Weird Cow Fact..

A 1,000 pound cow produces about 10 tons of manure a year!

Tomorrows post will be about artificial insemination.

There will be some detailed photos.

My intention is not to offend anyone, but to educate.

Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

Good Smells

I like the smells of certain candles. 

I like to burn them during the holidays. 

I like the way they can freshen up the house when it's all closed up for the winter. 

 But I am very sensitive to smell, so I have a few favorites that I stick to.

These are a few of my favorites and a new one, I'm so excited about.

this is my favorite!

this is my Christmas scent,

and I cant wait to try this one.



What are your favorite smells and brand of candle?
Happy Monday to everyone!

He's the first baby..

When Mr. M and I got married I decided to get a new puppy.  I went to a horse show in Edinburgh with a friend and he was at a place not far away.  And I fell in love at first site.  He was the only red puppy out of the litter.  And he was the largest.  So I payed for him and we started the trip home.  He vomited in my truck on the way.  He whined and whimpered.  And when we got home I couldn't put him down.  Mr. M named him Hank.  We were not at the farm yet.  So we crate trained him and he became a house dog.  When we moved to the farm, I was so worried that he would get hit.  But he just went with the flow.  And he became an outside dog.  He no longer wanted to be inside.
Since then he has lost a toe to getting stepped on by a pig.  Been kicked in the mouth and lost a chunk of his tongue.  He fought off a coyote and spent three days back and forth at the vets and caged for a month since he lost so much blood and almost died.  He has started having lots of problems, but that's what happens when your 13.

He can hardy get up to move when you open the door now.  He cant stand more than a few moments at a time. He stumbles when he walks.  He can hardly get up.   I give him pain medication to keep him comfortable a couple of times a day.  But this dog has been a part of our family for so long.  He has worked with us.  Protected us.  Been a companion.  And he hasn't shown that he's  ready to give up yet.  So until that day when he just doesn't go to the barn, we give him the extra attention he's due.  His days are spent watching the babes.  Laying and watching the cows graze.  And being the retired old man. 

There's only one Hank.

  I hope all of you have that special pet in your life.

That gives you the unconditional love that they give so freely. 

Happy Mother's Day!

To the best momma a girl could have...

To my SIL Mel,  shes got two great babes and is a great friend to me.

To my SIL Dawn, who has two handsome boys and makes me laugh.

And my MIL, whose always there when I need her.
And  who's a great grandma to our babes.

Happy Mother's day to all the ladies out there.  Whether you are a mom to a two legged babe or a four legged babe.  Whether your an Auntie, Sister, Cousin,  your still important to someone.
Have a wonderful day..

Things..

Happy Friday!  There are many wonderful changes going on around the farm.  We finally got our hay down.  Hopefully we will be baling this weekend.  I wish there was a scratch-n-sniff button, the hay smells so good.  I wish there was a candle that smelled like that.
  Anyway....breeding is going well.  We are sending a cow to the vets to be flushed.  All the babes are growing well and are loosing some of that cute, cuddliness.  Mr. M is planting like crazy at work.  But so far his hours haven't been too crazy and he has been home most of the weekends.  The babes only have till the 25th and then they will be out of school.  Let the summer begin. 
AND, we are remodeling the outside of our house.  We did new roof, trim, facia and gutters last year.  Now we are doing; new siding, garage windows and exterior doors.  It will look so nice when its done.  Our house was build in 1863 according to court house records.  So slowly but surely we are remodeling.  I have been taking photos along the way.  I will share once the outside is done.  I'm so excited!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. 

Thankful..

I'm so glad that i met this man.
and that we got married and planned a life together

and then we bought this farm to raise our family on

and this boy!
hes something.  and hes growing too fast for this momma

and our sweet girl
she shows you all the good that is in the world

and i love that this woman is and was my mother
she is my hero and even though our time together was short, i learned so much

and my brother, hes great
and he has given me a great friend and sister and two beautiful babes to spoil and call me AUNT

that our babes have two great grandparents that are a part of their lives


Its easy to be unhappy, but I believe you make your happiness.
And we have been given the best gifts and what you do with those is up to you.
Mr. M has a great job, we have great friends and we are healthy.
Life is wonderful!

take care...

Wordless Wednesday

month of beef

what more is there to say!

and from a meat loving family, go eat some great beef.

a few of our favorites are Del Monaco's, T-Bones and of course hamburger.

happy Tuesday...

Recipe #4: Dirty Hamburgers...

I have to apologize but I didn't get to my recipe for April.  So here it is.

  It's one of my favorites... Dirty Hamburgers.

  The name says it all.  It's a meal between two buns. 

 It's super messy. Super yummy and very filling.  I hope you enjoy it!

Take one jar of this yummy dressing and one bag of slaw mix,
add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and mix well.

set aside to season...yumminess!

i usually make these on the weekend so i make extra.
4 lbs of hamburger to make 12 patties.

i add 4 Tablespoons of molasses, 1 tablespoon onion salt, 1 tablespoon garlic salt
mix well with clean hands.

then i divide the hamburger and make 12 patties.
i make a dent in the center of each patty with a spoon, then they don't bubble when you grill them.
put on the grill till cooked to your desired doneness.

while the burgers are grilling i cook up the onions and bacon.
add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to a pan,
cut one large onion in rings,
saute to a nice golden brown.

cook the bacon till its super crunchy.
when it cools crumble it up

i use honeyed buns.
put on mayo, put American and pepper jack cheese on the burger,
put on some of the onion, then some cole slaw,
drizzle with your favorite BBQ sauce,
add some of the bacon
then top with your other bun and squish together.
Make sure to have plenty of napkins or even paper towel.


Tada! its a Dirty Hamburger....

I hope you enjoy it!

Welcome to Blog world..

Some friends of ours have joined the blogger family.

Take a few minutes to check them out.

Say hi and make them fell welcom.

http//:vansicklecattleco.blogspot.com

Welcom to a great community Vansickles!



Wordless Wednesday

Bull Search

Several cattle men and women use Artificial Insemination to bred their cows.(ill do a post to explain)  Then follow up with a sire (bull) to catch anything that does not get pregnant.  In January there is a show in Denver called the National Western Stock Show.  During one weekend of this show all the new bulls for that year are on display.  Then you can see the actual bull and talk to the owners.
 Then shortly after that all the catalogs and fliers start coming about all the bulls available.  You don't actually get to use the bull.  You are purchasing a small straw filled with that particular bulls frozen semen.  But the big part is deciding what bull to breed to each of your cows.  You want to make the best possible calf you can.  So there are many discussions about what bull to breed to what cow and how when you combine the two hopefully you'll get this...  And there are many, many to choose from. And hopefully after all the decision making, ordering and breeding it is the best calf you can get from that sire and cow.

this is one of the most important magazines we get.
its as thick as a book
it has sales, bulls, shows everything the cattle lover needs.

these are just a few of the semen books that we get

this is the Simmental book..
super important here!

a sample of a page.
you get a small description of the bull, his sire and dam
who owns him, where to purchase his semen
and all of his epds and of course a picture of him

another sample.
there are many to a page in this book.

Choosing a bull can be time consuming.  But you want the best calf crop so it's worth it.  I hope your not too confused.  We are finalizing our who to breed who to.  But once its done we make a chart and hang it with the A.I. kit then we know exactly what cow is getting bred to what bull. 

 Happy breeding to everyone.