New livestock worker

A sad day occurred at the Wohlers Ranch in October when Blake and Tom were moving cattle off the highway back into pastures during a severe blizzard when Tom our border collie was hit by a vehicle and killed.  We placed an order with a breeder of champion border collie working dogs for a puppy out of 2 litters he was expecting to be born in November.  This past week Blake picked this puppy out of 14 to be his next helper.  She was born on November 19 and will be weaned and come to our ranch on January 2, 2014.  Blake will spend the next 2 years training this pup to be the best she can be, wish him luck.

Tumbleweed catchers

Tumbleweeds are dried plants (usually kochia on our ranch) that the wind blows across the prairie after the growing season.  This year they have been particularly abundant only stopping their travels when they get caught by a fence.  The ranch has 44 miles of fence so many are caught here.  A problem occurs when there is considerable drifting of snow also caused by the wind.  The snow accumulates on the caught tumbleweeds crushing the fence breaking many wires.  Whenever we have a snow event this winter the fences will require immediate repair before cattle escape the ranch boundaries and we have to go hunting for them.

Predator overabundance

We have many coyotes on the ranch, last year there were 3 dens with pups.  I like having them around to help keep the prairie rats in balance.  Coyotes usually work as solitary hunters and the ranch will lose 1 to 3 baby calves to them each year, I consider this acceptable.  However, Blake came across a pack of 4 coyotes that had chased a 500 pound steer ($900 value) through the fence and killed him.  A pack of 4 indicates too many coyotes so they join together to bring down bigger game.  We called in Joe "the coyote trapper" to reduce the number of coyotes on the ranch before calving season next spring when they could cause considerable more damage to our baby calves than normal.  This is Joe's first catch, hopefully he will get several more soon.  

dry river

The Niobrara went dry the last half of June then there were numerous showers and it flowed again through July and most of August, however it once again has been dry for 3 weeks.  Water stayed behind some large beaver dams until this past week but they are dry now.  This turtle and more of his buddies are setting on the river floor trying to decide if they need to burrow down for a month or so.  There may have been some fish left high and dry, but I saw too many raccoon tracts to think any fish have not been ate.  There was ready access to the holes leading into the beaver dens in the banks.  I did not investigate for fear of my life.

bow hunting

Blake's friends, Austin and DJ, asked if they could bow hunt pronghorn on the ranch.  We sent them to the south pasture to walk the ridge.  One hour later they returned after Austin bagged his first pronghorn.  He made the shot at 75 yards.  (I'm sure this buck thought he was quite safe at that distance)  There is a larger buck that also calls the south pasture home.  I am betting that these hunters will be back.

dusting corn

Once each year the farmer on the north side of our Scottsbluff home aerial sprays his corn field for insects.  This can get rather exciting as the plane buzzes close over the top of our second story bedrooms, but it is very neat to see how skilled the pilot is at maneuvering his plane.   I would probably reject the offer to be a passenger with a crop duster.  

broken tractor

The one and only do everything tractor has had problems twice in July.  The first time the power take off (PTO) had an electrical problem ($1200 repair bill), the second time bolts in the clutch plate got tore off (do to us trying to work the tractor harder than we should) ($4600 repair bill).  If we had a professional tractor hauler come pick it up and than return it would have cost us $900 each time so we fortunately were able to transport the tractor to town on our own trailer.  We certainly missed not having it for the 3 weeks of July that it was laid up.

chokecherry harvest

The chokecherry bushes are loaded this year as were the cherry trees and the birds don't seem to be interested in them so we have picked many buckets for jelly making.  We have jars of both red and golden chokecherry jelly, next Sharyn is going to see if the color will hold true for some black jelly.  The jelly certainly tastes good,but we are getting tired of picking and cooking the berries for making the jelly.  We will need help eating this great harvest as our household typically eats very little jelly.

