click here for 2011 sale report   2012 Presale Newsletter       You Tube video of our semi annual cattle drive   You Tube of our Program

Feb. 2 2012- Can't believe January is in the can.  The weather has been amazing.  We always say a good drought in the winter is ok.  This year though, we are a little uneasy as water and moisture are still not where they should be.  Today though we are having rain and it may change to snow later.  Sale prep is coming along.  Cole has been pretty good help this year bringing down buddies and cleaning up bulls.  All they have left is the Yearlings and the heifers.  If it isn't to bad tomorrow, that will be at the top of the list.  I just finished our newsletter and posted a PDF copy for your pleasure.  We also have two You Tube videos.  One is of our cattle drive that we all love so much.  The other is an actual narrative of our program.  Brett Spader with DV Auction has been working on it for about a year.  The cattle drive was supposed to just be a piece of it.  But it was so cool that we made it into its own little deal.

January 14, 2012-Home from the stock show, and getting started on the sale.  We began organizing serious advertising, scheduling of vet, weights, and other deadlines and have formulated a plan.  The weather has been amazing for January, with the exception of Wed. when it took Joe 11 hours to get from Denver to Kansas City.  He had driven on from Denver to Bozeman, MT where Laura is spending her spring semester.  He missed his flight from Denver and it was downhill from there.  Nevertheless, he is home now, and we are ready to get some things done.

A group of Kansas kids, including Chris and Maddy took in the Loaded 4 Leadership junior activity.  It was quite an experience.  They learned so much, met so many folks, and got to participate in the NWSS which is always a treat.  I brought the kids back home so they could get back to school, and Joe and Laura took in all the rest of the Red Angus shows.

We plan to take Yearling weights on the Spring bulls very soon.  Once that is done we will be making decisions on the yearling bulls that will be run in the sale.  We are already looking at the 18 month and 2 year olds.  It is always fun to see how they shape up and mature out.

December 19, 2011- It looks like our first major winter storm is moving in later today.  We are in desperate need of moisture but I sure hate to see it come in the form of freezing rain or ice.  I guess we will take whatever we can get though.  We finished a.i.ing the fall cows earlier this month.  I always joke that it takes nearly as long to get them bred in the computer.  I do look forward to a couple of weeks indoors though, catching up on some noncattle things too.  Three of our kids have birthdays in December, along with granddaughter, Sadie.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year, one that is filled with family, friends and Red Angus cattle!

October 21, 2011- We arrived home from our amazing Argentina adventure to a box full of mail and bills, cattle that need attention and a freeze warning.  How things change in 8 short days.  While in Argentina we were treated to tours of huge showcase ranches.  We were humbled at how much work they went to just to showcase their genetics to us and to make us feel welcome.  We saw many good cattle.  Unlike the US, other parts of the world do not discriminate by color and register their reds and blacks in one association.  We have many stories, lots of pictures, and memories that have changed out outlook.

September 29, 2011-Wheww.  Joe and I have been to the national Red Angus convention, we have weaned all the calves and taken a mature cow weight on all but one pasture.  The ProCow heifers are nearly all preg checked and will all be home by Monday evening.  Many are already delivered to their permanent homes.  We finally got a really nice rain about 10 days ago.  It settled the dust and gave us hope that it would not be a waste to plant some spring grazing crops.  We are going to try Fescue and Rye grass.  Joe and Daniel figure they need something they don't have to plant all the time as we all put the cattle in front of the farming!

Chris is having a stellar year as a senior and a leader of the Football team.  Until last week they were undefeated.  I hope they learned from last week because they are certainly a better team then they played.  He is planning to go to KSU in the fall of 2012.  Our nest is getting empty...At least we have those beautiful granddaughters coming along now.

August 8, 2011 -Optimistically hopeful that the storm that drove us back indoors this morning we generate some much needed rain.  At least it is not so hot outside!  I put up new pictures of the Commercial heifers were are contracting now.  They look so good.  That is pretty typical of a dry year.  The grass has had more punch in it.  However last week pretty much cooked what growth we did have.  I don't anticipate a lot of seed heads shooting really big this year.  If you haven't done so, be sure to go to our Mushrush Red Angus Facebook page and 'like' us.  Then if we do a quick update from there, you will receive an email telling you.  I don't update it often, but do post things there more frequently than on the web site.

August 6, 2011 - The 4-H fair is behind us.  It was a hot one with many triple digit days.  The chickens had to leave early because they were afraid they would die.  We only had beef, swine, pie and bread, along with a few other projects.  We are pretty tickled Maddy's pie was just a blue again!  That means another year of practice.  We suffer................. I think she has made close to 30 pies this summer already.  Her brother Daniel could not believe her Apple pie wasn't a State Fair blue.  He had Grandma buy it back and I think he ate the whole thing.

It has been so hot that we put off pulling out bulls.  We hated moving the cattle around.  Finally this week we could wait no longer, so we began doing the leave at sunrise thing.  The plan was we could nap after lunch when it was really hot.   Somehow those naps just seem to get put off.  We do have all but the last 8 bulls out though and would have had them today except that it was raining this morning!  We got 1 3/10 inches.  We are so excited.  Maybe the heat and dry that has had a throat hold on us is moving out.

I posted the newest EPDs on our herd sires on the herd sire page.  If I can keep this antiquated web site working I will put up some new heifer pictures too.  We are now actively contracting them.

July 2, 2011 - We have had lots happen since I updated the journal.  The web site needs a redesign as it will not take my saves half the time.  But here goes for what we have been up to.  It has been very dry for us here.  Finally the first week of June we received some much needed rain that actually brought up our beans.  They are supposed to be hay for next winter but really are cooking in the triple digit temps of the past few days.  

We welcomed Isabella Marie into our family on June 30th.  The only thing better then one granddaughter is two!  Everything went so well thanks to the many prayers our friends and family said along the way.  She is a beauty and is resting at home with her family.  

We are in the process of contracting heifers and Joe has begun to call back folks.  Cattle prices have been something else, whether you are buying or selling.  

At the recent Beef Improvement Federation meeting held in Bozeman, MT, we proudly and humbly accepted the Seedstock of the Year award for Mushrush Red Angus.  Our kids were so proud.  It was pretty cool when we called them all to tell them.  They all definitely have had a  huge role in the operation and success of the ranch.  I will eventually post a picture of the amazing trophy that they awarded us.  Sadie is only a bit taller than it!

4- H fair is coming right up so the steer (Chris found his dead the first of May), pigs and horse are getting a daily work out.  Chris is pouring water on his garden in hopes of having something to display.  Maddy has been practicing her bread and pie baking skills.  I know, we suffer.  So far the consensus is she must keep practicing.  She will also create a purchased clothing outfit.  She has a real eye for putting things together, so she will have fun with that.

In late June we were honored to have the National Red Angus juniors stop at our place.  Folks, the next generation is a great group.  We really enjoyed them and the chaperons that were along.  If you click onto the Facebook link at the top of the page, there are pictures posted of the round up and other Mushrush activities.

May 8, 2011 - With the addition of our facebook page I have been a bit negligent in keeping this up to date.  We have been busy getting cattle turned out.  Now we are going back and sorting them into breeding groups and getting them into the summer pastures. We are doing something a little bit different this year.  One group of 320 ProCow heifers, including all the baldies, are going to get A.I. bred to Impressive.  We are trying the 30 day protocol.  That will be completed Thursday.  

Like so many of you, we are very dry here.  We burned nearly everything so if it doesn't rain, it could be a long summer.  

It looks like the twins will be home for the summer.  It is always good to have some extra hands to get things done.  Hopefully we can finish some pens over at our place.  Chris has been throwing the shot again.  We scheduled our A.I.ing around state because we think he will get to go again.  He threw 50' last week.  When you look at him, you don't really think of him as a thrower.  He is pretty stout though.   

March 26, 2011 - Two days out from a great sale.  Thank you to all of you who came, bid and just supported us.  DV Auction has linked us up to a quick video wrap up.  I will have a complete sale report up, maybe even yet today.  Daniel and Christine are leaving with the first load of bulls in a few minutes, and we intend to get the rest home to you all as soon as possible.

March 22, 2011- It is looking pretty good around the sale barn.  We are putting cattle into their pens first thing in the morning and than Joe and I will spend some time looking at cattle for folks again.  The Farmers Almanac called for a huge snow storm, but it looks like maybe we are going to have above freezing in the 50's!  We will take it.  I hope the final revision on the supplement is done.  Two more bulls came out today.  One has a knee as big as a basketball and the other didn't pass his BSE. 

March 18, 2011 - We had a wonderful visit with our dear friends Frank and Susan Wedel last night.  They were busy delivering and stopped by to see cattle and enjoy a quick supper.  Cattle are all in place and ready for the sale with the exception of one bull that needs to be rechecked to confirm he is ok.  I also lost a scrotal and so we are remeasuring that bul next week too.  Daniel somehow talked us into weaning the Fall first calf heifer calves on Wed. night.  I do mean Wed. night.  We didn't even start until 5 p.m.  As Joe and I pulled out of the barn with the second load at 9:17 p.m. I reminded him that we should be home to watch the KSU basketball the next night.  We were.  GO CATS!  The barn is being dismantled to start cleaning today.  Joe and I are heading after oats seed.  If it doesn't rain, that needs to go in this weekend.  We have been enjoying Spring like weather with the exception of a snow earlier in the week.  

I even got to dust off my horse this week and use him a little.  I know I am looking forward to sale day and moving on.  We are so pleased with our offering and look forward to sharing it with all of you.

March 13, 2011 - It feels like spring may well be just around the corner.  The nights have been pretty cold but for the past couple of days we have enjoyed 60+ degree days.  Perfect for dusting off the old ponys and seeing how they wintered!  Not bad for no attention since late January.  Sale prep is coming along nicely.  We pregged the heifers and will film them this week, hopefully Tuesday.  There are still some bulls to refilm but most of them are up on DV Auction.  The link is at the top of the page.  Yearling scan data will be forthcoming too.  We scanned last Saturday.  We continue to be very excited and proud of the offering in the 2011 sale.  It is a deep set of very useful bulls.

February 26, 2011 - The catalog was mailed yesterday.  What a load off our mind to have that out of the house and out of the way!  We will finish videoing next week.  We had a great day Wednesday but then the nasty weather set in again, so we are stalled out.  We did get all of the Fall and Twos done though.  We will be preg checking heifers on March 5th and will get them videoed and lotted after that.  I did a quick sort to see how many bulls would work for the Show Me Select sales in Missouri.  A full 98 of the bulls have a CED of 9 or better.  If you would like, you can now follow us on Facebook too.  Just click onto the Facebook link above and become a fan of Mushrush Red Angus.  Daniel has done a great job of helping keep that up to date with pictures and antidotes of the happenings at Mushrush Red Angus.

February 21, 2011- Time is just zipping by and I cannot believe we are already going to start videoing bulls this week.  The catalog is at the printer and I will post some files on the web site and our facebook page today.  We are thrilled with the offering.  Once we begin to move them thru the chute a lot, I get to evaluate them more.  They have really developed well and are ready for viewing anytime. 

January 4, 2011 - I thought I had this updated with the most exciting news about a month ago.  We are having another grandbaby in late June.  We are so excited!  Mushrush Red Angus is ramping up for sale prep.  In fact in a few days we will start in earnest.  For now though we are enjoying a very dry winter.  So very different from last year.  The open heifers are turned in and sorted and will go to market next week.  We were pretty impressed with how big they have gotten.  Gains should be really good this year.  

I hope to launch a completely new web site look very soon.  This one is becoming cumbersome and out of date and is difficult to update.  Keep checking back!

September 23, 2010 - Time really got away from me this time and I apologize for my infrequent update of the web site.  What a time to be in Agriculture though, and the Red Angus breed.  Last week Joe was elected to be the president of the Red Angus Association.  Although I am concerned for those of us here that must keep things going in his absence, I am thrilled that our breed gets to tap him for knowledge and leadership!

We are busy trying to get the calves all weaned as we need data for the very early date of October 14 to get them on the winter EPD run. Plus the kids don't have school tomorrow and Casey is coming home to work.  Kind of made it easy to decide how we will spend tomorrow. It is early as this will be only the second one with our new partners, the Simmental Association.  We are pretty excited to have them and us working together, as they share many of the same ideologies that RAAA does.  We do hope that by the next run though, it can be closer to our usual deadline.

While at convention I got to spend time with my many long distance friends.  There were many things and moments that will go down as great times, but when Barry Horsley explained to all of us that he is not a 'twitterer', it was priceless.  Another great time was when a few of us were trying out the wine I had gotten in a basket fundraiser.  We were all pretty glad when it was screw top because we had not packed the cork screw.  Might have been just as well though because it is a leap of faith to drink something with the name Rhubarb Red A_ _.  It dawned on us we might just find out why it was named that the next day.....................

Maddy is playing volleyball this fall.  What a deal.  Those girls play only as well as their hormones and all their social stuff dictates.  I have watched better teams get scicked out and lose.  Maddy really likes it though and has improved so much.  We are pretty proud of her.

Chris is once again playing football.  His young team has got to find away to work together and get it going.  He was their only fulltime returning starter, so they are a young team.  Still, we want to see them win.  He is a really good player though, and takes any mistake or loss so personally.

Laura has made the decision that she will transfer to Manhattan at semester.  She will have finished her Meat judging obligations, and will have enough hours it is time.  Her first contest is this weekend and we look forward to seeing how she does.

Casey graduates from Milling Science in December.  He has taken a job with ConAgra and will probably be back in PA where he interned last summer.  He is going to be a long way from home and we are going to miss his drop in visits.

Daniel and I set up a Mushrush Red Angus facebook page.  I cannot tell you how to 'become our friend' but I know that you can just sign up.  Daniel is keeping it updated and has added some pretty cool pictures of the cattle.  We drove the commercial bred heifers across and brought the fall cows home.  It is about a 13 mile trip, which we thought was a good trip.  However, the commercial heifers have pushed through a water gap twice now.  When they do that they are in a 9 section pasture.  The last time we rounded them up, Joe and Daniel took the 4 wheelers and Casey and I took horses.  The 4 wheelers each had over 20 miles on them.  I know we didn't ride that far, but I also know we rode for well over 5 hours.  We will be bringing the heifers home the 2nd week of Oct.  It is going to feel like a cake walk, plus we all have a much better handle on the layout of the Middle pasture, as they call that big one we cross.

July 4, 2010 - Happy Independence Day!  It is raining here again at Mushrush Red Angus.  We hate to complain about an early July rain, but sure do wish it had held off long enough for Joe to get the hay he had down baled.  At least we did not rake it.  I had to pick Maddy up at 4-H camp and there was hay down all the way to Junction City.  Many had raked it in anticipation of getting it up before the rain we all expected Saturday afternoon.  No such luck though as it came thru beginning early Saturday morning.  

I cannot believe that our summer is getting away from us so quickly.  I love everything about it.  Having some of our college kids here, the cattle on grass, the smell of freshly mowed hay, the wildflowers, and all the busyness of it.  Laura came home to help.  She has become an invaluable hand here at the ranch.  For the past two weeks everyone but here was gone.  Daniel and Christine took a vacation later renamed "Eco experience" to Honduras. (their face book will probably tell the whole story, lets just say Yellowstone might be pretty appealing next time)  While they were gone we got to have our cuteness (Sadie), until I handed her off to the other Grandmother the day I took Maddy to 4-H camp.  Meanwhile Chris flew out to Oregon for the Red Angus Junior Round Up.  Other than Laura and Sadie, Joe and I were alone for a few days.  

While everyone was gone, Laura learned how to drive the tractor.  She has decided it is very boring.  She also has been the main one to get mineral out and cows checked.  I could not have done it without her.  She will be heading back to college in early August though as she will meat judge again this fall at Fort Scott.  After that her plans are a bit unsure.  It will either be an internship or KSU to finish her degree.  She just hasn't made up her mind yet.

Cole is spending the summer in Stratton Colorado working for a feed lot that does farming and has cattle too.  He knows how to do most of what they want, but the best part is he has to do it longer and earlier in the morning.  He called one day and said they were shipping 14 loads the next morning.  I think the most we have done since he can remember is six.  He is learning lots and will hopefully come back to us a bit more mature.  I would guess though that they love him as an intern.  He is quite capable and pretty careful.  He is probably coming home the first of August and will work for us for a couple of weeks before heading back to school. 

Casey is milling wheat in Pennsylvania.  We originally had planned to go out and spend a few days with him.  He is working so much though that we have decided not to.  He will be coming back in mid August.  He had started a fencing project that is sadly waiting for his arrival.  He is supposed to teach Daniel how to weld when they finish it.

April 5, 2010 - We had an amazing Easter weekend with all the kids here.  Sunday the boys did the chores so Joe and I just got to hang out and get lunch ready after mass.  In the afternoon some of them went fishing but Joe and I stayed back to watch Sadie do amazing cute things.  

Bull deliveries are going well and we will have a huge chunk done by next weekend.  Today Joe is trying to get the Oats in.  Once the bulls are delivered we will focus on weaning the fall bull calves and getting our spring breeding organized.  There is never a lack of things to do it seems.

I am posting a picture of Lot 56  for all to see.  Genex wasted no time getting it and it is good!  He is such a unique bull and I love his pedigree.

April 2, 2010 - I cannot even describe our relief, excitement and how very humbled we are at how our sale went.  Weather was a huge concern and did affect the ability of many folks from the southwest and kept them from getting to attend.  Twenty four bulls were  purchased on DV Auction along with most of the heifers.  We will be asking for feedback very soon to make sure that this was something we should pursue and if so how to make it more customer friendly.  

Spring has finally come to the Flint Hills and to be quite honest, I just want to be here.  I love it when the grass is greener in the evening than it was in the morning.  I love seeing little red calves bouncing around with concerned moms sometimes trying to keep up.  When the air is thick with the smell of grass, and dirt, and very soon burned grass, I thank God for putting us here and letting us live where we do.

Delivery has started in earnest and many of the cattle that are still here are going on pot trucks next week.  It is always a relief to get each one safely home to its new owner.  It also means we have to look toward breeding the spring cows and weaning fall calves.  

The sale report will be posted soon.  I am trying to get it right and want Joe to give it a look before I post it.  Hopefully that will be tonight or tomorrow morning.

