At the Bar MW Ranch there is a 5th season of the year. It is a season that approaches with a bit of trepidation for Russ and I, “are we ready?” is a central question in our minds. It is a season that holds alot of anticipation, we are going to have lots of time with our friends and our creatures. It is a season that ends with a super satisfying feeling that all of our cows are home. Its “Chase Season” and the 2023 version began yesterday. I invited the crew to share favorite pictures of the day. Several took me up on that. Lots of captioned pictures tell the story of the day.
We kicked off the season on Truth and Reconciliation day in Canada. Jen shared this picture with me. She had a headstall made that captures a value that is very important to many on the trail this day. For Jen it starts with the fact that her Dad, of the Dene nation, lived through a childhood spent in residential schools. We appreciate having Jen’s perspective on our crew.Our friend Steve sent me this picture from the morning saddling and loading up time. It says alot.Emerson was thinking well at such an early start in the day. As the crew started to leave the yard she remembered that Elton John our donkey had not been loaded. He is an intact male and doesn’t pasture with the mares. Emerson’s Mom Jen grabbed this picture as Russ went and caught this sweetheart.I wonder what Laurie was thinking here, he was wedged into a truck cab filled with dogs and people. He always seems ready for anything. Sometimes when I apologize to him for the chaos around he says, “oh! I didn’t even notice.” I am guessing the chaos of these moments was hard to miss.Arrival at the Manor pasture. Logan sent me this picture with Jen in the foreground. The sun rising is so beautiful.My niece Brodie was here for the weekend and brought her friend Claire. We met Claire last year, so Russ knew that she was the perfect person for a job he had in mind. That was to ride our donkey (Elton John). Claire brought her adventurous spirit, her petite frame, and her determination and did a great job. Russ had contracted with her a $25 payment for the days duties. This created some humorous moments when the other cowboys jested that they too were going to line up for their pay. Jen shared this picture with herself, her daughter Emerson and Grif, ready to roll.This morning light is beautiful. I really like this shot that Jen got, there is my boy Morg in the foreground. Griff, Emet and Rhett in the back.David has a solidarity with aboriginal people that has its beginings in a story that I don’t know. However, evidence is seen here in the multiple layers of orange and beadwork he wore as the day began.The sun on Steve’s face and his posture makes me think this is a moment of inner preparation. It was kind’ve a big day for Steve. It was his first big cow chase with us after several days of helping Russ with smaller jobs. He did great. Jen took this picture.Marisol helped us so much on the ranch this summer. She was on the payroll for a couple months as she raked hay. This means we have spent alot of time together. She is super special to us. That Coffee dog is too. Russ sent this picture of Cowboy Medhi. He has a place of fame on the crew this year. Recently Medhi witnessed Cowboy Laurie get bucked off in such a way that Laurie earned an award for “the biggest buck off of 2023.” Not to be outdone, perhaps, shortly into yesterday’s chase Medhi stole that award from Laurie. It was quite spectacular. He took some Advil and rode the entire day. I carried quite a bit of worry in my heart for him.
Russ sent this video. The crew is on the trail! Its a nice review of the whole crew.Emet grabbed this picture. I like the light on Coffee dog. Emet’s dog ‘KK’ is ahead. When a sick calf was spotted on the trail Morgan got his rope going, in order to restrain it and give it treatment for pneumonia. Logan caught this moment.With Marisol on one rope and Morgan on the other Russ got in close and got the calf needled. As it turned out this was a calf named by our Swiss friend Anja when she took it under her wing back in April. She named it “Saskatchewan”. So her tag has a SK added to it.I love this nice clear picture of these two smiling faces, so important in our everyday story of ranching, not just chase season. Jen sent this, its she and David.This is what it looks like when 140 cow calf pairs are on the road. Brodie grabbbed this picture.Claire and Elton John.This is my brother in law Gary and one of the toughest cowgirls on the trail, Briella. This was her first chase without her Dad Kent there. Her Grandpa John was on the truck moving crew and I enjoyed seeing the two of them. Russ shared this picture.A wee glimpse of the lunchtime scene. With the Chuckwagon having a suspicious leak and no license because I totally forgot to do that, the Expedition was the lunch wagon. After lunch as I cleaned up the scene, the crew went by with the cows. In this picture Sharon was doing what she does all day. She was the feet on the ground that assisted with the practical things the crew needed on the trail. In this case, to help my brother in law Gary rid himself of his coat. It got quite warm over the lunch hour. Just beside Sharon is cowboy Steve. He brought 4 containers of baking with him from Estevan. His wife Treasure is quite the cookie maker. We fed 27 people taco in a bag for lunch. I was so thankful to have that baking provided.This is Auntie Mona and Uncle George, Laurie’s parents. They helped Ron and John move vehicles from the start point to the end point of the chase. A very important job. In addition Mona helped me serve up lunch and got a wasp bite as a souvenir. There was another t shirt theme on the trail, these t shirts featured here were created by my niece Brodie to make known her drone photography business, “Aerial Photography by Brodie.” Claire took this picture.Gary took a break from riding but didn’t take a break from being a great human to have on the trail. Look at that smile!Cowboy Laurie on the trail but taking care of business, getting rid of a can into the truckbox.Logan took this very cool picture as Russ was getting everyone set up for a crew picture at the end of the trail. Russ said this was harder than it should have been. But it was worth it!The group picture.The chase went quite well and when the crew arrived back at the ranch there was time to relax for a bit before having supper. Morgan gave Medhi some roping lessons.Patrick and Russ after supper.This morning some breakfast gathering happened in the kitchen. On the counter are cups of hot chocolate that Russ crafted with love. He has a “recipe” he calls “Hobbit Hot Chocolate.” Behind those sliding doors I was trying valiantly to finish the sermon for church today. It was hard though. I love having my family here so much. At one point I set the timer for 5 minutes and popped out and hung out.Tonight while I was working on the blog the dogs started barking so sharply. I knew what that meant. A car was pulling in. It was Jill. This girl rose early and worked an incredibly busy shift at Starbucks. One of her regular customers took her drink when it was ready and instead of saying “thank you” as she usually does, she said to Jill, “good luck!” As soon as work was done Jill sped over to Sterling headquarters for cast photos for their next production. Then she headed for the ranch. We had a cheesecake party when she got here. I think this photo means, “Bayliss Strong.”Russ made sure I got to be part of the strong action. I had a tricky weekend, perhaps that will be the subject of another blog. Being a human is hard sometimes.I am ending the blog with this picture of Jen and her sweater. As I think about Jen and the way she sits in a saddle but moreso the way she treats other people, the word “dignity” is on my mind. I long for every child to know their God-given dignity. I am thankful that in Canada we have this time to reflect and to honor the stories that have been lived. RusselI and I and many of our crew long to be part of a solution so that our society is one where every child truly knows that they matter.
