After a week in Reno, or at least most of a week, I am finally back home. I was out west covering the annual National Cattlemen's Beef Association. And, although it was a good, productive week, I have decided I hate being away, particularly this time of year when there is much work to be done. I don't travel much any more, but even that little bit is disruptive. The worst part of it is that it's not just disruptive to me but to everyone around me and we found out last week that Wyatt is impacted perhaps more than anyone. The little guy had a pretty rough week and I felt slightly guilty that Amy had to deal with it on her own. Her came down sick with a sore throat and a cold late and the week, so he was even more grumpy than usual. But regardless, that didn't stop his growing process. Up until recently, he has only had a vocabulary of just a few words, mostly cow, cat, mommy and daddy. But you can get a general jist of what's being communicated. Well in the past week that has all changed. His vocabulary has increased and although it is mostly parroting what we say, he has probably tripled his word portfolio. On my second day out, he was walking around the house shouting daddy, daddy, daddy, followed by his "I don't know" shrug, which is awfully cute. So needless to say, this week was an exception to my life which seems to fly by, with the second hand sweeping faster each day. Time did not fly while I was in Reno.
On the upside though, I did have an opportunity to meet some excellent cattlemen, attend some good ranch management seminars and make some contacts in the business and one of the things I have learned is that the cow business, perhaps more than any other these days is still first and foremost, a people business. So, although it's tough to be away, I'm glad I made the trip. I also managed to avoid losing any money at the tables, not because I won, but because I ended up being too busy to play.
So I got back yesterday and in the afternoon, the three of us piled into the truck and took a drive to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather we've been having for the last couple of days. The temperatures have been in the upper 50s with bright sunny days here on the ranch. We worked our way out east on the gravel roads to explore some of the areas we hadn't seen yet. There are some very big, very scenic ranches to the north east of us and it was a fun afternoon of exploring, if any of you have a chance to make it out this way and want to explore, it's definitely worth the time.
Today it's back to work in an effort to get ready for calving season, which could begin as early as late this week. First calf heifers tend to drop their calves early, sometimes as much as a week or more early, so we will be in that window on Valentine's Day. My chore list is about as long as my arm and it starts with my least favorite task, which happens to be mucking out barn stalls. Fortunately, they're not too bad, but it's frozen, so it will take awhile to get the job done. I also have fence to fix (a weekly chore here) hay to move, straw to buy, and snow to shovel. So as you might have guessed, the old clock is winding back up on me and I'd best get to work.
I hope this note finds you doing well, wherever you may be.
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