March 24, 2010 - The cattle are in, we have had very little rain and we are having a sale tomorrow.  What a relief to finally be here.  I am going to bed now, but I have tried to make sure that you can contact us if you need to.

March 22, 2010 - We have reached the crazy stage of sale preparation here.  We have the barn set up, the pens cleaned and the bulls ready. Joe and the boys spread several loads of gravel in alleys and up in the parking area.   Now it is time to get all of you any info you want, bed and pen the cattle and get chores done.  It is supposed to rain on Wed. and Thursday.  We are so hoping the weathermen are wrong.  They have missed us a couple of times this winter, so we must just hope for the best.  Videos were all working when I checked a few minutes ago.  

The college kids are all coming back this week to help sale day.  I am not sure we could have a sale without them!

March 15 - Our youngest child is 12 today so we are going to pause all of our sale activity to have a party this evening!  Maddy is quite a young lady and has definitely been formed with the help of her siblings.  

The kids are on spring break so we are very hopeful that the sale barn will be clean and set up by this weekend.  As so many of you struggle with mud too know, it is going to be quite a job this year.  Saturday, Maddy, Chris and I were sorting the heifers to lot.  Our alley at the sale barn which is basically a rock based path, was at least 6" deep with a thick mud.  Joe thinks he is just going to push all of that out somehow.  There is no way it will dry in 10 days.  

We did get the heifers sorted up though.  Unfortunately Joe and I have been calculating from total numbers and had forgotten the cows we had stuck in with the heifers.  So, there are a few less heifers than advertised.  They will sell in groups of 3 to 5 though.  We discovered that we have 4 F1 Red Angus Simmental and 4 F1 Shorthorns too.  We had been calculating 3 all along.  We are hoping the scan data  will be back on the yearlings yet today so I can get the supplement sheet posted on the sale page.  

I will try to keep you up to date as we get the balance of the Mushrush bulls onto the DV Auction link and when the Beckton bulls and heifers are posted.  We put off filming the Beckton bulls and the ProCows until Thursday so it can dry a bit.  We think our filming pen would splash them with mud today, which was our planned film date.  

March 12, 2010 - January, February, Mud............Baxter Black must have been thinking of us!  I have never seen it like it is this week and it has been a long winter.  The roads have finally completely lost their base.  In spots there is deep bog places.  So far I can get my car out, but it is really bad by Daniel and Christine's house.  The Beckton bulls arrived last night so they will hopefully be rested and ready for filming next week.  The Mushrush bulls should be out on the DV link which is http://static.dvauction.com/hosting/mushrush/  The heifers will be posted along with the Beckton bulls.

The kids are going to start showing up this evening for a week of Spring break.  We are looking forward to having them here and to finalizing sale prep.  There is a lot of cleaning and cattle things to get done yet.  However, after today the sun is supposed to shine.  Wet or dry, we will all feel better.  I got a more representative picture of Lot 3 earlier this week.  He is such a good bull and I hated how weak topped he looks in the catalog.  I will be posting that on our sale page.

March 4, 2010 - Oh my what a week we have had.  Sunday I had no intention of working other than the usual chores.  However our house was taken over by catalogs.  So we all worked and got them labeled so that they could be mailed on March 1 as we had originally hoped.  So far I have only found one error.  The picture on page 26 is not Lot 91.  It is Lot 92.  We got the Mushrush bulls videoed on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We lucked out and had wonderful weather.  The mud however about took Joe and myself down.  After walking in that ankle deep sticky stuff for two days, our legs hurt.  The good news though is it continues to dry out.  The boys are talking about fishing this weekend.  Sunday is going to be in the high 50s or low 60s!

I had planned to begin posting pictures today but DV Auction plans to have our video edited and up for viewing by Monday.  As soon as they do, I will have a link from the web site.  If you are still not comfortable with what you see, email or call for specific pictures and I will try to take them.

We are calving like crazy.  I haven't entered calves for a couple of days but think think there are over 50 on the ground so far.  Once the weather straightened out, we have been getting along very well.  Coyotes are our biggest concern.  It makes the cows very protective.  Thank goodness they are.  One heifer calf got his tail eaten off.  

February 24, 2010 - What a day!  The catalog is off to the printer.  I feel like I am rising from torture.  We just couldn't seem to get things together this year.  I never did find all the pictures Laura took of everyone at last years sale.  We are pretty excited about our cattle though.  The best part was when I took pictures because I got to really start looking at certain individuals.  We started calving over the weekend.  We have had snow and ice so I have had my share of cold little calves in the house.  We have saved some and unfortunately have lost some too.  I think it may have thawed enough today to get the ice off the grass so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

All the kids came home for my birthday last weekend.  It was great.  We had a party too.  They really surprised me because Casey said he would take care of the food.  I thought he was ordering pizza.  I was obsessing over the catalog.  Finally the kids all left.  They were over at the salebarn helping OmaLou set stuff up.  What fun!

February 10, 2010 - The sun is shining, it is still frozen underfoot and life is good.  Like nearly everyone we talk to, this has been a very difficult winter.  It got so muddy last week that Joe had to take the tractor to the pasture a few days.  When he knew it was going to freeze, he fed, than went back and smoothed out ruts so he could run the truck.

We tested Spring bulls yesterday.  I am about to launch into the catalog.  Everything is coming together.  We are so proud of the cattle!  What a deep good set of bulls we are offering.  Several sires are coming to the top with outstanding calves.  I love the T085s and R017s.  Of course Affirmed just keeps churning out deep thick high growth cattle.

Casey had been home every weekend trying to clean up bulls for video.  Some weekends it hasn't gone so well, but he should start on the yearlings Friday.  Laura made us very proud at Fort Worth last week.  She was 4th high individual for Meat Judging.  Her team was 2nd and she placed in lamb too.  We haven't seen her since she left early after Christmas.  I think she may come home for a day or so this weekend.

January 20, 2010 - Christmas was a little different this year and thankfully the kids were home from college to chop ice and pick up as we took turns being sick.  We made a quick to trip to the National Western Stock Show and came home to much better weather.  Now we are fighting mud.  It is going to be one of those winters apparently.

With the new year we begin to plan for the sale.  We have made the decision to use DV Auction and pretape all of the cattle prior to sale day.  We did that for the fall sale and felt like it was such a good thing for the customers and the cattle.  There will be no jostling of cattle, and you all can be in the pens throughout the entire sale.  It is going to add to our work load though.  I am going to begin updating often now as we begin to sort through the bulls.  We made the second sort on the fall bulls.  I know we say it every year, but this is our best set yet.  

November 18, 2009 What a relief to have our sale behind us.  It went quite well.  We are now trying to get the cattle delivered and have had pretty good success with that to date.  I loved the video sale.  The cattle were all penned back and not disturbed.  Folks could go out and look in the pens at anytime, and we could load out before the sale was done.  However, I don't know how we could get the sale bulls pretaped.  Weather and other logistics are obvious roadblocks.  

Christine and I tried out a new computer program for sale day management.  It is a keeper.  We are thrilled with how seamless it made everything for us and the buyers.  We are now trying to get fall cows positioned so we can get them sorted for breeding.  We will put CIDRS in the heifers friday.  They actually went down on a turnip field the day after the sale.  I hate turnips so I am not as impressed as the guys.  They pull them out and eat them all the time.  I keep telling them that if they make cattle fat maybe they should lay off......................really I cannot stand the smell!

We made it up for the last KSU home game Saturday.  It was a complete disappointment.  After the way they had played the week prior when Joe and I could not be there, it was sad.  We left early.  I (along with many other fans) wanted to send them a message that they need to play well, if they must lose.  Had they played well though, they would have won.

One of my favorite times of the year is coming.  It is the weeks prior to Christmas, after we get the fall cows bred.  It seems like we have a short time in there where I have the kids home and am not sick of cooking, the big cattle work is done, and we are looking ahead to Christimas.  That is when I try to get one or two projects done for myself.  This year I want to paint our living room and kitchen, and refinish the wood floor in the living room.  Pretty lofty goal, but if I could get some help, I think it might just happen.

We love having Daniel, Christine and epecially Sadie here.  Daniel is really good on the ranch.  He has really stepped up and helping out so much.  Christine is one of the most tenacious people I have ever known. That serves her well with Daniel as a spouse, and makes her a great asset here too.  Sadie is amazing.  She has been with the other Grandparents all week so we eagerly look forward to seeing her tonight or tomorrow.  She usually gets kidnapped at least once a day.  Her first birthday is coming right up.  Her and Chris are only a day apart.  At first Chris thought they should have a dual party.  Now he is thinking she might steal his thunder so he is rethinking it.  He will be 16.

November 3 - I am convinced that we are crazy!  It always gets this way right before the sale, but to do it twice in one year......................The good news it the cattle are lotted.  The video is available for viewing from DV Auction, and we have begun the cleaning process.  Daniel started officially on Nov. 1 as Grady has taken a new position where he gets to manage the cowboys at a lot east of here about 30 miles.  It is a great opportunity for him, and we wish him the very best.  However, Daniels career as a carpenter are done for now, as he is hitting the ground with both feet running.  I think he is excited to get back into the hands on of the operation.  It is a bit overwhelming how much we try to do though.  Joe and I have decided to forgo the KSU vs. KU game so that we can get the cattle penned and be around here this Saturday.  It makes me kind of sad, but if the sun is shining, it will be fine.

All the cattle look so good this fall.  Fall calving is winding down, and we are looking ahead to breeding. 

October 21, 2009- WoW!  No I am not talking about cattle, I am talking about the KSU football game Saturday.  We rocked that stadium and it was a blast.  I guess this week we will see if there really is a better team than got stomped by Texas Tech two weeks ago.............

Now back to cattle.  We drove a set of Bred Commercial heifers home Oct. 10.  If anyone remembers, that was one the coldest, windiest, overcast days we have had all fall.  It is quite a trip across only 3 pastures, but is over 13 miles long.  We all look forward to it most times.  This year though, it was pretty cold.  Laura come home from college to go.  She got so cold she got sick.  Daniel and Christine farmed out Sadie to go.  They about froze too.  But you know what?  None of us was sorry to do it.  It is beautiful watching 170 head zig zag thru the hills.  The cattle did not ever slow down and we did it in a bit over 3 hours, which is a record to date.  The best part was preg check.  This year on approximately 400 head, we ran a bit under 8% opens.  

Sale preparation is coming along.  Doing the catalog was kind of amazing.  Cam's brother in law, who lives in Canada, put it together, mostly from midnight until the wee hours of dawn.  Cam and I spent quite a bit of time emailing and talking, but we got it put together and other than a few typos, I am very pleased.  We mailed them all before the weekend so if you don't have one, it is probably wherever lost mail goes.  However, you can download a copy from here if you would like.  2009 Fall Main Event Sale Catalog link.

We still don't have the heifers weaned.  We have been getting in so many customer buybacks, there just hasn't been a good time or pen.  We like to fence line wean so it takes a bit of coordination.  It is looking like we might get it done later this week though.

 I spent all day Monday with Casey as he had surgery on his knee.  Wrestling in his living room, he tore his MCL?  I think that is the right term.  I brought him home Monday and he was pretty sore.  He did go back to Manhattan last night and plans to attend class on Wed.  I am worried about him.  

October 6, 2009- Where did September go?  It seems like we were wearing short sleeves and mowing just a few days ago and now the trees have taken on their beautiful colors and the grass has lost its succulent punch.  It lasted way longer this year then most though.  We have been blessed with amazing timely rains and pretty mild temperatures.

In a moment of craziness, Cam, Joe and I decided it would be a good idea to have a joint fall female sale.  We knew that by combining our sale we could offer a tremendous group of females.  So we decided to have the first ever combined location sale.  DV Auction has been wonderful to work with and assure us this technological phenomenon is possible. Maybe that is where Sept. went!  We have been busy videoing cattle, creating the catalog and working on ads.  Of course we still have the usual.  We have been weaning Spring calves.  What a set of bulls!  We fence line wean as many as we can, but some are just to far from home to bring their Mommy along.  Those cows will get processed in December or when the grass is snow or ice covered. 

But that is not the biggest news.  Daniel and Christine decided they didn't want to stay in Amarillo after October 1.  So they gave notice on the apartment.  They decided to live in what has been our Tallgrass Prairie lodge.  So as my last guests left on September 25th, the stock trailer with all of their belongings came rolling in to begin a long moving in process.  Daniel has become a regular carpender as he has taken on a large remodel job.  Poor Christine asked him if he would be done by Christmas!  He gutted one room downstairs and is putting up sheetrock.  After that he will sand the floors.  It will be so cozy and nice when it is done.  But what a mess.  He really is working with us yet other then special projects because he has so much to do on their home.  We are planning on him coming in full time the first of the year though just in time to start planning for the Spring sale.  

September 1, 2009 - It has continued to be an amazing summer and early fall here at Mushrush Red Angus.  Since the kids have gone back to school, I have been taking out mineral and looking at the cattle.  Everything looks so good.  I think a little cool weather and above average feed quality go a long way.  Our fall heifers have been calving since late August.  I entered the 24th calf today.  Joe thinks we may be about at the end of the A.I. calves.  

We have been attempting to organize sale offerings but are somewhat limited as we await preg checking.  We are doing that the 3rd week of Sept. so after that we will have a better idea of actual individuals.  We did bring home one of my favorite cows to sell though.  Lana has been one of the best cows we have ever raised.  We had a couple of herd sires from her, have kept most of her heifers and she always makes a standout calf no matter who she is mated to.  She has a nice bull calf at her side now and we brought them back so we can get it weaned and her filmed.  We will miss her.  Lana was in one of our Denver pens of heifers.  

More exciting news.  Daniel, Christine and Sadie are heading back to Kansas to join us at the ranch.  We are really looking forward to bringing them on board.  It will be good to have all of them a bit closer to both families.

August 13, 2009 - Since I last updated this I took the big plunge and created a facebook page for the ranch.  The sad part is that I am not sure what I am doing so if you cannot access it don't be surprised.  School starts for my two remaining home living kids tomorrow.  Way to early in my opinion, but I am pretty sure no one cares.  Maddy starts 6th grade and Chris will be a sophomore.  He is so excited for football.  He is pretty buff after his many miles of bike riding.  We figure the two a days aren't going to be as tough on his as they will be on some of his team mates.  We took Laura to Fort Scott on August 2nd along with all of her belongings.  It was very hard to drive away and leave our little girl alone in an apartment.  She hasn't spent much time there though as she went thru Meat judging bootcamp ( at least that is what she calls it) last week.  After that she got to come home for a few days.  We had all the kids here last weekend as Casey made it back from his internship in Cedar Rapids and Sadie brought her parents up for a wedding and a visit.  

We were a few days late pulling some of the bulls as our 4-h fair got right in the way.  However we got them all off and back home safe and sound.  Our grass seems to have held its feed value this year due to all our timely rain.  Everything is in great flesh.

We have something pretty exciting in the works.   Beckton and Mushrush Red Angus decided to do a joint female sale this fall.  They already had a date and an auctioneer so we are going to do it via DV Auction.  Our plan is to do one sale, two locations simultaneously.  Right now we are just waiting for the heifers to have the bulls out long enough to preg.  After that we will film all of them, any cows we are offering, and get it put together.  The date is Monday, November 9th.  My only concern is that it is the Monday after we play KU and I sure do hope I get to go to that game!

July 4th - Happy Independence Day!  Who would have thought this is the day I would finally have a chance to post pictures of the heifers.  Our summer is passing by at warp speed.  It is hard to believe that #3 and #4 are leaving for college in about a month.  Laura has done most of the cattle checking this summer.  She has turned into quite a hand.  She snapped the pictures of the ProCow heifers for us.  Cole has been helping Joe and Grady with hay.  We have gotten quite a bit up dry.  They went crazy last week when we had the stretch of dry.  Chris is riding his bike to weights some as he still hasn't gotten his farmers permit.  We are getting closer though so maybe he will get to drive some before fall.  The 4-h fair is in about 3 weeks.  Joe and I accessed the animals last week and the heifers are not going to make it.  They didn't start working with them soon enough.  The girls are still hoping for the KJLS, but we will just have to see.  Today the heifers are along ways from any public appearance.  With so many storms we have been expecting to lose some cattle.  Yesterday our fall cow count kept coming up short.  Since I have the best nose, we decided I should go hunt for the dead cow.  I never did find the cow, but while walking up a ditch I came across the biggest thistle patch I have ever seen.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon pulling off heads and pulling thistles.  I filled a mineral sack with seed heads.  It cannot help but keep them from spreading though so it was all worth it.

The highlight of my week though is that we started riding our buckskin colt.  The guy that started him and another one was going to ride them for a week this spring to tune them up.  He just hasn't gotten it done so a few days ago we started playing with Buck.  Today I rode him away from the barn.  I think he is going to be useful in no time.  He seems very quiet and is so smooth to ride.  It is always fun to see what the new horses are capable of.

We are sending the last set of harvest ready cattle this week.  It is always a relief to get them off the feed bill.  I wonder though if those two intensive hot high humidity weeks will affect how they grade?  They sure didn't eat very well during that time.  At least this last load has had a few days to pick it back up.  It will be interesting to see.

June 24, 2009-  As usual it has been very busy here.  We had the privilege of hosting the Kansas Ranch trust group as they traveled to the Symphony on the Prairie, last weekend.  The Symphony is exactly what it sounds like, the Kansas City Symphony comes to some location in the Flint Hills and plays each June.  We went this year and enjoyed it.  We walked in and out so we did our 'one little thing' for the day.  Actually we probably logged over 4 miles.  It beat standing in line to catch a ride though.

Rodeo weekend found nearly all of our horses lame so for the first time in forever, we were forced to watch the parade.  I really missed riding thru and hollering at all of my friends.  The kids throw candy and gum.  Hopefully next year will be different.  

Because we spend so much time delivering bulls in April, May becomes a very packed month.  We managed to graduate the twins, breed the Spring cows and get them off to grass and preg the fall cows in addition to getting a weight on them and wean their babies.  Laura has done a great job of doing the first checks and keeping mineral out.  She is off to round up this week so Joe and I are trying to get to all the pastures.  The cows have gained so much weight and the calves are really growing.  I forgot my camera until last night, and then it got to dark.