trip to sawmill

Blake and Arden went to the sawmill near Chadron to pick up more lumber to use in replacement of wore out corrals.  The mill has access to many trees again as they are located right on the border of many thousands of acres that were burned in the forest fires last summer.  The burnt and now dead trees are suitable for making lumber for about 3 years after the fire before the wood becomes too rotten to use.  This mill is located in a very scenic canyon that has lost some of it's beauty because of all the burnt trees near by.  This is one of the mill men sawing out a beam for use in construction.

weed with personality

The soapweed yucca is an interesting plant that is found in abundance in certain areas of our upland pastures.  Cattle rarely eat it, but it makes some habitat for wildlife.  Native Americans once used the pods for food, the leaves for mats and ropes and the roots for soap (that was centuries before Walmart).  This particular plant was interesting as I have never seen an individual plant with this many pods.

year of the weed

 At the ranch we have been battling Scotch Thistles for years by chopping or spraying.  These plants take up much grass space and cattle don't go near them.  We have them mostly under control, but still have to work at removing the new plants that appear each year.

These pretty yellow flowers that have proliferated in the overgrazed areas near the cattle watering points due to the lack of moisture for more desirable plant species is not good.  These plants have stickers on the stems and leaves and produce a burr.  We have always called them "for-get-me-nots" as they are long remembered if you try to walk through them.

close call

The annual Independence Day celebration at the Scottsbluff headquarters came close to being a catastrophe this year as an errant rocket went into the 8 foot high juniper hedge between the house and the detached garage.  Within seconds we had a full-blown forest fire.  Quick action had 2 garden hoses trained on the fire and wetting the buildings down.  In 3 minutes the blaze was just under control as the fire department arrived to finish extinguishing the embers and assuring that there were no hot spots left in the 30 year accumulation of pine needles that were under the shrubs.  The department was very prompt as they were assisting with traffic nearby as the public fire works show had just finished just 4 blocks from us.

cherry harvest

The Wohlers Ranch workers took time off from caring for cattle and grass to pick cherrys at the Scottsbluff headquarters in the evenings this week.  Cherry harvest happens in early July in years that the blossoms don't freeze off.  So far neighbors and us have harvested about 6 of the 1 gallon ice cream buckets full of cherrys.  The hardest work is removing the pits before our excellent cook makes jelly and pies from the crop.  Ma Wohlers made 1 pie yesterday that she gave to our local firemen (see related blog).

nature provides

This cow had the misfortune of standing on a hill during a lightning storm, she was struck and probably died instantly with no suffering.  I was at a distance when I noticed 5 vultures having a feast.  As I attempted to get close for a photo opportunity they flew off a small distance before returning to their meal when I left.  As a result of animal deaths on the ranch do to weather (the blizzard of April 10) this year we have the fattest coyotes and vultures ever.

ranch friends

We have seen a number of large bull snakes on the ranch this year, several living around the buildings.  This is good as they eat rodents such as mice and have been reported to eat small rattlesnakes (we haven't seen any rattlesnakes this year, so maybe that is true).  The one being held is about 5 feet long but there have been some that have grown to 8 feet. This big guy was quite docile and wanted to be my friend, but he wouldn't kiss me.  Before I grabbed him he tried to pretend that he was a rattlesnake by coiling and hissing and shaking his tail in the grass trying to sound like a rattler.  He could be a captive pet, however I will let him remain in the yard to catch mice.

Taking a break

Tom and Blake were setting a couple of new tanks at the windmill in the M3 meadow today.  Arden made certain that the tanks were level then these 2 were anchoring the tanks with dirt piled high enough that the calves will be able to reach the water.  Blake was not aware that Tom had leaned the shovel against the tank and was taking a break.

