Welcome to the Ranch!

This is not part of Cross Creek Cattle Company, but is an example of an over-grazed pasture. Notice the bare areas and absence of tall grass.

For retirees and young families alike, a common dream seems to be for city-dwellers to move out on acreage in the country.  They buy some land, buy some livestock, and enjoy living in the slow-paced rural environment.  Since we live relatively close to Houston, we are personally seeing a huge increase of ex-Houstonians move into our county.  However, some make a common mistake.  They over-graze their pastures.

Over-grazing your pasture is bad for your land and your livestock.  Without adequate grass on your soil, erosion can occur very easily with any rainfall.  A heavy rain and a subsequent flood can devastate your land.  Grass also resists wind erosion, too.

Livestock must have grass to thrive.  Without adequate grass, horses can get sand in their gut and make them sick.  Cows and other ruminants must have plenty of grass, too.  If there is not sufficient grass available, then you must feed hay.  The last thing you want to be doing is feeding hay to your cows in the summer.  Hay is expensive to buy and/or produce; therefore, you will feel the consequences of over-grazing in your pocketbook.

So how do you prevent over-grazing your pastures?  At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we rotate our pastures regularly.  We want our cattle to be on fresh, green grass daily.  We do not want them to lose their good condition simply because we let them crop the grass too low to the ground.

If the grass is left between 4-8″ long, the plant is able to recover more easily.  Under that point, the grass struggles to rebound.  Therefore, we allow our cattle to graze while we monitor the condition of the pasture grass.  We don’t like the grass getting under 6″.

Over-grazing can also occur if you have too many head on a certain amount of acreage.  There is no magic formula for figuring this out as it depends on where you live.  For example, a rancher in Southeast Texas can have more cattle on a less acreage than a West Texas rancher.  In the more arid areas of Texas a rancher has to have thousands of acres for the same amount of cattle elsewhere.

Let me show you some photographs.  These pictures were taken on the same day, September 2, 2010.  The photographs below are of the front pasture on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  Compare the condition of the pasture and grass to the picture at the top of this article, which is of a place down the road less than a mile away.  Therefore, we have received essentially the same amount of rainfall and the same high summer temperatures.  The differences lie in pasture rotation and the amount of livestock on the land.  We have much more livestock on our land.

In the photographs of Cross Creek Cattle Company, our entire herd of cattle and then our nine horses had been grazing for days.  On the other property, a couple of head of cattle and a few horses have been grazing in the same pasture all summer long.  You are just going to have to take my word on it.

One view of the front pasture. Beyond the fence and lake is a second pasture. You can see for yourself the length and condition of our grass.

The same pasture under the trees.

Another angle of the same pasture. There are no bare spots even though the grass has been baking in the sun day after day.

If you are new to ranching or have been doing this for generations like us, we all want what is best for our land, our cattle, and ourselves.  Monitoring the condition of your pasture is an easy place to start to protect all three.  Even with relatively few acres of land, you can implement an effective pasture rotation program.

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.

Central Park in New York City

I was recently in New York City.  If absence makes your heart grow fonder, then I have grown much more fond of Cross Creek Cattle Company.

It is not that I did not have a great time.  It was exciting and fun.  I really enjoyed my week in New York.  Visiting the Big Apple was a great experience.  I would recommend it to anyone.

After days of living in the fast-paced city which never sleeps, I welcomed the solitude of the countryside on my return.  Looking out across the green pasture with the breeze gently stirring the grasses is a huge change from seeing the bustling streets filled with people and taxis surging between tall buildings.

New Yorkers walk 3 to 5 miles a day.  We walked that easily each day we were in town, but you are walking on concrete.  I walk 3 miles a day through different pastures and woods.  I once took for granted the feel of the earth beneath your feet, but now I have a new appreciation for it.

I was really impressed with Central Park.  It was beautiful and much bigger than I expected.  The perimeter of the park is 6.2 miles.  Central Park has rolling hills and rock outcrops.  It has a huge lake and open areas.  Quiet secluded spots can be found around the lake.

I enjoyed my visit to Central Park.  I can see why people seek to lay in the sunshine on the rocks or the grass in the open areas.  I know why people would row their boats out on the lake.  People want to get close to nature.

From my dining room window, I can see our lake.  It might not be as big as the one in Central Park, but it is our private lake.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is like one big private park.  It has wooded and cleared pastures, hiking paths, and waterways.  One can hike, ride horses, ride bikes, camp, swim, fish, hunt, and/or row a boat.

I have always loved living here in Texas.  Now that I have been gone for a week in a completely different world, I am glad to be home.  I will visit New York, but Texas is my home.  And, Cross Creek Cattle Company is my little slice of heaven on earth.

Due to a death in the family two weeks ago and an unrelated illness the following week, I have not been posting any articles.  I hope that you understand.

