Calving in the East

Well, I thought I written my last blog post several months ago. But life is a funny thing. You can't control what happens and I therefore must decompress somehow....and well this just works.

But. Before I go on I first must offer the disclaimer for this post. I am not squemish in the least (except when it comes to people drawing my own blood and snakes eating things...but I digress.) So, it should be no suprise that I could get a little graphic. Also, I also would like to proclaim that despite living in Montana for a short 10 months and learning a lot about cattle and calving I am no expert, won't claim it, never gonna. So, for those of you that read this and "know stuff" I offer you the full privledge of having a good belly laugh at me, and my descriptions.

Now the story....

I first have to back up several months, to when Kyle's dad (Ron) inicently enough went to the local cow auction to pick up a steer/heifer to finish for beef. Ron came home with a nice red angus heifer. The plan was to butcher her around October.

Well, she was nice and filled out, but one day Ron noticed that her udder was not - shall we say - as petite as you would think a heifer her age would/should be. Upon Kyles conformation, yes she was making a bag. And suprise, suprise, looks like Ron got a two-for-one deal at the auction.

O.k. so most ("most" being those in the cattle business.) might not think it a big deal, except this is going to be a very, very late calf, to a first-time-heifer and no idea what or how big a bull she was bred to. But you roll with the punches and plan to watch her and help if needed knowing you have all the supplies, vaccines, and equipment needed.

Is everyone following me so far???

Yeah, they had none of that.

Ron and Shawn are not in the breeding cattle business, just the raising and eating cattle business. But, what do you do....

So today following a lovely clear night with a gorgeous full moon, guess who goes into labor...

Yep she's having the calf.

Kyles mom Shawn and his sister Tiffani, do the right thing, they keep an eye on her and look for signs of trouble. But after several hours and no progress they call Kyle.

Kyle was thankfully is still home. So, we pack up the kids and head over there to see if anything is to be done.

Kyle decides shes been in labor long enough it would be wise to check and see how the calf is doing. She's having hard contractions but they seem to be doing nothing and she is extremely wrestless and uncomfortable.

Great idea right? Except they have no head-catch, no small pen... But Kyle is nothing if not creative. He maks a box stall by tying an old gate at the door to the run in and fashions a chute out of another gate. No head catch, and the hope and prayer that my 160lbs and Kyles sister are going to hold her pinched in between a wall and this alluminum gate.

To my shock and amazement. we actually do it....almost... shoot! lost her...But we got her back in and with me on gate and tail duty and Tif on head and gate duty, we pray for stength and manage a second time with sucess.

***O.k. I have to take a moment here to let you all know that while it sounds like we have it figured out ... we don't (Kyle does, just the rest of us don't) and while we are doing our best Kyle does use a few choice adjetives to string together the verbs to get us to move our A**es and do what he needs us to do. Whatever works I guess. Let the record show I WAS MOTIVATED.**

O.k. so the good news is the calf is alive and coming right (front feet then a nose).

The bad news it is a BIG calf, especially for this little heifer.

But, the calf is o.k. the mama is not fully, fully dialated and the water bag just had broken, so we let her loose in the stall and see if the feet would come out more on their own. After 45 minutes, and a lot of contractions (you know I found a way to watch, and pace... and watch.) still no progress.

O.k. So get ready this next part you can really laugh at, though it was not at ALL funny at the time. And just goes to show what green horns poor Kyle had to work with.

Picture this: a box stall with a door that swings out tward the asile. That is one side of our makeshift chute/head catch-without-the-catch. The other part is an aluminum gate panel. Which was by now bent over because it was folding nicely around the heifer like a twist-tie bends around a bread bag. The gate is fastened to the post in the near corner with some lead ropes. and the other end is free to swing open and shut and squeeze. Yep, were high tech over here.

Well, we had left the heifer alone but now with no progress it was time to start thinking about pulling. the heifer was laying down at this point. Kyle sneeks in climbs over the gate of our head catch to help and suprisingly the heifer is o.k. with it for a while. He works the legs and can see a nose but its too tight. It just won't come. He calls me in, I climb over the gate quietly as I can, but it disturbs her and she gets up. Kyles o.k. with this we'll just put her in our head catch and pull that way....except for one teeny-weeny problem. Kyle didn't latch the stall door when he went in.....and neither did I.

