During this hiatus from regular employment I have been free to do some of the things I enjoy doing without the hassle of consulting the calendar. For a number of years I’ve helped a friend of mine with working cattle in the spring or fall. My kids have grown up helping in the process as have his. Most of the time we have to juggle my work schedule, his work schedule, and the weather. Since my layoff, we’ve been able to simplify the scheduling.
Spring roundup is a great time of the year. It’s hard, dusty work — not quite the old cowboy way with horses and ropes, but still work. Closing and lifting the chute with calves weighing from one hundred pounds up to three or four hundred, can offer a real workout. Smooth success at sorting cows from calves, leading calves up the alley to the tub, bringing them into the chute all depends upon the skills of the cowhands and the attitude of the bovine.
As crazy as it seems, the conditions of the day impact the ease of the process. Just like humans, if the cattle are having a bad day, their moods show. If the day is mild and the wind is calm, the calves tend to be more cooperative. When it’s hot, windy, and dusty their cantankerousness sets the stage for the whole production. Keeping your eye on that old bull, watching your back for that possessive cow, dodging that heifer calf, and getting fenced by the young bull pawing at the dirt puts a new spin on multi-tasking.
From the darling little boogers that get the oohs and ahhs of all the kids on the crew to the ones that “should’a been worked in the fall,” the day moves along with a steady rhythm.
Push, prod, pull. Cut, mark, brand, vaccinate. The smells, the sounds, the sights. Some just wander calmly through the process, some not so much.
Lots of cow farts; methane lifting into the air and driving some folks crazy. Natural fertilizer dumped on the ground and on your boots and on your hands. Slobber drooling and dripping. Snorting, jumping, bucking, pawing.
Smoking, cooking 
Setting up to feed the crew
A break for lunch, for rest, for conversation. Good food – good folks. Back to work.
At the end of the day, cows and calves call for each other, mating back up. The cows search the crowd for their calves like a soccer-mom at a Saturday tournament. They go on about their business — mooing, eating, pooping, and peeing — while the crew cleans up. Later more conversation and relaxation beneath the trees with the sounds of the ranch in the background. Comparing bruises, lumps, cuts, and stories becomes highlighted by laughter and cajoling. The sun grows low on the horizon, and the grass blows in the breeze. Despite what some might believe, the hard, dirty work leaves a sense of satisfaction and offers the feel of community.
