Branding ~ Part 1

Have you ever wondered what a branding looks like on a working ranch? Well, we aren't a dude ranch, so we do things the most efficient and/or the easiest on the calves - not necessarily the most picture perfect or movie-style-perfect. But its fun and interesting, nonetheless. I love to watch, and more often - take pictures and video footage. This particular branding was a perfect Wyoming day...sunny, warm, and green. It had rained recently, so there was copious amounts of mud and standing water.

1. Separate all the babies from their mothers. I always feel a bit sorry for them, much to the amusement of the cowboys. Look at those sad, cute faces!

 Our friend, Axel. He used to work here, but now lives in Germany. That makes us sad.

 2. Snap multiple pics of the cute lil cowboys that are just waiting to get big enough that their dads will let them get in on the action.

 My adorable nephew - Ira. He is extra-special to me, cause he was Andy's best bud. Plus he has the most remarkable eyes...

                    My dad and mom watching the action. And my sister.

                  There goes My Cowboy, in the black vest.

Some more cowboys...They are moving the calves from the holding pen into the branding pen. We have fairly small brandings here on the X-Bar. That's because the primary purpose of the X-Bar is to do care on yearlings. The boss has a small herd of mama-cows tho, so we do get the fun of branding, without so much that it gets boring. Not that branding is ever boring.
To be continued...