Fire in the Sky

Wasn't that sunset amazing?!  It stopped me in my tracks.

The Story of Doodle

Snickerdoodle, she's one of the very first rodeo bred cows we bought.  So she holds a special place in our hearts.




About 4 years ago, I had just moved to our new town for my new job.  The husband was still living in Stephenville.  Doodle, along with others, were at a lease.  This lease was cursed!  Only bad things happened there.

One day Doodle got out on the neighbor's place.  No big deal really, she just got in with his cows.  Well, BIG DEAL to him.  He chased her in his truck over a cattle guard.  Doodle broke her front leg.  The guy called to tell us he caught her and was going to have her hauled to the killer's!  Excuse me, WHAT?!!

The husband went ballistic.  Told him not to touch her and he would be there shortly.  He managed to get her loaded on a trailer and moved to a nearby friend's pens.  Called our vet friend and asked what could be done.    He said he could do experimental surgery on her to pin and cast the leg.  It had never been done on a large animal but it worked on small ones.  We didn't have anything to lose so let's do it!

So in the pen, they romped Doodle.  Laid her out and started.  Dr. Broady shaved her leg.




Then the husband started up his welder to generate power for the power tools.  As the husband held her leg, they drilled holes for the pins.




Then the husband had to hold her leg straight for Dr. Broady to cast it.  Notice the husband put his cap over Doodle's eyes. LOL




Shortly thereafter, Doodle was up.




But the weeks that followed were stressful.  We had to fight infection.  A friend was into herbal remedies and fed her all kinds of stuff.  We didn't care what it was as long as it helped.   And I guess it did.  Doodle got better.  The vet was truly amazed that she lived.  He eventually removed the pins and she was as good as new!

Today her right leg is thicker than her left but other than that, you'd never know.  The husband and I always cringe when we see her running.  Not too long ago, we found her hauling butt down the side of a creek, jumping the ravine.  Silly girl!  We lecture her to be careful but as you can see from the first picture, she don't listen very well.

Massacre on the Bus

It sure looks like a massacre happened on the bus (aka trailer).




I'm sure the people driving past us didn't know what to think.




Looks like something out of a slasher movie, huh?




Luckily, the sun was going down as we headed home from Stephenville.




So are you wondering what happened?  Well, we tipped the 2 year old bulls while we were at the arena.  Which means, we cut the ends of their horns off.  It has to be done for safety reasons, safety of other animals and safety for us.

It looks much worse than it really is, I promise.  I was hesitant about posting it but it's part of of the business.  There are rules about how blunt a horn must be in order for the bull to compete.    Plus I realized y'all know how much I care for my animals and wouldn't do anything to cause them intentional harm.

Tadpole is a nice hue of red right now.



The husband said the boys were still peeved at him this morning.  They wouldn't come up to eat while he was around.  So this evening I went out with a can of cubes to see if they were upset with me.   They ran right up and got their treats.  They still love mama.  Do y'all still love us?

Buckin' In the Cold

At least it was above freezin' today.  Not a whole lot but I'll take what I can get.  We hauled the bulls to Stephenville this morning.  We took the weanlings to Rent-a-husband to turn out on a lease for a year.  Then we bucked the two year olds and Stubby.

Our partner on Stubby informed us this last week that he needed to sell his half.  He no longer had the funds to take care of his half and needed the money.  So luckily, after some negotiations, Rent-a-husband will be our new partner!  That makes me happy.  Stubby is my buddy.  He meets me in the evenings at the gate waiting for his treats.  The husband hates that I have made him such a pet.  He was trying to load this morning and Stubby wouldn't move.  He just stood next to me, blocking the alley.  He loves his momma, what can I say.

So today we bucked him for the first time with a rider.  Didn't know what to expect but he pleasantly surprised us.  Wished he would have turned back a little sooner but for his first trip, we're pleased.



Just a little Crazy M history, this arena is the place where the husband and I held our invitational bullriding after our wedding.  Quite the wedding reception huh!  Our wedding invitations read "A bullriding will be held immediately following the ceremony."  Don't see that very often, do ya?

I Want One!

So the other day, when I posted about Itty Bitty, someone asked what we could do with her.  Would we be able to breed her?  My response was yes, we could breed her but it would have to be to a miniature bull but that I didn't think the husband would want to get into breeding mini bucking stock.

