Food stamps and frustration

I really do not like to use this blog as a political forum or as something that is controversial but go to both of these links and then tell me that government, taxpayer spending, and the direction of this country makes sense to you.

Wolves in Washington State, millions of dollars being spent http://www.king5.com/news/environment/With-wolves-return-state-caught-between-ranchers-wildlife-groups-168222836.html 

Record number of people in this country on food stamps and lacking basic food security http://www.cnbc.com/id/48898378

"Roaneo" is at the Columbia Basin Junior Livestock show and is content and ready for the next four fair days. Tonight a large community of agriculture people came together to get animals weighed and entered, served a great meal to both exhibitors and parents, and people wonder why I am proud to be part of a community that understands what it means to live a simple life, supports economic freedom,and supports our youth and the future of this great nation.

Today's picture is "Precious" with her first calf. Her life story is coming in a later blog post.




Where did common sense go? Ok, so I am not near as angry in life as this Cowman Youtube music selection might convey, nor am I as sick of everyone portrayed in  my good friend Tim Wilsons song and video. But, in general this sums up why I don't have a television connection, and am always on the edge of just leaving the bigger world and retreating to my own simple life.Remember this song and video was from 2007, so some of the ideas are a bit dated, it in no way means I am in love with today's political scene! *Language warning on the video* if you don't like a bit of profanity when it fits the situation, do not click on the Youtube video!

Dori the adorable and Yes ma'am

Tomorrow we head in for the second of 3 fairs in a four week span. Dakota is taking a blue roan steer named "Roaneo" that I am not particularly proud of. He is not a bad steer but he really needs 30 more days and 120 pounds of finish on him. He was an April 2011 calf so we knew he would have to be pushed and we just didn't get him pushed hard enough. As I cussed this fact a bit today as I looked at Roaneo from every angle I had a little mental chat with Dad. He reminded me that sometimes you just have to go with the flow and especially where females are concerned, be it bovine or human you are best off to just swallow hard and say "yes ma'am.

Dad and I would argue about the attributes and deficiencies of just about any bovine especially show steers and mother cows. Now as I try and balance Dakotas decisions with my experience I often run up against a whole new issue. Dakota not only looks for a winner, she expects a steer to be "cute" and have some personality and/or special color traits. She likes a calf with a little "bling" to them. Now make no mistake, Roaneo is a blingy calf with his blue roan color and from the day he was born she was pretty set on making him see a show ring. In the end it is her choice and she makes some good points about doing some things just for fun and as a tribute to our ranch history. Yes ma'am.

She reminds me that sometimes these decisions work out really well and tonight's blog post about a yellow Brahma cross cow that earned her way into the cowherd is a prime example. We had an old Brahma cross cow for years that was affectionately known as "Rabbit ears". A blog post about her and her final calf before she passed from natural causes here on the ranch are here http://thedailycowman.blogspot.com/2010/02/can-you-ear-me-now.html   

Rabbit ears had her last calf in February 2010 and was named "Dori" by Dakota as a shortened name for "adorable". Here Dori (tag #0203Y) is with her mother at 16 hours of age. She was a spindly legged clone of her mother and although she was "adorable" I doubted her future as a momma cow in our herd and told Dakota my opinion. As Dori grew up  though she started to show a bit more of her Daddies Black Angus body type and when it came time to select replacement heifers she made the cut with a great deal of lobbying from Dakota.Yes ma'am.

Dori spent the spring of 2011 with her replacement herd mates being romanced by two Black Angus bulls. In October of 2011 Dori was confirmed pregnant with a spring calf by my left arm which made me smile especially given the fact that her momma Rabbit ears had passed on and her legacy would continue on here at this ranch I love so much. 