Here I confess, I said a four letter word, and Kyle hanging on for dear life to the heifers tail skies out the stall door down the barn isle out into the yard.

Kyle is sking and yelling and I quote: "^*&^&)^%^$@@#$%^&*^%$#@!@#$%^ block the ^)$##$%^&%$##$%*&^%& and get the #$%^&#$%^&^ over there and (^%$#$%#$%^ DO IT NOW!" end quote.

...Did I mention Kyles mom is helping at this point? As this is going on she is firmly repermanding Kyle for his language, and as I in atempt to reclaim my postion of decent help am frantically closing barn doors and making a good place to send this cow back. I manage to weed my way through the explatives and help him get the cow back into the barn and the stall. Deeep breath, disaster averted....no, corrected is more like it. And Kyle never let go of that tail!

Back in the stall with the door securely latched, Kyles, Tiffani, Shawn and I are doing our best to get this momma forward enough in the catch so Kyle can pull. Thankfully she just decides to lay down. We have no straps, no chains, no wench. Kyles Dad arived home from work as we were getting the cow back in the barn. Thank you LORD! - I mean that with all sincereity. Upon hearing Kyles string of explitive directing me how to help him get the cow back in the barn he further repremands Kyle for his language. (Yes, I am taking note. Parenting tip #406: it is still important to parent your 27 year old son who is married with two children because in a crisis situation you want to still want him to have good manners.)***I say this in a loving, humerous, tongue-in-cheek tone***

Thankfully now that Ron is here it takes some of the pressure off us girls as he has a lot more muscle than any of us.

Back in the stall....with cow in our makeshift squeeze chute. Kyle engineered a makeshift puller out of two lariats figure-eighted over the calfs fetlocks. But even the two of them with Tiff and I think Shawn at one point on the ropes they are unsuccessful for getting this calf any further out.

FYI - I am religated to tail duty and alternating from holding cow into the the chute or holding the rope to her head and keeping her down, depending on whether she has chosen to stand or lay, and that did change several times. Luckly I manage and I have the bruses to prove it.

But with no progress (we tried for about a half hour-45 minutes.) and the cow and us all getting tired we decide to call in the big guns. Tim who owns VerHage Dairy down the road is called he brings all the things that you should have on hand should you find yourself in this predicament. A Fetal Calf Extractor (thank you Baxter Black), lube and yet another able body. Green horns exit left... Except me the tail girl. Anyway, with in moments its over, calf is pulled, hung over the gate to drain the fluid out of its lungs, stymulated and straw up the nose. He, (yep its a BULL calf) is dazed but alive!

All of us are sweating and thrilled. Mama cow is looking back with great relief.

This may not be an amazing story to many and extremely gross to many more. But I will tell you that no matter what birth (human or animal) is amazing to me and every story is a miricle in and of itself.

So, that is the end of our Michigan calving.

UPDATE: Now it is a couple weeks later and mama and calf are doing great. Though not mean't to have a calf, this cow is a good mama.

The road home

On January 3rd 2010 our Montana adventure came to a close and a new chapter was opened.

What a transition. I have struggled for the past few months trying to figure out how to close this part of our life and this blog. But because I have struggled...and by that I mean, struggled, with moving to Montana and then a Short 10 months later having to leave and come back to Michigan, struggled with leaving a life that we as a family had dreamed of so long, struggled with the feeling that God led us out to Montana, why would he bring us back so quickly? Struggled with the difference in our Marriage, the bonding closer with the move to Montana, and the strain of making the decision to move back. Struggled with the why did we even go? Struggled with the why we had to leave, Struggled with the preparations to move again, Struggled with the effort to declutter, discard and pair down the few belongings we had brought to Montana, and face going home with even less. Struggled with facing the thought of moving and driving through South Dakota in the winter AGAIN.

So, you get the picture that I had a lot on my mind. I found I was warring against myself. I'll be brutally honest here. I loved living in Montana, I loved the Ranch, I loved the peace and quiet, I loved the people. I was very happy there. I have had the hardest time trying to figure out why Kyle and I could have such different opinions about what we should do. I have had a hard time trying to figure out, why what I thought would be our dream life would be taken away so quickly.

