Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Just as I suspected, the first guy I talked to did not want the job so I offered it to the next guy. His references checked out so there was no reason not to offer it to him. I wasn't as impressed with him as with the first guy but who knows, he might surprise me. Worse come to worse he will help get through shipping.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. Meister Eckhart

I interviewed a guy yesterday for the job. He looks very promising. He has been doing this kind of work for a long time so should know what he is doing and handle it well. I am not to sure his wife was happy with the housing situation is the only thing I noticed. It's not the best in the world, I admit, but when you have people in it that don't take care of it, you don't want to have too good of place.

My Darling Wife spent all morning yesterday cleaning the place up so we could show it to this guy coming for an interview. They had dogs which they assured us were house broken. Looking at all the urine stains all over the house and the smell of the place I guarantee you the dogs were not house broken. What a mess. She hauled out a whole pickup load of garbage and junk out of the house and did a lot of cleaning up. She said the worse thing in all of it was the cupboard full of used sanitary napkins she found. Why is it so hard to throw that kind of stuff away instead of storing it?

Back to the interview though, this is just the kind of place this guy is looking to work on. He said that most ranch jobs now are working for some rich asshole that bought the place and runs it as just a hobby. There are all kinds of those jobs out there. The problem is that they don't know what they are doing and do just stupid stuff that he can't stand. He wants a job on an old fashioned ranch where the owners are there full time and making a living off of the place. Those jobs are really scarce according to him.

My darling wife was a little concerned about his age. She thought he was getting a little long in the tooth when she was looking at his resume. I did point out that he was only 5 years older than me so I didn't see that as too bad. She agreed after I pointed that out. Sometimes we have a hard time realizing how old we are getting around here.

This guy said that he would let me know in a few days what their decision is. I am inclined to hire him if he wants the job, but I am not to sure they will want it. We'll see.

Balancing a job and a family is not the hardest thing to achieve. It’s second. (Right after world peace.) Barbara Dale

Well, the hired hand is gone. He told me he would leave Thursday and he did. He snuck out of here in the middle of the night. The shape he left the living quarters I don't blame him and his wife for sneaking out. Totally disgusting. My Darling Wife is not looking forward to cleaning the pig sty up.

Some people's children need to learn manners. What little sympathy I had for his situation is now gone.

To raise a son without learning is raising an ass; to raise a daughter without learning is raising a pig. Chinese proverb.

Well, no surprise, the Hired Hand quit yesterday morning. I assumed after his doctor appointment on Monday he would. From my discussions with him I figured he was going to opt for surgery over medicine to fix his heart condition. They are going to crack his chest open and either fix or replace his heart valve on Monday. It's sure happening fast, it must be pretty bad. Thirty six and heart trouble. I feel for the guy. The only question I have, and it's none of my business, is where is he getting the money for this surgery. He couldn't even afford to buy food and gas at the end of the month and now he's going in for heart surgery and neither he nor his wife are working. It's gotta be tough.

Now my search for a new Hired Hand begins. Shipping coming up in a month and a half. Is it ever going to be fun around here. The Hired Hand tried to apologize for quitting saying, "I never planned for this to happen." I told him "None of us ever do, it's just this thing called life and we all just have to muddle through." Now to follow my own advice.

Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart's desire; the other is to get it. George Bernard Shaw

On a rare occasion I have hope that the hired hand is coming around and will be a really good man to have around. The other day he independently remembered that there was a stretch of fence needed fixing before we turned cattle into a pasture and went and fixed it. That really made me feel good. Boy, doesn't it say something when something so minor gives me hope?

The Ray of hope I was seeing was dashed yesterday though when the same old stuff seemed to happen again. We were moving a few cattle out of a pasture, boy it felt good to be riding a horse again, I had spent too many hours on a tractor, and from a distance I had spotted a few cows on a hillside near our destination so knew we had to get them. When we got down by the gate I asked the hired Hand if he had ridden up on the hill and got the cows up there. He said he had. I quizzed him further informing him there was a hole or two there and wondering if he had rode it out good or just glanced around. He said he rode it out real good and there were no cattle left up there. I decided to take his word for it and we kicked the cows out and went about our business.

About an hour later we came back by the spot in the pickup and coming off the hill were two pairs. I kicked them out the gate with the pickup and decided I had better go look to see if there were any more cows up there. I got to the top of the hill and there were more cattle standing around, in the same spots I had seen them, under some trees. The hired hand said they weren't there when he rode the area but they were in the same spot I had seen therm earlier so I know better. I kicked them out with the pick up and went on our way.

We then went to the new monster tank which we had filled with water the day before to make sure everything was all right. It looked pretty good from a distance but on closer inspection I found some water seeping out from quite a few spots and was dismayed. I thought the damn think with concrete in the bottom was supposed to seal better than that. I got to studying the situation and finally came to the conclusion that quite a few of the seams were leaking around the bolts for some reason. I was sure we had tightened all the bolts good so I couldn't figure out why we were leaking water around some of the bolts.

I decided to try to tighten some of the bolts to see what would happen. I was a little concerned I would tighten them too much and break the bolts so i wanted to be careful. I reached into the tank on the first one I wanted to tighten and very carefully went to tighten it a little. Shit!! It was plumb loose. I tightened it up good and tight and checked some others and found them equally as loose.

