Final Roundup

The final roundup for Branding 2015 went very quickly.  Dickie, was riding in the roundup and took photos.  I'm grateful to have photos inside the roundup for the first time!  By 8, most cows and calves were gathered and at the top of the hill.  I jumped in my Hummer and headed down the hill, to get to the Rock House corral before the cows.  It was a terrific morning roundup!

Branding Day Morning

Everyone in our house was up by 3:30 on Branding Day.  Everyone but me was out the door by 4:30, to get the horses ready for roundup.  I went down the hill at 5:30, to pick up some things at the Rock House plus our guests staying in the Rock House, Jim, Elizabeth, Bryce, and Emily.  We scurried up the hill to meet cowboys arriving at 6.  Jim served muffins to the cowboys while a horseshoe was replaced and saddles were tightened.  Soon all 28 riders were off in different directions.

Hula Hooping Cowboys

On the night before Branding, I made supper nachos for our family, Colter and Carly's family, and our overnight guests.  We had twenty at our house by 5:30 on Friday evening.  We pulled out the hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles.  The hula hoops were a hit!  In no time, we had hula hooping cowboys!

Roundup the Day Before Branding

Rain was falling Friday morning at 6 when Colter and crew arrived for the last roundup and cattle push, before Saturday's roundup and branding.  Everyone was wearing a slicker to stay warm and dry, and the cows moved easily.  Everyone came to the house for brunch.

Picking Peaches before the Big Rain

We split up in the morning, with Papa, Dickie, Elizabeth and Catherine taking care of the horses and riding.  Susan went with me and Madilyn to Apple Annie's Orchard to pick peaches, then to get a load of hay, and a grocery stop.

In the afternoon, Papa went to do road work on the tractor.  While he was out, we had a big downpour, with wind and hail, and 1.2" of rain.  Dickie and Catherine left in the ranger to help him, and they got caught in the rain across Davis Canyon.  Papa left the tractor and started walking home.  After a couple of hours and not knowing what they were doing, Elizabeth and I hiked to find them. We found them, drenched and happy on a very sloppy road.

More Cattle Moving

Another early morning to move cows from the pasture east of our house to the pasture west of our house, followed by a 9:00 breakfast of Mansion Beef with piping hot bread and jam.

Ranch Roundup

All cowboys and cowgirls rode in trucks pulling stock trailers full of horses to the Patterson corrals, on the west end of the ranch.  They split into groups and then pushed the cows to the pasture nearest our house and to the west.  There were 21 riders and they were back at our house by 12:30, ready for lunch, with tales of Carly killing a rattlesnake and removing the rattles with her bare hands. 

Branding Week Guests

My cousin, Dickie, his wife Susan, and their daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, arrived yesterday from Kentucky to experience our Winchester Ranch Branding Week.  They jumped right in, with Dickie helping Dale change Pablo's shoes.  Next up, Catherine drove the ranger while Dickie threw rocks out of the road for a couple of hours, behind Papa doing some grading with the tractor. 

We were up by 4 this morning.  Everyone had breakfast and started down the hill for our ranch roundup, with Papa and Dickie leaving the house at 4:45 and the girls at 5:15.