Sunday Night Highlights 3.27.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Bert and I spent eleven hours in the pickup on Friday while my mom hung out with Wacey. We took our good mare down to New Mexico to one of the other divisions to turn out with some of the ranch's brood mares and a stud in the hopes that she'll have a baby next spring. I'm obsessed with baby horses, so this is pretty exciting!!!!
• In light of being gone all day yesterday and the fact that it snowed again, we spent Saturday hanging out, and Bert's parents came down to give Wacey his Easter basket.
• Last night we hunkered down on the couch to watch the last Hunger Games. It wasn't exactly a grand cinematic masterpiece, but it didn't disappoint! I always feel like things are lost in translation when they make movies into books though--Coin was way more subversive and creepy in the books!
• My mom surprised us with hidden Easter baskets this morning! She'd hidden them while we were gone on Friday and texted me this morning that we had baskets in the house! We've both overdosed on sugar, but it was a pretty sweet surprise!
  ...See what I did there?
• This afternoon, Wacey went on a cranky tear (not enough nap the past couple of days), so I took him on a car ride that turned into a car nap for him while I listened to the Easter sermon from the Antioch church in Waco via their podcast. It was perfect. 

Agriculture:

• Lamb is the "Easter meat" for several historical reasons. The first relates to the book of Genesis in the Bible and Abraham's sacrifice of his son. Another is related to the concept of "passover," where during the tenth plague of Egypt, God told the Jews to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the lintels of their doors so that they will be spared a visit from the Angel of Death, who would pass them over. More generally, it was believed that because the lamb is holy, it was the only animal that the Devil couldn't inhabit, and several hundred years ago, the Pope requested whole roasted lam for his dinner, and it's remained the traditional meat of the Vatican Easter dinner ever since. 
• Lamb is also the traditional meat of Easter in Greece, where it's roasted whole on a spit.
• In more modern times, it's become acceptable to substitute a figure of a lamb made out of something else, like butter or sugar, for the actual meat on the Easter table, in lieu of ham or another meat (or no meat at all, of course). This year, it was French Dip sandwiches chez moi ;)

On the Ranch:

• We were going to have a branding on Tuesday, but it's too wet! We got big, wet Spring snows twice last week which is great for moisture, not so much for not moisture, which means not so good for a necessarily dry activity like branding. We're also due to get rain on Wednesday, le sigh.
• We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss our Spring breeding/branding schedule. I'm sort of dreading seeing how full everything is going to be, but that's just how we roll. Still, I kind of miss the good old days when "breeding season" was just turning bulls out.
• There are still about 600 calves left to be born on the ranch--April is going to be a calvy month!

On the Home Front:

• We have a walker! Wace still hasn't figured out that it's an actual mode of transportation, or that he can do it somewhere besides between his dad and me, but we're working on it! The next big boy hurdle: the dreaded sippy cup.
• I can't believe it's almost April! I have some home projects I'm really excited about next month--I'm waiting on fabric from Joann's and some gallery wall materials :)
• Need an easy, wonderful, crowd-pleasing weeknight recipe? Look no further.

Sunday Night Highlights 3.20.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Literally nothing, haha. We're boring, what can I say? Actually, since this is the first weekend Bert hasn't had to look after calving cows, we've been catching up on relaxation and having a quiet weekend doing not much at all. 
• It's Spring! Finally. I love fall and actually don't mind winter, but this one has been loooooooong. We celebrated with some Sonic slushies today, it was lovely.
• We did watch The 33 last night, and it was good! Next up on our list: The Big Short, the final Hunger Games, and the new Star Wars!

Agriculture:

• PAP testing is a way to help determine bovine survivability at high altitudes. PAP stands for pulmonary artery pressure, and is determined by running a catheter through the pulmonary artery. 
• Spring is in the air! Which means lots of ranches are getting geared up for branding. Some states require brands, others don't, but it's one of the best permanent way of marking your cattle in case of theft, escape, or bad fences!
• Another thing about spring? Lots of bull sales. Lots of producers sell yearling bulls in the spring that are ready to turn out on cows. Later this week I'll have a post about my brother- and sister-in-law's sale that we went to last week! 

On the Ranch:

• Bert's done calving heifers! Woo! In total, we have about 500 calves on the ground, so we're almost halfway through! Having the heifers out of the way is great, though, because they require so much more care than the cows. Plus, Wace and I are happy to have Bert home a little more!
• Next week, we'll be PAP testing heifers, aka my favorite thing. There WILL be a post on that because my mom's coming down to babysit so I'll be front and center with my camera.
• Y'all, we start branding week after next. Hellooooooo Spring!

On the Home Front:

• Last weekend's Spring Forward has really thrown us for a loop! I love making dinner while it's still light out, but Wacey's schedule is all out of whack. We've been enjoying a little more sleep time in the morning, but we've really got to get back on track...tomorrow. 
• I'm getting the spring cleaning itch! I want all of our extra stuff gone, like, yesterday. The only problem is that I don't want it all gone for free, haha. I'm giving everything one last round on the internets before I try consignment and then, donation. This stuff that has been sitting in boxes since we moved has seriously got to go!!!
• Wacey has started walking! Not like, full-on walking, but he'll take a step here and there and it's both amazing and sort of sad. Where did my tiny baby go? 

