As calving moves forward we already have 70 new calves on the ground.  They are all looking good, and the weather has grown us some fantastic grass.  Our fat cattle are looking incredible and the first will be headed for processing on June 26th; get your orders for friends and family in as soon as possible to ensure availability as our sales are going well.  Our grass and alfalfa hay should be ready to cut and bale by the beginning to middle of July – with continual good weather we should be in excellent shape to carry a growing herd through the winter this year.

The garden is beautiful to walk through right now and the strawberry plants have been yielding bucketfuls of fruit.  The asparagus has still been producing well, and the herbs that have returned from last year are already full grown.  We have plenty of comfrey available for everyone to use and the currants and gooseberries will be available for picking within the next week or two.  When out at the ranch feel free to stop by and ask our resident gardener Joe for a tour.

With summer entering full swing we have had many owners and guests taking advantage of the ranch’s fly fishing, riding and driving horses, and trails.  Our Percheron horses, Steve and Stetson, have been working hard giving wagon rides across the ranch – being able to visit with such large horses gives many kids and adults a new sense of respect for our four legged friends.

Guests have had a lot of luck fishing the private waters of the Ranch around the community buildings and out in the creeks and ponds.  The rainbow trout are giant right now!  There are always a lot of activities to keep everyone from the oldest to the youngest busy, and it is never too early to start learning how to rope.  Our new roping cattle for 2009 should arrive soon, and learning how to work, rope, and pen these cattle in the arena will help every aspiring cowboy and cowgirl to perfect their horsemanship and stockmanship skills.

Calving has continued with no problems, and the 51 calves we now have are all looking well.  The rain has continued a bit each day, and the moisture has turned our land into a flower-filled sea of emerald grass.  Our flood irrigation is going extremely well and we will be turning the pivot back on the alfalfa for the third time this week.

We were lucky enough to have the King family visit for the last week with their friends, children, and grandchildren.  Shakes the horse showed much patience as he hauled around children and adults in the arena, teaching them the finer points of riding in figure eights at the walk and jog, the posting trot, and even flying lead changes.  The ranch horses covered a lot of trail miles and moved the yearling cattle across the ranch to better grass.  After much hard work on their riding skills, the Kings were able to make their first trip up to the Rainbow Trail for their introduction to off-ranch trail riding in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.  Everyone had a beautiful time and the ranch horses conquered the water, log, stream, and bridge crossings with excellent manners.  We finished off their week with a dinner and bonfire, where many marshmallows were consumed and stories were shared.