Welcome to the Ranch!

A storm came early Monday morning.  It woke us up in the middle of the night with swirling winds, lightning flashes, and rumbling thunder.  Our youngest boy, Andrew, knocked on our bedroom door as he sought our parental comfort.  Our puppy was whining.  Typically this scenario would not be welcome.  I mean, I treasure my sleep.  However after the year we have had, it was a sheer joy to wake up to the sound of the downpour on our metal roof.  I did not mind the inconvenience of a whining dog and scared child.

The storm was not short lived.  It lasted most of the day, but by noon the really hard rain had left.  Instead, a soaking rain set in for a few more hours.  We watched as puddles spilled into larger ones, which then eventually led to some minor flooding as the once dry creek beds filled and spilled over.

This was not our first rain during this drought.  We have been blessed this fall and winter with occasional showers.  They have had an incredible effect on our winter grass.  These rains have provided a steady soaking of the ground.  In spite of these showers, our ponds and lakes have been lower than we have ever witnessed.  Run-off had not really begun to refill them.

We cannot say that anymore.  Just look at the before and after photos of the same lake on our ranch.  If you will recall, we built the pier this summer in the hopes that we would once again have a full lake.

Taken in late August. The lake dropped another four feet, but I failed to take a picture of it.

Water level as on January 9th.

In literature, a rain like we experienced Monday symbolizes a rebirth or fresh start.  This is exactly how we feel.  It is like we have turned a corner.  Our land is on the mend from the devastating effects of such a severe drought.  To receive 6.6 inches in one day is truly a blessing.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is looking forward to watching as God heals our land and restores it.  What a wonderful way to start this new year!

Summer is in full swing here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  The daily temperatures are hitting in the mid-90s and staying above 70 degrees during the night.  This is prime grass growing time.

With the new growth of our grass, the herd is on a strict pasture rotation now.  We are in the midst of our time-intensive pasture management.  It is time-intensive in that we check the pastures two times a day.  We are interested in the condition of the grass.  We also look for worn areas in our pastures.  We want to move the cattle before they erode any of our pasture land.

We make sure that the herd has access to plenty of good water. Cows drink surprisingly amounts of water in one sitting.  In this heat, full-grown cows drink about 25 gallons of water a day.  Times that by the head that you are raising and that comes to a high number of gallons necessary to support your cattle.

We use natural ponds as reliable sources of water.  We also utilize well water in one of our pastures.  In another, we pump water out of our largest watering hole into a large water trough using solar energy.  To read how my husband set that system up, read my article, “Watering Your Herd on a Dry Pasture.”

As long as the rain continues to fall, we will be sitting pretty on lush green fields.  I hope that we do not suffer from another drought.  Two consecutive years of drought would be devastating to Texas ranchers.  We did better than could be expected last year.  In fact, Cross Creek Cattle Company was blessed with fat cows and green grass.

While other ranchers in our area were feeding hay to their herds during the summer months, we did not.  I attribute it to many things.  First, we prayed specifically for fat cows and green grass.  To understand this statement better, read my article from Texas Homesteader called, “Pray More Effectively.“  Additionally, we adhere to strict pasture rotation.  These are the two things that we credit our success last year.  God-willing, we will be blessed with plenty of good rain, fat cows, and green grass this summer.