We smile when the TV tells us to stay indoors from 2 to 7 due to the heat.  Sounds like a plan, but we don't get that pleasure.  However, we have been going back to pastures right at dark so we can see the cattle better.  They tend to tree up if they can.  Hopefully these dog days will pass quickly.  However they are good for making hay and we are very behind on that.

The last two loads of harvest ready cattle leave next week and the week after.  To date they have killed as we would have expected with one surprise load.  It was actually 98% choice.  WOW.  The sad part of that is that the choice/select spread that day was 39 cents.  Ugh.  We do a visual sort for what is ready, so this was not a planned load.  The rest of them have done quite well always staying above 75% choice.  To bad the choice to select spread isn't worth more.  But that makes me wonder why the grocery stores are not marketing choice beef now?  

Sadie came to see us this weekend for a surprise birthday party for her great grandparents.  She brought her dad and mom along.  She is so CUTE.  We had a wonderful time with her.  She is really smart too!  My heart almost breaks when I have to tell her goodbye.

May 10, 2009 - I finally got my new PC and got it up and running today.  I knew that I would be able to update my web site once that was done.  We had an amazing, humbling sale this year.  Our program was very well received.  That makes us pretty excited!  We finished deliveries around the first of May and logged well over 8000 miles.  In addition we sent two Pots South and a couple of trailer deliveries were made by a friend of ours.  It is such a relief to have the cattle off the place and safe and sound in their new homes.

The twins will graduate from High School next Sunday.  Their last day of school was pretty anti-climatic as it flooded and school was cancelled.  As a parent, I was thrilled as there can be wrecks and accidents that last day as the kids leave school.  Plus we had an amazing work force Friday and got a big set of heifers sorted, hauled and CIDRS in a  group of 50.  We cannot A.I. them all as the grass is already rented and they have to be turned out.  So, we did a gate cut of heifers we will sell or keep and those are who we will A.I.  What fun it is to sort the newest generation of Mushrush genetics.  It solidifies for me that we are doing what we want with our program.

Saturday we sorted about 80 pairs of first, second and a few miscellaneous cows.  Again, it was so gratifying to see how our younger cows are stacking up.  The second calf heifers which we will time breed are really nice little cows.  We hate to brag to much about the first calf heifers yet, as they have no proof.  We got to finish knocking the hair off the horses and get a ride under all of them as of yesterday.  It is always so good to get back out and into the hands on part of our operation.  

Casey is planning an internship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with milling.  He really likes his major and plans to have it completed by December a year from now.  He doesn't know yet where he will end up, but each internship opens up new possibilities.  He came home last week to help after Joe hurt his back.  We don't know if it is a pinched nerve or muscle spasms, but he has quite a bit of pain.  Casey came and helped clean out a corn bin and just be there to take the heat off his dad.  Boy did we appreciate that.

I have been making the twins their obligatory baby books.  I had really gambled that the world would end or something and I wouldn't have to make them, but when April 1 rolled around and it looked like they would be graduating, I got busy.  I spend many of those 8000 miles scrap booking.  Not a good thing to do in a bumpy truck, but it got them done anyway.  They turned out so great and are very important to the kids.

March 10, 2009 - I have just spent the entire day trying to upload our catalog onto the web site for you and it just will not go.  We had quite a battle with that catalog this year and it looks like we are not done.  The printer broke down, delaying the mailing.  Then when I got it back, I found formatting issues.  At least the information is accurate though!  Usually I will update the web site with pictures as you all request them.  I will do my best, but may be slow if I keep running into problems.  All catalogs were mailed beginning Wed. afternoon thru Friday.  Thankfully we had home town service with the printing guys working overtime and our postmaster doing everything she could to make our mailing go out in a timely fashion.

We have had a wonderful Spring with some cold days but until a few days ago, a pretty dry winter.  We were blessed with a huge rain beginning Friday evening.  The kids are all happy because they know we will be burning this spring now. 

The Beckton bulls are going to arrive anytime now.  If things work out I will begin posting pictures of them and Joe will walk thru them to make sure they are used to that.  We are so proud of our offering this year.  It is a super set of the deepest class we have ever had.  

March 2, 2009 - I cannot believe that our sale is only 3 weeks away!  We blew thru February so quickly I barely remember it.  Calving started without a hitch and I entered our 56th calf today.  Unlike so many parts of the country, we have had a relatively mild winter.  After last year, that is easy to say!  Nevertheless, it has been dry and unseasonably warm.  The only problem with that is that the temperature fluctuates so much that we have to deal with sickness.  Joe even had to treat a couple of cows.  That is pretty unusual.

We scan the yearling bulls tomorrow so will have all sale data collected when it comes back to us.  We intend to pull of all nonsale and culls after scanning.  That always shapes the offering up.  The catalog is being printed as we speak.  We hope to be mailing by Wednesday.  Allow a reasonable amount of time, but call or email if yours does not arrive.

I hope to update the web site often between now and the sale.  If you see a lot that does not have a picture posted, just let me know and I will try to get one taken.  We are not professional photographers by any stretch of the imagination, but will attempt to get a representative shot.

January 20, 2009 - Happy New Year greetings!  We have had a wonderful holiday season as Daniel and Christine became the proud parents of our first grandchild, Sadie Grace, on December 17th.  She had a very difficult first few weeks.  Daniel and Christine worried and rightfully so, because she wasn't behaving like all the newborn calves they had witnessed.  We got to baptize her here in our home church this weekend though, after spending the entire weekend with family and friends for a wedding.  She is beautiful, sweet and it was hard to say goodbye.

The day we arrived home from the National Western, we started working on the sale in earnest.  Initial reports have been compiled so we can make a second paper cut, before going back to the pens for a visual appraisal.  Even though we have had some wet and cold weather, for the most part this winter has treated us pretty well.  The bulls look really good too.  The yearling and 18 mo. old bulls are already over at the sale facility running out in the 5 acre traps getting lots of exercise.

Before we know it we will be taking the bulls out of the little set of Commercial ProCows.  Today, we are going to finalize where and how to advertise and Joe is going to work on a newsletter to everyone on our mailing list.  Casey and his buddies visited with us about cleaning up bulls.  They intend to start working on that in the next few weeks.

November 14, 2008 - It has been so long since I updated this that we have gone from using the AC to longjohns.  It has continued to be quite wet here (not something we like in the winter) but did give us some super grazing until late fall.  We got all of the commercial heifers contracted and sold with the exception of a group of 8 white faces.  We haven't decided whether or not to try to sell them or just calve them out and put them in our sale.

We got the calves all weaned with very little problems.  We used fence line weaning on all that we could and it really worked.  Since this was our first time we don't know if it was just the year or if the fence line weaning worked.  However we doctored mostly from the non-fence line set, so that makes us wonder. 

We have almost finished our fall calving and it is a good thing too as we will sort for breeding the day before Thanksgiving.  We have lots of help that day and the kids do own cattle so it seems fair.  Sure hope the weather cooperates because we have to do it.  One year we did it in knee deep mud.  That year we told the kids they had experienced hell, so they need to make sure they don't spend eternity there!

We are anxiously awaiting word that our first grand baby is here.  She isn't due until 12-12, but we want her when we go visit them in a couple of weeks.  Christine is so tiny I don't know how she can go to term any way.  Laura and Cole made a college visit and it got us all jump started in how much they have to do to get ready to go.  

Casey and I are going to Louisville on Sunday so that we can participate in the ceremony to induct our dear friend Sal Forbes into the Saddle and Sirloin.  She is the first women and the first Red Angus breeder so it is incredibly special on a number of levels.

August 6, 2008- I have been having some difficulty getting my web site to update.  As usual our family has been busy with the usual kid and cattle stuff.  Casey is about to complete his internship and I am hopeful that he finally has learned that there really is no place like home.  I get to go out to drive back with him.  I am really looking forward to our time together.  

We just completed our county fair.  The kids had another good run.  It is always a great learning experience.  Unfortunately not everything is always good.  I have come to the conclusion that all youth events would be really good if the parents could just stay out of the kids way.  Laura won livestock judging this year.  Along with that she received her very first KSU scholarship.  Her and Cole are starting to look forward to college.  First though we have high school Football to enjoy.  Chris and Cole are both playing.  It is with relief that we have honed ourselves down to just Middle and High School.  

All four of our remaining home kids will be taking heifers to the KJLS.  If they don't raise their own, we give them pick of our heifers to use.  It never ceases to amaze me how much they learn by their choices.  We all know that there is a super female out there if they pick her.  Usually though, they pick one that teaches them more about structure and movement then they would ever learn if we did it for them.  Maddy got a really tame heifer, which was the most important factor to us this year.

I got to go to Young Guns along with our sweet daughter in law Christine a few weeks ago.  It was an amazing experience.  We both learned so much and got to see lots of folks.  What I really liked is that the group is smaller, so we got to really get to know the other people there.  On the way home though, my sister called to say my mom was in the hospital.

Some of you already know that she lives with us or my sister in Manhattan now.  To make a long story short, we got her back home yesterday.  She is doing very well.  Her problems started when she did not consume enough liquids.  It became a domino effect which thankfully we got stopped.  

July 3, 2008 - Summer is just flying by for us and I hate it.  My favorite days are those spent with all the kids, Joe and I, working side by side on various projects.  Laura and Maddy have been my right hands keeping mineral out and cows checked.  Maddy has come along way on her horse back skills this summer.  

In late May the weekend after A.I. was finished, Joe drove with Casey to Gilroy, CA so that he could do his summer internship milling onions.  He is having an interesting summer and has gotten to do lots of things.  We keep telling him that when he is in a foreign country, he needs to seize every opportunity.  (sorry all you Californians)  They will only let him work 50 hours a week.  Not much for a country boy with lots of energy.  So, he bought himself a guitar and has taken up jogging.

It is hard to believe that we are now looking toward bringing bulls in from breeding already.  We have had an amazing start to summer.  So far we have had rains nearly weekly, which has kept the grass fresh and growing.  What I have noticed though is that flies are horrible.  Even the horse flies are already bad.  I think it is a bit early for them.  We are having some eye problems that are without a doubt fly related.  We usually spray the cows when we pull bulls, but we may have to give them some relief before.

Even with so much rain, we have lucked out and got a good portion of the hay in dry so far.  Brome is very heavy and has been yielding well.  We did go ahead and fertilize because we didn't think we could afford not to. The Sudan will be ready to cut by the time the brome is up.

May 8, 2008 I feel like I have been on a merry go round that was going so fast that if I let go, I would fly so far and hit so hard, it wouldn't be worth it.  But we got thru it and I now now why.  Joe and I logged almost 8000 miles delivering bulls.  The best part though was seeing your places, looking at some very good cattle, and quite honestly, just being together and talking thru ideas.  I am ready to get out of the trucking business though and to get back to our own cattle.

We have now sent 8 loads of fed cattle.  We are still marketing with Cargill.  They pay the trucking and we no longer have Tyson as an option.  The cattle we have data back on so far performed far better than we expected.  They spent weeks in mud belly high, or frozen rough pens.  The ones that did not get injured or die, seemed to be ok.  We did have a very high rate of injury though.  They would slip and break something on the rough ground.  We even had 3 heifers get hurt that were turned out.  We have never had that before.

Thankfully the sun is shining today and we are going to turn out some more cattle.  We had a set of fall and spring cattle get mixed so that is our project for today.  Tomorrow CIDRS go in the group of replacement heifers we are going to A.I.  We sent the rest on to grass as we really hate keeping them up and feeding them when we have grass we have already paid for just sitting there.

The first week we sorted harvest ready cattle, Joe's horse decided to lick the high voltage fence.  Joe doesn't fall off bucking horses, but he did fall off one when he wasn't ready.  Yep he broke at least one rib and had the most amazing muscle spasms.  He hurts when he lifts anything and until yesterday we have kept him off horses.  I was to sick to help so he had to go yesterday, but hopefully today we can keep him in the truck.  What is it with you guys refusing to go to the doctor?  Anyway he is on the mend and it isn't nearly as serious as a year ago.  The amazing thing is that when we were sorting cattle for last week that crazy horse tried to lick the fence again.  We have decided he has the mentality of a gold fish.

Casey is off to Gilroy, CA (find San Jose) for the summer to mill onions.  Why he is excited to go to that state, I will never know.  Joe is going to drive out with him.  When he returns in August, I will get to fly out and ride back with him.  I have already told him we are taking some side trips.  Definitely the Grand Canyon.......He will be here to help us A.I. the spring cows though and he is very good help.

Chris has emerged as a shot putter.  I had no idea he was so strong.  He has placed at every meet and usually gets first.  We are thrilled for him.  He graduates from middle school on the 17th.  We are officially putting the grade school out of our planners as of that day as Maddy will be in the 5th grade.  Only two schools to chase.  I look forward to it!

The kids have been putting together Power Points for the junior deal this summer.  They are so good.  I am totally impressed with how good all of them are at getting around the program and thinking of creative ways to present things.  Even Maddy did a really good job.  I guess that is a strong point of our school district and it will serve them well.  I will try to update this a little quicker next time.  At least I will be in the state for the next few weeks.

March 31 - Well we survived the sale again!  It was a humbling and gratifying day for us as our genetics were well received and went all over the United States.  We are now trying to get the deliveries set up.  We also have middle school track for Chris, banquets for the twins, and music programs to look forward too. 

#2 son Casey, that so many of you know and enjoy, bought a motorcycle.  I must cling to the fact that he has an awesome and very busy guardian angel and that he will continue to be safe.  But boy is that kid excited.  He rode it down Saturday to show us.  The problem was it was COLD.  We gave him a pretty hard time reminding him that he gets cold on the 4 wheeler going 10, so what do you suppose happened going down the highway?  It ran out of gas close to home and we had to rescue him.  He hid from the locals until we arrived because he knew he was going to get teased.  Joe and I both had motorcycles growing up.  I know he can enjoy it and be safe, I just hope he is!

I posted the sale results on the sale page link.  I decided not to add a lot of details this year.  If you have questions concerning any of the lots, let us know.

March 20, 2008 - The sun came out and I had a chance to go take a few more pictures today.  But the best part is that the wind really dried out the mud.  Not very far west of here they are pretty dry.  I hate to hear that wheat is blowing out.  Those guys deserve a good cash crop.  Tomorrow I intend to spend most of my day getting things ready for my kids.  I now understand how my mother felt when we all came home.  It just makes things right.  The barn is pretty close to getting set up.  The bleachers go in tomorrow and then it is just final things after that.  We are pretty proud of our bulls this year and the fact that we fed our bulls to gain steady but slowly.  They are very fit and will be in great shape when you turn out.

March 18 - We are busy getting ready for the sale every day but are also looking ahead to a weekend of family and church services during the Easter season.  Daniel and Christine are coming home Friday morning.  Our plan is to have the barn all set up so we can fish, shoot clay rock and just hang.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  One of my favorite things about this time of year is getting to talk to folks from all over the United States.  It is so fun to hear about how your winter has been, your hopes for the cattle business and your interest in Red Angus.  Tomorrow I take Laura in to have her wisdom teeth removed.  Hopefully though the next day I will be able to get back into the pens with the camera.  Until this afternoon, it hasn't been fit and now it is very muddy again.

March 15, 2008 - We finally finished putting in sale lots Thursday morning and so are beginning the task of taking the barn apart so we can set up the sale ring and bleachers.  This is always fun because we see the results of our effort, plus the kids are home for spring break so we have many hands.  Last week was a landmark week because we had 8 'muck boot free' days in a row.  It did rain again last night though and I haven't been to the barn or the pasture as we had 4-H day.  Our club took their model meeting.  It was very good because they were very much themselves.  Probably not perfect by a long shot, but I figure if they are having a little fun and learning how to conduct a meeting, everything else is secondary.  The kids schemed to change the role call.  It was supposed to be a Kansas college and they had rehearsed quite an assortment so that no kid would have the same one.  Well today they all said K-state.  It was pretty funny.  How could I object?  I think they are right!

Grady is off to a ranch rodeo so Joe had to do all the chores today.  He will have lots of help tomorrow though and we will probably get to the bull pens with some folks too.  If  I get to go I will take the camera.

March 8 - 2008 - As you can see we got some pictures done today.  The heifers are on the commercial breeding heifer page but can be accessed from the sale page too.  We finished cleaning up bulls today.  We are going to maybe clean the heifers a little when we put their ear tags in next week.  Then it will be time to take out the chute and begin to clean up the barn so we can set up for the sale.  It is fun.  I spent quite a bit of time in the yearlings today.  Both Mushrush and Beckton are not going to disappoint you.  I hope I can get a few more pictures tomorrow.  

March 6, 2008- I can tell we are getting into the presale mode.  It is really picking up around here.  We scanned the yearlings yesterday.  We are awaiting final data, putting in sale lot tags and talking about cleaning up the barn.  The weather just cannot seem to give us a break though.  They were calling for snow again. I sure hope the weather guys are wrong.  It was a very cold day here and the wind blew all day.  Calves are being born right along though and everything is going ok.  I am looking forward to Easter because all the kids will be here, even my big grown up son, Daniel and his lovely wife.  Last I heard we were going to have some students that are here studying abroad.  We actually hosted these girls when they were getting their bachelors so it will be fun to see them again.

I hope to get out and get some pictures of bulls maybe even tomorrow.  I fought with my computer all day today.  I lost though as I cannot figure out how to get my PDF files out onto the web site.  I can get zipped catalogs to anyone that wants one though. I will keep trying to figure out what I am doing wrong.

March 2, 2008-We finally got the catalog done and off to the printer.  The first 800 are in the mail and the balance will hopefully get picked up and mailed on Monday.  We must have done a good job, because I read about bulls and I get all excited.  We did spend some time yesterday on the sale bulls.  Casey, Cole and Laura, finished cleaning up the 18 month old bulls.  In between Chris's wrestling matches, I would go check up on them.  They were doing so well that we decided to bring in the rest of the yearlings.  Right after that the clippers malfunctioned.  We are going to need a couple of little parts to finish.  The yearlings are really starting to look like bulls though.  We scan them on Thursday.  After that I think all the data will be collected for sale bulls.  We are getting the Beckton yearlings tomorrow.  It is always fun to finally see them after crunching the data.  We are also preg checking the fall bred heifers tomorrow.  And it is supposed to rain again this afternoon.  I hope it holds off until Joe can get to the pastures because we figure he wont be able to go tomorrow unless it freezes.  Chase Co. is actually in a flood watch.

