Welcome to the Adventures of Dear Abbie's Wife

 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 seven 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."   - Joan

Abbie and Joan

May 1-2  Rain showers for the past couple of days now!  Cloudy and dreary out but this will bring May and June flowers for sure now!  I have been out trying to spray thistles before they flower.  Believe it or not they are starting to head out already!  I got some of my flowers planted this morning before it ran me back to the house! I did various projects today in the office like find out that I made some errors the other day when the computer kept shutting off on me!  So I have to correct a couple of registrations now!  Sure wish I was perfect but if that was the case I wouldn't be here! ha   Here is a picture of Redina one of the top heifer calves already spoken for!  We have had seven calves spoken for already out of the Spring group!  It is still kind of amazing to us that folks will shop this early for show steers and heifers.  We probably have the best all around set of calves we have ever produced this year.  Our first calf heifers are now from the second faze of our Club Calf breeding program we started back in 2003-2004.  We are finally seeing what works too!  They don't exactly have a hand book for Club Calf Want a Bee's! ha  I can say one thing about my husband!  He isn't afraid to tackle a new breed and breeding program!  He went from Beefmaster and Eared cows in the 1990's to, Fullblood Braunvieh to Purebred Braunvieh to Percentage Braunvieh to Maine Anjou/Angus/Simmental and Club Calves in less than 20 some odd years.  My what will he come up with next?  Oh yes I forgot he has already got us in the Charolais and Shorthorn breed too!  Is there a limit to his love for cattle!  I don't think so! ha  He is about as addicted to cows as I am!  Match made in heaven!  Cow heaven!

May 3-4   Happy Birthday friend Jerry!  We went to Tulsa yesterday to see Lance and Jane!  Lance had surgery and we hope he will recuperate real soon!  We had lunch at the Olive Garden at Utica Square just across from St Johns Hospital.  It was a good day to go visiting as we couldn't do much with the steady rain!  It quit raining today! It came down in buckets yesterday!  Sure hope the roof didn't leak!  I kept waiting to hear some dripping but so far so good!   We really need a new roof sometime!  Of course that will be the last thing to get done around here.  The house is not near as important as the cows, breeding and calving!  Everything else comes in last on the priority list.   I got the lawn all mowed today.  I only got stuck once and had to have Abbie pull me out backwards next to the corrals!  Water is still running across our road into the pond dam!  Great to see water anytime!  I was ready for the sun to shine today though!  We went to pizza hut for supper.  Two meals out in two days!  Wow I could get used to not cooking!  The last thing Jake said tonight as he left was if I was going to fix a good lunch tomorrow!  Darn guess I will have to cook now.   I told him that he would marry a good cook over a pretty girl any day!  The way to a man's heart is through his stomach! ha  We had some new caps made up with TLC  - Club Calves - Adair, OK and he snatched the pink cap up!  Gosh that surprised me!  I had gotten that one for a special girl I know that likes "PINK" ha  Oh well they will make us some more! ha   Most guys are kind of funny about pink! ha  I guess bull riders don't much care about color!  Just as long as it's not red!  They must be secure in their manhood or else bulls like pink?  Here kitty kitty!  I grew up with the Hollenbeck Family bucking stock and rodeo contractors.  I remember well those big Brahma bulls they had in the bucking string!  Joyce and I used to walk out in the pasture with them when they were at home on the ranch.  But when they were in an arena and pens they became different animals!  I always thought red was their favorite color not pink Jake?

May 5-7   We had rain off and on over the weekend!  Sunday it quit for awhile and then started back up in the middle of the night!  The water is way over the bridge so we directed Bobby with his two cows to breed for the flush to go north and come in from the East.  No use taking a chance of floating down the Creek!  I took mega pictures yesterday of several of the Spring calves.  They are sure starting to get curious about what I was doing.  The fescue is headed out now so they are standing in tall grass now!  Hard to get a good picture of them between grass switches! ha  Today was breed day for the flush next week!  Abbie AI bred 8 head early this morning and will breed them all again this evening!  Water is everywhere!  This is the most rain we have had in a long while!  All the ponds are overflowing and I can hear thunder in the background so we may even get more!  Jarrod and Korey are headed this way with two donors.  They are coming to check out their picks from a couple of weeks ago!  I am sure they will have changed some!  They are growing that is for sure! Amazing how fast those babies grow up and change! I was in the baking mood this morning so I made up four pans of cinnamon rolls.  One pan for Clint as he put in his order last time.  He said not to take it to the vet clinic though or else he wouldn't get any!  So one batch has his name on it!  Bobby and Karen had lunch with us.  It's pretty damp out and cloudy still!  Maybe someday the sun will shine!  When it does that grass is going to jump!  All the trees are finally back to where they were before it frosted now.  Flowers are starting to bloom too!  My peonies are blooming bright and pink!  See the calf pictures at the Club Calf Page 

