Hello
& Welcome to our Diary page.
The purpose of this diary is to record our adventures, folks who stop by,
travels and events at the Thorne Ranch. It was primarily meant for
family and friends in the beginning, but we have grown a large number of
faithful readers in the past eight years. Over 90,000 from all
over the world have visited us. 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 are pretty common folks trying to make a living doing
what we love, breeding and raising cattle. Our wish is that someday this
Diary will be enjoyed and appreciated by our grandchildren and great
grandchildren. In the mean time we hope you get a few good laughs at
our expense.
Learn
from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them
all yourself."
Abbie and Joan
Last Updated
Wednesday, 03 February 2010
You are viewer
2008
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other,
body thoroughly used up and totally worn out, screaming 'WOO HOO! - What
a Ride!'' - Author unknown
May you be in Heaven an hour
before the Devil knows you're dead.
October
1-7 We made it through another week at the fair supporting
and cheering on our cattle kids at Tulsa State Fair Junior Shows!
They all made us extremely proud of them and the cattle. To
say we are exhausted is an understatement! It's an endurance
contest of the fittest! We hauled young bulls over to the judging
contest on Friday for our friend Blake Nelson. We didn't
stay for rest of the day due to cows and virgin heifers still
calving. There were over 600 4-H and FFA kids that went
through the judging contest. Really encouraging to see that
many kids interested in agriculture. They are our future!
We ended up pulling a backwards calf late that night and to say I
checked out the old bones was an understatement. Pulling a
backwards calf is very risky for momma and baby! We had the
calf started and the cow " Mosaic" an old show heifer started to
go down in the chute. So it is my job to pull that 10 pound
pipe that holds her in before it smashes the calf! I saw
what was going to happen quick enough but she was already putting
weight on it when I got a hold of it! I pulled with all my
mite and finally it let loose! Me the 10 pound pipe went
flying across the room into the door and down the door! Yep, I
tested my bone density test myself this time! We saved the
heifer calf and old Mosaic got right up to inspect her new baby.
It's real satisfying when you see them checking each other out
afterwards. Rashele won the showmanship contest and Cody was
4th out of 18 in the Maine Show.
Jacob and
Harry at Premium Sale Rogers' County.
4-H and FFA
Kids at Judging Contest Tulsa State Fair
Cody and his
Maine steer made the premium sale!
Matt Sumpter
and his one eyed Hereford steer made premium sale!
That big old steer trusted Matt to show him the way.
Reighly and
TLC Tiara 2nd in Junior Maintainer Class
Rashele and
one of her big steers
We preg. checked cows and
bangs vaccinated heifers yesterday. We came out really well
on the the AI and ET transfers in June and July. Not many
open cows is a big plus! So we did some moving of cattle to
new pastures. It would have been a good day to ride one of
the nags but don't know if I had enough energy to saddle and
mount. ha My tail is dragging. Probably the let down
from the all the adrenalin I had for the past couple of weeks. ha
We will preg. check the last pasture today and Clint insisted on
lunch today! ha So I am going to cook some non fair food for
Abbie and our favorite vet! It is cloudy out and cooler!
Jacket weather for now!
Watch for my
thoughts and opinion on the Gar Precision 1680 genetic dilemma in
the Angus breed! It's only my opinion remember!
Breeding cattle or any animal
husbandry is a privilege we should not take lightly..
Mother nature has it's own checks and balances in it's
breeding program. The fit survive and the weak shall
parish to feed another critter. Genetic deformities
are weeded out over centuries of it's natural culling.
Here we are, man
trying to take over the natural order of things and create
our perfect genetic package, with perfect numbers, EPD's and
Beef Dollars? We continue to select matings of that
special animal that we hold in high esteem according to all
the smart people that advertise the loudest....
Line breeding has
always been considered great when it works and in-bred when
it doesn't.
