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#tammyscowdogs #tammyshangintreecowdogs #hangintreecowdogs #ranchlife

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Hey? Hey? Where Did You Go?

Ah…alas…Tammy and the cowdogs are still here. We never left. We never quit. We are still raising retained ownership feeder cattle and feeding cattle in SW Nebraska. We are still AI’ing SimAngus cows…reds and blacks. We are still calving in Autumn. Puppies are still being raised. Young cowdogs are still being shown around the place to let them grow up into working cowdogs. We still gather cattle from pastures, bring them home to the working facilities on the various locations/pastures, and we still sort and process cattle.

What has changed? Well, in September of 2015, the matriarch of Tammy’s cowdogs passed away. Cowdog Hawk joined Cowdog Bert and they met up again in the loving and peaceful arms of God in heaven. Even though the sun still came and went each day, the sense of a normal life was completely shattered. A month later, I had to put down my oldest horse friend…Eight  2015 was just a bad year. Yet, despite the terrible hands dealt I carried on with raising planned litters of cowdog pups for my customers. Nineteen young cowdogs were started and moved along to their new working ranch homes. All the life of 2015 went on without broadcasting fanfare. There was too much work to do to spend time in the broadcasting booth.

I made a decision to lessen my work of keeping four written updates going on at the same time. With all the technology in our lives I was being buried for hours with keeping up to the minute with everything “techie”. Cell phone ringing, cell phone messages chirping notifications to me, text messages coming in, email notes flying through the cyber air, landline phone stacking up with voicemail messages, Facebook (FB) hack attacks messing with my oldest Facebook timeline, Facebook hackers to my Tammy’s Cowdogs FB page, FB automatically transitioning my FB timeline to a second FB page (without notice),and FB denying my access to my own FB pages. My website blog (here) being facilitated by WordPress and WordPress not being totally compatible with FB and posts and pictures being lost in thin air. My nine year old smart phone took a death fall and cracked up on a sharp rock in October 2015 and after four months of limping along with a cracked phone screen I bit the bullet in January 2016 and took a day off to go get a new smart phone. Low and behold, the AT&T techs could not get my email to work on my “smart phone” and I am into August 2016 and still do not have email on my smart phone. But hey! Life has gone on without email on my smart phone. I mention all this trivial stuff because I made the decision to lesson my work. Being a slave to gadgets beeping and collecting requests from folks was just a full-time job and there wasn’t time left for me.

I maintain a FB presence on a daily basis. FB is simple, easy, sometimes cranky, yet it is the ease of use that has trumped all the other technological accesses to my ranching and cowdog business life. During the fall of 2015, I transitioned all my contact information to an office address and set the wheels in motion to nix the landline. My posting to my blog (here) was suspended when Hawk died. Even with a narrowed up social media presence I still have to spend a few hours a day or night to visit with folks on a one-on-one basis. The Spring litter of pups came and have left.The Fall litters of pups will be here soon and they are all sold. The started cowdogs being worked with are sold and will leave once I get through with Fall calving and early Winter CIDR/AI work. So, as usual, I am sold out of pups and young started cowdogs for the remainder of 2016. Life does go on. It doesn’t end until God calls us home.

I am very lucky to have such a solid customer base for my cowdog program and for the cattle program that we work with each day. It has been a long, hot, humid summer in 2016 and it will be a welcomed relief to have some rain show up to grow grass and hopefully put the pastures in better condition before going into Winter.

If you want to follow along on what goes on here each day please consider trailing along on Facebook. Facebook is easy to use and you can limit your social exposure by being selective in creating a list of folks to follow on Facebook. Here is the link to my Facebook timeline… https://www.facebook.com/TammyJCowdogGoldammer . You should be able to copy this link, paste the link into your browser, and get routed directly to logging in to your Facebook account or if you are currently on Facebook the link will take you to the Facebook site of Tammy Goldammer. You can also find Facebook pages Tammy’s Cowdogs and Tammy’s Cowdogs Page. The pages are not updated each day simply because I just don’t keep them linked. When things go haywire with FB automatic linking then I just let it go and move on. So, the best bet until I mentally make up my mind to tackle all the technological snafus is to just search Facebook for Tammy Goldammer.

Anyway. Tammy and the cowdogs are still here…working…taking life a day at a time…and planning on our future of tomorrows. The retained ownership cattle business has one certainty, “What I do today is how prepared I will be for 15-18 months from now.”