I will keep trying to post sale bulls as I get them done.  However, if you want a specific lot that I haven't posted, just email or call and I will try to get it done.  The yearlings will get easier after Thursday when we are able to take the nonsale contemporaries out and the sale bulls are cleaned up.

February 19, 2008 - I was asked yesterday how the weather is here.  Unbelievable!  If you wait a day or so it will probably be something you really like, or dislike.  This weekend it rained so much the creeks ran out of the bank all day Sunday, plus it snowed.  Of course it froze too.  Everytime our feed lot starts to dry up we get more moisture.  The pens are a mess.  Yesterday Laura and I walked the 2 year olds out to weigh.  I think we got our exercise for the day.  I feel bad for the cattle that have to be shut up.

The catalog is coming along.  the kids laughed the other night because I came up and asked Joe which dam information he wanted me to look up.  I really wasn't cussing............  I am waiting for Casey to come home and will help him bring in some bulls as he and a friend are cleaning them all up.  I still need some pictures of Spring bulls so I am going to try to get them to concentrate on those today.  Our kids had no school yesterday and Chris and Laura helped me get several decent pictures of fall bulls.  We basically go out and randomly take whatever is clipped that walks by.  Laura was pretty excited because we did her bull.  I am posting a few of the lots we have done.  When the catalog arrives, I try to get pictures of any cattle you all request to see.  You just have to bear with us, we are not professional photographers.

This horrible weather has of course brought on the calves.  Our first heifers had their calves when it was very cold.  Joe brought in a little calf that was just frozen.  I put it in the bathroom, rubbed it dry, talked to it, tubed it and got it to stir.  We named it Dumb Dumb because it thought I was its mother.  It's poor little dam tried so hard.  Finally after several days, we just milked her out and tubed it.  I decided it had nipple confusion.  Of course all those milkings happened after dark!  Joe went down one morning and saw it sucking.  We left them alone.  The next day Dumb Dumb was dead.  It is SO frustrating.  I feel very sorry for his mother.  She really wanted him.  

The weather forecast is for another front to move in tomorrow so I imagine we will have another draft of calves.  The first cow had her calf over the weekend.  It was 9037 one of my favorite cows and she had a heifer.  They really were not supposed to start until the first of March, but this happens every year so Joe and Grady are carrying the tag box and scale everywhere.

February 1, 2008- Lots has happened since  I last wrote in this less than a month ago.  Joe had a board meeting in Denver during the National Western Stock Show, so I went along with him so he didn't have to travel alone.  He spent the entire 3 days in meetings but I had lots of time to 'network'!  It was a blast but a little sad without the stockgrower kids.  I couldn't believe how much I missed them.  I got to see lots of folks I know and made some new acquaintances.  That is always my favorite part about the Red Angus functions anyway.  However the 'braintrust' was really interesting this year.  We had two panels, one was commercial cattlemen who currently use Red Angus in their operations, and the second was the semen companies.  It was a very educational format but I think what I really took away from it is, we are all trying to offer what we can sell!  I did have a chance to visit with some of the panelists alone though, and that was very insightful.  As a result we are changing up our catalog some to hopefully help as you make your genetic decisions.

Speaking of genetics............Joe and I spent quite a bit of time in the bulls last week.  We had been looking at them on paper but this time we looked at them out in the pen.  We knew as a set they were visually outstanding.  But when we began to match up the cattle to the paper it was awesome.  We are truly getting moderate, rapid growth, low maintenance cattle in volume.  

This set of cattle has had to endure quite a winter though.  When we finally got them moved out of the feed pen to their 15 acre trap, several had hurt their feet in the frozen rough lot.  One bull actually had abscesses.  We couldn't tell until we were able to get them on level ground because the pen was so frozen and rough all of them walked slow.  We have several head that are injured from the storms too, hurt hips, knees, etc.  This weather always costs more than just gain and certainly has here with injury, death and messed up pens.

Last Sunday morning our hot water heater decided to quit and leak profusely.  So Maddy, Laura and Chris helped me clean up in the basement all day, while Joe and Cole did chores.  There was some good news though.  The heater was still under warranty so they replaced it at no cost.  The bad news was it took 5 days.  I also did some serious cleaning that I really hadn't planned to tackle until the sale was over with.  I threw so much stuff away that Joe said he was going to make sure he looked 'useful' or HE might get tossed.  

That first hot shower sure was nice though.  And all of that stuff out of the house is a really good thing.  I wish I had time to tackle a couple of more places that need a deep cleaning.  But we really are into the sale preparation now.  Casey is coming home to clean up cattle, we just sent the presale newsletter off to the printer, and I have started on the catalog.  We start doing BSE's Monday and will take Yearling weights this week when the weather allows.

Laura got to go to Fort Worth to help with the National show as part of her junior board activities.   She worked very hard but the highlight was meeting Mark Chestnut at a restaurant.  He than invited the junior board back stage at his concert at Billy Bob's.  She will never forget it and has pictures as proof.  What a nice thing of Mark to do though.  I guess those kids all dressed alike with a country flare looked like a good bet to him.  If you see her she will tell you the whole story!

We had 4-H day today.  My kids had a good run.  Cole and Laura both did illustrated talks.  They now do Power Points.  Boy does that beat the poster days.  Laura did hers on incorporating Red Angus into crossbreeding and Cole's was on Sale Preparation.  The judge just happens to be a cattleman so he knew exactly what was going on and asked some great questions.  Chris did a Baxter Black reading.  He did so well and was a complete contrast from the first time he read it a few weeks back.  Cole is our club president and presided over the Model meeting.  Maddy was president for the gavel game.  Her and her buds did really well for first timers.  I was very proud of all my kids today.

January 11, 2008 - It has been quite a holiday and end to 2007 here.  My silly kids decided to do a name count on the jounal and determined that Daniel and Christine have had more mentions than them.  Casey thinks his return from Argentina should push him over the top.  He arrived back in the United States the day Cole and Laura turned 17.  We just happened to be smack in the middle of one of the worst ice storms I have ever had to go thru.  Joe had the generator running the feed lot mill and water pump, so we all moved down to the lodge ( my 91 year old mom included).  At least we had heat, water and electricity when the cattle were drinking!  So that was poor Casey's welcome home.  He missed our good  corn fed beef and spicy food terribly.  He did polish his Spanish though.  He learned it with an accent though so Daniel is having trouble understanding him.  Of course Daniel thinks Casey learned wrong and we all think it is amazing they can each speak the same foreign language but not always understand each other.

The twins 17th B-day will never be forgotten by them and will no doubt not go down as a favorite as we huddled in our crowded quarters for pizza and store bought cake that we brought back on our way from the airport.  The good thing about that whole experience though is how much we all take for granted.  Lights, computers, phones, running water................you get the idea.

Chris turned 14 the following Sunday and we were back up at the house so we had a big old party with homemade cake.  If Chris ever grows into those feet of his, he is going to be a really big man.  I can't believe he is already looking toward High School.  Yikes!

The ice was brutal on the livestock.  A good herd bull got hurt, we lost a cow and suspect it was responsible for a second one.  After the ice we had snow.  The upside was that our kids wore out 2 sleds and spent hours playing outside.  But of course the snow melted and created quite a mess everywhere.  On Dec. 28 we sold some fed cattle.  The had so much mud on them it was hard to sort which were truly done and which were just covered.  Maddy rallied and helped me do it because we had the kids processing cattle and had a small crisis when the fuel stand broke.  Why that day?  It was great to have all the kids pitching in though because we made it thru that day in pretty good shape.

We A.I.ed many of our fall cows again this year.  Joe did a group of 40 plus the heifers.  We had a big blitz for the last group.  We got done in the nick of time as a snow storm moved in that afternoon causing the Christmas  ball to get postponed.  Laura was kind of glad and she felt really hurried after she had pushed cows thru the chute all morning.  I was proud of her though as she can work with anyone than make herself  look very nice without a lot of time.

Daniel and Christine got to be here for Christmas.  Daniel decided to leave Cargill and work for Amarillo Brokerage.  Casey and I helped them move shortly after the first of the year.  

With the start of the new year it is time to think about the sale.  The first catalog requests kind of knocked me off my feet but it is time and I am starting to get excited.  We will keep the web site updated as we get more information.  Casey plans to come back and help clean up bulls.  All the kids are old enough that they can really step up and help prior to sale day. 

November 28, 2007 - Happy Thanksgiving late to everyone who happens by here.  We had a good one although we were one head short with Casey still in Argentina.  Daniel and Christine got to be here for one day too.  We decided to smoke a fowl.  I got sick afterwards and I am sure it was that Turkey.  There is no way it was the Spiral ham or Roast beef.  The day before Thanksgiving one of my sisters called to say they were coming too.  So we had lots of family from my side.  The highlight of the day was when my sister neutered Cuddles, my orphan tomcat.  We decided that needs to become a new family tradition.  We put off shooting the Halloween pumpkins because Casey really needs to be here for that one.

Today we are heading to the barn to put CIDRS in the last breeding group.  This one is the big one that we will have help breeding and is around 140 head.  Yesterday we moved and sorted 120 pairs.  Why is it that the redbook doesn't match the pasture?  How can that be?  We have four calves down for two calves.  Joe is out trying to determine who gets the other two calves now.  

I am in the process of moving my office to a bigger room.  When it is done I will be so organized!  Actually I told Joe I need to spread my piles out.  They are just to deep.  Besides when I move I will get to look outside at our glorious hills instead of at a wall.  One way or the other I have to get the inside stuff caught up because of the year end business.

We pick Casey up around the 11th of December.  We have been so busy it has gone pretty fast.  He is feeling like he has so much he wants to do yet down there.  Finally though he admitted he did miss us.  I think holidays are pretty tough for the kids that are abroad, but they don't even acknowledge Thanksgiving at all in Argentina.  

November 9 - We had a glorious day yesterday as the last group of commercial heifers were sold.  I am very excited that a neighbor took some.  It is going to be fun driving by watching them.  We finally got the last load of heifers delivered too, plus some PT bulls delivered.  All told we got 70 head of cattle off our feed bill yesterday.

Today we are pulling a set of preweaned heifer calves off.  We are going to use fence line weaning but are not sure there is going to be much bawling as all parties are ready for change.  Our scale head malfunctioned a couple weeks ago and we put off our last weaning project until tomorrow.  But hopefully by tomorrow night I will have every weight I need to get my information processed.

October 30, 2007- I thought things were going to level out a bit after we got the convention under our belt but it hasn't.  We started receiving customer cattle two days later and haven't slowed down a bit.  The feedlot is full and boy are they nice calves.  We have been getting the contracted bred heifers delivered too.  That was quite a bit of work to do as we would have several owners cattle in a group of as many as 250.  Finally we are down to one truck load for two owners so it is manageable.  We still have a group of 20 red white face and brockle face heifers left.  Because we have used gate cut they are not leftovers.  There is also a set of blaze face Red Angus X Simmental.  I am ready to get them sold out and gone so we can move on to another project.

Convention was great.  If you read the ARA magazine you were able to get a sense of how it went.  It turned out exactly the way we had hoped with emphasis on the commercial side of our great breed.  Touring Cargill Meat Solutions was amazing.  It would be a hard place to work though.  It is so fast paced and synchronized.  Brett Spader, from KLA, did a workshop of livestock photography.  It was so educational.  I immediately found our catalog and critiqued my picture taking skills.

We still have to get the Registered heifer calves weaned.  We are doing it a little different this year.  We get them in, weigh, tattoo, brand and vaccinate them and process their dams.  Then we are turning them back out in a pasture close to the pen the calves will be weaned in.  As soon as all the pastures are processed we are going to pull off the calves.  We are hoping to eliminate sickness and reduce stress.

The Private Treaty heifer sale is moving along.  I am ready to have that done too though.  It is going to be fun to calve that set out and find out if our breeding and effort is working.  They sure are nice females.

September 21, 2008 - I got my hair cut yesterday and told the hair guy I could not wait to get my elephant eaten.  He stopped working on me and got the funniest look on his face.  I had to explain that when I have huge projects to attend to I liken it to eating and elephant.  You can get it done one bite at a time.  And I am about to devour a huge one.  The national convention begins next week in Dodge City.  Along with lots of other hard working Kansans and Nebraska folks, we are about to enjoy the benefits of our efforts.  Our theme has always been focus on the commercial part of the industry.  I cannot wait to go thru Cargill Meat Solutions.  I think son Daniel may be our tour guide.  We have lots of other 'old west' fun planned too.  Dodge City is kind of a rough town, but it is also a historical place and the folks out there have been super to work with.

Along with all of the planning we have been going to a middle school and two high school Football games each week.  Both teams have been playing really well and my boys are doing great.  The weather makes it perfect to go hang with the locals and cheer the kids on.  Homecoming is tonight and both Cole and Laura (football manager) have lots to do for that.  

Besides all of our noncattle things we have been busy with cattle too.  Last year we A.I.ed 160 fall cows in one day.  We have had lots of calves.  I know one day they tagged 16 which has been the record to date.  It is going to make the crop very uniform though and should help us for rebreeding this year.  We brought home the first set of Spring bred commercial heifers this week.  It has been so pleasant we did not realize it was going to get quite so hot the day we did it.  They were scattered all over a 900 acre pasture.  I took a horse and Joe took the feed truck.  The dog came with me.  I finally had to put her on my horse because she got so hot and tired I was afraid we would lose her.  I dumped her at the pond then called Joe and had him come and get her.  Silly little dog.  She didn't have to be told twice to get in the truck.

We pregged and cataloged all of our 2008 Registered heifers.  We are trying something a little different this year as an alternative to selling open heifers in our sale.  I actually enjoyed putting this catalog together.  Joe is going to have a pretty hard time talking me into offering Registered heifers in the sale ever again.  We are going to let you pick out which one/s you want and all the work is done.  I think it is a win win situation.

August 23, 2007 - The long gap since I have updated this is pretty much symbolic of our life this summer.  I am always busy, but this was ridiculous.  Daniel and Christine's wedding was pretty wonderful.  I really didn't have that much to plan or do for it, so we went up and had a really good time.  

We had amazing moisture until it got hot in early August.  But what can you expect in August?  Nevertheless we are going to have a super hay crop and good winter grazing.  What a blessing.  The hills are amazingly tough and have already begun to heal from the past two years of drought.  Seed heads are starting to shoot which means protein is plummeting.  You can always tell when that happens because the cattle get way more interested when we drive in with the cake truck.

We moved the Fall calving heifers back home last week.  They sure are pretty and I can't wait to see what the calves look like.  They will calve in a quarter right out in front of the house.  It is fun to look out the window and see a cow off, then later see the calf.

We had a pretty terrible thing happen last Saturday.  We slept in.  About 8 I headed to town with one of the kids for something.  Three of our good geldings were pigging out on a corn based supplement.  They had broken a wire on a gate and pushed it open.  We put them on banamine and headed into the vet to get them tubed with oil.  He got tubes passed down two but just could not get the young horse done.  He finally gave him some activated charcoal and sent us home.  We kept them cool and moving all day Saturday and continued the banamine for 48 hours.  We were feeling like maybe we had whipped it.  But Monday the young horse wasn't moving right.  We actually thought he was going to have to be put down.  We put him along with the other two back on the drugs and waited.  Today they all act fine and move well.  I am very concerned that there may be damage that won't manifest until we start using them.  As I am sure all of you who have horse know, this is pretty upsetting to us.  We have so much time and emotion invested in the horses.  I guess we should be grateful that all of them didn't get out that morning. 

The 4-H fair was about like every other year.  It is such a relief to haul the market animals off.  The kids all had some successes.  That is always nice.  Laura had Grand Champion lamb.  We had no clue it was that good.  Actually we have no clue about lambs period.  But it sure was fun.  She has become pretty good at handling lambs too.

National Convention is only weeks away.  Somehow I got very involved in all the planning.  It has taken some time, but I think we have got a great format planned.  The folks at Dodge City have been quite friendly.  Brian Winter, Winter Livestock, told me how thrilled they are to have a livestock group coming to Dodge.  Dodge City is a historic rough old cow town and we hope to let attendees have a peek at what shaped the cattle industry in the early nineteen centuries.  And how even today Dodge City is a huge piece of the Cattle industry with the concentration of packing plants and feed lots.

I gave up the Kansas Red Angus secretary position to a very capable young lady, Andy Bauck, during our annual field day.  She is off to a roaring start and many of you will be hearing from her.

June 29 - We heard from the kids who are spending the week on the annual Junior Red Angus Round UP.  They had made it to Beckton and were thrilled to see the entire Forbes family, but especially Sal.  It has been another wonderful busy informative trip and they will come back with stories and a whole new list of friends from all over the US.

We were blessed with a slow 2 inch rain the night before last.  It was so timely and will insure that the annuals get growing and the grass stays fresh.  We can always tell when the grass starts to harden off as the mineral consumption goes down.  That certainly has not been the case yet.  We literally haul out tons each week.  I can hardly believe that it will  be time to start pulling bulls on heifers before long.  That always makes pasture checking easier.  Once the heifers are bred and the boys are not there, it seems like we have less trouble with cattle.

I got a few more pictures of the ProCows up on the web site.  Joe is going to finish calling everyone that had requested information.  

I have been very busy with the 2007 National Red Angus convention.  It is going to be a dandy and the sponsorship has been phenomenal.  The hard part is so much has to be done very far ahead of time, and it is hard to make decisions when we would like more time.  Nevertheless, it is getting done, and the attendees are going to have an opportunity to really soak up the Commercial aspect of Red Angus.

June 26 - Our oldest son Daniel is 23 years old today.  He just started his job with Cargill and has been putting in some pretty long hours.  We intend to go see him and his new place this weekend and maybe take out a cake and present.  I know he is looking forward to July 14 so that Christine can join him in Dodge City.  

Our kids are spending the week on the annual Junior Red Angus Round Up.  They left Sunday and haven't even called us yet.  They have so much fun on it and will this year again.  They are traveling clear up to Sheridan and will get to visit Beckton.  I know my kids couldn't wait to get started and so look forward to seeing the Forbes family.