Our days at the Bar MW this week have been a mixture of many things. The picture round-up starts with a cartoon that Russell posted on his social media. He related to it so strongly and he shared it with some definite emotion. Our corner of the province had some soaking rains this week. The timing is poor for the grain farmers trying to harvest but it means alot for pasture conditions and taking down the fire risks. Around here we are all feeling very grateful.
Another answer to our needs was the chance for Russ to get in very quickly to have a root canal done. On Tuesday he sent me this selfie from the dental chair while I waited for him at the Estevan library. He started to feel relief very quickly.Jenn came down to pick up her dog Paisley whom we had been dogsitting and while she was with us she cut Morgan’s hair. She is doing alot to keep him comfortable this summer!The next day my sister in law Tammy and I went to Regina. While Tammy was in her appointment I whipped over to Jill’s apartment for a visit. As I pulled away from there afterward I felt I had just had the best part of my day, just being with Jill was good for my soul. Later Tammy and I dropped into Starbucks and I caught this picture of Jill listening to a customer. This is very true to who Jill is. While I was in Regina Russell hosted new friends we became connected to through one of our family in Nova Scotia. Charles, a strawberry and sweet potato farmer, had come to Saskatchewan with his wife to visit their family in Estevan. Before heading to Halifax on Thursday Charles squeezed in a visit to the ranch to meet us and see what we do. He brought his son-in-law and grandson. They helped Russ check pastures. Charles told Russell it was a very good day.Meanwhile Morgan was doing something he loves. He spends a few days in the summer helping at the government community pasture. He took this picture from on top of his horse in his role as heeler while Francis treated a cow for footrot.This is a screenshot from our family chat, not a live video link. Those of us who watched it know that the fun fact Gina shared in this part of the audition intro is that she can hotwire a Case 2390 tractor.Sterling productions released this promo shot this week. Jill’s play is coming up and we are really looking forward to seeing it!Russ is working on a fairly large fencing project. While dealing with posts he came across this survey stake, marking the boundary line of the pasture. He says that is good evidence he is building at the right spot! The stake is dated 1959. How very cool eh?!My sister in law Tammy organized a really nice family gathering in Estevan for Valarie, (Russell and Tammy’s sister), who celebrated her 60th birthday on Friday. We really enjoyed being with our extended family circle and friends of the family to mark this milestone with Val.After the party and some back to school shopping we headed up to Arcola for the rodeo. We had a very important rodeo act to see, the kick-off, which was the Truco Trick Riders. Morgan’s girl-friend Jordanna is seen here, I must give Russ credit for the cool framing of the picture.Here is Russ and I at the rodeo. It was a bit of a painful night for me. I am an absolute chicken, I am so uncomfortable watching the roughstock events, I mostly look away. I do all the running for food, beverages, garbage disposal, anything to give me an excuse to leave my seat and miss some of those moments when humans hit the ground near the mighty hooves of powerful animals. If I could go to the bathroom on others behalf I would. Why even attend you might ask? Well this evening, the answer started with Jordanna and ended with Tenley.This is Tenley. She has been a part of our family for several years now in her official role as one of Gina’s besties. We have the hugest soft spot for her in our hearts. Tenley was one of four women doing bronc riding at the rodeo. We needed to stay and watch her give it her all.Tenley shared this picture with me. It gives me goosebumps. She is brave and so strong in everyday life, this picture makes that extra clear. Tenley had to wait a long time in the chute before they opened that gate. The announcer said she must have ice water in her veins. Noting her presence as she waited through a long delay he said she was “cool as a cucumber, she’s the coolest cucumber in the fridge, nothings bothering her at all.” She had a good ride and stayed safe. We were very thankful. When she sent me this picture she said, “sitting in that chute is a feeling I can’t explain. You truly feel as though you have ice water running through your veins!”
Saturday things came to a bit of a standstill for me personally. I was struggling. I simply cannot write a blog about this life and only tell a partial tale, it feels dishonest. I live with humans and sometimes things get really hard. I feel my feelings very hugely at times. We are working through stuff. The wisdom below sits right with me.
A little comic relief. Russell asked me to take this picture to commemorate an important day. He had decided that this was his last day wearing this work shirt. He has had it a long time and its special to him. My sister gave it to him. At one point he outgrew it and gave it to a friend, then Russ slimmed down and the friend outgrew it and gave it back to him. Its travelled many roads with these guys. Only one of six tears is visible in this picture.The job of the day at the ranch on Saturday was to trim horses hooves. Our friend Layne has a hydraulic tipping table he hauls here and he sets up shop. Friends with horses and donkeys come over and get their animals done too. Its a big day with lots of work and lots of visiting. In the chute at this point is our donkey, you might remember we named him “Elton John.” He is as cool as his name suggests.Today the guys were up early with a fun plan in their minds. We had friends coming over to bring the last calves of 2023 home to be tagged, needled, branded, and castrated. We usually do that in the pole shed with a small crew and a tipping table for the calves. Morgan requested that we do this last small group like an old fashioned branding, Russell agreed. It was indeed fun. It seemed less gentle on the animals in one sense, that was iffy for me. But there were perks to this other way too. The calves were not separated from their Mamas as long and they were soothed to see them nearby it seemed.Morgan and Carter Ewart were on horseback and doing all the roping. Russ, Emerson, Laurie and Tyce saw that all the jobs were done for each calf. Coffee dog is seen here, she was not terrifically helpful, Maddie got dog of the day today.Carter is seen here dragging a calf down to the guys. Tyce is ready with a piece of equipment that will temporarily and painlessly keep the calf immobilized, its called a “deadman”. Tyce is very experienced with how to do this work and was invaluable today. He is Jordanna’s Dad.Emerson was the runner, bringing needles and tags to the team. Jen was the operating room nurse, filling taggers, needles and the de-nutter. In the background is Laurie’s son and his family. We had a good visit.An action shot.
