The end of October signifies a lot more than Halloween around here (although if you've ever wondered what it's like to Trick or Treat in ranch country, you can read about it in Thar She Blows). Mid-October to mid-November is shipping time for ranchers. Most of the calves around here are sold on contract to buyers in Nebraska or Iowa for a specified delivery date.
We were scheduled for today, November 6, but shipping is really a three to five day process at minimum, because we can't do it by ourselves. We need a crew, and our crew consists of my cousins who have ranches east and west of us. Which means, in return, we go and help on their scheduled shipping day (and this is me using the royal We, since I am generally required to be at the evil day job for all except our own).
So today we gathered and weaned. Sold all but the lightest of the steer calves. Brought all of the heifers home to feed for the winter. It was sunny, chilly, but no wind, no snow, no mud and no dust. You can't get much better.
I took some videos that I'll hopefully get edited and posted before the cows in question die of old age. In the meantime, here's how the rest of the week looked:
Keep your eyes wide open. Fall turnout time on the fields along my highway.
A sunset swim.
Fire in the sky behind Many Glacier mountains.
Southbound from Calgary.
A lot of wide open space between here and the Sweetgrass Hills.
A few of the neighbors are hanging out in our summer pasture.
What? Is this bothering you?
*
4 comments:
Love all the photos. Next year I am going to try to do fall in Montana... your photos make me homesick.Love the dog. My cat does that to me when I am on computer.
The photo of the horses ... OMG. I want that on my wall. SIGH.
Crystal: We don't exactly know who those horses belong to. We're assuming cousin Beau.
Loved the photos. This year we put everything on trucks bound for NE or KS; and what was left went to the sale barn. We kept six smaller calves and no replacement heifers. Don't ask me why though!
Post a Comment