The cows were out of feed so it was time to move them to a fresh pasture. We all gathered and began saddling the horses.

Anna and Lisle get their horses ready,

then give their daughters some early cowgirl training.

One cousin holds the Shetland Pony while another cousin saddles him.

Paul puts the reins on Talinka.

Matt’s got his horses saddled and is trying to figure out who’s riding up front, behind, and what path we’re taking to the new pasture. Finally, everyone knows their position, the lead and tail cars are loaded, and Grandpa takes a group of little cowgirls and cowboys to shut gates and guard openings along the route.

The cowboys (and cowgirls) gather the herd as the storm gathers. Sometime before I snapped this picture, Nate’s horse Canyon decided she didn’t want him on her back. She began crow hopping and then all out bucking. Nate stayed on a good eight seconds and beyond, but eventually Canyon got her way. Nate has NEVER been bucked off a horse before. He says forty is not the age to start. He climbed back on Canyon and together they helped herd the cows the four miles to the new pasture at which point it was all Nate could do to get off the horse and into the car.

Paul, on the other hand, looks like herding cows in the rain is the best way to spend a Saturday.

We brought the cows out and immediately crossed the road.

Here they come

to cross another highway. These crossings are why lead and tail vehicles are needed. They park off to the side of the road, one on each side of the crossing, with flashers going and a stick poking out the window with something red on it. This hopefully alerts oncoming traffic in both directions if they haven’t seen the animals on the road yet.

The camera doesn’t show the rain or the wind.

I drove the tail vehicle. Here’s my windshield.

We arrived at the new pasture …

and the neighbors were pretty excited to greet some new cows.

Our cows immediately headed over to make friends. All this neighborly kindness led to a long night a couple of weeks later. I’ll have to post about that another time.

The storm was picking up momentum about this time so horses were quickly loaded.

Done socializing, the cows spread out to enjoy their new pasture, and we drove home to warm houses.

This is our water. Once it melts we have no way of storing it. That means after the fourth of July, we can’t water our crops. How many of you stop watering your gardens or yards at the height of summer heat? Eighty years ago a plan was established to remedy this situation. A storage resevoir would be built in Sanpete and the Scofield resevoir in Carbon County would be doubled in size. Sanpete’s resevoir would be built first.

Before work on the Sanpete project, called the Narrows or Gooseberry, commenced, a serious risk was identified in the Scofield structure. “During World War II, it was discovered that Scofield was failing. A catastrophic failure of Scofield would do huge damage, including wiping out the railroad line that carried Carbon’s coal to Geneva Steel in Orem. The damage to Carbon’s economy, and to Geneva Steel’s contribution to America’s war effort was simply unacceptable.” (quoted from The Narrows Project Website)

Sanpete agreed that Carbon County’s Scofield project must be completed first. The dam was repaired, and its size doubled. The war ended. Carbon County had their water. Sanpete did not. Since that time, whenever Sanpete has tried to initiate progress on the resevoir to store its OWN runoff, the Carbon County Commission, the Carbon Water Conservancy district, the Price Water Users’ Association, and others have objected.

We need the capacity to store our water. We need the Narrows Project. Please help us by sending an email to the Bureau of Reclamation. Your email needs to be in their hands BEFORE JUNE 1 and contain your full name and address.

narrowsSDEIS@usbr.gov

You can read more about the Narrows Project on this website and also in this article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Here’s the letter Nate sent:

I am a local farmer in the North Sanpete area and have been here for over 35 years. Without the ability to store water, we are 100% dependent on spring run off and when the run-off ends, usually by end of June, so too does our crop irrigation. We desperately need the water promised to us to continue with our crop production. Each year we eek out one and half crops of alfalfa, which is not enough to even pay the expenses. With this Narrows Dam Project, we would be able to get an extra crop, making it possible to sustain our operation and secure a future for agriculture business in Sanpete. I only desire this project to be completed as promised. I have traveled to Carbon County in the fall and observe their continued irrigation of crops well into October. It is only fair, that we recuperate the water that rightfully belongs to us. I urge you, with all of the emphasis I can, to end the bickering and approve this project so we may sustain our desire to preserve our local economy and feed our communities.

It was a cold, blustery, rainy day.

The cowgirls and cowboys saddled their horses amidst pelting rain and gusts of wind. They herded the cows across sage brush and fields to their new spring pasture green with feed. I think the herd is pretty happy with its new dining room.

The fields are plowed, harrowed, and planted and enjoying this wet spring.

The next task is to get the sprinkler pipe ready. First we’ll have to do some careful untangling. After I took this picture, a wind storm came through and blew part of one line OVER the other. But first, we’ve got to move the cows to their new spring pasture. And before that, Matt has to get the fence up. Lots to do. It must be spring.

The bosses, Ken and Charlene, set the date, sent out an email, and the family arrived to work with the calves.

First, the mama cows and calves were separated into different corrals.