Did y'all know that there is actually mini buckin' stock breeders?  We've had some friends with mini bulls in the past.  They use them for youth rodeos.  I think they are too cute.

I found this video on a breeder's website.  The first two minutes explain why they use mini bulls and show some good ones in action.  The rest of the video shows more mini bulls in action but the husband and I weren't real impressed.



So now I really want to breed Itty Bitty and try to get a mini bull.  I asked the husband if I could and he responded with "Can I sell your longhorns?"  Um, NO.  This would be in addition to my longhorns.  It's not a trade deal.  Geez!

So maybe in another year or so, we can find a mini to breed Itty Bitty.  I love the idea!

Blank Stare

I really don't have anything today.  So here's a picture...



And a butt jiggle update.  It's about 9.5 now!  I ran 3 miles today in 35:35, which is no great feat.  Especially since I used to run a 5K in 24 minutes.  But you know what, I got off my butt and on that treadmill.  I get a gold star for effort!

Oh, and I'll share with you a sweet husband story.  This morning I was getting ready for work.  Put on a pair of high waisted dress pants.  Standing in the closet looking for a shirt.  Hubby walks by and says "Hey Urkle!"  He can be so witty sometimes.  And I stress the SOMETIMES part of that statement!

Diesel's New Playmate

Well, maybe not exactly.

I don't think they know quite what to think about each other.

And if Itty Bitty makes any sudden movement towards him, he jets off.  Such a scaredy cat.

Itty Bitty is in the pasture at the house with the bred heifers.  She's so small we wanted to keep her close to home.  We took the other weanling heifers to our lease.  The weanling bulls are penned.  Itty Bitty was so upset to be away from her buddies.  She would sit at the gate to the pens and bawl.  It was so sad.

The husband told me if I didn't have "so many" dogs, we could have put her in the yard.  Whatever!  She's gotten better and the heifers have taken her in pretty well.

She's still skittish though.  I haven't been able to calm her down much.  I'm hoping with her being with the heifers, she may realize I'm the good guy.  I feed a good bit of them by hand.  It'll just take some time and I'm a patient lady.

Trouble's A Brewin'

There's something strange going on 'round here.

Never seen anything like it before.

Couldn't have done it if I wanted to.

Don't know if it was something to do with the moon or what.

So look how the cows grouped together....

Blacks

Whites

Longhorn spots

And reds

It was so odd.  Never noticed them group up like that before.  Either we got discrimination goin' on or maybe some gang activity.  (Crips, Aryan Circle, Mexican Mafia, Bloods)  Can't fool me.  I used to be a gang officer.  As a matter of fact, I think I saw them throwing some signs.

Gonna have to keep an eye on this situation.  We can't be havin' buck-by kickin's or hookin's.  Not gonna tolerate it!

SUCCESS!!

Look what we found at the lease place this morning!




Mudpie had her calf.  Isn't it a cute lil girl.




Just precious.



We were so happy to finally have a live calf this season.  Finally!

With that good news, I bring one of y'all good news.  I ran the number of entries into the Random Number Generator and it came up with the winner of the giveaway.  It picked lucky number 7.  And the 7th person to comment was  The Goodwife!!

So Goodwife send me an email with what picture you'd like to have printed.  Congrats!

A 2010 Warning

Have y'all noticed the countdown to hotness over on the sidebar?  I need to warn ya about that.  I have decided to use my blog as a motivational tool.  So right now, you need to open your calendar up to July 4th, 2010 and make a note.  The note needs to read "LOG ON TO GIZZARDS AND CALF FRIES AT YOUR OWN RISK."  Please, for your own good, do it!




On that day, there may be one something posted here that may render you blind.  Or it may trigger your gag reflexes.  I'm just saying, you need to be warned.

So what will be posted you're wondering?  It will be a picture of me in a ...........BIKINI!  Oh baby Jesus, help me!

Yep, in order to drive myself to get off my ass and get back in shape, I plan to post a picture of me in a bikini.  How's that for motivation!

I've started running on my treadmill in the evenings.   Settin' an hour aside for exercise.  I'm not rating my success by distance, time or even weight loss.  Nope, I rating it on the butt jiggle scale.  That's right, how much does my butt jiggle when I start running.  Right now it is a 10!  That translates into my cheeks playing paddy cake with the pavement behind me. Talk about road rash!

Anyhow, there it is, my warning to you.  I'll try to keep you updated on my butt jiggle.  I know y'all will be dying to know how it's progressing.