Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

The Daily "Dairy" Grind

Well after running around getting groceries, dogs, and some sanity yesterday, Texas and I have settled back into the daily or "dairy" grind here at the ranch. I helped sort some cows ready to breed, helped out with a vet check for an international sale we have going on, did some paperwork, and helped our herdsman doctor a few heifers with Pink Eye.

Yup, back at it in full force!

It was so nice to come home Saturday night. Texas and I both admitted to feeling that our house is no longer just a house, it is our home.

Anyways, we got home late Saturday night. I was so worried about my cat, Goose, all week long, and I couldn't sleep easy until I knew she was OK. The dogs were at a kennel, so I knew they'd be OK. The horses were out in pasture together, so I knew they'd be alright as long as they didn't step in a hole or get sick to their stomach.

But Goose...

Goose is more of a person than a cat.

I know people say that all the time about their pets, but I seriously think she is a top contender for the "human living inside an animal" category.

With that said, I am certain Goose thought she was on "house arrest" last week. We came home to the dining room table placements thrown about the dining room floor. This observation led my eyes to the dining room table which was covered in cat hair, some new scratches, and some cat litter (thanks a lot cat).

Which led me to my next observation.

The curtains that hang on the windows in the dining room were disshelved. In fact, they were not only disshelved, but broken. Which led me to my next observation.

Goose, being upset that she was on house arrest and forced to live in her house without her puppies and their dog food for 8 days (or forever, in her mind), decided to give a go at trying to kill herself. I came to the conclusion that Goose, feeling like her world had indeed come to a terrible end, decided to cat-a-pult herself off of the dining room table, into the window with the closed blinds. Obviously, having made an error in judgement, she did not make the escape as intended. In conclusion, Goose did not kill herself or escape while we were on vacation, but I did come home to a "littered"(pun intended) dining room, a broken window blind, and cat hair everywhere.

Trust me folks, I imagined a whole lot worse in my head, so this was a happy sight.

Besides that, everything is pretty much the same as we left it. Except my horses look as if they gained 50 pounds each from a week off of riding and being in a new lush pasture. Oh, and this little guy seems to have grown up just a tad -


And yes, he does have some eye infection/nastiness going on. The kittens around here have the hardest time with their eyes. I spent this morning washing another kittens eyes out, so he could open them. Darn kitty was walking around blind while cows were running all around him.

Happy trails!!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Concrete Roads Take Me Home

We are about 4 hours from home after spending nearly 40 hours on the road this vacation. Not to mention an hour running around Oregon looking for dry ice for our fish friends.

Yesterday's ATV adventure was full of fun and almost accident free. I'll just say that yet again, our tour guide got to check another life adventure off of her bucket list. :)

All soreness and sea sickness aside, my mom, err tour guide, showed us around Bandon like a professional.

With a few hours left on this pavement, all I can think about is being reunited with my critters.

Some ponies I know are going to be VERY fresh (full of energy). Just what I néed is a fresh 4 year old who has been chowing down on pasture and grain the last 8 days.


I can't wait to pick up my baby boy from the kennel tomorrow morning. Texas and I are going to be busting down the doors to the kennel tomorrow because we miss our boys so much. I'm sure my Stoney has been a perfect angel.


And of course, I'm sure they all missed me just as much as I missed them.


Friday, July 22, 2011

Little Dune Buggy

Howdy folks,

Today is the last day of the Dairy Farmers Vacation Extravaganza in the Northwest.

What do we have on the agenda for our last full day of not seeing black and white spots?

Playing in the Oregon dunes for a few hours.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Washington and Old Friends

We just spent the last 21 hours in the beautiful town of Olympia, Washington where I was born and spent the first six years of my life. We spent this morning hanging out with my preschool friend Brittany who I love and miss terribly! I love that we have kept in touch after all these years and have visited each other throughout the years, trading off between WA and CA. Brit tagged along with us this morning when visiting my moms old workplace - which is another post all together. Let's just say my mom was a stripper. More on that fun little fact later!

