Christmas List

So, for many years now my mother has been asking me for a list of things for me and the kids. I think I will finally post this mostly just for her!!

Myself:
1~ I would like one of these Williams-Sonoma Whip cream makers.
2~ I lovvvveee Hot Chocolate so, whip cream is a necessity, and any flavor of dark hot chocolate is ALWAYS wonderful.
3 ~ Gift Certificates for clothes are great! Even though I am still not the size I don't want to be, I still have to be clothed.


Beau:
1 ~ Slug barrel for his Benelli 12 Gage (Beau says please don't, it's too expensive, more than the gun cost)
2~ new Socks - Tall Justin Socks like these
3~ He also needs more Hunter's Orange, maybe a hat, or some gloves.

Mom did ask a month ago, and we ok'ed the purchase of a Wii for the girls. So far we have the following games, and I am looking for more recommendations!
Wii Sports
Wii Sing
Wii Games
Wii Fit
Wii Music

Addie
1~ Books, She is into the Nikki Series by Ann Howard Creel (it's an AmericanGirl series) She has books one and two of the Nikki Series. Any and all dog and dog training books would be great.
2~ She would like a pink Saddle Blanket.

Jolene
1~Books - any and all level 1 Readers. She is reading voraciously and really enjoys any and all books. She is also just beginning Level 2 Readers.
2~ She would love to have another pair of boots, as hers are very worn thru (she told me PINK today 12-3).

Wyatt
1~ Hammer and toolbench set. I also like this one from Magic Cabin, in fact I LOVE, LOVE all of their stuff! It is all natural and mostly made of natural products, not a lot of plastic! (I'm in a natural, I hate plastic phase)
2~ Clothes He is wearing an 18 month size outfit right now and I think this will still fit him for a while.


Sorry VERY Sorry for the Materialistic post, but I just wanted to help family that reads this blog and still thinks (mistakenly) that they need to buy us things. They don't by the way, just being wonderful the way you are is enough. I will update this post as more things come up that I know they want, and or have been bought for them.

Mental Health Crisis Avoided

Y'all be happy to hear that I wont need therapy (at least this week). My mental health crisis has been avoided. You know that the past two weeks we have been moving cattle, and you might have noticed that horses were involved. But, did you notice, that my time on a horse has been limited to mere moments (can't spell minuets, see). And you might also know that I have a young son (11 1/2 months) and was pregnant the summer before. So I haven't had much horse time in the past @ YEARS!!!! This makes momma CRAZY, STRESSED, UPSET, and NUTS!!!

So, today I had to water the cows locked in the corral. They didn't get water this morning (the knocked the hose out, made a huge mess and pissed off the husband) so they were THIRSTY!! I started the water and waited and was mobbed by at least 20 cows (only 5 can drink at a time). I shooed those away, remember I'm standing in ankle deep mud. The cows kept coming back. Koda (Dakota Red Buck) came to get a drink and was just standing there nicely being petted........ so I jumped on. Then I remembered Squeak asleep in the truck, and an emergency room trip from this same sort of incident (bareback horse, no bridle, water tank met arm, not broken) and I hopped off and got the bridle.

I came back and actually put the bridle on and then AHHHHHHH I hopped on!! You can feel the stress leaving my body!! I decided that the cows should be in the other pen, because there would be less fighting if the tank was filled before they drank. Koda and I went to the other end of the pen and proceeded to move em out. AHHHHHHHH more stress leaving my body. OOOO that is the out of shape c-section tummy saying that it needs much more work to be this ready for a horse with this much "cow" (read - he cuts and turns faster than I can hold my stomach in).

SOooooo, I'm back in the barn getting - imagine this - a saddle. Novel concept.

All saddled up and AHHHHHHHH!!!!! This is it!!! A Great horse, a great ride, something to do (move cows to other pen, sort some back to drink, repeat, just for the hell of it).

AHHHHHHHHH!! Mental Health Crisis avoided. Koda is an awesome horse, moves great has too much cow in a muddy pen with an out of shape stomach, and it was absolutely wonderful.
You may be wondering what about Squeak?? Well, when he woke up, I rolled down the window and played peek a boo with him. Meaning that I loped, and trotted in and out of his line of vision and kept him interested.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!! A good ride will fix me EVERY time!! Even when I didn't know I was that stressed out.

Why God says it's not nice to scare your wife.

Here is the other small story I promised you from our cattle moving on Sunday.

Everytime we hauled a load of cows home, I was running to get the gate. Not a big deal except the gate is about 100 yards from the front of the truck when it is backed up to the corral.

Everything was going well and we were on our 2nd or 3rd trip. We'd loaded the trailer with pretty big cows and the bull this trip, so we were pretty heavy. Beau was shutting the trailer gate and I went up ahead to get the pasture gate. Apparently, Beau was faster this time, and I was getting slower.

I could hear the Dodge (diesel) behind me and I thought I was walking to the left of his path. I didn't get out of the way and didn't look behind me.

