Zucchini

We woke up to a skiff of snow yesterday morning.  TR got pretty excited when he saw it on the deck and thought I should get the snow shovel out and shovel it off the deck.  Can you imagine me in my pj's and flip flops shoveling snow?!!  Fortunately for me it had all burned off by the time I got dressed for the day.

The skiff of snow did put me in a baking mood though.  In August my friend Timmy gave me a couple of 8 ball zucchini.  Normally they are dark black in color and a little bigger than an 8 ball (hence the name).  These were 8 ball zucchini on steroids.  I think I got about 20 cups of shredded zucchini, and about 20 lbs.  Who wants to bake in a house without air conditioning in August?  Not me, so I froze it all in 4 cup increments, thinking that When I was ready to make zucchini bread I would just pull out a package and go.  Great in theory right?

My first problem was that the recipe I found only called for 2 cups of zucchini.  No biggie, I'll just double the recipe I thought.  So I started mixing the 4 cups zucchini, 6 eggs, 4 cups of  sugar, 2 cups of oil etc.  My mixer was full before I could even think about the dry ingredients.  That's alright  I'll just use my really really big bowl, and everything fit.  So I am sitting there looking at all of this batter thinking to myself what was I thinking?  I don't even have 4 bread pans, and I already have a loaf of cinnamon bread rising on the oven.  Stop the Presses!  Light bulb has come on!  I will make muffins!

So I drag out the muffin tins.  3 dozen mini muffins later in the nonstick pan, 1 dozen regular muffins in the Pam coated muffin tin, I remembered that I actually had those nifty paper cups that you put in the tins and you have less clean up etc.  Oops!  That's alright though, one pan is non stick and the other one I used Pam on, and just enough batter left for 1 loaf of bread.  I was even able to fit everything in the oven at the same time!

This would be a great time to mention that I hate my cook stove.  For one thing, it doesn't heat evenly, and it is about 25 degrees colder than what it says it is.  For two, it isn't level.  But guess what, I forgot all of that.  Within about 15 minutes it was smoking, and smelled like burnt sugar.  No big deal, it's probably just burning off something that boiled over previously.  (If you wondered, I don't bake often)! 

The timer went off and yep, sure enough everything was done.  Some more than others.  Some a lot more than others.  Some were black.  Only 4 were really black, and they were easily removed from evidence.  TR was excited, but I made him wait until they cooled off  so we wouldn't get burned.  Mini muffins would be perfect for him.  After 5 minutes I couldn't handle the "Mom.....Mom.....MOM!!!" anymore and went to get him a muffin.  Guess what.  That's right.  Those bad boys were not coming out of that tin for anything.  Non stick my foot!  We improvised and ate half a tin of mini muffins with a fork.  They weren't that great.

Mine didn't come out like this.  This is what I envisioned my zucchini bread looking like, but no such luck.

What I learned yesterday morning:

1.  Make sure you like a recipe before you use half a dozen eggs, 6 cups of flour and 4 cups of sugar doubling it.

2.  Wilton lies.  Just because they say their muffin tin is non stick doesn't mean it is. 

3.  If you have those nifty little paper liners, use them!  Then you might not even have to wash the tin when you are done.  (Mine is still soaking).

4.  Just because 3 muffin tins and 2 loaves of bread will fit in your oven should you try to bake all of them at the same time.  Next time we will try maybe 2 muffin tins at a time, or 2 loaves of bread at a time....If we ever try again!

Oh yeah, and if you have a really good zucchini bread recipe, I still have 16 cups/pounds in my freezer!

Fall Works

Yesterday was going to be TR's first day of "real" cowboying, all by himself on his own horse!  The plan was to gather a field of cows and push them through a gate.  Unfortunately for TR his mom is a fair weather cowboy and when we looked out the window that morning and saw all the rain, mom chickened out!  We were hoping that maybe we could get it done today instead, but no such luck!  I think the weather is even worse today, gale force winds and rain coming at you sideways.  We did get his horse for him yesterday afternoon and let him ride around the yard for awhile.  We have an awesome horse for him to ride.  His name was "Oats," but for some reason TR thinks his horse is supposed to be named "Marley."  No idea where that came from, but every horse he comes across is named "Marley."  If there are 2 horses standing in the field, both are named "Marley."  If one is  black and the other is a palomino, they are "Black Marley" and "Yellow Marley."  At least he's getting his colors figured out!

"Oats/Marley" handles awesome for a little kid.  TR even had him spinning...nice and slow, but pretty nice.  The other great thing about him is you give TR the reins and the horse will follow you where ever you go.  TR thinks he's calling the shots, but really you are.

I think summer is finally over.  About time right?  This last week has definitely been silk scarf weather in the mornings, and from the sounds of things next week will be even cooler.  Bring on winter so we can get to branding season!

Fall!

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year (just like calving in the winter, branding in the spring, and doctoring all summer)!  The leaves are turning and fall works are in full swing, and I'm trying not to miss a thing!  We've been shipping out calves and yearlings, pregging heifers, and have brought the cows home.  We still have a lot to get done before it snows.  I don't think that will happen anytime soon though!

