Fantastic Friday

I love Fridays..  It's an end to the week of craziness.  It means when I wake up for the next two days all my people will stay here with me.  I won't be alone with just the animals to talk to.  It means big breakfasts, talking and hanging out.  This week has been a lot of fun.  Little C and Little K came over and  I took some fun pictures of them playing.  I got to do some pictures yesterday with some of my new baby props.  The cows are steadily getting bred.  And I have gotten some small projects done for myself.  So all in all a great week.  And the weekend should be even better.  We have plans with friends and family.  And maybe the rain will stay away so that we can do outside work. Here are some of my recent pictures I took.  Enjoy!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for many things.  I am incredibly happy that my friends Marli and Memory are okay from the storms.  I am happy our Little Man is moving along quickly.  I am glad  that Little Miss is okay after walking into the telescope on the trailer.  I am thankfull that the sun is shining.  I am thankfull that we are almost done calving.  I am thankfull for our health, we have a roof over our heads and food to eat.  I am thankfull for sooo many things, because due to the recent weather there are so many without.

These photos are of our herd bull Nuggent.  They have nothing to do with my post, but I cannot post with out pictures.  And right now I have been taking a lot of pictures of him.  He is a Simmental.  And he used to be really nasty, but he and Mr. M have an understanding.  Happy Thursday!

The Newest Babies...

This post is for my new friends at "Two Girls In The Country"  They helped me with the new names for our little girls.  The rain gods gave us a brake in rain long enough for me to get some stuff done! I got the yard mowed, so that it can grow some more with all the rains coming our way.  I got the house in order.  I have an in house session tomorrow, so it needed to be done.  And I had some little tasks that I wanted to get done.  So I played hooky and went out and took some pictures of the babies and here they are!



This is Lita




This is Nastia




This is Casanova




This is Barrack O' Butter




This is Pasquale

 Thank You Memory and Marli! I hope you enjoy...they are some awfully cute little boogers.  And Casanova and Lita are not twins.  They just have the same daddy and he likes to mark his babies really pretty.   And I love them cause I love chrome(white) on the calves! But Mr. M doesn't like it sooo much...Happy Thursday EVERYONE!

Breeding Season

Here at Dawson Cattle we try and A.I. (artificially inseminate) as many of our cows as possible.  Then after an amount of time, they are turned out with Nuggent (herd bull).  That way if something didn't settle to the A.I. he will be sure to take care of it. A.I.ing is not a beautiful or wonderful thing to do, but it insures we can get better calves out of our cows. So needles to say we are off to a good start.  We currently have bred 2 cows and 4 heifers.  And they just keep cycling! Which is wonderful and great to us. I will not share the details with you but you can google the process.  Here is some of the equipment required:



Our Semen tank: this is where the frozen sperm is.




Our A.I. kit: it has multiple items for the process in it.  Kind of like a tool kit.




This is how you thaw the sperm.  You put water in it, plug in, wait till it gets to a certain temp.  Then ready.

Bulls are sent to studs where they are collected and the people can order them.  They come in a tiny straw that holds the sperm.  That straw is then frozen and placed in the tank till we are ready to use it.  There are certain signs from the cow that tell us when we need to do this and that's how we know when to A.I.  Not too mention that when they settle, you know when to expect your bouncing babies.



Cow in the chute waiting.



We put the cows/heifers in our chute so they don't hurt themselves or us.  The whole process is harmless and doesn't usually take very long.  ABS ( american breeders service) offers a class that you can go to, where you can learn how to do this.  Mr. M and myself have both been. And the cows go right back to their babes when they are all done.  We make the whole process easy and calm as possible for the cows.  Now putting an embryo in a cow is very similar, but that is a post for another day.  Feel free to google or ask questions..

And this the end result when you wait for 9 mths.  This particular calf is from the bull.  But she's still alive, healthy and beautiful.  Happy Wednesday to YOU!

Rain, Rain Go Away! Pretty, Pretty Please.

