Cow Babies Galore!

This is my happy place. Ranch wife, ranch mama. Raising cows and a feral ranch baby on the shores of the Laramie River. Spring on the ranch does not only bring blooming flowers and green grass, but also babies! Lots and lots of babies! And I am talking about babies of the bovine variety! Ranchers call them calves. My wonderful mother calls them “cow babies”. Calving season is in full swing, and I cannot believe how cute they all are! Just as I love watching a plant grow and then bloom, I love watching our cows throughout the winter get plumper and plumper, only to pop out the cutest little gangly calves, full of spunk and fire! We rarely run heifers (first time mamas) due to the higher possibility of issues but occasionally, we have a few. This year we have 3 heifers. We breed our heifers to long horn or corriente bulls so that the calves have a lower birth weight. This helps there to be less issues during the calving process for those first-time mamas. Two out of three heifer mamas did great with calving. The third heifer to calve did not take to being a mama very well and has wanted nothing to do with her calf. We have tried several different tricks and tactics to attempt to make her accept her calf, but she continued to make it clear that she would not be a mother this year.  Enter Mama Megan… While we continue to search for a cow within our herd that could “adopt” this calf, I will be the placeholder. He is a premature red bull calf, with the sweetest white markings on his face and head. Even though he is premature, he is still a fighter! We have decided on the name Rowdy for the time being! I love watching him get stronger every time I walk into the barn to feed him! It’s great to watch him get up and greet me, ready to chow down on some milk replacer!

Rowdy having some breakfast! It's hard to get a picture of him because he loves to cuddle super close!

One of the heifers that calved this year holds a very special place in my heart. We call her Fawn, and she was the first calf I saw born here at the ranch in 2022. Her mama, who is named April, had her on April 2nd, just 1 day after her own birthday. And I just happened to be here to witness it! When she was born, she was light red and covered in white spots! Hence the name Fawn! Being mostly longhorn, her looks have changed drastically since being born but she remains a beautiful cow! I loved watching her become a mama and what an amazing one she is! When her little one takes off bucking and kicking, she is hot on her tail to make sure she is alright. She is quite the “helicopter mom”! But I would take that over the alternative any day! In the first picture below, Fawn is the calf that looks like a little deer. In the second picture, she is the cow with horns!! What a transformation!

Along with all the babies, the ranch is starting to green up, the trees are budding and the river is on the rise! All great omens as we head into summertime! Although it has been windier than we would like for this time of year, it has kept the bugs at bay while we work on the never-ending list of projects. Along with projects, we have started planning summer festivities here at the ranch! The biggest, of course, being a 1st Birthday for our little cowgirl! My husband and I will also be celebrating our 2nd anniversary in June and just like the last couple years, we will be getting everyone together for gathering and branding right around the same time!

And I know you are all on the edge of your seats wondering… the greenhouse project has steadily moved forward! We now have an extremely sturdy building, rafters and all and the siding has started being put up! We went with tin along the bottom to help cut back on the cost of polycarbonate and to also make the building a little more sturdy and stout. Because in this valley, the wind howls like a ferocious beast! I also love the rustic look it provides. And we got to use up some old tin we had lying around! You can’t beat that!! Up next will be to finish the siding and roof and then it’s time to work on this inside. We have pavers and rock to lay and raised garden beds to build! And then lots of garden goodies to plant!!

I don’t know about you all, but we love the warmer weather, and we are doing as much grilling as we can! I love it when we grill! There is no oven heating up the house! My hubby does the grilling, and I whip up some side dishes and it makes for a wonderful meal every time! In the midst of all the warmer weather, we recently had a cold dreary day. We weren’t able to fire up the grill like we have been doing, so I decided to whip up something warm and filling. I chose to make my quick and easy beef teriyaki over rice! I’ll share the recipe below!! As always… This is the Laramie River Ranch Wife, signing off… from my happy place.

From My Kitchen to Yours:

Beef Teriyaki

1 pound steak, sliced thin and in bite sized pieces

1 pound fresh broccoli florets

1 pound fresh green beans

½ to 1 pound fresh portobello mushrooms

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 jar/bottle of your favorite teriyaki sauce (Kikoman or Lawrys are my go-to)

Prepare the beef and fresh veggies, making sure they are cut into bite sized pieces. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the broccoli and beans for 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately rinse with ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Heat a skillet and 2 tbsp vegetable oil on medium high heat. Cook the broccoli and beans until charred and they start to soften. Remove and set aside. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the same skillet. Cook the beef in the skillet until it is almost done. Around 4-6 minutes. Remove and set aside. Remove excess grease. Add the jar/bottle of teriyaki sauce to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli, beans and mushrooms to the teriyaki sauce. Cook until the mushrooms start to soften. Add beef and continue to cook until thoroughly hot and coated in sauce. Enjoy!

**My husband loves this over jasmine rice. We also enjoy crab Rangoon, pot stickers or spring rolls on the side! It makes for an amazing Asian feast!