October has been beautiful!  I helped the cowboss ride a couple of days last week and just loved it.  Cool, crisp mornings and frisky horses make my day!  Animals are pretty healthy around here though, we haven't hardly roped a thing!

The cowboss got a new horse last week.  We named him "Tater" and the cowboss was quite impressed with him after he road him the first time.  He's a good looking horse, quick on his feet, and wants to watch a cow.  We even roped a yearling that day and he worked the rope awesome.  He rode him again on Friday, and I guess I missed one helluva bronc ride!  "Tater" might take a few more miles before I get on him!

This coming week we are shipping out several truckloads of bred heifers,weaning, and processing our calves.  No rest for the wicked, but looking forward to every minute of it!  Don't let your powder cake.  =)

Back to Work

How do moms with full time 9-5 jobs do it?  I started teaching at GBC this fall, I'm only teaching 2 classes, 6 credits total, and I feel like I am about to go under!  Seriously, I teach for 75 minutes a day, 4 days a week.  I can't keep my house clean, I don't cook, unless I have to feed a cowboy crew.  I'm horrible about returning phone calls or emails, and I haven't been on top of the laundry in this house for what feels like a month!  Don't get me started on how far behind I am on my cinch orders!

Today I was supposed to help preg check the remainder of our breeder heifers.  And feed the crew lunch afterwards.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I didn't have a babysitter, and since we got home so late last night the Cowboss thought he could get by without my help outside, as long as I cooked a good lunch for everyone.  (You know, sure I will watch the boys for an hour or two so you can run to town and get groceries....I can only watch them for 2 hours and I need you to stop at the hardware store, feed store, and auto parts stores and get this this this and this.  What do you mean you didn't have time to get groceries to and have to go back tomorrow?)  So we got up at 5:30...these kids do not sleep in.  I made a baked cheese steak, pasta salad, cabbage salad, and brownies.  Got 2 loads of laundry done, and the table set just in time for Travis to call at 11 and say that there were 5 of them and they were on their way to the house for lunch.  A crew of 7 guys came in for lunch.  Got that all cleaned up just in time to run to the High School and pick  up the babysitter.  I dropped her and the boys off and was 5 minutes late for class.  Of course I didn't get my homework done in time, and felt so unprepared for class!  I feel like I just run and run and run and don't make any progress at all!

Classing Yearlings in Mountain City

Well, I have not been very diligent about my blog this summer, and it isn't for lack of content!  It seems like I just run and run, and can't seem to get everything done!  Now, fair is just around the corner!

A couple of days ago I went to Mountain City to help my mom and dad class some yearlings to ship to American Falls tomorrow.  I didn't tell the boys where I was going, just that I was going to go to work, and they would have to go to the babysitter.  TR sure thought he needed to go to work with me.  I was explaining to him how he didn't want to go to work with me, my boss is a slave driver!  I told him there would be no cartoons or pink chocolate milk, just work because mom's boss is a slave driver.  In true TR form, he looked up at me and said "But mom...You aren't a slave driver."  I think he has me all figured out!  I can't wait until both TR and QT are big enough to come and help horseback on these easy days.

Things have changed a lot on the home ranch since I left.  I was only there about 30 minutes before my brother and I had something roped and stretched out!  Growing up, we never roped anything outside if it needed to be doctored.  We trailed them home and ran them through the chute.  I think a lot of that was because my dad had 3 great cowboys, but they weren't much for roping outside of the branding trap, and heading and heeling a 650 calf is a lot different from heeling a 100 baby calf.  Then you throw the fact that my dad is left handed into the mix, and you have a potential wreck, when you are 12 years old and trying to rope with him!

We had to wait on the scale man, so we didn't get as early of a start as we wanted to get to work classing the yearlings.  Then we had a heck of a time getting them corralled.  We got them classed though, and the lights kicked back out and the heavies trailed home, so they should be set for tomorrow.  I had a great day and wish I lived closer and had a full time nanny so I could help them more often!

I hate spraying weeds!

If you want to see me loose my cool and be very cranky, just ask me to spray some weeds for you.  It ruins my day real quick!   If cowboys don't have to spray weeds, why do cowgirls?  I would much rather be horseback than spraying weeds!

For starters, it is July and it is hot!  Being on irrigated pasture, it is also muggy.  Don't get me started on the bugs.  Mosquitoes try their best to eat you alive.  Even with a long sleeve shirt, long pants and a hat, bug spray doesn't even phase them.  Not to mention the bugs in your eyes and teeth, just driving down the road to get to where you need to spray.

Then there is equipment.  I have a great spray rig for the 4-Wheeler.  It holds 25 gallons, has an electric motor and long hose so if you cant get right on top of the weed, you can get off and walk 5 feet to it.  It is awesome for a rosebush here, white top there, spurge, or the occasional thistle.  Unfortunately, I don't have the occasional weed to spray, I have the occasional acre!  So I drive 6 feet, spray, backup, pull ahead 6 feet, spray, backup, pull ahead, you get the picture.  I get frustrated that I've been spraying for an hour in one place, and only have  an area the size of my house done.