Like everyone I'm over the rain.  It's horrible.  The cattle are miserable, we are miserable.  There's sooo much mud it's awful.  But the sun was shining a little yesterday and with the high winds today, maybe it will blow away.  Wishful thinking I know.  Sooo I decided to take a few pictures.  Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Lots of Rain comin down the spouts.



I had to protect my camera from the rain with an umbrella.



Manic Monday

Sooo today has been more crazy busy than normal!  Our Little Man returned to school today.  And he was super excited.  The boy loves school.  He is an A student, loves math, loves perfect attendance, he's just a dream when it comes to school.  He is still on antibiotics for the rest of the week, so once a day I go to school to give him his meds.  School is only 7 minutes away.  Then he goes this afternoon and gets to have his bandages changed and to see his toes for the first time since his surgery.  And the rain just won't stop.  Oh goodness I'm soo over the rain.  So needless to say I had to change clothes after chores this am.  Did I mention that we have added to the critter list?  We now have 34 meat chicks and 2 ducks.  Not to mention the 19 turkeys! And we are currently working on Mr. M for potbellied pigs.  What's a few more critters.



Our rain gauge at 11 am. 




One of our smaller water puddles.

So yesterday was Easter and we spent the afternoon with Mr. Ms family.  Its was a good time. We had lots to eat and it was great for Little Man to get out of the house.  I did something I rarely do and didn't take my camera!  I thought I would just enjoy the day with my family.  I hope all of you had a wonderful  and blessed day.  And my new friends over at Two Girls In the Country gave me great names for a few of our new girl calves, so I will share those this week.  Thanks Girls!  Happy Monday To all of YOU!

Happy Friday

Lily in her pen with the sun shining in on her.

I'm soo glad today is Friday for multiple reasons...Our boy is more mobile.  He isn't taking any pain meds during the day anymore.  On Monday we attempt school.  But I love weekends for lots of reasons.  Mr. M is home with all of us.  The babies get to sleep in.  And we get to hang out and not rush around.  I took the boy out for a ride to town to get some movies.  Tomorrow will be our day of sleeping in and not doing much with all the small ponds we have everywhere and more rain headed our way.  And Sunday is Easter!  I love everything about Easter.  It's one of the best holidays.  I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend.  I hope you take the time to stop and remember what this holiday is about.  Be thankful and count all the blessings that have been bestowed upon you and yours.  Happy Weekend to all of YOU!

Crazy times

Right now I feel all jumbled up like this box or sidewalk chaulk!  Our Little Man is doing well.  I'm trying to keep Little Miss from feeling left out.  I'm inside with our boy most of the day, but i'm running out several times a day to heat check cows, do chores, make sure every one of our four legged friends is taken care of.  And then there's gettin to school, meals, housework and all the other endless things to do.  I'm really over all the rain we have been given lately.  I'm ready for summer, sunshine, fresh cut grass and the smell of hay!  And this weekend is Easter so I helped out the Easter Bunny today.  So one of these days things will get back to what we call normal! But for now im just a crazy mixed up box of sidewalk chaulk! Happy Day To All of YOU!

Our Little Man

Our Little Man! He is kind, funny, smart and onery as the day is long.  Today he had to have surgery.  It has been one of the longest day of our lives as parents.  This boy of ours has never had anything major.  No hospital stay, major illness or broken bones.  Today changed all of that.  He has a symptom called curly toe.  That means that the toes are curling under themselves because the ligaments in the toes are seizing up.  So we went to the hospital at 7:30 this am and started the procedure.  The iv in the arm was bad.  Then we had to wait.  Then there was the awful walk down the hallway before he went into the surgery room.  Then the waiting! Oh gosh the waiting.  The procedure ended up taking a little over an hour.  Then the consult with the Dr.  Then more waiting.  I just wanted to scream!  Watching the door and looking at every nurse that came through the door.  And then finally, we could go back.   And he was groggy and want his daddy and momma! Oh bless the heavens.  Finally, after he was able to wake and keep some fluids down we got him ready to go home.  They told us with the anesthia and pain meds he should rest comfortably for the rest of the day.  Well, our boy stayed awake all day!  The best part is that he hasn't had any pain so far and is such a trooper and doing wonderfully.  He has to be in a surgical boot for 4 wks.  Oh, did I mention at the end of the 4 wks we go back and do it all over again because we have to then do the right foot.  Ohh my I may not be able to take it again.  It was agony.  Thankfully I have some of the best friends and family.  So our boy will be good as new soon and pain free.  Thanks for listening to my blabbering.