This past February I was impatiently waiting to pick up Dakota at the bus stop after school to go check calving cows before dark. I did not let on what I had already learned earlier on that clear cold day. Dori had delivered unassisted her first child. A gray bull calf #2203y. As we drove to a secluded corner of the corn field the cows were grazing Dori stood over her new calf that she had expertly stashed on the wind protected side of a sagebrush plant. Dakota shrieked with joy and as she often says many times in a calving season, "That is the cutest baby EVER!" Yes ma'am. I can't find any pics of Dori with her calf as a newborn but last week I caught her with her now 6 plus month old steer calf by her side and as you can see sometimes a little "bling" goes a long way.Remember all pics can be seen full size by clicking on them. See you all at the Columbia Basin Junior Livestock show this week!

Today's Cowman Youtube music selection is a feel good song by Matt Mason that has a timeline an outlaw like me can really relate to. He sings "Good year for the Outlaw"  Hillbilly rock and roll at its best, just listen to the guitars, turn it UP, yeah turn it WAY up!

Wedding anniversaries, and the right attitude

Here I am making another late night blog post. My family and I, along with many good friends tonight attended a party and 50th wedding anniversary for some icons of the community. Thank you to the Moore family for all their hard work in making tonight a great party honoring your mother and father on their 50th wedding anniversary.

As I grew up Dick and Melette were people in the community that I was very proud to know. Mellete was always a strong supporter of my efforts at showing cattle despite the fact that she had two lovely daughters that were one year younger and one year older than I was. As the mother of a teenage daughter during my teen years this was not a small feat. Dick spent many years serving on our local fairboard and although I once tossed him a case of beer over the fairgrounds fence as a high schooler he was able to command respect and attention without ratting me out to my parents. Thank you to both of them for their efforts at raising me properly and their continued support through adulthood! I now watch my own daughter compete against their grandkids showing cattle and often smile as I see this circle of life continue.

Summer is coming to a close and that is always a difficult time for me from an attitude standpoint. Shorter daylight hours, knowing cows will soon need to be fed supplemental feed, and the potential for cold and snow can be depressing to even those with a good grasp on life. The last few days as I have contemplated the end of summer it is easy to see all the goals and plans for another year that I have failed at. About the time I am thinking things are not very good I just take stock of the rest of my fellow cattlemen across the country and realize life is pretty damn great at the current time here in the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this week I came across a broken irrigation riser that made me cuss. As I looked to the heavens and asked Dad why things like this always happen to me he spoke to me with some sage advice. Would you rather be in other parts of the country where they are suffering from extreme drought? How many guys in other parts of the country would give anything just to have access to some irrigation water? Humbling and reality, nothing better to bring a man back to what matters in life!

 How many people across the country would love to have old cows standing in grass like this raising calves? Yeah, It quickly makes a guy thankful!

It is not that everyday life cannot make your life interesting at times. The other night as Dakota washed up her steer in preparation for clipping for this weeks fair, she lost water pressure. I was pretty sure that the issue was the stockwater well had blown a hose. As I removed the lid from the stockwater well I was faced with a discarded snakeskin that gave me a bit of a jolt! I have yet to meet the snake that left this behind but I am alright with that.

Many people would find this life I lead as monotonous and boring. For me I am thankful that I am able to make a simple living chasing cows, chasing life and living a dream. Being able to live with and witness the power and beauty of Mother Nature suits me just fine. Luckily I had many people in my life like my parents and the Moore's that looked out for me and my future.

Today's Cowman Youtube music selection is Sawyer Brown singing, "I'll take the Dirt Road" which eloquently describes the joy of living the life I lead.

Pepperoni, fair wives and 3rd rock from the sun

Hey, good news readers, two posts in the same month! Once you get out of the hospital from your strokes please let me know! Tonight's blog post is going to be a bit all over the board because that is just the kind of day it has been. My thoughts and actions today really fit well with the term "scattered".