Joe had a mishap on May 19th.  He broke 6 ribs and two were separated.  It changed our summer plans.  Suddenly he was immobile and in lots of pain.  Casey decided to forgo his internship in South Carolina and stay to help out.  It is a good thing too because Joe will be unable to do much in terms of physical labor for sometime.  I had hoped to get a secretary out of the deal, but he claims he is unable to learn.  In fact he wont even listen!  What I do realize though is that I love what we do because it is us.  I miss him when we go to the pastures on the horses.  I can't wait to have him back doing all the things we all took for granted.

April 26 -  Well like all of you we get up every morning and try to figure out the quickest way to get more cattle turned out and off the feed bill.  We have made some head way and will be sending 4 more loads of fed cattle tomorrow morning, so that is good.  Nearly all the bulls from the sale have been transferred and there are about 20 May 1 bulls waiting to go to their new homes.  Joe does have a couple more deliveries though, one to Kim, CO and then north to Nebraska and South Dakota. 

 Yesterday we figured out our breeding schedule.  It is always a challenge as it is in conjunction with graduations, year end school things, and the other cattle work.  We finally decided the heifer CIDRS have to go in Sunday.  There is just no other day where we can make it work for breeding.  We hate to work on Sunday on purpose.  But if we want to go to Daniel's graduation, that was about the only option.  We still hope to sort those heifers today, but I am sick, and it is showering off and on. 

Planning a wedding is kind of fun. It helps us to reconnect with family and friends.  My very dear friends threw the coolest shower for Daniel and Christine.  I took his baby book that I just made him for his graduation gift.  Everyone had to look at it because they all have been such an intricate  part of his life.  After the shower we came back here and ate.  It was a great afternoon.

April 6, 2007- Wow!  It is like a fog around here and we are moving at warp speed.  By Monday evening nearly all the deliveries will be made.  We had a wonderful day for our sale and are always humbled and pleased with everyone who comes to bid, buy and participate.  Until yesterday it has been very warm and we even got 2 inches of rain.  Then it Snowed!  Not really a lot of accumulation, but it sure is cold.  We think maybe we froze the cherry blossoms off.  

March 21 -  Sale preparations are really shaping up and we plan to have everything ready so that tomorrow all we have to do is chore and move cattle in.  The kids have all been lots of help.  We have had the added pleasure of a journalism student from KU (we wont hold that against her) shadowing us this week.  She is working on a project for a class and chose to profile a local ranch.  She just happened to come the week of the sale so she is getting to see something we only do once a year.  We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing our interests and our cattle with her.  We are still trying to get pictures of lots that you all have requested.  Yesterday it sort of rained all day, although it never accumulated.  We would love to have a nice 2 inch soaker.  Some of the natives are getting restless and talking about burning.  It is way early though if you want to kill the weeds.  We can't even think about it anyway but sure would like to see some moisture first.  I may not get back to this until after the sale, but we look forward to seeing so many of you Friday.

March 16 -  We power washed the barn out yesterday and got the ring up today so it is starting to look like a sale barn again.  This is a fun time.  The kids are home for Spring break, and we are getting lots done.  The college boys will be home soon too.  We have had amazing weather and it has made all the preparations so much easier.  I have been posting new pictures and will send the most up to date supplement sheet to anyone who would like to have it in an excel format.  Just email and ask for it.

March 13 -  Finally, we got the scan data so the P+ EPDs and all the missing data from the catalog is now available when you click on the supplement link on the sale page.  You can also request a copy in an excel spreadsheet by emailing us.  We were thrilled with the way the cattle scanned.

March 13 - We discovered a incorrect lot assignment to a picture on the web site, so if you were looking at lots 103 or 113, they were turned around.  I am waiting a little impatiently for the Mushrush scan data.  I know it has been read because CUP called with a question the other day.  As soon as I have it, I will post the supplement sheet which will include the most current data that was not in the catalog.  We also have the Commercial heifers in lots, and know out bulls as of today.  I suspect there will be another injury or two by sale day.

March 12 - With the help of former JRA member, and my adopted child, Cortney Bowden, from Wisconsin, there are quite a few new pictures for you to look at.  She came down to get a little family time with us before heading off for Spring break.  We had a great weekend.  The highlight though was when our oldest son Daniel and Christine Soukup, announced 'officially' that they are getting married.  No one was surprised, but we are all thrilled.  We are heading over to finish with final preg checks and semen evaluations.  Sometimes the bulls just wont work the first time.  We heard from CUP lab Friday, so we are hoping to get the updated carcass EPDs this week too.  When I have all of that, I will make the supplement sheet available online.  We will try to keep the web site updated and current and will do whatever we can to help you and represent all the cattle fairly and accurately.

March 10- We put lot tags in the fall bulls yesterday.  Casey and a friend came down and helped Grady reimplant two pens of steers.  It was a great day and we got lots done.  You should all have your catalogs by now.  If you haven't received one, we had better check addresses, and resend you one.  I am planning to get into the Beckton bulls today and get some photos of them to post tonight or tomorrow.

Our new colts are coming along nicely.  One is quite a bit more receptive to handling than the other, but we will get them.  We are over there every day and they are seeing lots of activity.

March 8 - Time is just flying by here and we are getting closer to being ready for the 23rd.  Today Joe and Grady almost finished getting the heifers cleaned up.  Yearling scan data should be getting processed right now and we are trying to call and email (plus send out a card) making sure you all know the sale is FRIDAY, not Thursday like the catalog says.  We have been enjoying some unseasonably warm temperatures this week.  We will take it!  Today I took pictures all afternoon and really didn't want to come back in.  I will continue to update the web site as data comes in.  The Beckton yearlings just arrived so after they are rested up, I will start photographing them too.  Be sure to let me know if there is a lot you would like to see posted.  

March 1 - Only in Kansas can we go from almost 70 degrees to snow.  This storm doesn't have the intensity though so hopefully it will blow on out.  The catalog is heading to the post office this morning so you should have them in a few days.  I have also made my first attempt at getting it online.  You can also email me if you would like an excel spreadsheet of the offering.  

We will scan the Spring bulls and heifers Tuesday and continue to clean up cattle and get things prepared for the sale.  Every time I get out in the offering, our program is validated.  We have a super set of cattle and I am so proud to offer them to you.  I will continue updating the web site with pictures.  Be sure to email if one you would like to see is not up and I will try to get one posted.

February 27 - We really lucked out on the weekend storm and got by with just a few flurries and some temps. around freezing.  Seven calves were born yesterday with the 8th one starting at dark.  That is how I like to get calving done.  The Spring bulls were semen tested yesterday.  Lot 65 had a 43 actual scrotal.  The vet asked us how old he was as that is pretty large.  Joe and Grady finished cleaning them up too, so I hope to get a few more pictures posted.  They will get their ultra scan for carcass done next Monday.  When we get the interim EPDs and ratios, I will get a supplement sheet done and up on the web site.  The catalogs should be done tomorrow.  If so, we will mail them on Thursday.  Meanwhile I put a spreadsheet format on the sale page.  Unfortunately you can't sort with it, but I figured it would be a fun thing to start looking at.  

The more time I spend in the bulls the happier I am with our offering.  We have some very good cattle that represent what we are trying to do.  Our only concern is that we have so many contemporary groups represented, that it is not a simple comparison.  Joe does address that in the catalog and I realize you already understand it.  

On a personal note, we went ice skating Saturday night.  It was one of the funnest things our family has done in awhile.  Manhattan has a shelter house in the park that they convert to a rink.  We rented it from 9 - 11p.m. (definitely college hours).  When we went in it was sleeting and we had to wonder just how crazy we were to be that far from home in that weather.  But it all worked out and we got home safely before 3 a.m.  No one got hurt seriously, and the cousins bonded.  It was a great day.  Because Saturday was the only day this week we didn't have to chore, Joe and I went to Stouts Hereford and Quarter horse sale.  We brought home two of the nicest colts.  I have decided that horses are like kittens.  You better not look if you don't intend to own one (or some).  Still we got two very nice colts and got them bought right.  Chris has already claimed the buckskin and I am pretty partial to the other one a heavy muscled, large boned sorrel. 

February 22 -As I type this I am itching to get outside as it is expected to hit the high 60's today.  A cool down is forecast for the weekend, but we can live with freezing, just not that - business we were having.  I am happy to report that the catalog is leaving my house tomorrow.  Our printer is working all weekend to get it ready to print Monday and Tuesday.  I still plan to mail them by the first of March.  We have been spending lots of time in the bulls and I must tell you, this is definitely an outstanding group of cattle.  Not putting the heifers in the sale has given us more time to spend on the bulls and that has been so great. Calving is finally going and going well, except for that darned black calf.  Our neighbors bull got in and we thought we got them all aborted when we synchronized.  Unfortunately, some that we natural serviced didn't get the shot so now we have some nice little black calves.  At least they are angus!

February 14, 2007- Brrrr it is cold here and I have a feeling about everywhere.  We lucked out with very little snow this go around.  It did rain first and made the cattle good and cold before it turned off cold.  By the weekend we will be above freezing again and sure are hoping to get some cattle out that have been stuck in the lot due to water situations.  We were so dry last year that many of  the creeks dried up leaving only ponds for water sources in some pastures.  With the freezing and thawing the ice gets rotten and cattle fall in.  Several neighbors have lost horses, and cattle.  We had one get pushed in.  She probably died from hypothermia.  She was right up by the bank.

Before the cold snap we got lots of presale work done.  The fall bulls and two year olds are semen checked.  We got yearling weights on the spring bulls and have now had a negative ear notch result on all the cattle.  We have begun pulling bulls from the fall bred cows and got the last bunch moved into their final winter pasture last weekend.

I have a feed program that is supposed to make billing of feed eaiser.  Well I somehow got corn in at $257/bu or some outrageous amount.  When our oldest son Daniel's bill was $44,000, I knew I had a big problem.  Joe and I spent quite a bit of time fixing that one.  We sold some fed cattle but I don't have the data sorted just yet.  I am going to work on the catalog first, and that later.  Meanwhile, with the exception of a few weeks, we really have had a great feeding period.

The first spring calves were born last week before it got cold.  Thankfully there were none last night.  They are out in grass, but still, it is pretty brutal even for our Red Angus.  (ha)  I will try to keep the web site updated and hope to get some pictures if the weather cooperates.  

January 23, 2007 - My infrequent updates pretty much sums up our life here at Mushrush Red Angus.  Since I last wrote, we have bred all the fall cows, made first sort on the Spring Commercial breeding heifers, calfhooded everything, and completely filled our feed lot with customer cattle.  The day we time bred 160 of our fall cows, the twins had their Christmas ball.  Laura worked her heart out all morning dressed in chinks, a ponytail and boots.  By 6 p.m. she had turned herself into a very pretty young lady, fit for a ball.  We are very proud of how the kids all stepped up, and especially her.

Christmas was excellent again this year.  Keeping the focus on why is sometimes so difficult with all of our distractions.  But having our college boys home was so awesome.  I had to relearn grocery shopping.  Casey drinks a gallon of milk by himself everyday.  The boys slept in our guest house (except for Christmas eve) and we had lots of family time.  It was hard to send them back.  Besides they are excellent help.

Joe had a Red Angus board meeting on January 10 in Denver.  If you all remember that is when we were bracing ourselves for the big ice/rain/snow storm.  The night before we needed to leave I was in Douglass, Kansas, an hour and a half south of us at a wrestling match.  At 8:30 that night as I headed back to Chase Co. I still didn't know if we were going and had done very little packing.  The next morning school was called off, we sent the kids to chop tanks and we decided to head out and see how it went as we headed west.  It didn't take long to drive into dry weather.  Other then worrying about everyone at home, it was a really nice time at the National Western.  Cattle and people participation were impacted by the adverse weather.  But those who were able to come, we so much fun to see.  The BrainTrust was excellent.  it was about the relevance of Red Angus for end marketing.  A feed lot manager who focuses on quality cattle, Superior Livestock who market every class of cattle from all over the US, and Marcine Moldenhauer, from Cargill, all gave a perspective.  

And now today, as I read emails, return phone calls and place ads, I know it truly is time to get rolling on our upcoming sale.  When we finished calf hooding and ear notching the Spring 06 born crop, we got another look at some of our offering.  The bulls are going to be excellent again.  I couldn't help but notice how even, big testicled and thick they looked, even though they are not even a year old yet.

I plan to start updating the site pretty frequently.  Don't hesitate to call or email if you have a question, thought or idea.

November 15, 2006 - Last Saturday night was one of the funnest our family has had in awhile.  After KSU surprised Texas, all my kids but Maddy were down on the field celebrating.  I know those of you who know Casey will find this shocking, but he was on the goal post.  Anyway, we wish we could be in Lawrence this weekend.  And believe me that is not something anyone in this family ever says!  So much for football.........................we finally got the Spring cows moved to a kind of storage place before they move to winter pasture.  We are still in one of the worst droughts ever, certainly the worst since I arrived in 1980.  We had to abandon some fall grazing as the creeks are dry.  With feed in short supply, that is disappointing.  We ended up taking one group back to a pasture 25 miles East of here.  They are going to eat dry grass and get some protein tubs.  

We are trying something new this fall.  We are going to hire an A.I. team and get all our Fall cows bred in one day.  Actually they think they can do 150 in 4 hours.  Boy do we have some organizational stuff to do though.  Joe will still breed the heifers on detection.  If it goes well, I will be hooked because we are so labor impaired here. 

Our feed lot renovation is not done yet.  Joe and Grady literally build a pen as we get in new cattle.  It is a huge worry and I wish it was complete but we have so much other stuff that is in front of the pens.  There are only two left.  One will be a group of heifers that are currently with their steer mates, and the other is a set of Fall cattle that we are storing at the other place.  We got another set of nice heifers in last Sat.  By the time we take off the bottom, we are going to have a very fancy set of breeding heifers for 2007.  We have several sets of customer cattle on feed too, and they look great.  We won't talk about the price of corn though.

October 24, 2006 - I knew it had been awhile since I updated the journal but had no idea it was this long.  Football which was just beginning when I last wrote is about to come to an end.  Chris played for Chase Co. Middle School and got to start every day.  I always say my kids love that sport because it is the only time they are told to 'go hit someone' and applauded for their effort in doing so.  Son, Cole, played JV, and was a back up for Varsity.  Needless to say we had football games 3 evenings a week in addition to our Sat. trek to watch our beloved Wildcats.  We got season tickets so that we had a reason to get up to see Daniel who will graduate from KSU in May, and Casey, who is a Freshman.  Casey LOVES college.  I do hope he studies at least a little so he can stay there!

We sold our bred heifers so quickly this fall that I really never got a handle on what we had to offer.  They are quite a group and will sure make good cows for their new owners.  We are finally getting them cleared out as we need the room for the new cattle that are arriving far to quickly for me.  

With the renovation of our feed lot, we decided to get the mill fixed too.  Little did we know it would take weeks, I mean months to get it all back together.  At one point, we had no pens, no mill, and our feed truck was in the shop.  Pretty worrisome when part of our financial plan includes feeding cattle.  

We had hoped to have the renovation completed by our Customer Appreciation party last Saturday.  It wasn't, but I do think the folks who took the self guided tour got to see what we are up to, and look at some pretty impressive Mushrush sired cattle.  The party was very fun, even with the damp rain.  Our estimations are that about 150 customers and their families attended.  Two high lights for us were the fact that the two remaining founding Red Angus members attended.  That was our dear friend Sal Forbes, and George Chiga.  The second thing was that the RAAA used our event to present grid master awards to past bull customers, Rick Hanschu and CJ Blew.  It seems like every time we do anything we learn more.  This time it would have been nice if we had started the music sooner as many of our guests came from quite a distance and left before 9:00.  Never the less we enjoyed the band Bluestem immensely. We also forgot to put our additional cookies.  You have no idea how many cookies we are going to have to eat now!  That is so sad.  We also forgot several of the hamburger and brat toppings.  So only the last few got those.  I don't think anyone went home hungry though.

With our renovation project, we have been frustrated trying to wean our Spring calves.  We finally got the bulls done just last week.  We hope to get the heifers yet this week, but still need to get the pen built.  We have been supplementing the pairs on grass, hoping to maintain body condition of both cows and calves as the protein in our grass has really nose dived.  It seems like the calves go to the bunk quicker too, when they have eaten beside their dams.

I will try to be a little bit more diligent about updating this page now that we are going to be forced indoors and hour sooner and football is about over.  We sure do need rain here to help with our fall grazing situation.  Many of our creeks are dry and we can't utilize the fields.

August 4, 2006 - The last two weeks have been amazing here at the ranch.  As many parts of the country have endured, we to have continued to fight triple digit temperatures.  Smack in the middle of the heat, we participated in the county fair.  There were some real surprises as there always is.  Probably nicest for us was Chris having Grand Champion steer.  It came from a pen of customer cattle owned by Royce Enns.  The steer has always been exceptionally nice.  However he weighed 1414 and we were concerned that the judge might ding him as to big.  It is pretty difficult to hold those good doing cattle and feed to a date, as his lot mates were sold in Feb. and March.  Laura had a lamb this year and it was the Grand Champion.  We had no idea it was that good.  That was pretty fun and helped her learn about another species.  Madelyn on the other hand WILL NOT have a lamb next year.  She too learned about the lamb project.  Somehow it just didn't take!

With the fair, I felt that we had neglected our cattle checking and have attempted to get back around this week.  For the most part things look good.  However, that hot wind has really taken a toll on the grass.  In a pasture of 3/4 stock steers, we are running out of water too.  They sold last week on Superior though and will hopefully get delivered soon.  We are going to have to bring home 100 of them early next week though.  This set of steers was just a set of put together cattle that we bought late to fill a couple of pastures that we got a lease on not long before grass.  Hopefully next year we can put something in that has a Mushrush or Beckton tie.  We have begun to pull cow bulls too.  You can always tell when they are done.  They have been laying off, and in some cases, visiting the neighbors.  It seems like this is when we get injuries the most often, so those bulls are out and we plan to get the balance next week when we precondition the Spring calves.

Casey heads to KSU on August 16.  Those of you who know him know what a big whole he is going to leave in this family.  He is outstanding at the ranch jobs.  He is either sleeping or busy doing something.  As parents we try to keep the something positive because he will be busy.  My prayer is that the good Lord and a little luck will keep him focused at college on good things.

We intend to have a Customer Appreciation day on Oct. 21.  If you are on our mailing list, you will get a formal notification.  If you would like to be invited, please email me.