You seldom hear
about the crippled calves that only make it to the blow out
or butcher shop. Genetic deformities are not new
they are just more publicized these days with DNA
testing capabilities. "Specialized Labs" are at least
able to pin point select pedigree's that support that
particular abnormality. The Shorthorn breed went
through a thorough cleansing and then it happened to the
Maine Anjou breed. With both harboring TH and PHA
genetic aberrations. The Braunvieh breed is not
without irregulars. Albinism carriers were caught a
few years ago when folks started getting white calves with
pink eyes...
I remember some
Angus folks laughing and commenting that Angus was the only
pure breed out there. With all the cross breeding
going on and several breeds changing their color to all
black. Allowing percentage animals into their registry
to increase registrations. But not Angus they are big
enough and tough enough to stand alone with the number of
registrations and membership far exceeding any other breed
association. I guess my warning to all of us is don't
take our gift of breeding cattle lightly... It's a rare
privilege we should not take for granted. Wisely make
choices with the best information you can get on sires and
dams. Deal with honest people and programs. Some
folks will sell you anything to make a buck. They
don't care if you succeed.
One of my good
friends Carol Smith, whom is a die in the wool Angus breeder
said it all.. " Don't throw the baby out with the bath
water." Breed them to non related bloodlines!
Who is going to
profit from this defective genetic extravaganza? It
would be Dr. Beever and his DNA lab that filtrated all the
other genetic problem breeds. Wouldn't you like to
have his contract for the suspected 400,000 Curly Calf
carriers? You could have a retirement income real
quick...
Nothing is perfect
in this old world. When you think you can't go any
higher on the pedestal, watch out folks the rug is about to
be pulled out from under you. Stay humble and
give credit where credit is deserved.
October 8 The Coleman family of six
made it in about noon yesterday. Clint came and we
finished preg. checking the south pasture and we also weaned the
next group of Spring Calves. It was cloudy and damp
all day with all of us wearing light jackets to keep warm.
We grilled up hamburgers for supper and went to bed early.
The
Coleman's got their steers loaded and left this morning back to
Tennessee. Hope they make it back in time for all their
activities.
Feed man
came from Afton to try and figure out the feed we got that was
supposed to be their answer to our OBI feed we get from
Stillwater Milling. No comparison! When the
wind blew it went with the dust..
Renita came
to pick up the two donkey's, Jack and Jade whom will make their
home at her barn now. It was something to get those
stubborn liberal donkey's loaded. Yep I said it Liberal
Donkey's... They kind of reminded me of those blind people who
are condoning the Muslim that wants to be our next president.
Be watchful and understand we are being deceived folks.
Make sure you vote in November for America's future.
Change may be the scary thing that happens, and it may not be
the best for all of us as Christian Americans.
Coleman Family from
Tennessee
We checked
the breeding pasture and found a first calf heifer struggling so
we proceeded to deliver a heifer calf. Mother nature would
have taken care of that one for sure if we had not assisted. ha
We don't mind helping those first calf heifers once in awhile
though. They are teenage pregnancies after all! ha
I am ready
for an easy day for a change but don't suppose it will happen!
October 9 We have folks coming out
this afternoon to check out the steers left. Never a dull
moment around here! Thanks to Danielle Wicker and her
father in law who came by to look at show steers and picked out
four head that they thought would work for them in various price
ranges.
October 10
Happy Birthday Shareen and Shawna! Gosh you are
how old? My little twin's are all grown up. We hope
you have a great day together shopping! Wish I was there
to shop with you!
The Smith's
from Arkansas came this morning and we spent the good part of
the day showing them cattle. We stopped long enough to
grill up some burgers for lunch. I tried singing my eye
brows off with the grill. Vinnie and Mike, who call me
Fireball, would be happy to know that I was actually a
fire ball for a moment when the wind blew out the propane and I
relit it! I was lucky to have a mop of hair left. ha
They pulled
out about 4:00 with eight head in the back of their trailer.
