June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day!!! It's been a week since I've returned from an amazing trip to Brazil. The only thing that was absolutely miserable was that it took us 32 hours to get home. The country was great, the people were wonderful, and I have alot of memories. The best part was that by the time I returned home, we were done calving. The cows all calved this year withing a 40 day period, can't ask for much more than that. Blaine, Charlie, and Bryan have worked like crazy people this last month picking up my slack and keeping things going, I'm going to be forever grateful to them for allowing me to have such an opportunity, but I definitely think I won't be leaving at that time of the year again anytime soon, or so I've been told. Nick picked me up at the airport which was great, than to take advantage of him being here, we decided to brand the next day. This week has been filled with moving cattle and getting equipment ready to start farming and haying. I'm running to Rocky tommorrow to pick up two bulls that we had collected. I had a little incident yesterday and had a colt buck me off, first time I've been bucked off since I was around 8. It could of been alot worse, but has hobbled me up for a while. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to get back on a horse. Brett has been getting some serious rain in Omaha, they were able to avoid the tornados, but did have one that hit in Millard which is really close to where Brett and Paula live. The rain here has been nice, and the weather continues to remain cool for this time of year.
Jaclyn
May 7, 2008
We got hit hard by a nasty winter storm on Friday. The wind started blowing Thursday night and by Friday it was a full out blizzard. We started pulling calves in as soon as we found them and by the end of the day we had 23 of them running around the shop, not even counting the ones that we had in the barns. I think we all exhausted ourselves trying to battle the snow and the constant 40-50 mph wind that didn't settle down tell evening. We spent Saturday trying to get everything paired back up, and by Sunday the temperature was in the 70's and we had 70 calves. Glad we didn't get them all through the storm, or they'd probably still be in the shop. Things are busy this week with calving, taking yearlings out, and I leave for Saturday for Brazil. Hopefully things will go good when I'm gone.
Jaclyn
April 15, 2008
Happy tax day to all! It's been a busy couple of weeks getting things ready for calving. Needless to say we aren't suppose to start for another week and we are almost a third done with heifers, evidently they didn't get the memo. Mother Nature didn't get the memo either, and we endured a nasty two day storm, we did end up getting over an inch and a half mositure out of the ordeal, but with the wind and blowing snow it made it really miserable. We spayed heifers on Monday, it went really well thanks to our great vet. It always amazes me when I get out and about and talk to people how fortunate we are to have such a great vet clinic, I think it's sometimes taken for granted. Delivered bulls last week to Callaway and Ansley. A big thanks to Doug and Amy G'Schwind and Destry Oxford for given me tours, feeding me, and making it a real enjoyable day. The week prior to that I was able to make it back to Clarkson to help AI. I did come to the conclusion I would rather be doing it in a t-shirt and sweating than having my fingers numb and my teeth chattering, the trip was very enjoyable though I almost felt like I needed to go back to the ranch to take a break. Bryan made it up to Beckton's sale and picked up a bull, sounded like they had a great sale. On a side note, Paula's sister Lizzie was diagnosed with cancer in her salivary gland, she just returned home from Mayo and it looks like everything is going to be all right. Our prayers go out to her and the rest of the family.
Jaclyn
March 29, 2008
It's finally starting to feel like spring. Brought the cows home from cornstalks today, a couple of the trucks had to make a second trip so needless to say it was a long day. Bryan made it to Schuler's sale yesterday and picked up a couple of bulls. It sounded like they had a great sale. Blaine and I have been putting in corrals this week, after two days of digging ties and pipe, we were both very grateful to be doing something different today. We bangs heifers and tested yearling bulls Monday, both went well, and I'm planning on delivering the first couple of bulls next weekend. Trying to combine as many items as possible into one trip with the ridiculous price of diesel. We did get the oats planted, and got a little rain/snow mix this last week to green things up. I'd also like to thank Trent Short from the Times Herald for the article on the Brazil trip, he did a good job.
