Wesley and I set out the Tuesday after Easter for a trip to Opheim to make sure our steers that were shipped from here to there arrived safely, and put them in their appropriate pastures. While we got a later start than we wanted, we enjoyed every minute of our time together in this quiet little piece of the world.
Tuesday morning started out with 5 cattle pots coming to the ranch to load all of our steers and take them North. It was an amazing sight to see these trucks being loaded with roughly 500 head of yearling steers to be shipped to our ranch up North. It's a moment that I know made his parents so proud to see their work culminating to this, and it made us proud to see our work paying off too. As I sat & watched the trucks being loaded a huge sense of pride, and a little anxiety, came over me. I was filled with so much pride for what we do for a living, yet so nervous and full of prayers for the animals and the drivers to arrive to the destination safely. Our life's work was riding in those trucks and to know that it is out of your control is a bit unsettling. But, with my faith in God I knew everything was going to be ok, and everyone would arrive safely. And they did. Wesley's parents always had a goal to run a certain number of yearlings, and between our cattle and theirs, we achieved that dream for them this year. It's quite an accomplishment...for all of us. It is even more of an accomplishment to know that through our hard work (and especially my husband and father-in-laws) we are helping to feed America.
We intended to set out for Opheim by 10 AM since it is a 5 hour drive from here, but we didn't end up leaving until around Noon or so. We loaded our trailer with our 4 wheeler and the rest of the steers that wouldn't fit on the trucks, packed up the dogs and put them in the pickup with us, and headed North.
When we arrived we were just getting there as the cattle trucks were leaving. I was able to capture some images of them leaving the ranch in Opheim which was quite special too. We knew then that everyone had arrived safely, and there was no life loss in either human or animal. As soon as we got there we headed to what we call "out West" to count out the steers out of the corral and Wesley was going to trail them with the 4 wheeler and dogs to the pasture they were supposed to be in. With a little coaxing, and a lot of help from our puppies, we were able to get all the steers moved and counted.
After that we took a trip to what we refer to as "the Homestead" which is where David spent the first 12 years or so of his life growing up. The house was as cute as I thought it would be, in all of its aged glory. You'll notice in the pictures I took of the house that there was a creek that ran directly behind their home. That was because up until David was about 8 years old they had no running water, and no electricity in the home. There is a small outhouse between the house & the outbuilding that you'll see in the pictures that they used for just that. From that creek they'd draw fresh water to fulfill their needs. While we were out here I got a message on my cell phone welcoming me to Canada. Yes, we were that close to the Canadian border that my cell phone signal was bouncing off the towers in Canada. If you look closely in the pictures I took of the Homestead, you'll notice a dark line of hills behind the house & out in the distance. That is Canada. Wesley was filling me in on the rich history of our ranch up there as well. While I am no history buff (in fact I hate history) I found it fascinating that Sitting Bull made his way to Canada via our ranch up there. The remains of his tee pee rings are still on our ranch today. It was dark by the time we were to set out to take pictures of them, but next time I plan on getting pictures of the historical place.
That evening we were able to enjoy a nice supper prepared by our neighbors Bruce & Sammi. These two are balls of fun and we always enjoy getting together with them! We were able to share the good news about our baby with them over supper, and they are just thrilled! I know next year when we ship steers up North Wesley and I will have to return to Opheim only this time we'll have our baby in tow and will be able to show him/her off to everyone up there.
Wednesday morning we rose early, and went out for breakfast at the local café downtown. Its a place where everyone knows everyone (obviously), and once they recognized my husband when he walked in after me, we were welcomed "insiders" of the town too. Breakfast was awesome, and after filling our tummies we set out to clean out the attic of all things baby from when Wesley was a baby. We found some pretty awesome toys that I can't wait to share with our little one - like a spring rocking horse that was David's as a child, passed to Wesley, who will now get to share it with his son/daughter. I remember having a big spring rocking horse growing up and I remember sitting and rocking for hours on that thing. I loved it! Wesley loved his spring horses too and I'm sure our baby will love theirs as well. We also found a high chair that was used by David when he was a baby that we are now going to try to use for our child. I say try because the tray is broke, but we are taking it to a woodworking guy in town here with the hopes he'll be able to build us a new tray so we can use it. It is such an antique, and I'm so in love with the idea of being able to pass that down from the baby's grandpa all the way to the baby. Along with these baby items we found some of Wesley's clothes from when he was a wee one growing up. The paisley button up shirts and plaid and checkered pearl snaps are too cute for words. I'm anxious to find out if we are having a baby boy or girl because it we end up having a baby boy he will be able to wear a lot of his Daddy's clothes as they were kept in mint condition. Furthermore, I find little boys clothes (of the western kind) to be quite timeless. Only time will tell if our baby is a little boy or girl!
Along with the "store bought" clothes were items that his grandmother hand knitted for him and his sisters that I can't wait to put on our child such as gender neutral booties and little knitted hats. They. Are. Adorable! I love all things knitted especially when it comes to baby items. They're so special because they're handmade.
While we only stayed one night in Opheim because we had to get back, we enjoyed our time together up there. No TV. No cell phone service. Just each other...which is something I'll treasure forever.
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| Getting loaded at the ranch |
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| The brand inspector leaving after his work is done |
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| Heading out to Opheim |
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| Wesley & the dogs heading out to move the steers in Opheim |
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| This was an amazing sight. I loved watching the steers move just as much as I loved watching my husband and dogs work the cattle |
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| Old machinery around the ranch |
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| Old branding corrals in Opheim. If these corrals could talk I'm sure they'd have a lot of stories to tell! |
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| The house David grew up in until he was about 12. You can see the outhouse between the house and the little storage building off to the left. |
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| The creek where they drew water. |
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| The very dark hills at the back of the photo is Canada |
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| A view of the ranch house, barn, and shop in Opheim where we stay today. This is the house David and his family moved into when he was around 12. |
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| The cattle brand that Wesley's grandparents used which they passed down to Wesley. He now shares this brand with me. The brand is still on the gate at the entrance of the ranch in Opheim. |
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