Work not play, the BB way
I’m a little concerned that you guys think all I do is take photos of sunsets and my kids frolicking. That I live an empty life, awaiting the right light to hit a tree trunk or imbue a skylight with the correct cyan and magenta hues…
And you know, I wouldn’t blame you one bit for this assumption. The evidence is there. I am sure even my family read this and think: Isn’t she supposed to be working on A,B,C, and Z today?
So to reassure you all that I do other things besides taking joyful photos of stuff… I wash, I clean (well…) I cook, I ferry people around the countryside, and I do Cow Stuff. To illustrate, I present to you…
#398
She is a very nice Brangus cow who doesn’t seem to mind all those flies on her face. Brangus are very easy-going like that. I took this photo recently as a possible marketing image for our business. But the flies kinda put me off, despite #398’s very pretty profile. She’s a very nice little poser too. Nice one, right beside the ironbark!
…
And I also present #698 and #640.
Hello girls! This delightful pair are waiting to be sorted out of a mob of cows. As they are all heavy in calf and will be “joined” (ie have romantic moments) with a bull within a couple of months of calving, we are sorting them into specific paddocks which will see them spend time with their appropriate “partners”. We believe in arranged marriages here at Granite Glen. At least for the bovine community.…
I could say that I was hands-on and got down and dirty during the cow sorting. But that would be a bit of a stretch. Actually my job (as a couple of girl bovines at a time are put into a small yard called a pound by SSB and Dad) is to look up each cow’s number on the laptop, and tell the boys how many calves that cow has had, how many of the boy calves were kept as bulls (the less impressive ones become steers) and if the females have gone on to produce good calves themselves. It’s a stressful job, not because it’s hard, but because I can’t do it quick enough for my impatient menfolk. Tap, tap, tap, tap-tap-tap… Hang on NEARLY there…
“Come on then… we haven’t got all bloody day!!”
…
My Dad is still adjusting to this whole newfangled way of assessing cows. He used to just do the sorting by eye and from memory (“That cow had a ripper bull calf last year, she back in the stud!”). Actually he has a pretty amazing memory for such things, but we are still learning (my L Plates are front and centre!) and need to be sure we are selecting properly. So he is doing his best to be patient with me and my danged computer.
…
So we selected (my way) the top producing cows from the less-impressive performers. It’s harsh in the stud cattle business, and there were quite a few demotions and promotions this day. And time will tell if the computer can sort any better than my Dad.
…
I have also been traipsing around paddocks taking photos of bulls. You heard me. Bulls. In paddocks. Luckily they are nice bulls (hey all our bulls are nice!!!) and put up with this weird human following them and calling to them to Walk forward! and Stop! and Look UP!
They don’t actually understand English but do hesitate an look enquiringly in the right spot sometimes…
This is kinda what I’m looking for – nice side-on shot, with alert head and leg back far enough to show the testicles. You heard me. It’s what our customers want in their bulls. Decent crown jewels. Trust me.
Anyway, the photo-chasing is all in the name of promoting bulls for sales, and baby, it ain’t easy! I spend half my time praying that I don’t step on a sleeping death adder, and the other half calling out to TLW to Quit riding her trike through the mob of bulls I am trying to photograph! Dash is usually pretty good at doing as he is asked, but he chatters a lot. A lot. The bulls don’t know which crazy, noisy human to look at!
You see what I’m saying??
Eventually even the most patient big bull gets jack of posing and they roll their eyes (OK maybe not, but I know they want to) and they do this…
I see a lot of bovine butt in my new job…
Can’t say it’s my favourite angle. But at least you can see the crown jewels! Heh.
So there you go. A little taste of the OTHER parts of a Bush Babe day. When I am sooooo busy I don’t have time for silly sunset photos. Or wasting my time while waiting for the school bus by writing initials in the dirt. And taking photos of it!! Far, far too busy…
Signing off…
18 Comments
Anonymous
Love it – and can relate to all of it! Keep up the good work and good luck with A,B,C…Z.
Love BBM
Pencil Writer
Nice looking cows–and their potential romantic interests. Keep up the good work–which ever jobs you’re doing on a particular day.
dykewife
when you are working in the great outdoors and carry your camera alongside you, the ability to snap off a few photos of what you’re seeing doesn’t mean you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. it just means that you’re really good at multitasking. 🙂
seeing your daughter riding her trike through the herd of bulls is somewhat of a heart stopper. the last bull i remember being around when i was a child was very intent on having me out of his paddock. he was a very unhappy bull, though i don’t know why, it’s not like he didn’t get to score with the lady cattle.
