Ebersole Cattle Company

It's summer Show Time! We always have a couple of really great heifers to show at some shows through the summer.

Here is my oldest little Cowgirl with her heifer "Freedom".  This picture was taken at her very first show a couple of weeks ago.  They were named Grand Champion New Calf Crop.

This year we will also have a Fall born bull at the Iowa State Fair.

We'll have tons of fun showing our animals and helping our kids learn.  Right now, my Cowgirl gets up at 5am and goes outside with her Dad to wash her heifer and feed her every day.

I think that this kind of dedication to our animals and hard work will serve her well in her future.

If any of you are coming to the Iowa State Fair, drop us a note so that you can come pet a calf or meet us and reserve your Winter Beef now.

We have 3 beefs that have not been spoken for yet, and we will reserve now for Winter Delivery (you can pick a date from November thru February).

I hope y'all are enjoying your summer and having fun in the sun!!

Well, it is that time of year.  HARVEST TIME.  We have been busy AI'ing cows, and making sure that all of the calves are healthy on pasture.

And feeding the beef.  The beef have been growing great and we have 2 calves that are finishing size.  All of the beef that has been sold is currently "aging" at the locker.  These steers will be aged for 21 days to get the best flavor and tenderness.

I do have 1 more steer that is finished and just needs to find a home in a couple of people's freezers.

So, if you want great beef, with GREAT flavor and tenderness, drop me an e-mail and I will get you a very great price!

Hope the spring rains have treated you well!!

Shanen : )

Well, calving season is REALLY here!  We are almost half way through the season.  We now have our first group sorted so we can start breeding them.

Last week we were able to turn the GRASS FED BEEF calves out to pasture.  They are still supplemented with hay, but the grass is starting to grow.  Such a beautiful sight!  Calves grazing and foraging is a wonderful sight after such a long winter.

Here's a cute picture of a little one who was born on a cold rainy night, and was escorted into the house to warm up.  In the morning, I awoke to him trying to open the door to come IN my kitchen.  He didn't want to stay in the laundry room.  We took him back out to mama, and he drank like a pro!  It's always my worry that I have touched them too much, and then its a ton of work to get the cow to readily accept them again.  Not this mama, she wanted him the second we pulled him (on the sled) into the barn.  YEAH!!

You can see, by the calf in my house (one of many) that we REALLY care for our cattle.  We give them the BEST care possible!

All of our Spring BEEF has been sold, but we do have some fall beef still available!  Stop here and take a look.  We would love to customize your order of a full share of beef.  We can make sure you get the specific cuts and sized packages that YOUR family will enjoy!  We deliver to Omaha, Kansas City and the Quad Cities.  So, odds are, if you are within 300 miles of us, we can make a stop in YOUR area to deliver some fantastic beef.

As always, if you are in the area, just drop me a note and you can stop by the Ranch and see the calves and cows.  We even have a bottle calf you might get to feed, and the chickens ar making plenty of extra eggs if you need any. 

Happy Easter!

Well, spring has sprung on the ranch.  That means cows mooing in the pasture to new calves, babies everywhere, and new grass. 

We have had some grass start to grow, and are looking forward to new entirely green pastures in about 2 weeks.  The AI season has begun and we are planning to breed several hundred head of cows for other cattlemen in the next couple of weeks.

I am enjoying my time away from 20 buckets of feed for the calves.  All of the Corn-fed calves are now on self feeders, and thus we only have to fill them about once a week.  The replacement heifers will be on grass soon and we won't have to feed them as much either.

We have sold all of the calves except those we will make into beef, so speak up soon if you would like to try some of our great beef!

If you would like to stop by the Ranch and see the baby calves, call and I will set up a time.

Now that the Spring Calves have been sold, it is time to concentrate on the Fall Calves.  Beef that is.  We are now starting to sell Fall Shares.  This beef will be harvested in September.  We have a total of 8 calves that we are keeping for beef this fall.

It is imperative that you reserve your beef in advance.  This is especially important if you would like GRASS-FED beef.  The Grass calves will be turned out to pasture in a week, and the rest will be fed corn.

I really like the way these fall calves are looking, and will have some pictures for you soon.

Sorry I don't have much time to post right now, as we are in the middle of calving season.  We have about 30 calves on the ground, with more coming every day.

