Welcome to the Ranch!

John Travolta starred in a popular movie called “Urban Cowboy.”  It showed a sharp contrast between a working cowboy and one who liked the country look.  Now let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with urban cowboys.  They do exist as do urban ranchers.

Recently our county has been flooded with new arrivals from the city of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States.  Our close proximity to the city and our relatively cheap land make Grimes County very desirable.  They are used to paying tens of thousands of dollars for a lot in the city and think nothing of paying high prices for the land in our county.  Therefore, the price per acre in our county has skyrocketed.  This is great for locals who want to sell, but those who want to expand their existing property find themselves incapable of competing with the new, inflated prices.

We have several neighbors who moved up here fairly recently to enjoy the country life.  One of the first things they do is install huge floodlights to illuminate their property all night.  This really mars the nightscape I had become accustomed to enjoying.  I personally like the fact that the sun sets and the moon and stars reflect back a small portion of that light at night.  I do not appreciate the new light pattern cropping up all over the county.

The next step for urban ranchers is to buy livestock.  Some immediately buy cows, some goats, some donkeys or chickens, and some a menagerie of all kinds.  We now have signs hanging on our county road that read, “Lost: Red heifer.”  Of course when you talk to your neighbor about his lost heifer, he reveals that she has no markings, no brands, no eartags, no type of identification except for the fact that she is a red heifer.  Good luck finding and proving she is yours!

A few years ago one urban rancher purchased a bred cow from Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We had no idea that the man, who shall remain nameless, was completely clueless about ranch life and cows.  He was in constant communication with my father asking him everything from feeding, fencing, and other aspects of caring for the cow.  My dad was shocked by how little this man knew, but was more than happy to help for the cow’s sake.

Finally, the cow delivered her calf.  The man called all excited because it was a bull calf.  “What are the chances of that, Mr. Holliday?”  “What are the chances of having a bull calf?” “We are so lucky!”

My dad thought, “What is he talking about? The chances are 50/50.”

My dad said, “Mr. Rancher, I guess I am not understanding your question.”

The man happily replied, “When I drive down the road, there is only one bull per pasture.  Since my cow had a bull calf, I must have something pretty special!”

What can you say to that?

For anyone who thinks they might want to live in the country, welcome.  Please learn all you can about ranching, farming, and country life.  Then leave the city behind, literally.

Commander our gelding

We have a somewhat new gelding named Commander on the ranch.  He is a great horse.  Unfortunately not long after he arrived, he injured himself by trying to jump over a fence.  The wire scraped him up and my husband, Lane, was doctoring his scraps with a spray anti-septic and liquid wound care.  His wounds were healing nicely, but all of a sudden his chest began to swell.

Lane took him to the local veterinarian.  The doctor said Commander was pigeon-breasted because he had an abscess in his chest like an internal blood blister.  She drained the area and instructed Lane how to flush the drain out daily for a week.  After the required time period, Commander’s chest looked the same.  It was still hard to the touch.  Nothing had changed except that something was hanging out of the drain.  Lane knew something was not quite right.

He called the veterinarian again and made an appointment for that afternoon.  The head veterinarian saw our horse.  The doctor examined Commander and determined that the wound was full of scar tissue.  He made a larger incision for the drain hole.  Through the hole, he began removing the scar tissue.  He then flushed out the area with a water hose.

Now Lane has to flush it twice a day with a water hose.  He also has to apply an aspirin solution to the outside of his wound.  Commander’s chest has to heal from the inside out.  It has already improved.

We are looking forward to the day when Lane does not have to flush Commander’s wound and our horse’s health is restored.  We love our animals at Cross Creek Cattle Company and work hard to do what is best for them.

The other evening the Grimes County Jr. Deputy Sheriff’s Mounted Posse threw its annual end of the year banquet.  A catering company served hamburgers and all the fixin’s, beans, and peach cobbler.  A guest speaker from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo informed us about the opportunities offered by the organization.  She also made us laugh by listing off the ten most important things she had learned from her horse.

Jake, Kyla, and Clayton with their medals and belt buckles.

We said goodbye to one member who is beginning the next phase of her life at Texas A&M University.  Other members were recognized and given awards for their service.  Clayton, Kyla, and Jake all received a medal for completing their first year as members.  Kyla and Jake were both recognized for being top-sellers at a plant sale fundraiser in Navasota.  Additionally, all three were awarded fancy belt buckles for perfect attendance at all Posse events.

The belt buckles are huge!  They are nice, too.  Even each child’s name is on his/her buckle.  Kyla is going to need a wider belt to hold the buckle properly.  When Jake wears his new belt buckle, he receives a lot of attention.  People remark on its size.  So, can you grow into a belt buckle?  I think, they can.

Until then, all the kids are proud of them and are looking forward to another year of Posse events.  In fact, Cross Creek Cattle Company is hosting a trail ride for the Posse in October.  We all have some work to do before the ride.  Trails need to be cleaned up.  It is going to be fun and we are all looking forward to it.

Our Snowman

Yes, I know that it is the beginning of September and that autumn has not come yet.  As ranchers, we cannot afford to wait until freezing temperatures arrive before getting ready for winter.   We are blessed to be living in Southeast Texas where the winters are relatively mild.  We do not have to contend with a lot of winter precipitation.  We hardly ever get sleet or freezing rain; it is even more rare to get snow.  Last year we actually received some snow and we were so excited.  We ran outside late at night just to play in it because we knew that it would all be gone in the morning.

Our winter generally consists of some freezing nights.  We seldom get a hard freeze.  The air is almost always humid, which makes the cold air seem much colder than it is.  The coldness is magnified by a stiff, north breeze.  Grass stops growing and goes dormant under nighttime temperatures below 70 degrees.  Our night temperatures should fall below that in the next month.  Therefore, we have to store up food for the cattle to eat to keep up their condition during the winter.

To help protect the cows from the north wind and cold, we make sure that they are on a pasture with a wind break.  The trees in the woods break the wind.  In addition, so does the dam of our lake.  The cows on instinct alone search out the warmest places to sleep.  Depending on the pasture, they naturally seek the woods or behind the dam.  We never leave them on a pasture without a wind break of some kind.

Since we raise grass fed beef, we do not supplement our cow’s diet with range cubes or grain.  Our cows keep their good body conditions on hay.  My husband puts out round bales of hay for our herd.  Cows know what they need.  Sometimes they devour the bale and other times they just nibble.  Good quality hay is a must for a rancher in any climate here in the United States.

The cows will continue to get their supplemental minerals throughout the winter.  Most cows are bred at this time and will be calving in the late winter and early spring.  Their nutrition is very important to us.  We feed them a mixture of kelp meal and salt.  We add diatomaceous earth for other health reasons.  You can read about those in the article “Diatomaceous Earth?“  This combination is loose in a mineral feeder and given to the cows as free choice.  It is self-limiting.  They will only eat as much as they need.

Water is essential in any season.  Occasionally on really cold nights, we have to break the ice off the surface of the watering troughs.  Our ponds and lake have never frozen over so we are not concerned about them.  The temperature only gets cold enough to freeze over above-ground water troughs every once in a while.

Rows of square bales we hauled out of the pasture.

So right now, we are ensuring that we have enough bales of hay to make it through the winter.  We have round and square bales this year.  Although, the square bales are mainly for the horses.  They need hay in the winter too.

Even though it is still summer, we are looking forward to the change in weather.  From the ridiculously hot temperatures to the much more pleasant days of autumn.  Beyond that, we know that it will get colder in winter.  We have to be prepared for the health and well-being of our livestock.  Cross Creek Cattle Company does not fear the winter because we are ready.