May 19-20, 2006

We had great weather, and a terrific time during our cowboy school. We had three attendees, all from Kansas. Two fellows from the Wichita, Hutchinson area came together, and one brave gal from Wichita came full of enthusiasm as well. We limit the numbers of guests on all of our events to ensure they get personal attention and nothing is commercialized.

Even our Cowboy School is run with the idea of learning from working cowboys on an authentic ranch with no added gimmicks or put-ons. We had just begun to paint our cabins, so Joe handed everyone a paint brush upon arrival. There were no volunteers in the bunch to swing a brush, so we all willingly headed to the corrals where all the fun things go on.

After fitting everyone up with a horse appropriate to their skills and ability, they learned to saddle a horse properly and learned to recognize a cinchy horse and how to handle saddling one.

We went for a ride in the pasture, checking the Longhorns and their new calves as we went. We talked about things a cowboy watches for when riding the herd.

Later each participant took turns catching a different horse in the corral. Some proved much easier to catch than others. Each had its own method of handling.

Roping a dummy calf was the next exercise. Later, they tried their hand at roping a calf and dragging it to the fire to brand. This was much more difficult than it appeared, but they were able to brand and vaccinate the calves which Ben drug out for them.

During the day they gathered some cattle to the corral, and the attendees used their horses to sort the cattle in the corrals. Not only did they have to work their horses to sort certain heifers and bulls out, but they had to work as a team to get it to work smoothly. Joe and I watched this from the sidelines with only a few pointers.

Joe gave a castration demonstration, and since the bulls were quite large, there were no volunteers in the crowd to try their hand.

By the end of the school, it was apparent that the riding skills of the group had greatly increased. Most of all there was great camaraderie, learning and fun.

July 2, 2006

After church, we spent most of the day working on the cabins. They are nearly done. I will be glad when they finally are. Joe made his rounds checking cattle North of Mullinville and on the Ward place. One fence was broken down, so we will have some sorting to get done in the next few days.

Joe made arrangements to ship out 90 head of cows and calves off of the Patterson place on the 4th of July. We sold them sight unseen to someone in Nebraska. We will have to gather and sort off the type the fellow wants and then get the trucks sent north.

July 3, 2006

We gathered bulls this morning. Three of them went out with our registered herd. The other two went to a holding pasture. They will be butchered soon. Joe took the charlais bull and hauled him to the Paterson place to turn out. He picked up two other charlais bulls at Mullinville. We lease these two bulls for 2 or 3 months and then will return them. He took along a colt and rode the cattle at Mullinville and the cattle at the Ward place.

We had started a bit late this morning, so Laramie and I got the job of moving the cows back onto the CRP ground by ourselves. I was hoping they were in a close paddock, but of course they were in the furthest one. On top of that, they were across the deepest part of the creek. When I saw from a distance where they were, I knew we wouldn’t be done for a long time and my other list of things to do would have to wait for another day.

We got them moved to the creek and had to push on them for awhile to get them to swim across. There is a beaver dam downstream and upstream from where we were and it is deeper than what they are used to crossing. They went in single file at the deepest point. It is always fun to watch the calves make a big jump, go clear under and then swim for the other side. Some of them wade in, but most jump as hard as they can which only makes them go under right at the deepest part of the crossing. Slowly they made it across. There were only a couple of inches showing on the cow’s backs. When all the cows were on the other side, it was our turn to cross.

Laramie was not too thrilled at the thought of crossing since he was on his very small, little mare. We found a spot that didn’t look quite so deep. Yeller and I went off the bank and across. I had to go across twice to convince Laramie his little mare could make it. I had no intentions of going back to open a gate for him. He finally convinced himself he could do it. The creek was deeper than it was 30 days ago. At the end of May the water only came up to the bottom of my boots. Today it came about 8 inches up my legs. The beavers have been at work!

After we crossed, I was getting some pairs out of the trees and brush when Laramie saw another pair across the creek. I went back and pushed them across.

I hoped we could keep the cows moving and turned at the same time and put them through a gate on the far end of the CRP pasture. Hoping didn’t help any, and we ended up taking them all the way to the corral. With just Laramie the two dogs and I, we didn’t have enough help to drive them exactly where I had planned. Most of our electric cross fences hardly hold a charge since it is so dry and twice they went through them. We did keep them off the creek and out of the bottoms though. We got them to the gate by the corrals. Laramie finished driving the stragglers through while I busted around the pasture to shut a gate down on the creek. If the cows had been more cooperative and gone toward the gate of my choice, I wouldn’t have had to make a fast break to shut the other gate. I made it before they got there. We were almost done.

We rode down to the corrals to push the three bulls out with the cows. Laramie went to get a drink and cool off. I rode back to ride some fence and find my hat which had blown off. We were done in three hours. It had been hard riding too, so I was ready for a late lunch.

July 4, 2006

It was an early morning. It may be a holiday for most folks, but for us it was just another day of working. We got up at 4:30, saddled horses, did the chores and left to gather and sort cattle. John Trabert, Ben and Sheila came to help. The pasture is about 35 miles from the ranch and in order to get an early start that means doing most of the morning chores the night before and early in the morning in the pitch dark.

Kent was waiting on us when we got there. The cattle were in the far corner, but the gathering went easy. We had a very cool morning with a North breeze, so it was even enjoyable. After we gathered, we pushed them to a holding trap and began sorting off pairs. Joe found the cows he wanted to send on the truck. He then had to locate the calf that went to the cow, make sure it was hers and then began pushing it out of the herd to the corrals. I sat on my horse at the gate and helped sort other cattle off as the cow and calf made its way to the gate.

Laramie, John and Sheila watched the far side of the trap so the cattle wouldn’t ball up in the corner and push their way out. Ben, Kent and I helped get the cows sorted off. By 12:00 we had all but 15 pair sorted off. We stopped to make some sandwiches in the back of the trailer and went back to sorting. We were done by 2:00 and ready to head back home. The trucks couldn’t come today, so Joe and Kent will ship them out at 6:00 in the morning. I will stay home to do the chores so we don’t have to get up as early.

Joe worked on the cabins for awhile and I did his chores for him. The draft mare’s foot is finally looking very well. It looks like we will get it to heal completely. I had my doubts for a while.

We went to town to watch the fireworks display at a friend’s house. It is far too dry to even think of lighting a black cat at the ranch. Bucklin has had quite a bit more rain than we have, so they were quite safe to set off their fireworks. We were all ready for bed when we got home. It had been a long day.

July 5, 2006

Joe was up early to go ship cattle at the corrals at 6:00. We got a phone call just before he left telling us that it had rained over 2 inches there. We had not had a drop of rain. The road getting into the corrals at the Patterson place are impassable after a rain. We called the trucks and put off shipping until 10:00.

