FALL COLORS, COWBOY STYLE
- October 23, 2014
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- Jayme Thompson
Posted in: Ranch Life
As the leaves begin to turn their beautiful orange and yellow colors, you can begin to feel the chill in the early morning air. Fall approaches us this year with more items added to our “to do list”. Along with our horse and cattle operation and saddle business, my husband Matt, is a rep for Western Video Market. As per the customer’s request, he will travel to the location of where the cattle are, and video calves, yearlings, or breeding stock. You can watch the sale on satellite tv or internet. When the seller and buyer agree on price and delivery date, the rep will go to location of cattle and help sort and load them. It is the reps responsibility to make sure the trucks are at the location to load, the cattle are the right weight, and all paper work is taken care of.
The boys and I have had the opportunity to go with Matt and help.
On one of our most recent video sales, we went to a beautiful ranch in Wyoming. It required us to stay the night so we decided to stay at a hotel so the boys could swim. The owner of the cattle asked us to help him gather the critters in a large field above his house. So we loaded our horses, kids, and swim suits. It was the later part of the morning as we pulled into the corral, saddled our horses, and put on the extra coat we didn’t think we would need.
Fall gathering on a good horse.
We head out across the field aiming for the pine trees and mountains that lie ahead of us. The cattle are waiting in the midst, slowly milling around. The field turned out to be a rather large one. It took a large part of the day, the sun warming us up enough to take a few layers off. It was a great gather, the calves running and bucking, and cows bawling for their own, and we even got to rope a few stragglers that decided to turn back on us. No complaining here. It was a beautiful day, spent riding with my family, getting our young horses rode, and being reminded how blessed we truly are. We left them in a corral overnight so they would be easy to get to in the early morning to sort and ship. We had a nice evening, and the boys swam until their hearts were content. The next morning came fast, a rather chilly one in fact! Matt and I sort the calves from cows, making sure our counts each match. The truckers are there, waiting patiently for their turn to load. The brand inspector looks the cows and calves over, Matt takes care of the paper work transactions, and we load the trucks. Away they go…
That job is complete, and now we go onto the next one…gathering our own cows. Happy Fall Y’all!
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Posted in: Ranch Life
About Jayme Thompson
I was Daddy's little cowgirl being raised horseback on our family ranch. I am a ranch wife and mother. I believe in having pride in your work and yourself. I am thankful for the exciting and fulfilling life I get to live doing the work...