Cowboy – As Far As The Eye Can See

I am sitting in the Chopper K Auction Mart with Russ and Morgan. We are on hand to watch our calves sell. It is always a big deal to get to this day but with the market being very strong we have been holding our breath, hoping for things to keep until we got here.

The story of this day definitely starts with calving season. Here are a few pictures serving as reminders of the work of those days.

When the calves were small enough to sit on our laps.

A calf needed orthopedic help, Russ splinted with duct tape.

When the calves were small enough that Jill could throw one over her shoulder.

Many beautiful summer days and crisp fall ones, with a temporary return of winter for a week or so, got the calves a long way to being ready for sale day.

The predominant experience of recent days is gratitude. We have been experiencing mild weather. That can bring about some health challenges for a cow calf herd. We have been thankful to see ours remaining well. We worked closely with our animals over the last couple days with no injuries to report. I am always super grateful for that. We seem to have made it to sale day with markets holding strong. Gratitude.

Its the next day now…..our calves came into the ring and all blogging was finished.

It is always a little thrilling to hear Farren the auctioneer say, “we’ve got the Bar MW calves coming in next.” I don’t know how much of this is in my head and how much is real but it seems there is a particular feeling in the air at that point. It maybe arises from the fact that the buyers are engaged, we are on pins and needles, and we are proud.

We have a relationship with those calves. Its not the kind that makes me grieve when they are gone, this process stirs other things. I know I’m a bit of a whackjob but it’s like this huge drama unfolds every year at the ranch, there are so many roles and so much action. The calves are the heart of the action. After letting us know them through the vulnerability of their birthing days and all the ups and downs that follow, mostly ups for them, we watch them grow with a certain awe. In the fall they come home from summer pastures, our big cow chase crew has laid their eyes on each and every one of them. Alot of human and bovine protective instinct has been directed at them. Now, at the auction mart, as they enter the sale pen, it’s like the final scene at the Bar MW Ranch has taken place and this is their curtain call. They enter, and in our hearts we give them a standing ovation. After this they move behind and they are no longer ours. I don’t have grief, instead it seems gratitude for them is stirred.

The hours leading up to the sale held lots of action. This first set of pictures captures some of the faces and scenes as the herd came down the centre alley to be sorted.

Ron ran the gate that opened to the cows pen.

Laurie ran the gate that opened onto the heifer pen.

I ran the steer pen gate and a clicker counter.

We had a stunningly gorgeous morning to work. This was a huge contrast to last year when it was about -40 with the wind.

Russ sorted in the alley, he weaved some magic, at one point he was able to peel 8 heifer calves away from the pack and send them down to Laurie’s gate. This picture captures the moment when the cowboys had just advanced a fresh group of cows into the sorting area. It would quickly become less congested as cows moved out of the pack and Russ let them by to the gate where Ron was waiting to let them in.

This picture captures the cowboys after their big job of the day was done. Dwayne, Morgan and Crystal made sure we always had cows ready for the sorting pen. At this point they are helping to get the heifers moved around to the sorting pen again. We needed to decide which of these female calves we would keep instead of sell, so that they might become Bar MW cattle.

Amid great weather and markets we had another perk, a special visitor joined us this week. One of our Nova Scotia friends was here for several days. Crystal brought with her an abundance of humor, a heart the size of Texas, readiness for adventure, generosity and much appreciation for us.

I caught this picture of Crystal after she got off her horse.

After lunch and getting semis loaded Russ, Crystal and I got ready to go to Regina. Crystal had a plane to catch. The first leg of her journey was a ride with our wonderful trucker Harold. He gave her a glimpse of the semi experience. We followed him to the stop sign 5 miles west of us and then stole Crystal back. We left Morgan and Ron to load the last truckload.

We were relieved to get to Regina safely and with time to get supper before Crystal was due at the airport. Jill already had supper plans with friends, so we went to the same restaurant and admired her from afar. Russ and I found this comforting. (We recognize this is somewhat creepy🤭🥰).

After a quick hug with Crystal at the airport departures curb Russ and I got in the car and headed straight for the ranch. I am thankful our trip was very smooth. We were home and sleeping by midnight.

The next morning included farm jobs for all of us before getting to the auction mart to watch our calves sell.

We were connected virtually with Halifax, Carnduff and Regina while our calves were sold. In Regina Jill had the right mug for the day, and the timing of our calves selling lined up with her break at work. She was able to watch the first 100 sell. She sent us this picture.

I sat beside the sale pen for a bit while some of our calves sold. I needed one last good look at them. That allowed this closeup picture in the pen.

I was amused to hear Morgan’s spurs scraping against the stands. When I had a look at his boots I became obsessed with getting a picture of them. Those boots tell a story, and another one and another one and…..

So then I wondered about Russell’s boots. He had on his “go to town” boots.

And how about my feet? I found comfortable cowboy boots this summer and have been wearing them alot. I still struggle with whether I deserve to wear them when I don’t even know how to saddle a horse. Yesterday I noted something. At a point in the sale when the ring girl was struggling to get calves moving in the right direction I felt within myself the instinct and confidence to jump in that pen and get the job done. I stayed in my seat but my self concept clearly includes something that means I should wear the boots.

A celebration in the Chopper K Steakhouse, (attached to the auction barn) when we were all done selling. This is a pretty sweet moment. It was a bit of a tough fall for our marriage. We are finding our groove again.

The current Bar MW home crew. A shared moment of relief and joy.

It’s our tradition to get a “Kim handing us the cheque” photo when we are on hand to watch our calves sell.

Russ and I were at the bank this morning. I usually do the banking but I wanted Russ to have the thrill of the deposit this time.

There are a fraction of mothers in the world who can answer the question, “whats it like to be the mother of a cowboy?” I am one of those people.

I don’t know how I would fare as a mother of a rodeo cowboy, although I may become that at times in the future. I have often thought I could never be a mother in the stands at a rodeo watching my son ride bulls. I can’t watch strangers do that, let alone my son.

My life as the mother of a cowboy has details that many of you might guess. A porch where there is always a pair of cowboy boots lying about, chaps to find a spot for, and spurs, pairs of spurs seem to swim around our porch like goldfish at times. I do laundry that has rough looking stains due to bareback riding and I always have straw, hay, or manure in the clothes or in close proximity to our washing machine.

The thing I want to talk about though is how having a cowboy for a son is shaping the action in the house. Perhaps there are stages of that. When Morgan was a little boy he could adapt many different household items to make for himself a pretend horse. There was a lot of pretend play that happened that was fun to watch.

Lately the action has evolved. Morgan has been taking roping lessons and has had some serious roping work to do with the herd. He is motivated to get better and better. That means practice. Sometimes its outside with his roping dummy. Lately, often, like every night, it has meant he practices in the house. He has adopted a long piece of red parachute cord, created a special end on it (the technical word is Hondo) and with that he practices his roping skills as often as he can. Until yesterday there were four humans in the house besides himself, there are four dogs in the house at different times, we have all been the object of his roping passion. It seems Morgan is drawn to his rope like a magnet. Supper ends, he gets up like he is going to get ice cream, maybe he is, but he comes back with that rope. Practice begins. The dogs get the brunt of it and they are very patient. I get up to get something from the kitchen and I am roped, with about 90% accuracy. His work is actually impressive. But I am not always patient like the dogs. Mostly I am amused, because I never seem to see it coming.

I am out of time so this is it. This is what its like to be a mother of a cowboy, at least for me, right now. There is always something swirling in the air….. ropes, some exasperation, laughter and the odd swear thrown about when called for.

Tag Archives: Cowboy

Thankful all the way to the bank.

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