Kyle also had these struggles. We have weighed the decisions we have made heavily. We have prayed over them endlessly. But the answer stayed the same, God brought us out and now it was time to go home.

So, here I am back in Michigan, the trip already feeling like a dream. and settled back into our little, little house. I'm still not exactly sure what the past year has been all about. But, I do know it has brought me to the end of my faith, and at that end I discovered how much deeper the faithfulness of God really is. Yep, I reached the end of my faith, but God has still been faithful. He is the only reason I'm still standing I'm sure.

So, back to the trip home....

First I should say, because I was on such a Spiritual low, from a year of living off the well of faith that had all but run dry. The dreary, snowy day we left did nothing to encourage me. Still as we pulled out on the road, I wearily breathed a prayer of safe travel and by the time we reached Deer Lodge, the sky broke open to a a beautiful blue. And stayed that way pretty much the whole way.

I was so thankful Kyles Dad had come to drive the U-haul, but I think the person that enjoyed him the most was Colton. He was so happy to see his Papa.

We made the trip in an amazing 4 days, 3 nights travel. If you've ever had to drive through South Dakota in winter you would know this is a miracle in itself. And as I have done this more than a few times growing up I cannot begin to express the extreme gratitude I have to God for the clear roads. In all my life have I never seen such nice winter roads in South Dakota.

The trip was mostly uneventful...until we got just wast of Joliet, IL.

There the sky began to darken and and flurries began to fly. I did notice the two IL police officers in the median chatting, but thought we are of no concern to them....I was wrong.

Quite unexpectedly Kyles dad, who was following in the U-haul pulled off to the shoulder. Yep, one of those police officers found our out-of-state U-haul interesting. Thankfully he just gave Ron a warning, but it was enough to shake our nerves that we decided to get off the highway and take a breather.

When we resumed our journey the weather had gotten a little worse. Just as I was about to suggest to Kyle that we take a break, our truck began to fishtail. Immediately there was break lights ahead of us, and by Gods grace an exit available. Kyle, pulled off the highway, followed by Ron, as we looked back we could see the highway had come to a dead halt. As we pulled into the gas station we could see the emergency crews rushing onto the highway.

A shiver went up all our spines I'm sure, and grumpy as I had been about this whole moving business, I could not deny that God was surely guiding our every mile.

Remember those trooper talking back at the median, call me crazy, but what if those were angels? What if the conversations went something like this: "Hey Michael who do you have today?", "Well, Gabe, I've got those Gleasons, oh there they go I better catch them." Or what if God gave the trooper a nudge, "Better check that U-haul, just in case." God bless the troopers obedience. Because the way we figured it, if we hadn't taken that little stop we would have been right in the middle of the accident on the highway or at least stuck on the highway for an hour with two little boys who had been cooped up in a car for HOURS.

So, as we sat in the gas station parking lot, just outside of Chicago, we didn't know what to do...so we did the only thing we knew that worked. We prayed.

All in all it was about 1/2 hour-45minutes before we got underway again. The highway was moving slow but the salt trucks had gone through and the roads were better. Snow flurries swirled around us the rest of the trip. But the roads remained clear and a little patch of sun shone through the clouds most of the way.

Then we left the highway, we were on familiar roads, and before we knew we were home.

Home. Now what?

Well, now we dive back into life, trusting God to lead us again.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Montana Christmas

Well, Christmas is here. I don't think since growing up in Idaho have we had a more peaceful and relaxed holiday. No parties to go to, no over abundance of food to feel remorseful about eating (Though, honestly I never feel that remorseful.)
For the first time in the history of our family it is just us - Kyle, Rita, Colton and Alex. I'll admit I'm really enjoying this holiday. I have loved the simplicity we have adopted. I love just being us for the day. I love that Colton has the time to really enjoy the gifts he received without being rushed to the next place... but, along with the blessing and relief this Christmas has brought me, there is this feeling that something is missing. When I thought about what it could be, I was shocked to realize that I miss the business of the season. Running from gathering to gathering, visiting family and friends. I miss catching up on the year of events with loved ones that we have been too busy to see the rest of the year.