Jaclyn
March 19, 2008
With the spring weather, things are really starting to pick up around here. We weighed heifers last week at the feedlot, the most consistent set that we've had to date. We did get our replacements sorted off, and than today Destry Oxford of Ansley came and picked out a pot-load for his replacements. We really appreciate his business, and hopefully the heifers will work great for him. I went to Lincoln last Friday for the Nebraska LEAD Banquet, I was asked to be on the NALC Board which is announced at the banquet. I sat next to Eric and Ruth Brown of KRVN during the evening which was very enjoyable. Afterwards I met Brett, Paula, and Nick Jindra in Fremont before heading to Clarkson to perform cheap labor. I guess I'm just greatful that they've never said it had to be good labor. Ran to Pieper's sale yesterday, a really somber day and our hearts go out to the Pieper family as they continue to struggle with Travis's loss. Blaine and I are going to pretend we are farmers this week for a while, Bryan is planning to head to Schulers' next Thursday, and than we will bring cows home from stalks on Friday.
Jaclyn
March 3, 2008
It's been an interesting week to say the least. Mother Nature has been having a difficult time deciding if it's going to be winter or spring, so one night we lost electricity because of lighting, and a week later there's a ground blizzard. We had a couple of people stop by and look at bulls and heifers this week, there seems to be quite a bit of interest this year in both so that's real encouraging. Blaine and Charlie have been hauling hay like crazy, and I ran to Broken Bow this weekend for a meeting for the Rotary trip I'm taking in May. After the meeting I was able to get to Elba and see Jeremy Poss and his wife. Jeremy purchased our bull that we had consigned at the Nebraska Cattlemen's Classic last year. I was able to see "Ace" and also some calves of his that were on the ground. Everything looks like it is going great, so it was very encouraging. After Elba I headed to Clarkson and Jindra Angus. Even though they are the wrong color I was really impressed with the quality of cattle. I highly encourage you to check out the sale (March 11) catalog online at www.jindraangus.com. The sale bulls look like they will add performance, meat, and muscle to any herd. With that hope everyone had a Happy May day and remains healthy.
Jaclyn
February 23,2008
Finally, it's only been a year since there's been a journal entry, so I guess it's about time to write. The winter has been decent so far, there's been alot of cold, and a medium amount of snow and ice, but the cattle look good. Bryan and Debbie were able to get away to Colorado to ski, and Blaine and Charlie returned a week ago from their vacation in Hawaii. I have been fortunate to get away to the Black Hills Stock Show and the Nebraska Cattlemen's Classic where it is always great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We spent Christmas in Omaha with Brett and Paula, whom a week later ended up getting engaged. We were all really excited and very pleased. Please note that we have bulls for private treaty sale. We will also be marketing composites at the Cross Diamond Production Sale in December. Contact any of us and we will send data and pictures.
Jaclyn
February 18, 2007
Feels like spring. Even though based on the groundhog spring is suppose to be here, we still did get a couple inches of snow last week. The beginning of the week the temperatures hit -26 below during the night, today it looks like it might make it into the 60s. So needless to say everything is a sloppy mess right now. Blaine and Charlie got back on Monday from their annual vacation. They sounded like they had a great time with family and returned tan and accumulated to warm weather, which was pretty comical considering the temperature last week. This week has been busy in final preparations for the Classic. I am leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Kearney. The two calves look good, my hope is that two other people also think so, so they can bid against each other. But, we will see.
Jaclyn
January 30, 2007
Nothing like a little snow and wind to make everyone enjoy ranching. We were lucky to get some snow when the big storms went through Colorado. Unfortunately it was really dry snow, so needless to say getting around was a little difficult since the ground underneath was still dry. Luckily it has since mostly melted off, though there is still drifts and ice in a number of places. We sorted replacement heifers last week, that was a project. The heifers this year are extremely uniform, and even using all the data, it was still a difficult chore. We did get a rough cut though, and will continue to whittle away on them in the future.
Jaclyn
January 3, 2007
Happy New Years!!! Needless to say with the eastern part of the state without electricity, we feel pretty lucky. The roads have been a mess though with drifts five foot and deeper. I escaped for a couple of days with ten friends to the Black Hills, we had alot of fun, and it was the perfect way to end/start a new year. Back to the daily grind though. Hope everyone had a safe, happy New Year.