Sunday Night Highlights 3.13.16

Weekend Adventures:

• My primary goal this weekend has been rest. Wacey got sick last week and gave it to the both of us, so we're all fighting the tail end (I hope) of snotty noses and stuffy heads.
• Currently, there's a pot of chicken stock simmering on the stove in preparation for chicken & noodles. I've never made chicken & noodles completely from scratch--stock and all--and I'm so excited to see how this turns out. It already smells soul-healing, which is what we're aiming for! 
• Bert and I are camped out of the sofa while Wacey is asleep (!!!!) watching The Martian, which so far is like Castaway but on Mars. We're about an hour in, and I highly recommend. Normally I'm not into space movies, but I can see why this one was nominated for Best Picture.

Agriculture:

• I've been reading up and planning for my garden, and I've learned a lot of things! Keep in mind that I'm a total newb, so don't make fun of me.
• Kale is a very hardy vegetable that grows in cool weather, so it can be harvested both in the spring and the fall. 
• Heirloom tomatoes are gorgeous.
• My lilac bushes need some serious attention

On the Ranch:

• Bert has one heifer left to calve! That means night calving has stopped, and he's a little tiny less busy for a minute before we start breeding season. I'm glad for him to get a little more rest and not have to work as hard! The real treat is when the cows get kicked out to grass and the guys don't have to feed every day anymore.
• Otherwise, business as usual. We're feeling so fortunate to have had such nice weather lately, our calves are really looking good. 

On the Home Front:

• You guys, I've got nothin'. I have zero plans for the upcoming week beyond getting everyone healthy and the house in some semblance of working, sterilized order. 
• If I can manage that, my next plan of attack is to get a work nook ready downstairs. I need a designated place to work downstairs while Wacey is playing--not the sofa--with a desk, bulletin board, etc. I realized last week how disorganized I am, and I can't take it anymore. I have all the supplies I need, I've just got to throw it together. 
• We're going to do our best to get up to my bro- and sis-in-law's ranch's bull sale next week, so please cross your fingers that we're all healthy! We can't bring germs with us because they have a little baby!
• I discovered green juice. I like it. 

Sunday Night Highlights 3.6.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday, Wacey got a haircut and hated every minute of it. 
• Today, we're headed into town to celebrate my lovely mother-in-law's birthday. Both of Bert's siblings will be there, plus all of their kids, so it's bound to be a good time. I always make angel food cake with homemade whipped cream and strawberries. And then I eat too much cream and strawberries. 
• We were surprised with a warm Sunday morning, so Wacey and I spent the morning outside playing with his bike while I tried to discuss the finer points of the animal kingdom with him; namely, that not all animals are called "dog," but he doesn't care. And actually, I don't either. It's hilarious and cute. Plus, it's his only word. 

Agriculture:

• It's springtime, so in addition to lambing and kidding and calving, sheep are also being sheared. Their wool is sheared off in one piece, called a fleece.
• Pigs can't sweat, which is why they wallow in mud to cool off. They can also run a seven-minute mile, which makes me feel really excellent about my fitness level.
• Wheat farmers make five cents or less from every loaf of bread you buy at the store. 

On the Ranch:

• Calves, of course.
• We'll be ultrasounding heifers for carcass traits this week. Actually the vet will, the cowboys will be running cows through the chute, and I'll probably be at home, keeping an eye on our heifers--we have just a few stragglers left to calve at our camp, and have about 500 total. 
• The first ranch rodeo is two months from this weekend! That may not seem very close, but trust me, it is.

On the Home Front:

• Oh Springtime. I know we'll get at least one more snow and it's WAY too early to put in a garden, but that doesn't mean I can't plan. This year, I'm getting off to a good start and really researching and, well, planning our garden. Plus, Bert now has a skidsteer for our camp, which means I can build up our raised garden with some fresh dirt--it needs it! 
• We're quiet around here for just a minute. Pretty soon, we'll swing full on into spring work, which means breeding and branding on top of more calving and a couple of bull sales, so I'm enjoying our last sort of quiet week. We were looking ahead to our April and May calendars, and y'all? We've never been so busy! I'm kind of excited, kind of dreading it, but mostly excited.
• For all of these trips and busy seasons coming up, I'm thinking of getting a Lily Jade diaper bag. They're pricey, but so perfect for what we need. I LOVE my diaper bag now, but it's not designed to back a small army's worth of stuff that I like to have for trips and rodeos because I'm a crazy person. I'm waiting to see how much new plates are for the Subaru tomorrow (meh) to see how close I'm going to get to my new bag, haha, and how much more of my unused things I need to attempt to hock on eBay, #reallife, yo. 

Sunday Night Highlights 2.28.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday, I got a haircut. It was amazing. I love it! I've gotten my hair cut by the same stylist for ten years (yes, ten), and I love her and the salon. It's an experience that I look forward to a few times every year.
• I also picked up Chinese food because when in town, do as civilized people with excellent Chinese restaurants do, and pick up Chinese. Plus, I used to work there (TEN years ago, are you sensing a theme?) so I wanted to bring Wace by. It was wonderful. Wacey LOVES lo mein, as do all babies, according to my old boss, Jin.
• And you guys? THE WEATHER. It's glorious. Wacey and I will be soaking it up on a loooooonnnng walk (read: visit with strollers and babies with my good friend down the road). 