Our friend Karen came decked out in Bobby's rain coat and her camouflage cap!  She said that the water kept running into her boots with her short coat on so she opted to use Bobby's longer one to keep her feet dry! ha A real character Karen! It's no wonder we get along so well!  She used to train race horses so she has a million stories about her and Bobby's life on the race track!  Now they are embarking upon the Angus breed!  They also have used our Braunvieh bulls on their cow herd with great success.  Great folks we are happy to call customers and friends most of all!

Blue Sky on Sunday

May 8-9  Well Monday was a typical day of more rain and lots of moisture!  Boy has it changed the looks around here and the surrounding area.  Green is the word!   Glad that Abbie didn't have the camera along the other day while we were down looking at the calves with Jarrod, Korey and Alissa.  We had one little heifer that had an ear down so I told Abbie we should doctor her.. so Doc Abbie pulls out the chicken hook and the bottle of antibiotic and syringe there on the mule!  So I slipped up on the unwary heifer and snagged her back leg with the hook. He was behind me with the needle!  She proceeded to drag me through the mud and past the feed bunk  with him watching the whole show and laughing!  I caught my free hand on to the feed bunk as I was being dragged along to try and slow her down.. not! I lost my hold and I ended up face down and did a belly flop in the the mud hole right in front of everyone!  They all thought it was pretty funny!  I on the other hand was one gooey mess and glad I was not tied on hard and fast!  ha  That means you are tied on not dallied up in cowboy terms!  If your are dallied you can unwrap the rope! The other way is a permanent knot on the horn!  That chicken hook was not letting me go either! ha  They all caught her again and gave her the shot!  So much for my efforts to hold a 230 pound calf down!  My comment was that she sure wasn't that sick after all since she drug me 15 foot through the mud!  I am not no little girl either! ha   At least I gave them all a good laugh for the day. 

Burk came by Tuesday and they set up some of their cows for breeding.  I went to Pryor for supplies!  Also got the silver truck lined up for the next big trip! New tires and front end lined up! Can't get that darn Texan to bring back the heifer they showed so will meet him in McAlester on Friday! The plumber came while I was gone and installed the new drain in the middle bath so now we shouldn't have a wet floor every time anyone uses the shower!  They also installed my garbage disposal that Abbie was suppose to install since Christmas!  I went down to pasture 18 this morning and dug a truck load of thistles, so I got my exercise this morning!  Here is a Canada goose that has been nesting in our bull paddocks by the house!  While I was down digging thistles here came two pair of geese and they landed about 50 foot away to see what I was doing I think?  This goose and the bulls play tag off and on!  Pretty fun to watch those bulls chasing a goose!  When the bulls stop he turns and chases them!  We went into Pryor to pick up the silver truck and stopped for lunch!  We got home and here was Brian Geneva from www.igenity.com    He didn't know what a Braunvieh was so I proceeded to educate him some!  Of course he thought they were a Brahma Gelbvieh cross!  Not uncommon for educated folks to not know one of the oldest breeds in the world! ha  The company he works for does genetic research on several traits.   We will probably do some of our herd sires and possibly some donors.  Alex Kavaney came by to pick up breeding supplies and semen.  Grand central station most of the time!  Maybe we should charge at the gate! ha  Better yet by the head! ha Dani Leigh is headed this way to spend the night!  So will drop her off at school in the morning and then head to Tulsa for steer weigh in for Tulsa State Fair at Tulsa Stockyards!  Will get to see several kids and parents!

Canada Goose in the bull paddocks

May 10-11  Happy Birthday Dani Leigh!  Yesterday was another wet day in Oklahoma! I made it to Tulsa to the Tulsa State Fair steer nominations and enjoyed seeing several of our cattle friends.  It was fun to see all the kids that made it too!  The steers have been on a diet to make the under 1100 pound weigh in.  So it's going to be interesting to see them all fat and sassy by October.  It's amazing too that they were all in the buff, no paint, no sheen and looked like pasture cattle for a change! ha  I planned on stopping to see friend Sheila but she was outside so my missed her but stopped for a minute at Sanders Nursery to pick up some begonia's that I needed to fill in the flower bed out front.  I made it home just in time for the down pour again!  Gary Wagoner made it over to pick up Bunny and Jackpot that he purchased for his cow herd!  Bunny led like a good boy to the trailer and he will get some girl friends when he gets home and so will Jackpot.  Thanks for your business Gary we appreciate your faith in our breeding program! 