ps.. the photo above is of the boy trying out the scope on my brothers new rifle.  the Little Man takes safe shooters where he learns gun safety and awareness.  we try and expose our babes to many different things and make them aware of many diffterent things. and that includes gun safety, mueseums, fancy restaurants, and as many things as we can.

Addison

Last week I got to take these photos for this little lady and her momma.  It was fun and I think they turned out pretty good.  And I think her momma is a really cool person!  I love taking pictures for people and freezing their memories for them to cherish.  And I get to meet some really great people.  Happy Tuesday!

Manic Monday

Elmer after a good roll in the mud!

MONDAY! Up and running that's what it brings.  This week will be an eventful one as usual.  The best part of the end last week was that we ended it with a bull calf being born.  If I can ever sneak out and get close enough I will get pictures, sometime.  Saturday was fun, spent the evening with friends.  Our Little Mans best friend turns 10, so it was a crazy boy slumber party.  Today, was a day of laziness and catching up on some much needed sleep.  I also got to do a photo session for a good friend of mine.  So now I am hopefully prepared for the week ahead.  I'm gonna get all my errands run hopefully in one day.  Maybe.  The babes are on a count down to the end of school.  They are officially marking the days off on their calendars.  I had to share this picture of our old man Elmer after a good roll, enjoying the sun and some grass.  He's such a happy old man.  I hope all of you have a safe and productive week ahead!

Protection

wanting so bad to play catch with the babes.

Duff isn't our little fluffy baby anymore.  And it breaks my heart how fast he's growing up.  Next month he will be 1 year old.  He is my shadow wherever I go.  He has a routine just as I do.  When we feed he likes to make his rounds by walking through the cows.  The only problem a few of the cows would rather plow him through the fence to protect their babies.  So when I walk through the cows he has to sit and stay at the gate.  And every once in a while I catch him belly crawling out to the pasture.  And then there are those times when I just happen to look down and he is sitting at my feet.  And how can you be mad at him.  He's such a friendly, happy, loyal dog.  He kisses the lambs and pigs on their noses when I'm getting feed ready.  And when it's hot he likes to lay in the stall with Little Mans heifer in front of the fan.  He loves to ride on the back of the quad and in the truck.  But the best part is when I'm walking to the barn, he comes up and nibbles on the ends of my fingers.  Just a little reminder that my shadow is there protecting me.



hangin out while i feed the replacement heifers and chickens




how could you resist that face!



Aaawwww!

3C Macho heifer - Saturday morning

Heat Wave heifer - Saturday night



3C Macho bull - Monday morning

 For those of you that visit us, I hope you don't get sick of any kind of cattle photos! We love our cows.  This is what we do.  We breed, raise and show cattle.  We love everything about it.  These are a few of our new arrivals.  If you notice the heifer at the top and the bull at the bottom look very similar, it's because they are from our herd bull: Nuggent.  His calves very rarely don't have white on their faces.  The heifer at the top is a very special little girl.. We have had her momma for 10 years and this is the first time that she has had a heifer!  And the best part of all is that they came without any help from anyone other than their mommas...  The heifer calf in the middle is an embryo from one of our flush cows.  That means just what it does for humans.  And the cow that is her momma now is a surrogate.  That same flush cow had over 8 babies on the ground one year.  Plus we artificially inseminated her so she had her own biological baby.  Anyway, I never get sick of taking pictures of cattle of any kind, and I hope you never get sick of seeing them.  Happy Thursday Everyone!

Beautiful Babies

This what happens when the nephew and neice come stay with us!  I take a lot of pictures of them.  They love it, and then it's  "let me see, let me see."  And then their momma and daddy have what I think are cute pictures.  They are soo much fun.  Have a Happy Wednesday.