We certainly thank Billy for his faith in our cattle program and
we look forward to stopping by in a few years to see their calf
crop. Billy and Nona stopped by last year and just
looked and this year they brought son Bobby and Wanda along with
a stock trailer. It is a good feeling when you see a
trailer coming in the drive. Thank you folks!
Come back soon! Bobby said he had some good looking
Buckskin horses for sale too. Hmmmmm? He said he
would trade horses for cows! ha Don't tell Abbie! ha
We welcome help at Thorne Ranch. J R
Ellison is going to be helping us now. We really are
looking forward to his assistance with the cattle and show
cattle. He has been around the block several times and at
least knows the ropes around a cattle ranch.
Abbie, Billy, Nona, Wanda and Bobby Smith from Arkansas
TLC Bud's Cowboy Grand
Champion Fullblood Bull Tulsa State Fair- Weighing in
at 890# at nine months of age!
October
11-15 A busy week of calving out heifers. On
a sad note we lost Cotton Gin due to c section. We lost
her and saved a big Shorthorn bull calf. I guess our
experiment breeding shorthorn was short lived. It tore her
uterus and he came upside down. Abbie and J R worked for
hours trying to get him turned over but there just wasn't enough
room. So Steve came out and they did the c-section about
3:30 in the morning. It's real hard to loose one of your
babies, but that is the cattle business at it's best. It
never happens to the mean old cows you don't like!
Monday I
rode with Carol to Strafford MO to deliver her 7012 bull to
Genex for collection! We had a great day of visiting and
we had a great lunch in Cracker Barrel in Springfield. We
went out to leave and her truck would not start. Low and
behold a family drove in beside us with their stock trailer from
Pittsburgh Kansas on their way to pick up cattle. Dave
pulled out his battery to see if it was the battery but that
wasn't the problem. He crawled under the truck and
said the cylinoid wire was off so it started right up and away
we went home. Amazing when you think you are without
any help and in drives help within five minutes! Thanks to
the Dave Hessong Family for your assistance! We
tried to buy their dinner but they said that is what all folks
supposed to do is help each other with out pay!
Tuesday was
people in and out of the place. Mathew came by to check
the heifer pen! Mike came by to pick up Juna and check out
the fall babies. A man came by to see if we had any red
Maine bulls and Steve came by to bring back our fan brackets we
missed for Tulsa. So it was an in and out day as
usual! We did get all the pairs to new pasture over East
and they are enjoying fresh grass! Today Wednesday!
Jessie came this morning and with it raining cats and dogs we
were sent to Stillwater to pick up semen and to have semen
checked for the upcoming breeding of the donors! So we
made it about lunch time and enjoyed Eskimo Joe's and also
shopped a little before we picked up the semen tank at REI and
headed home! A good day and very relaxing to enjoy a day
away from the herd! ha
We got all
the pictures from the Tulsa State Fair now from Bob and Jeanne
Heidlage. Really happy with them as they turned out well
of all the kids and cattle. Check them out at the
News Page!
October 16-20 The rain helped
turn back the fall dust. The calves were getting sick from
all the dust flying! We aren't used to that with all the
rain we had this year. Thursday Jessie and I worked with
the show cattle. The Daley family came out to inspect
their new steer named Snickers. So we had to take a
pasture tour. The folks from Sand Springs didn't make it
out to pick up their steer so he just got put with the rest of
the crew. Jessie and I headed to Coffeyville early
with a load of cull cattle for the sale. We stopped in
Claremore and had lunch at a favorite Mexican food restaurant El
Azteca. Met Jeanne there so Jessie could go back
home. Sure enjoyed her company during the fall break.
The guys were giving shots and worming the fall calvers to
prepare for breeding season next month.
Trip to Texas and New Mexico! We
packed up our bags, two steers and headed west. We
made it to OK City and shut it down about midnight.
