NOVEMBER 22 Saturday Lynn took Charlie and Dani up to ride Carolyn’s horses. Andrea, Sam and I rode up the creek to meet them. Carolyn, and Heather went for a ride over the low range. It got windy, so our party cut it short and made it home to our place, but the others had […] Read more
Hungry elk cause havoc with horses
Rancher's Diary
Dealing with the ebb and flow of ranch life
September 28 The calves sold a couple weeks ago did well, considering they were only five months old. The biggest steers averaged 480 pounds and brought $1.78. The smaller steers averaged 420 pounds and brought $1.82. The heifers were smaller and brought $1.88. Andrea and I have been riding Sprout and Dottie nearly every day. […] Read more
The mystery of who is cutting gates
AUGUST 27 Andrea had a tough time for a while after losing the fragile skin on the sides of her knees; the pain was excruciating — like being burned all over again. Our doctor put her on antibiotics after her legs became hot and swollen. They are doing a little better now; the raw areas […] Read more
Handy homemade wire unroller
When building barbed-wire fence, a person needs an easy way to unroll the wire. Many methods have been used such as putting the roll on a stationary bar and taking the end to pull out along the fenceline. People often put a bar or pole across the end of a pickup, putting the roll on the […] Read more
Accident on the trail cuts short a ride
MAY 28 Last Saturday Lynn helped our new neighbour, John Miller, work on water troughs on the low range pasture, cleaning out the spring boxes so there would be more flow into the troughs. That Sunday we had our family all here for dinner — Michael and Carolyn and kids, and Andrea and kids. This […] Read more
Last calf of season hits the ground
APRIL 23 Last Wednesday, Lilly Ann finally calved. We were glad the calf was normal and healthy, after her serious illness and high fever three weeks ago. He was small, but strong and lively. The next morning when Lynn and I were feeding cows, we noticed a group of cows and calves coming down the […] Read more
Calves are coming, and horses need more training
MARCH 24 Last Friday Andrea drove to Pocatello to take Sam to the regional dance competition. Their group won first place and will go to the national competition in Utah in May. On Saturday Andrea and I finally had a chance to lead the two fillies again, and took them about a mile on the […] Read more
Rancher’s Diary: Calves are coming, and horses need more training
MARCH 24 Last Friday Andrea drove to Pocatello to take Sam to the regional dance competition. Their group won first place and will go to the national competition in Utah in May. On Saturday Andrea and I finally had a chance to lead the two fillies again, and took them about a mile on the […] Read more
Salt is key to avoiding grass tetany
The cause of grass tetany (grass staggers, milk tetany, lactation tetany, winter tetany, wheat pasture poisoning, crested wheatgrass poisoning, barley poisoning) has been poorly understood, yet annual death losses cost beef producers millions of dollars. It affects mature cattle grazing lush forage, after weather changes like freezing early spring pastures or sudden growth after rainfall […] Read more
Lynn is slowly getting back in the saddle
FEBRUARY 23 Last Saturday Rick and Sam came down on the four-wheeler to help me feed the cows. Sam enjoyed riding around in the feed truck. Lynn was doing better that morning, so the heart doctor in Missoula released him from the hospital mid-day, and Andrea drove him home. He was very tired and went […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