Beau came RIGHT up behind me and honked the horn!! I jumped! Well, jumped is an understatement! I jumped in the air and my hands went out and my heart was in my throat. I got out of the way and sat down to slow down my heart.

Beau had to stop the truck, because he was laughing so hard!!

I finally got up and hopped on the running board of the truck, to ride to the gate. Then it happened... He couldn't get the truck going. He was stuck!!!! I laughed and told Beau that God says it's not nice to scare your wife.

We moved the white truck in front and hooked up a tow strap. It broke. We retied it and It broke again. I laughed and told Beau that God says it's really not nice to scare your wife.

We didn't have a chain with us, so we checked on our loaded cattle and then went to the house to get a chain. We got back to the pasture and hooked up the white truck and pulled. The chain broke! I laughed and told Beau that God says it's really, really not nice to scare your wife.

We looked at the cows on our load and decided that they were mostly tame (read this as "pets") cows and we could unload them and get them back in easily. We unloaded the back two gates and off the cows went.

I then hopped in the dodge and rocked it a little and was able to back up to the corral again. And we were in luck! The tame cows had made a loop and were back in the corral eating a bucket of corn we had left in there. Hot Digity!! We loaded them back up and off we went.

But, I did remind Beau that "God says it is really, really not nice to scare your wife!!"

We were almost to the house again, and I could laugh with him and say it nice while I was laughing. Because it had to be funny, me jumping out of my skin with my arms and legs flailing in the air!

But it still isn't nice to scare your wife, even if she scares easily and is quite hillarious when she gets scared.

By the way, as I am writing this I have tears running down my face and I am laughing at myself.
But, It still isn't nice to scare your wife! Believe me, God told Beau it isn't.
: )) Shanen

The cows came home

Well, if you have read my first two blogs on Local Harvest you know that we have moved our Ranch this summer. Our new barn has been built for some time, and the corrals have been built for a month. Everyone around here kept asking what we were going to use that BIG barn for. We kept telling them for the calves and colts. They would look at us with a question and ask if we had any cows. You see we have not had ANY cattle on this farm except for the bulls (and they were only here for 1 month). None of our new Ringold County neighbors had ever seen us with any cattle at our homeplace. The cows have been at the rented pasture this summer.

As I told you on Friday, we moved the cows home this weekend. We did it!! All by ourselves. Beau had to work in town on Saturday, so we just got everything set up. We set up the portable corral at the pasture and fed the cows in the corral. This convinces them that this is a good place to be! ; )

Sunday morning bright and early we loaded up the kids, and the dogs and off we went. Our rented pasture is only 15 miles from the house, so it is a short trip. We arrived at the pasture, and made our plan. I would take the 4-wheeler out and around the pond to move the cows to Beau and he would "call" the cows into the corral. Well, he had more luck than I did. He locked up ~25 while I was still on the other side of the pond.

I made my sweep around the pond with the dogs close behind. The cows weren't happy about being woken up early and were slow to go to the corral. I managed to push in another 25 or so. Then it gets tricky! The last cows are ALWAYS the worst. They don't want to go in and the want to run and chase. We decided to haul a load home and bring the horse.

We are able to haul about 10 calves and 12 cows each trip. Made the trip and arrived back at the pasture with the horse. This time we switched, I was calling and Beau was pushing on Ozzie (the horse). We made a sweep and not one cow came in. We put the 4-wheeler away (I hate those things!) and tried again and cought 5 pairs. We were both severely frustrated and decided to haul some more cows home.

We made another 3 trips (I will tell you a funny story about one of theese trips later this week) and we got LUCKY! The crazy(mean, ornery and taking the rest far, far, away) cow was standing in the gateway. We were VERY sneaky and we finally got her locked up!!!! YEEE HAAA! Unfortunately it was dark and we were done for the night, but they were all locked up at the pasture and at the house.

I LOVE our new facilities @ home. We did not have to worry that the cows were going to go hunting for their calves and get out, we had easy fresh water and it was great! After a long day and another long one to go we could still sleep easy.

If you enjoy these types of stories, leave me a note and I'll keep them coming.
We did select some great beef calves that will be worked and weaned this coming weekend.

Please e-mail me to reserve your beef shares. I think we have 4 whole shares left, so please let me know and I can put your name on a calf. You can see our Local Harvest Listing at http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M24259

I will have that funny story from Sunday and the story of Monday later in the week.
Shanen : ))

Thankfulness is natural

Thankfulness. That word is a mouthful, but the things it brings to mind are simple. God. Family. Farm. Cows. Horses. Nature. Natural.

I am thankful for all of theese things and each one is dependent and brought to us by the others on my thankfull list.

God gave us our family, and gave us to our families. We need to remember that without Him, none of theese things are possible.

Our families are a gift from God and we need to treat them as sacred gifts. We need to make sure that we are always, ALWAYS thankful and loving towards our families.

