Branding 2014

Branding is kind of the day on a ranch that everyone looks forward to. It exciting and fun. This year was by far Dean and I most favorite, its so fun having the kids involved.  Trig made it so fun for us, he worked so hard all day. He came home extra dirty and tired but one happy little boy.

The kids were so excited to get to the corrals to brand, I'm pretty sure they didn't know what was going to happen but Dean told them it was fun and they couldn't get there fast enough. They immediately wanted to ride their horses. The horses were content staying out of the action which was fine with Joise and a little disappointing for the boy. 

KC started working here in November, he lives in Boise part of the time with the cows over there. He is such a nice kid. Everyone roped on young horses so it made for some good learning experiences. 

I tried to take a picture of the new corrals but they are just too big, this is the best I could come up with. They work great and Dean is really happy with them. 

Seriously this little guy was so funny. He was all over the place and very serious about his jobs. He wanted to do everything Dean was doing. When Dean roped he roped, when Dean worked the ground he worked the ground. He ran everywhere he went and didn't miss a beat all day, he was so worn out but he wouldn't admit it. 

I always like to get a good shot for PETA, mostly to crack myself up

He is a lucky little boy to grow up in a beautiful place with lots a space to run.

"watch out bud" he probably heard that 10 thousand times. 

I don't know how he didn't get hurt being in the action all day. 

Trig was in charge of the antiseptic spray and chasing the calves back to the herd (he made that last job up all on his own). He was really serious about the spray and usually paid attention to when they needed it, unless he was throwing it up in the air or trying to bury it. 

Trig really really wanted to rope a cow. Scout was happy staying in the corner for him to practice, I had to lead him into the cows a few times because Trig couldn't steer and rope at the same time. Each time I led him over there Trig threw his rope and was very honestly surprised he didn't catch a cow. Josie ended up leaving with Leann because the wind was blowing and she is only a friend of fair weather. Quincy however sat around and watched the action between naps. 

It was such a fun day enjoying my family and the night was a perfect ending. I was seriously the most serene feeling moving those cows. Just look at this beautiful place. This valley always has a beautiful yellow glow in the summer at sunset but it was especially perfect this night. 

Leann was nice enough to watch the girls so I could stay late and move the cows back to the hill with my boy. He was so funny trying to yell and whistle at the cows just like his dad does. I tried to trot ahead of him to get his picture and his horse wanted to go home bad enough he took off on a lope (it surprised me Scout had enough gumption and it certainly surprised Trig). He started squealing and I yelled for him to pull on the reins and tell him to walk. He did and Scout stopped. I told Trig he was an awesome cowboy and that he rode fast like dad. He was feeling like a million bucks and came home to tell Josie all about how fast he went.