Incognito

I was hoping for a Friday the 13th Full Moon but the clouds had their way!  Hence a snapshot from my morning *cow check!*  Calves are cute and comical at the best of times but these 3 managed to find the smallest plot of buck brush out in the open grass, and wedged themselves into hiding!  Gosh ... they are so well hid, especially the bigger bull calf off to the right!  I just don't know how we will EVER find them???!!!  Hahaha!

June Meanderings

Miss Me?  I kind of disappeared without notice!  Well ... I can't really claim disappearing, as I was still here and taking pictures BUT my computer and I separated!  Yup ... after a long, cold winter it has been rather difficult to keep the love affair alive when the sun is shining, the days are so much longer and there are a zillion things to do!  SO, having already taken and posted pictures everyday for approximately 1200 days in a row ... I was a REBEL and took pictures but didn't post them!  That being said ... Here is what has been happening on 'My Lil' Piece of the Prairies ...'

June 1, 2014:

A 5:00am a road trip to Southern Alberta!!!  The most painful part of that equation is watching a GORGEOUS sunrise out of the dirty truck windows and not being able to talk the *pilot* into 'QUICKLY' stopping for a photo (hmm ... I sense the pilot knows better than that!  LOL!).  Needless to say, travelling at that hour is always glorious, especially in the spring time AND the *pilot* does stop long enough for a fresh cup of coffee (He has different priorities I guess!)!

Two hours later, we arrived at the Brooks Motocross Park with two excited boys ready for race day!  Yes, the boys have started their motocross racing season once again!

June 2, 2014:

Our local Great Horned Owl family is growing!  There are actually 3 owlets but on this day, only this feathery *fluff* was inquisitive enough to peer over the side of their nest!

June 3, 2014:

The prairie is BURSTING with colour these days!  Certainly a welcome sight after such a long winter!  These magnificent Dark Throat Shooting Stars or Saline Shooting Stars (Primula pauciflora var. pauciflora) always add a delicate beauty to a saline flat or wet meadow!

June 4, 2014:

The innocence of a wild babe that will soon have to fight to survive in this human tainted landscape and world!  Often viewed as a pest, I am a firm believer that coyotes play an integral role in the prairie ecosystem and love 'em or hate 'em, I don't think we would ever want to see the outcome if they were completely removed.

Our youngest attended our school division's Track n Field day for the smaller grades!  Everyone there was blessed with a beautiful, sunny day!  All you could see was smiles gleaming from the kids!

The heat of the day (which was marvellous!!!) always seems to cook up some interesting storm clouds!  Racing to get the final few acres of barley seeded, my husband managed to finish our spring seeding just as the wind, lightning and rain hit!!!  Yeah!  It's nice to be done!

June 5, 2014:

Brrr... those storm clouds the night before carried in single temperature digits and a very brisk, cold wind the next day!!!  Not exactly the warmest day for our oldest to compete in his Track n Field day!  However, he had a blast!!! I on the other hand FROZE!!!

June 6, 2014:

Much of our birds have finally returned and it wouldn't quite be the same without our Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica)!  Always cheerful and on the fly, like the other swallows that visit us, they EAT FLYING INSECTS!!!!  Any bird that does its part to reduce the flying insect population is golden in my books!!!

June 7, 2014:

Out on a late Saturday morning adventure to check cows and scour the pasture for old relics from the past, the boys and I found ourselves taking cover in one of the old buildings and patiently waiting for some storm clouds to move off!

Apparently the rain and rather large but soft (thank goodness) hail didn't really bother some of the gals but the boys and I thought otherwise!  So we took turns gazing out of the old doorway!

June 8, 2014:

The 'hay and crop' tours are in full swing!  It happens when you are married to a farmer and it happens OFTEN!!!

June 9, 2014:

... The moment you get over to the pasture and start checking cows ... the cold wind picks up and the clouds roll in!!!

June 10, 2014:

Happy BUZZING honey bees!!!!  Mmmm ... HONEY!

June 11, 2014:

Another new BABE!  But a few more to come!

June 12, 2014:

Yes, this beautiful, old prairie continues to blossom but not every lil' native, perennial forb is as delicate as it looks!  Meet Death Camas (Zigadenus venenosus)!  This meadow beauty can certainly wreak havoc especially to livestock (its a favourite among sheep)!  Its toxic alkaloid 'zygadenine' is present throughout the entire plant!  Some believe its more potent than strychnine!  Sometimes referred to as a 'wild onion,' this plant should be considered poisonous to all livestock and humans.

And with that ... I think I'm officially caught up!  

