COLD WINTER DAYS

Here's Henry...I had to make sure the camera was working good..And he didn't even break it!!!

Oshkosh, NE on a Sunday afternoon.

We are having horrible weather here. Today is is around 7 degrees above zero. Tonight when I got off work, it was ZERO...Too cold for me...We have about 8" of snow on the ground also. It was a bad day for calving. We had 2 calves born and got them ear tagged. Henry noticed a calf on the other side of the fence that had been born yesterday. He evidently couldn't get back across and he was so cold. We loaded him up in the truck and turned the heater on high, he was so cold. We then scouted for more calves and found one at the other end of the corn field. He was new born and not doing well. Well, he took a place on my lap and we headed back to the house. Henry brought them inside and we got them under a heat lamp. Elton tubed them, putting warm liquid into them. He was going to get them to the barn after they start reviving.

Picture of some ewes weathering out the snow..

I have a couple lambs I'm feeding till the ewe starts producing milk. One is so small, she doesn't even look like a lamb. But she is thriving and drinking milk replacer. She doesn't eat much but tries hard. Her sibling is doing great, drinking milk replacer with gusto. Here are the 2 lambs I'm feeding with me in my work uniform..

We have been breaking ice in water tanks, feeding the animals well to get them thru the cold spell.

I have been making quite a few greeting cards since I got my Cricut card machine. Bob told me to order another cartridge for it for my birthday. I have one coming in the mail.

I now have to do my taxes. I received my W-2's today and will file as soon as I get new printer cartridge for my printer. Don't know if I'll get any back or not.

Hope everyone is staying warm! The sunset at the end of the day.

Busy days

This was in the yard of someone by the lake. For a minute I thought I was back in Arizona!

I've had a few busy days this past week.

At work, we are starting to have new calves. 3 have been born so far and they now have ear tags. Henry has been doing a good job getting that taken care of. The sheep are still waiting to lamb. The real heavy lambing will take place the 1st 3 weeks of March.

We moved 73 cows to a north pasture yesterday. We drove them from one pasture up the road to some corrals and then trailered them to the pasture. It did take all day. We could only put 11 cows in one trailer and 7 in the other so we had several trips. The weather has been good, up in the 60's to move the cows. The weekend was warm but the winds were horrible. We had gusts to 35 mph.

I went to a bull sale on Monday. They were selling Herefords at the Van Newkirk ranch. It was televised and drew a good crowd. The top 2 year old bull sold for $9000 and there were a few that sold for $6000 - $7000. The top heifer sold for $3500. It was fun to go to. Before the sale they provided a BBQ'd brisket luncheon.

I received an email from my sister, Donna, in Laramie, WY today. She and her family have made reservations to go to San Diego over spring break in March. They will be going to the zoo, seeing the sites, walking the beach and just relaxing for a week. Wish I could fit in her suitcase!

Bob and I went to the Oshkosh auditorium today to visit the Farm and Ranch show. There were a few vendors there, nothing like the big tent in Quartzsite tho. They served lunch of BBQ beef sandwiches. Afterwards we grabbed the camera and headed toward Lake McConnahay. There is an eagle viewing area on the south side of the lake. We saw probably 60 - 70 bald eagles in the trees. It was amazing. We also saw a heron, some pelicans and ducks. There is a nice little campground just east of there also. When we get ready for our auction in April, we were thinking of taking the 5er down there for a week or so and just spend time by the lake before heading to Wyo for the summer.

I noticed in the paper that the 4-H Citizen Washington Focus delegates are taking orders for pizza to be delivered in time for the super bowl. I called one of the boys I know and have one ordered. One less thing I have to make for the super bowl and it does help the kids out!

There is a church in Keystone, NE just south of the lake we visited today. It is divided in the middle, half being protestant and half being catholic. They do hold regular services also.

Jan. 17, 2009

This is some history of John Hollman. This is about a mile south of Oshkosh.

Today we were supposed to do a cattle drive, but the wind decided to come up in gusts to 25mph and plans were changed. We had to drive them when the temps are cool with a slight breeze so they don't get overheated.

We got the sheep sorted so the ewes that will lamb next are at the barn.

Today we all did chores and had the rest of the day off. Bob and I went to Chappel to a garage sale, then headed over to Ogalalla to the Antique Mall. It was nice to get away and do something different.

Carley and Bob...

We took pics yesterday of some geese flying into some corn fields south of Oshkosh.

Jan 14, 2009

Today was COLD. The temp was in the low 20's and later in the day it started snowing. Henry and I worked on a fence in the lower pens. The ground was frozen about a foot down and it was hard to dig post holes. We only got 2 dug and it took a long time.

