Passages

We’ve had our first branding. It’s a rite of spring for ranchers and means the production year is underway. The bunch we worked were those born during the worst of the cold weather. They looked great, and seeing them healthy and vigorous was good for the soul.

I’ve been promoted to grandma and cook. The only real work I did was vaccinating while Anna nursed Lou. I’ve been known to have a kind of warrior attitude when it comes to working cattle. Not in aggressiveness with the animals, more in wanting it done just right and needing to be in the middle of the action. With our kids living on the ranch, there’s less reason for me to step into the fray. I’m sure they didn’t miss me a lick.

I fixed chili and tended Lou, which turned out to be plenty of work when he was unhappy during the last hour of meal prep. I put him in the high chair and gave him green beans, raspberries and chili beans to keep him occupied. It kinda worked.

We gathered the pairs at Gary and Anita’s and worked them right behind their house. Sadly, Gary kept harrowing and Anita stayed inside with a bum hip. That was a first as well, not having them with us.

A couple of boys who worked here in the past, and are now grown-up men with families, arrived with their wives and kids to have some fun working their horses, honing their roping skills, and letting the kids play in the dirt. Other friends show up every year, and we rely on their know-how after years of contribution. Alan comes all the way from Boise. He’s castrated enough calves to win a Pratt Ranch award; if we had one he'd be the first recipient. One young man, here for the first time, carefully vaccinated each calf with grown-up care.

Branding is an activity, like many other once-a-year events, that marks time. Memories are made. I remember as a young mother, leaving my branding job to the rest of the crew and taking refuge in grandma’s house to nurse Anna when she was a baby. Bonnie was to hang a dishtowel on the porch when Anna woke up. What fun it was to see the towel and anticipate the joy of seeing my baby. I remember the lace curtains softening the bright spring sunshine and the muffled sound of cows and calves calling to one another. I felt so blessed to have my baby close by, and to be able to step in and out of both worlds, mothering and ranching, with ease. That’s the gift of an on-site grandma and I’m happy to take on that role now.

I still like ranch work and am finding plenty to do, but to be honest, I’m tired. I’m not through with long days, but this new turn is welcome.

On my way home from taking lunch to the crew, there was a new calf still wet from birth, circling his mama and finding the udder in that first act of life. The cows are like their owners, busy with the cycles of life. We can only accept and bow to the passage of time, be grateful in our role and play our part the best we can.           

Aww Lou . . . .

Seth spoofing with someone's reject vacuum they dumped in our pasture!

canal clean up of an evening
another rite of spring