Welcome to the Ranch!

Steve and Jake with Ladd on Jake's birthday.

Years ago when we were looking to purchase good, broke horses for my children to ride, we met Steve Prewitt and his family.  We were struck by his honesty and knowledge.  Steve was a working cowboy at the time as well as training to be a preacher.

We ended up purchasing a paint mare that we named Cheyenne from him.  My dad was sold when he saw the picture of Steve standing in the saddle swinging a rope.  The young mare just stood still, completely desensitized.  My husband fell in love with this horse and he rides her every chance he gets.

Steve also helped us find another mare.  We named her Roxie.  It was not even his horse, but he drove us out to the stables where she was kept and let us ride her in the parking lot.  It was getting very dark.  The parking lot light threw shadows all over the ground, which will spook most horses.  With only a halter and a lead rope, our family rode her around.  She did not spook.  She responded to our commands without a bit.

Now my son Clayton rides her.  He loves Roxie and together they work well together.  If it is riding around Cross Creek Cattle Company, down a busy street during a parade, or in the rodeo arena, Roxie and Clayton make a good pair.

My son, Jake, and Steve hit it off immediately.  They both have a passion for horses.  When our ranch first hired Steve to train and work with our horses, he spent hours with Jake training him as well.  For a while there, I thought I would get sick of Steve’s name because he is all Jake talked about.  I appreciated the fact that Steve took the time to be a good role model for Jake.  Not only is he a good man, but Steve made time for Jake.

For one of Jake’s birthdays, we had a family and friend trail ride.  I think he was more excited when Steve Prewitt drove up with his wife, Dee, to present Jake with a brand-new rope.  It meant a lot to Jake; therefore, the act meant a lot to me.

Steve has helped Lane be a better rider.  They worked together to be able to open and close gates on horseback.  Lane has watched and taken mental notes of how Steve does groundwork in the round pen.  Lane, too, has enjoyed Steve working here on the ranch.

Now Steve is moving.  He has found a great job about an hour away.  We are excited for him and his family as they embark on a new journey.  It is a bittersweet moment for us, though.  We are losing a great cowboy, horseman, and role model.

Thank you, Steve, for being a part of Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We appreciate all that you did for us.  And, we wish you the best in your new adventure.  We are going to miss you.

Our dog Maggie.

We are coming into the last days of July, which is when the days really start heating up here in Texas.  Now through  early September are generally the hottest days of the summer.  The ancient Greeks coined the term based on the belief that Sirius, a.k.a. the Dog Star, was responsible for the extreme heat.

Regardless of who is responsible for the heat, everyone needs to be cautious at this time of the year.  At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we are concerned for ourselves and our animals.  Our cattle herd, horses, and pets are all susceptible to the heat.  The soaring heat index is not selective between human or beast.

Our biggest priority is our family.  We drink large quantities of water and drinks with electrolytes.  We wear hats to keep the sun from baking our heads and necks.  My husband wears a chill tie around his neck.  We try to do our hardest work in the morning and evening.  During the afternoon, we try to do work indoors or in the barn.  We also watch ourselves for signs of heat exhaustion like heavy sweating, dizziness, nausea, and muscle cramps.

Learning to monitor ourselves is the first step in preventing either heat exhaustion or the potentially fatal heat stroke.  If you stop sweating when you should be, then you are in danger of heat stroke and should immediately seek medical attention.  None of us are doctors nor are we trained in the medical field, but we do our own research.  We encourage you to research other ways to prevent either heat induced illness.

Last year we were not as vigilant in watching for signs of heat exhaustion.  Unfortunately, my husband, the ranch manager, fell ill.  He suffered from vertigo, which was heat induced.  It took weeks before he was able to get back to his full work load.  He was miserable.  We have learned from our mistakes and we hope that you can learn from it too.

As far as our animals are concerned, they have similar needs.  They need to rest during the heat of the day.  They need plenty of fresh water.  They need to be in a pasture with plenty of shade, either artificial or natural.  So if your pen or pasture does not have shade trees, then you need to consider constructing a permanent or temporary source of shade.

Having lived in Southeast Texas our entire lives, we knew our climate well before choosing our breed of cattle.  We knew how hot the summers were.  We knew the high humidity all too well.  We also knew that the heat index most often soars higher than the actual temperature during the summer.  It was important to us to raise a breed that was well suited to our climate, which is why we choose to raise Beefmasters.

Hairy Cows from Scotland. Photo from Wikipedia.

It is not the only breed that is suitable to Texas’ summers, but it was our pick.  Before buying cattle, consider your year-round climate.  Can you imagine the Highland cattle of Scotland trying to make it here?  Their survival would be questionable.  Beefmasters not only survive, but they thrive here at Cross Creek Cattle Company even during the dog days of summer.

Take the necessary precautions for your family, herd, and pets for the next month or so.  Be aware of the weather conditions and provide for the needs of everyone based on the heat.  Most importantly, be safe.  The coolness of autumn will be here soon enough.

Some of our horses with the pond in the background.

Nine horses call Cross Creek Cattle Company home.  During the fall and winter, they graze in small fenced-in pastures. Then we lead them to their stall in the horse barn to spend the night.  We feed them grain and plenty of fresh hay.  In the morning we feed them grain again and then lead them back to the small pasture for exercise, fresh air, and some grass.  Then we can spend two hours a day cleaning the stalls.

