Short and sweet

And that's just how she was.  Our first calf of the year was born today and she was as precious as they come.  She'd slipped under the fence into the grass catch with the other pairs and, when I noticed her, she was trying her very best to nurse a bull calf who thankfully thought they were playing a rousing game of merry go round.  I love her and found myself wanting to take her inside and keep her forever.  Hello new maternal instincts. 

This little gal was out of our Embryo Transplant Heifers and as cowboy John recalled reading after the fact.... the gestation period of an Angus Heifer is about two weeks shorter than that of our Black Hereford heifers.  Surprise!!

So here we go! We have 55 of these feisty Angus heifers to calve out and if the other moms are anything like the first one, we are going to have our hands full! One thing's for sure, I know it'll help Hoag appreciate how docile our Black Hereford heifers are when it comes their time February 18.  Let the games begin!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Sale time! That's right folks. The much anticipated, once a year ( well soon to be twice but that's besides the point) Hoag's Land Black Hereford sale is quickly approaching and we are all in full blown worker bee mode!

It takes a lot to put on a sale and as this is the last time when we'll be selling Bulls and Heifers on the same day, we have our hands plenty full.

One of the first steps to getting ready for the sale is putting together our catalog that we'll mail out to everyone that's been to our sale, expressed interest in our breed or even muttered the words Black and Hereford in the same paragraph.  ( just kidding on the last one, that'd be creeeeepy) 

In order to get the catalog out we put together all the Stats on each bull.  Imagine a baseball card.  You see a picture of the 2nd baseman; his batting average, RBI's, homeruns, etc.  We put the same type of info on the catalog for a bull; weaning weight, scrotal circumference, yearling weight, etc.  

Then, we get them all gussied up for their still shots.  Thank God Cowboy John asked his brother to help becuase this is not a job I could nor would want to do these days. I've suffered through in the years past and you come out looking like a coal miner.  I definitely was handed the pregnancy trump card on these three long long days.

This process includes brushing them down, clipping their faces, blowing all their hair forward and giving their bodies a " hot shave"  so all their super fuzzy hairs are nice and short but they still have plenty of winter coat. 

From the salon its out to the pen where yours truly spends all day standing and squatting trying to get just the perfect picture! Head forward, close leg back, far leg forward, show us your goods, arch your neck...( It's like trying to get a teenager to pose for a picture when they dont stick their tongue out or close their eyes right at the last minute! )  We use these pics for the catalog and the website... and the blog of course!  

Then! ( oh its not over yet) the next day we have a videographer come out and take video of the bulls and hiefers walking one by one.  Seems pretty simple right? WRONG!! Again, we're dealing with a teenage mentality and hormone level. They've been in the barn waiting to get cleaned off again so when its time to go outside its more like "WHIPPEEEE< WOOOHOOOO buck buck, kick kick, snort, buck kick" Right.

So, again yours truly with her trusty side kick and star sibling, Mikey, spent 8 hours moving 110 head around into just the right positions until Charlie, our very patient videograper, gave us the go ahead to let them go.  Needless to say, long long long day for anyone.

But, we now have all sorts of data, pics and visual stimulation for our buyers to ooh and ahhh over how good looking our cattle are and thats the whole point, right? 

Now we're off to the printers where we patiently away before a whole day of folding, taping, stamping, addressing, and mailing. 

Happy 2012 Everyone!