Exciting things are happening here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We have just harvested more grass fed beef for a new group of customers.  We are excited by our growing customer base.  We also want to thank people for spreading the good news about our grass fed beef for us.

Cross Creek Cattle Company was invited to be in The Homestead Magazine for the April issue.  It is a magazine that “is about families that are innovative , creative, and ambitious in their pursuit of getting back to the basics.   Passionate about making simple living a priority for themselves and their family.”

We are happy to be apart of that description.  To see the publication, go to “The Homestead” magazine.  You can download the current issue and read it online.  We are on page 17.

On Monday morning, the owners and managers of Cross Creek Cattle Company were interviewed by a journalist, Clay Copperidge, from “Country World” magazine.  He was very interested in the grass fed beef aspect of our family owned and operated ranch.  I really look forward to reading the article featuring Cross Creek Cattle Company.

We are excited about all the interest in our ranch and grass fed beef operation.  I field calls and emails daily.  If you are interested in placing an order or asking a question, contact me directly at lndehaven@aol.com.  I am more than happy to respond.

In addition, the grass is growing in the pastures.  We are getting good soaking rains.  Calves are being born almost daily at this point.  Our herd is growing in number and in size.  The countryside is beautiful and green.  It is great to be here on the ranch.  Come by and visit sometime.

Just call beforehand so that we can make ourselves available.  You never know, we might just put you to work.

We harvested our last grass fed beef for the year.  It aged for two weeks before having it cut according to our customer’s needs.  Most customers went with the standard method.  This  includes 1″ thick steaks, tenderized round steaks, 4 pound roasts, and much more.

We want to thank our customers for choosing Cross Creek Cattle Company to meet their grass fed beef needs.  We guarantee that our beef is hormone free, steroid free, antibiotic free, and grain free.  We work hard to raise beef that is all-natural, flavorful, and nutritious.

On the ranch’s website, there is a page dedicated to the health benefits of grass fed beef.  The page is based on the book, Pasture Perfect, by Jo Robinson.   Researchers have found that overall grass fed beef is much healthier for people than grain fed beef.  The most noticeable difference is the amount of fat.  Grass fed beef is much more lean for obvious reasons.

Therefore, grass fed beef needs to be prepared with its leanness in mind.  On the page What to Expect, there are several methods a cook can employ to ensure tasty, tender meat.  We also include recipes to use with our grass fed beef.  Recipes for chili, soup, stuffed mushrooms, and roast are available to the public.

The best characteristic of grass fed beef is its flavor.  Have you ever purchased a beautiful, thick steak from the grocery store only to be disappointed that it had absolutely no flavor?  It might as well have been chewy water.  We wait to harvest cattle until they are about 18 months old.  This allows the beef to develop a full flavor.  It is delicious!  It is how beef should taste.

Those of us at Cross Creek Cattle Company want to take this time right before the end of the year to thank all of our customers.  Whether you purchased beef or a show calf, we thank you for supporting our family owned and operated ranch.  We wish you the best this holiday season.

A Family Coming Together For the Ranch

My husband, Lane, is the ranch manager for Cross Creek Cattle Company.  Last week he hurt his left leg badly.  I took him to the emergency clinic to get a x-ray.  We were pleasantly surprised when the doctor told him that his fibula was not broken.  We were very thankful too.

He did in fact bruise the bone.  His leg stays swollen.  It is extremely painful, and bearing any weight on the leg is difficult.  Subsequently, Lane has been trying to hobble around the house and the ranch trying to do his job.  The cattle cannot wait to be rotated to another pasture.  The horses want to be fed and watered.  They also require hay, which means moving them with a tractor.

The problem with this is that the clutch is on the left.  It is also hard to push, but Lane is smarter than the tractor.  He figured out how to make his hay bale deliveries in spite of his bum leg.  He simply swings his leg over and pushes in the clutch with his right foot.  It is almost like he is driving the tractor backwards.  Weird, but true.  He also found out that you must stop on a FLAT surface.

He is slowly beginning to do more and more everyday.  At first, my children and I completely picked up his slack.  Luckily we home-school so this was not a problem.  The kids took turns feeding and working with the horses.  They also check on the grass fed weanlings, making sure they have plenty of hay, and feeding them alfalfa pellets.  If you ever wondered how gentle our calves are, we send our eight-year old son in to feed them pellets of dehydrated grass.  He is never afraid even though the calves are almost as tall as he is.

We are pulling together to make sure the job gets done here on the ranch.  This is a family owned and operated ranch.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is a place that is near and dear to all of our hearts.  We do not mind doing more than usual.  It is a pleasure to have an opportunity like this to help and pick up the slack as the ranch manager heals from his injury.  It also reveals how much he does around the ranch.  With all that said, we all pray that he will fully recover soon.