Well, we are in the thick of it!  Calving Time.   So far, we have about 20 calves alive and healthy. 

As you can see, we have been doing everything we can to get them warm and dry.  Including letting them inside our house, well the laundry room.

This little gal was born last night in single digit weather and was very cold.  You can see how new he is by his still red umbilical cord.

We have had 6 "houseguests" in the past 3 days of rainy cold weather.  All of our previous houseguests are doing great and are back outside with their mothers.

I have been exited by all of our calves, because they are soo food.  We think that this year's crop will be some of our best beef yet!

We have sold out of beef to be harvested in June.  We are starting to reserve calves for September Harvest.  Take a look at our store, or drop us an e-mail.

Our life on the Ranch has reached the busiest time of year! Calving time!  We also have been able to (so far) keep all of our '08 spring and fall calves.  We have sold several steers in our CSA pay as you go program, and have selected 13 heifers to stay in our herd.

We have 10 (hopefully 11 when I check heifers after posting this) calves on the ground right now.  Most of these early calves are purebred Maine Anjou calves.  We will keep some of these heifers in the herd, and offer the rest of the great ones to other MaineAnjou breeders.

Unfortunately, we must sell some of our calves.  Fortunately, we have Local Harvest, to help us sell some of these calves to locals (we will drive a long way to deliver great beef).  So, we are again having a BEEF SALE!  If you sign up for any size CSA share this month (February) we will also add an additional 25 pounds of Ground Beef.  The ground beef will be delivered immediately upon receipt of your down payment.  This will allow you to taste some of the great flavor that will be harvested in June.

Call us to help you determine what size share will best fit your family.

We LOVE to have visitors, and now is a great time with all of the cute calves on the ground!

Shanen

First of all, sorry for all of the time away from blogging.  Hope all y'all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We have 3 new puppies!!!  There are only three, because Rosie wasn't supposed to get bred this time, but Chilli, (our blue heeler working dog) couldn't help but take his girl for a 2 hour run one day.  Theese dogs will be great workers and family members.  If you are interested, just drop us a line.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...We have been busy!!!  We realised in early in December, that the Tax Man was gonna get us this year if we didn't act fast.  You see, he doesn't like it when you sell a large ranch and downsize.  Even if you use all the cash to pay off debt and purchase the new farm.  So, after a couple of meetings with our CPA, we decided to increase our cowherd!   YEAH!!  We don't have to run as many outside cows (cows other people own).  So a shoppin we went.

We bought 15 new cows at two Maine-Anjou dispersal sales.  And, we also purchased 18 new Angus cattle from Werner's in Diagonal.  With some heifers, we bought at some local sales, we have increased our herd by 40 head.  I can't tell you how excited I am for my new girls to calve!!

Our barn finishing touches are coming along, and we will soon have lights and our waterer pads poured.

We have a couple of beef that will be harvested on Tuesday.  We will have about  800 total pounds of LEAN ground beef.  YEAH!!  I have a hundred pounds that isn't yet spoken for, so if you would like to try our beef before you join our CSA, just drop me a note, and I'll arange shipping.

More stories and pictures to arrive soon  : ))

Shanen

Old man winter has arrived!  He blew in with a 45 degree temperature change on Sunday and Ice on Thursday.  Right now we have 2 inches of snow covered with 3/4 inch of ice and another 1/2 inch of snow.  Talk about SLICK!!  I skated to the barn this morning and found all the stock doing well (except 7-up).  I fed and watered and checked out 7-up. 

7-Up is our resident shetland pony.  He is a tiny one, about 36 inches high and has a sore leg.  We can't seem to locate the problem and are hoping it is a stone bruise from the cold rough ground.  With all that hair you can't tell if anything is swolen or hotter than it should be.

The calves are all eating and enjoying the weather.  The little ones have even figured out what a feed bunk is and that I'm there to fill it.  The heifers we have decided to keep are looking good.

My Lacey (my pet cow, good story to come) is doing well in the lot, and her calf is taming down really quickly.