 I left about 9:30 and made it to McAlester by 11:30 to meet the Lowry's from Texas.  Their hired help made it about 1:00 with the heifer.  So I had lunch and then headed back home!  I ran into rain again at Pryor.  Abbie said that it absolutely poured for a while here.   The heifer is in good shape but sure needs her feet trimmed!  I got the rest of my flowers planted and will prepare for company tomorrow some time!  It's a surprise!  Good thing we got the tub drain fixed in the middle bath! ha  Of course all you have to do is step outside with a bar of soap and you can get clean real quick! ha

Raining off the front porch

May 12-14   Saturday was a busy day.  We got some things done around here and then went over to Dani Leigh's birthday party!  We had hot dogs and birthday cake.  The grease ants got into the cake before we got it!  We did a fast number on those ants and cleaned up the cake!  They didn't eat much! ha Someone said we could have protein in our cake too! ha   I had almost gotten the yard mowed and in drove Gordon, Dorothy, Judy and David.  They were weary travelers and were ready for a burger and then bed!  We spent the morning visiting and they got left about 10:30 for Nebraska.   Wish they could have stayed longer but I know they were anxious to get back home.  I finished most of the mowing before the mower had a heart attack and died!  Yep it's about time for a new one!  This one has been patched several times.  It would be nice to have a tractor and bush hog so that I could mow all the lanes and roads.  I am abusing that little lawn mower on several big areas that need a real mower!  What kind of man wouldn't buy a woman, his wife, the love of his life, a tractor and bush hog! I am not asking for diamonds and jewels here! ha  Oh well, I guess all in good time! Dwight got here about dark and we went into Pryor at Goldie's for Mother's Day supper!  This mother was too tired to cook anyway! ha

Monday, We flushed today and had a very successful day for us and all our customers. So it was trailers in and out all day!  I got six head of heifers washed and groomed in the morning!  They all liked their bath and were ready to get in the barn under the fans and misters, as it got in the 90's today.  Grilled up burgers for the crew and after dinner I washed Vasa, Linda and Madison's Kadabra heifer.  Old show heifers sure do appreciate that TLC after they become mothers.  Linda didn't even look back for her baby heifer, Cora.  She was ready to enjoy the shade of the barn and a cool bath! They now know how good it was to be a pampered heifer!   We got our new blinds today for the living room and I got those put up late in the afternoon!  Wow that was a job!  They look pretty good though and will be a lot nicer to look at compared to the old one's that were getting pretty warn out!  They had been there since the 1980's so think it was time!

David, Judy, Gordon and Dorothy

May 15-16 Tuesday was another busy day at Thorne Ranch.  Bob and Karen dropped by to pick up a semen tank to deliver back to UPS.  Mr. Parrot stopped by with a semen tank to deliver semen for their heifer Abbie will be breeding.  We had our last calf born today for the Spring group!  Of course it was a bull!  Abbie says that when they are way past due they are usually bulls.  I say they just take longer to make those little stones in a bull compared to a heifer calf.  They stay in the oven longer! ha  We took Jake home to Adair and went to Pryor for Mexican supper!  At least I didn't have to cook!  

It is a pretty day today on Wednesday.  Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!  Wow you have lived with the same person for many a year now!  We hope you have many many more happy days together! We love and miss you!  Sheila and Allison came by to pick up some Ali semen.  We had a big black snake curled up by the barn door so we made Abbie dispose of him!  He managed to put it right where we would walk again and got us good before we went to see the calves.   We hit all the pastures to see the Spring calves.  We didn't even run out of gas this time! They both picked out some they really liked! The fescue is all headed out now so it's hard to see them in the north pasture! Saw several folks mowing and getting ready to bale hay already!  Wish we were that far ahead!  We will be breeding a bunch in the weeks to come.  Then we can get hay machinery ready!  Try to find time to set up the new bulk bins, too. Wouldn't be bad if we had new equipment!  But we have to use, used and abused equipment and of course Abbie holds them all together with baling wire! ha  That is definitely a rancher's glue and answer to everything that needs fixed!!  He is a one in a million!  I have said this before.  Herd a $1000 truck or tractor and Drive a $20,000 Cow!