Agriculture:

• Since it's March, a lot of ranches are starting to think about spring. One thing we do is put out high-magnesium mineral blocks for the cows to lick. This helps prevent grass tetany (low magnesium levels in the blood) often caused by low levels of magnesium in new spring grasses. The cows are so excited to see green grass that they go to town on it, but there isn't enough magnesium so we supplement. This is important because you usually find a cow that has grass tetany because she's dead. That's no good. 
• As the grass starts to green up, the guys will change up how they feed the cows. Milking mothers need a lot of protein and calories, which they can get from good hay and cake, but not from fresh spring grass. They'll keep good hay in front of them, but might start feeding more cake protein supplements if the cows aren't eating the hay. Which, they usually aren't, because would you eat the dehydrated version of something you can get fresh?
• Spring is also breeding time for the cattle....and horses! We're sending our good mare, Miss, down to one of the other ranches to run with one of the studs and I'm sort of excited to (hopefully) have a baby horse born next year!

On the Ranch:

• SO MANY CALVES. I love it.
• Ranching is very cyclical, and so there are events that happen that kick off every season. It's different on every ranch, but for me, ultrasounding heifers is the unofficial start of Spring Work. We have ten days before the vet comes down to ultrasound, and I'm kind of excited. It doesn't hurt that it was seventy degrees in Denver yesterday!

On the Home Front:

• My house is a wreck. Just thought I would let you know that. Usually I don't have trouble finding time to clean, but I have been in an anti-cleaning mood lately. I did get to the bathrooms and the laundry today, thank goodness.
• I've also been having trouble coming up with ranchy blog content. I think the issue is that I know we have so many interesting things coming up but they're not here yet! 
• Wacey is sort of talking!!! We're SO excited. Like, first-time-parent, unreasonable-amounts-of-enthusiasm excited. He will occasionally say "Hi," but his favorite word is "dog," He doesn't say "dog," exactly, but he has a word that he says every time he sees a dog (even on TV or in a book!) and it melts my heart. We did see a Great Dane today that threw him for a loop, but I don't blame him--Great Danes are quite a bit different looking than the members of our motley crew of cow dogs (get it--because Rivet is a merle/motley blue dog?!? Oh man I'm hilarious.)
• I got a plane ticket for me and Wace to fly to a college friend's wedding and I'm so excited!! The wedding happens to be in the same state as most of my extended family so we're making a little family trip out of it. 

Sunday Night Highlights 2.21.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday, Wacey and I went to the library to get my giant stack of books on hold, and invest in some more sippy cups. And while we were getting said sippy cups, I found a new rose gold glitter nailpolish, so given my obsession with glitter nailpolish, scooped that baby right up and did my nails in the car before driving home. Natch. 
• We also got a car wash because I was driving a dirt beast down the road, and whole chickens on sale for 69 cents a pound. Like four of them. This chalks up to a good day in my wonderful #momlife. Okay, I also got bux. That helps. 
• Today is going to be a lazy day, I can tell. I'm excited about it, we had a busy week! We're currently watching The American semifinals on RFD, and then a nice long walk (because Wacey loves walks again thanks to his wind cover!) this afternoon. Oh and like laundry and cleaning toilets, but this is a blog. We don't talk about those things ;)

Agriculture:

• Calves need to have colostrum as soon as possible after birth. This is because they are born without any antibodies, and get all of their antibodies from their mothers. The antibodies are absorbed through pores in their intestinal lining, and those pores begin to close a few hours after birth.
• When calves nurse and are really getting after it, they wag their little tails and it's so cute.
• Calves start adding grass or hay to their diet anywhere from 3-8 weeks, as soon as their rumen is developed enough to handle the roughage. 

On the Ranch:

• Between all four camps, there were over a hundred calves born last week. Woo! I'm proud of the girls for getting these babies born while the weather is nice! It helps the guys so much. I'm doing my best to keep up with getting all the babies in the computer on time, and trying to keep track of supplies so we don't run out. 
• We're starting to look towards ranch rodeo season, which is always a welcome change. The rodeos are almost all finalized in terms of dates and events, and the guys will start practicing when they can. I'm thinking about what I'm going to wear, of course. 

On the Home Front:

• This week was out of the ordinary, in a good way. We got a new refrigerator, and y'all, my life is changed. Because the ranch provides the housing, we're at their mercy in terms of appliances and we've never had a full-size fridge in the six years we've been together (I know #firstworldprobs), but this can make things rough when you only shop once or twice a month! Our old fridge was dying in a freezing/thawing/leaking sort of way, and the guys came through and brought us a brand-new, FULL SIZE french-door beauty! Timely and perfect because we needed more room because...
• Wacey is now officially on all whole milk, all the time! This is a big deal for us; I wasn't able to make enough milk for him, so he's been on formula since he was a month old, with no breastmilk by month four. That stuff is expensive, our kid eats like a horse, and now he eats like a baby calf. YAAAAS. We're working on sippy cups, slowly but surely! Where did my baby go?
• This week we have nothing on the docket except for work and play, and watching election primary results (yikes, y'all). And hopefully another tooth! Come onnnnn tooth! And figuring out how I want to get my hair cut on Saturday. Which is like, a big deal. 
• Totally put my got beef sticker on the Sub(aru). Totally love it. 

