Life on a Ranch is a cornucopia of events and characters.  I have a saying:” If I can get one thing on my list of 10 things to do, done….I have had a successful day.  Here are some pictures to give you a flavor of what we have done/are doing on the Diamond H.
Not sure why I take on these projects.  I do however like trying something I have never done before!  Building a chicken run qualifies as something I have never done.  There were times, I was ready to chuck the whole thing,
but now I must admit, I’m kinda growing fond of these birds.  One in particular, a turk, whom we named Friar, is my favorite.  She is a bird only a mother could love….
The spring of 2012 God provided a little rain and we grew some wheat after grazing.  It wasn’t much but it helped get us through the winter.  It was not great hay, was cut late, but the cows seemed to like it.  I helped the custom cutter do the cutting and he baled it later.

 Boy was my mom right about Grandkids….heart stealers!

These guys showed up one day, I took this picture off the porch of the house. Ya just never know what you are gonna see.

We freeze brand at the Diamond H.  Takes a little more time, but you can see it across the pasture, and it is permanent.  First you shave the site and clean it of dirt.  Then use a brass iron that has been in dry ice and denatured alcohol.  You make the site very wet with alcohol out of a spray bottle and apply the iron for 45 seconds.  It kills the color follicle of the hair and causes the hair to come in white.

The shaving process. Braunvieh have VERY thick coat. Insect resistant and do well at all temps. Wears out blades fast too!

The iron has to be super cold and held with lots of pressure.

Sometime around 4:45 to 5 in the afternoon, you will see a scene like this…women going to do their job….harvest the grass, make milk, and turn it into future beef.

AAAHHHHHHH! This is a face full of pure bliss.

Time with any family, especially little ones, is treasured.

With the right equipment, mowing the lawn is pretty much a game!

Spending time with the cattle……is very relaxing.

This video is the earliest recording of the pens that I have.   Wish I would have taken a complete video of what we had.  Built in th 50’s, a total of 4 pens to use and sort out of.  It’s a good thing our cattle are dog gentle….if they had challenged the pens, the pens would have laid down and died!  John Hall gave me the vision to put these pens here over a decade ago….sometimes, dream take a while to “get legs”!  I look forward to the day he is able to see them completed!

I’ve built lots of fence….I’d guess in the neighborhood of 8 miles.  I’ve built one large set of pens 6 years ago.  Built several loafing sheds,  I have enjoyed every bit of it.  I enjoy building things and love the sense of accomplishment when the job is done. Never have been intimidated to start something I had no idea how to do.  Then….. all the sudden, this set of pens we are building at the house is the first time I have had the thought…..”can I do this?”.  Man, it has been a chore.  The site preparation was 10 days of dirtwork.  We moved so much dirt, We had to build 3 MAJOR retaining walls.  Used 500 rail ties.  Thought it would take 4 men 2 weeks…took 4 men 8 weeks (10 hr days in 100+ heat).  We have buried 500 ft of electrical lines,  400 ft of water lines, and just recently started putting posts in the ground.  This set of pens here will require 198 posts put in the ground.  It is gonna take a little longer than the 2 months I estimated (like maybe 10 months….man I hope not)!  Will keep you posted on this journey by pictures.

This is the early pic of dirtwork. We took 18 feet of drop to an 18 inch average. The east side of the pens had 6 feet of drop in 100 feet….needed to do that to make keeping the rock barn work.
You get the idea….12 feet of drop, put in 24 dead men to keep the wall up. That water jug  is a major important piece of equipment!

This is looking down the 12 foot wall. This area will be the large catch pen.

We bought a post driver to do this job…it has saved a lot of time, but takes some time to perfect!

 Here is the working pen area…..sure do love the Arrow chute!

 One of the things I love about ranch life is the stuff ya get to see!  The video on the link below, could make National Geographic, and we just drove the tractor up on it!  When you click on the video, you have to download it to see it.  It’s really worth watching!

 click here to see a neat video