After visiting my moms work, we drove around by where our house was, and we even took a stroll up the private drive and took pictures. We are still friends with our neighbors, and so we stopped in to say hi after the trespassing adventure we had at the old house.

Wish we could have stayed longer and had Nchance to explore the woods, trails, and downtown area of Olympia. Texas and I will have to make a special trip sometime to do all that. I just love this place!

Since I'm still traveling on the road and do not have access to loading my pics from the trip, here are some old pictures from when Brittany came to visit us in california back when we were 13 or 14.

Please use viewers discretion- I was a very awkward and at moments, hideous, teenager!



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tim's Chips

Best part about being back in the Northwest??

Tim's chips. Not a potato chip craver, but these guys are yummy.

On The Road Again

Greetings from somewhere between Bandon, Oregon and Olympia, Washington!

Today's the day that Texas, myself, and my mom are headed up to meet my cousin Lisa to scatter my dad's ashes in the Puget Sound, where he spent much of his time during his life in the Evergreen state.

It's been about four years since I've been up to Olympia, the beautiful town I was born and lived for 6 years of my life. We moved to Oakdale just after my 6th birthday in June 1993 when my grandpa's ranch needed an extra ranch hand. I sometimes wonder how different my life would have been if I had grown up in Olympia instead of Oakdale.

Would I have my own horses?

Would I even ride horses?

Would my dad have lived as long as he did? (he found about all Of his health problems when he was required to take a Physical Exam to work at the ranch)

Would I have gone to school at Cal Poly?

Would I have liked country music?

Would I still have blonde hair?

Would I have worked in colorado?

Would I be a hippy?

Would I smoke pot everyday and not wash my dreads?

Would I have met Texas?

Obviously the last two questions are directly correlated.

Does this make y'all ponder about how different your lives would be if you had grown up in a different town?

Here are some pictures of beautiful Olympia:


Monday, July 18, 2011

Just Fishin'

We did a little fishing yesterday. It was the first bottom (deep sea) fishing experience for Texas and I. My mom was the experienced lady with years of sailing under her belt along with previous deep sea fishing.

Between the three of us, we have 22 fish in the freezer. I caught 8 fish, Texas caught 9 fish, and my mom caught 11 fish. My mom was so excited about bringing home the most fish, she just couldn't contain herself. Part of her breakfast is somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean. So much for being the experienced one on the water, eh?

Here's a picture of what Texas will look like in twenty years after a Portugese makeover surgery, holding up the beautiful Vermilion fish he caught yesterday:

Lookin' good muffin.

We enjoyed the vermilion and a Lean cod that Texas caught last night. It's nice to have a break from all of that beef!

Over and out sailors, I'm headed out to take pictures of the low tide.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

When A Cowgirl Goes On Vacation...

When a cowgirl goes on vacation, she gets really giddy and laughs at her boyfriend for being a sore loser at board games.

Apparently, when a cowgirl goes on vacation, she also finds out that she has a shellfish allergy which results in walking Around a grocery store two beers deep with a half swollen lip.

When Texas goes on vacation, he reads old westerns and talks like an old man.

When my mom goes on vacation, I have to pick her mind up out of the gutter, every other sentence.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

National Lampoon's: Dairy Farmers Go To The Ocean

Greetings from I-5!!

Texas, myself, and my mom are headed up north for a week. My family has rented out a beach house in Bandon, Oregon for the last 3-4 years, but I've never been able to go because I've spent my summers working in Colorado. My parents had rebooked the house just before my dad passed away in December. Instead of canceling the trip, my mom decided to incorporate into the vacation a trip up to my birthplace Olympia, Washington to spread my dad's ashes in the Puget Sound. My dad loved living in Washington, and he spent many of his years in the Evergreen State windsurfing in the Sound. I do believe he left his heart and soul in Washington when he left 18 years ago. I mean, how could you not love this place?