Jaclyn
December 28, 2006
Merry Christmas!! Hope everyone had a wonderful and Merry Christmas. Needless to say, we did have a white Christmas. With about ten inches of dry snow and strong wind last week it wasn't the most enjoyable to get around in. I think I might of got stuck the most (3). Though I was also the one that that to cake so needless to say it was kind of a given. We are currently under a winter storm warning for this evening. Bryan, Debbie, and the kids were able to escape this last week to do some skiing in Colorado. I plan on escaping this weekend to head to the Black Hills with my cousin Joe and some of our friends to do the same. It should be a fun time. On another note, my cousin Tyson stopped by yesterday. He is currently stationed in Hawaii, and needless to say we haven't seen him in a while so it was great to catch up. We'd sure like to thank everybody that called or wrote on the recent award. It meant alot. There is a write up on the Sand County Foundation website. It can be accessed by going to www.leopoldconservationaward.org. We have been able to get away a couple of times this month. Blaine, Charlie, and myself went to Bertrand to the first Cross Diamond Cattle Co. bull sale. It was great to see Kim and Scott Ford. They had a great sale, and the turnout was stellar. The picture below is Brett walking the Cattlemen's Classic Heifer. He didn't know he was going to be put to work when he came home on break. With that we wish everyone a happy NEW YEAR!!!!
Jaclyn
September 22, 2006
Please be patient. Our host company had a hacker get into their system. Needless to say the site is up and running and more secure than ever. We will try to catch up as soon as possible.
Jaclyn
May 10, 2006
Happy Birthday to Blaine!!! We took the afternoon off in hopes of spending the afternoon golfing in Gordon, the weather unfortunately did not cooperate, so instead we spent the afternoon picking up fencing supplies to redo a set of corrals. Not as enjoyable to say the least. A big congrats to Adrian Smith for winning the Republician nominee for Congress yesterday! I head out to Bennett, CO tomorrow to Rocky Mountain Sire to drop off three bulls: the Schuler Lancer son we purchased, a hybrid Basin Cherokee son, and a hybrid Romero son. Another quick note happy early 21st bday to Brett's girlfriend Paula. He's planning on making a quick trip to Lincoln this weekend to celebrate. On that note, please be patient with the site as we are trying to get a few kinks worked out.
Jaclyn
May 5, 2006
It's been a while since I've wrote. Calving has been going really well, we are an official month into it and over 3/4's done. Blaine went to Ainsworth and picked up a Daniels double alley which we can't wait to try out when we work cows at branding. Charlie has been busy working in her yard which already looks great for May, she's in Torrington today buying plants for her garden, which Brett and I always get ready for her on Mother's Day. Grandma Jane traded in her explore for an escape. It's a neat little SUV and she's already been hitting the highway with it. Braydon has preschool graduation tonight. So congrats to him. Bryant finished school this week. Brett comes home tomorrow for two weeks before he goes back to Lincoln. He got an internship this summer with University Directories. On a sad note, fellow LEAD classmate Andy Stock discovered his parents murdered the day after Easter outside the small town of Murdock, NE. It was a horrible ordeal, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with him. Please note that there are some private treaty bull pictures in the photo gallery. These bulls are April/May 2005 calves, fed a light growing ration and definitely not babied. All sires will be AI sires and include: Lancer, Julian, Royal Lad, Combination, Cimarron Superior 442, and others. There's plenty more than the pictures, and a number have already been spoken for. If interested please contact us, as they should add hybrid vigor to any herd.
Jaclyn
April 9, 2006
Calving is going good. The weather has been really great lately with yesterday reaching the high 70's. I ran into Alliance on Monday to give a presentation to the Ag.Committee of the Chamber of Commerce on my trip in January to Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Loaded out a truck last week with 40 head of replacements heifers to send to Cross Diamond Cattle Co. at Bertrand. Took pictures of 12 private treaty bulls yesterday, will hopefully finish taking the rest later this week. Butch Schuler from Schuler Red Angus delivered a Lancer son we purchased at their production sale yesterday, and left just in time to see the young filly I was riding start bucking. Maybe they should start selling horses also. Anyway keep your fingers crossed as we're suppose to receive another winter storm.