Nate coaxes the calves up the chute where Matt, his visiting nephew (everyone gets to help–even visitiors), and Chad stand ready

to close the chute and flip it on its side. It then becomes a table where we can check out the calf.

One of the cowgirls slides a rope into the back of the chute. The cowboys loop it over the calf’s back leg, and

the cowgirls take turns holding the rope. This ensures that the cowboys don’t get kicked when they lift part of the top panel to check out the calf.

Ken checks out this calf while

these cowgirls record whether it’s male or female and any other info we made need to know about a particular calf.

The calves are released into a holding corral until we’ve checked each one.

Grandma helps this little cowgirl peek in at the calves while her mom works with the calves.

Then the calves are released back into the mama cows. A LOT of loud mooing ensues as each cow and calf try to find each other.

And that’s how email can bring a ranching family together to work.

Steaks:

1 pound Pleasant Valley ground beef
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (Blend 3-4 slices of bread.)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 of a 1 1/4-ounce package dry onion soup mix
egg
salt and pepper (optional)

Sauce:

1 103/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
12/ of a 1 1/4-ounce package dry onion soup mix
1 4-ounce can mushrooms, drained (Or saute fresh, sliced mushrooms and chopped onion in a bit of olive oil and save for topping after cooking.)

Put bread in blender to make fine crumbs. Combine the steak ingredients and mix well. Press into a 7 x 12-inch pan. Cover and chill 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cut meat into 6 pieces. Coat each piece with whole wheat flour. Heat a small amount of oil and brown steaks on both sides. Transfer to  9 x 13-inch baking dish if baking in the oven. To make sauce, mix soup and milk. Add the remaining 1/2 package onion soup mix and mushrooms. Pour over meat and cover. Simmer on stove or bake in a 325° oven for 1 hour. (If you don’t have whole wheat bread crumbs and whole wheat flour, use white. It will turn out just fine.)

Serve with baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a green salad.

Many are bemoaning the recent heavy snowfall. However, we are grateful for the storm. We need several more just like it if we want water enough for our summer crops.

Perhaps we could all learn a lesson from this cowboy and cowgirl who played until well past dark enjoying the new snow. Today as they donned coats and boots before school, they were discussing the improvements they will make to their tunnel system this afternoon. (Snowball throwers just happen to make great tunnel diggers with the side benefit of creating perfect snowballs.)

Enjoy the moment.

Before a fateful power outtage a couple of weeks ago, I had planned a winter chore post. However, not all of my pictures were recovered, so here is a sketchy view of what winter feeding entails. Nate uses all his weight and strength to pull hay from half ton bales placed by the tractor. Behind him (in pictures that I lost) is the calf corral. He simply turns around with a forkful and places it in the feeder. Once the calves are fed we cross the corral, climb a fence, and enter the cow (Mama Cows) corral.

Then pass through a gate to the alley and haystack. Nate and his oldest cowboy determine where to take the hay from.

Then with pitchforks the hay is spread in the alley for the Mama Cows.

These are some happy cows. While they and the calves are happily eating, we focus on the iced-over watering troughs. More lost pictures. What you don’t see is Nate and the children breaking the ice and using pitch forks to toss chunks of ice out of the trough before filling them again.

Now it’s time to feed the horses and bull. Each gets their own individual spot of hay. They don’t like to share. Wish I had the photo where you could see the bull and each horse spread out munching their personal meals. Or the one showing the bull’s approach after Nate dropped a pile of hay for him. Alas, maybe another time. Use your imagination. This is why the cowboys work all hours of the night to bring in the hay during the summer.

There’s always time for some sledding after morning chores are done.

(At least during the holidays when school is out.)

Four the past several years, we have been attending the local farmer’s markets. Many people have come by our booth asking about the healthy way we raise our beef. Many of them have read the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. As a small local producer, we do not use the techniques found in the large feed lots around the country. We do not believe in raising our animals in ways that are unnatural. We have open free-range pastures with luscious green grass.

Here is a video presentation by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma

This boy loves tractors. From the moment he wakes up, it’s tractors. Saturday around noon my littlest cowboy looked out the window to see this.

It’s fall, which means plowing time on the farm. And if you’re going to plow the fields, why not plow the garden under, too while you’re at it. However, this was highly distracting for my youngest cowboy. He couldn’t pull himself away from the window to eat lunch. I brought his sandwich to him so he could eat while he watched, but he only grunted at me and pushed the plate away.

Since he wouldn’t eat, there was only one thing to do–especially because he’d already put on his shoes and was pulling the door open.

This made a boy happy. Tractors and two-year-olds–they’re pretty much inseparable at our house. My wise ten-year-old understands this connection. Last week this little two-year-old was throwing fits about putting on a pair of pants. My ten-year-old intervened. “Look, your pants are the color of tractor dirt. Do you want to wear your tractor dirt pants?” Of course he did. It’s all about tractors for this cowboy.