For the majority of the trip though, we will be relaxing and galavanting in Bandon, Oregon. Want a little preview? Here are some pictures off of the Internet. Like I said, I've never been to Bandon, and it's been 4 years since I've been to either Oregon or Washington. So, I don't have any recent pictures to show... Yet! :)



Pictures and updates to come! I'm not the best at IPhone blogging, but I'm sure I'll get it figured out by the end of the week! :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

One

Today marks the one year anniversary of something.

Something pretty special.

Something that has changed my life.

Something that took me from Colorado to Texas to California. All in one year.

That something started out as what everyone, including myself, thought would be just a little summer romance.

After all, who doesn't go off to a summer camp somewhere and start crushin' hard on a cute boy, only to have them move back home after the summer's over?

In my case, I was crushin' hard on a boy, and he did indeed move back home after the summer.


Difference between me and the camp story is that the boy moved home, found me a job, and offered me a place to stay until I could find my own place.


How could a girl refuse such an offer?


I mean, I had no other plans lined up for the end of my summer job in Colorado.


As much as I had wanted to stay in Colorado and live in mountain bliss, something deep down was telling me I would regret not moving to the Yellow Rose of Texas.


Why would I purposely choose to make the relationship long distance when I had the opportunity to move to a new place and meet the family and friends of the man I love?

 

Even with other women throwing themselves on him *cough Carly cough*, he chose me.
Really, Carly? You can't find your own men? ;)


And since he chose me over the begging, pleading, old women (woman) who hail from Indiana, I took good care of my Texan. Never would I ever embarrass him out in public. Especially by putting stickers on his backside at the bar. Never.


Long story short, I ended up in Texas after the summer. Shocker! I had a great time meeting his friends and family and getting a little taste of his life.



He got to show me his love for hunting.


And while Texas was not my favorite state I have lived in thus far, I still cherish the memories I had there with him and his family. Texas is beautiful in a different way. Colorado is beautiful because it has mountains and blue skies. California is beautiful because it has the ocean. Texas is beautiful because it is different from the rest, and it is the home of my man.

With the death of my dad and a twist of fate, we ended up in California about 6 months ago.



Back in my hometown which I had swore up and down to the moon and back that I would never be caught dead living in again.



While this move didn't really go along with my "plan" of living in the mountains, it has now become part of "our" plan. I cannot imagine living any differently than we do now. I get to spend all of my time living and working with my best friend who I am in love with.


Life in Cali ain't too terrible. In fact, it's a dream come true right now.


As far as Texas and I, we ain't too shabby. One year ago today, we stood outside the Tommyknocker in Colorado and decided to begin this journey.


This guy knows how to sweep me off my feet.


Fortunately for him, he's got a really pretty girlfriend.



Confession

I have a confession.

In the last two months, I have lost 15 lbs.

Yay!

Honestly, I was not aware that I was in need of losing weight. My clothes still fit, my boyfriend still loved me... but I decided to be of some support when a family member of mine decided to go on a diet two months ago.

These pictures were taken two months ago, the weekend before I started my diet. I don't think I look huge, and I was obviously still physically capable of doing things, like polo.




Even though I didn't feel overweight, I thought, What the heck, I bet I could stand to lose 5 lbs.



Two months later, my clothes are falling off of me, and I am back in my high school jeans. I feel better about how my clothes fit, and I feel more energetic! I still have about 5 lbs to lose before I want to call it quits, but today marks the day I am officially 15 lbs lighter. Woo!

I blame the weight on living in Colorado. Great food and great brew.

I don't have any recent pictures yet, but I am sure I will after this next week. Texas and I are headed up to Oregon and Washington for a little family vacation.

Happy day yall!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Walkin'

Someone is getting big!


This is Uno at 4 1/2 weeks.


This is Uno and his new best friend, Stoney.



Cowgirls Wear Makeup

Warning: Life changing beauty secret below. Do not continue if you aren't ready to become glamorous.

When I go through the cows to determine ...

...which ones are pregnant...