Pretty but Deadly

The pastures have areas with many of these beautiful   flowers this year, usually there are only a few of this species and in wet years a much wider variety of wild flowers will be present.  I believe the abundance of this plant may be a result of our severe drought.  Unfortunately this plant is Death Camas which is deadly to livestock and people (it can be mistaken for wild onion that is good to eat, but Death Camas does not smell like onion).  Fortunately cattle don't eat it if there is plenty of grass available.  We will need to be ready to move the cattle to a new pasture before they are out of adequate grass in each pasture.

grazing rotation during drought

Due to the drought that the panhandle of Nebraska is experiencing we have delayed turning cows into pastures by 2 weeks (this has resulted in overgrazing the calving pastures, but hopefully they will have time to recover if we get adequate moisture).  As the photo indicates the grass is still not very tall and the pasture will need to be monitored closely so the cattle are moved to the next pasture in a timely fashion.  Pasture S5 is in 1 of 3 pasture rotation systems that we use at the ranch.  The S pastures will have 125 cow-calf pairs this year (last year we  overgrazed this system by trying to keep 180 pairs on it during the grazing season.  Our goal will be to keep these cows in S5 for 1 month and use 1/2 of the forage grown there this summer.  I will show a photo of this location when the cows are moved and we can evaluate our success.

now a gaggle

A pair of geese have been nesting and raising their little goslings on the river below the corrals for 3 or 4 years.  This year they have brought 3 of the now adult goslings with their mates to nest at our location.      
This photo captures 6 of the geese (2 are in the background close to the dam).  The other pair is out of the picture 100 yards to the right.  They are fun to have around because they allow a person to walk up very close before they walk or fly off a ways.

Winter hanging in there

It  is May 1st, 2013 and winter should be over but this is another 3 inches of snow at the ranch, the moisture is appreciated but it is hard on the baby calves that are still suffering from the effects of the blizzard of a few weeks ago.  Even with the recent snows the panhandle of Nebraska is still an inch below normal moisture for this year that added to the record drought of 2012 means the pastures are not recovering for normal grazing in 2013.

lucky orphan

Once in a while a cow dies from complications when giving birth to a calf, resulting in an orphan calf.  Blake bottle fed this calf for 3 days before another cow had a stillborn calf.  That cow was very willing to adopt this calf and he has the good fortune of returning to the pasture with all the other calves.  Blake has the good fortune of not having to feed this calf 3 times a day for the next 2 or 3 months.

calving time--it must be winter

Wohlers Ranch calves in April and May to avoid the  brutal winter weather.  However this year there hadn't been enough snow to cover the ground until April 9.  Then after having about 60 calves delivered out of 350 cows a blizzard hit the panhandle of Nebraska.  We received 18 inches of snow accompanied by 50 mph winds, needles to say Blake and Arden were forced to stay in the house because of the dangerous conditions and were unable to offer assistance to the cow herd.  After 2 days several calves have been found dead and there very likely will be more discovered as the drifts melt down, some drifts in the canyons are 10 foot deep.  The only bright news is the snow did bring moisture so there will be some grass growth ( this still does not break the prolonged drought, but it is a start).  We have had to feed with the tractor backing up the pickup because we have became stuck by high centering in the snow many times.  We have walked many miles in knee deep snow checking on cattle the past two days.

video auction

The calves in the feedyard have grown very well due to the mild winter this year, resulting in the heavier ones needing to be marketed.   New owners need to have them 100+ days to be profitable and that is how long it will be to harvest.  They were sold on video at a break in the live auction at Torrington on Wednesday past.  The market is down about $100 a head from what we had anticipated so only the biggest 65 steers and 70 heifers were put up.  This is a photo of the auction ring, our steers are on the screen above the auction block--you could have watched the auction on your computer as well.  The remainder of the calves will be sold in a month when hopefully the market will rebound.  We will load out at 7 am in the morning.

sharing corn

Cows that have come to the valley to winter on corn stalks must share the corn with the Canadian geese that also winter here.  There are several thousand geese with the neighbors cows that are grazing the field by our house in Scottsbluff as I post this.  Our own cows were moved to a new field last week that had too much corn spilled onto the ground from the combine.  Naturally a few of them over ate resulting in inflammation in their hooves (founder) causing them to be lame.  Hopefully they will recover.  The cows are doing very well this winter because it has been very dry (bad deal) with no snow to cover up the feed on the ground (good deal).