November on the Ranch

Many months at the ranch are a blur, in a good way. Dad and I don’t really have a day of the week—the same cows need to be fed and taken care of whether it is Monday or Sunday. So, it is easy to get caught up in the rush of things and let time fly by without remembering what happened. That being said, while writing this blog post, I tried to reflect back on how special November was.

Everyone is back at the barnyard for winter feeding, and the weather is just starting to cool off. The start of the month was filled with long rainy days where we would get soaked to the bone when we went out to feed. More than once, I soaked through one jacket and set of clothes, then changed into a fresh set to go back into the rain for the evening. For now, the rain has held off, and it is common for a thick fog to lay over the valley in the morning, burn off by noon, and then come back for evening feeding. What is really special is when a thick fog comes in from the south and fills up the ranch as if it is a big cup of water until it overflows and the fog travels onward. The photo above is the fog filling up the valley while I was feeding the girls. About 15 minutes after I took this shot, the fog overflowed out of the valley, surrounding me and the cows. Talk about cool.

My brother Richard and I have finished tarping up irrigation equipment and covering hay piles, so we are just about ready for the snow to fall. But if it wants to hold off for a bit longer so we can get more of these pretty foggy days, I wouldn’t complain about it. Even though feeding and taking care of the cows surrounded by a thick layer of snow is straight out of a storybook, it gets hard to walk sometimes, so I’m good with the fog for now.

At the end of the month, we were lucky enough to get a visit from a longtime family friend from West Seattle, as well as being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister Pearl, which was a joy. Pearl and I spent most of the days feeding and enjoying the cows. The photo above is a great shot we got while enjoying a sunset on Thanksgiving as we finished up the daily chores before a big dinner.