#hangintreecowdogs #TammysCowdogs #RockOnRanching

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~~ Slammed into Neutral ~~

FB post…
Friday, September 11, 2015, 7:48 AM
~~ Slammed into Neutral ~~
I didn’t want Cowdog Ducchess to forget her mom Hawk so I have taken Ducchess home at night to sleep in her mom’s second comforter. Ducchess found her on the comforter and on the floor next to my second Sandhill’s Saddlery saddle from the Feusner family of Ogallala, Nebraska. Putting on my boots this morning I missed Hawk’s head bumping for me to wipe my palms across her loving, soft and glowing eyes. My face grew flush with tears and Ms. Ducchess quietly got up from my side softly whining, “Hey, hey, don’t cry. I know. I miss mom too.” Up, to the door, shutting off the light, and pulling the door shut I felt so empty. So much to do today.The feed truck coming this morning, the virgin heifers to get in and deworm, then haul them N to a winter pasture for the breeding season. Then, back to home to get the heavy heifers in to deworm them and move them out of the dry lot to the NW hay field where they will stroll, eat and learn the nightly drill of the coyotes who will be watching the calving range sisters every move. Time permitting, then move the handful of spring calves out to roam with the coming yearling fall born heifers of 2014. The two bull calves now steers will be held back for a few days since I castrated them yesterday and I should keep them handy to watch for pesky flies. Remember Mr. Tuesday, the little frozen earred popsicle that I walked home to save from the wrath of the 30 some below zero wind? He is now less in the scrotum as is one of the last twins of the spring. Maybe I should go N to the Windmill and check the handful of cows that I hauled to there yesterday. See if they have settled in, found the rest and comfort of the trees along the big steep banks of the branch, and look to see if the gal with the fresh pedi is enjoying having the hind foot flush to the ground again. I need to take them mineral but I have to wait until the truck arrives today from Quincy, Illinois. And, I will need to go S to see what the logger fella has left for me in the skidder. Yesterday, the dozer man filled me in about the nests of yellow jackets, large red wasps,bumble bees, honey bees and hornets that he and his helper have found in the past few days. The dozer fella’s story of how Wyatt had a cab full of yellow jackets was a gasping tale of humor and terror. Wyatt’s high lift was overrun with yellow jackets. Wyatt jumps out and runs, leaving the high lift running in neutral against a stump bottom, and Wyatt is swarmed with the striped bastards. Wyatt runs over the ridge to the dozer fella and says, “What the heck do I do?” The dozer fella tells him to go home and get a sprayer of gas and find the nest. Wyatt leaves, comes back with a sprayer of gas, finds the nest about 15 yards from the still running high lift and sprays the piss out of the area. Wyatt gets back into the high lift, puts it in gear and from under the floor board comes the masses of the yellow striped bastards. The wasps had stayed with the high lift and had been taking in the heat of the motor while Wyatt was out gassing the wasp’s home place. Wyatt got stung 8 times or more and had to go home. Yep, life can sure dish all of us out a crappy hand. The sting of wasps. The sting of death. The lingering impacts of things gone wrong.
We got an inch of rain last night. Standing in my mom’s back yard this early morning and to the SW behind the steers, the timber was releasing waves of steam which was forming and rolling up from the rocks of the woods. Surreal. A flurry of thoughts power-stroked rapidly through my mind…all my heart, all my soul, all my energy, like sinew, you are the air I breathe, you are the beat of my heart, you are the steps of my feet, you are the fiber of my being, you are me, life doesn’t have to be sad but it is. The inch of rain is nice but for some reason, “I don’t care.”

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~~ History Repeating Itself ~~