The Box Ranch was suppose to ship their own cattle, but had canceled early in the morning. The yearlings they were to ship were across the river, with over 2 inches of rain, they would have had to swim them across. Since they weren’t using their pens, we made arrangements to drive our cows about 3 miles to the Box Ranch and use their pens to ship out of.

The pace picked up pretty fast after the news of the rain. Laramie had to jump out of bed at 5:30 while I went down to do the chores as fast as I could. Joe had turned Laramie’s horse and my horse out last night since we had not planned on going. He saddled his horse and rode out in the pasture to run the saddle horses in. After we got done saddling, we hopped in the truck to pick up Kent and Danny Huck, who works on the Box Ranch. We made it to the Patterson place and ended up parking the truck and trailer and riding the last half mile to the corrals so we wouldn’t get stuck.

We turned the cows out and headed them toward the Box. They didn’t move very easily, since they had been off feed and were glad to put their heads down to eat. About a mile from the Box there was finally dead silence. There were no cows or calves bawling. We were in the horse pasture of the Box and the grass was shorter there. The cows were walking and not grazing. Finally they had all paired up.

The trucks were waiting on us at the corrals. We sorted the calves off of the cows and were ready to load. It occurred to Joe that he had left the health papers in the truck back at the Patterson place. He had forgotten to put them in his pocket when we unloaded and went by horseback. The truckers needed the health papers in hand when they delivered the cows. Danny Huck’s wife ran me back over to the Patterson place to get our truck and trailer and the all important health papers. It was only 3 miles across the pasture to drive the cows, but 6 miles to drive back around to get the truck. By the time I got back, they were just finishing loading the cows.

We took the guys to town to eat and made it back to the house. Laramie and I went to town to deliver his eggs. I worked on some bookwork and the cabins. I made the mistake of lying down on the bed for about 30 seconds. This turned into an hour nap. We are all tired from some long days and some hard work.

After chores we ate about 9:30. The phone finally quit ringing about 10:30. Joe had been waiting for a call from the buyer of the cows. The man had never seen the cows, so Joe was hoping he was satisfied. We were glad to hear a good report and call it quits for the day.

July 9, 2006

The last laugh was on Joe today. Bronc Rumford called and asked him to drive the stagecoach in Dodge City at Boot Hill. We always give Joe a bad time for doing it, but Joe is always glad to help Bronc out in a jam since he often does the same for us. Joe told him he would be glad to drive the team especially since he was sure it would rain by noon and would only have to drive the stagecoach about two hours. As it turned out, it didn’t rain and the stagecoach had the best day of the year today. He was busy all day. On top of that, they run the stage an hour later on Sundays. After Joe left Dodge City, they finally got the downpour that he had hoped for hours earlier.

We had some guests staying in cabins tonight, so Joe took them out to look at the Longhorns while Laramie and I did the chores.

July 10, 2006

Joe left early this morning to help the Box Ranch ship out yearlings. They are out of grass also, and have shipped most of their cattle off. He left at 5:00 am and didn’t get home until 3:00 pm. They gathered 1,500 head of yearlings and shipped 9 pot loads out.

Laramie and I worked on cabins this morning after we did chores. We drove to Mullinville and checked the cows there and checked the windmills. After a short stop at the library we came home in time to help Joe gather a pasture. After Joe ran the horses in, we saddled up and got with it since the truck was suppose to arrive at 5:00 to haul a load out. We are gradually destocking every week.

The truck got here just as we finished sorting. The truck was loaded and on its way down the road when we discovered a calf that we had either missed or had crawled out. I had also failed to load an orphan calf I had raised and since weaned off of my milk cow. I ran for the cell phone and got the truck stopped. I have absolutely no love for cell phones, but this time I will admit it was nice to use it to fix a mistake.

We finished sorting the rest of the cattle and turned them out in different pastures. We all unsaddled, and went to the house a little early for a change. It was 7:00. We even had supper eaten and put away by 8:30. Laramie and I did our chores and we sat outside. It was warm and sticky, but it was very still out. The stillness was enjoyable since we have had almost endless winds for the last 7 months.

Joe finished the day with phone calls to try to sell more cattle we need to destock and we were all ready for bed.

July 11, 2006

It was a slow morning. I didn’t get out of bed until 7:00. Joe hauled some of the cattle we had sorted off yesterday to the Patterson place. He stopped at the mechanic on the way back to get the pickup fixed and checked the cattle at the Ward place on his way home.

I got the office detail today after I hooked up the trailer to the pickup and helped Joe load the cows. There is a never ending pile of business to take care of even though I would rather be out on a horse, or at least out in the sunshine. Laramie took care of some mowing and stood out in the rain during the middle of the day. We have seen so little of rain, it is refreshing even to hear, smell and feel the rain fall.

The milk cow, orphan calves and Laramie’s pet Longhorn, Redback, did not come in tonight. I went looking for them and got a surprise. The milk cow finally had a calf. She must have had it quite early since it was up and running around with the rest of them.

July 12, 2006

Chores were done early this morning. We all went to town to get supplies, groceries and deliver eggs. After a trip to the chiropractor, we were home at 6:00. Laramie and I did chores while Joe moved some dirt with the pay loader around the cabins. Some neighbors came over for a short visit this evening. We don’t often get the neighbors over for a leisurely visit, so it was enjoyable.

July 13, 2006

It was a hot one today. Even though we started early with the outside chores, we didn’t beat the heat of the sun. Joe worked on moving more dirt around the cabins and picking up lots of limbs we have lost from the high winds the past few months. We have had just enough moisture that Joe felt like he could burn them without starting a fire. Laramie got to dig up bullnuttle weeds while I mowed and worked on cabin windows. This afternoon Joe checked all the cattle at the Ward place and at Mullinville.

Laramie’s baby chicks are growing quite a bit now. One of his hens hatched eight chicks. It is fun to watch the hen protect them. They can still all fit underneath her. Tonight was the first night I saw them roost on the roosts in the chicken house. Six of the chicks were roosting next to the hen and two of the chicks were sitting right on top of the hen.

My broiler chickens should be about ready to butcher, but we have not had much grass for them to eat, so it will be a while longer. I am glad to put off the ugly chore of butchering them for just a while longer anyway.

July 19, 2006

It is officially chicken butchering day today. We got quite a few done and everything cleaned up in good time. Each year, Laramie gets a little better at helping. By the time he is fully good and trained, he will be 18 or 19 years old and ready to leave home. Since he is our youngest, we will have to look for “real labor” at that point. Right now Laramie claims he will never leave home. He is even planning on building a house right next to ours. You can tell by his thoughts that he is not a teenager yet. I am sure his sentiments will change in a few years.