Aaaaannnnnddddd you can now follow me on Bloglovin! There's a link in the sidebar. I am horribly illiterate with blog stuff, but I'm learning, with a little help from my friends in the blogger help forum (thanks Chuck!). 

Sunday Night Highlights 2.14.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Today is, of course, Valentine's Day! As I mentioned before, we don't make a big fuss. I surprised Bert with a book he's asked me to check out of the library twice (The Cattle Health Handbook--it's a good all-around reference), and Wace and I snuck into town yesterday to get Dairy Queen ice cream cupcakes for our number one guy because we can and they're delicious and little surprises make my world go round.
• I was surprised with potted hydrangeas and chocolate, which is my idea of a good time. I'm an avid chocolate lover, and I LOVE flowers, so while it may seem pretty #basic, sometimes basic is best, you know?
• Wacey and I celebrated today by our first long walk with my neighborfriend and it was wonderful! She got him (us) a clear wind cover (windshield) for his stroller for his birthday and it's made all the difference. 

Agriculture:

• One pound of wool can make ten miles of yarn.
• The pleats in a chef's hat are supposed to represent the number of ways you can make eggs. I guess that means there's more than scrambled, overeasy, sunny side up, hardboiled, poached, and Benedict. I'm actually surprised I know that many. Does McMuffin count? What about mayonnaise?
• One acre of soybeans can produce over 82,000 crayons. 

On the Ranch:

• OMG all the calves, and the mud. You know spring is slowly creeping around the corner, though, because the roping dummies are starting to come out. Ranch rodeo season is getting closer and closer! 

On the Home Front:

• We've had a busy week of one-year-checkups, all the produce, and lots of stuff at work, but you know? I don't hate it. 
• This week, I started Fit Girl's Guide and I LOVE it. I'm doing the fitkini challenge, and it's amazing! While I'm following the workouts, I'm not following the meal plan exactly, but trying to stick to the general theme of all the meals and really ramping up my fruit & veggie intake. The workouts are simple, effective, and take less than a half hour.
• We've (okay, mostly me) been watch Pretty Little Liars and we're almost done. The dramatic hijinks keep on coming and it's sort of great.

Sunday Night Highlights 2.7.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Today is Wacey's birthday! I can't believe he's one, like for reals. It was surreal sitting on the sofa last night thinking about February 6th last year, when I went to bed with contractions, woke up and 3:00 the next morning, and that was it. We went to the hospital around nine,  and Wace was born that night. He and I went to the store this morning for celebratory donuts and Starbucks--donuts for the boys, Starbucks for me, because hey, we kept a baby alive for a whole year!
• Yesterday, my parents, Bert's parents, his best friend Josh and his brother and sister and their spouses and children all came over for a Wacey Fiesta! It was wonderful to have everyone in one place, eating, laughing and being silly. Wace was ALL ABOUT the cupcakes. 
• Today is also, of course, the Superbowl! We're just watching from home this year--having to check calves every two hours puts a damper on hullabaloo and festitvities, but I don't hate a lazy day at home with my boys. 

Agriculture:
In honor of some big wins for the ranch and some families on the ranch at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo:

• The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is the oldest continually running livestock show and rodeo, and has been happening every year since 1896, except for 1943 when all the buildings in Fort Worth were dedicated to the WWII effort. 
• In 1917, a committee was formed to design a new event--a contest among cowboys and cowgirls.They decided to call it rodeo (roh-dee-oh), derived from the Spanish name for such an event, rodeo (roh-day-oh), The rodeo at the 1918 event is considered the world's first indoor rodeo.
• Stock shows are a great time for lots of different ranchers and producers to come together to show off their cattle, get tips on new products and equipment, and visit visit visit. It's stock show season, so if there's one near you, I highly recommend going!

In

On the Ranch:

• Calving calving calving, rawhide! That's literally it. Calving cows, feeding cows, tagging calves, doctoring calves, entering calves into the database, continue.

On the Home Front:

• We're now parents to a ONE-YEAR-OLD. We're in denial a little bit that he's grown up so fast, but, like ever other mother before me, I'll say it: this is SUCH a fun age.
• Tomorrow is Wacey's one-year checkup, and I'm excited to see his stats--mostly how tall he's gotten! 
• We had a ton of snow last week (read: Bert having to plow the driveway multiple times and thigh-deep drifts everywhere), but next week's weather has us hoping that it will melt away!

Sunday Night Highlights 1.31.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday, me and my favorite Carhartt-clad baby boy went to town for pre-storm groceries, calving supplies, and a Starbucks fix before we get snowed in. 
• Bert's best friend Josh is visiting us this weekend. I swear he's the best houseguest! He always cooks or brings us dinner from town, and is just my fave. This time, we got big-city Chinese food and an evening of them laughing over their hilarious yearbooks and it was great!
• It was so nice yesterday so I did my best to get outside with Wacey. He's in this weird stage where he hates any kind of sun on his face and is not super enamored with his stroller, so we just goofed around.
• We're bracing for a big storm--we got six inches last night, and will probably get six more plus below-zero temperatures this week. Since going to the barn in this weather with Wace is hard, I am on-call calving support, making sure everyone has the supplies they need!