To make a long story short, all the bolts on the tank that the hired hand had tightened were loose and quite a few were leaking. I thought any idiot could tighten a bolt tight enough but I guess I learned different. I got most of the seeps stopped but one. The bolts on that one are partially in the cement so i couldn't tighten them. It's not enough water seeping to be a problem this year and nest year when the tank is empty I will have to tar up those bolts to stop the leak for good.

So I really despair that this gut will ever make a hand. Maybe I should start looking again and fire this guy if I find somebody more suitable. I'm tired of the whole thing.

We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. Albert Einstein

Well, This new guy has been here a week now and I can all ready see that this is not going to work out. He is the typical "cowboy" that a person seems to get. So what's a typical "cowboy" type? Lazy, know nothing, person who thinks they can do it all and can't even figure out how to open and close a gate. Literally, this guy has a hard time with gates my 11 year old can open and close. We were at a neighbors branding yesterday and he was told to wrestle calves. He hung back and wrestled a few, most of those he let up or had other trouble with. Finally he was given a kids job because that was the only thing he seemed to be able to handle.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect as much ambition or work ethic as the last guy that worked here, who didn't, by the way, call himself a cowboy, he was the exception but I was hoping for a little better than I have seen so far. I've only wanted to fire him twice so far in less than a week. Not a good sign.

Work is the curse of the drinking classes. Oscar Wilde

Gathering the last of the pairs and the drys. The drys are going to market. There are fewer than normal for me so it was a pretty good year last year with an easy calving season. Taken 5/8/2006.

About a month ago I talked about kicking the last of the pairs out to pasture. I then kicked everything that didn't have a calf on it into another pasture to get them off the alfalfa fields. There was some that could calve yet in the bunch along with stuff that was dry or lost calves. I wanted the dry stuff to gain some weight and the heavy ones to calves before I sent them to market. It worked.

I gained another almost 30 calves and have a semi load of nice fat drys on the market for sale. Things are going great and the big branding is coming up soon. Now if I could just get a good feel for the new hired man everything would be great. While gathering this bunch of cattle he got bucked off his horse twice and this horse has never once bucked since I've had him. We will see.

It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. Roger Babson

Well, I have a hire hand again. I ended up hiring the guy I was talking to. Nice, well spoken guy with experience and qualifications. With hundreds of farm and ranch jobs in the area, why did he want to come work here? This just bothers me. I finally decided to try him but I have never had such an easy time finding somebody or have somebody so anxious to work here. It makes me suspicious. Hope that doesn't affect my relationship with him. Time will tell.

I have one neighbor who has been looking for a hired man for two years now. I asked him recently if he was still looking for a guy or had he given up. He said "yes." I had to laugh. I wonder what he will think of me finding a new hand 5 days after the old hand left? I bet he won't be happy. I think he needs to try a little harder personally, but what do I know.

The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers. Deepak Chopra

I know, I know, I'm a little behind schedule. I should have turned the bulls out to the yearling replacement heifers 2 days ago but I didn't. I felt that getting the seeding done was more important. The seeding is done though. What a relief. That has been praying at my mind for over a week now and I am glad to get that monkey off my back.

Lacking a hired man I have to prioritize somewhere and the bulls got put off. They will go out this morning though to do their job. I will start calving a couple of days later but it really shouldn't make a difference. I won't say I am behind on doing things right now but I am not ahead either. I am just keeping up with getting things done. The next few weeks are pretty scheduled in on what needs to happen at what time to keep on schedule.

I have interviewed on person for the job so far. He is very interested in the job which really concerns me. Anybody that interested in this job with the job market the way it is really smells like trouble to me. There are lots of jobs out around the country and anybody who is this anxious to come out here worries me. The last two times I dealt with somebody this anxious to come work here they both were wanted by the law and were looking for a place to hide and being this far away from things looked like a good place to hide. I will call his references and mull the situation over. I'm not too sure.

On the way home the other day I noticed how nice and green it was around the country. It sure is pretty out. Hope it continues on this nice.



So what I think we could aim for in the way of human civilization and culture would be a system in which we are all highly aware of our existing interconnection and unity with the whole domain of nature, and therefore do not have to go to all sorts of wild extremes to find that union. Alan Watts

My Darling Wife always tells me that bad things happen in packets of three. I'm waiting for the third one.

To start with the little lady, the last bum I found, died last night. It wasn't particularly surprised by this. I had fed it and doctored on it but I could not get it over the scours and she slowly slid down hill. So, one bad thing.

Then The hired man informed me he is moving on. He wants to finish the month out then he is on his way to Arkansas to set up mobile homes. We had been riding pretty hard the past couple of weeks and he said that the riding was a lot tougher than he thought and that is why he is quitting. I don't know but I have to take his word for it. I will keep him working until he leaves, what else can I do?

So now the search begins yet again for a hired man. Home early to make phone calls, get ads on the Job Service and generally work towards finding a new person. Awful short notice in a busy time of year so I will be short handed for a while. The other problem is that most people doing this kind of work probably all ready have work lined out for themselves this late in the spring season so finding someone will be tough.

