Playing in the Dirt

There may be no other day of the year that is as eagerly anticipated as branding day - at least for me! It's an event for the whole family - from the toddlers to great grandma. There is a lot of dust, a little cursing, and it finishes up with a great potluck spread.


It may not be as much fun for the mamas and babies, briefly separated here while the doctoring and other shennanigans go on in the calf pen. It's a noisy day as they talk back and forth to each other across the fence.

My husband, the baby of the family and the one with the fewest injuries (currently), is the chief calf wrestler. This year his pants remained intact. Not so last year when I had to sew his jeans back together using twine and a few holes poked with a pocket knife. Now that's sewing I can handle!

Katie is awfully interested in the cows, but doesn't quite have a handle on when to work them and when to leave them alone. Here a horse lead rope has found a new use as a dog leash to help her remember to stay nearby until she hears "OK". We've got some work to do later, but she's just a pup for now.

The main dish at the end of the day is - what else - steaks on the grill.

Blog Slacker

Wow! I haven't bogged in weeks! This won't be much of a post, but more of a little "hello" to let you know that I am still here.

I'm happy to share that I've crossed a few very simple items off my list! Both #31 and #32 are now complete. At Nicole's suggestion in her comment, I created a very simple compost area using a circle of chicken wire partly buried in the ground (this to keep the puppy and other marauders out). So far it has been dog safe, but whenever something goes in that smells good to her, Katie lies on the ground next to it with her nose up to the wire and whines pitifully!

Item #32 was easily acheived by buying a pair of plain old men's black rubber boots (taller than the cute ladies' boots and therefore much better for wading through the creek) for $8. However, on the same day, in the same store, my husband dropped $465 for a pair of special order Whites boots, so our average purchase price rose substantially! Note that this is not a complaint, though, simply an exclamation over the fact that it is even possible to spend that much on boots! But, they will hike many many dirty, smelly, sooty, miles all over the western states this summer and are quite vital to his livelihood. I'll stick to my creek wading, thank you!

Straight Story

What a neat movie we watched last night. It moves very slowly and has little "action", but is a lovely (based on a true) story. Plus, it stars "Matthew" from Anne of Green Gables, who has such an enjoyable voice.