Spring Weather

Mud everywhere and it's wonderful because that means snow is melting and it's warm. We got up to almost 40 degrees yesterday and it's supposed to stay that way the rest of the week. There's still a lot of snow yet to melt but at least some of it is on it's way out.  I know there will be some spring storms bringing in more snow later but this sure feels good now.

Yesterday we calved heifers at the neighbors.

Winter Routines

It's been fairly routine around the ranch lately. Still plenty of snow on the ground and mostly cold although we've had a few nice days. The days are filled with feeding, chores or fixing something, and then walking with the dogs to make sure they get enough activity since they don't get as much work in the winter.

Taking the dogs out for a walk...

There they go....

and then they come back very proud of themselves.

The sheep trailing up from the creek for corn.

Who's Whistlin Now

To start the story I have to tell you that I can't whistle, never have been able to, not one little peep, and JML has had 15 yrs. teasing me about it.

So JML got a shepherds whistle about a month ago.  It took him a couple of hours to start getting some sound out if it and he's been working at it constantly (driving me crazy)ever since. He's getting it figured out pretty well but he still spends a lot of time cussing at the whistle.  Then today we were watching our favorite border collie sheepdog training video (see below) which has a tutorial on using the whistle. As we were watching JML says to me (the girl who can't whistle) "why don't you try it" and after some more teasing he gets me to try it.  So I put the whistle in my mouth just like the video says, gave it some air....and what do ya know, I can whistle! Guess he can't tease me about not being able to whistle anymore, thanks Andy :)
P.S.
If anyone out there wants to share their techniques, tips, or stories on the shepherds whistle we'd love to hear about it!

Check it out, First Steps in Border Collie Sheepdog Training
It's a beginner to intermediate video, but no matter how much you already know about training dogs there's always more to learn (especially if your obsessed with border collies like JML). One of the reasons this is our favorite video is because he doesn't just show the perfect scenario setup, he also shows when things don't go so perfectly.  Another reason we like this video is because Andy shows three different dogs that are quite unique from eachother in their personality and desire to work.  He then goes thru the processes of starting each of these personalities. It's great filming, advice, and very easy to understand. 

What happened was...

You always know people are manipulating the story when they start a sentence with "So what happened was..."

But I'll start at the beginning.  First off, JML is addicted to border collies, if there's a BC anonymous somewhere please let me know. Anyway, last week JML needed us to go to Belle Fourche for some parts. Conveniently at a "near by" ranch there were some pups JML had been researching online, and guess what, they were expecting us to stop by and check them out..."just a little peek" he says. So we looked and we left, "yes dear, nice dogs, we don't need another" I say. 

But yesterday he needed to go back to Belle to deposit a check at the bank...hmmm, I wonder why one needs an empty kennel in the back of the pickup to go to the bank?

"So what happened was," he says " I was in town just to deposit that check but I thought I'd just swing in and take another look... it was just to good a pup to pass up... you should have seen her parents work..."

So here she is, the newest member of our working team, Wick.

We got her name from the Yorkshire word "wick" meaning "lively".

At this point she was a bit too wiggly to get a good photo.

I can't say I'm disappointed she is a great pup.  She's 5 months old and her parents are incredible working dogs from very good lines. I think she will be a great asset to our operation and hopefully she'll be providing some good pups of her own down the road. Maybe you'll even see JML taking her to trial :)

On the Thirty Ninth Day of Winter

It was cold...again.

Before the storm we had over this past weekend it was a beautiful week of 30 degrees and up to almost 50! That got me spoiled and when winter set in again, so did the spring fever. I can't wait to go outside with out having to put on a billion layers of clothes. I want to walk on the ground without having to skate on ice. In the pastures we have that snow that is just hard enough to hold you up, for a second, then you break through, ugh. Ok, so enough of my whining, I got it out of my system. To look on the positive side all this snow is great, we need it for the grass and to fill up the reservoirs. It's all part of what we need to survive out here so I'm thankful for it.

This was taken on a walk I took on the 50 degree day.

Border Collie Fun

This evening Dott and Scrappy learned a fun new game...playing on top of the round bales. Dott is our 7 month old pup.  Scrappy is her litter-mate that we are dog-sitting until the end of the month.

Dott earned her playtime earlier in the day. It was her first day working sheep. It started off a little wild but she quickly slowed down and started thinking. We were very pleased how it went and are very excited to see how she progresses.

On the 17th Day of Winter

We had a Sundog and a storm.

