Today the last of the replacement heifers left the feedlot for a summer on grass.

Beau drove the ranch semi, Sam drove a semi borrowed from a neighbor, and they each hauled five loads of heifers from the feedlot up the Sumatra Road to the pasture we call Kimballs’ (about 11 miles from here to there).  At Kimballs’, Nate, Tyrell, and Holden were horseback, and they trailed the heifers — two truckloads at a time — down to water in the Nansels’ pasture.

In other words, the heifers were loaded here at the feedlot, then hauled to Kimballs’.  The trucks came back to the feedlot for another load while the cowboys trailed the previous load to water, and so it went all day long.

I had to tease Beau about being a truck driver today.  It’s not a job he loves to do, but when a job needs done, he just does it.

Each of the four kids got to ride in the truck with him for one round today.

The kids and I hauled a picnic lunch out to Kimballs’ between the third and fourth go-rounds.  Here Marsi, Muggins, and Emi watch as the heifers come off the truck into the holding pen.

The guys all ate a quick lunch with us, and then it was back to work.

It was a big day but worth the effort:  472 heifers were safely transported to pasture today, which means the feedlot is less that many head.  Most of all, it’s a wonderful job to check off the spring to-do list.

We’re breathing a little easier tonight.

© Tami Blake