Working Ranch Blog

I Fought Monday…And came out the one with a bloody nose. It all started this morning when I woke up to the sound of a thundershower. No one ever wants to get up at four-something on a Monday morning when it is raining outside; that is perfect sleeping weather. Well the road was dry by the time I made it to the yard so I was not that worried about getting soaked today. Those plans were changed come about 9 when I got caught in a down pour. There was no point in trying to stay dry by that point. Once I finished all of my work and the rain stopped, I managed to grab a sweatshirt out of my truck and be somewhat dry.

It has been a hot summer; granted, not as warm here in the Panhandle as it has been just to the east. We struggled to warm up to the 70s today and it rained all day. It was a great relief from the dry and heat, but because there was a light shower yesterday that helped to stir up a little dust, every bit of loose dirt turned into a slippery surface. It was like walking around in a giant slip-and-slide. I almost considered grabbing a pair of shorts and having some fun.

We were shipping some fat cattle today at noon, but because the rain caused problems at the plant, half of our pens did not ship today. The cowboys were glad to hear that. It would be so easy to call it quits in the rain and let the cattle care for themselves. But that would not be the right thing to do, now would it? We continued our work all day and the cowboys rode their pens, looking at every animal on the yard. It was a sloppy day, but we finished our work.

I managed to get soaked again and the a/c in the office gave me a chill as I was catching up on paperwork. So it was out to finish my work outside. Someone moved my Aueromycin crumbles over the weekend and it just so happened they were directly underneath a giant hole in the roof. Oh, joy! Feed manufacturers should really make those bags a little harder to break when they are wet. Safe to say it is one big mess now. I took the Mack truck out to water three pens of calves and we have been known to have a few fights. Today however, the Mack won and I came out with the bloody nose. I had a hold of the hose and when I shut off the valve, the pressure caused the hose to jump and hit me smack in the face. It was hard enough for me to see stars for a few minutes. I will have to get it back tomorrow.

It is safe to assume that as soon as I got home from work today, I passed out on the couch. Getting soaked, chilled, and beat up by this Monday was more than enough to wear me out. Despite all of these obstacles, we finished all of our work today. All of the cattle were fed and taken care of and I even managed to catch up on some paper work. No one can say we in the cattle business do not take pride in our work. I do not know many people who work in all sorts of weather conditions to care for things other than themselves. We should take pride in our hard work to raise cattle to feed the world. But I will say one thing, it would have been a good day to be a feed truck driver!

Do you have a story of fighting a Monday just to get the chores completed? Share with me by email (rjlgoodman@hotmail.com) or find me on Facebook and Twitter. Until next time, ARranchhand.