Dec 2006

"Welcome to the Adventures of Dear Abbie's Wife"

Last Updated Tuesday, 22 July 2008



DECEMBER

2006
Clayton, Phillip and Jade summer 2005.

     The purpose of this diary is to record our adventures, folks who stop by, travels and events at the Thorne Ranch. We don't intend to offend anyone or to glorify our life here. It's pretty boring most of the time as you will see! We hope someday this Diary will be enjoyed and appreciated by our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We thank all you fine folks that enjoy our adventures. With over 70,000 visitors since its birth we are amazed at our faithful readers.   God Bless and visit anytime!     COPYRIGHTS JOAN THORNE

January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 Sept 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself."

The Old Farmers Almanac check out the best times of the moon projects!!

Dec 1 Go back and see the end of November! first. Well we have sunshine today with the temp up in the 30's for now! The sunshine sure does make it all look better. We ended up with about six inches of snow and more in places where it blew into drifts. I braved the cold last night and brought up fire wood to stoke the pot belly stove just in case the electricity went out! Roads are closed from OK City to Joplin MO from the news. So I am sure there are thousands of trucks and travelers stranded.

I am waiting for Abbie to get the tractor started and when he does I will be out there tramping in the snow opening gates and taking off webbing from the bales. Something I used to do helping my Dad feed hay in Nebraska a long time ago while growing up! Some things don't change now do they? It sure did me some good to go to school and get an education! ha I remember pitching hay off a big 8-10 ton stack of hay that was loaded on an under slung, short for a flat bed with four wheels. It would flip to one side or the other for the big caterpillar to push on or string cables around it and stick the stinger into the ground and the cables would pull it onto the under slung. Most folks around here have never seen such a contraption.. or even heard of a stacker. In north central Nebraska we used to have a wood stack to pull the hay up and over on big piles, creating those big 8-10 ton stacks of hay. Before tractors they hooked up a team of horses to pull up the load by command. Then tractors came into service and the horses became just hay burners. We had a steel stacker made and it is still standing in the trees as a reminder. Of course now they all only use big round bales, but once in awhile you will spot a big stack of hay on a pasture of some ranches.

My grandfather Edgar got stranded on horseback one cold night out in a Nebraska blizzard and he let his horse go finally and it found a stack of hay. He burrowed down into the big stack of hay to stay warm and spent the night and lived to tell the story. His horse stayed there with him all night too. I have been researching my families genealogy and his story is typical of growing up in Nebraska during the 1900's. He was born December 14, 1896 to James Herrington and Catherine Dietsch Herrington. My grandmother immigrated to America in 1867- 68 from Germany with her father and mother when she was 2-3 years old. James and Catherine had eight children and my grandfather Edgar was the 4th Child, and 2nd son. Charles or uncle Charley (as I remember him) was the first born son born in 1890 in Iowa. My great grandmother died a tragic death at Homer NE, when she died of a heat stroke. Young Charley was riding home with the neighbors from Sioux City NE and the neighbor boy was beating the tar out of him. She ran on foot after the wagon trying to rescue Charley. She gave birth to baby number eight. She died from the heat stroke and stress. The baby died later too small to survive. I am searching for information on great grandmother Catherine and it's been a hard search so far. I have not found her mother and father's names yet, but have some leads. It's a big puzzle that I find quite intriguing. How do you know where you are going in life, if you don't know your ancestors and where they have been - Joan Thorne

Catherine Dietsch Herrington

Dec 2-4 Burr cold! Happy Birthday Dalton now 3 years old on Dec 3 and Kyleigh turned 14 on the 4th of Dec. Down in the single digits last night! We woke up to frost on all the trees and anything it could attach to! See the pictures up above that I took this morning! My horses are all humped up and ready for another bale of hay! It's pretty but I can't enjoy it knowing that the livestock are stressing. It's hard on them to go from 70's to under 10 degrees all in one week! A gradual temperature drop we can all handle but this is the extreme. Today we will try and get hay out as the tractor would not start yesterday due to a bad battery. Always something to slow you down! Just when you think you have everything in order, watch out here comes disasters. You all stay warm and keep the home fires burning. This is good weather to play cards and watch the OU game and Nebraska play football this afternoon. Yep, I am hoping that NE win's this one! ha If I had a Nebraska flag I would hang it out on the porch for all my OU neighbors to see! ha Nothing like getting under the skin of these Okies! ha Have a great weekend and enjoy life! We are all given one chance so take it and make the best of it! Even if it's colder than heck!