July 16- I cannot believe I let the journal go for so long without at least a brief update.  We are in the belly of summer with the heat dictating how we do everything.  We are beginning to pull the bulls from Commercial and Registered heifers this morning.  The pastures are so far apart and in some cases so large, that it is going to take us all week to get them all gathered up.  We will leave the bulls on the cows for a couple more weeks.  

The summer began quite dry for us.  In fact we made the decision to only burn pastures that would have steers on them, or, that bordered neighbors that would cause a lot of labor to put out.  Not long after that, we got some very timely rains and wondered if we had made the wrong choice.  Although we have had rains along here and there, it has become very dry.  The unburned pastures for the most part look better.  Our biggest concern is water.  A couple of the pastures water from a stream and it is really getting low.  Those cattle come out in August as soon as they sell on Superior.  It will be a footrace to see whether or not the water holds though.

The 4-H fair begins next weekend.  Someone asked me if we are ready.  We are at the stage where I beg the kids to quit 4-H.  Trying to get them to feed, work with and think about all of their projects is a daunting task.  The good news is it will all be over soon.  I also hope that they are learning something about making choices and then suffering the consequences of so much to do.  Hopefully they will also be rewarded for their hard work because they really have done a good job.  It is just that they are KIDS!

Since I last wrote in this (and a reason I have been so negligent) is that Casey graduated from Chase Co. High School in May.  He is going to K-State in August to study Milling.  He cannot wait.  It is going to leave a pretty good hole when he moves out.  We do go to some football games so hopefully we will see him and Daniel quite a bit this fall.

April 2 - As usual we think it will slow down a little after the sale, when in fact, it just continues to stay really busy.  Last week we had the pleasure of delivering several groups of bulls.  We got to see the offspring of some of the heifers we sold as bred ProCows last fall.  They were beautiful cows with great udders and very nice calves at their side.  It validates for us that we are producing what we tell you we are. 

The sale was excellent again, thanks to so many people.  I put a sale report on the sale page link if you are interested in details.  We are now buy getting cattle delivered, planning Spring herd breeding, and thinking about burning, weaning fall calves, and we have a pen of cattle to ear tag for the age verification program.  We may turn in some more harvest ready steers, which will go to Dodge City, a week from tomorrow.  We are have to go walk the pens to see how many loads it will be.  With the QSA, I have to be very vigilant where the cattle come from and when they are sold, so that I can verify age and source when we turn them in and again when the truck picks them up.  It has increased our paperwork and record keeping load for sure.

On a personal note, the twins were confirmed last night so we had a big party afterwards.  It was fun and a nice change from  our work.  At the end of this month, Maddy makes her first communion.  I hope to be better organized so I can get all the family notified.  That way they can come if they would like.  Cole is out for track again  this year.  I have a feeling he is more interested in the other members of the girls teams than his own performance.  Laura has found her sport, golf.  They don't run, don't practice if it is windy, or raining, and always go when its nice.  She is having a blast.  Last week we drove by the golf course when they were practicing.  We saw someone madly jumping up and down and waving.  Yep, it was Laura, making sure we saw her and waved back.  

March 21 - We have had several calls and yes, the sale will go on as scheduled.  You might want your over boots though, and a nice warm coat if the wind is blowing.  We ended up with no snow.  There were some flurries, but the ground was just to warm for anything to accumulate.  We have been told that our area had as much as 2" of rain though, and it is muddy.  For that we are very thankful.

The overcast skies and mist have made it pretty difficult to take pictures.  I took the camera this a.m. when we walked the bulls in for a prospective buyer, but it just wasn't good.  By tomorrow afternoon we plan to have all the cattle penned.  It may get a little muddy in those Wed. night, but that is just the price we pay for moisture.  We very much look forward to hosting you this Thursday.

March 20 - With one eye on the weather and the other busy getting presale things done, we are a little unsettled here.  It looks like the much needed moisture is all coming at one time in the form of rain, ice and snow.  It will be a relief to have the burn bans lifted.  Our neighbors to the south could have used this moisture a couple weeks sooner and it would have saved some very serious fires from happening.  Hopefully now though recovery can begin.  I got the scan data back this morning and must compliment the CUP lab and Red Angus for turning it around so quickly.  If you would like the updated yearling EPD's and carcass ratios, they are on the supplement links on the sale page.  I can get you actual scan data, if you would like.  Our concern with actual data is when it gets compared across contemporary groups. 

 If the rain/snow lets up, I hope to get some more pictures posted.  I never did get to the Two year old pen, and had to discard a lot of bred heifer pictures, when we realized we hadn't done a good job of recording who was who.

We think the weather should be cleared and changing for the better by Wednesday morning.  I certainly hope that is the case.  We don't want to exclude you because of weather.  As our banner showed, Lynn Pelton called and said he had made the decision to postpone his sale for a week.  I told him we would use our web site to let folks know.  I will try to keep the journal updated as things change.

March 17 - The sale facility is beginning to shape up.  That is a relief because it hasn't looked much like a lot of people will be coming in less then a week.  We power washed the entire thing and got some bleachers in yesterday.  The kids will paint bleachers today and the other guys will work on outside pens some.  It looks like the weather might get very chilly and wet.  I hope to get a few pictures of 2 year old bulls this afternoon before the rain starts.  I called CUP yesterday, and there is hope that we will have Mushrush Yearling data before sale day.  As always if you want to see an individual animal, I will try to get it posted.  

I was very pleased at how quiet our heifers are when I was trying to photograph them yesterday.  It is hard to get a picture when they try to come up to you.  Chris tried to act as decoy and I think we got a few good ones.

March 15 - Today I had time to think and I sure do hope our Yearling scan data gets turned around in time for the sale.  We scanned on the 9th this year.  Last year we did it early so the updated data could be cataloged.  Unfortunately, that throws quite a few out if they are to young.  We want the data to contribute to the lines long term, so we hate to not have it in the data.  I did add the Fall heifer expected calving dates.  When we were lotting the ProCows we had them sorted up.  They are really nice again this year.  Hopefully after tomorrow I will have more pictures to post.  If there is a particular individual you would like to see, I will try to get it taken and posted.  

The Beckton Yearlings arrived last night.  I haven't got to do a thorough study yet, but they did look very good coming off the truck.  I plan to get some pictures of them tomorrow too.

March 12 -  Friday we finished cleaning up sale cattle.  What a relief.  Monday we plan to take out the chute and start cleaning up the barn.  It is one of my favorite things because it changes so much and means sale day is almost here.  We got the data back on our first ever set of age and source verified cattle.  It was predominately culls from our Registered Fall cattle.  They did very well.  I hope to get the data on the Carcass page right away.

We had a shower this morning, just enough to grease up the feeding road.  Joe couldn't maneuver the big truck without assistance from the loader.  If it had really rained he probably would have had no trouble at all.  Maybe we can all get some moisture before it is done with.

We made it thru County 4-H club day.  Our club had the only model meeting, so off to Madison we all will go.  It is the Saturday after the sale.  Chris takes his talk on to Regional as does Casey with his Reading.  He did a Baxter Black on putting in a prolapse.  That was a compromise because he has been wanting to do "The Oyster" forever.  He was sure we would let him this year, as it is his last.  I don't know who the judge was, but she must have understood the poem, because she gave Casey pretty good marks.  It may be a little sketchier at Regional.  I am pretty confident that Casey will not be to concerned either way.  He got to make a college visit this weekend after 4-H day.  He is trying to get living arrangements figured out.

Maddy turns 8 on Wed. so we have another party to plan.  I cannot believe she is so big.  

March 7 - You would think that by now this sale preparation would get easier, but it doesn't.  I guess that is what makes our life interesting.............never knowing what we are going to face when we step out of bed each day.  Joe and I have taken the task of cleaning up the sale animals on ourselves.  As of this morning we only have the Registered heifers left.  We intend to get the bred ones done today, and the Spring by Friday.  Sickness has really taken a toll on all of us, but it looks like we are all healthy now and have been self inoculated by every virus out there this year.  As we get groups cleaned up, I am trying to get a few pictures.  We prefer to show the heifers running out, like they really are, but, I wanted the groups and they will not be sorted again until right before sale day.  

The more time we spend in our offering the more pleased we are.  It is a great feeling to have our plans validated by such an outstanding set of cattle.  For the second year now, we believe that our program is exactly where we want to be.  The commercial females are the proof.

Our kids are busy with their stuff too.  We have club day this Saturday.  Mushrush talks are coming along slowly, hopefully they will peak by the weekend. (ha)  The other leader and I are a little uncertain about how we feel having the only model meeting.  The good news is we will go to Regional.  The bad news is we will go to Regional.  Casey gets to attend YBIC as part of his Red Angus board experience.  It is in Mississippi this year.  The junior program is such a great opportunity for the youth.

Last week I attended the KSU Cattleman's Day.  It was so fun to see all the junior Red Angus kids hanging together.  They were from different schools, states and majors, and they are all buds.  I will try to get more photos posted as sun and time dictate and intend to keep updating every few days.

February 27, 2006 - What a month we have had.  Our family has taken turns being sick but this week we were 8 for 8.  The kids have missed so much school, and Joe and I are way behind on work, but I figure we have had it now so we can move on.  The catalogs were done Friday and the first group goes out today with the second set on Tuesday.  Picture day was so cold that the camera kept freezing.  That is a little hard to believe with the wonderful weather we have had since.  I posted a few pictures and will add more as I get them.  If  you would like to see a certain lot, I will attempt to get a shot taken.  We have not started cleaning the heifers up yet, so those are still a week or two away from being posted.  I hope to add a few things pretty often now and don't hesitate to call or email if we can be of service.

January 27, 2006- I cannot believe it has been so long since I updated this.  We have done so much.  All the fall cows are bred, in fact we are pulling bulls!  We are really ramping up on sale preparation.  We have figured out numbers and are starting to really look at individuals.  I spent the last two days (between trips to the doctor and dentist) working on advertising and getting the web site freshened up a bit.  We once again got to go to NWSS.  What a wonderful trip.  It is always so much fun to see old friends and make new ones.  This year was no exception.  Casey was fortunate enough to win the stockgrower contest.  He was thrilled.  He got a stipend good for a heifer or to help pay for a heifer if he gets wild as part of his prize.  He can't wait for the sale catalogs to start pouring in so he can make a choice.  That stockgrower contest is an amazing experience.

We start calving very soon.  It sure is different than a year ago.  Dry warm weather has made our feed go further and the cattle are in excellent shape.  We just reimplanted a set of fed cattle and they are very close to harvest.  Under the umbrella of Cargill we have gone to the time and trouble of becoming a QSA qualified feedlot and producer.  If the border can get open and stay that way to Japan, maybe the extra time will pay off.  Otherwise I will be very disappointed.  It requires documentation starting with the producer and all the way thru.  We actually had one of our own culls that had 4 tags in her ear when we were done processing her.  We have been joking that we are going to develop a muti eared animal.  Six of our producers have gone to the time and trouble to become QSA producers.  It seems like we keep getting new things to learn about all the time in the cattle business and it certainly isn't dull.  I intend to be updating the site very regularly from now until sale day.  We hope you all have excellent calving!

Dec 8 - We awoke to frigid temps as I am sure all of you did.  Nothing will start except for the big feed truck that spent the night in Emporia getting worked on.  I guess it was a blessing we didn't get it picked up last night.   Joe and I spent much of yesterday waiting on it, so he 'helped' me Christmas shop.  He had no idea it was so painful and expensive.  I rather enjoyed his company.  He couldn't even use the line that we had to get going because we were waiting!

We are supposed to get another set of customer cattle later today.  They had even more snow then we did and are in a real mess.  The superior rep kind of needs to get it done as he made a trip from MO or somewhere off.  We are attempting to get all the Red Angus customer cattle QSA qualified so that when the Japan border opens maybe both us and our customer can benefit financially.  It does require record keeping and documentation from both us and them though.  At the very least, it would be a good idea to write down the date of your first and last calves born.  Better would be a ranch I.D. put in a birth that ties the calf to a specific date.  Joe and I think that eventually this will not be something that garners a premium, but will become necessary to get your cattle sold.

Dec. 2 - Where did fall get to?  We just finished A.I.ing group 2 this morning and I can taste the end with the last ones getting done tomorrow.  It is like a marathon.  What we have discovered (the hard way) is that just because it is a good day to put CIDRS in, the schedule that follows might not work so hot.  So we now take the calendar and a pencil and keep writing down scenarios until we finally get one that isn't to messed up.  

My mother came to stay for an extended period this week.  She took a fall and cannot be alone as she now uses a walker.  She can't carry hot things ect.  The good news is she is doing great.  But the day I got her (from another sister who lives in Manhattan) we had to take the trailer to haul all her things.  While we were in Manhattan we picked up a bull that was being collected too.  It was amusing for all of us to haul Mom, LT and all her stuff that way.

If you have ever been to our house you know it is not very accessible to anyone who cannot climb stairs.  We took the PU and got Mom right up to the deck and got her in pretty easily.  I am very excited that Physical Therapy is coming here to help her do exercises so she can get stronger.  She will be spending most of the winter with myself or my sister in Manhattan.  That way she gets care, attention and eats.

December is a big birthday month at our house.  Our twins will be 15 on the 12th and Chris is 12 on the 16th.  We usually have one big party and then little parties on 'the day'.  Typically we have some sort of activity on the real birthdays.  I am reeling at the idea that these kids are that big.  YIKES.  

I haven't even taken time to get out our Advent wreath.  It is going to be week 2 before we even get it lit!  Oh well.

The other thing that is taking all my time is the KRA membership directory.  I have to get it done.  I am planning on being in more as soon as the cows are bred.  We will see.....................

November 21, 2005 - I knew the heifers would not last long and they didn't.  They are going to a good home with a long time genetic partner of ours and we will probably get to feed out the offspring of many of them.  We spent last week getting our breeding groups organized.  We start synchronizing the cows today and will do three groups, one each of the next three days.  On Wed. the CIDRS come out of the heifers so we should be breeding them by Friday.  We are pulling them late to try to stay off of Thanksgiving as much as possible.  

I am pretty surprised and very relieved that we did not lose any calves to coyotes up north this Fall.  There were over 100 cows calving in about 960 acres.  We saw and heard so many that we were sure all that singing meant a fresh meal of Sterling Silver.  As of Saturday, we accounted for every calf!  

We did have a flash back from last year though.  By the time we got all the cows and calves run thru, it was getting dark.  Casey got flashlights to sort off the last few cows that were going back out.  We got it done though and didn't have to work Sunday other then feeding.  Having Grady has really taken off some pressure, particularly for the kids.

Nov. 15- We woke up this morning to our first snow storm.  I knew something was up the way the cattle and the kids have been acting.  We did get a nice group of potential breeding heifers calf-hood vaccinated and ear notched yesterday though, before it got cold.  Joe and I took the calendar and tried to plan out our synchronization and breeding plan for this fall.  We are going to be moving lots of cattle through the chute over the next few weeks.  It seems like there is always something to do with the cows.  We did get the Fall cattle scanned though and took one more cut on them that day to get out the ones that just don't make the cut.  We went pretty deep on them this year and they are shaping up to be a very nice set of bulls.  We just had a set of heifers come up as available.  They are a pretty nice set and I don't anticipate it being long before someone snatches them up.  They are kind of in the way so we move them a lot.  They do follow a cake truck about anywhere for sure.  

October 30 - October flew by for us here at Mushrush Red Angus.  With the first day of sleeping in under our belts I am glad we have put in the hours we have.  It is amazing what just one hour can do to a project.  By tomorrow evening we will have all the Spring cows into their fall grazing.  The next project is to organize Fall breeding.  It is always a challenge to plan all the trips thru the chute around school activities, church and 4-H.  We are getting the bred heifers delivered as quickly as our trucker can go.  He broke down in Meade, KS with a load of our calves last weekend.  A second truck had to go get the load and of course that set the whole schedule back a little.  

Casey had his last football game of his high school career Thursday night.  It was bitter sweet.  The team got beat pretty bad, but he played so well.  He has so much heart.  Hopefully he will pursue life the way he does football.  The kids are picking our steers today to take to the Stockgrower contest next January.  They have a lot of work to do to get ready for that in the next 60 days.

October 23, 2005 - Typically October is a month that we view like grain farmers look at harvest.  We are gathering up the crop from our spring cows and marketing and delivering bred heifers.  This year has been no exception.  By Tuesday all heifers will be pregged and ready to deliver.  So far we are under 8% on opens.  We always figure a 10% when we make projections so it is looking very optimistic.  All the spring  calves are weaned and going.  What a set of females we just brought in.  the LT 142 calves are already standing out.  He is back up for collection and we hope it goes well.  Currently we are very low on semen from him.

Casey plays his last high school football game Thursday night.  I am ready to get my boys back but a little disappointed they didn't get further in the play offs.  Casey is an outstanding player.  He has so much heart and wants to win.  We love watching him.  He has lost weight this fall though and I doubt that he weighs much over 170#.  Thursday will be his last real football game I think.

Our house down the hill has had several groups go through it now.  I am relived that it is covering its bills so far.  We did put a hot tub in and that has been really fun for us when there are not guests.  Hopefully the word will get out and we can keep it going.  The part I don't like is trying to clean and maintain two homes.  My own house has suffered as we have tried to get the lodge cleaned up.  I really want to paint our house this fall and one of these days it is going to be to cold.

October 9, 2005 - In one short month we have gotten a lot done.  All the bred heifers are contracted for.  The first two groups are home and will be pregged and tagged for delivery.  The group of British based heifers come home Tuesday afternoon and will be pregged and ready for delivery by Wed. evening.  Our Spring bulls are weaned and well started.  What a set!  We will keep you posted on them.  The heifer calves are being stored with their mothers until we can get some of the other cattle cleared out.  

I had a large group of guests in our Tallgrass Prairie Lodge over the weekend.  They were from several states and were here for a Purina trail ride.  We were invited up for the Sat. evening steak fry and ran into one of our customers.  We also enjoyed some excellent Sterling Silver steak.  Because of the guests we had to put off getting some bawling calves.  Starting this next week we are going to be getting in quite a few calves, some weaned and some just preconditioned off the cows.  

