2007-07-18
Spring & Fall Works
Every Spring & Fall, the works begin. The cowboys gather the cattle and brand the calves. We start our Fall works in August. The cowboys will gather all the cattle and hold'em up in a pen or corral, one cowboy will go in the herd a horseback and rope a calf, drag the calf to the branding fire where 2 cowboys flank the calf, then the brander comes in and brands the calf with a hot iron with whatever the ranch brand is. This is very important; believe it or not there are still cattle thieves running around. Havin' the brand is proof that the cattle belong to the rightful owner.
I have a couple of pictures to give you an idea. The first picture is of my son, Tyler (who is horseback) and my 2 nephews, Wichita & Utah who are flanking the calf. Flanking is where they grab the calf and put it on it's side, then one holds the head down and the other basically holds the legs with one of the legs stretched out....this is where the brand will go ( the hip/leg area). In the second picture, my nephews are still flanking the calf while the brander comes in and brands the calf. Some calves need to be earmarked or have shots given to them. After that, they get released back to the herd. Finally, all the cowboys drive the cattle back to the pasture they belong in.
July 18, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Wow, your life is so different than mine ! I can't even remember the last time I saw a horse - yep, that bad.
How did you adapt to the Cowboy life ? Did you grew up in a cowboy family or it is just your husband ?
July 18, 2007 at 7:47 PM
Zhu~~I didn't know country life whatsoever til I met my husband. And it was very hard to adjust to the whole cowboy life. Their wages are lower, they live out in the middle of nowhere, they think differently about many things....really just being away from a store was one of the hardest things. I had to learn to buy groceries for a month and that was hard. Now that I have been exposed to both worlds, I am a firm believer that it's better in the country. Going to town is like vacation;)
July 19, 2007 at 8:36 AM
Ouch!! That hurts. I do agree with Zhu. A cowboys life is very diffrent from mine being orginally from NY. But I have spent a few years in MS but I think they are just a diffrent breed all together. I saw a Bull fight last weekend. It was really cool but not recomended if an animal lover. It's a bloody show.
Also, I know you asked for a profile of me with a pic so here it is. I'll work on it some more.
about me
July 19, 2007 at 6:17 PM
Wow, must have been really tough at first ! Buying the grocerie for a month ??? I can't even figure out what I need for tonigh AND I don't even have kids ! :D
I'm a city girl... don't think I'd enjoy the country life for too long. A bit is fine but I need the city buzz.
How did you meet your husband BTW ?