Best laid plans

[Dave]

So I went to the sale today. No intention to buy anything. I didn't take the trailer or my check book. So naturally I bought 2 pairs. I get home and call B to find out when we are catching the cows up on the hill. Should I work these cows when I get them home and kick them up the hill or just leave them in the corral? The answer was we are catching them tomorrow morning. Opps. I better hook up and go get the new cows. I back up to the trailer. Shut it off for a second. Go to start the pickup....... wizz, bang, clunk and then nothing. I crawl under the truck. The starter is fallen out and hanging by the wires. Well that isn't going to work. Twice in the last 3 or 4 weeks I had bolts back out that held the starter in. After that second time I took it into a shop to make sure it was secured correctly. That was just last week. Last Friday we drove it to Jordan Valley. That is 60 or 70 miles from the nearest anything. Sure glad this didn't happen down there.
Called the shop. They said they would pay the tow truck and fix it right. Tow truck said he would be here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Wait! That is the same time as 3 pickup with stock trailers, cowboys, horses, and about 20 pairs will be here. A quarter mile long one way drive way. Get here then you will either get trapped in and blocked from getting in. The tow truck came and got it a few minutes ago.
My trailer is parked in the loading ramp. We have to find a truck with a goose neck hitch which doesn't have a trailer already hooked to it......
I am out of ear tags for the calves. Too late to get to town tonight. I will have to make a mad dash in the morning. And Oregon Trail Livestock Supply doesn't open until 8:30. Life is getting too complicated.
Then just now B called. His son will go to La Grande in the morning and pick up the 2 cows. On his way back he will stop and get a pack of ear tags. Relieve. Life just got a lot less complicated. But I can't help but wonder what is going to go wrong tomorrow.

 

[4hfarms]

Correct answer........Nothing!

Positive thought brings positive actions.

Oh sorry, you said your working cows........ good luck.

 

[Brute 23]

It always seems to come in clusters for me.

 

[Dave]

Surprisingly it went amazingly smooth. The cow they had to drag out of the river a few weeks back cooperated. Three cowboys captured all the cows in one fairly quick pass. Branded and worked 15 calves and those 2 new cows I bought. They arrived around 9:00. Pulled out with the cows, calves and horses loaded in the trailers a little before 11:00. I still have 4 cows and 3 calves belonging to the neighbor in the corral. He will be here in a few minutes and I will help him drive them up the hill and on to his BLM. We pulled one pair. She just isn't milking. So the calf becomes a bottle calf and she gets a ride to town next week. She packed on the pounds while here so she will kill for a lot more than I paid for her.

 

[wbvs58]

It sounds like the starter motor has been loose for a while and flogged out the holes a bit. Just watch they don't use that Loctite bearing retainer that you need heat to get the bolts undone if you ever need to remove the starter motor.

Ken