Compared with the Beefmaster cattle we raise, horses are much more time-consuming and expensive to raise.  We buy their feed, supplements, and hay.  Shavings are needed to spread over the floor of their stalls.  These things all cost money.  Horses also require training, exercising, and riding. And, this requires time.  In addition, the ferrier comes out every six weeks to trim hooves.  Horses are high-maintenance, plain and simple.

With the wonderful rain that we have been receiving this summer, our pastures are filled with tall, green grass.  We always have our cattle rotating pastures to ensure that plenty of fresh grass is being consumed.  While the cattle are eating grass in one pasture, the grass in the other pastures are growing.

This summer we have also let the horses have a vacation from their routine.  We have released them into a large pasture full of grass that also has a 3 acre pond.  At first the horses’ heads went down to taste the tall grass.  It did not take long before the excitement of being in a new place caused them to forget the grass and run as a herd.

It was one of the times I wished that I had my video camera.  It was a beautiful sight to behold.  Like a herd of wild horses, they ran over the pasture, up a hill, down the hill, around in large circles, in figure eights, etc.  I don’t know what was more beautiful: the beauty of the horses themselves moving as one or if it was the landscape in which the ran.  The sky was bluer than blue; the grass was swaying in the light breeze.  Thinking back, it had to be the combination of the two.

All the pretty horses.

They settled down and then noticed the pond.  Every single one of the horses stepped out into the water.  Some literally went for a swim.  They were completely enjoying themselves.

Weeks later, the horses are still enjoying their freedom.  They have all kept up their condition on grass only, including the oldest horse, Ladd.  We are enjoying not having to clean any stalls.  Raising horses on grass is much more economical, which is why both equine and human alike are enjoying the summer here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.

Today I thought I would let you hear from one of our customers.  They are Jason and Bobbi Brooks from College Station.  They ordered a quarter of grass fed beef from us.

Before ordering from Cross Creek Cattle Company, they had never eaten grass fed beef before.  They found our website by a link on the website, Mark’s Daily Apple: Primal Living in the Modern World.  And, they are happy with their purchase.

They really like grass fed beef, especially the t-bones.  This cut is their favorite.  The Brooks family said, they “love the flavor and tenderness” of our beef.  The only criticism the family had was that our roasts were too small; however, the “Pike’s Peak Roast was perfect.”

This is the nature of raising grass fed beef.  We cannot guarantee the size of the cuts nor the amount of beef you will receive, which is why we sell the beef at $3.50 a pound instead of a base price.  Each animal is built a little differently from another, just like people.  We cannot make uniform and identical sides of beef.

It is one way to know that we are raising beef the natural way.  We do not feed our cattle grain to make them gain weight rapidly.  We do not give them growth hormones in order to achieve a certain size.  Instead we do things differently from traditionally raised beef.  We give the herd fresh, green grass and plenty of fresh water.  We give them pastures in which to roam.  In turn, our cattle produce lean, flavorful beef.

The Brooks family said they would definitely order grass fed beef from us again.  They only thing they would do differently is “order more.”

We could not be more thrilled with this feedback from one of our beef customers.  Thank you, Brooks family!  We look forward to doing more business with you.

A 6 lb. bass swallowed Isaac's arm.

Summer would not be complete for my family unless we went fishing.  At Cross Creek Cattle Company we have several stocked ponds.  One has catfish.  The others have bass and crappie.  With so much work to do on the ranch, it is nice to carve out time to enjoy living here.

Last weekend my boys went fishing with their dad.  They did not catch many, but what they did catch was huge.  You cannot help but get excited when you hook a big bass on your line.  This one in particular put up a fight.  Catching fish is very rewarding.

Fishing is a great way to encourage father/son bonding.  I am not saying that my daughter and I do not fish because we do.  It is fun for me to see the way that my husband teaches the little ones how to fish.  He has so much patience with them.

Once Jake hooked Lane, my husband, in the forehead with a treble hook.  Actually he hooked him twice in the forehead by casting too soon before Lane was out of the way.  Lane calmly asked me to remove the hook.  When I saw that two hooks were buried in his skin, I got sick to my stomach.  I tried to move them, but they would not budge.  Lane had to remove them himself.

I will never forget how he did not yell and scream at anyone. Jake already looked sick.  He was only five at the time.  I think Lane knew that he had learned his lesson already.  Lane just asked him to not do that again.

When my step-father takes little ones fishing, he always cuts the tips of the hooks off.  The hook still catches fish, but it does not catch him.  A great tip for anyone fishing with young children.

Multiple generations like to come out here to fish.  Grandfathers and grandsons, uncles and nephews, fathers and sons enjoy the day together.  Friends are always welcome, too.

My dad has a friend who visited here two months ago.  He is an avid fisherman.  He began fishing early in the morning and fished most of the day.  He caught over 40 fish.  My dad said he has never seen anything like it.  Almost every time his friend cast out, he pulled in a fish.

We don’t always have luck.  Sometime we catch nothing, but those days are few and far between.  I tell my kids, “That is why it is called fishing and not catching.”

I find it relaxing to sit and watch your bobber float on the surface of the water.  My children prefer fishing with lures because there is always something to do.  They can reel in and cast out as much as they want.

We usually stop fishing as soon as we have enough for dinner.  The taste of fresh fish coupled with homegrown vegetables is out of this world.  There is nothing better than eating what you raise, forage, and/or catch.  Living on or visiting Cross Creek Cattle Company enables you to experience a taste of self-sufficiency.