Shipping off the wheat pasture

We neighbored with the Goldsmiths this week and shipped off our rented pastures south of Abilene. South of Abilene is farm land for the most part, and cattle handling facilities are few and far between, which left us loading trucks with borrowed portable pens that weren't quite big enough to fit all the cattle into at once. I stayed nervous for several days to say the least, but all went off without a hitch thanks to the good help that was involved.

loading out

holding the next load

folding up

hooked up

ready to role

setting them back up

Pine Ridge Reservation land grab

http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/06/25/feds-threatening-third-wounded-knee-with-eminent-domain-land-grab-on-sioux-indian-reservation/

Avery and Bud are who I was helping on the branding in South Dakota. I have a lot of respect for these two and don't envy their fight, but I think it is a battle we all will face eventually if our government is not reined in. 

Damascus horn knots

These are used to tie your rope onto your saddle horn. They slide up the rope easily for quick removal. They are popular with calf and pasture ropers, any one that doesn't have time to dally, or absolutely, positively, needs the bovine caught, no matter what.
 In Texas we call this tying off hard and fast.

Busy

Believe it or not, I really have been busy in the shop. Bits, spurs, and knives, all in various stages of finish adorn the benches and tables of my cluttered work space. I shall work my way through this as I always do, hoping I don't make any one wait any longer than was expected.

I managed to get this knife finished this morning. Cow bone handle, 15n20/1084 damascus steel, and a 2 1/2" cutting edge. Thanks Mr. Pickle.

I received these two castrating knives back from the sheath maker, Armoralleather, last week. They are for sale, 200.00$ plus shipping.

Email for more details if interested.

The great bull catching of aught 14

We keep a few corriente bulls around to put with our heifers, and boy, are most of them a pain in the ass. They do real well as long as there are plenty of cows, but when they are finished at home, they like to roam. This one left home 2 weeks ago and we tracked him around the south part of the county with one or two of us trying to pen him when we would find him. Nothing worked, fences don't mean anything to him and he is a master at hiding out in the brush. I might also mentioned that the neighbors don't like these bulls hanging out in their good cattle for obvious reasons. For the neighbor reason, we called in the cavalry this morning and went and got him.
 He was tough to get out of the brush, and when he left it, it was to jump a fence.  We got lucky on gates being close, and he finally made the mistake of breaking out in an open pasture where he was promptly trapped in a nylon corral.
 I think this one will go to the sale barn before the town folk are carrying pitch forks and torches on the road to my house.

Thanks to Clay for sharing a few pictures, and getting the first loop on him.

More pictures from South Dakota

You can click on the pictures to see a larger image.