This was what Hunter did all day

Poor guy!

And lots of fun

Relaxing for everyone

Making cat beds

Kate and Ben spent part of the afternoon digging out the rotten wood so the cats would have been nice hollow hole to sleep in!

Latest project

Katie made this yesterday. She thought it looked like a flower with a beautiful blue bird flying in from the upper left hand corner. It really did turn out cool!
It's a keeper!

End of log Canyon

We watched these Elk come down the other night. We yelled at them and hollered for them to stop trampoline the alfalfa fields!

Here they are thinking about how they are going to cross back over and go up the canyon.

So very cool to be just driving along with great weather 60 degrees and see a herd of elk at the end of our road!

GROSS

Prolapsed uterus!
OUCH!

Hackers!

That's what I call them!
Here's a great picture of my new haircut!
Yeah, not good!

Bought this at Walmart!

I thought it might be a cosmic message.

A state problem

Do we really need to bag EVERYTHING?

Katie's week

OK - This is Katie or Kate.

And I am going to tell you about how things are going.

On Monday, I got to go to work all by myself with Dad.  We went up to the new house and measured perimeter because even Dad did not know the perimeter yet.  Dad helped me measure the first room so I could get the hang of it.  Then Dad went down stairs to do some other work and I was left alone.  I measured all the upstairs and the whole downstairs, but not the basement.  Then I had to estimate by rounding to the nearest foot.  It was a lot of work.

On Tuesday, that was a big day!
Well, we walked up to check the cows and we saw one that one was having a baby.  We watched it for a while and getting more worried all the time because the mom was not making any progress.  Then Farmer Scott came and he had to pull the calf.  Then Hunter and I ran down to the ranch to get some towels to dry off the calf.  Well, Farmer Scott took the mom cow to the corral and got ready to stitch her back together.  OK - don't get freaked out yet!  The worst part would be in an hour.

Hunter and I dried off the calf as quickly as we could while mom and Ben went to town to get some supplies.  While Hunter and I were drying off the calf we talked and watched a little calf that had been born yesterday squeeze through the fence.  A little later, Farmer Scott's son went searching for it.  It had not gone far.  Somehow, I got the calf to suck on my thumb!  Grandma, it reminds me of the story you told me about the cow and the mitten.

When it was time, I had to get the big pills out of this bag.  It was hard because the bag was long and skinny.  It was a long glove that you  use when you reach into the cow.  GROSS!  I was shaking because I was not sure I could get them out fast enough and Farmer Scott was telling me to go quickly and that made me more nervous.

When it was finally done, I was relieved.  Whew!  I could not watch at all!  But I still want to be a vet.

On Wednesday, Hunter had been up all night throwing up so we stayed home instead of going to the ranch.  Horse lessons were cancelled, but I still had dance.

On Thursday, the farrier came and brought his daughter.  She is nine too.  I REALLY like her!  We did some ice dying, if you know what that is.  I showed her the whole ranch and we talked and had fun.

Today, Hunter is still sick but is starting to feel a little better.  We have singing lessons today and you know in Lady and the Tramp, we are singing We are Siamese from that movie.

Tomorrow we are going to the Young Living Farm for a fun Easter egg hunt and some time with our friends.
ALERT!  ALERT!  NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS!
Saturday night I am going to help mom hide the eggs for Easter because now I am one of the keepers of the magic.  I am excited to see their faces when they are finding all the eggs.  We are hiding the eggs inside and outside!  Mom said we have 100 of them!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Heifer 193 - a ranch emergency!

WHAT A DAY! I can hardly believe it! So, I should begin with sharing that we decided to move our little school over to the ranch – Sorry, Greg and Vanessa! We took your room, however, all that will not matter once we are in the new house and have SOME SPACE.

I suppose that was one of the turning factors. There is just no space here at the little cabin and to have the kids “do school” in the immediate space they also eat in, play in, watch a movie in, relax in, etc. is just too much. I wish we would have done it a long time ago. After all, 10 months and nowhere to go other than right here at the cabin can make one a little craaaaazy! ME?

The rhythm over at the ranch is great – school is all we do. There are no piles of tempting legos, there are NO DOGS to deal with their craziness (Betty behaves like a spring rabbit these days!) there are no family dishes from dinner to wash, no laundry to think about, etc. - so, it's wonderful.

Anyway, yesterday we are at the ranch and had just finished lunch. So, we were having a little recess before our afternoon book work. I am not sure why, but just thought that I would walk up and check the heifers. They are in the pasture right there next to the ranch house, so thought I would just walk up (plus, it's nice to have a few moments ALONE to remember what that is like!)

