11.22.2009

hangin' with the cows.

a few weeks ago, i was lucky enough to attend a day of "calf-shipping" with my friend, sara. (her parents are the ones that own my favorite vacation destination.) calf shipping is a long, long process. we were up at the crack of dawn and we worked hard until the early evening. granted, the trucks were all late, but still...it was a long day. anyway, without further ado here are the pictures. note that these photos are not in any specific order.
these guys were the ones who got to do real "cowboy shit." i mean, we all did cowboy stuff, but riding a horse trumps everything else.

sara and fergie. fergie is the funniest dog. she tries to be human. but you kinda have to be there. anyway.

just bill. and his horse. at the crack of dawn.

one mighty hefty scale. we would load about 15 to 20 calves on the scale...and they weigh about 500 pounds each. mighty hefty, i tell ya.

sara and her dad's pride and joy...it's a pretty sweet rig. i think it used to be red, though. i like the blue better.

this is where i spent a good portion of the day. i would count calves as they came off the scale and herd them into another pen. good times.

not a real good picture of the calves penned up. they were screaming and bellowing. this is the first time they are away from their mothers. it really is a traumatic day for them. but such is life.

just a random picture of the alley. these are sara's brothers...bud on the left and bill on the right. but like it matters. i realize it is the back of their heads. get over it. gosh.

kallie (sara's sister-in-law and bride at the best wedding ever) and fergie, the friendly dog.

just a picture of the guys separating calves. they separate them by size/weight (not actual size and weight...just a total judgment call) into several pens and then they are sold and shipped by size/weight. like i said...shipping calves is a long, long process.

tim, on the right, is the man in charge of this operation. he is one funny guy, but he runs a tight ship. he is a man who knows what he wants and how he wants it done. a trait he passed on to his oldest boy, sonny...but that's another story for another day. let's just say, my work day ended when sonny let me know how he wanted things done.

oh, and no...that's not kenny rogers on the right. hahaha.

just more separation.

a view of the whole operation.

sara with the cattle prod. i'd say that using that thing was 75% of the fun. don't judge.

why yes, that is cow poop on my face. and yes, i did patiently wait for a photo to be snapped before wiping said poop off my face.

it was quite eventful. a highlight of the fall, for sure. i love doing manual labor once a year. that's plenty enough for me. that manual labor stuff is for the birds, but i'll step up...just once a year, though.

that's all.

11.01.2009

insight.

i love the sound of: my niece and nephews fighting over the phone...i love that they all want to talk to me.

i love the sight of: amazing halloween costumes. saw some really good ones this year. saw some really bad ones, too.

i love the taste of: tootsie rolls. they are my most favorite candy ever. seriously.

i love the smell of: bon fires. i love a good bon fire. sobe bombs and all.

i love the feel of: the holidays. not so much halloween, but the holidays after halloween.