Sunday was about the same- Burr COLD! Terry and Susan came out for coffee and brought out a banana cream pie! Just what we needed! ha I made it to Kathy and Ron's for the YA YA Sisters Christmas party last night. It was fun to see all my horse buddies. We had a Chinese gift exchange and that was hilarious before it was over. Wish we could all get together more often. It's good for the soul to laugh that much! Of course Rita ( better known as Queen of the Black Horses or as I see now she is named Empress of Ster Frisians. She brought her beaded jewelry that she makes along and we all had to rake it over. I came home with some Christmas gifts for the girls at least. Today I went to Vinita early to pick up batteries for the tractor. It still didn't fix the darn thing! It warmed up to 40 degrees today at least. Our Arkansas friends should make it in sometime this afternoon. Danny came to finish up the network on the computer. The plumbers never made it again! I think I will call them and ask who their best competitor is? This is getting ridiculous. Are all plumbers this unreliable or is it just the one's I call? Tomorrow is A. I Breeding day and then the next day is Flush and Transfer day! No rest at the Thorne Ranch for awhile!


My great grandfather, James Herrington, his daughter Nettie, sons Edgar and Charles homesteading in south Rock County NE 1905-1908	Grandfather Edgar and Uncle Lorenzo Herrington. Note the old model T in the background.

December 5-6 Two really busy days at the Thorne Ranch! Jayne and Larry got in about 5:30 on Monday afternoon. Abbie put out hay until dark! They brought us a bulk tank so they had a load! Yesterday was a blurr of several events! They sent me and Jayne off to pick up some supplies and to pick up some new over boots for them. The corrals are nasty and the snow is starting to melt some so it's really a mud and ice hole right now! Of all days the plumbers came in the morning! We at least got about half of what needed done. We now have a usable shower in the middle bathroom and a faucet in the utility room! We started AI breeding 47 head at 1:00 on Tuesday and we finished up by 5:30-6:00. Crystal and Bryce came out so they got in on some of the action! They got to learn how to load an AI gun too! They cleaned the chute room up afterwards and I scrubbed up the office area the best I could. Then we all headed to the truck stop for supper.

Today we flushed 7 donors and it went pretty well considering the terrible weather the cattle and us have had to deal with. Kevin made it out to help and Clint came by too! He had dinner with us! I grilled up steaks and baked potatoes! Still the quickest meal there is! Our friends, Jayne and Larry got left after lunch! I baked up two pecan pies today! Dani Leigh and Andrea stopped by for a visit! So it seemed like the day went pretty fast with folks in and out all day!! So here I am trying to remember all the action that went on! ha It will be quiet around here with our friends gone! I hope that Larry's arm heals up fast! He came to learn how to AI breed and I think he found out that those darn cows can really squeeze your arm into! ha But he was feeling pretty confident after doing some! It's not as easy as it looks! Those darn cervix's don't just jump out and grab you! ha Every cow is different too! The plumbing is the same but not always the same size or consistency. ha My AI breeding days were limited to learning how to do it, but not wanting to really do it! They say women are better at it than men because they have such small hands and good touch! But this woman is saying no to getting good! I will be happy to run cattle in or keep the books thank you!

We were contacted by a casting director today for a major prime time network. The producers of American Idol are seeking a different kind of television star: "Farmers/Ranchers Only!" They are currently seeking single, outgoing, attractive male farmers or ranchers or cowboys who are in their mid 20's and 30's who are looking to meet the right woman. They are looking for: good looking, hard-working, fun-loving, family-oriented men who love the traditional, small-town way of life. .The ultimate catch! This show is based on the hit overseas TV show, that matches a spirited farmer, who doesn't have much time to meet women, with a handful of available ladies from all walks of life who dream of living a traditional, small town lifestyle. The show is similar to "The Bachelor." They are striving to project a positive image of farmers and ranchers.
Do you know of any "eligible" candidates for the show? If so, contact them at (818) 755-1271 right away! On a tight deadline. Send contact information, a bio and photos to: farmercasting@gmail.com

It sounds to me if you are NOT GOOD LOOKING don't apply! ha You have to be spirited too! Wonder what that means? Spirited is a word we use for our horses isn't it? ha " He's a high spirited man." Wow that's a new one! ha I wonder what Dear Abbie will say when I call him spirited? ha And all this time I thought spirited meant a high stepper or prancing horse! ha My Ya Ya Horse Sisters need to hear this one! ha

We also received a story from our friend Ken Overcast in Montana today that really makes you appreciate the gift of giving! A true family story! If you need some great country music drop over to his web site and order a CD! Ken Overcast tell him his Oklahoma buddies sent you! After reading this story it will make you want to buy the whole store out! Way to go Ken! Merry Christmas and many Blessings are sent your way!

