Vance and Dru sure do enjoy delivering the sale cattle. It is hard to visit with everyone on sale day, and when at the buyer's they not only get in a good visit but can see his cattle and operation. They always come home with more knowledge.
Six months ago I cleared some dates with Trude and told her we were going to have "secretaries" vacation and that would be her birthday gift. But it was to be a mystery trip. (My family starts to shudder when I don't give out details.) But I did tell her to wear old shoes, clothes she didn't care if they got dirty and to take bug spray. Our first stop was at the American Angus Ass'n in St. Joseph, MO. Since Trude had never been there we had a tour and she met many of the gals we talk to on the phone. Then we made a stop at the American Angus Hall of Fame and enjoyed viewing all the Angus head mounts and Angus memorabilia. Heading south we spent the next day at the World Fest and enjoyed all the great entertainment, especially the Chinese acrobats.
Trude likes elephants and so the next three days were spent in Arkansas at an Elephant Sanctuary. We lived dorm style while brushing, washing, feeding, weighing and learning about elephants. The couple who run this sanctuary are tops in their field. They travel and speak world wide and are doing research. It was educational as well as fun. Then on the way home we stopped in Strafford, MO, to see the TC bulls in the stud. It was a fun time and as I kidded Trude - we did a lot of bonding!!???
The guys have started planting corn and they are really wondering why - since it is so dry. We are restricted on water from our wells for irrigation. The wells are all metered and we can only pump 11 inches. That is not much when we are starting the season so dry. It appears we will be running the pivots to just get the corn up.
AI breeding is in full gear. This year we again synchronized the heifers and bred them the last of the month. We will be working on the cows from April 28 till the end of May.
Vance went to Montana to several sales and the bull stud. Think he just wanted to get away for a few days. While he was gone, I had to put his border collie to sleep. She was only six years old. But several months ago she wouldn't let people leave our house. Then the last month she would not let them out of their vehicle and we decided it just wasn't worth the risk of someone getting hurt. Pets are so much a part of the family that it is hard to loose them. We still have a yellow lab so we aren't without a dog.
With April being income tax payment time and with Dru and Trude getting ready for golf, I leave you this month with . . .
"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf.," --- Will Rogers
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Trude and Connie in front of the American Angus Association |