Agriculture: 

• When it's really cold, calves can get frostbitten easily, especially their ears and tails, and sometimes their noses and less often their feet. You'll know a rancher had a cold winter when he's got lots of short ears and tails in one calf crop. For instance, the winter of 08 must have been super cold in Harrison, Montana (where we used to work) because half the cows had short ears.
• When calves learn to run, they have this thing where when they run SO fast, their little tails go up and spin around. I'll get it on video one of these days.
• Calves need colostrum just like human babies do. If we're worried that a calf didn't get enough, or its mom doesn't have milk yet, we give them colostrum replacer or a liquid colostrum supplement. It really helps! 

On the Ranch:

• Calving calving calving, rawhide! That's literally it. Calving cows, feeding cows, tagging calves, doctoring calves, entering calves into the database, continue.

On the Home Front:

• We're in full prep mode for Wacey's party! I ordered his gifts from us (the tunnel and carseat from Friday's post), got some decorations and am currently trying to decide which pinata is better--donkey, or bull? Or is a mustache fiesta-themed enough? And by we, I mean me, because I honestly don't think that Bert gives one hoot about the pinara, but I can't really blame him.
• I'm hooked on Pure Barre. Obviously we don't have a Pure Barre near us, but I got a DVD and LOVE it. I mean, love it. I also love that it's a workout I can do in the morning before Wacey gets up and still feel like I had some quiet moments to myself. I don't get that same feeling early in the morning with the treadmill! I've found that if I save the treadmill for the later mornings or the evenings I have more energy, which is weird, but I'll go with it.
• I'm currently reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky and it's really good! I haven't been very good about reading "real" books lately, so I'm glad this one doesn't suck ;)

Sunday Night Highlights 1.24.16

Weekend Adventures:

• My grandparents left yesterday morning, and it was sad because we don't get to see them often, but I'm glad they got to spend a couple of days with us, especially to see Wacey!
• Bert and Wacey did stuff at the barn while I ran to town for a baby-free hour to get dog food since our canine army eats way more than I remember to get ever. I listened to the first few episodes of "The Longest Shortest Time" podcast and LOVED it, especially the third episode.
• When I got home, Wacey and I soaked up the warm weather (it was almost sixty degrees!!!) and played with the dog pack outside for an hour. It was great, the dogs got out SO MUCH energy, I got the rest of my steps in, and Wacey discovered leaves so it was a win-win for everyone.
• This morning, I whipped up a double batch of blueberry muffins because we need some in our lives, and Bert's parents are visiting this afternoon!

Agriculture: 

• When a cow has twins, if one is a bull and one is a heifer, the heifer is sterile more than 90% of the time. These heifers are call freemartins. 
• The average body temperature of a cow is 101.5 degrees,
• Beef calves stay with their mothers until they are weaned in the fall. They'll drink milk until they're ready to eat grass, and then they'll add grass into the mix little by little. By the time they're weaned in the fall, they are ready to live entirely on grass and hay. And cow cake. They loooooove cow cake.  

On the Ranch:

• So far, Bert's had about a hundred calves, and we've had a few calves born on the other camps, too. Helllloooo busy busy.
• When calving season arrives on the ranch, that's pretty much the extent of what goes one. Feed cows, calve cows, mess with baby cows, wash, rinse, repeat, and hope for good weather. 

On the Home Front:

• Last week we did a lot of working on calving in the book (me), working on calving at the barn (Bert), and chewing on model calves at home (Wacey). Nothing too exciting, but you know, some weeks, that's okay.
• My glory moment last week: taxes are filed! I don't mind doing them (hellooooo refund), but it's still a pain in the rear, so I made myself do them the day we got our W-2s in the mail. Done and done!
• My aunt and uncle came down to have dinner with us and my grandparents and momma Friday night, and it was so fun. We had some farm-raised pork chops and they were excellent. My aunt Sue is a profesh photographer, and she loaned me one of her lenses for my Nikon--a telephoto heyyyyyy! Can't wait to play with it and see how ah-mazing it is! (Edited to add: snapped some shots yesterday and I'm in love. See below.) 

Sunday Night Highlights 1.17.16

Weekend Adventures:

• Since Bert's been at the barn almost nonstop, Wacey and I go visit him a lot. Wacey likes to watch the tractor put hay in the feeders and visit the horses. 
• It's been cold and/or windy, so not ideal weather for doing anything but being cooped up, so we're really looking forward to next week's warmer weather! Yesterday, Wacey and I had several dance parties, watched a movie, growled at each other, ran some errands, went to look at the cows, and looked at turquoise paint to order online. Okay, maybe not the last part. Maybe I just did that alone. 
• Baby boy has SIX teeth coming, and is cutting one incisor (#snaggletooth), so it's been crankytown around here. We've been doing a lot of playing, a lot of early napping, a lot of bottles, and a little Motrin. 

