This Summer Has Been Crazy
Life on the ranch is always a fantastic whirlwind, but wow, the last few months have been even wilder than usual. Whether it be starting from scratch to find a new hay supplier, or Dad spearheading a mission to find more beef clients, completely reworking a few pens before winter, or setting new squeeze chutes before we work calves, everything has happened at once.
“Busy” is not a busy enough word to describe the ranch lately. I’m going to look at all this cup-half-full and just assume these last few months have simply been a test to make sure we are cut out for this lifestyle, ’cause wow, this summer has been wild. Recently, due to a lot of disheartening drama, we had to say goodbye to our long-standing hay supplier of six years after he showed his true colors. It was fantastic that this happened when it did and not later down the line when it would have made a bigger mess, but this unfortunately forced the family to be distracted from our passion with the cattle while we tried to clean up the mess someone else knowingly dropped in our laps.
To make matters worse, this meant we had to find a new hay supplier, which isn’t a small task with how many cattle we run and not being in cattle country. However, as usual, Dad put his head down and got creative on how to solve the issue, while I helped where I could in that department and did my best to run the cattle so he had more time to solve that dilemma. Good news is, it looks like we have hay coming soon to feed our cattle this winter. Believe it or not, typing that sentence is even more stressful than reading it; you can't imagine how stressful it is not knowing where your cattle’s feed is going to come from.
Soon after that was nearly resolved, Dad has been on a mission to sell more beef. We have not been selling enough retail beef to sustain the business, so some of our efforts shifted. Lately, I’ve been spending most of my time running and caring for the cattle while Dad has been on the road working to sell wholesale beef. It seems like he is gone just as much as he is home. He commonly meets with potential restaurants, grocery stores, or butcher shops. On top of that he frequently does demos at Thriftway, a grocery store we supply in West Seattle.
At these demos, he is the guy cooking up beef, talking to folks, and giving out samples so that grocery store customers can have the chance to chat with one of the guys who raises the beef that is for sale in the store — all the while making his usual one to three trips a month delivering beef to Casia Lodge, Café Campagne, or Thriftway to make sure they stay stocked up on beef. He has done a great job selling beef!
Of course, we want to keep the retail side of the business flourishing. I do love this portion of the business and being able to supply all of you with beef directly. So while we will keep offering beef from our online store as usual, we also offer a beef subscription with a chance for you to join the herd! Click here to get more info on beef boxes!
Back at the ranch, whenever Dad is gone, I’m taking care of the cows and dogs while prepping for our next project to start on once Dad gets back. This time of the year is crucial; this is when we clean and prep pens to make sure that we are starting with a clean slate once the whole herd gets back to the barnyard for winter.
To add to the mayhem, we decided to redesign one of the pens this year. It will be a fantastic rendition, creating another space for a bulk hay feeder, new railed fences, and a fresh layer of crushed rock to greatly minimize mud this winter. We just need to finish it before the cows come home from their pasture vacation — haha, no pressure, right?
On top of all that, we had the good fortune of coming across a used squeeze chute that we could afford, which is in great shape and a huge upgrade from our current antique one. Also, on the list is redesigning a portion of our working facility to accommodate our new, bigger squeeze chute before we work cows at the beginning of October.
All in all, things are going well, though. I had a drawn-out sickness, which put a damper on things, but it ended up being a non-harmful condition as opposed to something serious. My brother Richard got married in early July — very fun. Pearl is still excelling in med school, just as the powerhouse she is, and Dad and I are still enjoying life on the ranch, despite all the hurdles.
—Ryley