Quick little pity party ahead so read at your own risk. Continue reading "Waiting For The Next Blow" »

The hired man trailing in pairs to the corner. We had brought plenty to the corner, more than was easy to handle, but we won in the long run. Got most of thewm sorted and out the gate. Taken 4/11/2006.



The cows scattering out on thier new pasture. The fresh grass really stopped them in thier tracks. Usually they move on better. Taken 4/11/2006.

It finally turned warm and spring like so it's time to get ready to turn everything out into the hills. I see a little green grass starting to poke its head through so it's time. I've had the hired man checking out fences in the pastures we will be going out to so that they are cow tight and will be safe for the critters. It also allows him to learn the pastures a little better. He got here about the time I started feeding so he hasn't been out in the summer country much at all so it's a good learning experience for him. He sure has proved to be a hard worker so that is good. I'm still not real sure his wife likes it here but I will make good use of him while he is here.

I went to send him out on the 4 wheeler to start checking fences and he got less than a mile away and the machine broke down and he had to walk back. He felt so bad because he was sure that he broke it and I would blame him. Turns out the oil drain plug was stripped out, had leaked all the oil out, and wrecked the engine. Not really his fault so I couldn't blame him, even though I'm not real sure how the oil plug got stripped out, it's just the way things happen sometimes. I am getting the 4 wheeler fixed now and should have it back in a couple of weeks. Makes it a lot harder for him to check fences without it since he is not enough of a cowboy to trust riding the fences horseback but he will get it done. A lot of walking involved in some places but you have to do what you have to do.



Just an example of the warm weather around here. The calves are sure enjoying it. Sleeping in the sun seems to be their favorite past time.

I also tried out the video function on my camera here the other day. You will find a short clip I took here (4MB) to see what it looks like. I wasn't overly impressed with it but it's interesting. I might have to try again. Let me know what you think.

Man has but three events in his life: to be born, to live, and to die. He is not conscious of his birth, he suffers at his death and he forgets to live. Jean de la Bruyere

So far I've been real happy with the new hired man. He works hard and pitches in whenever necessary. I like that. I have come across one thing since we started calving heifers that I don't like. If a cow turns and faces him he runs off.

Now understand, when you are dealing with 1000 lb cows who have just had a baby they can be a little touchy about a human messing with them or their calves. You have to be aware and alert. The thing is though, these are first calf heifers who aren't real sure about taking a human. Ninety eight percent of the time when a heifer comes at you she is all bluff. She is charging you trying to scare you off but she won't actually take you. Don't get me wrong, having this 1000 lb critter charging at you is scary but you can read the signs and know if she's bluffing or not by the look in her eyes. If you stand your ground, look them in the eyes and don't take a step backwards they will back off and leave you alone. The trick here is to recognize the 2% of the time it's not a bluff and they are serious. The other trick is not to turn and leave when they are calmly walking towards you. At least make sure they are charging at you, not just walking by you.

The hired man doesn't have the intestinal fortitude, guts, to stand there and call their bluff. If they turn and just walk towards him he turns and leaves the country. In a way that is extremely dangerous since the cow now knows she can scare you and chase you off so the odds that she is bluffing when she takes you are quite a bit less. She now has confidence in her ability to take a human and will do so more easily and often. I've tried to explain this to him but it doesn't help. He still turns and runs.

Oh well, you have to take the good with the bad. I've just started leaving him back when I'm working with a heifer that has an attitude. It might be a little more dangerous to me but the cow won't learn any bad habits that way. Maybe by watching me he will figure it out, but if you don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a cow, I doubt you ever will. I do have to keep reminding myself, he said he was no cowboy.

A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse. Will James

When I hired my new hired hand he was real upfront that he wasn't a cowboy and that his skills on a horse were not very good. Hell, he doesn't even have a saddle which is almost a sin in my book if you want to do this kind of work but what the heck, beggars can't be choosers. Any riding I've had to do since he came I've done myself so I wouldn't have to deal with the situation.

Yesterday I spotted a cow with a touch of foot rot so I bit the bullet and decided to put him on a horse and see how things went while we got the cow in. To kill two birds with one stone I also decided to get in a two-year old heifer that crawled in with the cows a while ago that I had just left there. She was doing fine so she wasn't hurting anything but it's close to calving now so time to get her in.

Back to the hired hand though. I was pleasantly surprised, yes he is no cowboy, but he has more skill on a horse and in the corral working cattle than quite a few guys I've had working here who claimed they were a hand and turned out to be total bums. Hopefully he will improve over time but he is definitly somebody who tries and is willing to learn. Good deal as far as I'm concerned.



Here is the two-year old and cow trailing into the corral. We got the cow doctored and brought her home so she could heal up. She got a little owley by the time we loaded her but she is not bad, just a little upset with us. Don't blame her, jab me with a needle and shove pills down my throat and I would be a little owley too.

I don't get upset over things I can control, because if I can control them there's no sense in getting upset. And I don't get upset over things I can't control, because if I can't control them there's no sense in getting upset. Mickey Rivers