Agriculture: 

• Agriculture employs 17% of the workforce, or about 24 million people, but less than 2% of the American population actually lives on farms and ranches. 
• Today, farmers and ranchers produce 262% more food with 2% fewer inputs (such as seeds, labor, fertilizers) than they did in 1950.
• A group of pigs is called a sounder. 

On the Ranch:

• It's calving time! So far, we've had quite a few calves, and other than a few snafus, everyone is healthy and doing well. 
• Stock Show in Denver is over for our cattle (Red Angus show the first week), but there are some animals that are going to the Fort Worth Stock Show later this month. Stock show season and award season coincide, I guess :)
• The heifers were due to calve first, so right now Bert is the only one really calving, but we're fast approaching the due date for the youngest of the older cows (last year's heifers), so pretty soon we'll have calves all over. 

On the Home Front:

• We've had an exciting couple of weeks! We got a new car (a Subaru, be still my AWD-loving heart) and it's amazing--there's not much convenience in living out in the boonies, so I'll take any little bit I can get.  This car lets me talk on the phone through the car speakers. Plus, it's way easier to park than the pickup. 
• Still working on what to do with this here blog. I went through a little funky couple of days where I was 100% completely uninspired and not enthusiastic at all about anything, really. My best friend can attest that these black moods happen every now and again, but I'm glad to say the most recent one was short-lived and I'm feeling better. Except now I have a cold. Go figure. 
• We were gifted some cash money by relatives this year for Christmas, and used it to buy a longstanding item on our wishlist--a treadmill! Yes, we're that behind the times. With the weather being so cold, it's been hard to get out to go on walks with Wacey because it takes so much work to get out the door, and he needs like 47 bottles, and by the time we actually get going, we're both over it and so needless to say, my workouts were lacking. I got it for a great deal on craigslist, and have already used it several times, and I love it. Again, #convenience. And #Netflix. Also #Downton. 

Sunday Night Highlights 1.3.16

Weekend Adventures:

• For New Year's Eve (that's technically the weekend, right?) we continued our tradition of getting Chinese take-out and watching a movie (Trainwreck--I loved it!). Sort of lame, but when you live in the boonies, there aren't any bars close (the nearest one to us is a rather seedy establishment called the Pop-A-Top Saloon), and Chinese take-out is a major treat. 
• Yesterday, Wacey and I braved the grocery store and the dreaded Walmarts to go on our big monthly shopping trip. I get produce several times a month, but I do one big shopping trip at the beginning of every month. I make a big list and pull out the coupons and sort of love it and fear it all at the same time. Wacey growled for three hours straight. It was sort of funny, but also sort of loud. It's nice to have a fully stocked pantry and fridge, though!
• Last night, we started watching Making a Murderer, and we're pretty handily sucked in. I can't wait to see what's next.
• Tonight, we're going out to dinner in town with a gift card that we got for Christmas, sort of a last hurrah before calving season starts and Bert has to stick close to the ranch for a couple months.

Agriculture: 

• The average calf weighs between 65 and 95 pounds at birth.
• Most ranches calve in the spring, but some calve in the fall. It depends on the available forage and other things like labor and marketing. 
• Baby calves drink about a gallon of milk a day.

On the Ranch:

• We had our first calf yesterday! I always name the first calf, and this guy's name is Rooster. Lst year was Boomhauer, and the year before was Lola. I'll write a post about it later this week!
• The stock show crew will be leaving with all the cattle this week, and will start showing the cows next weekend, mostly in Red Angus shows. We'll also have a two pens of bulls.
• This side of Christmas, it's all about getting ready for calving season. Barns are getting cleaned out and bedded with fresh straw, vet rooms are stocked with vaccines and medicine, and I'll be printing and distributing calving books this week. 

On the Home Front:

• Christmas was AMAZING. Having a kid makes Christmas a thousand times better, even when they're too small to know what's going on. Wacey got spoiled rotten, for which I am eternally grateful because now he has a great selection of new toys to play with while I work, and new clothes to grow into like, next week.   
• I took a break from the blog because I want to be super deliberate about what I put in this space. I'll write a post about that sometime soon, because I think it's important to be transparent and truthful. 
• This side of New Year's, I have a couple resolutions that I'm really going to try to stick to. Again, post forthcoming! Can you tell I'm planning posts?
• While I'm missing the holidays a little this year, I think 2016 is going to be a good year, and I'm excited for some things coming up! 
• Last week, some family friends came out to visit and have a little tour of the ranch, and we were treated to the entire elk herd running around the pickup! It was like a safari, I couldn't have planned it better. 

Sunday Night Highlights 12.20.15

Weekend Adventures:

• Bert had to go to town yesterday, and he took Wacey with him. They stayed overnight at his parents' so he could work on a pair of chaps with his dad, so I had a whole 24 hours to myself! What did I do? Went to the store for the ranch sans bebe, and spent most of the afternoon cleaning out the downstairs--a project that's been on my to-do list forever! It feels so great to have it cleaned out (as in an entire dumpster load of trash and four trips of stuff down to the root cellar) and ready to decorate. It's also Wacey-proofed, so he has a great area to play with all those toys Santa is going to bring him! 
• Last night I watched Christmas movies, wrapped presents, and cleaned the house a little and it was perfect. If you're a mom you know how novel it feels to be able to focus your whole attention on one thing, not five hundred, even if that one thing is sweeping the floor or unloading the dishwasher. The simple things. 