Meadow Muffins

Uncle Muck's Banjo By: Ken Overcast

This little Christmas story started back in the late 1800's sometime, and as incredible as all of this is going to sound, I'll swear on a stack of Bibles that it's 100% the truth. I'm going to have to give you a little background information to get you up to speed on this little deal, so bear with me.

I used to have an old Great Uncle that lived down in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. His name was Melvin Reese, but everyone just called him "Muck". Exactly how he got that handle, I don't have a clue. It seems like all of those hillbilly relatives of mine have nicknames for some reason.

Because I was the oldest, smartest, and handsomest of all their grandchildren, my Grandad and Granny used to haul me all over the place on big road trips to visit our kin folks. Uncle Muck was always everyone's favorite. He was a tall, long-armed, red headed character with a contagious laugh. He was always jokin' around about something, and when he'd tell a story, he'd get so tickled at it himself that he'd have the entire room crackin' up just watching him laugh at his own story.

In true hillbilly style, Uncle Muck would rather hunt and fish than eat. He also played a mean five-string banjo, and I can just see him with his head reared back and his mouth wide open, belting out his famous Ozark rendition of "Cripple Creek". He was a real hero of mine.

On one occasion we were down in "Bugger County" in the Ozarks on a little visit, and I convinced Uncle Muck to get out his banjo. He did, and (again) I was totally enthralled. "Ah, I don't play it much anymore..... in fact I don't think I've picked 'er up since the last time you was here. ....got arthur-ite-us in m' fingers."

Bein' smart like I am, I picked up right away that a budding young musician such as myself (probably 8 or 9 years old....

without arthur-ite-us) could probably use a good banjo like that, and I spent the biggest part of the next couple of days trying to talk my favorite Uncle out of that good banjo of his. After all, he'd already said that he didn't play it much anymore.

Finally, probably out of desperation.... to get me to shut up, he told me that he just couldn't bear to part with that old banjo, but there was one up in the attic that I could have if I wanted it. "She might need a little fixin' up, though.... to make 'er work right."

Well, Uncle Muck could possibly have been the Ozark King of Understatement. The head was busted, the strings and tuning pegs were missing, and it had been played so much that there were holes in the neck where the favorite chords had been played for the last 75 years or so. It needed a "little fixin' up" all right.

Fast forward about 40 years or so now, and that old 1880's model relic was still hangin' on my wall. It really didn't take a genius like me all that long to figure out that the old thing was way too far gone to fix up. But it DID have character, and it WAS Uncle Muck's so it had earned its spot on the wall as a decoration. It brought back a lot of good ol' memories of the long ago days and that favorite old Uncle, now passed on to his Reward.

A travelin' band happened to be playing in town a few years ago, and because I knew a couple of the guys, they stopped out at our place for a visit before they headed back out on the road. One of the guys in the band was Jake Peters. Jake has been the Canadian Champion five string banjo picker so many times that he doesn't even enter the contests anymore. He just doesn't have any real competition.

Jake also builds and repairs instruments, and when he spied my old wall hanging, wanted to know the story behind it. I told him the tale, and he offered to take it back to Alberta with him and fix it all up as good as new.

Because it was an old family heirloom, and it would be nice to see it play again, I agreed.

I got a call from my Canadian friend a year or so later, and he informed me that he'd found a banjo in a second hand store up north of Edmonton that was a dead ringer for Uncle Muck's, and he figured that there were parts enough to make one good one out of the two.

Well, that's just what he did. He had the metal parts re-plated and fixed the neck and tuning pegs as good as new. Although he'd been very careful to keep it entirely original, it probably looked even BETTER than it did when it was new.

"I never did find a maker's mark on it anywhere," Jake grinned proudly as he handed over Uncle Muck's pride and joy. It looked like it had just come out of a store window. "All I could see was a No. 25 written by hand on the inside of the wooden tone ring."