So, though I have loved the solitude of this holiday. I am quite relieved that this is the only one that I can expect to have without being surrounded by friends and family.

So, that all said this is how we have spent our single Montana Christmas....

For our family the fun has been with Colton. He (now 4 years old) is ready to get a good grasp on what the holiday is all about. Of course we want to encorage the true meaning of Christmas, the birth and purpose of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, all month long we have anticipated the holiday by celebrating the Christmas Advent. Every night after dinner we have lit the advent candles and done a short devotion regarding the Christmas story. This is the first year we have done this. It was so enjoyable for our whole family that I hope it will become an annual tradition, wherever we are.

Also, because of our upcoming move back to Michigan (we are due to leave in 10 days) we decided to forgo a tree. This was a very difficult decision. I have from the moment we moved here looked forward to going up the mountain and picking out a wild fir tree like we did when I was a kid. But alas with the final preparations of our move to commence this coming week. We decided as a family that skipping the Christmas tree would make life a whole lot simpler.

Instead, Colton and I made a picture of a Christmas tree and put it on an empty book self. As it turns out an empty book shelf makes quite a nice Christmas tree. Presents fit nicely in the shelves allowing them to be displayed. The above picture is what Colton and Alex awoke to Christmas morning, prior to today the bookshelf has been relatively empty.

This year has also marked Coltons very real interest in Santa Claus. We did our best to introduce who Santa Clause really is in the telling of the story of St. Nicholas. But he was very wrapped up in the idea of flying reindeer and a jolly man in a red suit. So, we did our duty and left the milk and cookies. In the morning Colton was delighted to know that St. Nick had indeed visited, eaten the cookies, drank the milk and was so kind as to deliver all the presents he had been waiting for from all his Grandma's and Grandpa's. I don't know how this will work year to year. But, we enjoyed playing along with his fantasy.

So, let the un-wrapping comence! Here is Alex enjoying his first Christmas present. Thank you Grandpa Pete and Grandma Meme.

Here is Colton enjoying one of his new gifts. Real water color paints, brushes and paper. Thank you Manna and Papa.

And of course the aftermath. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts. We love everything.

So, that pretty much wraps up our Montana Christmas, it has been a wonderful day. We hope yours was as joyful and peaceful as ours. MERRRY CHRISTMAS!

Of All things...

You know, when we moved out here, I knew that we would move around a bit. But never in my wildest dreams did I figure that: A) we would need to move so soon, and B) that the move would be back to Michigan.
Yep, you heard right we are headed back to flat land. Why, You would ask? Mainly the reason is because we have not been able to sell our house back there. We have tried renting it and let me just say that being a land lord is not for the faint of heart. And it is even harder when you live 1,800 miles away. Thought it could have been much worse. It was still bad enough that we never want to have to be land lords again. And since we had no prospects for anyone looking at the house, let alone buying it. We have decided that heading back to Michigan, and eeking out a living until we are able to sell the place will be the best financial decision for our family.

Gosh! this has been an awesome experience, one we will never forget that is for sure. But, I will admit that there are a few things I look forward to as we head east.
#1, grocery stores being less than a half hour away. I will admit that I will enjoy the convenience of shopping once a week, though we are Costco converts for sure and still plan to get most of our staples there on a monthly bases.
#2 For a northern state, gardening is much easier there than here. Though if we were planning to stay here I had a full plan of attack to make things work.
#3 Of course our friends and family. Though this one is a toss up as we have met so many nice people out here that we will be sad to leave. It will be nice though for the boy's to be near their grandparents and for Alex to meet his many Great-Grandparents.

So, the "when" of all this looks like the first week of Januray. Should be another adventure as we attempt to move cross-country in the middle of winter...sigh.... yet again.

Colton's 4th Birthday

Had a wonderful time celebrating Coltons 4th Birthday on December 2nd. Time sure does fly.
We kept thing simple this year just the family.
I had the opportunity to make his birthday cake for the first time ever. It was great fun, and even better because he helped every step of the way...

Making the cake.