It was a very diverse week at the Bar MW. I think in everything that transpired, from parties to appointments, to time with our kids, and big jobs getting tackled, hurt feelings, rodeo feelings, much animal action and everything in between, those five words can apply powerfully, “we believe in each other.”
Late yesterday afternoon I went down to the river valley where we have cows pasturing. Russ asked me to help him, Morgan and Laurie by seeing that the cows got across the road into a new pasture.
There were three possible directions the cows could have gone but only one Russell intended. My job was to make the one open gate look like the best choice. I took a video of the action. It is two and a half minutes. I figured there might be a few of the blog readers who would enjoy seeing these moments of cowboy action. I don’t know how the videos display in a blog, I hope there is enough clarity to appreciate just how beautiful our surroundings are at this time of year.
If you are hungry for nature……….here is a nice serving of it.
Roy Ayers said “the true beauty of music is that it connects people.” At the Bar MW Ranch we have our own version of that today. Our version is that moo-sic connected people.
We spent a good amount of time this weekend working with our heifer calves. Yesterday Russell, Morgan, Jordanna and Laurie worked together to critically assess these calves and decide which we would keep back to add to our breeding herd.
Russ insisted that I take this picture to mark the work day yesterday. The first time this winter he got to wear his cowboy hat to work and ditch his winter wear. Russ made his own personal declaration, ignoring the ground hogs, for him it was the official first day of spring.
The work involved sorting the total group two different ways, potential keepers and those sent to be sold. The potential keepers were then sorted again and then again to ensure we had our best 70 to add to the cow herd. Those keepers were then put through the chute today, their calf tag was removed and their cow tag was installed.
My job in all of this was fairly easy. I have been laid up with a bad leg, which the doctor believes is the result of a bakers cyst. It has been painful and has meant that I was best suited to creating the tags we needed and prepping food for the crew.
Friday at lunch Russell sat and made a list of the names I should put on the tags. His list was based on some family brainstorming. Gina and Jill were a good part of this. We all love this years theme and have had something to add. Our 2023 breeding heifers are named after our favorite musicians and music groups.
The work of getting them installed was slow to start as we continue to figure out how to function without Jill here to run the cow computer. It turns out Morgan was the guy with the right answers to get us into business.
The highlight of the day was exactly what the opening quote suggested. Working with our moo-sic cows connected us to others. It meant we were blessed by Jordanna’s sunny spirit yesterday. It meant we had the chance to spend more time with cousin Laurie, we all value that. A few times over the weekend Russ has said to me, “aren’t we lucky to have cousin Laurie in our lives?” I couldn’t agree more. But the clincher today was that Laurie’s grandson Lennox joined us and was an enthusiastic worker from start to finish. It is always a joy to have kids join us. We gave him the jobs he could handle, he took them seriously and it made meal times more fun having him.
I am now sitting at the kitchen counter, Russ is sitting beside me making a playlist on Youtube music, it will comprise one song from each of the artists we added to our herd today. Its just for fun but maybe will keep their names in front of us. We have been texting a few friends to get reccomendations for which song to include and so a little more connecting has arisen from these heifers.
In fact as I write this Russ is trying to find a Milli Vanilli song to add to the list. It turns out we don’t know Milli’s work very well. Not sure we like much of what he has. If any reader has a suggestion for a Milli Vanilli song send it our way. I just asked Russ why he added it to our name list, he said he enjoyed hear Stompin’ Tom say at a concert, “no Milli Vanilli here boys!” at the point that he forgot words and had no track to cover up for him. Russ liked the way the Milli Vanilli name sounds. Its catchy? Well, by now, Russ has found Milli’s “Blame it on the Rain” song. Might work. I will add a link to the playlist in a future blog once Russ has it finished.
Coffee was the dog on duty at the chute today. She worked well but had a distraction in carrying things in her mouth. She found the glove I left at the chute last time. Russ says, “she was giving us a hand.”
We are looking forward to calving season in 2024 when these heifers will deliver their first calves. The phone calls from the pasture will include news that The Beatles have calved, or maybe that Zach Bryan looks to be looking for a spot to calve, or maybe we will be congratulating Bonnie Tyler for delivering a backwards calf. There is bound to be hard stuff too but for years to come the names of musicians we know well and not so well will be rolling off our tongues and keeping life a little more interesting.
I just overheard a video being replayed that Russell made this morning. It was for our friends in Nova Scotia. Clear as a bell his morning weather report rang out in the house. His four words seemed like a good title for this blog, as good as any. It was frickin cold out today. We had a job to do and it could not be delayed. We all had to find our strength to confront that cold.
It was weaning day. Thats the point in the year when we separate the calves from their Mamas. We do that in preparation to send the steer calves to the Auction Mart. (The heifer calves go onto feed and stay with us for another six weeks or so before being sold). The sale of the steers creates one of the big paydays of our year. It has been an expensive year. We are thankful that payday is almost here. At the same time, as much as we look forward to the sale our anxiety level is high. Many things could go wrong in the varied steps leading up to it.
As I sit writing this now Russ and Morgan have gone to roping lessons, I am alone in our house, it is warm at my desk and we are feeling grateful for an excellent day, despite that frickin cold. I am actually really feeling short on words. That is not my usual. I think the pictures we were able to manage to grab will tell the tale better than I could.
A screen shot of the weather report we found once we got the courage to actually look at the scary facts.The guys were out and saddled up by 7:30. Russ, Morgan and Laurie brought the cows in by moonlight.
