Just Another Day on the Farm

Thanks to the long, very wet spring this year, farmers have had a record hay season.  JayDee's dad, who has always been a farmer but mostly dairy cows, has been running a dry farm in Portage (on the border of UT and ID) for the past 16 or so years.   It's called dry farming because you don't use any irrigation to water your crops just whatever nature sends your way.  So the kind of weather we've been having this year has been a blessing to dry farmers everywhere.  

JayDee decided we needed to go up and spend a day with grandpa to help bring in the hay and by "we" I mean JayDee.  Let's be honest, there's not much me or the kids can do to help.  My usual job on the farm is to drive the truck while it's being loaded or unloaded or the go-fer when something is not right there that they need.  I did however drive a tractor for the first time this trip.  Yay me!  All it was was moving it from one place to another and JayDee had to make sure the arm was positioned right before I left so all I had to do was drive.  But still...I drove a tractor!  A big, burly tractor.  A machine that if I wrecked or broke would take me 30+ years to pay off.  Glad it was smooth sailing.

The kids and I spent most of our time doing the fun things, riding 4 wheelers and horses, feeding the calves and holding the new puppies.  Grandpa has a new horse named Big Steve and since he's the most tame out of the 3 he's the one we like to ride.  

Saddling up Big Steve

Waiting patiently...

Everyone got a turn

My 2 favorite cowboys 

This was probably my favorite part of our whole day...

10 minutes after arriving at the farm, Isaac took off into the newly cut hay field and tripped almost immediately.  He scraped his hand on the hard cut edge of the hay and his day was ruined.  It was really only a scratch but it was red, which meant it was bleeding, which meant it wouldn't feel better without a band-aid.  I of course had no band-aid.  I tried to get his mind off it but nothing seemed to work.  JayDee picked up a roll of duct tape and I looked at him quizzically and then he said, "Isaac, do you want a cowboy band-aid?"  What a stroke of genius!  Isaac immediately said yes and he was good to go.  Instant healing.  All day he was being asked why he had tape on is hand and he would correct them and say it wasn't tape it was a cowboy band-aid.

Newt and Lady, Grandpa's dogs, are the proud parents of 5 new puppies.

Only 3 days old!

After our hard days work, we were rewarded with a trip to the rodeo.

The 60th anniversary Stone, ID Amateur Rodeo.

Small town rodeos are pretty fun because they throw in some other events that aren't included in pro rodeos but the main events are a little lacking.  Like the bull riding where no one even comes close to riding 8 seconds or the team roping where only 2 teams out of 10 actually rope their cow.   We did get to sit on the front row and when the horses ran past us we were showered with dirt that they kicked up.  We've never experienced that before.  It was almost like sitting on the front row of the Shamu show at Sea World but...not.  :)

P.S.  There is just something amazing about seeing JayDee in his nature element.  Don't get me wrong, I am SO glad JayDee is not and does not want to be a farmer, but watching him saddle a horse, get on any piece of equipment and know how to run it, herd cows and understand what his dad is saying in farm-ese just makes my heart pitter-patter.  I just love this really good man!