Debby
I loved this post. I still can’t get over that your bulls our friendly. At our office, we’ve got a fellow on crutches. He was trying to arrange a meeting for his bull, and got a kick in the kneecap. So maybe you should explain what makes Aussie cattle such laid back critters.
Debby
PS. I am ashamed to say that I did not even notice TLW on her trike, being all caught up in pondering the phrase, ‘hung like a bull’.
Bush Babe (of Granite Glen)
First, I would just like to welcome my MUM to the world of blog commenters… she’s delurked!!! Well done, BBM (or BB’s Mum).
Others please note: our bulls are not PETS but they should not ATTACK PEOPLE. THis is considered very bad form here at Granite Glen and is a sure ticket to the meatworks. We try hard to select for animals with easy temperaments but not LAZY temperaments. It can be tricky. I would not leave my daughter wander on her own through the bull yard, but they would be far more likely to accidentally stand on her than attack her!!!
I think I might need to explain this better in a post… sometime. When I’m not so BUSY!!
🙂
BB
Jenni
What a great post! I always love it when Ree shares her stories about ranch life. Yours are just as interesting and you bring a different perspective and describe a somewhat different operation. (Same business, but it does seem to be different, too.) Even though we’re surrounded by cattle out here, we don’t own any and our neighbors’ cattle operations are different from both yours and Ree’s. I find it all fascinating!
Oh, and I take back my comment about how the barbed wire fence photo could be of the pasture across the street from me. Y’all have holes in your posts. None of my neighbors seem to have those kinds of posts, though I think I have seen them a little further out from us somewhere.
Karen
So, are those crown jewels considered acceptable in the bovine community? How exactly does one judge bull testes? And, do I really want to know?
Debby
Chohoh CRAP! Your mom was here, and do the early morningness of my early morning, I sent my comment off with an error in grammar.
*runs to hide*
Debby
Now I misspelled ohohoh….CRAP!
*Runs real fast*
Jayne
Spray some Aeroguard pn your hand and wipe it down #398’s face – it’ll give you a shot clear of flies 😉
Love your bulls 😉
Good luck with A through to Z lol 😉
Leslie
Hi – this is Leslie, aka (also known as topcatrules to my students) – and I run Pyewacket’s Party for them as well.
The kids had a ball getting out the camera and emulating your clever signature on their blogs.
To quote Hayley Mills in “The Trouble With Angels”, I thought it was a scathingly brilliant idea!
You must have got a lot of hits from us here in Canberra! lol
steviewren
Your life in Granite Glen is about as far from mine as can possibly be…wait…you are physically that far away too! I love reading about your “working” life. The pic of your daughter in the bull pen was shocking to this city girl.
Bush Babe (of Granite Glen)
Hey guys… nice to hear from y’all (do I sound Texan??).
Steviewren – yep, we are a long way away, but so much in common too I’d say. And to be clear, my daughter was not in a yard (or pen) with the bulls, but in our front paddock riding along the road near where the bulls had gathered. So a little more space for her to scare them!!!
Leslie – thanks, I think. Does that mean I have to watch my language from now on? Shall I speak with a plumb in my voice … heh! Glad you liked my “scathingly brilliant” or as my Dad or SSB might say “bloody ridiculous” photo of some lines in the dirt!
Jayne – they ar quiet but not quite up to standing still in the paddock for me to apply insect repellant to!! And I love my bulls too (is that weird?).
Debby – calm down woman. My Mum is little. And tens of thousands of km away. And worried you are scared of her. So cut it out.
Karen – bull bag class 101 coming up soon!!
Jenni – thanks. And thanks for mentioning me in the same breath as PW. *fans self furiously* Ree and MM have a commercial cattle enterprise (from what I can see) along with a mustang contract with the US government. THAT bit I am quite jealous of. That and the fact the woman can also cook. And take photos. And teach her own kids. Are we sure she’s not twins? Seems impossible to me!!! Am doing more on that fence photo soon – Dad has related some history which is quite intriguing.
Cheers!
BB
farmingfriends
Cows, bulls and humans just never do what you want them to do when you want them to do it! I love the shot of your daughter triking through the bulls, that’s one brave daughter.
Sara from farmingfriends in the UK
Debby
Phew. Because I also realized that I was talking about bull testicles. But you started that. Also noted a number of grammatical errors.
jeanie
Popping in to see how my big sister is going – and to mention to Debby that our mother taught us a lot of what we know about the importance of bull testicles – well, no, not really, but it makes a good story (ducking mum’s backhander).
Debby
Jees louise. I just realized that I’m misspelling/using poor grammar repeatedly here. I am actually embarrassed. You mom is going to think that I’m simple. Gads.