Alex was a cheerful helper too.

Of course we had to test the batter...yep it was good.

Time to paint some dinosaurs (gift from mom and dad)

Colton helping decorate, he is a great helper.

The finished product. Designed by Colton. Everything about the cake he picked out. The horses are from his collection. and the tractor was new just for this purpose. Turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

We had the Hatches down for cake and ice cream. Here Colton is blowing out his candles.

Very happy boy, a remote control backhoe. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Hatch.

Time to wind down, sleeping in the new John Deere sheets from Manna and Papa. It was a good day.

Thanks Giving

Well, we had our first Thanksgiving in Montana, and coincidentally the first one ever with just us. Well, actually we had two meals. One on the Sunday before with the Hatches that included turkey and all the trimmings. But since I have only cooked one turkey in my life, and we wanted to be conservative and use the wonderful meat we are so thankful to have, we cooked beef.

Our (Thursday) thanksgiving meal consisted of the following: Standing rib roast, sweet potato's and white potato's, buttermilk biscuits, Grandma Grigsby's vegetable casserole, and for desert pumpkin pie w/whipped cream. Though the meal was not that far off from a typical weeknight dinner, we still thoroughlly enjoyed it.

Shipping Day - October 29,2010

Well, they're off! Well, the calves anyway...oh hand Mr. and Mrs. Hatch. All on their way to Great Falls to sell the calves.

I was a beautiful morning here. Cool 35 degrees and sunny. We all headed out early to watch. It never fails though, almost as soon as Alex hears those cow's bawling he falls asleep. Which is fine, he probably wouldn't remember it anyway. Colton and I perch on a round bale and watch. I think both of us wish we could be of some use. But due to his size and my general inexperience we are sideliners.

So, the morning started with a prayer. "Lord please let the work today go smoothly." God is good even though it was a fair amount of work the cows and calves separated well.

For those of you who don't know how this works and for my own documentation because I didn't know how this worked, this is how we get calves ready for shipping.

We need to first start about two weeks ago when the final bunch of pairs returned home from summer pasture. Cows and calves where separated and the calves where worked. What I mean is that they where run through the chute and given their pre-conditioning vaccinations and wormed, this is done to help with the stress of travel and protect them from any virus' they might encounter durring transport. I think this is good stockmanship. And it makes sense. The calves are returned to their mothers for another couple weeks grazing on home ground.

Fast-forward two weeks to yesterday when all the pairs where gathered. Then this morning is when the real work began. Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Hatch and Kyle where out the door early. The Manley's (good neighbors) brougt their cut-back calves that were going to ship the Hatchs calves. Then they stuck around to help with sorting. Everything worked like clock work. First they separated the cows from the calves. Then the heifers calves from the steers. Then our own cutbacks. Our cut backs happen to be a cripple calf, and two august calves too young to wean.

Soon the semi trucks came rolling down the drive. Two semi's to be exact. The drivers pulled up to the ramp and loading commenced. I was amazed to realize how many compartments are in the cattle trailers. Repeatedly the driver would call for 10, 8, 15 calves to fill the different compartments.

Most of the calves loaded easily, though there where a few that had a mind of their own.

All in all from sorting to shipping it took a total of 3 hours. Which always amazes me how fast they can get things. done.

So, once they where loaded everyone sorted through paperwork and tied up any loose ends. One of the truck drivers was very kind and let Colton sit in his truck and pull the horn. Which of course was the high light of the day for him. then just as fast as they rolled in they where off. Mr. and Mrs. Hatch in-between.

So, great minds may wonder where our calves are shipping to? They are going to an auction in Great Falls. This is kind of an experiement for the ranch. Typically ranchers will contract with a cattle buyer early in the season. The cattle buyer will give a set price per pound. Of course this is not the gaurentee, because even though the buyer and the rancher agree on the price there is some negotiating involved and of course the buyer will often leave "cut-backs" which are calves that he doesn't like. The cut-backs then have to be sent to auction anyway. Mr. Hatch met with several cattle buyers but for whatever reason, he decided that this auction would bring the best return on his investment. So, they are off and by tomorrow night he will know. All I know is that we are praying blessing on them.