• I missed my boys, though, so I was glad when they came home this afternoon. Bert's watching the football game, and Wacey and I are downstairs playing in the newly cleaned out play area! This space has always been treated like a storage unit, so the fact that it's cleaned up, baby-proofed, and entirely usable makes me feel like we just doubled the size of our house. 
• The best effect of having all this time to check huge, looming items off of my to-do list? I feel like my mom batteries have been completely, 100% recharged. BRING ON CHRISTMAS. Maybe this can be an annual tradition? 

Agriculture: 

• Cattle can see almost 360 degrees and have thus very good peripheral vision.
• Cows can't see the color red. It's the motion of the flag that a matador waves that catches the animal's attention, not the color. 

On the Ranch:

• Cows are sorted! Yay! I'm excited because our inventory and counts came out almost perfect, which means I'm doing my job. 
• Most of the crew is gone for Christmas, so we're running on a skeleton crew until after the holidays, when everyone will come back and it's full swing into getting ready for calving. We'll also get extra help in for calving, so it's going to be downright populated over here!
• Last year, our first calf was born on December 27th, so Bert will sort the cows and bring in the girls who are due first. That way, they're at the barn in case they have any trouble. 

On the Home Front:

• CHRISTMAS. Can't wait can't wait can't wait. All the presents are wrapped or on their way, I mailed out Christmas cookies, and I am so so so so excited. Can you tell?? Christmas with kids (even if they have no idea what's going on) is SO GREAT.   
• We'll do Christmas Eve with my parents, and Christmas Day with Bert's family. It's Wacey's and his cousin Evelyn's first Christmas!
• I killed a black widow spider in the downstairs bathtub last week. So there's that.
• Snow snow snow. I think this is the first Christmas that I haven't been wishing for more snow, because we have PLENTY. It's always nice to start calving with dry pens, but I'm not sure that's going to happen this year. It does make for a very Christmas-y landscape though, so I can't complain too much. 

Sunday Night Highlights 12.13.15

Weekend Adventures:

• It was a snowy sort of weekend, which the Christmas enthusiast in me loves. Wace and I went on a snowy, bundled up walk yesterday, blasting Christmas songs on my phone, and it was ahhh-mazing. 
• Yesterday night was our annual company Christmas party. It was great! We had delicious food and got to visit all the horses at the fancy horse barn. 
• Sunday was a lazy day. Went out to breakfast, which is a major treat for us, and just hung around the house. I tied up some loose Christmas ends, did some chores, made my Christmas baking to-do list, that sort of thing. 

Agriculture: 

• Cows can walk up stairs, but not down. The oldest building at my alma mater (CU Boulder) is called Old Main, and has spiral staircases in the back because it used to be in the middle of a pasture and they didn't want the cows to be able to walk up the stairs and get stuck. 

 

• Cows have one stomach with four chambers, which is how they are able to digest tough plant matter.
• Cows' gestation is nine months, just like humans. Having now been pregnant myself, I feel like my relationship with the girls has moved to the next level. And pulling calves makes me cringe a little bit now!

On the Ranch:

• The cows are almost all sorted up. I'm working on getting the calving books ready for the guys. More on that soon!
• In the show barn, they're getting the show cattle ready for the National Western Stock Show in January. There are several heifers and two pens of bulls going, and the show crew is logging long hours in the barn. 
• We're all starting to get ourselves ready for calving--getting barns and vet rooms cleaned, stocked, and ready to go; making sure feeders and tractors are in working order; working on pens and gates if need be; and girding our loins in general. The heifers are due to calve the 15th of January, just like last year, but last year our first calf was born on December 27th, so we are going to be ready! 

On the Home Front:

• Getting pretttty excited for Christmas! Gifts are wrapped, cookies and goodies are being made, and stockings are hung.    
• I'm looking forward to an easy couple of weeks before Christmas. Wacey's regular nap schedule is really an amazing, wonderful thing and it's allowing me to get so much done!
• We went to Zoolights at the Denver zoo this week and it was so fun! Wacey's eyes as big as saucers the whole time looking at all the lights.
•  Have you heard of the Do It (Tomorrow) App? I learned about it through another blog I read--this gal is a young medical resident (and a Harvard grad!) with a toddler and a newborn, so you know anything she recommends in terms of organization has got to be good--and I love it. I like a paper planner for scheduling, but I love having a to-do list that doesn't add to my paper pile I seem to take everywhere. I make my list right before I go to sleep at night, and having the ability to check off a task and watch it disappear (or move it to tomorrow!) is a great motivator for me to get things done. Since having Wacey, I need to keep a running to-do list or else I forget things. 
• I'm starting to think about what I want 2016 to look like. 2015 was an unusual year (not just because of, you know, having a baby!) and I want to make some really intentional, manageable goals and stick to them. Meaning that I'm currently watching Toy Story and putting off adulting until later. 