As I am walking up along the fence line, there is a heifer who is walking towards me, she falls down onto her front knees and I watch her water break! And I am thinking, “Holy Shit!” She is down on the ground and I can tell that she is just wondering what is happening to her. Remember that first time where you are thinking, “Did my water just break or God help me....did I just wet my pants?” I am standing there, frozen in my tracks just watching, and she gets up. As she turns, I can see there is a hoof sticking out!

NOW – I suppose it is important to mention here that although I had seen one other calf get born, I am a pretty immature ranch girl and was not really sure if that hoof was suppose to be sticking out, I have to admit, I did kinda have a bit of a panic. Honestly, there was this gut instinct in me that just said to me that something was not right with her. Just the way I would watch her walk a few steps, come down on her front end and lay down on her side. I also, however, was thinking that labor has got to be labor no matter what sort of animal you are. I decided to take the “wait and see” approach.

So, I ran back down to the ranch to tell the kids and we all ran back up to where she was. 193 was still doing the same, getting up, walking a ways, coming down on her front and laying down. I would watch her belly and almost see it contract. And I thought to myself, “ok....active labor....we are on our way.”

After about 45 minutes, however, she was not really progressing the way she should – especially with the way I was watching her push. It was like there she was, laying in the dirt, breathing so heavy the dirt was puffing out in front of her, pushing so hard both her upper front and back legs were coming up and still nothing....maybe the start of another hoof. And STILL I am wondering if the hooves are suppose to come out first.

So, what do I do.....call Scott and text Farmer Scott. My text was just was an update, however, my call to my husband was more like WTF!

My Scott assured me that things were fine, we should just let her be and see how she progresses. My gut (and later to find out, Katie's gut as well, were telling me different). Anyway, we waited. In the meantime, I did find out that calves DO come out hooves first, sort of like a dive and that their hooves should be pointing forward, meaning the front of their hoof is pointing up. I also learned that apparently a calf can live in the birth canal for up to about 8 hours. I figured we had time.

I have to tell you that I was up and down that fence line about 5 times to the far corner of the pasture– that is no small jog (which is fine because the way the afternoon turned out THAT was to be my only exercise). By the last time I ran up there, something was just not right. And I was kicking myself that I had not pushed for an intervention earlier. There were two hooves just peeking out, maybe 6-8 inches, but the way she was laying and pushing and just nothing, I could tell that little one was stuck and she was hurting bad. She would struggle to get up and just fall over. Not good.

So, once again, I run.....down the fence line, to my phone and I call Farmer Scott who has been up the road, but out of signal range. Thank GOD – he is on his way because at this point, I am kinda starting to freak out in my head.

So AGAIN we are back up the fence line and he says that we should wait and see – and really, what do I know? So, we wait.

Finally, we go back up and he now can see what I have been seeing - that she is just not progressing. And he decides to pull the calf! I had wanted to do it a long time ago – there was just this natural motherly instinct that made me want to help her get out of pain and just settle the situation.

Thank GOD again! Farmer Scott's son was on spring break, so he was also helping. He went- of course....running..... along the fence line to get the little intervention box that has the calf pulling chains in it. Now, don't get all freaked out when I mention “chains”. They really are no thicker than a bike chain and do not look terrible at all. Besides at that point, I had been looking around at all the twine laying around and thinking that as a last resort I could use that. So, I was just happy someone who knew what to do was there.

Scott puts the chains around the calf's hoof and pulls. And I am not talking about some wimpy little effort, this was quite the pull. Like with all his might. And the mother is moaning and groaning and I am just watching him pull harder and harder and praying that this all turns out ok. I am standing there wishing there was something I could do because my heart is just aching for this mama heifer.

So, after one great big giant tug, the calf comes out, and he is HUGE, like so huge he is bigger than some of the calves that were already born last week! Of course, a bull!

So, the heifer is laying there and out comes this “thing” and I am thinking she is now delivering the placenta because after all – what do I know? So, I am telling the kids all about what a placenta is and what it does, etc. Did you know that humans are the only animal that does not eat the placenta? Although I have to admit, I do know a few people who had theirs dried and turned into pills they could take after wards. It is apparently really good for your “bounce back” after delivery. Great for the placenta eaters.

Well, a cow usually eats hers so you rarely ever find them in the pasture. It is usually twofold, one – the placenta is packed full of nutrients that help the “eater” get their health back and two – it allows the mama cow to know the scent of her calf and essentially be bonded to it. At least that is what I have heard.