"Did you ever look on the old parts banjo?" I asked. "If you think they're made by the same guy, then maybe there's a mark on that one." "Nope, I never did..... let's take a look." We had to back out a couple of screws and slide the shiny metal ring off to get a look at the inside of the wooden ring. There it was.... for all the world to see....

in the same hand writing as on Uncle Muck's banjo.... No. 26!! Here we had two banjos approximately 125 years old....

made by the same guy, that were only one number apart! One of them had spent most of its life in the Ozark Mountains and the other one had somehow wound up over 2000 miles away in Canada. It's hard to imagine that they had actually lain side by side on their maker's bench all those years before.

Fast forward with me once more.... another six or eight years or so. I just got an email from a lady last week that I've never met. She's a musician also, and was wondering if we were related. It turns out we are, as Uncle Muck was her Grandad. It's funny how families drift apart, isn't it? I just couldn't resist telling her the entire banjo story, and how incredible the consecutive numbers were.

She was moved to tears..... you see, her Mother had wound up with that good banjo of Uncle Muck's when he died, but it had been stolen out of their house one day while they were away. That was several years ago now, and a thorough searching of the pawn shops had turned up absolutely nothing. It appears that old banjo was lost forever.... memories and all.

Was it just a coincidence that Jake Peters found that parts banjo north of Edmonton with a consecutive number, at least 2000 miles away from its old partner?.... Maybe.

Was it purely accidental that a long lost cousin happened to contact me.... a guy she'd never met, and then was moved to tears when she heard a simple story about a dumb banjo?.... Perhaps.

Is it just a twist of fate that this is the Christmas season.... the time of year when we think most about giving gifts and blessing others? I heard a guy say once that giving can't actually even be considered giving.... until we give up something we REALLY want to keep. Well, just by coincidence, I REALLY wanted to keep that banjo..... but, I also knew where it belonged.

There's one thing that I KNOW isn't going to be any coincidental accident. When my new-found cousin Jena gets that surprise package in the mail with her Grandad's banjo in it..... she's liable to wet her pants.

Keep Smilin'..... but don't forget to check yer cinch.

Ken Overcast is a recording cowboys singer and author that ranches on Lodge Creek in northern Montana where he raises and dispenses BS. www.kenovercast.com

This was ACTUALLY proposed to the Montana Wool and Sheep Grower's Association by the Sierra Club and the United States Forest Service. It is hard to argue with this cowboy logic. A few years ago, the Sierra Club and the US Forest Service were presenting an alternative to Montana ranchers for controlling the coyote population. It seems that after years of the ranchers using the tried and true methods of shooting and/or trapping the predator, the tree-huggers had a "more humane" solution.

What the Sierra Club proposed was for the animals to be captured alive, the males castrated and let loose again, and the population would be controlled. All of the ranchers mulled over this 'amazing' idea for a couple of minutes. Finally, an old boy in the back stood up, tipped his hat back, and said, "Son, I don't think you understand the problem. Those coyotes ain't making love to our sheep - they're eatin' 'em."

We made it to Genex at Strafford MO on Friday to pick up Bud and Hardy. We shipped semen and picked up semen. We also made a side stop to pick up a Christmas tree. A real one! First time we have ever purchased a real tree! We usually struggle to put up the old fake tree I have had since Nebraska days! I am too tight to kill a tree usually but it looks like they have all been cut anyway for this purpose! I 'd really rather plant a tree than cut it down! Oh well, I guess this year it won't hurt my tree hugging personality too much! We had customers Tim and Josh White from northeast Arkansas in the afternoon on Saturday! They were checking out the bull pens for another bull! The one they got from us a couple years ago is doing them a good job. We had a warm up into the 40's at least! The snow is slowly disappearing! Crystal and Bryce came and helped Abbie put out hay and feed on Saturday. Always great to see them and appreciate the expert help! Bryce took home some salt and mineral feeders to repair! They just fell apart after a period of time! They weren't put together very good in the first place. We got them up at Cassville, MO. a couple of years ago!

We will set up a judging contest for the Conners State College kids on Tuesday so I need to get a few things done before then! Today we are just taking it easy and doing a few odd jobs around the house! Christmas decorating and I am going to bake up a few goodies if I find time after doing books!! You all have a great day !! Come back soon!

Friends Faye and Kent Smith with grandson

Logan Jacob Thorne at niece Brenna's wedding in September 2006.

Merry Christmas Smith Angus Ranch in Nebraska...

Check out their web site! Angus Bull Sale in March 2007.

