Ever have one of those moments where you are in complete awe and just stand with your mouth part way open…staring…listening…watching?
Yep. I’ve had those.
It’s like I live in cowboy country or something.
So…the ranch recently had some brandings (back in May). Wyoming is an open range, fence out state. If you don’t want cows on your property, fence them out. Also, some of our cows spend their summer up on the mountain with other people’s cows. Who is keeping other people from cutting tags out of the ears and claiming the cow/calf (pair) as their own? Especially with beef prices, there’s not always the most honest of people around…even here. Thus, this year, the ranch decided to brand all the babies. Brandings are a common thing out west. When a ranch has a big branding, all the other ranches are invited to work then they are invited to eat. Our horse trainer invited some of his horse training friends, other men from neighboring ranches, and all our ranch workers. The brandings were held over four days. The first day they worked with 400 calves. The second day was about 200, then about 150 each day after that.
For days one, two, and three portable corral panels were taken out to where the pairs were. Time was spent setting up the panels. Then the morning of the branding…around 4:30am after eating a ranch made breakfast of breakfast burritos, homemade cinnamon rolls, or sweet rolls, everyone would take their horse and round up the mamas and babies. With everyone working together, the wrangling didn’t take long.
Propane tanks feed a fire pit that holds the brands.
The mamas and babies are held back by watchful cowboys and gals.
Then the roping, flipping, vaccinating, marking, and branding happen. It’s pretty fast, loud and really fun to watch. Oh…and some of those boys rarely miss. It’s a sight to see.
First, one ropes the head. Then he pulls tight, to make the calf kick up it’s back legs.
Then his partner ropes the back legs. But those little ones are so wiggly, that it sometimes slips up on their body.
The pair drags the baby over or out of the corral area for the real work to happen.
The calf is flipped, rope slipped over its back legs, then the is rope slipped down off the head and down to the front legs.
The calf is marked on the head or back with a piece of oil chalk. Then it’s released back to find the mama. The mark tells the cowboys/cowgirls that it has been done and doesn’t need to be roped again.
Of course, horses tire out when pulling weight, so there were plenty of replacement horses. Also, we had enough roping teams that people could switch out every few calves. One time, on day one, I counted five roping teams. It was fast and loud.
On the big days of branding we had 30 to 40 people there working, watching and socializing. Us ranch wives had snacks, cokes and water for the workers. There was plenty of watching, joking and just fun.
After all the work was done, panels taken down and everything back at the ranch. The workers were treated to a homemade meal.
The meals were:
Tangy Tomato Brisket, Coleslaw, cheesy potatoes, corn on the cob, broccoli salad, deviled eggs, jello salad, Texas sheet cake, homemade cookies, cherry crumble
BBQ beef, cowboy beans, macaroni salad, hash brown casserole, bacon wrapped tots, peach cobbler
Cowboy styled sloppy joes, potato salad, cowboy caviar, chips, ice cream
Each day they were treated to hand squeezed lemonade and sweet tea…of course.
So…the big question…what did Ruby think of it?
Not a care in the world. She was just there to pick sage, and climb corral panels.
Clara…
Not impressed…but boy… I sure was.
