Summer Is Almost Over!

Summer is close to being over and our busy fall is almost upon us...aka calving season is here!  

This past weekend Chance and I went down to the Sharon ranch where our cows have been this summer for one last check before calving starts.  We shared the ranch this summer with some of our friends who also have a cattle operation, and our responsibilities included checking on both our cows and their cows since they had something come up this weekend.  

It was a long couple of days with a ton of riding and working, but it was also nice to spend a little time away together and not worry about the house remodeling for a bit.

Getting saddled up for a long day of riding...in the rain :)

Aside from quite a bit of rain we got on Friday during the day, this was headed our way on Friday night...and we had another wave early Saturday morning.  Needless to say, the ground was pretty wet, and the roads are all dirt around the ranch.  With plans to haul back cows for our friends, we were constantly worried about the condition of the roads.  We just weren't willing to risk it, so we decided to stay on Saturday night and leave on Sunday morning.  

Riding out from the house....

It rained off and on during the day on Saturday and it made it so humid outside...kind of reminded me of home.

Since we had so much ground to cover, Chance and I had to split up so we could make sure we found all of our friends' cows.  I took the dogs with me and we went one way, while Chance went the other.  This was Gus's first time going out like this and I was so proud that he was able to keep up!  He did great and followed me all over the entire side of the ranch without getting tired.  They were my trusty sidekicks - until they were distracted by a deer, and then they deserted me! :)

It was a long day of moving cows (and a couple of babies that had already been born) and we finally unsaddled our horses after around 9 hours of riding.  I got to practice my sorting skills on my horse and we got all of the mamas that were close to calving separated to take back home for our friends.  We had to go back out later that afternoon and gather up a cow who had been calving that morning when we found the other cows.  She was extra protective and didn't like us being close by with the horses, so we locked the dogs in the house and went back on the Ranger to get her.  

The babies are just so precious...and tiny!  I forget from year to year just how fragile they seem when they're first born...they grow into large powerful animals so quickly!  We made sure all mamas and babies were settled and took an hour or two to rest and have some fun time on Saturday evening down at the pond.

Chance got the boat out and fished for a little bit while I sat in the Ranger and blogged with a Verizon air card...it had 1 bar of service, but I made do!

Even the dogs had some fun play time!

We checked on the cows and horses again, and fixed some supper...it was almost 10 when we ate, but it was a great ending to a fun day together.  This was our sunset on Saturday night...so pretty!

On Sunday we were up early to clean the bunkhouse, pack up, load up and get home because we had a pool party for our Youth Group kids going on that afternoon.  Not to mention, I was flying out again for work first thing Monday morning...ugh!

It is a constant learning experience for me working with cows, and I have to say I learned more  this past weekend than I have in a while.  Guess it helps to be depended on to pull my weight and knowing that my husband is depending on me like I depend on him.  I love our life and wouldn't trade the hard work, long hours and busy schedule for anything in the world :)