thoughts

The wind rustles my hair as I step out the door. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. The smell of sagebrush and rain greets my nostrils. It's lovely. I smile, thinking what a contrast this is to last year.

Last year, the acrid smell of smoke greeted me when I stepped outside. I knew that fires were rampant, and the smoke irritated eyes and nose. And there was the ever-present fear of one starting close, and the fear that other fires would destroy friends' homes.

God has been good to us this year. Rain has come all summer long. It's still green outside. We were able to make hay, so our cows will have food through the winter.

And I am content.

 

 

A Trail Adventure--Runaway Calf!

I shift in the saddle on my horse, Duke. We've been gathering cows to move them to a different pasture, and it's getting hot. It hasn't been an easy trail, but not terribly hard. Many calves have been separated from their mothers, and they are trying to run back, because they think that their moms have been left behind. I know that the cows are all up in front, not left behind, but the calves don't know that.

So I am moving Duke back and forth, keeping the calves in the herd.

Suddenly a calf breaks from the herd and begins to dash straight uphill, exactly opposite from the way we are going. I groan inwardly, seeing that I am closest to it. Then I nudge Duke onward and he gallops toward the calf.

I bump and jolt in the saddle--the calf chose some rough ground to run back over, and we are navigating it at a hard gallop. After a short dash, we get around the calf and stop short, but the calf dodges, and Duke and I are chasing it again.

Hooves pound, kicking up a cloud of dust. My breath comes hard, and I know adrenaline is flooding me. Duke stops with a jerk; we have brought the calf to a standstill. Then the calf twists and is off again--running directly away from the herd.

Duke gallops hard; we make it around the calf yet again, but it dodges 'round us, and now we are on the wrong side of the calf.

I angle Duke slightly away from the calf; maybe we can head it off. After a hard gallop, we come around the calf. I hold my breath; will it dodge us yet again or turn around?

It must have given up, for it turns around and begins running just as hard back toward the herd as it had away from it. I urge Duke forward to keep up with it in case it turns back suddenly. But we reach the heard and I heave a deep sigh of relief.

I brought the calf back.

Branding Time is Here Again

Cows and calves bawl.
Mud gets on our boots.
Smoke rises into the sky.
Friends laugh and chatter.
It's hot work, pushing the calves in to the chute to the branding table.
But it's fun.
And it's every year.
And we have haystacks to eat after it every year.
Branding.
That's just it.

I know, I don't usually post twice in a row..but..

I had this really awesome story to tell you guys.

Dave, Michelle, Kirsten, and I were exploring in the river bottom next to our house, where there is tons of trees. We had been finding all sorts of neat places, trees, and holes, and that sort of thing, when all of a sudden Michelle pointed ahead!
     "Hey, what's that?" she asked. I followed her pointing finger and then I saw it. Dave saw it just as I did and he let out a whoop!
     "A FORT!!!!" he yelled! "AWESOME!!!" and he took off running for it.
      Kirsten and I exchanged puzzled looks. We explore the river bottoms a lot. And I had never seen it before. And it looked really new. Evidently Kirsten hadn't seen it before either. I followed, almost as eager as Michelle and Dave, who were now halfway to the fort.
      It was underneath a great big tree, and there was a swing made out of baling twine hanging from one of the branches of the tree. Sticks had been arranged in a palisade around the base of the tree and several feet out. Flat rocks were laid in a path from the palisade opening to the tree trunk, where a makeshift roof had been built. The whole thing was a bit strange, although really really neat!
     A shadow fell across us as we were investigating the fort. I shivered, and wrapped my arms around me. Even with my coat on, it was getting really cold. And the sun was going down. So supper would probably be on the stove soon.
   So we went home, but we are definitely going to be on the lookout for anything strange happening!