I started the day early as I had a full schedule of tasks to complete, each with their own special emotional components. At daylight I loaded 2 older cull cows and 1 cull bull into the stock trailer. The cows were fairly nondescript, just older cows that were past their production prime that needed to be sent down the road. The bull was a bit of a different story. "Pepperoni" was purchased 3 years ago with a specific task in mind. The idea was to take a crossbred bull that was a bit smaller framed and had good fleshing ability, breed him to cows that were a bit too big and inefficient, to produce daughters that are the kind of females I like and want to keep. Sadly for Pepperoni his success at his task was the reason he needed to leave. You cannot have bulls around that will be breeding their own daughters for obvious reasons. For the most part I use only "purebred" bulls and Pepperoni was not a purebred. He was 5/8 Black Angus and 3/8 Shorthorn, a breed I wanted a bit of back in my herd without going too far. "Pepp" you will always be remembered as a favorite by all that knew you, and your daughters will long be a part of the future of this ranch. Here is Pepperoni earlier this month. He also did what he was expected to do, produce some productive, easy fleshing and efficient mothers like this young lady #9207Y nursing her second calf. He not only did he do this, he added blue roan color which has now been a favorite for 3 generations spanning my Dad, myself and Dakota. I know one cowhand up in heaven that will be glad to see you arrive and will put you to work breeding cows.

As I rambled up the highway this morning to deliver cattle I ruminated about last weeks fair and a few thoughts. I share my beef barn Superintendent duties with my "fair wife" Debby. We really work well together because I don't do well with paperwork and Debby doesn't do well with mornings so we cover each others weaknesses quite well. I call Debby my fair wife because we end up spending more time together than I do with my spouse that week. Debby shares in this view but prefers to call me "Debbys bitch" and several red solo cups sported this moniker as the fair week progressed.

Another reason I call Debby my "fair wife" is because of a story from years ago when we first shared duties as beef barn Superintendents. Each night during fair week as the rodeo ends, the VIP area closes and festivities generally end for the night Debby and I make a final check on the steers in our barn. We check to make sure halters and neckropes are tied, nobody has legs over ropes and in general that the steers are content and comfortable. This nightly exercise happens between midnight and 2 A.M. depending on the night. We usually have a few laughs like this year as we witnessed a steer consuming a red ribbon from his exhibitors display faster than we could stop the action. The last thing we do is turn out the lights in the barn. So the story now from our first year of sharing these duties.

One young lady exhibitor (the daughter of some good mutual friends) had assumed all week that Debby and I were married based on our work in the barn. When Friday night (the final night before steers leave) came around I had my "year round" bride Christine with me after the rodeo. I told Debby that I would handle the steer check and light shutdown that night in the barn. As Chris and I finished up the check and as I turned down the lights for the night I got a bit amorous, grabbed a fairly deep kiss, and a bit of a shallower "ass grab" on my wife. Unknown to me this young lady witnessed this exchange and promptly told her parents that Larry had been kissing some shorter lady with darker hair than his wife in the steer barn! Luckily her parents knew Debby and I were not married and saved this poor young lady years of therapy! LOL, The main focus of the week is kids having fun and learning and educating the public. I am very proud of "Larry's kids" in the steer barn as is Debby. I failed to take many pictures last week but here is one with a clean full barn of steers! 68 steers this year up from the low 20's just a few years ago! I always tell the kids in the steer barn that if they feel a bit better than their counterparts in the other bars it is because they ARE better than their counterparts in the other barns!

 So I delivered my auction items, unhooked my trailer and headed 40 miles north to the Washington State Beef commission meeting. What a great meeting and great people we have serving the beef industry in our state. Then it was back to Toppenish, picking up a trailer and a check and then 80 miles home. The day ended checking cows, irrigation water and working with Dakota and her two remaining steers Jerome and Roaneo. Roaneo, the pretty blue roan son of Pepperoni! Remember, all pics can be viewed in full size by clicking on them.

Today's Youtube music selection that encompasses today's scattered thoughts is Joe Diffie singing "Third Rock from the Sun".

Fair, and being as tough as Rambo

Here I am, back after a great and very fun week at the Benton Franklin County Fair and Rodeo. I ran into so many people that asked me why I wasn't getting to my blog on a more regular basis last week. I really appreciate the support and hopefully with the encouragement and support I received I can get back to posting a bit more regularly!

