May 16, 2020, Volume 15, Issue 19
Misty morning steers
Wet wet wet wet wet wet wet. Have I made my point clear enough? It has been raining all week long. Getting in the way of plans to continue branding, our downpour has made us move on to other projects for the time being. On Monday, when the water works began, while out checking on cattle, it actually started to snow! Seriously, Montana? It’s May!
Needless to say, we are all doing our best to stay dry in the midst of the rain. In fact, when riding out to move or check on cattle, I have taken to wearing two coats! It’s mostly a precaution- because there are few things I dislike more in this world than being wet and cold.
Bald eagles
In other news, of our branded 125 steers, we moved 122 of them to our Joann Wallace piece which is located directly next to the Davis House and the shop. Its so much fun to look out in the morning and see them all standing outside, grazing or perusing the mineral tubs. Sometimes its almost a little weird, because when you come to the window to watch them, they will often watch you right back!
Our horsemanship study continues- we have been working a lot on groundwork lately! It’s been a blast and real learning experience as we get the chance to watch Des demo on her personal horses and our ranch horses. One day, for almost the entirety of our afternoon ride, we spent moving up and down the length of the arena on foot practicing hind and front in our groundwork. It started as a bit of a competition but then turned into much more as we all started to find a rhythm, learn to reach more and more for our horse, and see the positive results. Shayne also demonstrated for us how to use not one but two flags in our groundwork. The key is to stay quiet and remain consistent.
The best view
We are quickly seeing more and more bird species descend onto the ranch! For the past weeks, we have been hosting a number of bald eagles- yesterday while checking on the cattle in Shayne’s pasture, they were perched almost over our heads in the blossoming trees. Their size and majesty is a sight to behold.
As we wait for quarantine to be over, we are constantly hoping the best for our friends and loved ones that are far away. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers as we are all striving to return to normalcy.
Happy trails!
Anna
Brenda’s birthday present- a new roping dummy!
Brenda’s reaction to her gift!
Clayton helping with chores