Sunday Night Highlights 11.22.15

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday was my birthday, and I was spoiled by my sainted husband and family and got to take a shopping day sans bebe and it was wonderful. I got my birthday Starbucks and snowman cookie fix, and came home with some really wonderful stuff. 
• Today, we've done nothing but sit around, eat leftover pizza, play with Wacey, and watch documentaries on Netflix, and it's great. The calm before the holiday storm!
• Last night, in honor of my birthday, we got Pizza Hut (a major luxury in the middle of nowhere) and watched Jurassic World and it was appropriately cheesy and the ideal birthday night. 

Agriculture: 

• Did you know that there are only eight GMO crops? They are corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa, papaya, squash, sugarbeets, and cotton. So when your organic quinoa says it's GMO-free, of course it is. Because there's no such thing as GMO quinoa (and being organic automatically guarantees it's GMO-free anyways). For the record, I have a bag of organic quinoa in my pantry that's labeled as GMO-free so I know this is a thing. 
•  If you've seen anything about the toy "slaughter trucks" aka cattle pots, then you know about the hype around them this year. These trucks are not always used to truck animals to slaughter; they are also used to truck animals to new homes or range that's too far away to move them afoot. For instance, in the spring and the fall, you'll see lots running up and down the highways of the mountain states as cattle are trucked to and from their summer range in the mountains.
  
  
  
  
  
• Farmers and ranchers only receive 16 cents on the dollar spent on the food they grow. The rest goes to things like production costs, transportation and marketing. In 1980, it was 31 cents.
• Farm and ranch families make up just two percent of the population. 

On the Ranch:

• The cows had to be fed this week because of the snow, but it looks like we're going to be able to go back to just caking since a lot of the snow has melted. The shallower ponds have iced over, though! Remind me to tell you the story about the time that Duckie fell through the ice and we got to jump in after her. 

• In the office, I'm working on looking at our cows' production so I can submit a list to the boss of cattle that may need to be considered for culling, based purely on their numbers. What I mean by that is I will look at her calving and weaning history and see if she's been a productive animal on the ranch. Does she have a calf every year? Does she wean a calf every year? How big are her calves relative to her size? Do her calves get sick a lot? We'll also cull cows based on behavior, what shape they're in, how their milk bag looks, conformation, etc. 

On the Home Front:

• It's Thanksgiving week! We'll celebrate with my family on Thursday and then with Bert's family on Friday. While Thanksgiving isn't my Most Favorite Holiday, it's a good one, and it's been awhile since everyone's been together, so I'm looking forward to it. Also, since the snow prevented us in getting to the bull sale, I'm excited to meet my new niece.  
• I’m totally decorating the house for Christmas this week, no and ifs or buts. A homemade garland is likely. Lights will abound. Christmas candles will be burned. The caroling and Christmas movie marathons are already in full swing! 
• I'm DONE Christmas shopping for my boys, and I have a pretty good handle on what I'm going to get my momma and daddy. Now on to the nieces and nephews! 

Sunday Night Highlights 11.15.15

Weekend Adventures:

• Yesterday, we took some heifers out to the pasture. I just opened up the trailer and pop! Out they went. They didn't even say goodbye!

• On our weekendly (weekly, but only on a weekend) long walk, my neighbor and I saw our resident buck and his lady friends. He’s keeping it smart since rifle deer opened and staying close to the barn where hunting is prohibited.
  
  
  

• Since neither Bert nor I have ever seen all of them, we’re watching the Star Wars movies in Machete Order, and saw the Attack of the Clones last night. I have to say that I prefer the older movies—the new ones are trying a little too hard with the special effects.

Agriculture: 

• Did you know that the vast majority of farms and ranches are family-owned and operated? As in 97%! And of that, over 80% of farms are small family farms. I hear a lot about “Big Ag,” but the reality is that at the farm and ranch level, there’s nothing big about it.
•  Big ranches, like the ones we’ve worked on, are actually less common than you think. According to the USDA, 79% of beef cattle operations have less than fifty head of cattle.
• The average age of the American farmer is 57.

On the Ranch:

• We’re in our slowest time of the year right now (thank goodness!). The calves are weaned and the cows are pregged, and it’s nice to not be rushing around.
• That being said, most of what’s going on is doctoring and moving cattle around. Pretty soon, the guys will sort off the culls and opens and move the cows around for calving.

On the Home Front:

• We’re hoping to make it to my brother- and sister-in-law’s bull sale this week. Weather permitting, we’ll drive up and see them and my new baby niece! Alas, someone has to feed our cows if it snows, so we’re waiting to see what the weather is going to do before we head on out.
• Our downstairs carpet got cleaned a couple days ago, and I am SO excited to make the downstairs a baby-proofed, Wacey-friendly area (complete with built-in cubbies/window seats that someone so thoughtfully installed at some point). Oh, and to be able to move his toys downstairs so we stop almost breaking our necks on his toys J
• I’m resisting every urge I have to start decking the halls, but we aren’t hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, so I maaaaay put up a few things a little early. Like a Christmas tree. And lights. 
• Also, we totally went all lumberjack and lopped down several bushes in front of our house. Neither one of us know anything about pruning or bush maintenance, and apparently the people who lived here before us didn't, either, because those poor bushes had dead chunks, barely grew leaves and were generally an eyesore. So, they're gone! It already looks so much better.