FB post…
September 9 at 6:53pm · Edited ·
~~ History Repeating Itself ~~
Here they are. The twin girls from the 1st calf heifer. Ms. Ducchess and I went and brought them home from the N place. While Ducchess and I were driving home with the twins I thought we’d just go ahead and gather up the virgin range sisters, spray their flies off and haul them home too, “Heck, why not.” We unloaded the twins and their mom, got her a bit to eat, opened the pen so she could stroll to water and we were off to the N and W to the Windmill. We took the Iron Steed and the spray rig. Through the pasture we drove…just me and Ducchess…aka the gate getter and the range sister wrangler. About 1/2 way through the pasture, down along the steep banked branch. I stopped and told Ducchess, “Hunt ’em up and bring ’em.” She bombed off the iron horse like a rocket, down the steep E bank, grabbing dirt and smokin’ up the W bank, out wide, in behind the heifers on the W side and down the bank to the E and catching the E side heifers. With her heifers all gathered up, Ducchess pushed them up the steep E bank and I drove on to get the gates at the corral. Ducchess and the virgin range sisters were not far behind and coming at a walk. A few tried to break and beat it down the steep bank at the corral and take off but swifty Ducchess was all over them. Little heading job and all were turned back and headed to the gate. Ducchess held the heifers in the pen on the come by side, the iron steed and I had the middle and the away side. The fly killing commenced. We got the gals all sprayed down and headed back home for Ole Red the flatbed and the trailer. Four loads of 9 and we had everything hauled home before noon. Tomorrow morning we will pour them and haul them back to another place to the N for the winter and breeding season.
It did not dawn on me until Ducchess and I were coming down the drive at home that I had repeated history this morning. Unknowingly, repeated history. Five years ago on this same day, Hawk and I headed to the Windmill and did the exact same thing. Gathered up some heifers and hauled them home a few days after we buried Daddy Bert. Today, Ducchess and I took on the same task a few days after we buried her mother Hawk. I wonder if Bert and Hawk realize their first born girl carried the same torch today as did Momma Dog Hawk five years ago when we lost Daddy Bert. I choked back the tears and looked at Ducchess as we crossed the autogate, “Ducchess, thank you for your help.” Then I realized I said the same words to Hawk five years ago after we accomplished our first work task after burying Bert. I started reciting Psalm 23 to calm myself. Then it dawned on me that I recited Psalm 23 as I fought back the tears with Hawk five years ago.
To try to shift my mind from the dark sadness, I grabbed the camera and took pictures of my new twins and found two photos of their sire. This heifer is a dandy. I’ve gotten 7 calves in the last 24 hours out of this bull and they are all as gentle as can be. Gestation is running 273 days, birth weights are in the mid 60’s, and the calves are built perfect, fly right out of their moms and hop right up to nurse. So far, all the heifer udders are in great shape. Time will tell how the milk quality is. ~Sadly, Life Goes On

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cowdogdays15…Cowdog Production Sale May 15, 2015

The format for the cowdog production sale will be the same as previous sales. The activities begin at noon on Friday. It is a good idea to arrive by 11:30 or so, to get registered, grab a bite to eat and get acquainted with the surroundings. Please refer back to cowdogdays14, cowdogdays13 blog posts for a little more general info and to see how things went at previous sales.

I hope to have five 6-month old pups for the sale, a couple of yearlings and maybe an older cowdog that is pretty much an all-around cowdog. I’ll post pictures this week some time with some data. Here are a couple of photos from yesterday’s ranch work. I had 60 bull calves to work so I had the pups out for the work day. My Facebook post for the day was:

~~ Home Schooling ~~
Yes, I’m a “home schooler”. Today, the next five new potential cowdogs spent several hours at the corrals. They got to browse the pens, the alley, through the chute, then to the pickup to watch their great-grandma Hawk, great-aunt Ducchess, and great-uncle Bandit work 60 bull calves. It was hot today and they are not used to the heat, but they took it all in, got a water break, and took in more watching. Then they got to browse more when the cattle work was all done. They were tuckered out by the time they spent several hours doing things and watching “the big cowdogs”. I know my feet are tired. And, the laundry lady will need to put some baking soda in the water to get the green out of the jeans. We need “rain”…runnin’ the sprinkler to cut the dust. Dirt + pollen has me weeping water from my eyes and working with a runny nose. ~Tylenol, Alavert

PS…I see that a lot of my posts for the last 6 months are no longer available. That is due to Facebook account changes during the last three weeks. It is a technical thing, a headache…as they say, “It’s complicated.” I don’t plan to re-do these posts here on my blog. It took dozens of hours to post the fall calving, fall AI work, and winter cattle work…so I don’t plan to take the time to replace the posts. Wrong time of year…too much other stuff to do. Sorry. Plus, I have had to take care of some unforeseen family matters for my mother the last couple of months. All the little glitches just chew up a person’s time and has made me late in getting my cowdog sale pulled together.

Keep tabs on my blog here for sale updates, weather updates. With the odd spring, some folks are late in planting crops, getting spring calving behind them, getting cattle to grass. Some folks have already said they cannot make the May sale and are planning on coming to look at cowdogs and watch demos during June. When it gets ultra-hot in July & August, the demo time will slow way down. So, if you cannot make it to the sale in May, just send me an email or call. We can work something out for a visit later on.