July 20, 2006

Joe and Laramie and I gathered the cows onto a pasture that is adjacent to the corrals. Tomorrow we will take the cattle to Wichita to Old Cowtown Museum to do a re-enactment of the cattle drives of the 1880’s. It always happens at the hottest time of the year, but it is a nice change and a fun event that some of our friends help us to put on.

Cody, our middle son, arrived in the evening. He hauled a heifer up to deliver to a buyer and will also help us haul cattle and horses tomorrow. He was late getting here since he had stopped at Woodward to see our oldest son, T.R., on the way up here.

July 21, 2006

Morning seemed like it came early. Gratton O’dell, a 13 year old who is quite a cow hand, showed up to help gather and sort the cattle about 7:00. It was a very cool morning and we even got to enjoy being rained on lightly. We got the cows paired and sorted just as the truck pulled in to load.

While the guys loaded the semi truck and the trailers with the cattle and saddle horses, I finished getting all the other gear together. We left with one semi, two trailers full of cattle and horses and one pickup pulling our unloading chute. The chute is portable and specially made to accommodate the wide horns of the cows. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to unload the cows with out breaking several horns. We left the ranch headed to Wichita about 12:30, which was a lot earlier than we had expected.

We made it to Wichita about 4:00 pm and got the cattle unloaded and settled in. We always make a trial run the evening before, so Cody, Joe, John, Laramie and I saddled up and drove the cows and calves through Old Cowtown and back to the farm area of the museum. After that, we got Gratton and Laramie to the swimming pool and took it easy the rest of the day.

July 22, 2006

The phone rang at 6:30 this morning at our motel room to give us the news that a cow and calf had somehow gotten off the museum grounds and were on the river. Joe and Cody and I got dressed and headed out to Old Cowtown. Cody and I caught and saddled three of the better roping horses to rope off of while Joe went to see if he could see the pair. We had assumed she would be right outside the museum grounds on the river where she was in sight of the other cows. We were wrong. There had been a few employees of Cowtown watching them and said there were now a couple miles down the river. Joe hooked the trailer up to the pickup and we left, not really knowing where there were or how to get the best access to the river.

Luckily it was early in the morning so there was not much traffic downtown and it must have appeared we were obviously the owners of the cow, driving around with no clue where to go. A construction company worker pulled us over and took us to a gate where we could get on the river. We found the cow, but the calf had gotten separated. Someone told us the calf was roped and tied down, so we were glad of that for the moment.

We began driving the cow back up the river, but decided we might have better luck roping and loading her in the trailer. Jason had ridden downstream from the museum and had bogged down a couple times in a lot of silt. Cody went back on his horse for the trailer while Joe, Jason and I watched the cow and kept her contained in one area where there was fence and all kinds of construction obstacles all around.

By the time Cody arrived with the trailer, the cow was a little bit antsy. She was looking for something familiar and for her calf. She did hold her head up when she saw the trailer and recognized it as something that looked and sounded like home.

Joe backed the trailer up in the corner of the fence for a wing. We eased the cow that way. She was more than happy to step up in the trailer. We didn’t even have to rope her amongst all the construction boards, beams, cement and other random junk.

After she was loaded, the police officer told us we should probably hurry since the guy that was holding down the calf was getting pretty beat up. When we rope and tie something down on the ranch that is exactly what we do. It is roped around the neck and then its feet are together so that it stays put. We had no idea someone had roped the calf and then laid on it since we had received the message earlier. We got back on the street again and headed to a residential district. Sure enough, there was a big fella lying on top of the calf. The calf was roped around the neck and tied to a tree. The calf had gotten between a house and a fence and was apprehended in “uncowboy like fashion”, tied up and laid on. Both the guy and the calf were fine. The calf was glad to get back to his mother and the guy was glad to go back to his regular job.

That was enough excitement for the day. We unsaddled the horses, ate breakfast and came back to Old Cowtown about noon to saddle all the horses and make our first run through the town. There was quite a crowd today. We drive the cows through town twice a day for the spectators. It is a neat place with a lot of authentic buildings and hands on activities for families. We are glad to be a part of their program.

July 23, 2006

As much as I like the people we work with at Old Cowtown and the atmosphere and activities here, I am ready to be home today. I would rather be feeding my chickens or fixing fence. I am not much for the city and stop lights and noises. We drove the cows through the museum area twice today and then loaded them up on the trucks to go home.

Loading is always a little challenging, since they are a museum and not a sorting and loading facility. We set up panels and then sorted off the cows from the calves. The calves were loaded on the semi first. We then had to sort off the cows and steers with horns too large to haul in the semi. They rest of the cows were loaded on the semi and the bigger horned cows were loaded on the trailers. After the saddle horses were loaded, we were off to the ranch.

We made it back to the ranch about 7:00. The guys unloaded the cattle while I unloaded the horses and unsaddled them. I then got the chores done before it was dark. Cody had to be back in Oklahoma to get things situated on the ranch down there. He got loaded up with his filly and left out about 8:30. He probably won’t get back to the ranch there until 4:00 a.m. We always hate to see Cody go.

July 26, 2006

We branded the last bunch of calves today. We got up at 4:00 to get the chores done, and get the horses caught and saddled. As luck would have it, when I was moving the portable chicken pen in the dark, I ran over a chicken. I had to hurry and pluck and dress it before we left. I blamed my early morning grumpiness on that incident.

We did end up getting to the pasture by 6:30. We have no pens at the Ward place that are suitable for branding, so we had set up panels in the pasture to gather to. Kent Jarnagin, Mike Greenleaf and Kent Woolfolk helped us gather. We were ready to brand by 7:30, but Pat had not shown up with the vaccine or the branding irons, so we had to wait for an hour until he showed up. Our intentions were to start early to beat the heat, but instead we got to sit around and enjoy the cool of the day in the middle of the pasture for an hour. We might all take up donations to buy Pat a Mickey Mouse alarm clock! He probably won’t hear the end of it.

I got to rope most of the day while Laramie vaccinated and branded. Since there were no other kids around to irritate, Laramie began irritating me after I was done dragging calves. I finally took Laramie down on the ground and sat on him. He landed right in the middle of a cactus patch, so it slowed him down for the rest of the day and the adults got a silent chuckle.

After driving the cows back to the pasture, we were done branding by 10:30 and made it into Protection to eat dinner.

The horses were loaded along with a few older cows we hauled back home. When Laramie and I unloaded the horses, Yeller had a huge gash on his face with all the hide torn off. It wasn’t bothering him any, but there were bone chips sticking out of his face. As always, it brought a change of plans. I loaded Yeller back in the trailer and headed to the veterinary at Buffalo, Oklahoma which is about 40 miles from the ranch. Joe took the other pickup to check water and the cows at Mullinville. Laramie rode with him to deliver eggs on the way through Bucklin.