What follows are a series of selfies I took.
Fearing a fight to keep my glasses from getting frosted over I dug up my contact lenses. I have not worn them in two years I think. This is a weird picture. I was posing for my sister.With the beginning layers of clothing in place.Suited up and heading out. 7 layers on top, 3 on the bottom. In the corral, I don’t remember what prompted this weirdness.The sky was gorgeous, a result of several things. Laurie in position at the heifers gate. Russ and Morgan did the sorting work in the alley. Steers went in the pen I was at, heifers went in Laurie’s pen and Ron ran the cow pen gate. At this point I was intent on grabbing some pictures and here Morgan was trying to get me to realize I had let a steer walk past my gate.I was distracted because I just wanted to capture a picture of those frosty eyelashes.The semi pulled in on time, Morgan and Ron helped Harold load the first load. Russ, Laurie and I kept working with the herd.We were blessed by a gloriously sunny day, the wind stayed low while we worked. That made the cold much much easier to bear.We started sorting at 8am, by 12:30 we were done and in for lunch. I had a meal in crockpots before we started sorting. That hot food hit the spot.Good to see this hardworking cousin and friend getting to relax.The conditions were a little easier the day this picture was taken. The same work getting done but so genteel by comparison. This was 2019.
Just in the nick of time all the cows are home. As I sit to start writing the words that go with the pictures I have received and assembled, the snow is flying, the wind is blowing, it is so wintery feeling. Down in the south east corner of the province we are the last to get hit with winters blow. We are thankful we had the time we did to get our fall work done up as much as possible. The biggest piece of that is getting our cows and their calves home from their fall and summer pastures.
Now that the cows are home we turn a definite corner. The work shifts towards ensuring the cows are fed and have access to water, and we start strategizing for the marketing part of our work. The season ahead holds more evening hours in the house, usually, we are definitely ready for that.
The last part of our cow chase work took place over this past Friday and Saturday. There are some nice pictures that tell the stories of the days.
Griffin shared this amazing sunrise picture from Friday with me. It was still and very cold as evidenced by the frost on the grass. We were bringing cows from “the Vanstone pasture”, east of Carnduff, to home pastures. Griffin also shared this picture. Thats Teanna, Gina, Russ and Rhett. There was no school so it was a great day to invite the teens of our circle to help bring these cows home. Russ notes that he and Rhett had switched horses for a time, Rhett was trying out Russell’s saddle, which meant riding “Sundance”, who is notoriously grumpy and a challenge to ride. Not many would do what Rhett is doing in this picture. Laurie couldn’t join the crew for the day but was available to help block the highway at the point where the herd crossed. He was able to catch this picture. What is it? In the very chilly morning temps Russ got craving a coffee. When it had warmed to about -6 he called ahead to Precision Ag, where we usually buy mineral, salt, fertilizer and pet food. Russ asked about customer perks and wondered if they could get five coffees to go. Sure enough, upon arrival, the place that is not a coffee shop had hot coffee in to go cups ready to pass out. Thats a happy memory.Gina grabbed this picture from her perspective at the pasture gate. The first group of cows for the day was home and it was time to go home for lunch. Emet got this picture of his dog and Coffee hanging out on a bale. Its cute! After lunch the crew was off to bring another herd home. This time they headed to what we call “The Sheep Pasture”, I drove part of the crew and so was there when many things were getting done to be ready to go again. I grabbed this cute picture of Russ. That is the Viterra grain elevator in the background.I like this action shot of Teanna.Dani flashed a great smile when she looked up from dealing with her horse.Sharon took this picture of Russ ready to roll. Thats Coffee, Knightwing and Bingo in the picture with him.This is Griff ready to roll.Sharon grabbed this picture of Teanna and Dani. Gina took the passenger seat and let Dani drive home from the pasture at the end of the chase. Maddie is healing from an injury and didn’t get to chase, but got to be part of this time with Dani.
Russ wasn’t sure how it would go to juggle two different moves in the same day. Both herds moved more quickly then he thought, the crew did great and both lunch and supper were served an hour before Russ had estimated. I’ll be honest, as the cook, I struggled with the changing details, it was good in the long haul, but I didn’t find the flexing too easy to do.
Tenley sent me this amazing picture of the scene at sunrise on Saturday. The crew had left the yard about 6:45am and they headed to “the Boyes pasture” in the Glen Ewen valley. In contrast to the day before the skies were brooding, but at this point the air was quite still and it was warmer. Griffin caught a moment when Morgan was being unusual. I am not sure what he was doing. Maybe I can ask him before I post this.Sharon shared this moment where her grand-daughter Emma is ready to roll for the day. Emma has been on lots of Bayliss cow chases but this was the first for this year. Griffin caught a cool sunrise picture, it also allowed me to see Emet’s dog in the saddle with him. Jen saw this moment, the sun still rising and beautiful, Morgan ready to roll.Becca sent this glimpse of the getting ready process. The sky is still intriguing.Jen does excellent selfies, the sun on her face and Russ in the background makes this an especially nice one. I am guessing this was the last time the sun was seen on this day.Becca brought her brother to his first cow chase in a long, long time. He was a good sport through what was a tough day because of the weather. Sharon’s grand-daughter Hannah was back on the trail. This is Bill in the centre with his granddaughters on either side of him. Sharon took this picture.As the cows made the final mile before crossing the highway Becca took this picture.Dwayne sent me this close up picture of the process of getting across the highway. In the background you can see the Mounties stopping traffic and keeping everyone safe.I think Becca took this picture once across the highway and looking back at what was behind her. Russ invited the Mountie on duty to pose for him, he obliged. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could direct the cows with hand signals like this? The RCMP are made aware of our plans, if it works into the demands of their day we get their help, but obviously other things take on greater urgency at times. It was decided that quick progress meant a late lunch at home versus lunch on the trail was quite do-able and preferable given how windy and miserable it felt. However, a break for the cows was needed, the riders took advantage of the chance to stretch their legs. Sharon got this picture of Gary.Sharon also got this picture of Bill making some adjustments.Sharon took this picture right around the break.Teanna and Dani grabbed a quick lie down in the ditch moment. Sharon was on the job with her camera.Sharon has always been one to document our adventures, Becca got this shot just after Sharon finished a picture.Jen and her daughter Emerson.Jen’s selfie records a fashion moment, she and Griff have matching sunglasses, thanks to Griff wrestling an old bent out of shape pair into service.Jen grabbed this moment when a good friendship was easy to see.Jen and Dani….the queen of selfies strikes again. Becca shared lots of pictures, including this selfie which reveals a nice spread of the cows behind her.Becca captured her brother Dylan guarding an approach.
