Calving, our busiest and most intense season, is a few short weeks away, so we try to finalize loose ends before it starts. This week, the guys selected the replacement heifers then sold the remainder. These little girls headed off to be replacement cows on another ranch. It’s always hard to see them go but it’s also rewarding to know someone else thinks highly enough of stock raised on this ranch to use them in their operation.
Though we had good weather, the ground was icy so the Head Honcho chose to run the gate with the least chance of fast action. None of us slipped or fell, but a few of the calves did a little skating.
Though joking, the buyer suggested that the Head Honcho do the sorting – he’d raised them, he knew them, and the buyer was sure the Head Honcho could do it well. It was a well deserved compliment, but it’s both the right and responsibility of the buyer to cut back what he doesn’t want. Talking it over later, we both agreed with every cut the buyer made and also agreed that we would have cut just a little deeper. That turned a very good sale into a great sale!
Finally, the girls loaded onto the semi like they were eager to get to their new home and start their life as productive members of his operation. We hope they treat him well, because from the way he worked cattle, we are confident he will treat them well.
In a previous period of my life, I spent a lot of hours swinging gates and running up and down alleys for a cattle buyer. It is always a pleasure to work with someone who sorts with confidence, uses minor finger signals to indicate cut back or let go, and above all else, doesn’t stir up the cattle. This buyer’s sorting brought back many great memories, and the whole day’s efforts were smooth and easy.
We just got out of the deep freeze that covered most of the country. We are more accustomed to dealing with frigid temperatures than our southern neighbors; they suffered at 29° at the same time we were suffering at -40°, but I do believe we were better prepared!
For my part, I was surprised to discover that the creaking and crunching of snow increases in volume somewhere below -18° but is relatively consistent from -30° to -40°. The feeding video was taken on a -30 morning; just listen to that cold!
The Sound of Cold
A few days ago when I got up, for the first time in over a week our temperature was above zero - a heat wave at 12°. And in that week we only had two days that it got above zero all day - and then only to 2° and 4°.
Frosty Coats at -40
It always amazes me that livestock survive this kind of weather at all, let alone thrive. We feed them extra rations in bitter cold and give them a bed of straw, but still…
I brought my milk cow to the corral and put her in the barn at night but when it’s -40° outside, it’s -40° in the barn, no wind but still awfully cold. And Bugaboo didn’t want to go inside at night and couldn’t wait to get out in the morning! She’s due to calve March 8th, her bountiful bag is already pretty full and her belly is heavy with calf, but every frigid evening she waddled away from me as fast as she could to avoid being haltered and led to the barn. I must admit that my pace was no faster than hers, but attribute my penguinish pace to being swaddled in multiple layers. I didn’t really run her down as much as outlast her.
Sooooo Coooold!
I accidentally discovered a miraculous cap this winter and want to give a heartfelt thanks to the Stormy Kromer company. I bought the cap for the Head Honcho for Christmas but he insisted he has plenty of caps so I snarfed it up for myself rather than returning it. I wear a visor underneath for shade and for a filler since his head is larger than mine, but I tell him that’s due to his abundance of hair rather than brains. As he loses hair with increasing age, that argument is harder to sell but he never did buy into it anyway!
The cap is wool covered with fur and fits like a glove so doesn’t fall off with the flaps up, or scootch around irritatingly. It looks like a Cossack hat with the flaps snapped on top, but the warmth comes when they are snapped below the chin so the fur protects most of my face and air never gets to my ears or forehead. The flaps also button on the side for moderately cold weather so it’s very flexible. It’s too warm for even slightly cold conditions, so at few degrees above zero I grab a Scotch cap instead. I took the selfie at -32°, and even though I wasn’t able to see what I was doing because of the frost on my glasses, I was comfortably warm.
-40 in my Stormy Kromer Cap
The Head Honcho (at 86) and I feed all the cows hay and chop ice for most of them every morning. He often likes to sleep late, but when it’s cold out he’s up hours before the sun, worried about the cattle and eager to get feed to them.
To simplify some of our chores, we kept some of the horses in, and took hay out to the others. Gumbo and Gringo greeted me at sunrise when it was -40.
Gumbo and Gringo at Sunrise
Our dog Hank slept on the porch though the bitter cold weather, and a couple days wasn’t interested in going out solo, but was always eager to accompany me to do chores. He wants to pack something in his mouth at all times and usually brings whatever trash he can find to the yard. I’ve taught him to carry my egg basket to the chicken house, and halters to the barn, though there is a bit of wear and tear on them with every trip. He plays his way to our destination, likes tug of war if I’m willing, but is good about dropping the gear once we arrive. He’s a bit too enthusiastic to bring the full egg basket back to the house, which is obvious in the video, though he always offers!
I’ve had to rebuild the woven basket repeatedly, so it’s now fully covered in leather. I’ve rigged up rope handles on little pails for him, but he much prefers the basket. I’m hoping that eventually he will take an item to the Head Honcho, and the Head Honcho is willing to help in the training, as long as we practice having Hank take him a cold beer. We’ll call that a work in progress.
Sandy Snider Stahl 