If something happens and I have to postpone the sale…I’ll post by May 13, 2015 (Wednesday) that the sale day (May 15th) is postponed. Sometimes we have to work with life’s “curve balls”. Thank you for visiting my website, my blog, and my 3 Facebook sites. I’ll get that FB stuff corralled and streamlined – someday!

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Just a Little Note…

Just a little note to folks. I have not been able to keep up with returning phones calls the past four weeks. The weather turned cold, more cattle feeding chores, some cold weather issues, a tad slow times with some family and not enough hours in the day. So there are a lot of folks that have not gotten called back. The list is long and I apologize for not having called folks back in a timely manner. It is not that I don’t care or that I don’t appreciate your contacting my about my cowdogs and puppies. When it got back to below zero and some snow came…well, I just had to take care of the livestock. I did get a couple of calls done in a day’s time. But that left a lot of other folks not getting called back.

I spent some time with a few repeat customers when they came for their cowdogs and believe me…we all got cold! Winter is almost a memory in the rear view mirror though. Spring cattle work will start next week. Cattle are needing to be poured, pastures need to be harrowed, preg checking needs to be done, calves need to be weaned and hauled home and hay fields need to be set aside for spring growth to make early summer hay. I sure hope there are Spring rains in the near future. It is very dry here, so a few timely showers of rain will be greatly appreciated.

We might have seen our last blast of snow yesterday. Today is in the 20’s and then I see 40’s, 50’s and 60’s on the weather forecast. Time to think Spring and to start some new young cowdogs on some basic work.

The cowdog production sale will be May 15th. I’ll be working on putting together a group of young cowdogs for the sale. I won’t be promoting the sale a lot this year. I want to keep things a little smaller and a little more personal for folks. Just watch my blog here for a category of “cowdogdays15”. I’ll post more in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to a break from winter.

Thank you for visiting my website, my blog and my Facebook pages. And, I sincerely appreciate the phone calls. If I have missed calling you, please give me another jingle.

This photo is yesterday morning – March 04, 2015 – maybe our last snow. It was “flurries in a hurry”!