Then I hear Scott say THAT is not the placenta but her uterus. And that is when my own vagina let out a cry of pain and I just put my head down on the fence cable and said a little prayer!

It's called a prolapsed uterus and let me tell you one thing – it is pretty @%$#* gross!

Now, before I tell you how this all ends up – let me tell you about ranch business 101. So, what's the ranching risk here...well, it is that the mama dies, a financial loss and then here you have this calf that has no mother so there is a risk he would die as well. We would bottle feed him as long as we needed and if another mama had a calf that died, we would attempt to put those two together and cross our fingers that they would take to each other and that new mama would raise that orphan. So, obviously, you have to do what you have to do to have them both survive or you have a double loss. This year, we changed two major things: calving season was pushed into March and we bred the cows/heifers with bulls that produce calves that had a low birth weight and are small, but then pack on the pounds later. It seems to be working. I think we have only lost 3 calves so far!

So, there we are out in the pasture watching this heifer. We are waiting to see if the heifer is paralyzed. Many times when this happens and the calf is so large and can push against the spine on its way out. But she gets up! And then this is a sight that will be burned into my brain FOREVER! Of course, I am happy she is up, but then she starts walking and her swollen uterus is just hanging almost down to her hocks! As she starts walking, the uterus starts swinging and it just swinging to the left and to the right so much so it actually throws her balance off and she falls! Thank, God again because I am wishing at this point I had a tranquilizer gun!

So, we all kick into action!

Ben's job is to take the intervention box back down to the tack room. He gets on his way walking back along the fence line because you all know how long it takes Ben to get a job done.

Katie and Hunter go running to the ranch house to grab two hand towels to start rubbing all the gunk off the new calf. Might I just add here that they were awesome! When they returned, they both got down and knelt by the calf, who by now was shivering, and just got right into it, rubbing and wiping and warming him up. He even starting sucking on their fingers. We named him Douglas – after the pet dog in The Croods movie we saw on Saturday.

Farmer Scott's son is headed over to the shop to get the tractor.

Farmer Scott is on the phone calling around for a prolapse needle and thread.

I start cleaning the calf too.

So, the plan -

Get the heifer down into this little corral area, clean her up, shove her uterus back in and sew her up.

Get the calf down there as well.

Ben and I take off to town to pick up the needle, the thread (looks just like a shoelace) and some meds.

By the time we get back, the heifer is in the small corral area – an area created this year for this exact kind of intervention. The calf and Farmer Scott and son are coming down in the tractor. The calf is on a pallet with the kid laying over him to hold him steady – at this point, the calf has not even gotten up and walked yet so not too tough.

They get down to the corral area and lower the calf down. He is still shivering, so the kids are back on their job of rubbing him down and keeping him warm.

I am not going to get into too much detail, but to make a long story short – I was the midwife, Scott was the surgeon and his son was the assistant. Although I did a damn good job of holding her tail all the way up and out of the way....even got blood on my hands and pants! Thanks for all those pants, Vanessa!!

So far so good.

That was two days ago that the uterus got cleaned and shoved back in, with 5 anti swelling giant honking pills shoved in there too, shoe lace looking stitches up the back side with an 8 inch needle and one mega dose of anti'B's. Today, we watched her little one (which was not so little) nurse!! So – SUCCESS!

Unless, she is internally bleeding (the greatest physical risk) and we just do not know it yet. She is, however, up and moving and letting her calf nurse – all good signs she is getting well.

ME? I still sort of hold my breath and cross my legs whenever I think about that heifer getting up and walking with her uterus hanging down to her hocks.  

I would have called the vet!

The culprit

This big baby boy cause a lot of problems! His poor mama!
I will post more on this later.

Good weather

Our first picnic of the year! The weather here is awesome in comparison to Wisconsin. I tell you what, I did not really realize how much I disliked it, until we move to a place where in March it's 65 degrees in the afternoon and we are all in t shirts! Verses it being 5 degrees with a minus 0 wind chill!!

Decorating our Easter baskets

Our little ranch school

The new classroom

So, we decided to move the classroom over to the ranch! It's awesome. Here's a picture of what it looks like.

Too funny!

This was hilarious!

I brought one of the kittens in because she had been crying and meowing at the door. So, I was holding it, while I was standing in the kitchen and Scott was making drinks.
for whatever reason, Scott decided it would be funny to scare the cat. Without even really thinking about it he came up from behind and said Rharrrrr! And the cat turned and clawed him in the forehead! I know I should not say it, but I have not laughed so hard in a very long time.