December 11-12 Monday was a busy day of picking up and dropping off stuff! The tractor starter went to the repair shop! Picked up groceries and supplies! The printer was out of ink and out of paper! A bad situation to be in around here! ha I picked up some prizes for the Connors College Judging Team and groceries to feed an army! It was late when I finally made it home and had a truck load of stuff to unload! Wish I had a Suburban or a Tahoe sometimes instead of the little red truck! The back seat just isn't quite big enough. The weather has been great! It finally warmed up and the snow is all gone now!
Tuesday was a perfect day for Blake and Scott and the kids from Conners State College to come by for the cattle judging contest we set up for them. Twenty two great kids from several states made the trip! Anna Taylor from Georgia, Tanner Bennett from Oklahoma, Brent Womack from Oklahoma, Jennifer Koziol from Oklahoma, Brent Smith from Oklahoma, Jeremy Bennet from Oklahoma, Amanda Brandyberry from Kansas, Kelsey Twitchell from Wyoming, Katelynn Cotten from Texas, Derek Bozworth from Oklahoma, Taylor Gwin from Arkansas, Tyler Andres from Texas, Kate Miller from Arizona, Carley Chaney from Oklahoma, Dustin Keith of Texas, Tyler Lohman from Kansas, Nick Hutschulte from Oklahoma, Micah Walker from Texas, Joy Zamudio from Arizona, Justin Crossndite of Oklahoma, Brandon Womak of Oklahoma and Kevin Lightfoot from Texas. If I messed up your names I apologize, it was hard to figure some out! ha. Great kids and they all had that serious about judging look in their eyes! We served them up some chili and we baked up a couple of pans of brownies for them. The chili went over well and I didn't have any left which was a good sign. We put in two weaned heifer groups, yearling heifers and also some young weaned bulls. We were done by 3:00 and they got back in their van's to head onto the next judging and from the sounds of it they were going to be judging sheep next! Anyway we sure did enjoy having the group of very polite kids! Our future in agriculture is going to be in good hands if kids like these are left with the decisions! We commend Blake and Scott for all they contribute to our youth! Without great teachers like you all, future livestock breeders could be pretty scary! Thanks for the visit!


Class of Weaned Heifers with Scott	Connors State College Judging Team

Dec 13-14 Two more nice days in December. This will make the winter go by faster getting these kinds of shirt sleeve days! Well when things go bad they go bad in a heart beat! The printer won't accept the new cartridge and now I am without a color printer and copier! Thank heavens I have a laser black and white that I can depend on for awhile until we either get this hunk of plastic fixed or purchase a new one! Of course they are only guaranteed for 1 year from purchase! Which of course it is just past that date! If they made them out of something besides plastic would be good! I can see the problem where a little clip broke off and it won't hold the print cartridge in place now. I tried super glue, scotch tape and it didn't solve the problem. So I guess it's take it in to Danny and let him investigate! It wouldn't be so bad but it's the fax, printer, copier and scanner all in one! It will probably be cheaper to dump it and buy a new one! They plan it that way! We sure do live in a disposable world anymore! Kind of scary! Talking about scary, did you all see the the show last night about Six degrees? Talk about a small small world we live in! Those folks found the person that they were asked to find in five and six contacts.. When I met Abbie we discussed people we knew and he knew a man from Canadian Texas named John Wright. He was in his sisters class in school. I knew him from sending cattle to us in Bassett NE for the Barbeque sale each year. The cattle industry is really small when you start analyzing who knows who!
Dec 15-18 Friday, we ran to Pryor to do several projects. It was another pretty day and I got lots of decorating done inside and out! I have also been cleaning upstairs! Sorting boxes, cleaning the toy room, dusting cob webs out of the up stairs bedrooms, preparing for little kids in an old people house! ha I also sorted through the first wives stuff, she evidently didn't want and the 2nd wives stuff she forgot she had left too! I wonder how many wives it will take to get to the bottom of the piles of ex wives stuff? ha Seriously it wasn't that bad but I was beginning to wonder after five or six boxes of stuff. Our friendly mice had made a nest in several keep sakes and not so important stuff, so I proceeded to sort and try to salvage the precious artifacts.
Sunday, we dropped off cattle at the Joplin Regional stock yards and then went onto Springfield to meet the White's with their bull. We did a little Christmas shopping and made it back home by 6:30. Williams called and one of their heifers came back in so Abbie had a cow to AI when we got home! I swear he would rather AI cows than dance! ha We turned on the air conditioner coming home it hit 74 degrees today!
Monday we loaded up another load for the stockyards and made it just before noon! We drove in rain most of the way and we had the heater and defrost on today a big change from yesterday! It might have hit 44 degrees today! We had lunch at the Ranch House in Carthage. Afterwards we stopped and saw Judy at her store and picked up a cute toy for one grandson. We went onto Joplin and spent the afternoon shopping and just looking mostly! We don't do this very often so it's a real trial and error shopping spree! ha Abbie looks and Joan shops! He likes to weigh the different stores prices. I like to get in and get out as quick as possible. Find it and if it's in the ball park, buy it and go on to the next gift. My time is worth more than a dollar ninety eight! ha We met Jesse Lowry at the sale barn and visited with him a minute, he was in the area delivering for his uncle in Springfield. He said the two steers and heifer he got from us are doing exceptionally well for his son in their local shows. He said that he has won nine belt buckles to date from his shows and this is his first year showing. They got 2 Class Acts and a steer out of our Micky Meyer bull. Now he wants some Fall babies for the major shows next year.