We got another storm blowing in yesterday much like the one we had on Christmas. Luckily it didn't drift quite as high. The road we had plowed drifted back in and the tractor wouldn't start. So what did we do... we hiked through the drifts, cut a fence, and trailed the sheep to an area where we could get the truck to for feeding. This was no short hike, busting through snow drifts up over my knees, it was a good workout! It's not always easy but the animals get taken care of come hell or high snowdrift, it's a good feeling when you get the job done.

A Sundog, The calm before the storm.

What is a Sundog?

Sundogs, also called mock suns or parhelia, are colored, luminous spots caused by the refraction of light by six-sided ice crystals in the atmosphere. These bright spots form in the solar halo at points that are 22 degrees on either side of the sun and at the same elevation as the sun.

On the Tenth Day of Winter

The sky was clear and beautiful.

It was a very busy day yesterday, we started by feeding the neighbors cows since he was out of town for the day. It sure was nice to be around the cows. Don't get me wrong, I like our sheep, but I sure miss the steers and I'm ready for when they come back again. After chores we continued our digging out from the storm on Christmas.  Over the last few days we finally got dug out from around the house and sheds enough to start clearing a "road" back to the pasture.  Then we were able to put the sheep back where they belong... until the next storm comes along.

Feeding the cows.

Bill and I patiently waiting in the feed truck while JM clears a road in front us.

Gus waiting to help us move the sheep.

On the Fifth Day of Winter: Christmas

The snow started blowing.

It started Christmas morning and it hasn't quit yet. The drifts just keep getting bigger and bigger, I hope it lets up soon. I'm glad after opening presents yesterday we decided to moved the sheep and horses into sheds.  Getting to the sheds now to check on the sheep is tough but we can get it done.

As of this morning we are doing alright.

Bill trying to figure
out what's going on.









The snow is just
as bad in the front
of the house. Luckily
we have a side door
so we can get out.


Snow drifted up
to the roof on
the two story
horse barn.




 Big drifts.

On the Third Day of Winter

It snowed.

All that snow piled on top of the frost and the power went out. We had a couple hours when it came back on so I was able to publish my post and do a few things around the house in anticipation of it going out again...and it did, but it's back on this morning
The power outage put a damper on some of my holiday baking but I got the soup stock made since our stove top is propane.  Soup for Christmas is a very important tradition in my family.  My mother's side is Italian so we've always had Cappelletti soup for Christmas (and Ravioli on Thanksgiving) along with all the regular fixins. I planned on getting the Cappelletti made yesterday but I'll be doing it today.
I think my Great Grandma would be proud to know her family traditions are still being upheld even if I have to make soup with no power just as she did.
 

Great-Grandma Rita

On the Second Day of Winter

Everything grew fur.

Yesterday had a cold frost that hung in the air all day and clung to everything. I think it's the longest "frost fur" I have ever seen. I'm surprised our power is still on with all that weight hanging on the lines. We've had a lot of flickering so we'll see if it stays on.
My hens haven't been laying many eggs on account of it being winter, cold, and their age. But I think they must know I need some eggs for my Christmas baking because today I got 4 eggs. Recently I've only been getting 1 or 2 a day.
I helped JM with morning feeding, spent half the day mending jeans, then did odds and ends around the house. In the evening we went to a neighbors for some penny poker. I lost all my money, twice, but then JM won the "all in" pot in the last hand so we made out all right.

This was early in the day, we have "frost fur" as long as 3 inches now.

On the First day of Winter

It rained.
I spent the day indoors making bread and almond roca, then vacuuming and laundry. Continued on with some ranch bookkeeping, then finally cooked a supper of fish and baked potatoes. Meanwhile, the dogs waited patiently for JM to return from his outside work.
Not very exciting but I feel like I accomplished a lot yesterday.

Yesterday

All our ewes are (hopefully) bred so we gathered all our sheep and sorted off some of the thin ones and tagged some that had been missed. Our thin ones will be put in a small area close to the house where we can give them some extra groceries. They can also be used to help us get Dott started on her training.  After we were done the big bunch went to the pasture with the artesian well so no more chopping ice, except for the horses. Looks like it will be just in time because our nice weather is coming to an end.