It was a long trip to Buffalo since I had been putting in some long days. The vet ended up sedating Yeller and pulling the bone chips out of his face and putting some stitches in. I headed back to the ranch, but made a detour to Ashland to pick up some lumber. When I got back home, it was time to find the milk cow and tie her up so the orphan calves could nurse. It had been a long day for all of us, and we were ready for bed.

August 2, 2006

I had a hard time finding my milk cow tonight. She didn’t come in as usual. When I went to find her, I found out why. Some of the cows had broken down a gate and were out wandering around. The barnyard animals which wander around the barnyard aimlessly had not gotten mixed up with them yet, but were curious about the excitement of the longhorns being where they shouldn’t be. I got the milk cow and orphan calves in and then Joe and I went back out to put the longhorns back. It was dark, so we pushed them back to the pasture with the pickup. We wired the fence up a bit and called it a night.

August 3, 2006

A mother and son came from Wichita to spend a few days with us. Joe had gone to the Ward pasture to ship the cows off of that place. They are out of grass there, so we shipped them back to the owners. Some years we take in cattle to graze for other people. This year we have about 300 we are custom grazing. We shipped about 250 out this morning. Joe had planned on being gone most of the day since he only ordered two trucks. He planned on loading the two trucks and have them double back to get the other two loads in the afternoon. When he got to the pasture, there were already four trucks waiting. He got them loaded and was back at the house by 10:00. I was glad things went so smoothly for a change!

I took the gal and her son for a ride around the fence the cows had torn up. I wanted to see how much work was in store for me in the afternoon. There was not a whole lot of damage, which I was glad of. After lunch, we rode again around the fence and tacked it up a bit.

August 4, 2006

This morning we gathered the cows to the corral and sorted off the dry cows and an older bull we are planning on butchering. They were scattered out over most of the Southeast pasture, so it took a while to gather. One heifer had a new calf, so we left her behind with it. It was not quite old enough to travel, and there was no need to take it to the corral and get it stomped on or pushed around with the other cattle.

The cows weren’t moving very fast today. After we got them to the corral, Joe and I sorted off the drys. After lunch, we all went out and fixed a small stretch of fence that needed new posts and the wire needed stretching pretty badly. Deb and Jared had brought their gloves along, ready to work, so they helped as well. When the fence was up, we moved the cows out of the corral, back onto that pasture.

In the afternoon and evening, we practiced roping the dummy a little bit.

August 5, 2006

We had a ride this morning around 4 of the pastures. The grass went dormant some time ago and everything looks very dreary. The water level in the creek has dropped about 90% of what it was just three weeks ago when I rode in the Walnut grove. August is supposed to be a hot, dry month when the grass turns brown, but our grass has been brown since May. I have seen a lot of snakes and other small animals lately, just because they don’t have a lot of cover to hide in.

Joe and Laramie left early this morning to gather cattle south of Protection. They sorted all the dry cows off. These are cows which are not milking, either because they lost their calf or didn’t have one this spring. After I took my ride, I loaded my horse and headed down to help them finish up and then haul the dry cows back to the ranch. I met them just a mile north of Protection. They had their trailer loaded with cows. I swapped with them and hauled their load back to the ranch while they went back for the rest of the cows and horses. I was surprised they were done so quickly. They had everything sorted and even sorted off 40 more pairs and trailed them to another pasture. I was glad they were done early so the neighbors who had come to help could get home and get their day finished.

When Laramie got back, he took his horse up the road to run some horses in. The horse was giving him fits since he is a young horse and I had already unsaddled and turned out the other horses. Joe decided to take the horse for a ride and run the horses in himself. Laramie has ridden this horse quite a bit since the horse was 2 years old. Joe and I should have been riding him once in a while in between to make sure he didn’t get any bad habits. Joe decided to change saddles on him and work with him a little more. Unfortunately, he was working with him in the barnyard on the hardest ground on the whole ranch. He got bucked off and landed on a rock right on his hip. Laramie came to the house to get me. When I made it to the barn, Joe was laying flat on his back. He was still determined to work with the horse, but gave up and went to the house. He can walk, so probably nothing is broken. He is just sore.

August 7, 2006

Ben came out today. His timing was good in that he could give Joe a bad time about yesterday’s incident. We try not to mention the fact that Joe was schooling a kid’s horse when he got bucked off. Joe is still pretty sore. He tried to get around a little today, but didn’t make it far.

August 8, 2006

Joe and Ben did some dirt work around the cabins. Joe was able to pull himself into the payloader and did some work. I worked on some on the interiors of the cabins.

August 10, 2006

I went out for a bike ride bright and early this morning. I met about half the cows on our mile long driveway. They were enjoying being out and wandering around. I put them back in and got the cake truck to feed them a little bit. I pulled them to the far pasture, along the creek in hopes they would stay there most of the day. My nieces and nephew are here for a few days, so Laramie will have some company and we will have some excitement for a while. After I got breakfast for the children, I fixed the fence the cattle tore down. Afterwards we squeezed in some school.

Pain finally dictated Joe go to the doctor today. He had self-diagnosed that he had just bruised himself. He was correct. He bruised a muscle and will be out of commission for awhile. He will get to swap duties with me for a while. That is always a good thing for husbands and wives to do. Not many married couples are able to completely swap not just household duties, but duties and responsibilities of the job as well.

He took the kids to the pool again and did the grocery shopping. Actually, he gets to do most all of the grocery shopping. If I can find a way to get out of going to town, I will do it. That means Joe gets caught with doing errands and shopping.

August 11, 2006

The cows were out again. I knew they would be. They are chasing something green to eat. We really would like to hold them on the ranch until our scheduled cattle drive on August 25th. I will be glad when that day arrives! I went out early and put them back in and caked them. They didn’t come to the cake like they did yesterday, so I know they are full and not really hurting. They haven’t started to lose any body condition, so I am not worried about their health, just frustrated that they are going to be playing games with me for the next week or so.

By the time I made it back to the house, Joe had made pancakes and had the children fed. He also made lunch while I worked on getting equipment ready for the next two cattle drives. I had taken all the bedrolls apart to get them repaired and now I get to wrestle with them putting them all back together.

Joe and Laramie worked on sawing up some old boards for a boardwalk while I finished working on some cabins and the bedrolls for the cattle drive.

August 12, 2006

I was up early this morning determined to beat the cows before they tore down the gate again. They weren’t even near the gate, so my plans to turn them around and head them the other way early in the morning were botched. I did cake them some, they act pretty content. Tomorrow will probably be a different story since it is Sunday and we will leave for church early. They will have it planned to tear not only the gate down, but the fence as well.

August 19, 2006

I made myself start early this morning. Joe and Laramie are gone to the ranch in Oklahoma, so I got an early start just in case I had any wrecks during the day. The day didn’t go too badly, though.