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~~ Hey Cow ~~

So yesterday, the cattle hustling quartet spent time with gathering up the AI’d pairs here at home. The N bunch came home with the exception of a cow on the far N hill who must have been staying with her calf who was further N in the wrong pasture. Half of the W bunch had ventured home to the big lot so I jostled some range cubes in the bunk to let them know that coming home was a good thing. The SW bunch was splattered all over their pasture. They were not interested in coming home when I called them but when they could see that some other cows were lined up along the bunk then they decided they’d venture my way. So the cowdogs and I waited and the SW bunch did indeed come on home. The W bunch? Well it didn’t matter that they all did not come home because ultimately all three bunches were going to become one…in the exact same location as where the W bunch stragglers were bedded down. So there was no reason to hassle them. They were at peace and it was fine to leave them at peace. I got the Deere and 2 bales of hay and headed W. The cows at peace got fed and it was funny to note that they were all cows that have been spending their lives together at the Windmill until I brought them home for calving. They are older cows that all have contributed a replacement heifer or a bull calf throughout their lives. They are all AI’d sired from the days when I did natural heat AI by myself. All but one still have good mouths. They have been a great set of cows and it will be hard to watch them leave someday. I strung hay, the calves jumped and bucked and head-butted the hay and the cows lazily got up to come to feed. I went back and opened the lot gate to the SW bunch, let the pairs stroll on out, held one cow back and followed the pairs on down the hill to where the hay was, shut the gate behind them and went on back home. Hawk, Ducchess and I went to inspect the lone cow and the lone calf over N. The cow’s bag was tight, the calf’s nose was scratched up with barb wire lines and the calf was two fences away from where he needed to be. I gave the cowgirls the, “Psstt, psstt” and they quietly leaped off the iron steed, got behind the calf and off we went to the gate, through another gate, to the lane, and headed back N to take the calf to the open gate and back with his mom. We left them be so that he could nurse. Back at home I strung some hay in the big lot for the N cows. I had sorted the calves off and they were in a trap with hay and range cubes. I opened the gates and Hawk & Ducchess moved the cows through the corrals to the big lot with the hay. Next task was to get the lone pair way over N. The calf was done nursing and the pair were grazing. Looking at Hawk & Ducchess I said softly, “Hunt ’em up & bring ’em”. They had a tad short of a mile to reach the pair and all I saw were cowdog butts going up and over terraces, in & out of sight. The cow spotted the cowdogs and spun around, trotted to her calf and off to the N they went…headed to the branch and the cedars. It wasn’t long and weaving in & out of the cedars along the branch came the cow, the calf and the gathering duo. They traveled the cedars until they ran out of cedars and Ducchess got ahead and made them bend to come on up the hill. Yep, that went well. Sorted the calf off and put him in with his Signature siblings and let the cow out into the lot for hay. I got Bandit, hooked up the trailer and the foursome we headed N to the Windmill to bring 6 cows and a calf home. The six cows heard me get to the gate and they strolled up the steep branch banks and looked. Five range sisters stared and the 6th range sister had spun around and bombed back down the bank and all I could see was the rear of a cow heading W up the opposite bank and out to the open field. I gave the cowdogs the, “Psst, psst” and they got in behind the 5 and brought them to the pens. I set the gates told Bandit to stay with me and sent Ducchess & Hawk for the pair. Down the steep bank, up the steep bank and gone were the cowdogs. I couldn’t see but I knew they had arrived at their destination because I heard the cow bawl that she was not interested in the cowdogs. Bandit was whining and I said, “You wanna go too?” Looking at me, he cocked his head, slowly blinked once and said, “Yes, please?” “Okay, go on,” I said. Down the bank, up the bank and pulling ground with all 4s he went. I couldn’t see the cowdogs but I knew they were making progress. There was a periodic cow bawl and the sound of the bawl let me know they were closer. Sure ’nuff, soon I heard the cow, calf and cowdogs come down the W bank, into the water, tracking through the water and then they appeared in the horseshoe bend below the corral. The cow had her calf against the bank and she was at the front of the water and earth fort…staring down the cowdogs. I let them be and the cowdogs all came to one side to flush her out of the horseshoe bend. The range sister was not interested in more movement so she lowered her head, pawed the rocks, took a driving dive at the cowdogs, got nailed in the nose by Bandit, heeled by Ducchess and they had the cow at the open end of the horseshoe. Hawk was behind the calf and all 5 were now out of the horseshoe. I watched. The cow whirled around for her calf, Ducchess heeled her again, she spun around and to the corral they came. Up the bank, around the corner, passed the big red oak, around the wing of the fence and into the pen. The cowdogs paused at the gate smiling. The cow was pissed. The calf was calm and had not been touched by the cowdogs…perfect. I absolutely hate cowdogs that will disrespectfully pick on a calf and harm a calf out of sheer meanness. It is not fair and it is predatory and makes a set of cows mean when you get cowdogs that attack calves. I bought a few cowdogs like that once and they don’t last here. But a cowdog that works with discipline and packs the ability and brains to use force wisely is priceless in my book. The cow was not receptive to me doing the loading in the trailer so I let the cowdogs load the 6 cows and the calf. She was sort of wound for sound but she loaded and off we went. I tagged the calf, gave him his vaccinations and turned them to the lot to mingle and eat hay. The cowdogs and I left, went E to get a bull and haul him home to have ready to put with the cows. In the big picture, all went really good yesterday. We got things accomplished and I do regret that the Windmill cow got all bent out of shape and got a split ear out of the deal. But, she refused to bring her calf to the pen at the Windmill on her own, refused to come easily, refused to load easily and her refusing to come home with the rest of her sisters was not an option. She will heal and be fine. Glad we got done what we did yesterday because it has indeed begun to drop snow. Won’t be much snow…just inconvenient ground conditions so that is why we added to our “to do” list yesterday. All is well…even the sore ear.And the calf on that cow is fantastic. He is a keeper….long, stout, wide top, gentle, and smooth in his build. All 6 cows were called “open” on preg day, hauled to the Windmill and all were actually bred. Glad I held on to them for a few months. The other 5 will calve in a week or so. The fantastic bull calf was born back in September at the beginning of the calving season. He must have been really hidden on preg day. Today might be a lazy feeding day and a good foto day with the skiff of snow. ~Thanking Yesterday’s Cowdog Trio

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~~ That’ll Do ~~

Ah yes, the AI’ing is in the record book. Data recorded and time to clean everything up and put stuff away until the fall of 2015. Now we wait to see the harvests of our cowdog labors. Being on this outfit would not happen if I did not have the cowdog crews. Gathering the pairs yesterday at the tip of dawn went slick. Letting the cows drift into the lot & the trap and holding the calves back went slick. And the mud was stiffer so one could hydroplane at times without the fear of that feeling of your boots and socks being sucked off your feet. It was chilly. It was windy but it all went well. And a big thanks to the Select Sire rep. Mr. Dan. 1st thing he told me when he got there was that he was not feeling well. I was glad we only had 37 hd. to do. We got started at 9 and were done by 10:15. Some folks would have called in sick. But not Dan and the cowdog crew. Nope, we had a time sensitive task and we all showed up and got it done.