This picture was taken at the Morgan Ranch in Atwood Kansas! We used the picture on our 2000 Sale Catalog...

We have received several really nice Christmas cards and letters but some have been full of sad news! We learned that our friend, Lavern Morgan of Atwood, KS passed away suddenly in September. We certainly will miss that man! He always had a smile and warm heart for everyone! We didn't get to stop by and see them last January when we went to the stock show. We tried calling them and didn't get an answer when we were in their area. Now we feel so shorted to have not had one last hand shake or hug! Lavern and Gloria were Braunvieh breeders before it was cool! They have always been great ambassadors for the breed. They displayed cattle in Denver and Kansas for several years. They also fed cattle at Decatur Feed Yards and their cattle won several feed awards. The breed has truly lost one of it's favorite sons!

Our sympathy and love goes out to Gloria, the love of Lavern's life!

December 19-27 Merry Christmas! Wow did that go by fast! We were in preparation for the family. Hauling cattle to stockyards and Christmas shopping for most of it! Kids got in on Friday night and the rest got here on Saturday. We went to Joplin shopping with the kids on Saturday and took them all out to dinner! We had a fun time of spoiling the three grandkids that made it! We played cards, Deal or No Deal, and consumed more food than any of us needed. I spent most of my time cooking and preparing for the next meal! We had all the bed rooms full! All six of them! We had a great Christmas day and everyone packed up and left yesterday. The house is somewhat back to normal. All the cleaning and rug shampooing was not necessary as everyone predicted! I need to do it all over again! We all lived through it somehow! Logan and Ruby were the entertainment committee! We sure did enjoy them. Christmas just isn't Christmas without little kids around. We did get some nice pictures from the rest of the family that couldn't make the trip though! So here are a few of the grandkids in their Christmas duds!


Phillip Clayton and Olivia Logan	Dalya and Dalton Ruby Kyleigh

Ruby, Shawna and Logan	Logan Diann and Jeffrey Ruby, J Fred and Whitney

December 28-31 Happy Birthday Jeffrey! Congratulations Casey and Brandi on their new addition. Baby girl Avery Turner.

I am now on the road to recovery after spending a good part of my last few days recuperating from back spasm's. Picking up those little heavy weight grandkids must have irritated it some. ha Anyway I am back amongst the living. We had rain all last night and most of today. We ran up to Galesburg KS this afternoon to pick up Emblazon semen to AI breed with for the upcoming flush in January. The ponds are clear full and running over in several pastures. Great to see the end of the year catch up with a year of below average rain fall. I have worked on the Thorne Family Genealogy and have added that information to the History page if your interested. I think it's interesting to find out where everyone came from. Be it bank robber or what ever. ha You can pick your friends but not your relatives. ha Here's wishing you all a great last few days during 2006 and a better than ever New Year in 2007. Don't celebrate too loudly us old people need our sleep! ha Oh yes talking about old people! We were notified that we were selected Pioneer Breeder of the year 2006 for the Braunvieh Association of America and will receive an award at the annual meeting in Ft Worth, Texas. We were surprised! Pioneer Breeder kind of makes you think we are getting old huh? ha Been around the breed to kick around for many a year! ha Keep your Pioneer spirit going strong for another year! Happy New Year Friends and family and of course you Sheila! Come see us next year!