Branding

Husband's mom, nephew & niece, and I went to his uncle's branding this weekend - what a fun experience!! We picked up the kiddos and headed up to Ainsworth. We ate supper with Grandma, and I was able to spend the evening talking with Husband's cousin and her wonderful family, which I enjoyed so much. We chit-chatted with Grandma and another uncle before we all crashed into bed to get ready for the next day. We got to the branding just as they were setting up for the second "grouping" of branding, so I got to see it all from start to finish. (yes, this next part is the city girl's version of branding, and I'm sure there are lots of mistakes and I probably use the wrong words a lot... It was pretty obvious who the city girl was - I was the one with the clueless look on my face most of the time, the one that was intrigued by everything going on around her, the one that had a big diamond ring on her finger and diamond earrings- okay, so most of the people there were guys and wouldn't usually have the last two, but still - I think it was blindingly obvious who the 'new girl' was!! There will be lots of pictures later, but they are all on someone else's camera! You'd be proud, Dad, I took lots and lots.) They put up a "fence" in the pasture and set up the brands - the fire that heats them is fueled by propane. Real cowboys (I felt like I was in a movie or something!!) had on their hats, boots, and chaps and saddled up on their horses with their lassos to round up the cattle. They herded the cattle into the now set up fence, and the sorting began. There were people in the fence with sorting sticks who pushed out the mama cows, and individuals right outside the fence on horse and on foot who caught sneaky little calves with their lassos and dragged them back inside. Once all the mamas were out, the branding process began. Three to four individuals would rope a calf, bring it to the fence perimeter, and two waiting wranglers would tackle it to the ground and drag it to one of the three open "stations." Individuals were assigned to give the calves their shots and mark them as having received them. Other individuals were on branding duty - there were two irons that make up this particular brand - and they would rotate among waiting calves when their irons were ready. It was so well orchestrated and just amazing to watch how they each got their job done with such skill and efficiency. Yes, I even held down one calf. Husband's cousin was kind enough to find me a really small calf to work with, and his other cousin helped me out with how to hold and keeping the calf under control!! Yes, it was just one I did, but I say, "I did one!!!" making sure to leave out the "just" part! After they got done with the branding, Husband's aunt and cousin put on the biggest spread of food I've ever seen two people make!!! They had ham, brisket, mashed potatoes and gravy, taco salad, macaroni salad, pineapple salad, crescent rolls, deviled eggs, pecan pie, chocolate pie, butterscotch pie, cream puffs, and even more - all homemade, from scratch. WOW!! There were a little less than 45 other ranchers and kids who helped out with the branding - they all rotate among ranches and help out. They all bring their pickups with their horse trailer behind so their horses can help out, too. It was just something else to see all the trucks with horse trailers, and see all the people, and watch this whole process from start to finish. I am so happy we decided to go up there; it was just such a fun and unique experience!!