Following the break things got hard. Rain began and never quit until the ride was over. Tenley told Gina she has never been so cold on a Bayliss cow chase, which is saying quite a lot. The rain soaked through and challenged everyone. I got lunch set up for everyone in the house and left just as the crew was drawing near. I came across these cowboys coming home after getting the cows into the pasture. I was on my way into town to sing at a funeral. By the time I returned home everyone had eaten and most had gone home to find warm showers. It was hard to miss out on the meal, the chatter, and the words that might celebrate that the cows are all home, however the deceased was a friend of ours and I wanted to be there representing our family. Listening to the stories that came from lunch I sense that everyone was in survival mode and the celebratory mood would need to wait for another time.
The final quarter mile of the 2022 season.Liz Griffin took this picture in the first half mile of the 2022 season. This captures the fact that we started with fog and ended with rain. There was no snow this on the trail this year, high wind at times but not like other years, we had some great sunny days.
Its November 7th, a few hours ago I reduced the table back down so it seats just six. Jill and I did up the last of the dishes lingering from the weekend. We watched two movies last night. The cows are home. We had a safe and successful season of moving them. The best thing, we had time with people we love so much, we met new people, we experienced teamwork and the sense that others have our back. I have been encouraged through the readers and comments with the blog. With a little rest in our bodies, and the sound of the wind just whistling around our house, our sense of gratitude rises to the surface in a very big way. We heard that one of our cowgirls cries for a half hour every year when everything is over. Russell says, “we know how she feels.”
The crew from the ranch was on the trail again this weekend. It was a very memorable one. It was really only one day of chasing, Saturday, but it was a long day, as we mostly expected, and it held lots of moments that we will be talking about for a long time. I have had a ton of pictures shared with me, the story of the day will emerge through the pictures.
Our work for the weekend began on Friday when Russ, Gina, Laurie and Morgan went to check pastures. They were assessing animal health and pasture conditions. Russ was deciding if we needed to bring a herd home on Sunday but decided that the herd could stay for one more week in the pasture, there is enough grass.
The day started early, the crew was ready to leave the yard by 6:25am. Some of my family from Saskatoon were here for the weekend which made the weekend extra exciting for me. My brother in law Gary took this picture of the morning darkness.
Sharon offered this glimpse of the cows in the pasture, before departure.Before departure, it was a bit nippy in the morning, bundled up to ride are Kaitlyn, Dani and Dwayne. Sharon took the photo.Cowgirl Kaitlyn ready to go. A pic shared by Sharon.The fabulous smile of Tenley. Sharon shared this picture.Sharon grabbed this early morning photo of Jesse.Gina and Meadow at the gate. Another Sharon picture.Seth, who is my nephew, sent this cool picture, about 3/4 mile down the trail. They were able to go cross country at this point. The cross country sections of the trail really help, to cut down the distances and make less corners neccesary.
During the day there were seven calves that needed to be caught and put in a trailer to be transported home. There were two reasons for this. As soon as we hit the trail it was discovered that we had some sick calves. Russ figures the snow and rain of earlier in the week was the reason that four of the calves had symptoms of pneumonia. We needed to rope them, push/drag/wrestle them into the trailer and then treat them. Russ had brought a small kit with usual medicines in it, just in case. This came in really handy. The next pictures show some of this action.
Gary S (my brother in law) (we also had a Gary M) sent this picture. Thats Morgan and Meadow working to rope this calf. I don’t know where this roping fell into the order of things. There were four in total that were discovered to be sick.Teanna sent this great picture of success with roping. Meadow caught the head, Morgan the feet, Russ is with it giving it two needles full of Nuflor, Jim is standing by, Bingo is on alert and Ron is ready to get the trailer door open. (That Nuflor will save their lives and return them to health, their suffering is minimized this way. One of the sick calves was already dead when they got to the pasture. Nuflor in time would have prevented that. Supporting antibiotic free beef has hard consequences for the animals. In this highly regulatred industry that Nuflor will be gone long before they enter the foodchain, any further antibiotics given require a clearly prescribed waiting period before they go for butcher.)Sharon sent me this picture of Gary S doing his part to get a roped calf into the trailer. The calves were large and the effort very significant. Knightwing is hopefully helping with moral support at this point.Sharon sent this pic of Russ starting to deal with a roped calf.Sharon sent this picture of Russ pushing and Meadow securing a calf.Gary took this picture while riding our mule Dick. Thats Emet on the left and Stephanie on the right. We were on the road.Russ grabbed this picture of Bailey riding Wrangle. Bailey was one of three riders who had never experienced the BAR MW trail before. Quite an introduction with the day that it was.Meanwhile back at the ranch…..my cousin had come for the weekend to give me a hand with cooking. We were working away at creating taco in a bag. Lisa prepared a well appreciated amount of fried onions. I asked her to prep three peppers, it wasn’t enough. We fed 33 people. I wasn’t always thinking straight with the prep. I am so grateful for her help. Our Grandmas were sisters. The extra action in the morning had meant delays and it was a late lunch break. Here is the lunch crew. Jill dressed up to celebrate halloween. Sharon took our picture.The cows were moving slow, lunch was late, some of our usual riders were not able to be with us, (I really missed them), many riders were feeling a bit of pain, the feeling in the air at lunch was subdued, except…….Jill. Her costume brought so many smiles at different points. I grabbed this extremely goofy moment. It was a situation which began when Gina phoned me in the morning, “Mom, can you bring a calf bottle to lunch, I want