Now, on to the CHICKENS!!  I am finally getting chickens!  I have wanted chickens (and their yummy eggs) since we planned out move in March!  A neighbor is picking them up this weekend.  They have just started laying eggs and I hope to keep them laying in the cold weather.  I have to start building an official chicken coop.  Until that is built, they'll stay in a dog kennel and doghouse inside the barn.  I hope I can let them loose after a day or two, and hope to teach the dogs that chickens are NOT toys to chase.

My  hope is that when the weather is warmer, the chickens will be free range and clean up after the calves and help cleaning the garden scraps.  I'll keep you posted in the chicken adventures.

Beef Shares are almost sold out, but please contact me if you would like me to reserve a half or full share for your family.

I know this is a little off topic for me, but if you bake bread at all, you know how hard it is to find a good recepie for Whole Wheat Bread.  Well, I was out of flour, grabbed some at the local grocery store from King Arthur, and lucked into a great recepie.  So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 nonfat dried milk
• 3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Instant yeast

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow to urse til puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it inot an 8 inch log.  Place the log in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 30 to 60 min, or until its crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan.  a finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350degree oven for about 40 min.

Now that I've given you the official directions I'll tell you that I just combined the ingredients and then trew it in my Bread Maker and set it on a Whole Wheat cycle.

It turns out great time and time again.  I hope you try it and enjoy.

As for the cows and calves, they are doing great!  Most are out on pastue and staying in most of the time.  It's a hard time of year to keep a cow inside the fence around here.  There is so much afterfeed on the cropground around us, and they want to go taste testing.  So, the dogs and I make a couple of rounds each day and put them where they belong.

Hope all is well at your place, and send us a note if you need some great beef. ~ Shanen : )

First, I have to give credit where credit is due.  This post is inspired by The Beginning Farmer.  Her blog post inspired me to ask y'all the same question. "What is the main thing you would like people to know about your agricultural word?"

I have run itno the same problems as she has.  You would be (or maybe not) amazed by the amount of people that think that Ranchers and Farmers are hurting our environment and the earth.

I am amazed that people say that it is wrong to raise cattle for beef.  So, if you aren't supposed to make that steer into beef, what are you supposed to do with it??  Beef cattle were put on this earth for exactly that reason.  I might even argue that dairy cattle are supposed to become our food once their useful life has run out. 

I believe that we aren't doing Gods work if we don't utilize all of the beef that was put on this earth.  I also believe that most Ranchers and Farmers improve their environment.  We do this for many reasons, most of them profitable, and some for our future generations.

I would like the general public to really understand all of the precautions we go thru to care for our land. 

1 - Personally, we make sure that we leave timber areas tall grass areas.  We leave these areas so that our cows will have sheltered areas to lay in, and calve in, during the winter. 

2 - We don't tear up the land and we don't overfertilize the ground creating run-off to the streams and rivers.  We need those streams for our cows to drink, so why would we pollute them?  We need that topsoil to grow great grass and feed for our cows, so why would we damage it?  We go to great lengths to preserve the earth and improve the dirt so we can improve the grass and grow more beef.

3 - If beef is grown and harvested carefully, it doesn't hurt the animal in ANY way.  That may sound wierd, but its true.  If you raise your beef cattle in a clean and dry environment, they are comfortable and eat, and grow very healty.  If you move them to the harvesting location slowly and smoothly, and you then restrain them properly, they won't feel the pain.  It will (and should be) done smoothly and instantly, to prevent suffering.  In addition, a facility that is so careful with the live animal will (and should) take those same precautions to handle the meat carefully and cleanly, thus preventing harm to the people that eat it.

I know that this may seem a little off, from my usual stories, but I was inspired.  I hope y'all will chime in and tell us what you want people outside of agriculture to know about what you do.  I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Remember, high quality beef is GOOD for you!  And its good for the cattle and our earth.

We still have 2 shares of Grass-Fed beef and 2 shares of Corn-Fed beef.  Send me a note to reserve your shares today and set up your pay-as-it-grows plan.            Shanen : )

A detailed description of "what is a share of our beef?" and how we determine prices for our beef shares.   This post is very long and detailed.  I will have more Cow Stories later this week.

The cows are out on pasture.  First, sorry I took a little time-out from blogging.  The business aspect of moving the Ranch has gotten to me, and stolen all of my time.