September 3, 2005- We have had an amazing week.  We finally ended up with over 10" of rain ourselves before the rain ended a few days ago.  The grass has greened back up and it will certainly make that 3rd cutting of alfalfa better.  We can hardly believe we are concerned about cutting hay and getting it wet.  Fall calving started last week.  They are early though so they tend to be light.  I just have to brag a little on Casey.  He had his first football game last night.  He hurt his shoulder Tues. and we all have been pretty worried.  He was supposed to play just a little defense but he ended up playing quite a little the second half.  I hope we can keep him healthy because our little team is really good together this year.  I don't recall a year since we started following Football that they have been so hungry to win.  It is really fun.

We hope to early wean some of our calves by mid Sept.  Like so many, the logistics of getting mature cow weights is very difficult.  Joe is thinking though we might actually take our chute from the sale barn and weigh a couple of far off groups.  Together they number over 50 head so we kind of need the data.  Our new help is wonderful.  We are getting so much done and I a little to my dismay, have been working indoors more.  I do have a pile of computer things to get updated though. 

We have been showing the bred heifers several times a week here lately and it looks like they may be gone by this evening.  They are a really nice set of cow prospects and we expect the buyers to really like them.  

August 25- Unbelievable but we are looking at a possible flood.  For August that is a new one for me.  It has rained quite a bit the past several days, but what sends the river out is the rain on up.  Apparently they had up to 10" in places.  We will keep our fingers crossed as we have so much to do.  Casey and Cole will play their team scrimmage for football Sat. evening.  Casey and Laura were supposed to judge for the State 4-H team Sat. morning.  And we have started fall calving.  The heifers are in a half section over on the other side of the river.  We have had two and several more really looking close.  A couple of weeks ago we preconditioned all the calves and treated everyone for flies.  The spring crop is pretty impressive this year.  In one pasture two of my favorites visually were LT 142 calves.  We hope to wean them in mid September.

Our new help began last Monday.  That has been so nice.  He keeps working when Joe and I have to attend to other disruptions like cattle out, the phone ect.  We hired a local guy we didn't even know was thinking of changing jobs.  

The three quarter stock steers came out and were sold last week.  I was very disappointed with their performance.  It validates yet again the importance of purchasing cattle with known genetics and health programs.  This was a put together set of very plain southern cattle.  I don't think some of them gained a pound.  Joe is much calmer then I am about the whole thing.  But, mark my word, we are NEVER getting cattle from that source again.

Daniel is back from Honduras and in school at K-state.  He is living in a house with 6 other guys.  When we go by it brings back very fond memories of college days and all that free time with no worry of money or things.  If we had food and good music we were set.  

July 31 - We just finished our week of the county fair and Joe figured up that we took in 18 animals if you count horses.  It was busy, rewarding and not real hot.  Monday evening a cool front blew in and saved us all.  Some day I will share the 'pig loading' story, but it isn't funny just yet.  It still needs some 'aging'.  Maddy  had a pink hat that returned one hundred fold.  I really felt a little bad (but not to) for the boys that had to compete against her and Sweetie the bucket calf.  She hates it when we castrate things and told us she would not tell the judge that Dad and Casey had castrated him.  Afterwards she told Joe she told the judge that we had neutered him.  

If you want to see them larger, just click on the picture.  

We will pull the rest of the bulls and precondition calves next week.  I am really looking forward to that.  We usually try to pick out a few to watch at that point.  We also have full time help again starting in a couple of weeks.  It is really going to be nice going into fall work, the sale, sports, and other events.  Sometimes things really work out.

July 5-I just returned from the pasture and got a couple of pictures of two groups of our Commercial heifers.  By the end of the week I hope to have the other two groups checked and will try to get a picture of them too.  We heard from Daniel and as you can imagine Honduras is a conflict of the 'haves and have nots'.   He was very struck by the poverty and saw a little girl that reminded him of Maddy.  It tore at his heart.  He said the children repair pot holes in the road and then stand by and wait for cars to throw them money.  Unfortunately some are run over trying to get the money.  It mad him very very sad.

We have had wonderful rain and it is going to be another great grass year.  With the exception of a bad eye here and there the cattle really look good.  I cannot wait to get the bulls back in.  They are starting to cave around which is a pretty good indication that they have their work done.  We are in the middle of brome.  We have made the decision to hire someone full time again.  I am looking forward to having a little bit of time to do what I want again.  I am afraid I don't read enough with Maddy and just spend time with the others doing nothing.  If you know of someone who would like to do general ranch work, we are actively interviewing now.

June 28, 2005 - Our oldest turned 21 on Sunday.  I must have been 10 when we had him because I am way to young to have a kid that grown up!  We are taking him to the airport for a 6 week stint in Honduras.  He is really excited about going.  I am just glad it was only for half the summer instead of all of it like he originally planned.

 Thankfully cattle are out grazing on beautiful grass once again due to all the rain in May.  The kids began to think the only thing they did was put in water gaps.  We did finally flood in two weeks ago.  The water from two creeks and the river sometimes covers our drive clear down at the highway.  I really don't mind if we have food because I have captive labor.  We cleaned on the barn did a bunch of mowing and worked on the house down the hill some more.  It is slowly coming together and will have its first guests in early August.  I am also closer to having that tack room and getting the vet stuff out of the mud room.  

It is supposed to cool off some and we intend to calf hood the fall calves and ear notch everything this Thursday.  We got them weaned a little later then we had wanted and it affected their adjusted wean weight.  We have already culled them pretty deep and I know they will get carved on again before next March.  We are leaving the culls in their contemporary groups though until after yearling weights are taken.  The culls are just sporting a FCCP tag too.

We sold the last of our fed cattle a couple weeks ago.  What a relief to have the pens empty of fed cattle for a little while.  We have not compiled all the data but generally they killed very well again this year.  It is always interesting to see how cattle from the same pen do a different week.  I hope to get something up on the web site with more detail soon.

It is hard to believe that we will get to start pulling bulls in a couple of weeks.  Once the double stocks are gone and the cows are bred, it seems like things always settle down and we don't spend as much time fixing problems in the pastures.

Our 4-H fair is only about 5 weeks away.  I am not sure how my children are going to get their little Fall heifers halter broke.  I think it is time for two a days.  Their steers are quite gentle and fat.  Chris has a major woodworking project going.  He is restoring a table and two chairs.  The table had multiple layers of paint and finish.  I think he is going to have to choose either the chairs or the table but probably cannot do all three by the fair.  

May 15, 2005- I had no idea it would be so long before I updated our site again.  It seems like each year we get busier.  Once all the cattle were delivered it was time to focus on breeding groups and turning out.  After a very wet winter we got pretty dry by mid April.  With everything burned by the last of April we were ready for a nice shower.  It didn't come.  One week ago, on May 5 we were driving cattle across a pasture kicking up suet and dust.  That is very unusual for us this early in the season.  

Thursday night that all changed.  We had 4 1/2 inches of rain.  It was wonderful.  All the streams are running and as Joe always says "we can hear the grass grow".  It is transformed into what I most love about our Flint Hills.  The hills are rolling green and speckled with red cattle.  It is a beautiful time to live here.

With all the rain we lost some water gaps.  We are now in the process of finding lost cattle.  Casey has done a great job of getting gaps repaired.  We still have 30 steers on the lam.  We are afraid they have gone to the 3000 acres to our East.  I hope not.  It is nearly impossible to ride and retrive cattle from those big pastures.

We pull CIDRS tomorrow and will AI the Spring cows by the weekend.  Hopefully by then all the cows will be where they are supposed to be and we can start thinking about first cutting of alfalfa.

Chris gets to go to the World with his Odyssey team.  He and I leave for a 5 day jaunt to Boulder, CO this next weekend.  He is very excited and it is an opportunity we will probably never get to take advantage of again.  The downside is that I have to miss the twins promotion from 8th grade.  I will also miss Casey running the 300 m. hurdles at Regional track.  

I promise to update this in the next 4 - 6 weeks.

March 29- What a sale we had this year.  I knew we had some very good cattle and it was a validating day.  We are now thinking about delivery and transfers.  I will write more when I have a minute but I did post the sale results on the sale page.

March 18 - Bleachers are coming, the barn is pretty clean and the sale ring is up.  It actually looks like there may be an auction here next week.  With the kids out of school we have lots of extra hands.  We did have to get Cole glasses today.  Boy are those things pricey.  Tomorrow morning we will attend Regional 4-H day.  Our schedule is so spread out that we have to be there all morning.  Casey gives his reading, Chris his project talk and all of them will have a part in the model meeting.  Hopefully by tomorrow night the bleachers will be in the barn and the final cleaning wrapping up.  

Daniel is coming home to start his Spring break tomorrow so he will get to help feed.  We are still having lots of calves and should break 100 by Saturday night.  I will continue to take pictures as I get the opportunity.  Some I have posted are just not that great.  It is definitely best if you see the cattle.


March 14 -  We finished tagging cattle for the sale and discovered that we forgot to catalog a bull.  Every day I try to take some pictures.  Lot 146 and 150 are giving me fits.  They always try to face me and I just cannot get a decent picture.  I will keep working on them and the others that have been requested.  It is starting to get fun around here.  The cattle look so good.  We are tearing the barn down tomorrow.  We figure that is a good rainy day project.  I intend to use the power washer quite a bit too.  We have now had over 90 calves and are getting several every day.  We are pretty pleased with the rate they are coming. 

We have a customer that had 200 calves in 37 days.  I don't think we are going to beat him!  He is delighted.  We get to feed his calves so it will be another uniform group.  Maddy turns 7 tomorrow so it is time for me to go be a Mom.  I will keep the web site updated every few days as I get photos.

I  should have that darned heifer sheet done later tonight or tomorrow.  I will post it when it is completed.

March 8 - Here I am updating this in the middle of the day.  Daniel had come home to help finish cleaning up the bulls but got a call from a very good friend.  She was going to be within 60 miles of here and he had to go meet her.  Hopefully he and I can still get the bulls done after he gets back!  After that we will have the Yearling heifers to do, and sale cattle will be clean.  Our barn looks like a disaster area.  It always amazes me that it transforms so well.  

We are having Spring calves really quickly.  We didn't start that long ago and already have 60 on the ground.  So far only a minor glitch here and there.  They are so cute and the weather has been wonderful.

I am hoping to get the heifer pregnancy sheet done by this weekend.  When I do, it will be posted on the sale page.

February 24 - The catalog is leaving my house today!  YEA!  We did it a little differently this year so that I did not have to key in every pedigree and every EPD. Hopefully that will decrease the number of errors.  The flu is going around our house and I had it most of the time I was doing the catalog so it just makes everything more difficult.  I can't wait to get back outside again.  I haven't got to feed any cows for a week.  

Daniel is coming down a couple of times a week to clip the sale cattle.  He is doing an awesome job and it is fun to see him so often.  He brings one of his buddies sometimes.  I am hoping to continue taking pictures and will be glad to post lots as I can get a decent picture.  It seems like they will have a leg wrong or their head down or another one growing out of them from somewhere.  I am posting what I took in preparation for the catalog.  I wish I could get pictures of Beckton Yearlings but will not have a chance to until shortly before the sale.  

We ear notched Yearling heifers yesterday and plan to separate culls, replacements and sale heifers.  They have been stuck in a mud pen and we are moving them to a pasture.  

February 19 - This is going to be short because we are smack in the middle of putting the catalog together.  We are so excited though.  The quality and depth of the bulls is incredible.  When the catalog is safely at the printer, I will add more to the web site.  

February 8 - When is it going to quit raining, icing and snowing?  As I type it is snowing again.  Spring is going to be extra sweet this year that is for sure.  We got the Super Bowl over with.  My kids are mad at me because I pick out who to cheer for by their outfits.  They are disgusted that I am so disconnected.  

I figured out how to import my files for the catalog last night so that was a huge success.  Now I just have to wait for Yearling bull data and I am ready to really put the catalog together.  I  figured out why my emails disappeared a couple of weeks ago.  Our server was changed.  No one knew, not even the school, so it cleared out accounts.  Even though I am on the wireless, my dial up had not expired, so I was still getting some email from it.  I am not even going to set up the dial up as it expires very soon anyway.

I just put the finishing touched on a newsletter.  We will be sending it out the minute we get it back from the printer, probably early next week.  If you want to be sure you are included, give us a call or email to get on our mailing list.

January 29- We are starting to gather up the information for the sale offering.  Next week we will scan the Spring calves and get yearling weights.  It is a little worrisome how much there is to do and how little time, but I suspect by March 24 it will be done one way or the other.  We had our first Spring calf last week.  Casey bred the heifer he took to the fair to calve early hoping she wouldn't slip it when he showed her.  We will start for real the middle of February with the first calf heifers.  Being the computer guru that I am, I somehow lost all my email last weekend.  The good news though is that my Cow program is interfacing with Red Angus again.  It has been messed up since a year ago and has required a lot of moving of files to get things updated.  Unfortunately, if you requested more information, or a catalog, I did not have those moved to the permanent list.  I would appreciate it if you would email us again and will get it done immediately.  I have given up on getting pictures in good weather.  I am convinced that this winter, good weather means no ice or sub 0 temperatures.  Spring is  going to be particularly sweet this year.

Our new (and I use that word loosely) feed truck started slipping the transmission yesterday.  I sure do hope it is nothing but I know we are going to be feeding with the tractor.   I intend to update frequently so I will visit with you again soon.

January 24 - We finally got the first group of Spring cows home.  We had to haul them because the weather wouldn't cooperate when the kids were here.  It is starting to get pretty busy here.  We are doing lots of planning for the sale.  It looks like we will have a dozen two year olds, 55+ 18 month bulls and at least 50 yearlings.  We also will have a super set of Fall bred (commercial and registered) and yearling females.  

I got the kill data back on the steers and I have not studied yet.  All I know is that we fed them to long.  There were several 4's.  Last year we didn't harvest them until February.  I am pretty disappointed.  They would have rung the bell if we had managed them correctly.  I will try to get some closeouts posted when it is down by the computer.

January 8- We delivered 39 of the Fall born calf feds yesterday.  Even after the horrible ice storm the weighed almost 1400#.  That should lay to rest the myth that British cattle don't get big enough.  Maybe it would be more accurate to say that mishandled or poor genetics don't get big enough.  I will have a close out on this pen soon.  The day we delivered them it was frozen solid with a sheet of ice covering everything.  The leg on our mill is frozen and we can't roll corn.  Joe fed whole corn starting last evening.  The cattle don't like it at first and all of this is hurting performance.  Miraculously health seems to be pretty good though.  The fall baby calves always worry us.  For the most part they are in good shape.  We are also cautiously optimistic that the Fall cows are getting bred too.  We have been watching the group that is still at our house and M099 has been busy.  That was the latest of the Fall cows and we did not A.I. any of them.  I saw him with one of the later cows yesterday so that was great.

Our big plans to drive the one group of Spring cows back home is falling apart.  We should have done it last Sat. but the weather called for rain.  We decided to do it Monday when it was supposed to be warm and sunny.  You guessed it, Saturday was great and Monday it was raining.  Then the ice started.  Today it is supposed to be warm and sunny and it is very cold.  We are all kind of just surviving until it thaws.  My horse and my new saddle really want to do this so I am pretty disappointed.

Sale plans are starting to be further scrutinized.  After we return from Denver it will really take off.  The Fall bulls are basically ready other than a clip job.  The Fall heifers should be mostly bred, and the yearlings are out in pastures growing.  We turned the Spring bulls out too this year.  They will not gain as well but we hope they will be in good shape for using.  It is always hard to balance feed with function.

December 27 - The first load of these cattle are turned in and will be harvested next week.  We expect them to do very well on the grid.  There will be a few of our cull bulls with the balance from the Mushrush sired pen.  

We had a wonderful Christmas.  Daniel made it home safe and sound, it warmed up, and Casey did not have to have his knee scoped.  He was actually prepped when the decision was made.  What a relief.  His steer is coming along too so life is good.  We are going to use this week to get a few things done.  We wouldn't want our kids to spend to much time watching TV or playing those mindless video games!  We are going to get the heifers calf hood vaccinated and work the last bunch of steers.  Hopefully we can get a fence project or two going too.  Joe got me a saddle for Christmas.  I couldn't believe it.  I can't wait to go for a real ride and actually use it, but it looks like it will be wonderful.  He had them use a Wade tree which is supposed to be good for leg contact.  Because I rode bareback so much as a kid, I tend to use my legs a lot, so that will be really fun to check into.  

It is about time to gear up for sale stuff.  I can't believe it is already 2005.  Where does our time get to?  We wish you all a very prosperous New Year.

December 20 - We are actually considering turning a load of the above cattle in on Monday.  The holiday has us a little spooked.  They have had a great finishing period other than a little mud.  OK, a lot of mud!  I get anxious and want to pull the trigger.  Joe on the other hand, is more patient and will wait.  Either way, they are about to go to harvest.

Like everyone else, we are crazy busy and anticipating the upcoming Christmas break eagerly.  The kids are starting to bounce off the wall.  Madelyn in particular is really into Christmas.  We have a life size nativity.  Since they were all quite small, they have played with, ridden and talked to it.   Maddy was doing it last night.   

We bred the last group of Fall cows on the 10th.  What an accomplishment.  We A.I.ed 120 cows and 50 heifers.  I wasn't sure we could get it all done at one point.  We will turn the last bull in soon and that little task is done.  We had one last surprise calf a couple of days ago.  Otherwise Fall calving has been over with for awhile too!  

We have two groups of Spring cows on some cool season grass meadows away from home.  One of them is only about 7 miles across the hills to where we will calve them out.  I am petitioning for a winter cow drive.  Doesn't that sound fun?  And it will beat the heck out of loading them and driving 12 miles loaded five times.  Besides it will get the horses and the kids exercised.  

The kids are trying to get their stockgrower projects done.  Everyone is on schedule but Casey.  He traded steers with Chris because Chris was having trouble.  It turns out that the steer is just a little bit ornery.  Casey will get him but I am not sure he will make it to Denver.  We are going to have him catch his Spring heifer tonight.  The trouble is Casey may get his knee scoped on Thursday and will not be working with any animal.  I guess this will be on opportunity for his siblings to help out and show some leadership.

Daniel is arriving home from Spain tonight.  We go to Casey's concert and then straight to the airport.  Daniel will have been traveling for 24 hours so he will be pretty tired.  We can't wait to see him, his pictures and just hear about his experiences.  I know this study has been a far greater education than learning a language.  He has had to defend our policies, deal with religious oppression and with women being treated like second class citizens.  The places he has gone and things he has seen has been unbelievable.  I am sure he will come home with a greater appreciation for our country and hopefully for his family.