Cows are also a special gift we are entrusted with. We show our respect and appreciation for these cattle by lovingly raising them for their intended purposes. Wonderful beef and great mothering (or siring) abilities. We should all treat them with nothing but the utmost respect and care for the entire time we have them, including their harvest. This means we should also enjoy all the beef and byproducts entirely and not waste anything.

My horses are my wonderful luxury. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity at a young age to enjoy the love of a horse. That pony was (and is) my best friend through all of those rough adolescent years. I am so thankful that he was there to listen to all of my problems, and to help me learn to love each and every animal on the planet.

I am thankful for nature. This sounds simple and plain, and that is just the way I mean it. I love each and every sound and thing in nature (even the annoying Asian LadyBugs).

I am thankful that we are natural. I love that we can put a calf back in his natural environment (grass) and it will grow and mature into natural, wonderful beef. I love natural pasture and letting nature show us what we need to do to improve. I am thankful that God made it natural for us to love him and life on the ranch.

I am also thankful to the wonderful, creative people that read and enjoy my blog.
I hope all of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe!
Shanen

Fences, and the holes an Old Pony can find.

Hi All, sorry I haven't had any more fun or funny stories lately. I've been busy keeping track of the horses and colts.

Earlier this week, I was in the house working on the books and Beau calls from in town, and says we have horses @ the neighbors. That was unusual and very alarming, since our closest neighbors are over 1& 1/2 miles away. So, here we go. I throw Wyatt (turns 1 year old next month) in the truck, grab some grain and hop in the truck.

Sure enough, I get close and see my pony (yes, he was mine in 5th grade so he is 23 and been getting out for many years) in the middle of the road. I turn the truck around and put some grain on the tailgate. Kenneth (my pony's name) was a little leery of eating, because he's done this before and knows he's in trouble. But the 3 others he brought with him gobble it up. I finally get the halter on Kenneth and hop in the truck with the leadrope thru the driver's window. Off we go... slowly. He walked and trotted all the way home grudgingly. The others thought it was fun! They were playing and winnying to the others that were still in the pasture. They were even happier when they were put in the pen with the colts and the alfalfa hay! Kenneth was happy then, also because that is what he does best, taking care of his babies. You see, he was going to go in with the colts anyway because he teaches them how to eat and that humans are great for tasty food and scratching.

The other horses are now back in the pasture, pouting because they don't have the fresh hay. Oh well, if I could only find the hole in the fence before they do again.

If any of you live nearby and want to get in on the fun of cattle work, we will be hauling the cows home this weekend. So, call me and we can set it up.

We will also be making our final beef calf selections. So, if you want to purchase beef shares, call or e-mail me so that I can get the specifics that you would like. We will then sort for GrassFed Beef or CornFed Beef.

The colts have already started eating better with Kenneth and are becoming more sociable. We have some great fillies and colts that are for sale! We will also be driving the Mares back to pasture this weekend a sight you will love to see!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Shanen

Moving Mares and Weaning Colts

Sunday was a big day and we did accomplish alot! After the cows were finished, we moved the Mares and weaned the colts. Again, it may not sound like much, but it is usually a very difficult task.

We stopped at the house and the guys tightened their cinches and I haltered the stud and hopped on the 4-wheeler. We then went looking for the mares. Our mares are kept behind the house in a 160 acre pasture. As expected they were at the far corner of the pasture. Koda (our stud horse) followed the 4 wheeler great and we went back about 100 acres and finally saw the mares. Koda was very excited! He was still respectfull and we circled and started heading back to the house. The mares spotted him and came at a run.

I wish someone else had been helping and could have taken pictures because it was quite a sight. Imagine 30 Mares and Colts at a run following you. Manes flowing behind them, some playing and bucking, and horses playing tag. It was beautiful!!

We crossed the creek, 5 horses wide and made it up to the tricky part, the gate.... You see, after we go out this gate, there are no fences. We have to go thru a small paddock and cross the road to try to lead them into the corrals. Beau and Branden were on their horses bunching the Mares together and trying to keep up.

A short tenative pause at the gate on my part, and out we went. 30 horses went out in the open. They followed me well across the road and right into the pen!!! YEAH!!! WE DID IT!!!
You see, usually this takes at least 8 people to block the road and help funnel the unbroke mares and colts into the right pen. Not anymore!!

Then we slowly started sorting mares from their colts. This is a very trying and traumatic thing for some of the mares. The don't want to leave their colt, or any other colt alone. Even though they are only separated by a fence, they still don't like it. All of the sorting went well, with only one small cut on a colt.

Today (Tuesday) the colts are still upset and not eating. This is not good... I put a couple of old geldings (they got out of their pasture, another long story) in with the colts to teach them to eat from the Hay bale. This should help them to get more comfortable with eating hay.
We will sell half of our colts, so if you are interested in foundation bred Quarter Horses keep stopping by my blog and you will see pictures as I can get them.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy my stories from the Ranch!

Remember, we still have a couple of Beef Shares available and we will customize them to fit your family. http://www.localharvest.org/blog/24259/
Shanen : )