Wales Permit

Last week, we trailed cows up on the Wales permit. Earl and some friends left at 5:30am and started the cows from Chester. I got kids up and ready and lunches and coolers loaded and the kids and I met the herd just as it was starting up the canyon. Dally and Kalon rode as soon as we got there but Hayes and Chansy stayed in the truck and trailer with me. Hayes had torn a gash in his thigh the night before on some barbwire and was out of commission.

Ty

Earl and Jaws and Kalon on Bullseye. It was the real first hard ride that we tried Bullseye on
and he did so well. Kalon has a new favorite horse now. He is actually Junior's old horse (long story how we ended up with him).

Kalon and Dally hiding in the grass.

Earl and Dally trailing down into Rees' Valley.

Riding in the truck. Usually, he doesn't want to ride but his cousin Ty was helping us and he really wanted to ride with him.

Earl and Chansy

Rees' Valley. We stopped for lunch and to let the cows rest.

It rained and threw a little lightening but not bad enough to scare us out of driving back down the canyon.

Dally fell asleep in the truck the last mile of trailing but she rode the whole way besides that. They decided to ride the 8 miles back off to Wales.

Pulling a trailer up Wales canyon is NOT fun. Hairpin turns and drop-offs make for a very unnerving ride. Holding back a trailer full of 7 horses on the way back down Wales Canyon was SO not going to happen, especially after a rain storm. I crawled down with one horse in low gear, 4-wheel drive and still breathed a sigh of relief when I made it down. All in all, it was a beautiful day! Everything was greener than I have EVER seen it. Almost an unbelievable green!

(and we didn't see any rattle snakes this year) YAY!

Cowboy Up!

Sorting off for Wales permit. We had Earl, Shane, Dally, and I to sort off 90 pairs by ourselves. We only ended up getting 64 pairs that day. It was WILD!

Dally and Cherry


Twinkie is amazing!

Indianola permit

The last couple of months have been crazy busy at our house. Actually NOT at our house because we haven't been home much. We have paired off, sorted out, trailed, loaded, trailered, branded, doctored and turned out cows EVERYWHERE! It has been exhausting. You can imagine what my house looks like! The kids have been troopers though! Here are a few photos of a few of our days. Earl finally yelled at me one day, "You look like a tourist with that camera around your neck". I guess that I wasn't as much help as he needed so I had to put away the camera and just sneak pictures when I could.

Check out the monster in the middle!

Trimming hooves.

Sorting pairs in the corral. Kalon and Dally helped at the gate.

Earl, Kalon, Dally, and Hayes. Hayes' first time riding Twinkie. They did awsome!

Trying to keep up with dad and the cows.

Kalon and Dally

The kids bringing the herd by themselves. I had to wait in a different field with Chansy and turn the cows.

After a full day in 90 degree heat, the kids just sulled up and wouldn't help. Earl and I had to finish everything up on our own.

It didn't help that Chansy had not had a nap either.

Kalon sacked out on the flatbed!

I am so pround of my kids. They can all cut out a cow by themselves, even Dally. We work hard but I am so glad that they are learning to work even if it isn't always as fun as they think that it should be. They are cowboys!

Boots and Flowers

I know, I know, it's a strange post title but I have to tell you about these boots. When I was in early high school, my aunt passed me down a pair of her old boots. I LOVED those boots! They were as cowboy as they came, down to the riding heel and high tops. Definitely not girly! I wore these boots clear up until a couple of years ago when I started having kids. Children led to my feet growing and thus, I outgrew my favorite boots. A few years ago, I found a pair of similar boots and was so excited that I ordered them. They were too big. I couldn't bear to send them back so I put them under the bed in the then, spare bedroom and forgot about them. Fast forward to branding day of this year. I could not even think about wearing my worn out, too small present cowboy boots in misery for two full days of branding and running around. Then I remembered the "new" boots hiding under Dally's bed. Would they now fit after having two more kids and expanding my feet even more? YEP! Let me tell you, these are the most comfortable boots that I have worn since my hand-me-downs. They may not be the prettiest color or have the embellishments that are all the rage, but I absolutely, with all my heart LOVE them! I have spent a lot of the last two weeks on a horse and helping Earl and am definitely getting the use out of my new boots!

.....Now, on to the flowers. I had to take picture of my flowers this year. They look so pretty with my newly painted red door! The daffodils are spent but my tulips are lasting longer than usual.

