Busy Weekend! - Cattle & Scrapping

Last weekend we started setting the cows up to be Artificially inseminated. CIDR's were put in and first hormone shot were given. Tomorrow I go to purchase and pick up semen at Camp Cooley for a Santa Gertrudis bull, Yogi. We have the semen we need to inseminate the Lowline Angus. Saturday morning CIDR'S will be removed, a patch to detect estrus will be adhered to the top of the hip, and another hormone shot. Sunday is yet again another hormone shot. Monday morning we AI. Then the girls go to the specific pasture where they will be with a bull in case they do not conceive using AI. You might ask why we do this. Artificial Insemination allows us to introduce a top bull in a breed into our herd that we do not own. This gives us genetic diversity which is very important in any purebred breeding operation.

I have another thing to do this weekend. I'm attending a National Scrapbooking Day Online Crop! This is my one year anniversary for attending A Cherry on Top's NSD Crop. A Cherry on Top is an online Scrapbooking store and community. They host four crops a year. So come join us for a great time of games, prizes, classes (great ones scheduled), and just plain fun scrapping! Make sure you have your digital camera handy to post your layouts to the gallery! If you have never scrapped, stop by anyway, you might discover through the gallery it is something you might want to try. I heart A CHERRY ON TOP!

Photo credit: Photos of my layouts shared at ACOT.

Need a bumper sticker?

My bumper is free to hold a bumper sticker and I decided I needed this bumper sticker. Today it is free for registering at Humane Watch! So you might now be asking, what is Humane Watch? If you have followed my blog for very long you know I am not in favor of "Animal Rights" groups. I find them to produce spin which makes them appear to be animal welfare groups, coin terms that become common terminology, and basically turn unsuspecting Americans against Animal Agriculture Producers like me. Over time I have been called an animal abuser, factory farmer and just plain demonized. A visit to the ranch would show I am not an abuser of our cattle. We work very hard to provide an environment beneficial to both the cattle and wildlife. Then there is those cattle I have an emotional attachment to who are very special to me: Peyton and May are two. If we overstock our cattle then the wildlife can not thrive. If I manage for wildlife then my cattle thrive. Come join me and learn just how "Animal Rights" groups are slowly chipping away at your right to own an animal as a pet, in livestock production or your ability to hunt at Humane Watch or HumaneWatch on facebook.

A Day in the Life of a Farm Vet

With the numbers of rural vets dropping at an alarming rate across our country, it was a great treat today to find this blog and their page on facebook. Do you often wonder what really happens on a dairy (cow or goat)? Do you wonder what equipment I use to protect my animals while we provide routine or critical care in a beef cattle operation. Now you have the chance to see just how important a vet is to our production of beef cattle. I hope you'll follow "A Day in the Life of a Farm Vet" to learn more about how livestock producers bring you the safest food system in the world! Photo Credit: A Day in the Life of a Farm Vet

Waiting...

This is Texas! This is ranching. Snow?! Wishing it wasn't to be. A Winter Storm Watch went up at 2:30pm yesterday. Forecast for Tuesday is 80% chance of snow to the tune of 4"-7". Ughhh! We are in the middle of calving. There is so much to do today for freezing temperatures over 36 hours. Water Troughs completely full then waterlines drained, go to the feed store to make sure I have enough feed. Bottled water for me because I don't trust the utilities! I started on the water troughs last night. Last Friday they were predicting a chance of snow so I started to let the larger troughs be emptied. I have two more to rinse and clean today. There is hay to put out today. I'm just thankful we won't have three days of below freezing weather.

Two days ago I opened the gate to the three cattle we have in the front pasture to allow them to eat the four inches grass underneath the mesquite trees on the lawn. Happy cows.

Texas weather is to guaranteed to change at a moments notice and sometimes drastically. Like yesterday when the Winter Storm Watch went up it was 75 degrees on the porch. By dark thirty when I got done at the barn the north wind was blowing at 15-20 and it felt like 45. I went out to the porch at 8 pm to find a 51 degree temperature. Wind still hollowing I was glad the porch faces south.

The photos I took yesterday. Warm and pretty still at 5 pm. This morning cloudy and cold! I love my life!

My Greatest Fear

I love my land and the fact I produce a product all Americans need. A protein source. If you don't like beef or your a vegetarian or vegan that is ok. There are other excellent protein sources.

I wish I was eloquent with words. I wish I could paint a picture of my feelings for the land and my cattle. I care for each and every cow. I spend hours with my animals or for my animals. It is what I do and love to feed my family and the country.

So what is my fear....that someone who will not give my children the same right I have to choose how I make a living and raise cattle. I read a wonderful analogy about the Auto Industry and Agriculture. Our imports of food are increasing, we have organizations who wish to stifle agriculture on all sides of our sector of the economy. The press paints us as evil whether in grain, fruit, vegetable, or animal production. Hollywood has picked up on the theme with recent documentaries. I am fearful for my children and the ranch I so love.



Enjoy this great read by Mike Rowe, the Cable TV personality of World's Dirtiest Jobs. A wonderful analogy on the Auto Industry and Agriculture. He hits the nail on the head with the current state of the economy. Thank you, Mike, for supporting American Agriculture!

What is in America's Future? by Mike Rowe (from his blog)

I always believe in HOPE FOR THE FUTURE!

A brand new sketch site is up on Blogger! I'm so excited, Sassy 'Lil Sketches! One of my A Cherry On Top friends made the first Design Team for Sassy 'Lil Sketches! Congrats Heather! I can not wait to see the first sketch and participate!

The sketch at the left was one of the two sketches used for the Design Team call! I can not wait to use this one this week, a good practice one to get geared up to participate. So on to legal stuff: This is a Sassy 'Lil Sketches copyright sketch!

Don't forget to check out this Sketch Challenge Blog!

Highlighted!

Sometimes there is just a moment in time when the world just seems to be a great place to have residence in. It isn't because of something one does, but what others do to recognize you. When this happens to me some where in my mind I get a "Why me?" thing going on. No matter how hard we try to say being recognized isn't important we all secretly love it. I always wish it was someone else who needs the happy face that day instead of me. I'd rather put the happy face on someone else and make their day. Making someone's day is more important to me then someone making my day a great one.

With all the philosophical stuff out of the way, Sarah who is a member of the A Cherry on Top Creative Team made me feel so good today by recognizing one of my layouts and put it in the article January Creative Team Spotlight. As I scrolled through the other members layouts also "Spotlighted" I really felt humbled. The incredible creativity of the projects, cards and layouts was just AMAZING. I feel so humbled to be placed next to these wonderful ladies who worked so hard on their projects. Congrats to you, too! To check out my layout what I used on the layout the link is: My Gallery, Blessings. I love working with sketches for my layouts and this one was no exception. I used the 2008 52 Sketches...52 Weeks Sketch # 48. 52 Sketches is no longer running but Julie produces the BEST Sketches on her blog.

Thank you to Sarah, all of the Creative Team Members and ACOT for being such a great community of scrappers! You put so much effort into making the board a "Happy Place" to spend time and get tremendous amounts of inspiration in scrapping!