Bring IT!

The clouds, — the only birds that never sleep. 

~Victor Hugo

There has been no shortage of cloudy skies, threatening skies, nor COLD winds!  Brr... I really wish it would rain, snow or rain and snow ... either way, I just want it to get it out of its system so we can move onto to warmer days!  My rant for the day! LOL!  On the upside, stormy skies don't stop the 'Mama's' from doing their thing and although a cool spring ... I still prefer calving cows in May!

Spring Babes

With the exception of some bred heifers that we purchased back in February, our main cow crew is set to start calving May 1st.  Well ... this lil' hereford heifer thought she would kick things off with a set of twins!  Bring on the sunshine, the warm temps and more calves!  

The Tale of 'Lucky' Continues ...

Our 'Lucky' Story

April 14, 2011 ... 'Lucky' the heifer was born and orphaned and spent the first 3 days in our back porch!  Determined to raise her, our boys promised to feed and look after her!  She returned to the cow herd but 'us humans' were her family!  She had a summer full of boy hood adventures!  How many calves go snail hunting?  

The boys kept their promise and fed and groomed and fed, fed, fed and fed Lil' Miss Lucky all summer long!  

Joined at each other's hip ... Lucky would even greet our oldest after school if she happened to be at the house and not in the pasture with the cow herd!!! (She managed to spend a great deal of time at the house!)

Eventually, over the summer and into the fall, the boys weaned Lucky off of her 'bottle' and off of the milk replacement.  Two years later and just a few days earlier than when 'Lucky' was born ... our Lucky Girl became a Mom today!  

Meet the newest addition to our Tale of Lucky ... 'Lily!'

Our boys were quite excited to see their 'Lucky Girl' grow up and not only become a mom but to see that their herd size just doubled!  I think 'Miss Lily' will be a sweet addition to the boys herd!  

New Babies

It must be spring ... the first of our babes came home today.  Yes, back towards the end of February, at Holloway Farms Ltd. (www.hollowayfarmsltd.com) 3rd Annual Horned Hereford Rancher's Bull Sale, we purchased not only some bulls but some bred heifers as well.  The only problem, the heifers were scheduled to start calving mid-end of March.  We are fair weather 'May 1st' calver's since we don't have the facilities to calve cows in March.  However, lucky for us, my husband was able to strike a deal with Holloway's that they would calve out the heifers for us!  I was never so thankful for that agreement when that lovely spring snow storm hit last week!

The calves are healthy and happy, the sun was shining, the snow was melting and in a few more weeks the rest of our herd will begin calving!  You gotta love spring!

Two Days Old!

Yes, it's calving season around our place and yes, we start a bit later in comparison to many other beef producers but ... hey, I'm a 'fair weather' kinda gal!  At one time we started calving in mid-March ... but "YUCK" weather-wise and then we moved it back a couple of weeks so we were starting April 1st.  Again ... "YUCK" weather-wise (especially if you are packing your little ones with you)!  So with that, we moved our calving season to the end of April/first part of May.  Yes, it could still snow but the snow likely won't stick and it definitely won't last.  It definitely will not be -40 with a windchill.  The crocuses are out, the grass is beginning to come and the sun is WARM!!!  My kinda calving season!  The cows and babes are happy and I'm VERY HAPPY!

Bath Time for Baby!

I love calving season!  And I really love calving in April and May.  Many years ago, my husband and I sold the 'auction mart' specials that came with our place and bought 30 hereford/red angus cross heifers from Don Dubeau down by Medicine Hat!  This was the start of our herd.  The last few years have brought many changes and we've significantly reduced our herd.  However, with lil' heifer gems like this one ... its likely our herd will slowly increase once again.  Her Mama ... 'Rosie' is one of the first heifers we kept back out of Don's original 30.  She's a sweetie ... that has produced alot of other 'sweeties!'  She definitely keeps her baby clean ... even the ears!  "Oh MOM!"  The boys and I haven't named this newest edition ... not yet!  We'll keep you posted!

A New Spring Baby!

Two weeks into spring and finally it is starting to look and feel a bit more like it!  Today, we headed out west towards Rimbey, AB.  A beautiful drive on a beautiful day.  We spotted a few geese, a couple of bald eagles, many gophers, and enjoyed a great visit with some old friends.  I thought we had alot of snow but that west country definitely has alot more!  Upon returning home, I took a walk out into the pasture to see if my 'honkers' had arrived back home and was pleasantly suprised with the arrival of our first calf!  When the calves start hitting the ground and there are more and more dry patches showing up ... one just knows spring has truly arrived!