We made it to Clovis NM at noon and met Chad and Lee at K-Bob's
to deliver the steers to them. We then went to
little Fred's 1st Birthday part. Met all the family there
and had a great time playing with all the grandbabies, Thomas,
Logan, Grace, Ruby and Fred! Sunday we all went to
Church where Fred and Ruby were baptized. We had
lunch and made it to Amarillo where we saw Brian, Patricia's and
Thomas' new home in northwest Amarillo. Cactus, Sage Brush
and then beautiful manicured yards with new brick homes.
Happy they will be in a great new area with great schools.
We stopped
off at the Big Texan and had supper being serenaded by three toe
tapping musicians. Really enjoyed that place! I had
never been there. It's the place we all see signs of in
every state that says FREE 72 Ounce Steak!! ha Two guys
were attempting to eat the 72 ounce steak when we left.
Their plates looked like a large roast and it weighs in at 4 and
half pounds! They have an hour to do it and also eat all
the trimmings! I don't think it's possible but I guess it
has been done! WOW talk about heart burn! ha We made
it to Clinton OK for the night and rose early this morning to
make it home about noon! It was great to get home!
No matter how long you are gone it's always so nice to see home!
Ruby in her Bat Lady
Costume, Logan and Papa Abbie pushing.
Abbie holding Grace and
Fred, Joan holding Logan with Ruby and Thomas below.
Fred William 1 year old
with his blue truck cake.
Kids with the
grandkids! It was hard to keep them all in the picture.
Logan and Ruby in costume. Logan the train conductor
and Ruby, Bat Woman.
Thomas in his spider
web costume and Ruby pushing him. Joan, Diann and
Grace Thorne
Grace in her Tiger
Costume with Papa Abbie. Band at the Big Texan
in Amarillo
Look closely this is
not what I had for dinner.
We received
an email from Matt and the
Claremore FFA kids. They got their pictures on Channel
News 6. They are headed to National FFA Convention in
Indianapolis Indiana this week! We wish them all much
success and we hope they all have a safe trip!
October 21-23 Tuesday was a beautiful
day. The kind of day that says to catch up on stuff
outside before the storm. So I brought in some plants that
had decorated the porch all summer. We took the silver
truck to Vinita to the Chevy place to get a new module they say
in the driver side door. $235 plus tax for a
computer basically. Of course the extended warranty
does not cover such meager things. Only the motor if it
dies. ha Tried taking some pictures of the breeding
bulls today! I needed my trusty helper Jessie to get their
attention. It rained all day on Wednesday, so I spent my
time wisely and baked up pumpkin pies and a coconut cream pie
for the guys along with a big pot of chili soup for lunch.
Today I have been cleaning and redecorating for fall. Guys
are cleaning the barn and preparing for the flush tomorrow.
We have nine head set up to flush so we hope to get all kinds of
babies for the future. Most are out of our old Fullblood
Donors that are getting some age on them. Trying to
preserve their genetics with sires from days gone past
that you can't get the semen anymore on. We could
probably sell some of these embryos pretty easily I am sure.
We have had two different bull buyers stop by but all are
looking for that $1000-$1500 bull to just get their cows bred.
These guys have a total of four head and making money with
cattle is not their objective. They want to loose money
for a tax break. Sorry guys we take those kinds of
bulls to the sale barn. They aren't going to do us or you
a top job. Some people are just multipliers not breeders.
There is a big difference.
We are now
required to send a form to our local livestock markets to verify
place of origin. Specifically USA origin or other
according to the letter. COOL went into effect
September 30, 2008, but from what I can tell all it amounts to
is a verification one time that you are selling USA born and
raised cattle to their establishment. What a joke!
Leave it to our bureaucratic Agriculture administration to come
up with a useless enactment. Who is going to check
if each load that comes in the sale barn is actually from the
USA or from other countries. All you have to have is
a circled statement that you are bringing USA born and raised
one time to have on file. Absolutely useless!
Now on the
election. Bet you think this is going to be juicy? huh?
