Branding Time

Branding is over for one more year.  Cowboy looks forward to it, but at the same time just gets tightly wound.  There is rain to worry about,  enough calf "wrasslers" to show, making sure enough vaccine is taken each day.  The little chores are endless. 

On my end, I get a kitchen helper and we wonder how many we are going to feed.  The most we had was 33 and the least was17.  I am one of those cooks that wants to make sure there is plenty of meat and then fill in around that.  The first day, which got a late start because of rain, began at about 10 a.m. for the branders (the cowboys to gather went at 8 a.m.)  They had a coffee break at noon with donuts.  Jerome always brings donuts the first day and he presented them with 4 doz. and there wasn't one taste left!  They came to the house for supper that night to 21# of roast beef , tossed salad, wheat salad, dinner rolls, and brownies.  We made them  10# of potatoes and gravy and we mixed the gravy in a six-quart kettle and we RAN OUT!  We quickly made some more for Cowboy and John.  You cooks know that gravy really doesn't make "quick" but we got some more made anyway and they wanted some of it.  I could bore you with all the menus, but I won't.  I try to vary the menus from year to year except we always have lots of beef, at least a roast one day, some kind of burger dish and we fixed 20# of ham also.  Whew!  It makes me tired and full typing it!

Pictures are more fun, so the last day was a short day and we went up during coffee break so that I could take a few pictures. 
Jerome was tally man this year and didn't have to wrestle calves.  One of the comments I heard was there was sure a good crew and nobody was a slacker, everyone pitched in and did their fair share.

Dallas running two guns, Wyatt faithfully ear tagging, Cowboy branding, and I assume Jason was vaccinating too, I can't really tell.  When I takes pictures, I don't always "see."

John is branding and Bill is watching the ropers.  He gives all a chance and I think since this was such a small bunch of calves this day, the younger kids got to rope MORE.  How else do you learn if you aren't given a chance?

I had to get a picture of Scottie roping off of Merlin aka Big Blue.  Cowboy sold him that horse and we called him Big Blue.  He is a gentle giant.  I know Scottie takes good care of him. I hear that Scottie's wife like to ride Merlin too!

The country is really green and I had occasion to stop and listen and the birds in the morning are the Best alarm clock!  Those 4 a.m. mornings rolled around fast.  As Cowboy put it, "When my feet hit the floor in the morning so I could put the coffee on (lots of cowboy coffee at that!) they never stopped moving until bed."  The pieces of pie didn't go to his waist, he ran them off!

Thanks for stopping by!