I called the cows to cake in the furthest part of the pasture and got a good look at all of them. After doing all of the other chores, I loaded up and headed to Mullinville to check the cattle and mares there and get another load of cake. All the cows looked pretty well. We have received a lot more rain at our Mullinville place and the pastures and calves look so much better. I always enjoy it when I get a chance to see some of the cattle I haven’t seen for a while. I hadn’t seen some of the newer colts which had been born in the last month or so and it was good to see them as well.

I stopped by my dad’s house on the way back to visit and drop off some longhorn skulls he is going to deliver to a buyer for me tomorrow. After a good visit, I came home to finish some baking and cooking for the next couple of cattle drives and work on odds and ends on the cabins.

I have been fighting with Laramie’s pet cow, Redback, for two days now. She was in heat, so I put her in the corral with a bull for a few days. She got her head stuck in the corral fence. It is never fun to get one of the cows out of that predicament, but I concluded it is easier to get a wild cow out than a tame one. It is almost a puzzle to get the cow’s head out from between the pipes. Each horn has to be manipulated out between the pipes one at a time while keeping the first horn in the same position. Then, as the cow pulls back, her head has to be rotated on its side. It makes for some quick moves to stay away from the tips of the horns and hold the cows head up and push and pull at the right time.

Yesterday I got her free once and an hour later saw she had stuck her head through again. I fought to get her out a second time and decided if she stood there long enough, she might be more cooperative. I tried several times this morning and only managed to make my back sore. A wild cow will usually pull back which usually helps out. Laramie’s cow was raised on a bottle and is tame. She had no intentions of pulling back away from me and kept fighting me to get her second horn free. This afternoon I finally got her out just before it started raining. I got her sorted off the other cattle in the corral and turned her back out in the barnyard. I won’t be in the mood to wrestle any cow’s heads for a few more days, especially hers.

We finally had a nice rain. We got 1.40 inches. That is the most we have received at one time in over a year and a half. It was a joy to sit and watch it come down. We are up to a grand total of 7.75 inches for the year. This isn’t very much at all, but I am grateful for any that does come our way. All thanks to God for any of it!

After the rain I heard the cows behind the house. I took one of the trucks down the road to see if they were out. Some of them had just gotten out. I proceeded to get the truck stuck and nearly didn’t get out. I went back to get the other truck which has four wheel drive, but the transmission is nearly out of it. The dogs and I got the cows back in. I sicced the dogs on the cows and they moved them over the draw to another part of the pasture. I did the chores in mud and loved every second of it.

August 24, 2006

Ben and I gathered the cows to the corral. Since it has rained some, the grass has greened up overnight. The cows had been hanging closer to the gate, but I knew they would be at the far Southeast corner of the pasture. Not only that, but they were across the beaver dam, so we got to swim the stream again. I was riding a new horse that we bought and got along very well. He got right in the creek and swam across.

It bothers Joe that he can’t help much. He did find a way to pull himself onto a horse to help us sort off 14 pair when we got to the corral. We spent the rest of the day loading bedrolls and supplies for the trail drive. I rode down a couple of horses we will be using the next couple of days. In the evening, most of the guests had arrived who will help us move the cows to the Ward pasture which is about 7 miles south.

August 25, 2006

We got an early start this morning and got everyone mounted on a horse. Most all of the riders where beginners, so we gave a few riding instructions and took a couple of short rides. After lunch, we rode out and gathered the cows to the far gate of the pasture. I sorted off one cow and calf we had missed yesterday. Laramie chased her back to the creek while we moved the rest of the herd out the gate. The heat was bad, but we had a good trip.

Joe had to drive the chuckwagon since he still can’t ride with his bad leg yet. Ben rubbed it in all day long by calling him “cooky”. We got into camp early. After we set up the teepees and got a fire started for supper, it was obvious we were going to get a rain. We managed to get all the saddles under a tarp and a lean-to built off of the chuckwagon before the storm came. It didn’t rain much and cleared off. All who slept outside could enjoy the stars until about 2:00 am when the rain came again. All the help who weren’t in teepees were underneath the chuckwagon and the lean-to. There were a lot of complaints about Joe’s snoring, but they got a little sleep in.

I didn’t get in on any of the excitement. I had left that evening to do the chores at the ranch, in the dark, and let the 14 pair we had sorted off out of the corral. It was nearly midnight by the time I got everything done. I got up at 5:00 to get the chores done and get back to camp. By the time I was ready to leave it was raining hard. I was dreading trying to cook breakfast over the campfire, so just made some breakfast burritos at the house and took them out for everyone.

Joe had managed to get enough of a fire going to make coffee by the time I got there. Cody, Ben, Missy and Joe had the teepees and bedrolls loaded also. It looked as though it would rain all day, so we hustled to get the horses saddled and the draft horses harnessed to the wagon. After all of the hustle, it didn’t rain on the riders all the way back to the ranch.

One of the guests was an older gentleman who'd had enough riding, so I took him back to the ranch. Another fellow decided he would rather ride the chuckwagon instead of riding a horse. This left 3 horses without riders. These three horses weren’t about to be left behind. We just let them loose so no one would have to lead them and let them follow the riders back to the ranch.

I missed making the ride back with everyone, but used the time to start getting things put up. Everything was wet and needed airing out. I unloaded what I could and started a late lunch and supper. Everyone returned in good shape. One horse had bounded up a hill and lost a rider. He decided to ride the wagon as well. After Joe gave a short wagon driving lesson, two guests drove the wagon and Joe managed to get on Linus and ride the rest of the way back to the ranch.

After unsaddling the horses and unloading the chuckwagon, we had a late lunch. Some guests left, others stayed and had a leisurely afternoon. Late in the evening a bunch of them played some poker in the cookshack. I was still using the time to get things put away. It won’t be long until our 6 day cattle drive to Medicine Lodge, and there is still plenty to get ready for it.

September 7, 2006

We have been getting ready for the cattle drive. Joe, Ben and I have been loading supplies, hay and equipment on the trailers. I rode down a couple of horses and doctored a horse’s leg that had gotten into some wire. I made the 65 mile trip to the chiropractor. I was in a bad horse accident six years ago and get along pretty well with the old aches and pains as long as I visit the chiropractor once a week. I got the rest of the supplies I had missed.

It looks like Joe will be able to ride now. He is still a little sore, but can manage to get on a horse. Joe picked up one guest at the airport in Dodge City late at night. Our good friends, Shawn and Brooke Brack and their three children made their way to the ranch. They are going along with us on the drive and should make the drive exciting for Laramie since their children will go along with us the entire way.

September 8, 2006

There was some last minute cooking to do as well as details to take care of with the horses and equipment. We loaded most everything necessary and hauled it to the first campsite.