When I looked over at him blood was dripping down his forehead! So, here he is pouring a stiff one!

Waiting for the show

Wal-mo

That is my new made up word. You know when you hear people say that someone has gone postal? I am going to call it Wal-mo!

I decided on that name because I am forced to shop at Walmart and they are everywhere and they never have exactly what I am looking for. However, that is my only option so I always feel like I have to make do.

For example, one time I wanted to make a pie that required Kiwi. No kidding, all the Kiwi at Walmart was rotten including the peaches next to the Kiwi. And I thought to myself how wrong it is to even buy produce at Walmart in the first place and then not only is it wrong, but rotten!

Last week, all I needed were green pipe cleaners. Of course, they did not have any! How do you not have green pipe cleaners? And Walmart is really the only place around us where I could get pipe cleaners, so I had to go to a different Walmart!!!

Any place where people feel comfortable shopping in their pajamas pants and slippers is not really the place I prefer to buy my groceries or anything for that matter.

Yes. I did just leave there!

Getting ready for Easter

Well, it is definitely true that we have been living in the cabin longer than expected. With that being said, it is also true that all our things are still packed up in Wisconsin in a two car garage. That includes all our seasonal decorations. It is kinda funny to think about everything we own fits into a two car garage. And really, when we get it back, it will be about one year that we have done without all of it!  I suppose it is a good lesson in learning what you really need to live with and what is just all extra.

For example, the giant box of stuffed animals that the kids could not live without apparently was not true, because they have been living without them all. And the toys! No one really seems to believe me when I say that our kids do a really great job with a pile of dirt and a stick. It really is true! And I see it everyday. Now I suppose you could ask me if I would trade them just sitting and playing with toys verses the amount of mud and dirt I am challenged with while doing laundry and my answer would be that I would not.

I think about all the clothes I packed up for myself and the fact that I have lived so long without them makes me think I do not really need all of that. I do not even remember what is in all of those boxes!

Today, we spent a good hour making our own easter baskets. You know, a balloon and some paper machete! It is just really hard for me to buy more stuff that we already have packed up in WI. I mean how many easter baskets does one really need? The kids had a great time!

The scrap metal yard

So we have been collecting aluminum and our tune cans for quite sometime and we just came to the metal scrap yard get or money. 7 dollars and 52 cents!

They are always amazed at how much were they do and how little money they make. But we make it more about keeping the environment clean and recycling than anything else.

I think they all enjoy watching the big machines at the junkyard more than anything else! We even had to pull out and pull back in so we could watch a little bit longer!

At the rock show

This is Benny watching his rock get polished. If u buy a bag for a buck, they will polish one stone.

The final product

Screening for Topaz

Doesn't get much better than this in march!

Wow!

So after it was all over, Katie even commented how she was not sure why she made such a big deal about it because it was all just fine. Phew! I am glad that is over! I think I'm probably going to have at least 2 glasses of wine tonight!

My VERY brave girl

My sweet girl

So I wanted to take a great before picture.

Katie has to get 2 teeth pulled today. She's being very brave about it and I am already very proud of her! I think she is a lot like me, and thinking about it is actually worse than the actual situation. So it will be good when the anticipation is over.

I cannot believe we are already to this point. It seems like just yesterday she was a beautiful little baby! And now she sometimes roll her eyes at me!

Yup!

That's for real! There were even kids at the park yesterday barefoot. Feeling good here in the springtime in the beautiful state of Utah!

Newness

So, 2 days ago we went over to the ranch to do chores and could see farmer Scott sitting there in the pasture watching cows. We did not think much of it because it is calving season so sometimes if a cow or a heifer looks as though it is about to go into labor, and might be struggling, you just have to hang out to check and make sure everything will be alright. Come to find out that is exactly what he was doing!

So the kids and I walk over and he says to us and points that this cow is in labor and he is waiting for it to give birth and it should be any time now. I am not kidding when I say that by the time all 3 kids and I we're hanging on the side of the fence she was pushing out a little calf!!! You should have seen the kids faces, they were just wide eyed mouth open and smiling!