I will warn you now that because it has been so long since I have been here this post will be somewhat long. I have been to a lot of fairs in my lifetime. Both as an exhibitor and now as a parent and co beef barn superintendent. I can honestly say that this last week was as great of a fair as I have ever had the pleasure to be part of. Dakota did about how we expected in her market class. A high blue ribbon but not a champion steer. Being in the commercial cow calf business, showing our own calves and competing against some really stellar competition with calves bred to be "club" calves has proven to be a daunting but fun and rewarding experience for both Dakota and I. As I pondered the week I had a few thoughts about the beef business, family, memories of Dad and my own show experiences, and generational similarities.

People outside the beef business often ask me how in the world can you raise animals that you know eventually will sell and be turned into beef. Believe me it is not exactly easy but the fact that we know these calves their whole life helps a bunch. Rambo was born on Valentines day in 2011 to a very small but very efficient and productive 5 year old cow # 6228B. Rambo was a beautiful bull calf with very pretty markings and Dakota hoped he would become "show worthy".

As Rambo grew up I became as convinced as Dakota that he should be given a shot. By the time he was weaned from his mother last November there was no doubt. Rambo was a very curious and naturally tame steer. We have never had a calf that was so easy to halter break and tame. He just seemed to go with the flow on anything we asked him to do. This is a big part of how I explain this to people, Rambo lived a very pampered and special life. He was washed and brushed regularly, wet down on hot days, fed the best feed and as far as the life of most steers go, he lived the high life. Plus he had the companionship of a young lady that is rapidly becoming a young woman and quite a cattlewoman. 

As we approached fair week this year we knew it would be a bit more difficult than years past to balance all the demands . Dakota was competing for a varsity volleyball spot with 3-4 hour practices each day as well as needing to show and care for her steer. I am very proud of the way she handled herself this week. Her personal responsibility level needed to be high and it was. She struggled a bit in fitting and showing because Rambo had gotten so tame, fat and lazy that he did not really want to stand still or do anything that involved something other than eating and sleeping. She gave it her best shot though and never gave up. The only thing she did wrong was shed some tears after the class because she was disappointed in how she placed. I know she is competitive like her father but the importance is in the effort and drive, no matter the final result. This was proven today as she found out she is going to be a varsity volleyball player for the Lady Eagles this fall. She also received a very handsome price for Rambo at the market stock sale on Friday that will go a long way towards her future education and participation in the beef business. Thank you so much to Tyson Fresh Meats and all of the bidders and purchasers in this years sale. Gus, your Mother and I are very proud of the way you handled yourself this week and your work ethic and focus was amazing!

Saturday night at the fair we load out the steers after midnight for their final destinations. I decided that this year Dakota was old enough to help with this task. She took the responsibility of leading Rambo on to the semi truck. Sure there were some tears shed and I gave her a big hug and reminded her what a great life she had provided for Rambo. I also reminded her that these tears were expected and understood and reminded her of a few moments that she has watched me struggle with losing a cow or calf. I also reminded her that two more steers waited at home that needed her attention and focus as they will head to different fairs over the next couple of weeks. Each of these steers have certain special memories in their lifetimes as well and the circle of life continues. Rambo's older sister had her first calf this past February and  like her mother is raising a beautiful first child that will likely be in our herd for as a replacement heifer for many years to come.

One thing that always made me mad and I had a hard time grasping in my own life was why Dad always made get my butt out of bed early the day immediately  following the fair to go work with him. This morning as I sat on a ice chest with a few left over beverages from the fair on the back porch and pulled on my boots to go deliver fair steers I watched the sunrise come up with Dads memory. I looked over at Dakota pulling on her own boots to go help me and I knew why. The circle of life continues; cows, family, passion, work, community, and toughness is what defines people in the cattle business and I am so very proud to be a part of it. More posts related to this years fair will be coming this week.

Today's pictures that can be viewed in full size by clicking on them are Rambo with his mother the day he was born, and Rambo's older sister raising he first calf.

