It’s so great to be back up in this beautiful country after
being away for almost a year! It is nice to see all my friends up here and all
the changes around town and the ranches etc. I can’t believe Ben and Jackson
are 5 and 8 now, incredible! There is a new ranch hand, Janelle, she is from
New Zealand and is super cool. I think we will have lots of fun this summer;
we’re planning on going to the Calgary Stampede!
I’m afraid that I have brought the Vancouver rain with me
though. Since it is turn out at the moment the rain is not the best thing for
many reasons, but mainly because it creates so much mud! However, it is
allowing for the range to start greening up. And somehow I managed to sunburn
my lips…
My dad drove me up this year because he wanted to see how
branding works. He was in there flipping calves like a dirty shirt. Although he
looked like he was dying, everyone seemed pretty impressed. Eli said he was
doing more than a lot of the guys in cowboy hats, haha! The calves were big
this year, so the next day everyone had some nasty cuts and bruises to show
off.
Since then we have mainly been sorting the cows into groups
to be kicked onto rangelands for the summer. We have been having some fairly
long days of riding, sometimes not having dinner until 10:00. Its good to be
back in the saddle again and I haven’t even fallen off yet (touch wood)! I was
riding over a culvert and the ground caved in underneath us, but thankfully my
horse got us out of that one. She also saved me from being mowed over by a couple
of bulls in a bullfight (it was a close call).
One day Janelle and I were the only ones on the ranch and a
cow had begun to calve. I don’t know what the cows problem was, it was a tiny
calf, but she was taking forever to have it, so we went in there and pulled it
out all by ourselves. (: A neighbor called yesterday and was like “Is there a
vet student around? We need her to come do a caesarean!” Haha, I had to explain
that I wasn’t in vet school quite yet. But we headed over and managed to get
the calf out without having to do a caesarean. It was a full breech and there
were twins. Sadly both had died, but at least the cow is going to be okay and
we didn’t have to cut her. There have been a few calves that got nasty
infections in their sides and on hot days the flies got in there and laid eggs.
So they allowed me to be the doctor, sooo exciting! I got to scrape out all the
maggots that were basically eating these poor calves alive, flushed the wounds,
packed them full of antibiotics, and taped a bandage on (that will hopefully
keep the flies out). I rechecked them today and one calf looks really good.
Another is healing very well but the maggots got back in there and started
digging more holes, but we fixed it up again. And there is one that looks pretty
bad still, lots of maggots. There is also a calf with a huge lump on the side
of its face. Janelle and I are waiting for Roger to get back so that we can
lance it and see what comes out. It is pretty exciting stuff.
Been seeing lots of wildlife too. A black wolf came trotting
down the flat one morning, almost right up to the house. Janelle took a shot at
it from the window, but she just missed. Then I was driving home the other
night and a black bear ran across the road in front of me. I also managed to catch
a hummingbird (I’ll try and post a picture). He was banging against the window
in Roger’s shop and I just scooped him up and took him outside. I can’t believe
how tiny and colorful they are! The mosquitoes haven’t been too bad, so I am
hoping it will be a light bug year (but I may be dreaming).
My cat is very unhappy at the moment. He sat at the back
door and cried for the first few days because he wanted inside; poor little
guy. There is one cow that loves to chase him too. She would be fast asleep in the
pen, hear him meow, and she’ll get up and chase him out. It is quite hilarious
to watch. One thing is for certain: he is far more affectionate in the country
than in the city.
Drove the tractor today for the first time. It went fairly
well and I didn’t break anything, yay!
Anyways, lots of action around here! Getting very dirty,
tanned, tired, and hopefully fit, its great to be back!
No comments:
Post a Comment