Branding

So I thought I would show everyone the kinds of things we do on a ranch. We branded the cows in May, and usually we just send them through a chute and they have a little contraption that flips them over and holds them down and you give them shots and brand them and let them out. Well this year we decided to do it the old fashioned way. We put all the calves in a carral, had some guys rope them and drag them over, where a couple guys would wrestle and hold them while they got their shots and got branded. It was alot of fun especially because I got to see all of Nate's wonderful cowboying talents.

I love this picture! They drug the calf over and there was only one guy to wrestle, so he was struggling to get it down, so Nate comes over, grabs the calf, lifts him up by the leg and throws him down all the while he has a red hot brand in his other hand. I love it because you can see the calf in the air.

Did I mention he is a good roper? He cut some tendons in two of his fingers on his right hand this winter and doesn't have a very tight grip yet, but that doesn't stop him from being one heck of a roper.

Here he is branding.

Here he is helping me brand one. My first one ever, which I think I did a pretty good job, Nate let go of it and let me do it by myself. Those guys had a tight hold of the calf so it couldn't wiggle around and that's probably why I did a good job.

Here is Nate with his cowboying buddy Chad. I think these two should have been brothers, they are pretty much alike in every way. We are very grateful for Chad. He has helped Nate out so much this year. I can't even begin to explain all the things he has done for us. I only hope that we do as much for him as he does for us.

Here is Jamie(Chad's wife) and me. We were in charge of giving shots. Which was fun because it made us feel important. So I hope you enjoyed those pics. We just got back from a cattle drive today. We herded them up the mountain and I think I got some pretty good photos. So I will get them up soon.