We had our first real snow here in southern Iowa this Sunday.  It was beautiful!  However, as you know, I don't like cows and claves in dry lots.  It makes for sick critters, and since we don't use antibiotics, we don't like to do it.  So, out they went.  All of 'em.  They love it!  They run and play and have fun foraging thru the snow.  They bed down at night in the deep grass, and down into a low spot with trees.  It is so pretty at night with all of the white snow reflecting the dark cattle bedded down into it.

It is also fun, because that means that I get to call the cows in to feed  and check them.  In the pasture, I shake and bang buckets together and call "come BAAAAASSSS".  Once the first cow hears me, she sticks her head in the air and bellows.  Everybody looks, and starts coming for me.  Some at a run and others slowly ambling along.  After a few days, they get smart and start to run,  because I only feed two to three buckets, and the "pigs" eat the biggest share.   Then the work begins.  Any cow that doesn't come up, gets checked.  If I have my munchkins with me, out in the truck we go, if not, maybe a horse.  Mostly the other cows are just relaxing and enjoying the pasture. No sick or hurt ones yet!

Now, for a short note on the business side of things.   One of the most heartwrenching things for me is taking calves to the sale barn.  I don't like it!  It is conventional farming at it's worst!!  The calves are penned with other calves to be sold together.  Then, after they are sold, they're pushed in semi-trucks with strangers to go who knows where, and be fed in whatever way is cheapest.  The heifers are implanted (hormone implants in their ears) to keep them from cycling, and the steers are implanted to keep them growing like bulls. (I HATE IMPLANTS!! and I rarely use that word).  Then they are shipped again and sent to a packing house and harvested and handled very disrespectfully.

So, this is what I've been trying to figure out.   How do I expand my beef production, so I can keep everyone that doesn't meet the quality to be kept as a cow or a bull?

So, ITS SALE TIME!!!  I would love for this to work!!!  I want to sell shares of 8 more calves by the time we have to take them to market in the beginning of January.  Please, if you are at all interested in the highest quality, most humanely raised beef possible e-mail me.  I will be selling ground beef for a 10% discount, and beef shares for a 15% discount.

I also lowered our base prices to reflect the current markets.  Hurry, before markets go back up, and I have to cave to my husband and increase them again.

I have also made a great "buy-as-it-grows" plan.  You would place a small down payment and recieve some ground beef at that time (to give you a great tase of what's to come) and then you would make installment payments as the beef grows.   This will allow me to make our farm payment in January and pay for feedstuffs as we need them.  I think this arrangement would work best for all of us.  And most importantly to me (and the calves), I won't have to take these calves to the sale barn!

I know that you want the highest quality beef.  So don't go to the store, come to the producer.  That way, you get the best value, and the calves will get the best care!

I hope to hear from you, and find a beef package that meets your needs and budget.   ~Shanen

Well, life on the ranch has started to settle down again.  The pairs are still locked in the pens, but there are fewer every day. 

We have begun to pair out the fall calvers to the pasture again.  You see, because of the heavy rains and floods this fall, we didn't tag the calves born this fall.  So, we have been pairing them up and moving them across the road to pasture behind the house.

The spring calves look wonderful, and are doing great!!   We have separated the grass fed calves and have them eating hay very well.  Theese calves are the biggest and oldest of the bunch, so hopefully they will still finish (be ready for harvest) by June.  They are also very healthy during this critical time of weaning.

The rest of the spring calves have started eating creep feed and will hopefully be weaned this week or next.  They are eating well, and the extra vitamins and minerals we put in the creep feed really help them stay healthy.

We have one full share of Grass Fed Beef still available.  If you would like to reserve a portion of this calf, please e-mail us ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com.  I do have some grass fed ground beef in the freezer that I will be putting on sale, so I can also ship this to your house. 

If you haven't ever tried grass fed ground beef, you should!!  I can guarantee that this beef is leaner than any you have ever browned before!  There is no grease in the pan when you brown this beef.   Ground beef is an excellent way to try grass fed beef and you get the benefits of all the extra nutrients that grass fed provides, no fat and TONS of flavor.

If you are interested in great tasting Iowa corn fed beef, email me (ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com) to reserve your share.

By the way, I love your comments, and look forward to hearing from all of you.  Keep checking to see what new antics are happening to me during my life on the ranch.