to see if Moo would be interested in it.” Moo is our ox who once was a bottle fed calf and then Morgan’s 4H steer. He is now 2200 lbs plus and we use him to guide the herds home. Jill put a bit of water in it and with hope set off to offer it to Moo. I have no idea what was in his head as he saw Jill. Lets just say he had very little interest in the bottle. Was his effort to get away from her a result of her weird outfit? Not sure. Thats Moo with the white head patch just off to Jill’s right and looking at her.Moo and Morgan in 2015. They have both grown. In the days when a bottle meant everything to Moo.After lunch Seth was done with his job of moving trucks and he got in the saddle and on the mule he was sharing with his Dad. Here is Seth ready to roll.After lunch Bill got back on his horse and I just had to grab this picture before he rode away. I had the privilege of conducting Bill’s wedding this past summer. He married my singing partner’s sister Caley. Bill and Russell met at the wedding and hit it off. The plan to get Bill on the trail was hatched then. Russell really loved having him along. He was VERY complimentary of my cooking which I really appreciated.On the trail after lunch, Seth got this picture. Gary S gave me this picture of the head guy, he looks fairly relaxed at this point.Gary sent this picture of my niece Brodie (on Smoky) and her friend Clare on our red mule Jane (who Russ tells me has been herding cows since 1997). We were really happy to have Brodie back on the trail and to introduce Clare to trail life. She was a great sport. Gina, Brodie and Clare on the trail, as seen by Gary S.Gary S sent me this picture and he captioned it “The Bayliss Crew” and I feel that title so deeply. Russ, Morgan, Gina, cousin Laurie, Bingo and Coffee are all there. They were all working their butts off, and with a big herd like this, one or two of these crew are usually at the front, which could be as much as a mile away, Russ likes to stay at the back. This was a rare moment. They are joined in this picture by one of the crew from the White Ranch, thats Jordanna furthest to the right.Things got pretty serious in the afternoon when three of our calves broke into the neighbors pasture. I am not totally clear of how everything went down but the bottom line is that Sherry our neighbor got nominated for neighbor of the year. She was gracious and understanding and helpful when some of our crew went into her pasture to rope those calves and get them out of her herd of yearlings and into the trailer. Morgan and Meadow were on roping duty again. This picture features Sherry in the back and Sharon looking uber relaxed on the right. Gary S grabbed this moment on the trail. The bright sun was a gift.Another nomination …..Russell nominated Gina for cowgirl of the day. I said, “Russ, she got it last time.” He said, “you should see that girl Kathy, her foot still isn’t right but she won’t stop, she was in charge of the whole operation when I was off dealing with those calves, she isn’t going to be here much longer, I am nominating her.” Gina sent me this picture because she spotted our cow named “Kathy” and got this selfie with Kathy grazing in the background.Close to the end of the day Gina phoned me and said, “I have a nomination for cowboy of the day.” It was this crew member, Dwayne Henderson, she had some significant help from him with a problem earlier in the day and she just observed how calm and focused he was all day, and it was a long day. It was an epic day. Thats six times using day in one caption. It was epic. Laurie timed just over ten hours on the trail.Russ took this fine picture of Morgan. The evening sun is nice.Gina sent me this picture as her picture of the day. Its her Uncle Gary and she is so happy to have shared a day on the trail with him. He spent most of the day in the saddle and did incredibly.Dani sent this picture in for her picture of the day. What a moment. Gina and Teanna approached the last mile of the chase, the ranch in sight, holding hands because their hands were cold and the truck with their gloves was nowhere in sight. The picture also allows mention of a nomination that Becca made, she texted me, “I would like to nominate Gina for the most fabulously dressed cowgirl today! Her shirt added flare to her cowgirl attire!” Her school friends will recognize it as her favorite shirt for dance and one she wore every Thursday for Jazz class.Jill took this picture back at the ranch during supper hour. Bingo chilled with the crew.Russ took this shot of Morgan and Knightwing……a significant amount of weariness!Jill found a way to include Buster in the cow chase blog,.Gina shared this pic of after supper visiting, most cowboys gone home, but not Bill, the furthest drive and the most endurance. He headed home to Brandon shortly after this. I love how Seth is sitting on Russell’s knee and laughing at something with Bill who you can hardly see.This was earlier today. The cows home and grazing in the west pasture. Brodie took this with her drone. She makes awesome calendars with her drone photo shots from all over the Saskatoon and north area. I can get you one. Russ, Morgan and Laurie helped our friends move their yearlings and cows this morning, whipped home for a late lunch with us and then we sent all our company back north. Gary took this.Gary took this picture of our crew earlier today.
Now…….our cowgirl Becca took many great photos but a technological challenge meant that I just got them. I am tired. I can’t go back and tuck them in. So here is a glimpse of the day thru Becca’s lense and only just a tiny bit of captioning because you know almost everything already by this point anyways.
This picture features Emet in the foreground working the back of the herd. We are glad to see this picture, giving us the chance to say that his work on the crew has developed quickly this year. Gina tells me that twice yesterday she said to herself, “thank goodness for Emet.” Being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing is everything.
These are Becca’s kids Peyton and Matthew. They were great crew members and super cute. Their personalities made for memorable conversations, they really made us smile.
A big ranching Day here. We moved 140 cow calf pairs about 18 miles, from their summer to autumn pasture. We had 19 riders and the support team. It was a seamless work day, nice when that happens.
I invited the riders to send me their pic of the day. I got several in some cases. I am posting them all with minimal captions. The alarm went off at 4:25am so the pillow is looking very inviting!
Thanks to a great crew of cowboys and cowgirls!