Jaclyn
March 21, 2006
We are officially calving. There are currently about 10 calves on the ground and about that many inches in snow also. Charlie has started to night calve. She takes over the night calving, which is great for the rest of us. Last week was extremely busy. We worked cattle almost every day, and than Kim and Scott Ford came up from Betrand to preg check and load out their cows. It was great having them here for a couple of days. Johanna, their daughter was a blast, and Charlie was in second heaven as she got to babysit for two days. On Friday we loaded out seven pots of cows to come back home from corn stalks up at Alliance. Needless to say, besides getting a semi stuck and having the trailer tire of the ground it was an uneventful haul (just thank God it was empty). Brett and Paula returned back to Lincoln from Vegas. Broker, but hopefully wiser. UNL didn't have school yesterday because of the snow, so they seem to be getting a lenghtened vacation. Bryan, Blaine, or myself are going to try and go to Schulers and Piepers Sale this week. Other than that we'll hopefully keep calving right along.
Jaclyn
Sunday March 12, 2006
What a busy week, I attended that final seminar of Nebraska LEAD Group XXIV. It ended with a banquet at the East Campus Union at UNL. I was extremely fortunate to have Blaine, Charlie, Brett, Jane, Janice, Paula and Duane Gangwish (Nebraska Cattleman) to join us at my table. It's hard to believe that just two short years ago, it all started. Brett and Paula flew out to Vegas yesterday for Spring Break, needless to say the weather doesn't look the greatest for their vacation. On a quick side note, I have been asked to be on Senator Adrian Smith's Ag. Advisory Committee. For those that don't know, he is currently running for U.S. Congress, so be forewarned, I'll probably be asking for donations.
Jaclyn
March 6, 2006
It's in the 60's today, and almost to warm. We vaccinated first calf heifers today to get ready to start calving on April 1. Blaine and Charlie returned home from their vacation. I attended a LEAD seminar at UNO and UNMC. The highlight of the trip was a briefing at USSSTRATCOM. I stayed with Brett for two days at AGR before I attended the Young Cattleman's Conference in Lincoln. Myself and ten others had the oppoortunity to visit a packing plant, meat market, and restuarant, participate in media training, and spend a day at the capital with our various officials and lawmakers. It was a wonderful opportunity. Today we're celebrating Braydon's bday with a swimming party in Alliance. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Jaclyn
February 16, 2006
Well we needed moisture, but 14 inches of snow is not quite what we had in mind. Needless to say I think I spent more time in the ditch when I was trying to feed than on the road. Blaine and Charlie were at the San Antonio Stock Show yesterday and said that it was a nice 80 degree day there. With winds picking up to 25mph today, it might make an interesting day for Bryan and myself.
Jaclyn
February 13, 2005
Greetings from Wilson Ranch! After all these years we are finally hoping to start advertising on the WWW. Please be patient with us as we try to get the private treaty bull pictures and everything else in order, it's a learning experience for all of us. Blaine and Charlie are on vacation until the 25. They have hopes of making stops in San Antonio for the Stock Show and South Padre. On the way back they're planning on seeing some South Devon cattle at Bollenbach Cattle Company in Kingfisher, OK and also some cattle owned by Larry Luke, whom we got to know quite well as a private treaty bull buyer and friend when he managed the RL Ranch in Ridgeway, CO. Not to leave the Red Angus people out, they were able to meet Scott and Kim Ford for a long and enjoyable lunch. We are looking forward to them coming and staying with us on Feb.27 when they come to see their bulls sale at Panhandle Cattle Company. Luckily for the rest of us, the winter has been real mild to date so we are just finally starting to feed out hay. One last thing, a huge Happy Anniversary this week to Blaine and Charlie as they celebrate 30 years of putting up with each other.
Jaclyn