This week was filled with long hours and lots of work. We rounded up all of our cattle and branded. It was filled with lots of visitors and fun. For me it was a lot of cooking and working.
In the beginning of the week the kids went out to ride with Ace and I drove the truck and used the siren to call them in. On the way out to the pasture Curtis held Darlin for me. Denim has been very interested in Indians. She drilled Curtis, "Are there still REAL Indians Curtis?" Curtis, " Yeah, I'm a real Indian." Denim, "No, I mean the REAL ones, you know, with the feathers and stuff." Curtis, "Well we only dress like that sometime now, like at pow wow's." Denim,"Are they mean or nice, like would they be nice or mean to my sister Darlin, or would they steal her or kill us or just be nice or what?" Curtis, "They are nice, they like babies." Denim, "Oh."
Denim practicing with Smurf to see if she can turn him. She did pretty good.
Nate helping Blazen. Blazen was pumped to be on his own horse riding with dad.
Ready to rock and roll. Papa came to help too. It was good and made me relieved to have another helper for the kids. I wanted them to be a part of everything so bad, but I can't ride yet with Darlin.
A COWBOY MAP: This is how it is done. Ace gets down in the dirt and maps out where he wants each cowboy to go and where the fence lines are at.
Now we start.
Ok, so I am nursing, driving, and running the siren all at the same time. This would normally be stupid, but since I am going on 5 miles pr hour, I called it 8 hours of talent.
Taking a little Cheetos break.
Pushing from the back of the herd. It was dusty.
Nate switched horses to ride a colt. Papa is trotting it in circles to warm it up a bit. I was getting excited to watch the rodeo. Camera ready with a smile on my face thinking, "This is going to be great!"
Easy Nate, Easy. When you get on a colt, you do so very very slowly. You especially put your leg across very slowly and sit down so carefully. Papa places his horse nearly directly in front of the other horse to calm it and stop it from bucking off.
Off they ride together. Ok, so I was a tad bit disappointed not to have the rodeo, but it was a good thing that Nate didn't get hurt.
Ace needed to help with the herd, so the kids rode with me for awhile. Blazen sees the cattle coming across the mountain, "There they are, mom, I see the cows."
As we were waiting for the herd to catch up, we got out and played. Darlin enjoyed the fresh air and getting out of the truck.
In the middle of the week the Willis crew came to help. Ryan, Papa, Nate, Dale, John, Angela, Tammy, and Ace. Not pictured-Dale Sr. in the truck.
It was such a nasty windy day that I couldn't believe that anyone survived. We were very glad for the help. Angela came with me for awhile and helped with the kids. We had some very nice conversations. What a sweet girl.
Tammy, John, and Angela.
The herd following me.
We got the cattle brought in, sorted, and ready to brand. I cooked like crazy and we all worked very hard-the kids included. We had a scare with Angela on the horse. Another horse jumped on her horse and it's head hit her and nearly knocked her off. She was a trooper. All in all we had a great week and the work got done.
Denim practicing with Smurf to see if she can turn him. She did pretty good.
Nate helping Blazen. Blazen was pumped to be on his own horse riding with dad.
Ready to rock and roll. Papa came to help too. It was good and made me relieved to have another helper for the kids. I wanted them to be a part of everything so bad, but I can't ride yet with Darlin.
A COWBOY MAP: This is how it is done. Ace gets down in the dirt and maps out where he wants each cowboy to go and where the fence lines are at.
Now we start.
Ok, so I am nursing, driving, and running the siren all at the same time. This would normally be stupid, but since I am going on 5 miles pr hour, I called it 8 hours of talent.
Taking a little Cheetos break.
Pushing from the back of the herd. It was dusty.
Nate switched horses to ride a colt. Papa is trotting it in circles to warm it up a bit. I was getting excited to watch the rodeo. Camera ready with a smile on my face thinking, "This is going to be great!"
Easy Nate, Easy. When you get on a colt, you do so very very slowly. You especially put your leg across very slowly and sit down so carefully. Papa places his horse nearly directly in front of the other horse to calm it and stop it from bucking off.
Off they ride together. Ok, so I was a tad bit disappointed not to have the rodeo, but it was a good thing that Nate didn't get hurt.
Ace needed to help with the herd, so the kids rode with me for awhile. Blazen sees the cattle coming across the mountain, "There they are, mom, I see the cows."
As we were waiting for the herd to catch up, we got out and played. Darlin enjoyed the fresh air and getting out of the truck.
In the middle of the week the Willis crew came to help. Ryan, Papa, Nate, Dale, John, Angela, Tammy, and Ace. Not pictured-Dale Sr. in the truck.
It was such a nasty windy day that I couldn't believe that anyone survived. We were very glad for the help. Angela came with me for awhile and helped with the kids. We had some very nice conversations. What a sweet girl.
Tammy, John, and Angela.
The herd following me.
We got the cattle brought in, sorted, and ready to brand. I cooked like crazy and we all worked very hard-the kids included. We had a scare with Angela on the horse. Another horse jumped on her horse and it's head hit her and nearly knocked her off. She was a trooper. All in all we had a great week and the work got done.
