Yesterday was my first branding. You remember that one episode of Scrubs? It's either the first or second one and JD has to drain some woman's stomach fluid and can't? Then Turk comes in and says, "learn by doing." That's what it is out here. I gotta be Chris Turk. At brandings they bring the moms and their calves in and then one person goes out and ropes the back legs of a calf. The calf is dragged down a little bit and secured in this thing called a fork. Once secure each calf gets branded, gets a shot, gets one of its ears notched depending on its sex, and then the steers all get castrated. They can get up and walk away about five seconds after their balls have been cut off and thrown on the ground next to them. We only did about 30 but it was still really amazing to be a part of. The scream a lot when you press hot metal on their sides.
Today I did a bunch of different jobs with Jim, the other ranch hand. It got a little crazy because there were three separate leaks in water systems all at different pins. We had a good time doing it all though.
I just read all your posts and I still can't figure out what language your titles are in. Enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think you are already beginning to write like a cowboy with "reckon" and "real good"...and I think that's an excellent thing.
The post titles are all in Navajo. There's a big reservation nearby and a couple of satellite reservations even closer. Whenever I'm in the car I listen to the Navajo radio station which mostly just plays classic rock.
ReplyDeleteAs for the language, you should hear me interacting with someone with a western accent. I keep leaving of the beginning of sentences and have stopped using "doesn't" when "don't" will suffice.