Sunday, March 26, 2017

Why I'm Not Sewing

Last Tuesday we made our annual trek to the Manzano Angus Bull Sale, 3 hours from here. DH's back is slowly getting better, but he still can't sit much or bend and pick things up. It's just going to take time and prayer and he's still got his sense of humor so we're muddling through. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and for asking about him.

We had to pick up some bulls on the 16th so he did saddle up:


I hauled the boys to the east side of El Tank and took a different route home where I stumbled upon a lone baby calf bawling for it's mama:


He had crawled through a couple of fences in search of adventure and his mama was bawling for him to return so I just circled around him and walked him down the fence a piece after I opened some gates and soon they were reunited:


Then calf #2 was spotted. He had penned himself off from his mama too:


A few more gates were opened and another reunion took place:


And for those of you wondering about DH being horseback, riding a horse isn't like sitting. You use your thigh muscles to ride and your legs are almost fully extended. Still, he's taking it slow, although he did ride again on Thursday. We had to move some cattle off of Shinnery which is a shrub that becomes toxic to livestock when it begins to bloom. Thankfully, we don't have much of it and the boys only had to move off of one pasture.


So, back to the bull sale - it has been notoriously cold and incredibly windy every time we've been to the sale in the past 10 years, but this year they had the prettiest weather you could imagine. We spend a couple of hours meandering through the pens, coordinating what we see,


with the statistics in the catalog, and matching them to what we need:


And then hope that someone else with deeper pockets isn't set on taking him home. :) This year we picked up 12 handsome bulls, pulling in after 8 p.m., unloading in the dark. Then, as the sun rose the next morning,


We ran them through the chute and branded them:


And let them settle in for a few days with all the hay they could eat:


And now Skeet and I are back to making our daily feed runs.


He's just like a little kid and finds incredible joy in the everyday tasks:


This is how we entertain ourselves while we wait for the rest of the crew to arrive at the feed wagon:


It's a pretty good way to spend the afternoons and Thursday was especially nice because with the aid of a couple of lumbar supports, DH made the feed run with us:


I didn't think he should, but we had to move some steers into another pasture by the house. They brought them up to the pens to weigh 3 bunches to get an average weight on them. They need to be sold and their weight will determine how much they will bring.


So this explains why I haven't been doing any sewing this week, but I'm not complaining. As much as I like making quilts, I love being out and spending time with DH more. And as he continues to heal, he's just going to have to get used to me being his shadow.After 30 years, he should be used to it by now. :)

14 comments:

Dorian said...

I'm glad Gary is continuing to heal. I pray he heals sooner rather than later. Looks like you've been having a good time, all that sunshine and fresh air :)

Anonymous said...

Very interesting...pictures are good and the mother/calf reunions and don't often see the dog in action. Hope your husband's back improves quickly. Being away from quilting makes the sewing that much better when time allows. Just think...my being away involves dust bunnies and laundry. Your days are much better and I also did not get the cooking gene. I can do a credible job but then it gets eaten and you have to repeat. Thanks so much for the pictures/stories.

Chantal said...

Happy to hear hubby is getting a wee bit better. It will take a long time to heal so he should take things slowly. I understand, for a man who is always on the move it must be so hard for him to rest and do nothing. Sending prayers your way. Thanks for sharing a little piece of your busy life. Love to read about it. Take care. ;^)

Terry said...

I just love following your adventures. I'm not sure I would want to live it, but I do enjoy reading about it. hahaha

allthingzsewn said...

Glad to see DH is doing a little better. I hope he listens to the Dr. and his body, and doesn't do too much too soon. Mine is such a hard head, two steps forward and one step back. The complains it's taking so long. Go figure.
Skeet sure grew up fast. Looks so content to be with Dad. I think that is the first time I have seen him just sitting down.
I hate hearing the calves bawling for their mom when lost or when it time to separate them. Such sad sound. Good looking bulls, they look young.
Enjoy your Sunday

Tired Teacher said...

As the old adage says, "it's hard to keep a good man down for too long." I'm thrilled to see and hear that your DH is on the mend.

Shelly said...

Glad to hear he's on the mend! That's a nice buncha bulls. We should all take a lesson from our dogs on the things that matter and how to really enjoy life, right?

Nancy said...

I'm glad to hear that your husband is improving but it's taking a while. It's interesting how the balance of work changes when one spouse's health prevents his/her usual activities, and especially so because you work at home, so to speak. I can understand why you haven't been quilting. All those bulls to evaluate, buy, move, feed, care for. The poor calves. Good thing you found them and were able to get them back to their mamas.

What an interesting life you lead, Karin!

Judy said...

I'm glad you hubby has a brace! When we go to storage I see many cattle on the green grasses. It is so beautiful. We see these cattle that look like Oreo cookies, white in their middle and brown/black on both ends. I hope you husband improves. Take care.

Dar said...

So glad to hear that DH is progressing well.I love hearing about your daily chores. It makes me wish we had relatives in that area to go visit. Maybe I need to find a working dude ranch for a vacation, huh? lol

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Hope your DH's back continues to improve. Baby calves and their Mothers am sure both were glad you came to their rescue. Twelve bulls--yikes! Hope they behaved themselves

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy hearing of your life on the ranch. So different than the mid west. I am recovering after bad pain that began in Jan, so thankful. I know how hard it is to do very little, hope he does not have a setback. Linda

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

So beautiful! Glad he is doing better - heres prayers for a complete healing quickly!

Staci said...

So good to hear he's healing! Adding my prayers that it continues quickly and thoroughly.

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