01 02 03 From the Corner of the Circle L: You know Your a Real Ranch Wife when................ 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

You know Your a Real Ranch Wife when................

1. Your husband uses your hair dryer to warm a calf up.

So Cody and I purchased a calf warmer a couple years ago. It has come in really handy when we have a cold calf. It has saved more than one calf. Well the calf warmer has a built in heater but Cody decided that maybe it would be better to have two heaters! My hair dryer works wonders.

2. Your entry way into the house serves as place for the Calf Warmer and/or stall.

Because we want to keep a close eye on the calf in the warmer we just bring it in the house. I don't mind. In fact, I can remember numerous times waking up in the middle of the night to check on the calf and the happiness that I felt when I opened the warmer and the calf is standing up looking at me. It does my heart good. It also makes my day when we have a calf in the warmer and the twins want to hug the calf or talk to him. This my friends is why I love being a ranch wife and ranch mom.

3. You use your car to haul feed home.

My cowboy and I just bought a new Suburban just so I could make my trip worthwhile! You see I may work in town and bring the kids to school every day so I need to make my gas pay for itself. Right!? It saves miles for us to haul feed home in the car. I could not imagine heading home from town without some kind of feed for our animals in the back. Whether that is for the Cows, Dogs, Horses or 4-H Steers, I can haul it all.

4. You have to dig a hole for your favorite dog.

Yep, in real life you have to deal with the death of your favorite dog. I am thankful for the time that we got with each of them.

5. You have to give up your favorite horse.

Yep the time came when I had to "Share" my favorite horse. It makes this momma proud that Reata wants to be a cowgirl.

6. You have to memorize all the pastures by their "Names".

Growing up on a farm/ranch my parents and grandparents all had names for their pastures and fields. I have often wondered how the pastures got named. I am sure that there are some good stories. So when I married Cody over 15 years ago, I had to memorize all the ranch's pasture names. I also had to memorize the neighbor's pastures name. I would hear directions like, "Can you go get the pair out of the 4 Sections?" or "Can you go get the horses out of the 800?"

Murphy's South Meadow

Murphy's Middle Meadow

7. You have washed Horse Saddle Pads in your washer.

Yep it's true. You are not a Real Rancher's wife until you have used your washer for a dirty, hairy saddle Pad!

8. You get that "Butterfly" feeling when you see the semis coming down the road to pick up our calves.

You may think that this is odd but when you breathe, sweat, worry, pray and live to make sure that ALL the calves grow big enough to go on the truck; the "Butterfly" feeling is the feeling of a "Job Well Done" for our family.

Shipping Day at Circle L Ranch.

9. You are a PRO-Multi tasker.

I mean, I can do laundry, talk on the phone and get supper ready. You see I manage a feed store, volunteer for Morrill County Cattlemen, Morrill County Fair Board, Bridgeport FFA, PTA member and I am a 4-H Mom, so when I get home I have to catch up on all the house chores and ranch chores. I am a PRO-Multi tasker, just ask Cody.

10. You have pulled a calf by yourself.

So I have pulled numerous calves but I have one story that I would like to share. So this was about 4 years ago. I was 3-4 months pregnant with the twins, Cody had to work and he asked me if the boys and I could go check on the cows and feed them while he was at work. Not a problem. You see where the cows were is about 8 miles to the north of trail road and it takes about 45 minutes or more or less to get to them. We fed them and then started looking the hills over and what do you know, a cow is having a backwards calf. I had two options. One was let her go and have Cody come up after work which means that he would be after 7pm or option two was for the boys and I to pull the calf. I am guessing that you are getting a picture of what this might have looked like. No it probably wasn't pretty but this is how the rest of the story goes. I had Cade drive the pickup, please note that my first priority is the kid's safety but I also needed to save a cow and calf. I had a rope and Cade had a gas pedal. I told him "Now Cade please get as close to the momma cow has you can. When I get her roped, stop and I will tie the rope to the hydra bed arms." Cade says, "Mom please rope her on the first loop." So our plan was working great until I got her roped and then the fun began. The cow went one way, Cade put the brakes on. I was yelling at Cade, the cow was getting away and I was trying to hold the rope and hold my pants up. I have to let you know I never did let go of the rope and I did get it dallied around the hydra arms. I got her up short to the pickup and proceeded to get the vet box out of the pickup. "Boys, please help me find dad's vet box." "Mom, it is on the porch at home," Kason said. Well a ranch wife has to do what a ranch wife has to do. I had no OB gloves, no calf puller, and no hooks. All I had was a chain that I had found in the glove box. "Thank you, God" and "Please let this calve be alive." The moral of this story is that I had God on my side and two little helpers that day. I also got the calf pulled. HE WAS ALIVE. I am here to tell this story and that calf went on the truck that fall. I will never forget that day.

11. Going on a date with your cowboy means that you went to a Morrill County Cattlemen's Meeting that served Prime Rib Sandwiches.

I bet you are laughing right now but really it is the truth. Cody and I rarely go on dates with out our kids but I know that "dates" with Cody are really important. Most of our dates include sitting on the edge of our bed talking, praying and holding hands.

12. You turn your back to your kid in a parking lot (Walmart) and he is peeing on your tire.

Yep it happens, more than once. At least they didn't pee their pants. On the ranch that's how we potty train. Pee in the dirt or a tire!! It works well.

