June 1
Cows constantly amaze me and humble me. I came out to the pasture really early this morning just as the sun was coming up because I wanted to see what my cows were eating and what part of the pasture they were in.
I thought I knew exactly where they would be and I was completely wrong.
About the time I think I have them figured out they prove me wrong. I love it! Keeps my job really interesting and fun!
And then there were the horses…do you think they want something?
June 8
My two most important jobs here at Date Creek Ranch are to take care of the cows and take care of the land. Taking care of the land means that I need to prepare the soil for the next rain, keep the soil covered with litter and plants as much as possible, and give plants a rest, so that it can regrow when it does rain.
If it doesn’t rain for a few years, it can become very discouraging because you don’t have the water to make the plants grow and to see the result of my work. Even without rain, we are able to hold on to more of our feeds, because we leave feed behind and try not to graze every last blade.
However, we had good monsoons last summer and excellent winter rains. The results are fantastic, and I am very pleased. The soil is extremely well covered with a huge diversity of plants. The insects are thriving, birds, and other wildlife are thriving, plants are healthy and diverse.
The result is happy land = happy wildlife = happy cows = happy Kimberley. 😊
The saguaros are smiling too!
June 10
Today I am on my mare, Stitch, and we are riding in a 3000 acre pasture that has lots of hills and rocks. I am looking for some stray cattle. We missed them the last time we gathered this pasture and now it’s time for them to join the rest of the herd. It can be difficult to find them out here. Sometimes I ride all day and hardly see any cattle. Nevertheless, it’s beautiful today, there’s a slight breeze, I hear the bees, the cat claw is blooming, and there are a few clouds, to keep it from getting too hot. I love it! And I get to hang out with my horse Stitch!
June 18
Providing water for livestock and wildlife is critical at all times, but most especially during our hot summers. Today is my day off and presumably, I’ll get to take a long nap and read my book. However, when Savannah checked my cows for me today she discovered that the tank that provides water for the cows is empty. It’s close to 100° and these cows have to have water now! No nap today! Lol. Stefan and I hop on our quads and race down to the cow pasture to see what the problem is....
The pipe is busted and needs fixing. Getting that fixed is not a big problem but it means I have a large crowd of cows waiting for a drink of water. What does this mean for me? It means I sit here by the water trough, and make sure they take turns. If I don’t, in their impatience, they will destroy the float and drain the tank again. Or somebody will get hurt, or some other crisis will occur. So I am sitting here waiting patiently for the water to fill up again. I have my partner, Taylor, to keep me company but I don’t think she’s all that impressed with trough guarding. What do you think?
finally content with a full trough.
Thanks again for joining me on my daily tasks! Some days are simple fixes, some days are long... We have a neat saying around here "it could take 5 minutes or all day" and boy, we love it either way!
See you next month to see what July is like, here at Date Creek Ranch!
May you always find shade,
Kimberley Knight
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