, the hog prices fell significantly and we were very thankful we got out when we did.

We eventually added horses to the ranch and began training them to sell as ranch broke geldings.

CK Sky High Cat “Kat”

 

Our son and daughter in about 1994 or so

Here we are many years later with our kids grown and making their own way in the world, a grandbaby on the way, a modest cow/calf operation, a nice string of quality ranch horses and the two of us working together.

Looking back,even though there were mistakes made and little bumps along the way. I can truly say we have been so very blessed!

 

Our daughter all grown

Our son and daughter-in-law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming along as I take a look back at our humble beginnings!

Be Blessed,

-Lori

 

Tuesday Tour: Remington Came to Visit

Aren’t friendships one of life’s greatest blessings?!  Our friends (who we have been friends with since highschool) came for a visit today and brought their grandson Remington.  It was his  first time at the ranch and we enjoyed showing him around.  

 

 

 

 

 

I think he enjoyed it too!

 

 

It’s nice to have new friends, but it is great to see the old ones!

Be Blessed,

-Lori