Hi Everyone!
We’ve had a relaxing but busy week here since concluding our August guest stay. We have been all over the map catching up on things here at the ranch. We’ve gathered cattle off the mountain, weighed cattle, training rides, washing equipment, cleaning rooms/cabins, vet visit, truck repairs, and so much more! We also had the pleasure of hosting four riders from the Seattle Mounted Police Department for a couple of days as well! After the 10 day we had a few slower paced days and for all of us we had some much needed days off. We then jumped right back in prepping for guests, enjoying the company of the police, and catching up on things here around the ranch.
Erin has been hard at work turning over all of our cabins and rooms so they are beautiful
for our guests who arrived today. She even boasted that she got all of the bedding done in a day. That girl was moving! Holly has made two Costco runs, multiple Sysco orders and every other grocery run you can imagine. That woman brings us enough food for a large army, and every time it arrives, somehow it all fits in the refrigerators. It’s like a small miracle every time we unload it. She’s pretty incredible that way. She feeds us well while threatening us with our lives if we leave a mess. SO far we’ve all survived lol.
Des and Jenna led the teaching of the mounted police for a couple of days. They worked on their foundations in groundwork and built upon it using balls, tarps, and ropes to help get their horses more gentle. The riders then got to work their horses under saddle in the arena making sure they had good control and that the horses operated within their rectangle. There were ropes, and lots of commotion working each horse to get them confident with multiple activities happening at once. The second day Jenna put together a fun and challenging trail course to complete their stay. Every horse and rider had some great success putting all that they learned to the test. Although a short stay, much was packed in and we enjoyed every minute!
Brenda and Sami had a day with the vet going over a group of our horses to make sure they were in tip top shape. Everyone was able to get their regular joint maintenance and work through lameness exams so we could make sure everyone was getting what they needed to be at their best!
Des, Sami, Joy, and Jenna went out to gather cattle over by the Davis house. We brought all 23 over to the scales by the lodge. We were able to sort everyone in the corrals into two primary groups and worked them onto scales to see what our gains were so far. Minimal fuss from the cows, other than wanting to stop every 30 seconds to eat grass along the way.
Brenda, Sami and Caleb went out to graze at Davis to check mineral and water. While they were out there, they spotted a young black bear! He ran straight up a tree and was playing peek a boo with us. He was quite a curious little fellow and would poke his head out to see us and then hide again. He was pretty cute, safely a pet size you wanna stash in your truck and take home. We opted not to, momma bear probably would have been mad. We enjoyed the cute guy long enough for a photo op.
Much else is happening and has happened, but it’s time for bed! We have a 5am morning tomorrow for our first full day of the September 10 day. Can’t wait to see what happens this week, should be a good adventure.
-Sami