Shanen : )

 Yes, this is a story from Sunday's Moving cows and yes, Beau was taught a lesson.  But it was Very Funny, (at least I can admit it now).  And of course, you can laugh!  I always do!

Well, if you have read my first two blogs on Local Harvest you know that we have moved our Ranch this summer.  Our new barn has been built for some time, and the corrals have been built for a month.  Everyone around here kept asking what we were going to use that BIG barn for.  We kept telling them for the calves and colts.  They would look at us with a question and ask if we had any cows.  You see we have not had ANY cattle on this farm except for the bulls (and they were only here for 1 month).  None of our new Ringold County neighbors had ever seen us with any cattle at our homeplace.  The cows have been at the rented pasture this summer.

As I told you on Friday, we moved the cows home this weekend.  We did it!!  All by ourselves.  Beau had to work in town on Saturday, so we just got everything set up.  We set up the portable corral at the pasture and fed the cows in the corral.  This convinces them that this is a good place to be! ; ) 

Sunday morning bright and early we loaded up the kids, and the dogs and off we went.  Our rented pasture is only 15 miles from the house, so it is a short trip.  We arrived at the pasture, and made our plan.  I would take the 4-wheeler out and around the pond to move the cows to Beau and he would "call" the cows into the corral.  Well, he had more luck than I did.  He locked up ~25 while I was still on the other side of the pond. 

I made my sweep around the pond with the dogs close behind.  The cows weren't happy about being woken up early and were slow to go to the corral.  I managed to push in another 25 or so.  Then it gets tricky!  The last cows are ALWAYS the worst.  They don't want to go in and the want to run and chase.  We decided to haul a load home and bring the horse.

We are able to haul about 10 calves and 12 cows each trip.  Made the trip and arrived back at the pasture with the horse.  This time we switched, I was calling and Beau was pushing on Ozzie (the horse).  We made a sweep and not one cow came in.  We put the 4-wheeler away (I hate those things!) and tried again and cought 5 pairs.  We were both severely frustrated and decided to haul some more cows home. 

We made another 3 trips (I will tell you a funny story about one of theese trips later this week) and we got LUCKY!  The crazy(mean, ornery and taking the rest far, far, away) cow was standing in the gateway.  We were VERY sneaky and we finally got her locked up!!!!  YEEE HAAA!  Unfortunately it was dark and we were done for the night, but they were all locked up at the pasture and at the house. 

I LOVE our new facilities @ home.  We did not have to worry that the cows were going to go hunting for their calves and get out, we had easy fresh water and it was great!  After a long day and another long one to go we could still sleep easy.

If you enjoy these types of stories, leave me a note and I'll keep them coming. 

We did select some great beef calves that will be worked and weaned this coming weekend.  Please e-mail me to reserve your shares.  I think we have 4 whole shares left, so please let me know and I can put your name on a calf.

I will have that funny story from Sunday and the story of Monday later in the week.

Shanen : ))

Thankfulness.  That word is a mouthful, but the things it brings to mind are simple.  God. Family. Farm. Cows. Horses. Nature. Natural.

I am thankful for all of theese things and each one is dependent and brought to us by the others on my thankfull list. 

God gave us our family, and gave us to our families.  We need to remember that without Him, none of theese things are possible.

Our families are a gift from God and we need to treat them as sacred gifts.  We need to make sure that we are always, ALWAYS thankful and loving towards our families.

Cows are also a special gift we are entrusted with.  We show our respect and appreciation for these cattle by lovingly raising them for their intended purposes.  Wonderful beef and great mothering (or siring) abilities.  We should all treat them with nothing but the utmost respect and care for the entire time we have them, including their harvest.  This means we should also enjoy all the beef and byproducts entirely and not waste anything.

My horses are my wonderful luxury.  I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity at a young age to enjoy the love of a horse.  That pony was (and is) my best friend through all of those rough adolescent years.  I am so thankful that he was there to listen to all of my problems, and to help me learn to love each and every animal on the planet.

I am thankful for nature.  This sounds simple and plain, and that is just the way I mean it.  I love each and every sound and thing in nature (even the annoying Asian LadyBugs).