We wish everyone of you a Blessed and Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.  May the cows all breed, the calves all live, the pay weight high and the prices good!  I will update again after New Years.

November 14, 2004 - Well we got our high speed internet up and running.  What a relief to actually be able to receive files in a timely manner.  We also appreciate having our phone line freed up.  Joe and I have busily getting the balance of our mature cow weights taken for the ME EPD.  We finally started taking groups up to our sale facility and having the kids help us process them after school in the evenings.  It has lights so we could work in the dark.  The kids have been real troopers about us working them so much.  They do have cattle too, so they like seeing when their own come in and are pregged.  

We finished tattooing and boosting the Spring calves yesterday.  I don't know if it is the year or our good luck, but our health has been outstanding on all classes this year.  We have only pulled one from two separate groups of cattle that we have had 2 1/2 - 3 1/s weeks.  None of them were weaned.  Our own spring calves hit the pens eating and haven't been sick either.  

We are going to get the Spring cows moved to some cool season grazing and then we will begin to sort the Fall calving cows for breeding.  Trying to decide how to breed them is such a huge decision.  We hope to A.I. about 120 cows and 60 heifers.  That will be a busy week for Joe.  We also have a group of commercial heifers we would like to time breed.  They will be offered in our Mushrush - Beckton Joint sale.

The last KSU game is on Nov. 20.  After this season, I am ready for it to end.  It has been pretty painful and ugly.  Colorado drove the final stake into our heart.  Our post season is not going to happen.  But there is always next year................

Casey is one of the main characters in our all school play.  He is really good.  Their final performance is today and starting tomorrow we will have him home after school to help out some.  We need to teach him to weld!

We found out Monday which portion of the bottom feed lot fence will be a part of our EQUIP project so now we can begin to rebuild some of the ones that will not be included.  It is time as some are in pretty bad shape.

November 2 - I had not planned to updated this until after November 8 as we are going wireless and getting high speed internet.  The old dial up has been coming in as slow as 9.2.  The computer thinks it is inactive and kicks off all the time.  This will change our email address and should lower the frustration level some.  With Halloween the Mushrush family has a tradition.  We shoot our pumpkins afterwards.  It is always great fun and a much anticipated activity.  A sad thing happened though.  "Richard" our jack - o-lantern, fell from the deck and busted.  Oh well we still have two to shoot.

With no outside help we are really jumping to get things done.  With the fall calving winding down, we are getting in customer cattle, pregging cows and thinking about fall breeding.  It has been a remarkable fall.  I don't remember enjoying the colors, textures and smells as much as this year.  

We made it thru Football with only one trip to the specialist and an MRI.   Then he told Casey he could play!  Casey did hurt one of his shoulders blocking a punt at the last game.  He literally throws himself into the game.  At least he can rest it for track.

September 18 - Fall calving is well under way with about 1/3 of the calves on the ground.  The weather has been exceptional and the cattle certainly must be maternal for their calves to survive where we calve.  We did finally move one group to a smaller pasture because the section with the tall grass was so difficult to find them in.  Often we see them when they are born and than not again for several days to a week.  They can lay down in the grass and just disappear.

I am really proud of our first calf heifers.  They are also calving out in some very tall grass and are doing a good job of taking care of their babies.  It is a good thing too.  We would never find a calf if it was lost.  It is such a clean natural environment though for them to be in.  

With no hired help we are stretched pretty thin just trying to get normal chores done.  I like spending more time outside getting to do some of the hands on work we used to delegate to someone else.  With Maddy in first grade, it has been a good thing.  I do worry a little about my KRA duties and keeping my computer work current for our business.  

Rather than having someone live in our second house full time, we have made the decision to turn it into a guest house.  We have spent what little free time we have had getting it shaped up.  It is starting to look like a lodge.  Our plan is to let people bring their horses out and enjoy the prairie and a working cattle ranch.  

The set of cattle we are following are still not up on feed.  We are holding them until we get the fall weights back and do the first culling of the fall bulls.  Last year we kept the scan contemporary groups in tact, but this year we think we had better get them on feed and gone while the price is good.  We will still turn in carcass data, but it will be actual instead of a scan.  We had our first sick steer this week.  He appeared to have a sore foot but ended up with a respiratory thing.  We will see how this affects his carcass.

August 18, 2004  - We have continued to be blessed with lots of moisture and have enjoyed one of the best grass years since I moved to the Flint Hills.  Ironically, double stock gains have been somewhat depressed in part because the grass was so washy.  The kids and I have noticed a decrease in mineral consumption finally.  I guess that is a pretty good indication that the grass is hardening off.  We actually have pastures shooting seedheads that are as high as we are when we are on the horses.  

This is probably going to go down as one of the best summers we ever have as a family.  We have had the opportunity to work with each other every day.  It has not always been fun, and some days we get pretty cranky, but we have also made some wonderful memories.  Daniel left for Europe on August 8.  Watching him leave was pretty tough.  Even after he went to college we have been close enough that we either talked on the phone or saw each other very often.  This time it is different.  He has been emailing though, and that is pretty amazing.  We are in touch nearly every day.  Around the 28th of August, he will head to Spain to begin his fall semester.  He is getting a minor in Spanish and will be fluent when we pick him up on Christmas eve.  He is in for quite an adventure the next few months.

The 4-H fair was great.  We had no idea we rode such good halter horses. (ha)  Chris had Champion mare and Laura and Tootles were Champion gelding.  They had many other good things happen too.  Chris took a heifer that he broke himself this spring.  Now he is campaigning for a steer.  I sure wish he'd wait until he was just a little bit bigger.  Our kids steers made a very decent showing.  Two of the three were purchased for freezer beef.  People are figuring out that ours are always good.  The premiums for all the sale animals was very humbling.  We have very generous supporters in our community.

Fall cows should start calving about the 10th of September, so it wont be long.  We hope to start preconditioning the spring calves soon and before we know it we will be weaning calves and going to football games.

July 11 - Unbelievable is the only way to describe the cattle business right now.  Cattle prices have held unprecedented highs even with the BSE scares.  We have got to do a better job of making consumers realize just how safe beef is.  Many activities that we all participate in daily, are way more likely to injure or kill us than eating Beef.  Driving on Hwy. 50 comes to my mind.  In a road construction site 8 people were killed in a two week period.  For those of us who drive it daily, we were not surprised.  The truck traffic is very heavy and they are coming off of a four lane at Newton and Emporia.  It looks like summer finally found us.  Joe has big plans for the hay field and his two oldest sons next week.  I have some plans too so we should accomplish a lot.  I have been trying to give my kids a reason to ride their horses nearly every day.  They sure are better help if they have been at it regularly.  We are starting to pull a few bulls.  I can't wait to get those onery things home.  It seems like once the cows are bred and the double stocks get shipped, things settle down and you can actually go to a pasture and get a decent count without spending half a day in the neighboring pastures.

With all the rains and storms we have been expecting to lose some cattle to lightening.  So far we have only had one cow get it and she was in one of the first storms, and a heifer last week.  As high as some of the pastures are and as wicked as the lightening has been, we consider ourselves pretty fortunate.  The kids actually led their heifers and set them up pretty well today. Yippee!  We have them on two a days as it is crunch time for us and the fair.  That woodworking project is still not done though.  Chris may take it in half done.

July 1 - July marks the over half way point of summer and that makes me a little sad.  It has been wonderful having our kids around this summer.  Watching them grow and mature as they help with the ranch chores has been wonderful.  Chris has gone from being a pretty poor horseman to really being able to pick up the slack.  He has commandeered Joe's mare.  They are getting along really well.  He plans to show Sis at our county fair.  We have been blessed with some amazing rain.  It has gone from a so so grass year to full ponds and lots of grass.  We are so hoping that some of it is going west too as we know there is some pretty dry country out there.  The kids just returned from the National Junior Red Angus Round Up.  This year they spent a week in California.  It was an unbelievable experience for them.  This was the first one for Cole and Laura.  They made lots of friends and even got to spend a day with some friends of ours from that area.  Daniel is the new Vice President of the junior association.  With his semester in Spain, he is going to be pretty busy again.  

We are going to have to get the 4-H projects ready.  Chris has been working on an old organ stool for his woodworking.  Sanding is a hard thing to do.  Laura has a sewing project cut out but not stitched and they have cattle that got very little attention while they were in California.  They will be pretty busy from now until the end of the month.  At least they have been using their horses and have them kind of squared up.  They cleaned them up and rode in our annual rodeo parade.  This was the most interactive parade I have ever been in.  It was a blast.

I can't wait to get the bulls back in.  It seems like once the double stocks come out and the cows are bred, things settle down a little and we can actually get a count without spending half a day at the neighbors looking for cattle.  We have a really fancy set of commercial bred heifers this year.  It has been fun to watch them develop.

May 27 - It has been pretty busy since I last updated the site.  We have made some changes and with them it has once again made our dynamics new.  As of May 1 we no longer have outside hired help.  For now the kids and Connie will be picking up the slack plus getting some additional things done.  The younger ones and Connie are trying to keep mineral out and check count on all the pastures.  We discovered that we actually have 23 different ones scattered from the East to the West side of the county.  It is very interesting because the rainfall variation just within those pastures is huge.  The one closest to Marion county on the West is definitely the driest.  On toward Emporia on the other end of the county the pasture is in better condition due to more moisture.  Some of the pastures work better with horses and some with the four wheeler.  Connie intends to have her young horse really going by fall.

It was a happy day when the last trailer load of cattle left and we could move on to other things.  That has included breeding cows, sorting for pasture, selling fed cattle, and just this week haying.  In addition we have plans to fix up the other house that has always housed our hired help.  We are kicking around the idea of turning it into a vacation place.  People looking for a place that is private and accessible to acres of pasture to ride in, could probably get along pretty well there.  Regardless of what we do with it, we have been spending a lot of time cleaning, and repairing it.  It is the first time since we moved out here in 1988 that no one has lived in it.  It is quite handy to have a bathroom near the working pens too.

Daniel is home for the summer.  He plans to spend next semester in Spain to finish up his minor in Spanish.  Today he was listening to a Spanish radio station.  The rest of us vetoed him and told him he will just have to do it on his own time.

Next weekend is rodeo weekend, one of the biggest things our community does.  Tonight several of the children and Connie have to go help with the pre-rodeo dinner as part of our church work.  We are all kind of looking forward to getting to quit work a little early tonight though.  The kids think they may want to ride in the parade.  They pointed out to me that they have ridden their horses every day since school got out on May 21st.  They are starting to be pretty good help and the horses are sure getting a work out.  Maybe they will be ready for the fair this year!

April 1- WOW!  What a day we had the 25th thanks to so many loyal customers and friends.  The wind attempted to blow us away but it was comfortable inside.  Once again the 4-H club and church did a great job on our meal.  I never eat that day but the leftovers are sensational!  I have done a summary of the sale on the sale page link.  I am humbled that so many of our high selling cattle went to long time customers or were purchased by phone bids or by folks being on the phone to bid.  

Joe is busy delivering bulls now. He had to wait  a few days because the clutch went out on the Pick Up.  Better here then down the road somewhere, I guess.  He has several trips planned.  The kids position for who gets to go where and whether or not they get to miss school.  With track season in full swing, Casey and the twins are having some scheduling difficulties.  I am too.  Most weeks I have a kid thing every day.  

I have been working on the transfers and will be sending them off very soon.  Next for us is burning, weaning weights on Fall calves and gearing up for breeding.  With plenty of moisture, it looks like the grass will be coming early.  Ponds in this area are in fine shape too.  It is a relief to start the grazing season off this way.

March 15 -Well I am pretty proud of myself that I finally mastered getting pictures from the camera to the desktop.  I realize it is a simple process for some.  But it has been another ongoing process of trying and failing for me.  I did learn that my camera has a newer connection then the computer so direct loads were not possible.  Now that I can do it though, I will try to get many of the lots posted as possible.  Some of the pictures may not do the individual justice.  But they are kind of fun to look at.  It showered again this a.m. which is why I had time to fiddle with the computer.  We are calving right along with virtually no problems.  The weather has finally started to cooperate.  

March 13, 2004 - As you will see when you visit the sale link we have gotten the bred heifer information completed.  Expected calving dates are approximate as near as the vet could estimate using ultra sound.  We have also found that the gestation on our cows tends to be slightly below the published average.  We have been enjoying Spring like weather the past few days with showers expected this afternoon.  We have begun to put the barn together.  I had to go to a wrestling tournament in the afternoon and Joe got the sale ring in while I was away.  It is always amazing how well it cleans up, especially the way it looks after working so many cattle in it this fall and winter.  Our kids are on Spring break so we hope to fish or do something fun besides get the barn ready next week.  They seem to enjoy this part of sale preparation as much as we do.  It is fine to see it start to come together.

March 9 - You will notice we got the scrotal and BSEs done on the Yearling bulls yesterday.  We are pelvic measuring the heifers and doing the pregnancy ultra scan on the bred heifers Friday.  If I don't have to attend or take any kids to anything, I will get those up sometime Friday evening.  If I do have kid things, it will be over the weekend.  Our kids have so much going on now that we are typically having 2 or three events in different places almost daily.  I am so disorganized I can hardly function.  The good thing is they are getting a lot of things over with and having fun too.

We actually experienced Spring here yesterday.  It crept up around 70 degrees.  We will be back down today some and it looks like we may get a shower or two by Wed.  We sure did enjoy yesterday though.  Thank you to all of you who let me know you got your catalogs.  We think we may have figured out partially what the problem was last year and don't intend to make that mistake again.  We are cleaning up the sale barn after we get the heifers run through on Friday and will have lots of help with the kids on Spring break.  We figure by the week of the sale we will be twiddling our thumbs. NOT!

March 3, 2004 - As the sale draws closer I keep thinking of things I need to put on the web site to help you to better see our offering.  I am making the catalog insert available online in an excel work sheet.  It will not be completely filled in until after next week when we finish collecting data.  Heifers will be pelvic measured and the Fall heifers will be ultra sound pregnancy checked.  

February 27, 2004- Wow!  We just got the results of our first set of Mushrush sired calf feds back and they rang the bell (again).  Check out our Carcass data link for complete results.  Great news.  The catalogs are in the mail.  Now don't get all excited thinking it will be on your desk by Monday.  It could take several days.  However, if you don't have one by March 10, you had better let us resend it.  Our sale offering is awesome.  There are so many outstanding animals whether you need one or a load of bulls or heifers.  Finally our program is exactly where we want it, predictable, fertile, moderate, easy fleshing cattle that turn it on again in the feeding pens.  Please call us if we can answer any questions you might have concerning our cattle.  I still haven't mastered emailing pictures so that may or may not be possible. 

You will notice I have changed the look of the web site again.  That is so you will know if you are on a current page or not.  I know exactly how I want the new web design to look but just can't give it justice these next few weeks. 

We have been enjoying beautiful (dare I say Spring like) weather and our calves are really starting to come.  It is an exciting time with renewed hope for what the future will bring.  We are calving one group in the pasture in front of our house so I get to watch the cows go off and calve.  Sometimes I can see the babies struggling to their feet for their first meal.  Watching them is better then any movie I could go see!  If you happen to be reading this and have received our catalog, would you mind emailing me and telling me the date it came?  That will help me for 2005 planning.  Thank you in advance.  mushrush@kansas.net 

February 22, 2004 - What a difference a few weeks can make on our Kansa weather.  We have been enjoying above average temperatures for the past few days and the snow is finally gone.  Just in time for calving too.  They are just getting started but Joe wishes they would all do it while the weather is good and to get it over with.  I am ready to celebrate because the catalog is at the printer.  We hope to get it back and have it mailed sometime after the first of March.  You should have yours no late then March 10.  I really did a number on the web site and decided to rebuild this condensed version until we get the sale done.  I am going to have to redo it again.  I somehow lost the file getting it from one place to the other.  Oh well, we need an updated look anyway!  

February 4, 2004-If any of you have been going to our web site on a regular basis you may have noticed some odd things happening.  The counter went to 0 for about 2 months for example.  Well, I got a new computer and 'lost' my web site.  Of course it was still out on the web and I could update it online, but it was no longer on my computer in its old file where I could find it.  Today, I located it and am re updating my web site.  

We are expecting more snow today after a huge storm earlier.  We had about 8' over the weekend and they are calling for about that by tomorrow afternoon.  For once I am content to stay inside and work on the computer.  I suspect I will have kids home for another snow day tomorrow.  They are so wild when school gets cancelled.

I was asked how the catalog is coming the other day.  It is developing but is still mostly ideas in our heads.  However, expect a new look and more data.  Also expect the same kind of cattle, easy fleshing, moderate, heavy muscled and predictable.  We are pretty excited that some of our old stand bys are suddenly popular (Julian, Lancer).  

December 29, 2003 - The past few weeks it has felt like we were on a Merry Go Round holding on for dear life wondering if at any moment we would be hurtled far far away.   With Christmas programs, school activities, 4-H, and livestock, it seems like we can't even be at home for a single evening.  Casey got injured early in his wrestling season, and we found out Monday that his year is over.  He is in a sling trying to heal a cracked growth plate, hopefully without surgery.  Daniel arrived home from college with Mono.  He was very sick.  I am glad he has most of January to recover with us.  The sad thing is that those two boys had a huge list of jobs (mostly fence) that Joe wanted done while they were on vacation.  Instead we have ourselves a couple of "eaters".  Daniel is planning to travel to Tempe though.  What a great way to end such an exciting season.  Rock on CATS!

With January we begin to really start putting the sale catalog and advertising together.  It is always exciting but also very busy.  The fall born and coming two year old bulls are over at the sale barn just waiting for a hair cut and the big day.  Joe finished A.I.ing the last of the fall cows shortly before Christmas.  We will have a very nice set of Fall bred females again this year.  The Spring born heifers are running out in front of our house.  I really like having them in a pasture instead of up in the lot.  I think this will really help them develop.  There are some dandy heifers in them too.  Every year the heifers bloom before the bulls.  I am anxiously waiting as the Spring born bulls develop.  They are going to be excellent again.

Updated February 2, 2012 by Connie Mushrush