Mundane Monday

 

Randyman let me sleep in today. However, someone else had other ideas. I could NOT sleep because I could feel someone staring at me, again...this time through my bedroom window. I feel like a goldfish.

 I know you have seen pictures of them doing this before, but if "I" have to wake up to it everyday, so can you.

I got up and got dressed, while Cider stayed in bed. I checked waterers and found Dolly had sabotaged her trough again. She likes to soak her food. I plugged in the trough heater so I could pull the hay out later, and cleaned the 'tent'.

Dolly 'backwash'

the infamous 'cow tent'

partners in crime

After feeding the calves and sheep, I went back inside, kicked Cider out of my bed, did some laundry and watered the houseplants. There is very little light in our house as the windows are very small, except for a garden window in the bathroom, so the plants get rotated so they all can enjoy equal time in the sun.

This one is practically giddy.

The boss' wife stopped by, and we had some coffee and swapped stories about how our Christmas went. Randyman and the boss had made her get up early this morning to help feed. I have been helping, but driving a monster tractor, in the snow and ice (and usually in the dark) that I have NEVER driven before, across terrain that is covered with snow and ice, sagebrush and hidden ditches, is not a relaxing activity for me. I am usually shaking like a wet dog by the time its over. She only had to drive a truck, while the boss rode on a flatbed behind, pulling and feeding flakes off of the 800 lb haybales. She said he told her to 'go on down the road'...and then hollered at her to 'go on through the ditch'...but forgot until too late to tell her to go STRAIGHT through the ditch or it would knock off the haybales. I guess the bulls will just have to serve themselves today.
He and Randyman must have gone to the same "How to Train Your Employees" and "Communication Skills" class.

The sink plugged up. I couldn’t do dishes, or run the dishwasher. That means I can’t cook either. I poured salt and baking soda in it, followed by a huge potful of boiling water. After several hours, it was still plugged up, so I had to waste some of the precious lye I bought for making soap. It works fine now. Randyman was impressed when he came home. He asked me to turn around to see if I was a REAL plumber. I am not, of course.

I went out to grain my cows and Cletus managed to push past me and went to do a check on the three heifer calves I raised last spring. They are so used to his annoying them, they didn’t even bother to get up when he climbed over the top of them to cover their muzzles with kisses. The 200 bred heifers that just got moved into the big back pasture weren’t as happy about it. He turned a deaf ear as I hollered for him, cows were scattering everywhere on the ice and snow, as he trotted behind them, hoping to introduce himself, until they were all out of sight.

Cider and Bruno and I walked up to the barn to grain the goats and check on their progress. They are due to kid this month. No action yet, but they are getting pretty cranky. Hopefully Randyman will get our closed circuit camera up before the big event, so I don’t freeze my tail off doing late night checks in subzero weather.

Wimpy's new "Cockleburr-Do"

 I dealt with Wimpy's mane mess, but his tail is still a disaster. We shall save that for another day, when its warmer than 13 degrees.
When we got back to the house, there was still no Cletus, so I sent Bruno out to get him and bring him back. He took off like a shot in the general direction the big 'walking rug' had last been seen. About 10 minutes later, I saw them both on the front porch. They weren’t alone.

Sneak attack

What the heck is it???

Its ticklish

It was their second experience with a 'ball bearing mousetrap'. The first was rather short, as Cletus wanted to pluck him like a chicken, and I hit him with a well aimed cabbage at the same time the cat hissed. They have since been wary. Today they were much more polite with him and judging by his response, all is forgiven.

Being barefooted, I didn’t want to walk out on the ice to let them through the side gate, but Cletus is claustrophobic and won’t come through the house. I invited Bruno in and as he nosed around, I put a collar on Cletus and had a tug of war to get him inside. He won. All I had left was an empty collar. Bruno waltzed past me as if I had offended him as well, they walked off together while I begged, pleaded and made hollow threats. They passed the barn and never even looked back. They live life on their own terms.

I kept looking out the front door, waiting for their return.  When they didn't show up after a couple of hours, I finally went out back to feed the calves and sheep again. Both pups were laying in the back corral. Most likely they had been there the whole time and were just punishing me for trying to yank Cletus into the house. The waterpipe was frozen, so I unplugged the water troughs, traipsed back to the house and made dinner.

 The boss called on the satellite phone to ask if Randyman had made it back from feeding yet, as it was dark and he hadn't been seen since leaving to do the afternoon feeding. It's nice to have a boss who cares about you and keeps tabs on you. He has a lot of responsibility here, as its not just his own family he has to take care of, but all the ranch crew as well. We get pretty spread out too, some of us getting stuck 4 hours away on a shopping trip, or like Cowboss, rolling over his car coming back from vacation, being out on the desert patrol or running wells, driving heavy equipment, beating brush or moving cows. He's pretty good at keeping track of everyone, even though he is always on the run himself, driving cattle trucks or hauling hay, meeting with bankers, vets, helping us brand or process cattle, or doing bookwork. Even though we all work 7 days a week here, if someone gets hung up and has to work really late, he makes sure they get dinner.
He sent out a search party once for me and Cowboss, as we had left at 5 a.m. to move cows in 18 degree weather and weren't back yet by 7 that night. We were just pulling in with the horse trailer, as he was pulling out. That was before he hired a second cowboy for the winter. Now I flake out and stay home when its cold. 
I looked outside, and Randyman was just pulling up. Our dinner was almost ready.


BTW, pizza is so much better if you make your own crust, sauce and mozzarella. Just a tip.