Farmbook

My daughter and I attended the Siskiyou County Cattlewomen luncheon/meeting today where we we were encouraged by Jeff Fowle to join the agricultural social networking craze (who knew?) and I remembered that I had started a blog. Facebook and Twitter are still beyond me. It turns out there is actually a name for what people like me have: " Facebook Anxiety Disorder" or FAD. I'm serious. Blogging seems a little more my pace. Well, considering it's been 5 months since I've posted anything, maybe I'm exaggerating my skill in this area. But I was encouraged to know that keeping a diary of ranch events online is actually a "thing".

So what's been happening on the Bryan-Morris Ranch since August? First, I have to brag slightly. My daughter, Emma, was attending the SCCW luncheon with me because she is the 8th grade California State winner for the "Imagine This" writing contest. You can check out her story, "Late Night Lambing" at http://www.cfaitc.org/. The fun aspect of her story is how authentic it is. We got the ultimate seal of approval from Melanie Fowle, who told Emma she could tell she really knew about lambing.


So speaking of lambing, that's what we're doing right now. The first set of triplets came last week and we're up to 23 lambs already. So far no fatalties and I don't have any lambs stinking up my dining room. We band the tails and that smell of rotting flesh curbs even the heartiest appetite. I grew up on this ranch, but livestock in the house is still a bit much for me.


The cows made it home from the mountains looking better than ever. I'm jealous of how our cows get to spend their summer: up in the Marbles overlooking the valley, with a view of Mt. Shasta no less! No wonder they look so good when they come out. If happy cows come from California, then ecstatic cows come from the Northern California mountains!


We sold our yearlings at the Cattlemen's Sale in early January and got a fairly decent price. Hay is selling better than last year (although that isn't saying much), so things appear to be looking up in the ranching world.

Emma is switching to beef for her Fair project this year, so she and some friends were just out working with their steers. The boys just took their dogs to shut in the sheep and now are back to playing X-Box. Sometimes I'm so amazed at what we take for granted living here. There are plenty of times I wish I lived on concrete, next to a mall and a Starbucks, but then there are days like today when I realize there's something special about ranch life and it seems to get inside of our kids in a way that can't be replicated anywhere else.



Hopefully I'll remember to blog more often. Until then, Happy Ranching!