Late in the afternoon, Joe and Ben fitted our guests with horses and took them for a ride to make sure they were comfortable with the horses they will be on for the next 90 miles. After making a few swaps with mounts, we had some supper and headed for bed. We are pretty organized for this trip and we had some lax time today.

September 9, 2006

We were up early. I was running around taking care of last minute details while everyone else got saddled. Joe put me on a 3 year old horse that hasn’t been ridden much, but is pretty gentle. He should be fun to ride and it will be good for him to get some miles on him. Joe will be riding Dennis for part of the trip and then probably switch to another young horse. Laramie is riding Linus. Shawn and Brooke’s children James and Tye will be riding Laramie’s little mare. They will take turns riding in and out of the wagon. Their mother Brooke will be driving the chuckwagon. She hasn’t driven a team before, but is always more than willing to take on any kind of challenge.

Just before we were ready to leave, I happened to be in the house and got a call from the neighbor. They had a draft horse that went down and would not get up. They hoped Joe could come by and help them out. Even though it was not an opportune time, Joe took off for the neighbor’s place which is 7 miles away. They are good neighbors and willing to help us out no matter what. We like to return the same favors. They worked with the horse for about an hour, and didn’t have much luck. Joe set out some medicine for the horse just before we left the ranch. Hopefully things will turn out well for them. We got a late start at 9:30 in the morning, but it all worked out in the end.

We rode the first 8 ½ miles to the pasture where the cows were. Joe drove the wagon for a couple of miles to give Brooke some instruction and then handed them over to her. When we reached the Ward pasture, we got the cows gathered and headed out. I rode the perimeter of the pasture to make sure we didn’t leave any cows behind. Newt, my horse, was giving me a few fits but finally gave in. It will be a few long days before we get to Medicine Lodge and his fits will probably be fewer and farther in between the more miles he gets on him.

Shawn and Brooke’s 11 year old daughter is quite a hand on her horse, Weasel, and is a great help. When Weasel was a colt, Shawn and I had quite an experience. Shawn was helping me doctor calves. He was stepping off his horse to hand me a pocketknife. He got his spur stuck in the coils of his rope which he had laid over his saddle horn. Weasel spooked. Shawn was caught in the rope by his leg and was drug across the field. I was driving a truck with a round bale on the back. I was just unloading the bale. I had to maneuver the bale before I could take off to help him. Shawn tells how his family flashed in his mind and he prayed, “Jesus, I don’t want to die today.” At that moment the rope came loose and he was free. There was really no way the rope could have come off of his leg. He is grateful to God to just come out of the ordeal a little sore. Every time Shawn gets off of his horse, he says he checks to make sure he doesn’t hang up. Now, when I see his young daughter ride the Weasel, I can’t believe it is the same horse.

We made it to the campsite about 5:30. I got busy getting the fire started for supper while the guys put up the teepees. We had stew, cornbread and pie. After supper we caught up the horses. They had been turned loose in the pasture to graze for a few hours. They strung out a tie line and tied all the horses to it for the night. It looks like rain. We might get wet!

September 10, 2006

We did get rained on last night. The teepees kept out most of the rain. The forecast said it would rain all day, so we just got with it and started tearing down camp and trying to make some breakfast in the rain. Everyone had slickers on and stayed pretty dry. The saddles had been covered with a tarp, so they were dry. Our boots were sopping wet by the time we were saddled up, but the sky cleared off just after that and we didn’t see a drop of rain for the rest of the day.

We were off down the trail towards Wilmore about 8:30 in the morning. We didn’t have too many mishaps. Mid, one of the draft horses, was making a pest of herself, rubbing her headstall and halter off. She needs a few more miles on her so she doesn’t have enough energy to mess around. Ben and I had hung back with the chuckwagon for a while and noticed something didn’t look quite right. A leather strap had broken on the hames on the harness. I tied Ben’s horse to the wagon and loped ahead to tell Joe to go on with the cattle and not wait on us. In the meantime, Ben’s horse had pulled back from the wagon and broke her reins. She was running back my way. I put a rope on her and rode back to help Ben with the repairs. He had a new strap almost made for the harness when I got there, so I worked on fixing his reins. We were finally back on the trail and the cattle were ahead of us quite a ways. They were no where in sight. When we caught up to them, they were a few miles out of Wilmore, resting the herd. Brooke and I went on ahead to Wilmore to get some lunch set out on the back of the chuckbox. The cattle weren’t far behind us. Wilmore is a small town with a grain elevator, library and a bank. The total population can’t be more than 25 people. We had lunch and grazed the cattle in the local park and headed to the East for the Hashknife Ranch.

There were only a couple of mishaps along the way. Roger’s horse, Yeller, got into some wire that was laying on the ground, but Yeller wasn’t cut up. James Brack who is four years old was taking his turn riding the pony. He took his hat off to wave it around, which was Little Mare’s cue to take off at a run. He took a tumble off the horse and landed under Laramie’s horse. He stood up with a stunned look and declared, “I’m all right, I’m all right.” We were all amazed he got back on the horse after he spit some dirt out of his mouth and rubbed the bump on his head. It didn’t slow him down a bit.

The landscape got a little rougher this afternoon, but we made good time to the Hashknife Ranch. We put the cows and horses in corrals for the night. We rolled all the bedrolls out to dry the damp spots out and the guys turned the teepees inside out to dry them out. The guys had some time to practice roping a little before supper. Carmen O’Dell had already started a fire for supper before we arrived. There were coals ready to start cooking the dutch ovens. By 6:00 we were ready to eat brisket, potatoes and cobbler. Lisa Stout came by with her guitar and we enjoyed listening to her play. I got all the dishes and dutch oven cleaned up well before dark. There were no storm clouds in the sky and everyone, even the two dogs slept well.

September 11, 2006

The scenery changed a little bit today. There are a lot more steep hills with tamaracks, brush, plum bushes and cedar trees. The chuckwagon stayed with the herd until noon and then split off to take a smoother route that it could travel through. Ben took Brooke’s place as the teamster and I followed the chuckwagon on Newt. We had a pasture and a ranch road to travel until we came to several miles of Highway 160. I opened gates for Ben and slowed traffic down on the highway for him. The highway is very hilly, and we didn’t want a semi or car pulling over the hill to suddenly find a team and wagon on the other side. Most all of the traffic is cooperative. All the bigger trucks and semis slow down. Usually our biggest problem are cars. It is amazing how two different drivers can interpret someone mounted on a horse on the yellow line of the highway giving the signal to slow down. Some stop and ask what is ahead while a few vehicles waved to me and drove right by at a quick pace.