 How about the Country Music Awards last night?  Can't believe that Carrie Underwood won.  Since she has proclaimed to be a Vegetarian she's not one of my favorite Okies!  She doesn't mind wearing leather boots and leather belts now does she?  I wonder if she can get them made out of lettuce or broccoli!  If you saw George Strait last night you would have to say that he is still one really classy dude!  He just keeps getting better with age! Ha  Like fine wine! ha  Some of the new hot Country artist look more like hippies than country music singers.  Cowboy hats, earrings and tattoo's! Not exactly Country attire where I came from!  Oh well we can't all be perfect now can we? ha   I am headed to Claremore to ride with the Ya Ya Sisters tonight!  Justin came today and trimmed all the horses feet!  They were all needing it bad with all the wet weather.  Hope we have a safe ride tonight! All our horses are going to be feeling good after the long rest!  Especially mine! ha  With $3.00 gas I should be riding those darn nags instead of hauling them! At least they might be broke by the time I got there next week! ha

Meyer Mick looking good this Spring!

Allison wanted to take him home!

Cheyann's Ali Steer calf.  He will go to

New Mexico in the Fall

May 17-18-19  A busy past few days.   Madison, David and Shawn came by last night and she worked with the heifers.  We also checked the calves in the pastures!  We went to Langley for supper with them!  Vinnie was here bright and early to bring his cow they are flushing next time! We are getting ready to AI breed and setting up the next batch of donors today the 19th!  We must be doing something right because everyone and their favorite dog have either brought cows or are bringing cows to breed.  I don't know when we became a full service AI and embryo service!  We started out doing it just for a few customers and friends.  Now we must be on the BBB list!  Breed, Business, Bureau!  I think Mr. Thorne is going to revamp his day charges!  We don't have enough time to get all ours done and here came a pot load of cows yesterday to set up for recips.   We just gathered them up and they sure were not like our docile cattle!  Pretty high headed and stupid!  The man that owned them planned on leaving them for 60 days!  We aren't exactly in the business to take in cattle.  I do believe we have enough mouths to feed around here.  They will go home right after transfer on the 5th of June. Matt brought over four pairs to breed too!  Gosh I wonder who will be bringing what next!  Doesn't anyone have any bulls anymore?  I can sure loan one or two out for a price! ha  I got the two horses saddled and rode today!  I worked with Jazz in the early morning to take the cold back out of her!  She went on the lounge line for about 45 minutes before she started to breath hard!  I was breathing harder than she was!  Good thing too because she humped up a few times with the saddle on!  I eventually got on her and she road okay!  Jake rode her and I rode Tee to gather a couple of pastures.  I cleaned up Dad's old saddle and it road fine for awhile until the stirrup strap broke on me!  Of course Abbie had to smart off about breaking a stirrup strap at the wrong time! ha  It was in pretty bad shape from sitting around rotting for at least 12-13 years that it hasn't been used!   He would rather use the golf cart or the Kawasaki Mule! I ran to Pryor to Brian's to pick up more cidars and medicine right after dinner!  I have been working with the heifers daily!  They are all coming along okay!  I only had 8 head tied in the barn today as Lindy was in heat so we put her in with Turk!  That should make a nice combination!  Sure wish that dead winter hair would come out!  Jake rides a Bucking Bull tonight at Welch!  We have been trying to encourage him to quit that crazy sport for health reasons, but you know how young kids are.  They think they are going to live forever! If he would only look at all the old cowboys, cowgirls (ME) and bull riders.  He'd figure out that they are crippled up for a reason! ha  Occupational hazards! ha