Well my only comment is to vote your conscience. If he
looks and sounds scary, if he doesn't put his hand on the bible
or over his heart during the national anthem. You might
consider voting for a War Hero that has our best interest at
hand. The good Lord will protect us all if we so
choose, but taking a chance for "Change" is very scary right
now. Our Grandfathers, fathers, Uncles, Brothers,
Son's and Daughters that died in service to our country don't
need to die in vain to have a Commander and Chief that does not
appreciate or respect their sacrifice. Don't let the
liberal news media convince you that your vote doesn't count.
Vote to keep our freedom. I did my own independent
political poll on the way to New Mexico and saw a whole lot more
McCain/Palin signs than the other. Gosh I wonder if my
poll counts for anything? Probably not!
Here is a
picture of Jade, Jack and Ryan Moore. He is feeding
them corn from his little tractor loader. They
probably think they died and went to heaven to get all the
attention they are now getting. Sure glad they
got a good new home! Thanks Renita and Roger for
treating them so well! We hope all the grandbabies get
several years of fun out of Jack and Jade.
It snowed
in Nebraska according to Mom and Shareen this morning. We
sure are not ready for snow here yet. We have too much
fall work to get done to be chipping ice and scooping snow.
October 24-29 We made it home from the
American Royal Cattle Show last night. We and the cattle
were exhausted from three days of camping in Kansas City
Missouri. In fact when we got to bed at night it was the
only time we parked the bodies it seemed. ha Cody and
Jessie went with us to help and show. They were great help
and you couldn't ask for any better sticks! ha Us
girls shared a room as the boys did too. Bob and Jeanne
made it show day to surprise Jessie and we had our own
professional photographer. We laughed a lot and had
a good time even though some people went out of their way to try
and foul our game plan. There will always be those that
try to push your buttons and if they can't beat you in the show
ring they try other methods. Guess you could say we fought
off the outlaws and in-laws. But justice did prevail
and we had a good showing of our TLC herd. See the
results at the News Page.
The judge from Manhattan Kansas, Dr. David Nichols really liked
our Percentage cattle. He also loved Brock and Annie who
once again walked into everyone's hearts and minds. The
Kansas City Star Newspaper photographer was mesmerized by
Brock and Annie. He took several pictures. They made
the cover of the newspaper today October 29th.
Abbie, Brian, Brock, Jessie, Joan, Reighly and Ethan.
Missed Cody as he was running errands to Sullivan's Supply!
We enjoyed several of our
cattle friends from Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and
Texas. Glad we could all get together and break bread
together. The good Lord blessed us with a
bountiful display of good friends, ribbons and honors that we
are truly thankful for. Thank you to Brian, Cody, Mike,
Ethan, Erica and Adriane for getting the cattle fit before
show time. They looked like a million dollars! The
cattle go through an extreme makeover just before they go into
the show ring and they look like real ladies and gentlemen
ready for the their high school prom! ha Too bad we
don't have a beauty team for the show team. Ha The best I did
with my hair was pull it into a pony tail and smeared on some
lip stick. At least I got one nice comment from the
judge he called me a young lady. Vinnie said the judge
hadn't lied all day until then! Thanks Vinnie! At least
I am not eligible for social security yet! I have always said
I will use a show stick for my walking cane!
October 30-31
Seems like there has been a whole lot of folks come and go in
the past couple of days! The Daley's came to pick up
Snickers for Jacob. Mike Rose came by to check out the
steers. Jack Thompson came to pick up semen and stayed for
lunch! Rodney was hauling us in hay so he stayed for lunch
too! As usual we plenty of company. We
prepared for a quick trip to KC on Halloween missed seeing any
little spooks! Happy Birthday to granddaughter Olivia
Grace who turned 2 today! We stayed in Butler MO for the
night and went onto the American Royal next day to watch Brock
show his Charolais Cross steer.
Remember to welcome strangers, because some
who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it! Hebrews 13:2