Now. For a glimpse of the rest of the story…lol.

It was sorry windy. Loaded up Hawk, Bandit, Ducchess, 4 buckets of range cubes and pulling out from down by the granary Ole Red the flatbed began to fart, buck, cough, choke, snort and gasp. Outta gas? No. Bad gas? More than likely. Fuel filter plugged? Could be. Time for this today? No, Ole Red…bad timing. You get on up here and get your butt on down the road. We coughed, bucked, barked, banged, gasped but we got to the S place. Not a cow in sight. Set my gates at the trap, set my gates in the corral, tip-toed into the lot to see how soft the mud was. Put the range cubes in the lot bunks. Hollered for the cows. Listened. Ah yes, cows are calling back, telling the calves to get out of bed. It took awhile but they began to stroll to the corrals. A few stragglers so I sent Ducchess and Bandit back about 1/4 mile to bring up the rear. The N cows and calves gathered at the gate and I let the cows in and made the calves stay back. Went to the S pairs, opened the corral gate and let the cows in and made the calves stay back. Hawk, Ducchess and Bandit held everything while I did the sort. Took basically 10 minutes or less to do the sort and the processing crew and I left for home. Ole Red did not want to start but we managed to get back home. So I was frustrated because my socks had worked their way off my feet. I’ve worn these 2 pairs of socks together before and had great luck. So, why today do my sock pals need to work off my feet? I was running out of time. But I literally ran to the house, got different socks out of the dirty clothes basket, stuffed the socks in a pocket, ran back to the pickup and pulled up to the shop. Popped the hood on Ole Red, yep that dang little rubber L-shaped ditty had blown itself off the line under the air filter. Ok. So, I shut Ole Red off so that I did not have my wildrag get caught up in the serpentine belt. The little rubber ditty seemed to not be long enough to stay where it needed to stay. Ok. I ran to the house, got some tiny zip ties, ran back, had to take my gloves off to handle them, nearly cut some wire with the needle nose pliers and it still was not a snug fit but I was running out of time so I slammed the hood down. Grabbed a bottle of Heet and drove Ole Red to the gas barrel. As I was gassin’ up Ole Red I was po-go hoppin’ around changing my socks. My gawd it was chilly having my feet bare in the wind and the cold. But hey, I am a multi-tasker right? Got my socks changed, flipped the sliding bad girls on the dash, thought to myself, “Crap, I forgot to screw the air filter back down…dangit”, so I ran out hit the hood in the “sweet spot”, flipped the hood up, put on the air filter, dropped the hood, ran around, fired up Ole Red and we were ready. No, wait. We need a chain and some extension cords. I got the chain and in the process forgot the extension cords. Went to the house and got the semen tank and here came Dan. He tells me he is not feeling well and I had to pause…that makes 2 of us! Thinking to myself, “But, I have socks that will stay up so I’m good.” We got to the S place and I had to run back home to get the extension cords. We got all set up and worked from 9 to 10:15. With the two groups of cows done we loaded up, went home and Dan headed for his home and bed. I am just grateful he did not cancel, “Thanks man!” I hosed off Hawk, Ducchess, and Bandit, let them drip dry a bit, fed them and left them at my mom’s in the basement. I went and got Levi and he and I went to feed. It was Levi’s 1st day to ride solo in the Deere to go feed in over a year. That cowdog was nothing short of over the moon. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. I got in the Deere, looked at the ground and Levi looked like a washing machine on agitate. I told him to load up and he didn’t even use the steps. 1st thing he did was smile at me and then he looked at the ignition key and smelled it. I said, “That’s right…a new key…and don’t you dare break it off like you did the other key.” Levi & I headed S, found the N pairs out of the wind, fed them some hay and went and found the S pairs and fed them some hay. Then, the day went back to being a normal day. Yep, behind the scenes with Tammy & the cowdogs. Today, we are going to find some bulls, take our calving books and record some cow & calf numbers and get things ready to gather pairs tomorrow to co-mingle them for 30 days with some bulls. Keep your socks up and have a good Wednesday.

