Winter Neighboring

Living so rurally, as we do, one really comes to appreciate the benefits of having good neighbors. People you know you can call on if you need a hand or to check on your home or animals while your out of town are something we all need from time to time out here. People are generally very happy to help one another out because we all know there will come a time when we need someone to do something for us.

When we were gone over Thanksgiving, our good friend and neighbor, Brett was a fantastic neighbor to us. We were in Bozeman for four days, and had lined up ahead of time for Brett to check in on our cows, feed them if necessary, bring in the mail, etc. While we were gone, the weather turned polar and he ended up having to do more work than we anticipated-- chipping out our watering fountains, making sure our power came back on. 

Right after that four day stint, Brett left for vacation himself, so Jeff and I have had a chance to return the favor for his cows. This past Sunday morning, I joined Jeff as we drove over to Brett's place to check on his animals. I took a few photos on my phone, for your viewing pleasure!

 Brett's family farm has a really cool old barn in the yard. Gotta love old barns with lots of character!

Ok, so I didn't realize this photo turned out a little bit blurry. These young calves looked like they were feeling pretty good. They were curious as to who we were, for sure!

 The cows looked pretty good, too! Brett's cows are Angus, most of them are black. I really like the white markings some had on their faces, too.

Last, we paid a short visit to the heifers. You can see Brett's brand on the right rib. Brett's dad had actually been out the day before, we think, to feed all the animals, so our visit turned out to be mainly just a check-in. We did roll out a lick tub for the heifers, though, per Brett's request. All in all, the animals looked great, and it was neat, as always, to see someone else's corrals and see how another rancher sets things up. 

As winter continues to unfurl, I am sure we will find more opportunities to be neighborly and help our fellow north-country residents out, just as I'm sure we'll need others to help us out again, too. We all know that we are here for each other and all you have to do is ask.