Part of making it in the cattle business and a lesson my Dad taught me well is being tough. I think this Youtube song by Justin McBride is a bit of an obscure song that embodies today's blog post, my feelings and besides that, you have to appreciate a song with "puke green Cadillac" in the lyrics!


 

A Happy Man

Summer is flying by like they always seem to do and I just have to buckle down at get to this page more often. I did finally accomplish one of my New Years resolutions last week and made a Facebook page. So far I am not really sold on all the joys of Facebook but I will be patient and see how it goes. 

The main reason I wanted to post tonight was because of a couple of events in the world and some memories connected to those events. I have been really missing Dad lately and this memory is related to him and certainly the kind of man he was. Today (well Monday) was the 23rd anniversary of the death of bull rider Lane Frost. Lane was only 25 years old and took hard a hit to his ribs from a bull named Takin care of Business after he had completed his ride. Lane died that day in the arena in Cheyenne Wyoming when a broken rib punctured his heart.

In 1994 there was a movie entitled 8 Seconds based on Lane Frosts short life. Dakota was not even born yet but when she was very young she would watch that movie over and over. All of my nieces and nephews also often would watch 8 seconds at Grandma Judys and Grandpa Larrys often with Grandpa snoozing in and out of slumber as the movie ran. It was one of those viewings of 8 seconds with 5 of his grandkids beside him (Dad) that is the subject of my memory and story.

I don't know the exact event of why so many of the currently birthed grandkids were at mom and dads  that particular day but I know that Dakota, SalliRose, Chase,Alex and Jake were all there. I am guessing this around 2003 or so just by remembering the approximate age of the kids at the time. I walked into the kitchen, said hello to mom and we laughed at how quiet the house was despite the kids being there. Mom commented that they were all upstairs watching 8 Seconds with "papa". I first went up the stairs thinking that I would sneak up behind them and scare them because I knew they would have their attention glued to the screen. When I got to the top of the stairs I noticed the movie was right at the point where Lane, Tuff and Cody were flying over the Cheyenne Days arena. Lanes last ride was about to take place. I just kind of knelt there quietly and watched as the scene took place. For those of you that remember he dismounts after his ride, the bull then turns around and gores him, then he stands up, takes a few steps and collapses. The next scene is of him being carried out of a church in a casket. 


Now that isn't the end of the movie but there was not a dry eye in the family room at that moment. You could tell that even papa was choked up a bit. Very suddenly dad jumped down on the floor on his knees, shut off the television and yelled "who thinks they can ride Red Rock?!!" 5 kids that had just been sitting there in total sadness jumped from their places and started to try and ride the spinning and bull sounding Red Rock aka Dad. He would let them ride for a bit and then buck them off and chase them to the fence (couch). They had all totally forgotten about the sad movie and were now shrieking in delight.


I know my Dad had many happy days in his life so to compare this particular moment to so many others in his life probably would not be fair but I can tell you this. At that moment my Dad was a very happy man, a content man, a man who loved his life, loved his family and loved making all of us happy. I just watched in awe at the way he had handled that moment in life and knew I had a lot to learn still in life. Teaching by doing, showing an example. Thank you Dad for that cherished memory from that day.


I think I may have used today's picture sometime before but it is Dad with Dakota at her second fair.


Today's music selections are from George Fox singing "Here's Hoping (There'll Always be a Cowboy) and Colby Yates sings "The kind of Man He Was." Both of these songs have great lyrics and music and the George Fox song has some great pictures as well! Enjoy!







I miss you buddy and I think about you every day and all that you taught and gave to me!

 

It's Magic

So here it is, months since I have last posted. I really don't have a good excuse, but I do have several excuses. I just cannot seem to get my life in balance seems to be the primary cause. I have stretched myself a bit too thin and it seems like some aspect of life has to always suffer to make the best effort at another aspect. The good news is I think my priorities have been mostly well defined, certainly not everyday, but in general I feel I have pursued the parts of life that had the most importance depending on the day. Keep living, keep striving, keep loving and keep learning are the focus for 2012. Unfortunately, often that knocks the priority of the blog way down.