Went to town yesterday to pick up our pup, Dott, from the vet. She got fixed so we are supposed to keep her inactive for 5 days. Ha! Trying to keep a border collie inactive, especially when there's a million other dogs around, nearly impossible. It's like trying to keep a fish from swimming.
On our way to town I also got our Christmas packages mailed out. I'm glad I finally got that out of the way. Everyone got homemade candy this year since it's budget friendly to make. Hopefully my hands will recover within a few weeks from all that stirring and rolling.

Dott is not happy about sitting around inside.

The Chinook is Here

JM and I spent Tuesday working sheep for shearing at a neighbors and of course it had to be cold because we had to be outside all day. But then yesterday the wind turned to a Chinook and warmed up. It was beautiful! Today should hopefully be more of the same, I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Chinook Wind Tidbits

• Loma, Montana holds the United States record for the greatest recorded temperature change from chinook winds. On January 15, 1972 the temperature went from -56F to 49F in less than 24 hours.
• “Chinook”, derives its name from a word in the language of the Chehalis Indian Tribe. In their language chinook means “snow-eater”.
• Most Chinook winds are accompanied by a wide band of flat clouds that hover at high altitudes. This can provide great scenes for photo bugs.
• Unfortunately, when the chinook wind recedes, winter usually comes back full force. 

Enjoying the warm weather while feeding corn to a small group of our ewes that are selected for a different breeding plan than the rest of our ewes.

Winter is Here

We haven't had much winter weather since our October snowstorm but yesterday winter finally came back. There hasn't been much snow accumulation but it's been cold and blowing to near white-out conditions. We've had to break ice for the animals every morning for the last week and now we are out breaking a couple times a day. In a couple weeks we can move the ewes to a pasture with an artesian well that we won't have to break open, I'm looking forward to that!

I've Been Away

Wow, I feel like I've been gone forever. I just got back from St. Louis where I attended a conference for National Guard stuff. I've decided that St. Louis does not impress me at all, but to be fair, no city really does. It was gray and raining the whole time, looked like Gotham city in Batman. I did go in up in the Arch so I could say I did something touristy. At the base of the Arch there was a Westward Expansion museum and a "mercantile" gift shop where I found a reprint book on cooking and housekeeping from 1877. I also got to visit with some friends that I haven't seen in a long time so the trip wasn't a total loss. But needless to say, big cities and travel are not for me, I'm very happy to be home.

The Arch

View from the top of the Arch at 630 ft.

The "pod" in which you ride to the top of the Arch

Base of the Arch

Inside the Westward Expansion museum

Getting into the Sheep Business (maybe)

My Rambouillet bum lambs. They sure grew up nice from the scrawny things they use to be.

I sure've been having a hard time putting up new posts lately because we've been so busy. We've been doing day-work for neighbors around the area since the steers have been shipped. We've also got a lot on our minds right now...

This is our first year here, we really love it and want to stay, so we've been sorting out what to do for the winters. The steers (and the paycheck) are only here April-September but we are allowed to live here year round. To help keep us here and get us through the winters, the owners of the ranch have offered to let us get a band of sheep. We won't have to pay for pasture and this ranch used to run sheep so the facilities are all here. We have always been cattle people, other than having a few bum lambs, so this will be a new experience for us. But the sheep will work well into the grazing plan and will not be in direct competition with the cattle (which is why we are allowed to run sheep and not cattle).

So now we are in the process of trying to get Ag loans, gathering info, number crunching, etc., so we can become livestock owners.

Labor Day on the Ranch

Yesterday was labor day and we did what most ranches end up doing on labor day...working.

We had another three trucks coming for shipping so we got the corrals loaded and ready. The trucks didn't show up until sunset. It got dark fast and we ended up loading two of the trucks in the dark. We have only one light at the corrals and it's at the opposite end of where the loading chute is (very handy). It sure is fun trying to count black steers in the dark but we got it done. Then as the trucks were pulling away one of them blew a coolant hose. That took a while but they got it fixed and were able to get on the road. We finally got back to the house and had dinner about 10:00 pm, it was a long laboring day :) Truck 1 getting ready to load

What We've Been Up To

Earlier this week we were gathering and sorting the yearlings to get ready for shipping.This morning when we went to saddle up and get ready for shipping today we had a visitor waiting for us. He is usually with the neighboring ranch's sheep but he sure was determined to hang out with us this morning and help get the yearlings corralled. We had to hold him in one of our pastures until I could get him kicked back to where he belonged. Then we got our first bunch of yearlings into the corral, minus help from "Eeyore".

We loaded four trucks this morning and have three more days of shipping ahead of us over the next week.