Can’t beat good company!

 

July 18th, 2020, Volume 15, Issue 28

We started the week off with the Binninger’s, as well as the lovely Anne-Catherine getting out of quarantine and joining us in the arena. Jon, Clem, Flora and Anne-Catherine are always a joy to have on the ranch and are more like extended family. We love when they come to stay here at the ranch.

This week in the arena we touched back with the basics and really focused on the importance of rate. Many folks believe rate is something you work on once you’re in the saddle but for a good horseman it starts on the ground with solid groundwork. If you don’t have a good, forward walk on the ground first, you won’t have a good one once in the saddle. You can’t have one without the other. Shayne says, “know what you want, know what you have, and know where you’re going”. This phrase really resonated with me and every time I would feel myself start to get a little lost I would think of this phrase and it would help me get back on track.

During my time outside of the arena, I’ve been learning a lot of things on the ranch. Anna has been teaching me how to drive the feed truck, which we wranglers affectionately refer to as ‘Carl. This big army truck may be from the 60’s, but he’s still kickin! It’s been fun learning how to drive such a big truck and Anna is a great teacher, even when I have to do a 16-point turn because the trees are too tight, ha! I’ve also been learning how the office runs with Janice as well. There is no shortage of opportunity to learn just about anything here on the ranch. I’m incredibly fortunate that everyone here is willing to teach me and share their vast knowledge.

Everyone has started riding out to McKillop this week to check on the tanks and learn the landscape. While heading out the crew is ever vigilant for sick or lame steers as well. It’s important to make sure they’re all healthy and have access to everything they need. Jon and Clem have even been riding out on their personal horses, and I heard their horses have been doing really well!

Emily continues to surpass all our expectations in the kitchen by pumping out great meals every night. This week we’ve had spinach and artichoke stuffed chicken, spaghetti and meatballs (a classic to die for) and even a fancy burger bar complete with smoked bacon cheddar burgers with all the fixins and an ice cream cake to finish up a great night! We are some pretty lucky folks out here that we get to eat as well as we do. She keeps us all fed and happy.

Randy, Scott, Kevin, Anna and Willy are planning on starting haying next week assuming the weather stays nice and hot and dry. Our meadows are looking pretty good, and should yield some nice hay this year to feed our herd over the winter. Hopefully it all goes well, and we’ll be sure to check back in next week!

Happy Trails,

Alyssa