Cow on the right calved 11/25/14, no CIDR but did give her Lutalyse…she is cycling. If she sticks she will be moved up by 60 days…back on track!

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Learning Giving

My folks started their family in a part of the Sandhills of Nebraska in Grant County. The closest town of any size was Ogallala and it was basically 68 miles away. We traveled a sand trail or road from the cook house to the “main road”. The main road was a one-lane oil strip that ran N & S. On the N end of the oil strip was Hwy 2 and Whitman. On the S end was a highway that ran from Tryon to Arthur then on S to Ogallala. The drive on that one-lane oil road was the most beautiful drive. And it still is the most beautiful drive in my memories. Tall, lofty, choppy hills. Winding flatter areas that snaked along the edges of some sub-irrigated wet meadows which led to more ascents and descents of those huge sandy hills that laid from the NW to the SE. Hills built and formed by the blowing prevailing winds chasing the sand into mounds. With time some grasses took a hold then the winds blew again to cover the grasses with more blowing, drifting and piling sands. Sands as light as dust. My mom referred to the sand and the hills as “hell” on many occasions. My dad referred to the hills as “a gift from God”. On a few occasions, my mom would take my brother and I to Ogallala on Sundays so that we could go to church. There was a Lutheran church in Ogallala. We always sat in the back at the end of a row. Sometimes we would get there on time. But a lot of the time we were late. Sometimes we would leave early. Sometimes we would leave after greeting the pastor after the service. Before we would leave town my mom would take us to a store. She would give my brother and I a nickel, a dime or once in awhile a quarter. I cannot tell you the joy that those nickels, dimes and quarters brought to me. She gave us that money with love and we knew that what she gave us was all she had. It truly was all she had. I bought the same thing every time. The little chocolate balls colored green, yellow, orange and brown that came in a little clear plastic wrapped tube. The money I had left was given to mom and when we’d get home she would put the money in my black Angus bull piggy bank. My mom always got herself a Cherry Mash. My brother would get the little packages of licorice nibs. We’d get back in the car for our nearly 2 hour journey N to home. The key to the joys of that candy gift was to make it last all the way home and maybe even have some left to share with dad. My dad loved chocolate too. Those days of “giving” from my mom have stuck with me my entire life. The pure, simple joy of a nickel, a dime or the occasional quarter. Love in a piece of metal that gave more than 68 miles of sheer joy. The joy of sucking on each individual chocolate ball. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the entire world could see how much greater life could be if everyone took up the gift of giving…giving without expecting or demanding something in return? Now today, the cowdog processing crew and I are going to be giving some cows some range cubes, taking out their CIDRs, giving them some Lutalyse, and returning on Tuesday to give those range sisters some Protege Profit swimmers. We hope those swimmers give some range sister eggs some company and hook up to make babies to be seen in the fall of 2015. Remember, what I do today is what I will receive in a year. Take up the notion of giving…giving without taking. It really is a good thing.
Happy Saturday!

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Move on Bud

Updates from FB (12/10/2014, 5 AM) are below the original post.

Hangin’ Tree Cowdogs…
At an event held recently at/near Las Vegas was some sort of dog competition. Some fella with a Hangin’ Tree Cowdog was there. Another fella was there with a dog of another breed and a conversation ensued. The Hangin’ Tree guy began to run me into the dirt and told the fella with the other breed of dog that, “her dogs are crap and they cannot be registered…so they are crap.” lol… I have been very clear that “I personally do not want” my Hangin’ Tree cowdogs in the Trayer club. I’ve written openly about “my decision” to not be a part of that “dog club”. Buying a “retiring from the cowdog business” set of cowdogs was nothing short of a joke and a conglomeration of lies from the seller(s). Via DNA testing, I was able to salvage good things and sort off bad things and unravel lots of issues in the breeding of the dogs I purchased. They certainly were not from a 3 or 4-way crossbreeding program. My website home or Welcome Page is clear about my decisions, my blog has a category for other postings relating to the purchase of Trayers’ Cowdogs. And, if one needs more information, you can google the public court records of Cole County Missouri and find the results of litigation that clearly put a stop to the fella’s madness. I know, I know, he also says to folks that he drove it in my ask on the lawsuit and that he “won”…well, he lost. And lastly, do not think for a minute that I am the only person in 20 years that got a dose of untruthfulness. The antics of the last two meetings of the cowdog club pretty much spoke/and continue to speak for themselves…in as much as the minutes posted are not in any way, shape or form true to what really occurred. Talking smack about me is fine Chuck. I own a cattle operation with certain needs and am determined to live a clean life. You best just let it go. You are hurting no one but yourself. ~Just Sayin’