Ranch Wife 101 Guidelines

1. Always load your horse last in the trailer so it is the first one unloaded. By the time he's got his horse unloaded, you will have your cinch pulled and be mounted up ready to go- lessening the chance of him riding off without you with your horse trying to follow while you are still trying to get your foot in the stirrup.




2. Never- and I repeat never- ever believe the phrase "We'll be right back," when he has asked you to help him do something out on the ranch. The echoing words, "this will only take a little while" have filtered through generations of ranch wives and still today should invoke sincere distrust in the woman who hears them.




3. Always know there is NO romantic intention when he pleadingly asks you to take a ride in the pickup with him around the ranch while he checks water and looks at cattle. What that sweet request really means is he wants someone to open and close the gates.




4. He will always expect you to quickly be able to find one stray in a four-section, brush-covered pasture, but he will never be able to find the mayonnaise jar in four-square feet of refrigerator.




5. Count every head of everything you see- cattle especially, but sometimes horses, deer, quail or whatever moves. Count it in the gate, out the gate, or on the horizon. The first time you don't count is when he will have expected that you did. That blank eyelash-batting look you give him when he asks, "How many?" will not be acceptable.




6. Know that you will never be able to ride a horse or drive a pickup to suit him. Given the choice of jobs, choose throwing the feed off the back of the pickup. If he is on the back and you are driving, the opportunity for constant criticism of speed, ability and you eyesight will be utilized to the full extent. "How in the *@*# could you NOT see that hole?"




7. Never let yourself be on foot in the alley when he is sorting cattle horseback. When he has shoved 20 head of running, bucking, kicking yearlings at you and then hollers "Hold 'em, hold 'em" at the top of his lungs, don't think that you really can do it without loss of life or limb. Contrary to what he will lead you to believe, walking back to the house is always an option that has been used throughout time.




8. Don't expect him to correctly close the snap-on tops on the plastic refrigerator containers, but know that he will expect you to always close every gate. His reasoning, the cows will get out; the food will not.




9. Always praise him when he helps in the kitchen- the very same way he does when you help with the ranch work -or not.




10. Know that when you step out of the house you move from the "wife" department to "hired hand" status. Although the word "hired" indicates there will be a paycheck that you will never see, rest assured you will have job security. The price is just right. And most of the time you will be "the best help he has" even if it is because you are the ONLY help he has.

I have to say that a lot of these rules or guidelines apply to my life. There are a few that do not (actually one). I won't clarify, I'll just let you to wonder . Ha,ha,ha! I always try to take food and a book with me though. Just in case.

THE END

Cedar Hill Picnic

Every year we head out in the Cedar Hill for Easter picnic with Earl's family. It is just starting to green up and there is water everywhere. The kids hunt easter eggs and treats and we roast hotdogs and hang out. Chansy and Porter were playing by the water and the next thing we knew, we watched Chansy somersault into the water and landed on her back.

Chansy after her swimming expedition. She never went near the water for the rest of the day.

Chansy ended up wearing Dally's sweatshirt until we went home. She was so cute wandering around with her little white tail and chubby legs.

Kalon looking for Easter eggs.



Dally's loot.

Hayes

Earl's new cowboy hat (Kalon's). He looks good in a black hat though!

.

Bull Crap

OH BABY!

If I could only explain what was really going on in

this picture, you would know why this bull looks MAD!

We "tested bulls" last week with the help of Dally and Chansy. Dally is our new expert. No, I am not kidding. She had the vet laughing so hard that he could hardly collect his samples. I won't give details because this is a family oriented blog but let's just say that my kids definitely get an education raising cows!

Dally Bailey, DVM

Where did November go?!

Fishing at Bench's pond.

Cash (isn't he a little heartbreaker?!)

Grandpa Stuart(97 in December) and Dad at Thanksgiving

Hayes and Lauree. (Hee Hee)

Me and Laur on Thanksgiving.

Jared saddling his colt for the first time. He even rode her.



Cash and Jared

Grandpa and his babies!
Chansy and Cash





Dally graining the horses.

Wow! I just experienced the fastest November on record. Not that I am complaining, because now I am just that much closer to CHRISTMAS!!! But I mean, WOW, where did it go? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Woodruff and got to spend all weekend there.