I am thankful that we are natural.  I love that we can put a calf back in his natural environment (grass) and it will grow and mature into natural, wonderful beef.  I love natural pasture and letting nature show us what we need to do to improve. I am thankful that God made it natural for us to love him and life on the ranch.

I am also thankful to the wonderful, creative people that help take care of us and help us to provide natural grass fed beef through a website like this.  Thank you!

I hope all of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe!

Shanen

Just another funny story of life on the ranch and the things a wonderful smart pony can do that he's learned in his 23 years of life.

Sunday was a big day and we did accomplish alot!  After the cows were finished, we moved the Mares and weaned the colts.  Again, it may not sound like much, but it is usually a very difficult task.

We stopped at the house and the guys tightened their cinches and I haltered the stud and hopped on the 4-wheeler.  We then went looking for the mares.  Our mares are kept behind the house in a 160 acre pasture.  As expected they were at the far corner of the pasture.  Koda (our stud horse) followed the 4 wheeler great and we went back about 100 acres and finally saw the mares.  Koda was very excited!  He was still respectfull and we circled and started heading back to the house.  The mares spotted him and came at a run.

I wish someone else had been helping and could have taken pictures because it was quite a sight.  Imagine 30 Mares and Colts at a run following you.  Manes flowing behind them, some playing and bucking, and horses playing tag.  It was beautiful!! 

We crossed the creek, 5 horses wide and made it up to the tricky part, the gate....  You see, after we go out this gate, there are no fences.  We have to go thru a small paddock and cross the road to try to lead them into the corrals.  Beau and Branden were on their horses bunching the Mares together and trying to keep up.

A short tenative pause at the gate on my part, and out we went.  30 horses went out in the open.  They followed me well across the road and right into the pen!!! YEAH!!!  WE DID IT!!!

You see, usually this takes at least 8 people to block the road and help funnel the unbroke mares and colts into the right pen.  Not anymore!!

Then we slowly started sorting mares from their colts.  This is a very trying and traumatic thing for some of the mares.  The don't want to leave their colt, or any other colt alone.  Even though they are only separated by a fence, they still don't like it.  All of the sorting went well, with only one small cut on a colt.

Today (Tuesday)  the colts are still upset and not eating.  This is not good...  I put a couple of old geldings (they got out of their pasture, another long story) in with the colts to teach them to eat from the Hay bale.  This should help them to get more comfortable with eating hay.

We will sell half of our colts, so if you are interested in foundation bred Quarter Horses keep stopping by my blog and you will see pictures as I can get them.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy my stories from the Ranch!

Remember, we still have a couple of Beef Shares available and we will customize them to fit your family.

Shanen : )

Well, Yesterday sure was a long day!! But we moved 'em!  The cows all circled the Jeep well and then followed me over one hill.  Beau and Branden were on horses and helped move the stragglers along.  They followed me down the hill and chased me thru the creek. 

Then it happened!!! The Jeep Quit!!  You see something "popped" when I put it in 4 Low (Four wheel drive, Low Gear)  The creek is pretty deep and the bank out of it is very steep.  I made it up part of the hill, and the cows are circling and beginning to stop and wander.  UH OH!!!

So, I got out, grabbed a feed bag and took off running!  I had to run, or get mobbed by a bunch of hungry cows that just want my feed!  Did I mention the HILL???!!!   This hill is very steep, probably a 45degree incline.  I had to RUN  75 yards!!! But halfway up I couldn't, my lungs were on FIRE!!  The cold air and this out of shape body did not get along.  And remember, we are in a part of the pasture that is not grazed, so it is 2 ft deep tangled grass.

I finally made it to the top!!! Then I had to open the gate...... Barbed wire gates and I do NOT get along.  But my wonderful husband had just a twisted wire for me to open.  YEAH!!!!

The cows were right on my tail and they went to the hilltop to talk with the other group already there.  Beau and Branden went back down for one slowpoke.  (We let her go slow, she is 14 and has had a great calf every year)  WE did it with no problems!! 

Then we did have to get the Jeep to the top of the hill and leave it there for another day!

Hope you enjoy my little RanchLife stories and yes, it is ok to laugh at this little girl enjoyin life on the Ranch.

I'll have the story of the afternoon's activities later, hopefully with some pictures.