Cow-Girl BLOG

This is the time of year when you can count on the weather changing dramatically from one day to the next or even from morning to evening! It is the time of year when I am liable to misplace a coat because it is utterly necessary one minute and intolerable the next! April saw abnormally high temps which caused a rapid snow melt and flooding all over the Valley. County roads washed out, my driveway washed out, water just flooded off the prairie. Then came the wind…then another foot of wet snow…now more wind. But the grass is beginning to green up and the promise of summer is in the air.

Today I went to the cattle sale in La Junta and bought yearlings to stock the pastures this summer. They were sent to a grow yard where they will be cared for, branded and vaccinated till sent to Music Meadows in about ten days. As I headed home loaded with salt, fence posts, dog food for Shorty, grain for the horses and new leather gloves I figured my winter vacation is indeed over! I have been purchasing cattle since the end of January but my winter was relatively liesurly with only the horses, my dog, two barn cats, firewood and snow removal to contend with. Last week, George started working to repair the flood damage and now is on fence repair. George has worked with me over the past several years on an unofficial (and typically unpaid) basis but it’s now official, he is cowboying on the Music Meadows Ranch and I couldn’t be more pleased to have such a talented and consientious man to help me get the work done!
Cattle will start rolling in here next week. There is some old grass left over from last summer for them to start on till the new grass start cranking.

Each truck can haul about 90 head of cattle at a cost of about $3 per loaded mile and the cattle are about 120 miles away. After they arrive they must be looked at and counted twice a week for a couple of weeks to see if any get sick. If they do they have to be driven to the corral for treatment. Fence repair will continue for a couple of weeks and irrigation will start as soon as the ground warms up. I almost forgot, I have to start training some unbroke horses (a deal I couldn’t refuse).

I am anxious to see who my first guests of the season will be! Whoever they are, they can count on being a “hand for the day” on the Music Meadows Ranch (or for more than a day if they really want to submerse in the reality of life as a rancher). There will be a new page in my website shortly explaining how you can stay over in the ranch house for the first time ever! This is a great opportunity for folks to really “get-away” for a true break from the norm of life!

Happy Trails,
Elin

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This entry was posted by cowgirlblog on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 8:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.