Computer on lockdown

This is the post I was writing Friday night about 11:30 p.m. when my computer froze up and would not move. Luckily it autosaved and was still here when I got this thing running again tonight. I tried to put in inserts where it was needed to fit the time that it was written as opposed to posted.

Back in January when I started this blog it seemed to be so easy. Once a day seemed like it would be just a blip in the total time space spectrum. Now that it is the second half of March I am wondering if I can find the time to post weekly much less daily. There is so much excitement and anticipation about a new year yet there is also so much work and stress. Yesterday (Thursday) besides the base feeding, checking and tagging that consumes about 3 and a half hours each day I also spent some “office time”.

Office time is not as bad as spending time doing mechanical work but damn close. In this industry I think most would welcome a day of talking with attorneys, gathering information and crunching numbers just to have a break from the physical labor aspects. I will admit that compared to many tasks office time can be somewhat enjoyable. The reality is that after a day of legal questions and number crunching with my brother-in-law yesterday (Thursday thanks Dave by the way) I was as exhausted last night as if I had pulled calves all day.

I guess it is just part of life to be busy, stressed and tired at certain times of the year. Lately when ever I feel overwhelmed and too busy I think about how accountants and tax attorneys must feel at this time of year. The frustrating thing is that you feel like you were a mover and a shaker all day but when you boil it down it seems like you completed so little in relation to the time spent.

I was out the door by 6a.m. today (Friday) and I made a circle around the perimeter of the place just to make sure there were no major issues. Everything seemed to be fine so I drove across the home place and checked the yearling replacement heifers and the babysitter cows. It is so nice to see animals grazing and not needing to be fed hay even if some of them acted like they needed some hay. I then fed the fair steers, a calf we are going to eat and I let the graft pair out into a larger pen. I then went up the road to a neighbor to get some eartags for tomorrows steer weigh in day in Kennewick for our fair in August.

The neighbor and I did spend about an hour discussing the cattle business and looking at some bulls he is selling at auction tomorrow. I then headed back to the house and did some paperwork and made some business calls. The next thing I knew it was 12p.m. and I felt I had accomplished so little that I headed back out the door. I went to the corrals, loaded up 2 of another neighbors heifers, went to his place and loaded up “Homer” the missing show steer.

I then spent about two hours on the tractor shredding Russian ryegrass in the home pasture. I came back to fuel the tractor and then left to feed the fall calvers, special needs cows and also checked the main group. I fueled the tractor, headed back out about 5 p.m. and just came in at 11 p.m. to post this blog, take a shower and get some sleep. When I break down the day and what was accomplished I feel like it should be no later than 11 a.m.

Today’s real environmentalist species found on the ranch is the American crow aka Corvus brachyrhynchos.

Today’s picture is calf number 0228y. This heifer calf is the tamest and most curious calf I have seen in a long time. She will come right up to you and she acts like she wants to get in the pickup and go for a ride.