We got along all right until a truck and stock trailer passed the team. The truck and trailer were actually going slowly, but it spooked the right hand horse and she took off at a dead run. We have a very broke and gentle team, but any team will run if they feel the occasion to do it. Poor Ben had them running all out, down hill on pavement. He did finally get them slowed down and stopped. I didn’t see the fiasco since I was still on the back side of him stopping cars. When I galloped past to get in front of him on the next hill, he was shaking his head and his face was bright red. James Brack was in the wagon at the time and slept through the whole ordeal. I was glad Brooke had traded with Ben. She might have been willing to retire the team after an incident like that. Ben rested the team for a bit and we headed on to Alexander Ranch.

We met another guest at Alexander’s headquarters and saddled a horse for him. I led an extra horse we had in the corral to switch out horses the next day. She is a young filly and Joe will be riding her tomorrow. We got to the campsite a bit late, but Ted Alexander had already started a fire for me. That is always a big time saver to have the coals ready and waiting to cook with. The longhorns and the rest of the crew had gotten there before us. They were enjoying the view of the lake we camped beside. It is actually just a pond, but in Kansas, a body of water of any size can be considered a lake.

After ham and beans with cornbread and banana bread for desert, we were ready to string up the tie line for the horses and head to bed.

September 12, 2006

We have had great weather. We only wore jackets for a short time today. We got out of camp a little late. One of the horses had gotten caught in the tie line. It spooked a couple of other horses and one fell completely on his back. Shawn was able to cut him free quickly and nothing was hurt. The cattle had gone to another paddock during the night. Joe, Gratton, Laramie and Shawn got them gathered and got us started down the trail.

Tye who is 7 and James who is 4 are doing very well riding the pony and riding in the wagon. Brooke looked a little worn at times. I think James’ incessant talking has made her ears numb. I got a good laugh at Brooke’s expense today. Brooke traded driving the chuckwagon with her husband Shawn. She was needing a little break and also needed to use the outdoor restroom facilities. Sure enough, Shawn traded with her and told the team to step up and get on down the road. There was Brooke, squatting behind the wagon using the outdoor facilities. She was quite proud of her husband who had no idea where she was or what she was doing. No one saw her but me, and the grass was very tall in that pasture anyway. I laughed and gave her a big wave. Shawn didn’t even know what had taken place until later that evening.

We ate lunch by another Kansas “lake” and then headed south. Just before lunch, we began seeing signs that we were passing through the Gypsum Hills. It is a very different part of Kansas with awesome scenery. I grew up for the most part in Northwest Kansas. The very southern tier of the state is so much different from the rest of the state, I really had no idea it existed. There is a stretch of grassland from just west of our ranch to the other side of the Gypsum Hills. Most of it is quite rolling and some of it can even be a little rough.

After lunch, I went ahead with Brooke to the next campsite. I was able to find the owner of the ranch we were camping on, Phil Hintz, and got instructions. Brooke and I unhitched the team and began setting up camp and getting the fire going. The longhorns were about 45 minutes behind us. After getting them turned into a 200 acre trap, the guys unsaddled the horses, took the harness off the team and got the teepees set up. After biscuits, gravy, venison and cake, we took it easy around the campfire before we rolled out the bedrolls.

September 13, 2006

We had a good view of the countryside from where we rode today. Most of it was pretty high ground. The cows moved well today. They usually move better when they have been turned out on pasture the night before rather than penned up in a corral and fed hay. They get to graze and move around some in a pasture.

It was a long day through lots of pasture land, ravines and hills. I had a good ride. There are a lot of cedar trees and several cows to watch along the way. Some of them are a little sneaky and like to brush up and hide in the trees. They would like to be left behind so they can travel into the wind. Cattle travel well into the wind or the breeze. For most of the day we were going directly into the wind and the pace picked up for us.

Near the end of the day, Shawn, Brooke and I went ahead with the chuckwagon. We entered the last pasture and got lost several times. We could see from a distance exactly where we were suppose to be, but the chuckwagon could not cross the old creek beds and ravines to get there. We finally made our way and started to set up camp. We didn’t beat the herd by much since they could come directly across the pasture. I am getting a little worn out. We had chili, and cornbread for supper. It was pitch dark by the time I got everything cleaned up. I crawled in my bedroll about 9:30 while everyone else was talking around the campfire.

September 14, 2006

This was our last day. We had hoped to arrive at the Ranch Rodeo grounds in Medicine Lodge by noon, but we didn’t arrive until 2:00. The scenery was once again great. We could see Medicine Lodge in the distance nearly all morning, but it seemed like it wasn’t getting any closer. The cows traveled well. Joe had scoped out a place for the chuckwagon to cross a ravine earlier in the week. At the last minute, he chickened out. It was a pretty tight fit and very rough. Shawn knew that area pretty well and was able to scout out another route for us pretty quickly. We crossed the highway and had to parallel it in the ditch for about 2 miles. I was glad to get back into some grassland. We crossed the Medicine River, about noon. The cattle were glad for a drink and we sat on our horses in the river bed for awhile.

Joe had to cut down some branches to get the team across the river. He traded places with Brooke and drove the team across. He took the check lines off before he started so they could get a drink as well. They made it across the river fine. I had my doubts since it was sandy. The problem didn’t happen until they started up the steep bank on the other side. The single tree came unhooked from the tongue. Now as the Mid and Night were bounding up the bank, the tounge was going back and forth underneath their legs. Joe was trying his hardest to keep them on their respective sides of the tongue. They made it up the bank and got stopped on the other side. Joe is not quite sure how he came out of that near wreck so well. Usually when the single tree comes unhooked, the biggest problem is the tongue jamming in the ground and turning the wagon over. Since they were headed up the bank, it was quite amazing nothing got torn up or hurt.

When we were 1 ½ miles from the Ranch Rodeo grounds, we got out on some county roads. The cows were moving slowly. All of us were ready to get there and wished they would move a little faster. About a mile away from our destination I was riding in a plowed field by the edge of the road. It was pure sand. It must have looked like the perfect place for Newt to roll. Before I knew it, he had laid down. He was about to roll on my leg when I stepped out from underneath him. I yanked him up and we had quite an exercise session right in the soft, sandy, plowed field. He is only three and hasn’t been ridden much. I didn’t have many problems with him on the six day drive. A few times he tried me and doesn’t rein overly well since he is young. His laying down was just another sign of his inexperience.

We made it to the Peace Treaty grounds! We had lunch out of the chuckwagon and slowly everyone went their own way. Joe, Mario, Laramie, Ben and I loaded a lot of the equipment and some of the horses to take back to the ranch. Laramie and I hauled the horses back to the ranch. I finally realized I was tired and worn out. We had some problems with the truck on the way home, but Laramie and I worked on it and made it home two hours later. We went right to work unsaddling the horses and putting equipment away. Joe and Mario showed up about 9:00. We had some hamburgers and then finally had a shower after a week. It was really a great cattle drive. It is only three week until we turn around and drive the cattle back to Alexander Ranch. This will only be a three day drive and should be a breeze. The next two weekends, the cattle will be used in the Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty Pageant. It is an extravagant production of local volunteers, including ourselves.