...which ones have Pink Eye (read about Pink Eye here)...

...which ones need to be checked by the vet...

...which ones need to go to pasture...

...etc...

Whenever I need to identify a group of one cows versus the others (ones with Pink Eye, ones without Pink Eye), I need something to tell one group apart from the other.

That's what Livestock Markers were made for.



They are colorful, convenient, and stay on the cows' fur for a few days unless it rains.

They are safe and humane.

They are a bright and quick way to pick out a few cows from a group of 50-200. (ex: Green mark means pregnant, Orange mark means move the heifer to Pasture to be bred by a bull, no mark means she is not pregnant nor moves to pasture)

Another great characteristic to point out - it works great in replace of a Cowgirl's makeup or hair dye.

I often mistake my face/hair for a cow's face/hair, resulting in a glamorous green, orange, or red streak in my strawberry blonde hair and/or on my face. Featured below is the "green" hair dye shade:


It's been proven to cover freckles, pimples, and gray hairs for a temporary period.

Also, studies have shown that men in the presence of a Cowgirl wearing a Livestock Marker as makeup and/or hair dye will "ooooo" and "ahhhhh".

Ladies, this is an up and coming trend, especially here on the West Coast.

More specifically, in California.

More specifically, in the California Central Valley.

More specifically, on a heifer ranch in a small cowboy town.

More specifically... :)

Get in on this trend before it hits the streets of New York and Los Angeles!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Hot Kitties

105 degrees = Hot kitties.

I Like It In The Dirt

I am pretty dang excited about something that's been in the works for about 6 weeks.

Texas has been working his hiney off to get it done.


What in the heck is it?

A bunch of dirt?!

Why yes, it's a huge landmine of dirt.

Nice, soft, deeper than 1 inch dirt.

This is my new ARENA!!!!

I have always wished that I had a bigger and safer space to exercise my horses. Nevermind that I never imagined I'd ever be able to practice a full size barrel pattern in my own backyard. The arena that my Grandpa built for me about 10 years ago when we built some new cow corrals was plenty big enough to condition my high school rodeo horse that never needed to practice barrels. It worked perfect back in high school, but the ground has been getting worse over time. It's essentially like riding a horse on concrete now.

Besides the old arena being like concrete, I have my baby girl, Jade, who I need to train on the barrels, and I am dying in the tiny space by my mom's. It's honestly just not big enough for my long legged 15.3 hand 4 year old who is likely going to get bigger. It takes her about two seconds to lope from one side to the other. Not enough space!

The idea of putting a new arena by house came from my Mom. I had never though about putting it in the pasture by our house, but as soon as I heard the suggestion, I could actually see the arena.

This is what it looked like at the end of Day 1 after Texas mowed the area:




It looks a lot different now.

Texas has ripped the ground.

He has gotten rid of the grass clumps.

We've (mostly he's) picked rocks out of the arena.

He's dug down deep to work the dirt.

He's dragged it to make it level.

Tonight, I hope to make the first ride in it.

My dream has come true!

No Bull

This guy usually doesn't put up with any bull - I'll let you finish that statement.


Today, however, he was taking a lot of crap. Literally and figuratively.

Figuratively, from me. I had him in a very vulnerable position - he had his head locked in the pen. So, I decided to give him a new tattoo - it's apparently the cool thing to do right now.

I think he looks cute. Luckily for him, his tattoo will wash off in a few days.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Vet Tech For A Day

Whenever we have the vet(s) come to work with our cows, I turn into a Veterinary Technician for the morning, afternoon, or day depending on how many cows we have to go through.

These pictures were taken over a month ago when we had a potentially large sale going out of country. We had multiple vets preg checking and cutting off warts, the latter of the two pictured below.


The country these cows were headed prohibits warts being anywhere on the body, so we had to remove them from several cows.


While I may not have had to do the "dirty" work, I was nonetheless, an important asset to the team.

Ramblin' Cowgirl Kate, the cow head wrestler.