Russell’s pic of the day of Liz Griffin, sporting a hoodie we got her. We were happy to have her back to record a few of our 2022 moments.Liz’s picture of the day of Russell, this was a sneak peek she posted.Gina’s pic of the day.Shared by Sharon.A Sharon Hubbard pic of Gina.Sharon’s pic of DavidRussell’s pic of Sharon, she has this jacket, identical to our family ones, because we can’t do these days without her. She drives the truck and trailer all the way.Russell’s pic of DavidRussell’s pic of Laurie and our friend Maja, a Norwegian agricultural worker in our area.Sharon’s pic of TeannaSharon’s pic of a great smile on Pat.Pat, Sharon and MorganRhett and MorganSharon’s picture…is there a rider or not? Sharon’s capture of a moment to get things adjusted. 3 of the 5 dogs on the trail are seen here.Sharon at the wheel.Teanna’s pic of the day. She and Patrick.Gina’s pic of Jenn and Patrick.Jill’s pic of her Dad during lunch.Jill’s record of a little visitor we didn’t disturb. Maja’s pic of the overall lunch scene.My pic of Sharon getting out of the wind.My pic of Russ holding the last bite of the dessert he determined was the best of the day. Their was a semi final round after his first try of everything. This was a new recipe for me, Faye Simpson’s Cornflake Cookies. Num.I took this action shot of Morgan and Gina.My pic of Morgan’s height serving him well.My pic of some of my lunchtime customers getting a break.Jill sent this pic from the truck she was driving as she helped get vehicles moved from the start of the move to the pasture where they were headed. My pic at days end….All done and back at the house for supper.Jill sent me this pic of the action in the basement after supper. There was lots of noise.Jen grabbed this bonus picture yesterday while Gina was pressure washing the horse trailer in prep for today.
If you will indulge me I am going to play pretend for a moment or two. I am in this moment an on location reporter. “This is Kathy Kyle coming to you from the Cow Dog Lounge at the Bar MW Ranch.”
Laurie had this sign made for us and showed up with it this week. We mounted it with baler twine (a ranchers 2nd best friend after duct tape). The name Laurie came up with is perfect, our dog Knightwing frequently naps in her spot on the couch as in this picture.
While I lounge on a sectional couch in the pole shed our team is right beside me putting a small herd through the chute.
It is raining outside, it is comfortable (only one layer of clothing is about perfect), the smell of a branding iron lingers in the air. The fact that I am blogging is a result of the fact that once again our team has been added to by friends. Carvell is doing my job and I am here with my laptop, close enough to feel connected to the action but free to do one of the things I love, write.
Carvell is in the spot where I often stand, he is ensuring the calf is secured and stays in place while receiving its various treatments. At home Carvell works in the computer programming field, there is no denying that this man has become a cowboy too.
It has been many days since I felt free to linger on the blog. Here is a quick check-in about how things are going. The summary word is “well.” Calving has not been very dramatic since our big blizzards. Most cows are doing what they are supposed to do. Russ has been able to manage things so that the troubles that do arise get worked out. With seven sets of twins born we have been able to offset some of the inevitable losses that happen. While April was absolutely abuzz with the births happening amid whatever weather was being dished up, it seems May has been consumed by practical jobs that need to happen. By the end of today we will have about 70% of our cow calf pairs through the chute (tagged, immunized, castrated, branded, etc.) and at their summer pastures. That is a super big deal. We had the vet team here yesterday to semen test our bulls. Our bulls came through winter okay, one failed his test (our bull named Cheeseball), a few need retesting, but overall, we are set for the breeding season. Two days of the last week have seen parts of our ranch team helping different neighbors with their spring work. That is important to us. But the really big deal in our hearts right now is that our ranch family grew in number and depth this week.
Last Saturday we had a family from Halifax, Nova Scotia pull into our driveway. They had spent their day getting to the Regina airport and then to the ranch. We had never laid eyes on each other before. However, due to the wonder of Facebook and Messenger and this blog, we all had a darn good sense of each other. So it was that our family looked forward to their visit, despite the fact that strictly speaking we were entertaining strangers.
We feel very lucky. Everything we sensed through our social media interactions is true. Carvell, Lynette and their daughter Izzy were very easily folded into the work and the rhythms of our daily life and have brought much joy our way not to mention an incredible amount of help with getting our spring work done.
At one point this week Russell offered to share from his Hawaiian shirt collection, something he loves and he got from our friend David Powell. Symbolic of how fun loving our friends are, they accepted Russell’s invitation/challenge and went to the neighbors looking like this!This is Lynette. When she is at home she is a manager with Workmans Comp, a few years ago she joined her family for riding lessons. She is now a fully capable ranch cowgirl, and that has meant being adventurous with many different jobs. Her job today is tame, she is filling taggers and needles. A nice contrast to Thursday morning when she wowed me as she headed out to help move our herd of bulls down the road.This is Izzy, she is a grade 8 student at home and the one who urged her parents into learning to ride. I got this picture of her as the computer girl this morning while we were working with the cows. It seems there is no job Izzy isn’t willing to try, she also had incredible stamina, she did early checks with Russ every day.A fun picture of Jill from the day.Morgan branding a calf. This is a hard part of our spring work that I often try to say as little about as I can. Here is the deal. We would never impose a brand on our calves if there wasn’t a real risk of theft of our calves. It has happened before. I see this as a vivid example of how sin creates suffering. We take comfort from the fact that the calves are reunited with their Moms right after they are done, the Mom’s feed them and we know this helps the calves begin to settle and heal.Our man Ron working with the dogs to move the calves into the tub and alleyway.
For me personally a visit like we have had has many dimensions. Part of it is struggle, only because when people dwell among you for a stretch they get to see you, really see you. The first few days of the visit seemed chaotic on the ranch. I was embarrassed at what we were asking our company to go through. Then we realized they were very tough and definitely up for the challenge. I felt embarassed by how much I do for my kids that they can do for themselves. Lynette assured me she saw what was at play. I settled down and the feeling of needing to hide a few things passed.
The other thing is that I have found with more hands on deck with ranch work I have been freed to focus on things that I need to do and want to do well as we shared our days. So, I have been baking a lot, taking good care of my kitchen, getting caught up on laundry and paperwork. For me, one of the ultimate gifts I can be given in life is being uninterrupted. Whether that is when I am speaking or getting things done. Ranch life does not lend itself to being uninterrupted. Interruption is the name of the game. I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say this impacts my spirit both for good and not. The freedom to focus in my kitchen was a gift that came from hosting visitors with such a desire to learn, see and work and make sure I felt appreciated for the food I created.