May 20-21-22   Sunday was another busy day of setting up cows for breeding.  Last count was 99 head went through the chute!   So our day of relaxation didn't happen! We got done about 9:30 feeding and Abbie knew I wasn't in the mood to cook so we went to the Pizza Hut for supper!  Monday we sorted off some cull cattle and I loaded and went to Joplin Stockyards.  I stopped at Sam's and picked up some much needed groceries!   Made it home about 1:30.  Korey Schenk and Alissa came to pick up the Ali bull.  Pryor Vet still didn't have their semen tester repaired so we had to send them to Stillwater to check him.  Tuesday we took Turk to Strafford MO to Genex to get him collected.  They collected 100 good units on the first collection.  He is getting to be a handful.  We need to get the nose ring in soon!  ha  I will get to pick him up on Friday!  What's another trip to Missouri?  We also delivered embryos we collected for Jeremy Church to ship to Colorado for him.   He bred a Shorthorn cow to a Lowline Bull.   That will be interesting offspring?  Different strokes for different folks! ha  We stopped off in Joplin for an early supper and made it home by 5:30.  A record we are in the house before 7:00!  Jake came and took care of the feeding while we were gone!  Great to have good help!  He got stepped on by his bucking bull the other night and came limping some on Monday!  I asked him if he thought he could make a living riding bulls?  He said he made it 6 or 7 seconds!  Easiest way to meet your maker that I know of!  My brother Bill used to ride bulls in high school!  He was Champion Bull Rider for the state of  Nebraska High School Rodeo Association in the 70's!  I was so happy when he hung up his bull rope and bell!   That is the closest thing to 8 seconds of Hell I know of.   For the rider and his family watching.  Riding 90 miles an hour around three barrels on a run away horse is a cat walk!  ha   Abbie says that is why I go through so many brake pads!  I go from 90 to zero!  Old habits are hard to break! 

Ya Ya Horse

Riding Sisters

Donna, Cathy, Marsha, Sherry and Rita!

May 23-28  Wow where did that week go can't even remember what happened on Wednesday?  Thursday friend Karen went with me back to Strafford to pick up semen and Turk!   Abbie and Bobby stayed home and AI bred their heifers!   Friday was try to catch up day!  Still no lawn mower.  Couldn't mow anyway as it is still raining!  I made it over to Claremore to pick up oats and beat pulp.  Stopped to see friends Terry and Susan for a minute!  Granddaughter Amber has grown a bunch!  Saturday was pull cidar day and we got more rain!  Grass has had it pretty easy with all the moisture.  I am not complaining after all the no rain last few years!  Sunday was get all 99 head back in and give them their shot! I hauled 8 head over to Brian's to have their feet trimmed.  Abbie and Jake finished up on shots!  Monday was take heats day and breed donors in the morning!  Crystal came out early so I put her to work helping me get the show cattle all situated under the fans and misters.  We had time to wash a few before I came to the house to fix lunch!  Now it's time to AI breed at least 50 some head this afternoon!  So will check back with you all if I survive this ordeal!  The mud is about six inches deep everywhere you go in the corrals!  I would just turn bulls out if I had my choice! 

Two of our granddaughters.  One with a dirty dirty face and one with big questions marks on her face!  Dalya Rae took a spill off the horse into the mud and a cow pie!  Shareen said she didn't even cry!  She will be a tough cowgirl!  Olivia Grace is growing! Big eyes and happy baby she would have a surprised look on her face like this if she saw her cousin Dalya!  I don't think I want to ride a horse!

Dalya

Olivia

May 29-30-31 I did get almost all the heifers bathed and blown out today.  Classy got by and went out to hay so I just decided she could take a rest, since it was cool out and cloudy.  So I got 7 head and Turk all washed and blown out.  He sure does need a nose ring now that he has become a man to speak of! ha  He will push you up against the wall just so you will have to scratch him.  All 1100 pounds of him!   Matt and Lilly came to pick up their cows that we got bred we hope for them!  Always great to see them even if it seems like breeding season is the only time!  They are busy with life and jobs too!

 Mike and Nathan came over this afternoon.  We took pictures of Turk today just before it started raining. They turned out pretty well.  I made it into Pryor to the Bank, Post Office and the Grocery Store in the late afternoon.  Came home and started working on web sites and pictures of Turk.  So here is the one that really caught our attention as being the best picture.  He is only 14 months old and already looks like he has babies on the ground. ha  I take pictures of the cattle when they are babies so that we can tell what they will grow out like!  It's also fun to go back and see all the calves that have left hoof prints in our hearts!  He was special from the beginning I felt so I have quite a library of his photo's.   I have been working on all the web sites to make them user friendlier for folks with smaller screens.  It is quite a job with all the web sites I am managing now.  But they will all be nicer in the end.

The last day of May and we are expecting more rain tonight! Working on various projects. I ran to Vinita to pick up a belt for the mower and also some hydraulic fluid for the tractors.  I got the lawn mowed but the outer edges are going to have to wait until it dries up some!  Wettest May we have seen in awhile! 

Turk as a calf last year

and today he is vibrant young herd sire prospect.

TLCC Turk