You will probably be surprised at my primary excuse for not being here lately, not the only reason by any means but the one reason that got me started with ignoring this blog. Many here and those that know me also know how much I love music. The night of the 2012 Grammy awards was tough on me. I tried to watch and follow along on Twitter but as the night ran on I got a bit disgusted with society, even people I usually agree with on most ideas. As much as I love music I dont give musical artists any special standing as far their importance or opinion. The general public however does seem to have a huge regard for musical artists personal lives and opinions. I sat quietly on Twitter and watched as people I really see as great people seemed to be enamored with anyone with musical talent. Don't get me wrong, as someone with zero musical talent I am in awe of what ANY musical artist can do with lyrics and music. Where I lost it was when an artist that was a convicted woman beater was given a Grammy. This was not half as bad as when the woman that he assaulted decided to do a duet with him. I know forgiveness is a Christian trait and maybe the failure is mine but in all honesty it looks to me like the almighty dollar has a value that can erase the past just a bit too easily for many people. This is enough on the issue but honestly it made me want to retreat to my own sheltered, simple and honorable life and most of the world could go fornicate themselves.

This past week two things happened that renewed my faith in the goodness of the people of this country, and it made me ashamed that I even doubted that there are more good people in this country than bad. The big news in my industry this week was the mad cow in California. I applaud the industry, the USDA (yes I really did praise the Federal Government) and most of all the general public of the country. Despite the medias insatiable desire to blow things up and get all drama filled the story stayed informative without hype overruling intelligence and science. Yes the markets took a bit of a panic but it was short lived and as I tracked media the issue faded quickly. I even saw one poll that tried hard to extend the hype with the question "With the madcow in California will you quit eating beef?" The two choices were, "Yes I am worried about the safety of beef." or "No, we have a very safe beef supply." The poll was running 30-70 the last time I checked it.

The second thing that really helped to renew my faith in this country was the labor department deciding to rescind their rules about kids working on farms and ranches. I know many people sent in comments about this terrible idea and especially in an election year we saw how being engaged CAN make a difference in government. Nobody wants kids to be hurt or killed working on farms or ranches. Everybody benefits from the life lessons, work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit that is learned by kids working in rural America! OK off the soapbox and on to whats been happening in life.

Calving season has been absolutely spectacular for me. Every single first calf heifer I own is nursing a live calf and not a single one required any calving help. I did have one young lady that had some confusion and took over another cows calf but I caught the issue and the other cow is now raising the confused mothers biological calf so all is good. I saved a breech birth calf I would have bet my last dollar would not be born alive.Just for you anti agriculture people and animal rights people I must have sucked 20 gallons of phlegm out of this particular calf's lungs into my own mouth in a all out effort to make sure he lived.  The post calving health has been excellent and so far we are having an great grass year. *not just knock on wood, but beat the hell out of a log good!*  I did have some of the common issues that show up and some not so common issues such as a blind calf that kept me busy but overall things have been extraordinarily awesome. Everything is now at the home ranch and almost all the hotwire fence is gathered as well as portable panels and water troughs. Next week is branding and castration week and this family event is something I look forward to every year.

I want to thank all of you that showed concern about my absence from the social media world and the encouragement to come back. I really do enjoy being part of a bigger world and I do have a good selection of pictures from the last few months that I will share as we charge towards summer. Thank you for reading!  


All of today's pictures have a story behind them that I will share over the next few months and they can be viewed in full size by clicking on them. 


Today's real environmentalist species found on the ranch is the human aka homo sapien, yes we really are part of Mother Earths creatures.


Today's Youtube music video selection is a feel good song from my youth. Magic by the Cars. Hey Mikey you remember a night in Cannon Beach Oregon, a roomful of recently graduated young ladies and this song? So far the cattle business has been nothing short of Magic in 2012.