Sept 15, 2006

Joe took Mario to the airport in Dodge City this morning. Laramie and I spent the day checking up on loose ends around the ranch and putting more equipment away. When we are gone, we have a family from Dodge City come down and stay at the ranch. They do a great job doing the chores and taking care of things. There is usually not any troubles to take care of when we get home. As usual, this is how we found things.

September 16, 2006

We are still getting around slowly. We slept in until 6:30 this morning. I have lots of office work to catch up on. Joe has quite a few hunters to call. Hunting season is around the corner. Several of them called while we were gone.

We got a load of hay in today. I went to my dad’s house this morning to borrow a tractor to unload the hay. It takes about an hour to road the tractor home. The wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour from the south. I was driving right into the wind and eating a lot of dust and dirt. It reminded me of our days of farming, which I don’t miss at all.

Joe’s nephew from Huntsville, TX dropped by for a short visit. He is the same age as our older sons. They are all grown up now and we miss them all.

After Joe unloaded two loads of hay, we did chores and went back to Medicine Lodge. Shawn and Brooke and I went to Sun City to Busters. It is a small restaurant and bar “in the middle of nowhere.” We visited with some friends and danced a little. It feels great to relax a little since we had been camping out and working hard for the last week.

September 17, 2006

We stayed with Shawn and Brooke last night. About midnight, James came barreling in bed with us. We tried to convince him we weren’t his sister Canyon, but he insisted on crawling in with us anyway. We had a good chuckle and enjoyed having a munchkin in bed with us once more. We went to church in Medicine Lodge. After lunch we headed to the Peace Treaty grounds for the dress rehearsal.

Our part in the Pageant is the 1880s cattle drives. I only take part in the dress rehearsal. The Pageant tries to keep everything historically accurate and not many, if any women were drovers on cattle drives. I am the only one on the ranch who has actually seen the Pageant. All the guys are always in the back pasture holding the cattle, waiting for their cue to go in. We take the cattle in behind a chuckwagon and hold them there in the middle of the ampitheater. As the story unfolds, rustlers come shooting guns and trying to rustle a few cattle. At that point we take the cattle out in a stampede. It doesn’t take long for the cattle to figure out from one performance to another what their role is. There is a huge loud speaker going, and our greatest challenge is to hold them quietly by the chuckwagon. You can feel their tenseness and uneasiness by the way they hold their heads and clank their horns.

After practice, we made the trip back to the ranch.

September 18, 2006

It is back to school for me and Laramie. We had a lazy day until the afternoon. A neighbor from Mullinville needed help in the evening moving yearlings off of pasture. Joe and Laramie saddled up and went to help. They came home after dark. I had the chores done, so all they had to do was unsaddle, eat supper and go to bed.

September 19, 2006

Joe worked on the cake feeder this morning. Kathy, who stays at the ranch when we are gone, had knocked the spout off. Laramie rode his mare in the afternoon while he played cavalry. We tore apart all the bedrolls and cleaned them. I hung the sleeping bags out to air. Later in the afternoon, Joe ran the horses in for me. I had a riding lesson to give for a girl at 7:00. He spent the rest of the evening working with one of the horses. She is young and has been acting a little stupid any time something gets around her legs. He got on his stud colt and spent and hour or so roping her legs until she finally got used to it.

I gave my riding lesson. Laramie rode along with us bareback. Kristin wants so badly to ride a saddle. I never let kids take riding lessons unless they are willing to start bareback. The children who start out bareback have much better balance and confidence. Maybe next week we will let her ride with a saddle. Joe was out spotting deer until 9:00. We ate about 9:30 and made our way to bed after several calls from deer, quail and pheasant hunters.

September 20, 2006

Today was egg delivery day. I took a trailer tire into town to get fixed, and went to the bank and the library also. Joe checked cattle at Mullinville and picked up a load of cake. In the afternoon, Laramie mowed while I worked on more marketing. I got the bedrolls put back together and ready for the October drive. I still have a lot to get ready for it, but it will be so much simpler than the drive last week, that I haven’t started.

September 22, 2006

Joe left yesterday with horses for the Peace Treaty Pageant. Laramie and I left early this morning after we got the chores done. By the time we got to Medicine Lodge, he was catching horses and getting ready to ride in the Pageant. Several of our friends help us out with this event and we have an encampment at the Peace Treaty grounds. I spent the morning getting a booth set up for the Ranch Rodeo which was in the evening. The guys said they had a good performance at the Pageant.

I had planned to leave Medicine Lodge before noon, but didn’t end up leaving until 3:30. I made it to my mother-in-laws ranch at Roff, Oklahoma about 8:30.

September 23, 2006

Today I spent the morning with Joe’s mom and my son, Cody. We spent the morning looking at some of their cattle and visiting. In the afternoon we headed to Fort Worth for an Engagement Party of a good friend, Parker Roe. It was a nice party and a nice ride with Cody and his girlfriend, Missy.

September 24, 2006

I left the Oklahoma ranch at 6:00 this morning. I stopped to see my oldest son, T.R., at Woodward, Oklahoma. It was a great weekend since I was able to see my two oldest sons. I made it home in time to do chores and start the laundry for the week.

September 25, 2006

It is a busy time of year again. Everyone will begin working calves, weaning calves, and moving cows around. Joe will be helping neighbors here and there for a while. Today he went to Mullinville to help Pat Janssen pre-vaccinate his calves. Pat vaccinates his calves before he weans them. He will then give them a booster shot after he weans them. Joe should have been back by 10:30 in the morning, but went to help Mike Greenleaf with some of his calves instead. We try to help the neighbors as much as we can. They are always good to help us at the drop of a hat as well. Mike helped us last weekend at the Peace Treaty, so we are just returning a small favor. It seems like we can never stay ahead of the goodness of our neighbors and friends.

September 27, 2006

Joe left at 6:00 this morning to help Jeff Krier, one of our neighbors. He was gone all day and completely exhausted by the time he got home. Laramie and I had a good school day. He also rode the stud colt twice this afternoon. I spent the entire day in the office doing all the things I have been putting off for weeks.

September 28, 2006

Joe left early to help the Krier’s work their cattle again. We both got up and with it at 4:30. I did more office work until it was light and then headed out to do chores. I had to go to Mullinville to pick up more cake for the cattle and horses. I also checked the cattle at Mullinville as well as the mares and colts that are there.

After Laramie finished with school, he rode the stud colt and I doctored a mare’s leg. I saw she had cut it yesterday, but didn’t think it was too bad. Today she came in limping, so I caught her up and gave her some penicillin, ran water over her leg for 20 minutes and put some topical salve on it. She should be all right. It isn’t too terribly deep.

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