We had another lamb born this morning. The ewe didn't want to accept her, but after I got her in the barn and penned up in a smaller pen, she finally did. The lamb is black with a few white hairs in the face.

We have some more ewes that are going to have lambs soon. We will sort them tomorrow and get them to the barn so we can watch them closer.

I will go to Julesburg, CO tomorrow about 40 miles away to get chicken feed. After that, who knows what will happen.

Lauren said she is going to get some Muscovy ducks tomorrow. These ducks don't have a Quack. They just kind of squeak. I used to have a bunch of them and they are fun to have around.

I made a beaded hummingbird and here is a picture.

Jan 5, 2009

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This will be a short post tonight. It was 0 degrees when I got up at 5am. But during the day, it warmed up to about 36 which was tolerable. I was again dressed in coveralls, gloves, hat, etc. I cleaned out the barn this morning, fixed fence this afternoon in 2 different sections, helped fill the grainary from the grain truck with the auger, did chores 2 times. It was a good day.

When I first arrived at work, I checked on the ewe that was lambing when I left last night. She had 2 beautiful lambs. I tried to take some good pictures but they kept moving too fast. Finally got one when Henry came in the barn and asked, "Are you playing with the lambs again?" I said "Yes ,I am", and had him hold the lambs while I got a still picture. Here they are! Enjoy...

Sunday Jan 4, 2009

It is a bit frosty out right now. It got down to 3 degrees in the night but warmed up to 30 degrees during the day.

When I did chores last night a ewe had a lamb in the frigid weather and lost it. She had one soon after, I ran it up to the barn and got them into a pen. Everything was fine when I left, got her fed and watered and she was taking care of her new lamb.

I went out this afternoon to do chores, checked on the lamb and it had been buried under the straw and was gone. It broke my heart. She is crying for the lambs tonight and nothing can be done about it. Another ewe was starting to lamb when I left. I did get her into a pen in the barn and hope all goes well. I plan on getting the barn cleaned out tomorrow with new straw in case we have some more lambs coming. It will be about 42 degrees tomorrow, so it will be a good day to get that done.

Bob took a picture of downtown Oshkosh, NE today. This is a quiet town on Sunday.

Also a local mascot for the town that claims to be the goose hunting capital of the world. The North Platte river valley is home for lots of migrating waterfowl and hunting seasons are always productive. It also has lots of cover and vegetation that provides good habitat for numerous flocks of turkeys and deer.

Much of the North Platte river valley is leased for hunting purposes and many non residents purchase property here to build hunting lodges and have a place to go during the hunting season. One such non resident that has purchased land here is Steve Farris. He was with the band "Mister, Mister", in the 1970's. He is a great person, friendly, always willing to help out when needed.

Anybody wanting his autograph, let me know and I can get it for you.

We also have a Roastery here. The town smells so good when they are roasting coffee beans. I get my caffeine fix that way without drinking coffee. They sell the coffee in the small shop for about $9.00/lb. It does taste exceptional. You can also buy it off the web at Mark Ferrari.com. It is well worth the price!

Jan 2, 2009

Hello all,
Today started out with the usual chores at the ranch. I drove up north to the corn fields where some cows are pastured. I filled water tanks and came back and worked on some fencing projects. We had to dig post holes in the frozen ground, only about a foot was frozen so it didn't take too long. After lunch we continued with fencing. I moved cable from down on a bunk line so calves wouldn't escape the corral. Chores were once again done in the evening with the sun setting and making a beautiful sunset. Of course I didn't have a camera with me. Not as good as the Arizona sunset but really nice.
Today the temp got up to about 55 degrees but by tomorrow it is supposed to be down to 25 degrees again. Sure am looking forward to spring!

Happy New Year 2009

Happy New Year to all!

We spent from Dec 21st - 31st at Woods Landing Resort. It is the spot where we work in the summer just outside of Laramie WYO. The owners were away for the holiday and we were able to house sit for them. It was great to be back there. But the weather was cold, windy and snowy. I didn't like that part. I helped out in the cafe and cleaned cabins that were rented out. Bob was running the snowplow when needed. We hauled all of out Christmas presents over from Nebraska and opened them over there. Picture of several deer roaming around Woods Landing.

Bob and Carley with their matching coats.

We had a steak and shrimp dinner for Christmas. Bob cooked and it turned out great.

We took Carley with us too. Before we left she got an ear infection and didn't seem to be getting better. We took her to the vet in Laramie and he gave her an Rx that started working in 6 hours. She is doing so much better. She lost her appetite and didn't seem interested in anything. Glad to have her back to her old self.

Here's a picture of my sis, Donna and me by her Christmas tree.

My sister, Donna and brother in law, Jim.

I went back to work today. We vaccinated some lambs and then I went home until chore time tonight.