The Rocky Point fall gather

 Way back on Oct. 20, we converged on the WY/MT border for our annual fall gather/wean/work calves/ship home day at the Rocky Point Grazing Association.

The weather was beautiful, the calves were big, the cows were showing that the grass was gone. It was time to head home for the winter.

 The cows were in agreement.

 The corrals were muddy for our 4-way sort - my dad's cow, my uncle's cows, my dad's calves, my uncles calves. Momma H snapped this photo of almost the entire crew.

Oh, and my sibling's cattle too, including this heifer of my sister's, which has been a crowd favorite all year. 

 

 

My dad's trucks arrived, and we loaded his calves.

Then we vaccinated my uncle's calves to help keep them healthy as they adjust to life without mama around. They were also poured to keep any bugs from bothering them over the winter months.

It didn't bother them much.

Then, the second round of trucks arrived and we loaded my uncle's calves.

Home they go. The cows are left for 3-4 days to wean, then also hauled home for the winter.

Just when we thought the day was over, excitingly enough the axle broke on our trailer. But, we happened to have a few experts on hand, and another horse trailer we could put our horses in. While we arrived home later than planned, we all made it safe and sound. I am also happy to report my parent's were able to trade this trailer off for a new one - their second new "vehicle" purchase in almost 30 years of marriage. I'm thrilled for them, but never miss a chance to tease them about all the improvements that happen after the kids leave.

Weaning and shipping

This is our super-busy week of weaning and shipping from our grazing association, located 200 miles north of our ranch. Each year my family and my uncle's family spends several phone conversations nailing down a schedule to get both his and our calves weaned, then two bunches of cows shipped home a few weeks later. As plans are made they are also inevitably changed based on weather, truck and brand inspector availability and all the other things that can come up with little notice. So far, just this morning, we've switched plans for our weaning tomorrow at least once because they got rain at the association, which means we probably won't be able to get trucks to the set of corrals closet to our cows. It's just part of ranching, and this year everyone is beyond happy to work around rain or snow.
One of the things I love about our operation is that it's based on family, and this week really highlights that. We come out of the woodwork of our individual busy schedules and make it all happen every spring and fall, and we do it together. There is no way it would go so smooth without the great help we have in each other. It's a lot of fun, and that's due to the combination of us loving our work and being able to do it together. We're very blessed to live this life, and weeks like this one give us all a chance to get together and remember that.

P.S. I am linking up with Rural Thursdays over at A Rural Journal

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