June 21, 2003

Happy Solstice!  It looks as thought the longest day of the year is going to be a steamy one down here.  We got - count them - 3 INCHES of rain in about an hour yesterday evening.  I honestly don't think I have ever seen rain come down so hard!  It was pretty amazing, and you can nearly hear the cotton singing with delight.  The chickens are pretty delighted too, as all sorts of nasty little grubs were flooded out of their underground holes and into eating range.

South Texas Cowgirl

I have officially earned my credits as a South Texas Cowgirl, and am currently working on my Redneck Degree.  Two days after we brought Dillon home, JW and I woke up at 4:30 am to go and help Henry and Gary work Lee Edward's cows.  The first order of business, naturally, is to ride through the pastures and collect the cattle.  In the first pasture, Dillon and I were set at the end to keep the cattle in the corner, and to prevent them from running through the fence or across the cattle guard.  Once the cattle had arrived with the other riders, we all pushed them through the gate and down the road to the working pens. In the second pasture, we were sent to round up the cattle and bring them back.  One bull seemed to have hurt himself, and couldn't quite keep up.  We held back to follow him in, but ended up having to let him go.  As we got closer to the pens, he turned back towards Dillon and let it be known that he wasn't going any further!  I had been told to let a bull go if he wanted to fight, and had no problem following that order!

Once the cattle were all in the working pens, it was time for Dillon and me to help separate them into groups and move them through the crowding pens.  There were about 150 cattle, and we wanted to work them in groups of about 25 at a time.  This turned out to be pretty exciting as there were several bulls in the mix who were interested in fighting with each other, lots of protective momma cows with horns, and confused calves underfoot at all times.  Once a group was cut and moved through the pens, they were run through the chutes, doused with wormer, and separated by bulls, cows, and calves.  The calves would be the focus of the day once they were grouped together. 

At last Dillon's work was done, and we were ready to work the calves.  Henry put me in charge of the cattle prod to keep the calves moving through the chute.  I held that in one hand to help JW and Steven push the calves in, and used my other hand as the "official surgical assistant" by holding legs out of the way for Gary as he castrated the young bulls.  We were all sweaty and spattered with cow shit and blood by the time we through - but we were all smiling at a job well done.  Henry shook my hand and told me I did well, and I even got a paycheck at the end of the day.  I have to admit, it does pay better than book-keeping, but I don't know if I'm quite tough enough to do it every day!

Catfish Queen

I finally got news that the new Catfish Coop was ready to hire some office help, and had an interview two weeks ago.  I have to admit, the competition was not very fierce, and my experience got the job.  I am now working at the co-op three days a week, and at Hollie's office the other two.  The co-op is pretty fun, and I spend those days meeting the farmers and straightening out the madhouse that is the office.  They have spent the last year getting off of the ground, and are all pretty happy that they have "somebody who is organized" managing the paperwork.  I should have it whipped into shape in short order.  There is all sorts of opportunity for process development and production analysis!  We have a brand new processing plant under construction, and hope to be moved in next month.  I look forward to all of the catfish that I can eat, and have even been given permission to call myself the Catfish Queen of Texas.  How's that for job satisfaction?