End of summer?

Good morning to you all,
I found myself awake and about much earlier than I had wanted this morning and it took me a little while to figure out why I couldn't go back to sleep. I think the light streaming through the shades this morning felt a little like fall. I'm guessing the my brain was telling the rest of me that the rich slant of light meant here is a lot to do and not much time left to get it done. I've been thinking about the old children's story about the ant and the grasshopper since I turned out of the rack. I've definitely taken on some of the characteristics of the grasshopper this summer and the to-do list has grown out of control as a result. The good news is that we've had a chance to get out and explore and have some fun off the ranch this summer, which was much needed by all. The bad news is, summer is nearly over and winter is on its way before long.
We really have had a great summer, so I don't feel at all bad about taking a little time for ourselves. We have taken our new camper out a few times and seen some great places. We've managed to catch some really nice fish in some of Colorado's mountain lakes. We've explored and had fun and it's been good for all of us. Now, however, it's time for all of us to get back to work...maybe just as soon as this weekend is over.
Amy heads back to school on Monday and is having some mixed opinions about it. She's had a lot of fun with Wyatt and her friends this summer. She's spent days with friends at the country club pool. Explored farmers markets far and wide, been camping and fishing and just generally relaxing. I'd be hard-pressed to drag myself back to work after three months of that too. But, she's handling it pretty well. Once she gets back into it, I am certain she will slip right back into teacher mode. She's a great teacher and I am certain that most of our teacher friends experience the same issue every summer. It will be Christmas break before she knows it.
One of the things that is adding to the back to school issue this year is continued uncertainty about what we are going to do with Wyatt. We had planned to send him back to day care for one more year, but he seems to be growing tired of the daycare routine. He had the opportunity to spend a week at a preschool summer camp this year and now he wants to go to preschool instead of daycare. For our part as parents, we have felt that he's probably ready for a bit more challenge in his days, but we also don't want to push him too hard, too soon either. After all, he is only three years old. So we're on the horns of a dilemma. We've found two good options for preschool. Now, we just have to decide what's in his best interest. And, we have to do it by Monday, so, needless to say, that's adding somewhat to Amy's back to school stress. We'll keep you posted on that one.
On the ranch, it has been a mostly quiet summer. The cows are across the road gazing on the in-laws place and it has been nice letting our grass recover this summer. To say nothing of being free of having to fix fence and all that goes with keeping the herd confined. That's not to say that we've been entirely free of having to deal with loose cattle. Some of the neighors don't maintain their fences in as good a condition as we do, so about once a week, random passersby drop in to let us know that there are cattle loose on the road a mile distant. Because we live in the only house that can remotely be called a ranch house, the automatically assume the cattle belong to us. These random visits happen at all hours of the night and day, so it has been rather inconvenient. I started out being a nice guy, running down the road and pushing cattle back into their proper pastures. Now, after about 20 trips to do this, I mostly just call the sheriff to report it. I make about a call a week to the dispatch office and am now on a first name basis with most of the El Paso County Sheriff's office dispatchers. My attitude has taken on a "Hmm, I hope nobody hits those cows," tone. I really think that people who run their cattle using the Columbus method (Going out twice a year to rediscover their herds,) probably ought to find other means of making a living. I'm not saying that people need to visit their cattle and scratch their heads three times a week like we do, but stewardship of some kind is paramount to being successful in this business and having neighbors who could careless about making sure their cattle are securely confined rubs me the wrong way sometimes. The fact that I watched the sheriff chase those same cattle back into their pasture just this morning, adds to that ill will somewhat.
We have, of course, added to the livestock here at the ranch this summer. We have a really nice bunch of 11 healthy and growing, rambunctious calves here at Cherry Creek Angus, along with a half-dozen beef animals who are also growing well. It's always a satisfying feeling to watch the young calves grow during the summer and I am particularly happy with our calf crop this year. All of them are half-blood siblings and you can easily see the resemblence in them, both in genotype and in demeanor. Wyatt in particular has taken an interest in spending time with them this year. He loves to ride over to the summer pasture in the truck. After we park, he climbs into the back and chucks handfuls of apple treats to the cattle. Sometimes, I think beaning the cattle is almost the only reason he likes going over. He's got a pretty good arm and even better aim, so he delights in pinging the cattle with the treats. The cows could care less as long as they get their snacks.
We've had a number of ranch tour guests this summer and have another bunch visiting later this morning. It's something Wyatt enjoys, intorducing guests to his cattle. I sometimes forget how much fun it is for city kids to visit the farm. I take cow visits for granted. For people who don't do it every day, just riding through the pasture in the back of the truck is a delight. Feeding a bunch of cows by hand is even better for them. It's always a fun thing to see and it reminds me how lucky all of us, particularly Wyatt, are to be able to experience these things on a daily basis.
We have also added to our barn cat herd. We lost another cat to coyotes early this summer, bringing the total now to three, and launching an all-out war between me and the song dogs. So, needless to say, we needed to bring in some new mouseketeers to control the critter population. So, after some neighbors had a batch of kittens, we were lucky enough to get first pick of the litter. So now, Merlin and Cocoa have moved to the ranch. They have become good roommates for our two dogs until they grow old enough to move to the barn with Roofie. They are already showing signs of being good hunters and have been a lot of fun to have around. Wyatt has also claimed the cats as his own.
Our other, final summer addition has been a new batch of chickens to add to our aging flock. We purchased 10 day-old chicks (five Buff Orphingtons and five Araucanas) this spring and after a couple months living with them they finally got too big for household living and were moved to the newly refurbished Chicken Taj Mahal in June. I'm always amazed at how fast chickens grow. They are now just 20 weeks old and we were surprised with our first two blue eggs this week. Araucanas are also known as Easter Egg chickens and they lay pastel colored, blue, green and sometimes pink eggs. It's a lot of fun to see those little pastel colored eggs in with the rest of the big eggs. Newly laying hens start out laying small eggs, about the size of a quail egg and they progressively get larger, the longer the chickens are laying, so by the time Easter rolls around, we should have a good supply of naturally colored Easter eggs. We've already had requests for them, so I think they will be popular among our customers.
So, it's been a great summer here on the ranch, but it's quickly coming to a close. The mornings are coming a little later and they are a little cooler when they do arrive. It will be time to lay in our winter hay supply soon. Calves will be weaned later this month. I always love fall, but it always makes me a little nostalgic. Maybe it's just the richness of the light slanting through the shades in the morning.
For me, it's time to get on with my morning chores, so I'll sign off for now. I hope this post finds you well and enjoying what's left of your summer, where ever you may be.

All the best from us down on the ranch.