~~From FB…
Ken Fox I agree. Stand your ground. It’s a poor man that runs down the competition.
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Glenda Snyder Ericsson I used to joke with Choc, it’s a dog eat dog world in the Cowdog world. I know when I hear a breeder running another breeder down, I’m turned off by that.
And I do not register my dogs in that association either.
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Tia K Farley Your friends support you!!!
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Paul Brady Tammy, I sure appreciate your straight talk. Always enjoy reading your post.
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Paul Brady Glenda Ericsson I have good memories of Choc. I hope you are doing well.
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Erin Gonzalez What an ass, him. Tammy, people are insanely jealous of what they cannot have, do, make, or produce. I would bet the farm if he were to get a free breed or Hangin’ Tree puppy on the down low; he’d be on it like white on rice.
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Lisa Bedell Do I need to punch somebody in the nose?
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Geri Smith-Cyphers Unbelievable
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Kristina Farnsworth I only hope that someday I can say I have a Tammy’s Cowdogs dog!
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Erin Gonzalez Ha! LOL, me too!
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Heath Curry My Grandfather used to say that a man would lie to you quicker about a dog or a horse than anything else ! stand up for what you believe in !
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Steve Krutzfeldt You probably don’t recall but I called you some years back about a dog in Montana (solid red cowdog) I saw on a ranch on a flatbed with your name on his collar. I said then and say now that was an impressive dog in presence and build and one any true dog man or woman would be proud to have. The fellow bought him at auction and I could see it would not be a fit……(dog would have gotten frustrated eventually and not done well) I believe you found another buyer or bought him back which was a testament to your character. You might recall the dogs name? I had a new catahoula x at the time who is now 4 and very good at what he does. Kind regards. Steve
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Tammy’s Cowdogs Cowdog Luke was in MT. Luke had more on the ball than the new owner. He worked with Luke here at the sale and I told him to take him, use him and if he could not get up to speed with Luke that I wanted him back. I bought Luke back. And I do recall visiting with you Steve Krutzfeldt. Thanks for the note. Luke and Levi were in the same litter.
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Ashlee Janda Dickey We have some of Tammy’s Cowdogs “crap” and they are awesome!!
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Nicole Beaufils Results talk
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Gwen Shepperson Some people would rather focus on the dogs and improving the breed, and others I would swear live only for the drama, drama, drama. You just gotta hope Karma drives a big ol diesel teuck!
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Suzanne Fairchild I’m with Gwen!!!
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Matt Carter You go girl and I know your cow dogs are the best because they eat the best damn maple syrup around
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Heath Curry Hey do you know anyone that gathers sheep and goats with heelers
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Sd Cattle Friend Page Congratz, you must have some pretty good dogs to have gotten in this guys head that bad.
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Debby Goodwin I am with Lisa Bedell…just give me a name. And I thinkSuzanne Fairchild might be in the mood too
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Linda Prentiss Way to go Tammy’s Cowdogs girl!!!! Stand up for yourself in a man’s world and you’re my sis!!!!
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Tammy’s Cowdogs lol…Yes, before Luke made it back to me he got caught up in a “prostitution ring” and sired at least 2 litters of pups. The folks involved in “stealing Luke’s virginity”? The transporter, the guy that had bought Luke, and 2 HT “breeders” …you cannot pinpoint the masterminds who used Luke to breed some bitches “before” he was delivered back to me “after more than 30 days with the hauler”. I was assured Luke was fine, happy, being well-cared for…over 30 days to deliver my Luke back to me. But, 2 ranchers who bought pups from 2 HT people contacted me when their pups were about a year old and inquired about Luke and if I had Luke because they wanted more pups out of Luke. That is when I started putting 2 & 2 together and could then confirm my suspicions. Both the ranchers were willing to take their cowdogs to get DNA samples and we sent the samples off and sure enough…both pups were sired by Luke. 100% matches. So. There is the “honesty” factor in the HT world/club. Thieves, throat cutters…jealous people. They are not worth spit to me. But they damn sure like using my cowdogs for stud service. Oh..and by the way…they “registered those litters” and “registered their cowdogs”…from my Luke – a not registered cowdog. Honesty does not exist with that bunch. Well, maybe it takes on a “whole new flavor”. Period.

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