Let's talk 4-Wheelers.  I love them, and would kiss the guy who invented them.  They are small, go fast, can go just about anywhere, and you can even ram a cow if needed and not really hurt them (the 4-Wheeler that is).  I am not sure what was ram repeatedly with our ranch 4-Wheeler.  The handlebars go one direction, the front tires a different direction.  Brakes?  No, we don't need no stinking brakes!  Actually I would prefer them.  Driving down the road the other day, I got to going a little too fast, missed my turn and had to coast into the neighbors drive way to turn around and go back to my turn.  A little embarrassing when the neighbor and one of his friends were right there watching me and asking if everything was okay.  (They might have heard me swear when I realized I was going to miss the turn)!  The transmission is shot.  I think that whoever ruined the brakes started throwing the 4-Wheeler in reverse to stop it.  Needless to say it doesn't always catch a gear when it needs to.

I think I mentioned we are on irrigated pastures.  That means there is water everywhere!  Oh yeah, and the grass?  Taller than the 4-Wheeler in some places.  Not that I am complaining, but unless you've been in the pasture horseback, it's kind of hard to find weeds if they are shorter than the grass.  Water = Mud.  Mud = Stuck.  You have to drive fast enough to not get bogged down in the mud.  Not much of an issue if you have brakes and need to stop to spray something, or come up on a ditch.  Ditches are kind of hard to find if you don't know where they are, and impossible to miss without brakes!

So, I have spent this morning being eaten alive by mosquitoes, water up to my knees, my hands are dyed blue from HiLite, and I'm stiff and sore from hitting ditches going too fast!  Is it too early for a glass of wine?!!

Happy Birthday to me!

     Okay, so I am a week late!  I'm just so excited about the horse colt I bought for myself!  It just so happened that we picked him up on my birthday, so he was kind of a birthday present.  Now, I'm not the kind of girl that gets myself a gift for my birthday.  I might tell my husband what he is getting me for my birthday (more on that later!), but I never buy something for myself and say it is for my birthday.  Since we've cleared that up, lets talk more about my new horse!  He is a yearling, and is going to be huge!  I may need a step stool to climb on him here in about a year when we start him, but he will be big enough to doctor yearlings on and drag calves to the fire.  2 very important things in my line of work.  His daddy is KayCee Image A Glo (Imager for short), and his momma is a double bred Sugar Doc Dan mare.  Those of you who know me well, know that my pride and joy is a fat sorrel horse known as "Cricket"  his daddy was Sugar Doc Dan.  So with my new baby, I have the best of both worlds.  Sugar Doc Dan who's babies like women and kids, watch a cow, and love to rope, and Imager who is beautiful and throws really kind, gentle babies.  I expect grand things from this little guy!  So far he is living up to my expectations.  We were able to halter and lead him into the trailer the day we picked him up (that was a first for him!), and what little ground work I've been doing with him, he picks up quick!  Don't worry, you will all be hearing a lot about my new horse!

     Everybody ready for the 4th of July?  We are going on a picnic/drive with the Bieroth Family.  This has turned into quite the event.  It started out as a drive with my parents and a couple of cousins several years ago to somewhere close, just to see some new country and enjoy each other's company.  This year it is going to be probably 5 or 6 vehicles and several Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins!  The big excitement this year is that The Cowboss is picking the tour.  When he worked for Simplot, he learned a lot of the history of the homesteads between Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada, and the cool part, is that a lot of them were homesteaded by our family, so we are going to have a great time learning a little about our ancestors!  I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy their families this weekend like we will!

I know I should just let The Cowboss do his own shopping for me, if he feels like it for my birthday, Christmas, etc.  Let's face it.  Left up to him, I wind up with a pat on the back, or something I never really wanted and then feel obligated to use/wear it.  I know it is the thought that counts and all that good stuff, but if he is going to spend money on something, it might as well be something I want, and really, he is much happier if I just tell him what to get me.  This year is no different!  A little birdie told me she had a lead on some puppies.  Rat Terrier puppies to be exact.  Those who know me and know me well, know I have been wanting a Rat Terrier puppy for years and years and years!  I've come really close a couple of times with a couple of Border Rats (my own special breed of Rat Terrier and Border Collie, great cow dogs, and very good with kids), but never my own full blown Rat Terrier.  Fingers crossed it will work out this time!

My blog wouldn't be complete without a TR story, so here is your TR story of the day!  This morning before QT woke up, TR and I were checking my email and playing on Facebook.  We got to looking at some "Ike's" (pictures of some Rat Terrier puppies), and our cousin Tyler.  Tyler is a couple of months younger than Trent, but they are good friends.  Tyler was laying on the floor with the puppies and just really cute.  TR and I were talking about which puppies we liked the best and he pointed to Tyler.  "I want this one" he told me.  I said Tyler?  "Yes!  I do like Tyler.  I want a puppy like Tyler."  So if you have a cute little boy like Tyler and he comes up missing, don't worry, Trent just kidnapped him!  =)