Calving season is different for us then it is for everyone else around here because we are up on the divide. And what that means is it is always colder and much windier where we are because of the canyon winds and we are up about 600-800 feet higher than everyone else in the surrounding area. So we have push our calving season into March so that we are not challenged with the weather and reduce the mortality rate of the calves.  The kids all know this, so when that little one came out, the kids were practically cheering for the mom in her instinct of mothering to kick in.

it was such an awesome experience for all of us. I feel like such a city slicker when I say how in awe we were of it and how much we all enjoyed the whole process. When you hear of a calf that dies, you certainly are hoping the best for each and every one and I am glad to say this one, a little heifer, is a survivor!

Newness

So, 2 days ago we went over to the ranch to do chores and could see farmer Scott sitting there in the pasture watching cows. We did not think much of it because it is calving season so sometimes if a cow or a heifer looks as though it is about to go into labor, and might be struggling, you just have to hang out to check and make sure everything will be alright. Come to find out that is exactly what he was doing!

So the kids and I walk over and he says to us and points that this cow is in labor and he is waiting for it to give birth and it should be any time now. I am not kidding when I say that by the time all 3 kids and I we're hanging on the side of the fence she was pushing out a little calf!!! You should have seen the kids faces, they were just wide eyed mouth open and smiling!

Calving season is different for us then it is for everyone else around here because we are up on the divide. And what that means is it is always colder and much windier where we are because of the canyon winds and we are up about 600-800 feet higher than everyone else in the surrounding area. So we have push our calving season into March so that we are not challenged with the weather and reduce the mortality rate of the calves.  The kids all know this, so when that little one came out, the kids were practically cheering for the mom in her instinct of mothering to kick in.

it was such an awesome experience for all of us. I feel like such a city slicker when I say how in awe we were of it and how much we all enjoyed the whole process. When you hear of a calf that dies, you certainly are hoping the best for each and every one and I am glad to say this one, a little heifer, is a survivor!

Love it!

Spring is totally here! Loving our new life in Utah. And feeling very sorry for those of you who are in Wisconsin with the snow and cold and gloomy weather.

A new leaf...

I am not much of a runner but we all have spring fever so the kids all rode their bikes while I ran. By the time we were done, it ended up to be 3.4 mikes.
OK THAT is an accomplishment for me!

The old hwy

It's like our own bike trail!

Home..

Yup - those mountains are our backyard!
Really getting excited about the new house! There was a time that I just really was not letting myself get excited because it seemed so far away. And now I feel like I can see the end is in sight and it is wonderful to think about living there in that awesome house that Scott built!

Well, of course he had a lot of help, but it is his baby and I know he takes a lot of pride in building it. And he should because it is absolutely awesome!

Scotts grocery list!

I just love this! It cracks me up that my complaints about moving here is the lack of fresh produce and the availability of organic foods. I would have to say that I doubt Scott minds! I am pretty sure I can tackle his grocery list from anywhere!

Signs of Spring....

I am not much of a cat person, but I can't help but love these guys! So there is Aunt sweetheart with the 3 kittens. They are just hanging out on the driveway soaking up the sun.

Amazon.com

So, earlier this week when we were watching the sheep get sheared, I forgot to mention that these were the books we picked up at the post office that Scott had just ordered from Amazon. So, you totally get the irony of it all!

Twins twins everywhere!

I have to admit, that I think lamb chops are also on the list of foods that I can no longer eat! Not that I really ate lamb chops before, but I don't think I was really opposed to eating them. Now we really are not going to fit in town seen as everybody eats a lot of Mutton around here!
That means they eat the sheep!
Super yuck!!!

Learning to be a cowboy

Hunter just started riding and is loving every minute of it. At first he began with just ground school and work his way up to being able to ride. He looks like a natural up there!

Open seasame

This was the cave of gold.

The scene by the cave

Katie and the play

Katie and I worked on a play during her play block. It was Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. I thought it was a great success and I know Katie was proud of all her work.

Up the drive

Its about 55 today and the water is running like a river!

Yup

It goes on down the whole road!
You have to learn to love the mud!

Erosion anyone?

We decided to change the name if the road to Log Canyon River Road...

Perspective

This picture is so you can really tell what kind of mud rutts I am talking about here!

Down the drive

You can actually hear the water!

Easter lamb

I have a whole new appreciation of Easter lambs and how sweet and cute they really are

2 at a time

All the sheep line up in single file and go into a trailer where these 2 guys are waiting. They pulled the sheep out, flip it over, and start shearing. This whole process probably only takes less than 10 minutes. It is pretty amazing to watch! When all the wool is off , they open up a little door and the sheared sheep runs out and goes back out in the pasture with all the other ones that have already gone through.

Life is good

Can the day possibly get any better!?