13. You have to "Share".

OK so let me tell you about the "Sharing" I'm talking about. When Cody and I got married, he had things and I had things, right? Well that was the beginning of "Sharing". I have "Shared" my cowboy hat, coats, ropes, headstalls, and horses to name a few. When we had kids, "Sharing" is just an everyday occurrence. Don't get me wrong I love to "Share", but I do get a laugh out of "Sharing". I get "Naomi, I'll just ride your colt for you and get the buck out of him for you", or "Mom, can I borrow your Bog Boots so I don't get mine dirty." Or "Mom, Can I borrow your gun? I want to shoot the birds." Anyway I love; "Sharing", I know that is what God want us to do. Life is all about "Sharing" and I am trying to teach my children how important it is. God is just "Sharing" us.

A birthday present from my Cowboy. I have "Shared" this many times.

14. You serve BEEF at almost every meal.

Yep, I just said that! We love BEEF and eat it every day. I honestly cannot imagine not having beef every day. My grandparents were raised on beef, I was raised on beef and my kids are being raised on beef. We are one healthy family. Just ask our doctor!!!

15. You may or may not use baling wire to hold together pieces of furniture in your house. That is all I am going to say about that!!!

16. You plan birthday parties, or other special events around calving, branding, or haying.

Special events are really important to me and to my family but taking care of our animals are important also. It happens daily. Sometimes we are late to events because events happen on the ranch that we have to tend too.

Birthdays are SPECIAL in our Family.

When we get together, WE ALL GET TOGETHER.

Every Birthday is a PARTY.

Family & Friends are important to ME.

17. When you realize that some months out of the year, your husband sees the cows, horses and land more than he sees his family.

The day that I figured out that it was more important to support him than to fight him on why he was never home, made our marriage so much better. You see, I now understand that during times like calving and haying, that my cowboy is looking out for our family, animals and he is doing his job. I really do cherish the times that I have with him even if it is a hug and kiss on his way out the door. There is never a day that I don’t tell him “Thank You” and “I love you.”

This is My Cowboy doing what he does best. I am more
than blessed to have him in my life. He is a great cowboy, dad and husband.

18. You wash the “Red Book”.

This is the "Red Book".

For those of you don’t know what the “Red Book” is, it is a book that carries all the tallies in it, calving records, pasture records, financial records, notes, to do list, appointments, days on colts, oil changes, and on and on. So this is Cody’s diary. So when I washed this book………….. Let’s just say I will not do that again!

19. You have numerous Pets (wanted and unwanted).

Being a ranch wife and an animal lover is so rewarding. For instance, having a pet Bull. I couldn't find a picture of the bull but I can feed him cake. He looks mean but he likes me a lot. I can walk up to him in the pasture and feed him a piece of cake.
Being a ranch mom also includes looking after frogs, lizards, turtles, birds, bugs and other species! I have found pets in pockets, bottles, cages and running around the house. Life at the Circle L is never boring.

Reata feeding cake to a Cow.

Kason loving his new colt.

20. Your cowboy says "Let's go check water Over West. It won't take that long."

I have learned that means pack snacks and drinks because we are going to be gone most of the day. I would not trade "Checking water or checking fence or checking cows" for anything. Those days turn into family memories.

21. You learn to be flexible with everything.

I have learned being married to a rancher means that you really cannot plan for anything. This is what I mean, on any given day I may want to clean the house or do laundry and then my cowboy comes in the door. "Naomi, can you and the kids help me move the cows?" or "Hon, can you help me with a colt in the corral?" I have learned that a clean house, clean laundry, or clean dishes can wait. Making memories cannot.

22. You learn how to just get a job done.

What I am talking about is sometimes getting all the ranch responsibilities done takes a lot of effort. One day when I was 7 months pregnant with the twins and Cody had a broken leg, and we needed to sort some yearlings. We each got on a 4-wheeler. I am sure that we looked like a pair but the job needed done and we got it done. Being a ranch wife means being flexible to get jobs done. Sometimes my attitude gets in the way but I am thankful for all my ranch wife jobs.

This is Cody when he had a broken neck.
The twins were about 5 months old.

23. You find tears rolling down your checks for numerous reasons.

I have had tears of joy, sad tears, over whelmed tears, worn out tears, and tears that seem to flow for no reason at all. Having kids brings a lot of joyful tears. The branding corral is a place that I find tears flowing. I have had tears seeing a calf being born, seeing a new colt, thinking about how blessed we are to be raising our kids on a ranch, praying for rain and I found tears flowing with just a thought about our family and friends. Life is all about the little things.

This is a picture that brings tears to my eyes every time I look at
it. This is Cade and Papa. They are two peas in a pod. I don't know
what they are taking about, and that doesn't matter, but just seeing
them together like this make my heart swell.

24. You have to shovel out sand in your house.

You see we live in the sand hills. Sand is nothing to me. I have learned that a little sand doesn't hurt anything or anyone. Except when you have to replace your washer; because there was so much sand in it which burned up the motor.

This is an everyday occurrence at the ranch.

25. You never take a day for granted.

If you know me then you know that I try everyday to make it better than the one before. Being a ranch wife can be challenging some days but by far it is rewarding. I know that I am right where I need to be. I am thankful for friends and family that make each of my days better. I am thankful for my kids, each of them different, but they all have big hearts. I am thankful for my cowboy, life isn't always easy but when you have your best friend beside you, it makes each day special.