Sorting Buffalo Calves

Yesterday's weather was warm and breezy-not bad for February. We spent the afternoon sorting the calves off the herd and running the cows through the chute for their annual checkup. We want to have this done before the cows starting having their babies in April.

This is one of those annual jobs I dread because the bison are wild and unpredictable. The herd knows the routine but of course doesn't like it. The calves haven't a clue and just want to be with mom. So it can be a dangerous job for both them and us because they move so quick.

I called them into the work facility pens for treats, which I had been doing for several days so they automatically go in to find them. But yesterday I didn't get the gate closed right away and the cows all tore out, knowing I was trying to catch them. After another hour and a half, they went back and we started our sorting.

Sweethearts

When "sweetheart" is used as a noun, it means:

1. One who is loved.
2. Used as a familiar term of endearment.
3. Informal
a. A person regarded as generous or lovable.
b. Something cherished for its excellent qualities.

A sweetheart can be your spouse or special friend, or your mailman that brings the mail to your door when the sidewalks are icy.

A sweetheart can be your son's teacher that takes the extra time to be sure he understands the day's lesson, or a person from the past that you smile fondly about when thinking of them.

For many of us, pets are our sweethearts- be they cats, dogs, canaries or even a bison bull named Bandit. (He was over two ton in weight, but always calm and respectful of his herd and us.)

Mile High Buffalo

We spent last Saturday at the National Western Stock Show. This sixteen-day event started in 1906 and features livestock shows and sales, horse events, rodeos, and commercial exhibits.

The first time I went to the Stock Show was in 1960 when I was almost six years old. Mom and us kids got on the train in Lindsborg and rode out to meet Dad. He helped his uncle bring Hereford cattle to the show during the 1950-1960s.

It had been a number of years since we made the trip to the Stock Show, so I looked forward to it.

The finale of the bison conference was the Gold Trophy Show and Sale that was held at the Stock Show. We didn't buy any bison, but might look at calves next year for a future breeding bull.

Frozen Water Tank

Last week I talked about the nice weather we've been having... and at the moment it's 5 degrees and it's snowing. I'm sure my newletter readers up north would think that is warm compared to what they are enduring today, while readers in Florida are wearing shorts and enjoying warm sun!

I drove over to the work pens an hour ago when I saw the cows were walking in for water. Sure enough the little drinking cup in the top of the water tank had ice in it because it had been overnight since they were last in for water. It only takes me one "knock and flip out the chunk of ice" with a screw driver while it's more work for them to have to lick it out, so I got out into the cold to help them out.

Buffalo Enjoy Warm Weather too

While it was nice today I wandered outside and I took some photos of the buffalo calves. Remember my story of Blind Danny and the buffalo "brother" that lead him around? (We had a blind calf that survived his first year with the help of another calf.)
Well bull brother #703 is now taking care of the three new calves. If you don't know "buffalo body language" you wouldn't realize what's going on between them, but we can see it.

While I was taking photos, the four of them moved together- #703 in front, and the three little ones behind peeking around him. #703 is a happy camper protecting and teaching again.

A New Year

Today I'm cleaning up from having company and thinking about my goals for 2009. I want to get back to writing again. Realistically I don't have blocks of time for my next book series while running the Bison Farm, but I can work in blogs and articles about my favorite subjects- buffalo and the prairie.

I cruised websites about blogging while watching TV and then looked at my latest photos that I had downloaded from my camera- to see what I could add to the next newsletter.

My mind went immediately from the noise of the TV, clothes washer, and clicking of my keyboard...to the silence of a windy hill we had visited while my sister was here. On top of my late uncle's pasture is an old abandoned cemetery that was started in the 1870s.

I walked through the scattered rows of stones looking and taking photos of these past sorrowful events. The wind fluttered the overgrown weeds and trees around the silent tombstones. Many young wives and children were laid to rest, never getting to live out their lives as their families had hoped. Now there are just elaborate stones left in a pasture.

It made me think of what I've done in the past, and what potential I have for my future. I have the new year of 2009 ahead of me. What shall I see, do, and experience? Watch to see what I do with it!

It's a wrap for Au Pair, Kansas

The "Au Pair, Kansas" movie film crew finished their scenes with the actors here last Friday before the snow hit. (And the cows were happy to wrap it up too.)

One young actor in this movie, Spencer Daniels, (who also plays the young Brad Pitt character in the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which opens Christmas Day) wasn't so sure he wanted to get close to the fence when he was supposed to open their gate (but it was just a pretend motion of opening it).

Cow Colorado did a stomp and snort, which sent everybody back away from the fence line in a hurry. I told the crew to wrap it up quick because the buffalo were done with their scenes...