Handsy - One Less Dog In The Hunt

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.

In 2012 we experienced a house fire. Though much of the downstairs portion of the house was merely water damaged, much of the upstairs portion was destroyed. In it there were a few items we tried to recover due to sentimental value. My middle son’s room was beyond recognition and very little remained. There was a cedar chest which had been acquired by my wife in a garage sale many years earlier. It contained pictures and mementos. We were able to recover it, but it was badly singed.

As I began to look for things to occupy my free time I decided to pull the chest out of the corner of the garage, where it had been since we moved into the new house. (BTW the outlet you see in the background isn’t wired in yet. The garage is also a work in progress, but I’ve put in a lot of work since these pictures were taken. Maybe I’ll give you an update later).

Tag: Handsy

Round ’em Up

Getting Handsy