Another great thing about this time shared with new friends is that we have been spreading the goodness around. Laurie and Dawson were with us a couple times this week and therefore got to meet the Fentons. It made me very happy. This feeling of happiness made me realize we are really proud of all the people we are sharing our days with and its great to introduce them to one another. This happened again when the Fentons helped us help our neighbors. This just means more and more layers of connection and knowing. When we see these neighbors in the days ahead we might find ourselves talking about how those Fentons are doing and we will all care about who we are talking about. Another layer of making connections arose from the fact that Morgan has been training a Gilliland family horse. They came riding with us on Wednesday to use the horse and see Morgan’s progress. They met the Fentons. Earlier that day Russ and I had attended the funeral of an amazing woman who is part of our ranch family. We have rented her pasture for the entirety of Russell’s life. To honor her we spent the evening of her funeral day riding her beautiful river pasture and we gave thanks for her life as we prayed before enjoying a tailgate picnic supper. The world feels more stable and secure when the ties that bind us weave in multiple layers.
That rainbow in the background felt meaningful as we enjoyed Donna’s pasture.This ride for Donna was a big deal. I was on a horse, but it was actually a mule, for the first time in more than two years.Jill was one of the riders as well. She too has been avoiding the saddle. We both had a really good ride. Jill even took part in the race.The race.
I think there are about five calves left to go through the chute, its getting quiet here in the pole shed, the team seems to be doing well and keeping their spirits up. I don’t know if its just me, but I know I am avoiding the thought that we have to say good-bye tomorrow. Carvell, Lynette and Izzy feel like family and its hard to think that four and almost five provinces are going to soon separate us. I am always aware of my losses. Its just a big part of my story. I do well to remember that all the hard good-byes can be softened by the truth that there are many wonderful people in the world and it’s a gift when they come your way. We have been blessed.
I am giving myself 25 minutes to create this blog. What gets done gets done and then I hit publish.
Here at the ranch we are doing what we always do at this point in May and thats put herds of cows and calves through the working chute. This allows us to give vitamins, vaccines, tag the calves, replace lost tags on the cows and castrate the bull calves. Its a big chunk of work and it takes a crew. I should be out there but I am not because Dawson was able to come today and do my job. That is a lifesaver today in particular, I have a funeral to conduct tomorrow, a graduation to attend later today and tags to make. Not to mention feeding this crew. You might think, “why are you writing a blog?” I just have to. I have the fever to. But there is a time limit set.
Okay….maybe I have the fever because last night a friend we had not seen in a long time came for tea. As she stepped in the door she said, “I came because I just want to encourage you.” How interesting we humans are, how quickly old tapes and things rise to the surface, because you know what rose up in me when I heard that? I caught myself thinking, “oh great, someone is here to tell me what I need to do better at.” That wasn’t at all what our friend was here to share. However, I have had impacting experiences being told things that start with the words, “I just want to encourage you…….”, followed by some message to do things differently, worry less, have more faith, exercise more, …..some message that essentially said, “you are not enough.” But that is not what I heard last night, last night I heard, “your blog makes a difference, I want to encourage you to keep it up” and there was a bit more than that. But you get the drift. So, fuelled up I am here to share about this day.
There is so much stirring within.
I am proud of our crew. We had Morgan’s friend Griff with us yesterday and we got 80 pairs handled at the chute. I was not needed hands on, we had such great help, so I was able to cook and make tags and do the essentials in the house.
I am proud of Gina. More about that in the pictures.
I am sad. The details of this past week have stirred grief.
I am angry. I am angry at Covid. Tomorrow I do the first funeral I have had to do for a person who died of Covid. Two of my sisters were diagnosed with it this week. I saw them last weekend. So we have been wearing masks and testing daily. I believe I missed it this time.
I am hyper. I made the best pot of coffee this morning. It was nuclear fuel in my body. Russ just called me to tell me a story from the chute. We had a cow that needed to be chased down, details elude me. Anyways, the story was a bit epic, a should to shoulder race which Russ won and with great delight he told me, “when I looked at her tag Kathy, you know who she was?!? Streak! Kathy, I outran the streak!!!” I was suitably impressed! We agreed that coffee had weaved magic in us.
Some pictures to share!
I stepped out the door this morning to see a herd of cows and calves being moved through the yard. This still amuses me. I ran back to get my camera. Notice the mud encased Expedition. There is unreal puddle action on our roads.I made some cheese and bacon roll-ups for a snack after the cows and calves were sorted from each other. It amused me to see how dirty Morgan’s hands were as he ate. I see this as a personal strength not weakness in Morgan. We do encourage handwashing, but, when it isn’t possible….well…….dirty hands are part of a working life and he is not too needful of perfection.This is me and my kids during coffee break this morning. I am pointing to my shirt because it says, “Gina’s Mom”…it was a gift about 10 years ago. Gina graduates later today, we will be able to watch via a livestream at the Connelly’s. However it makes me sad to miss it. Really sad. We didn’t get to share in a ceremony for her high school grad in 2020. Its hard to miss this too. But we couldn’t be in Victoria two weekends in a row and the show weekend was more important. So……she is on our minds. And….we gotta get our work done so we can get to the livestream on time.There was an awards ceremony yesterday. Gina’s stage combat mentor presented her with this award on behalf of the college. His words and manner touched her so much and we were so thrilled for her. The fine print says, “awarded to a student who has shown outstanding achievement in Musical Theatre.” The college released this photo on instagram yesterday. This was an amazing number from Shrek where Gina tap danced with 12 rats. This was the number that brought me to tears. Why? Gina was having so much fun.Jill in the foreground making a cow replacement tag, Laurie in the back. Part of the team this morning.Not great team pictures but a little glimpse of the scene at the ranch today.
Calving is perking along, a pretty normal set of days and events are the reality right now. This is good timing. I hope your weekend is going the way you need it to. Blessings to you.
As Far As The Eye Can See 