Thursday, November 20, 2008

The lives of the cowboys...

Well, today started out as a fairly ordinary day. Out of bed, kids to school, off to work at the ranch. We were sorting calves out (some to ship out tomorrow, some to keep around for a while, some to sell now) and had gotten not quite halfway through when one of them jumped, kicked out a hind leg, and hit Mom in the jaw, knocking her out, splitting her lip, and loosening some teeth. She came around quickly, but with no memory of what had happened, and spitting blood.

Dad and I got her up on the four-wheeler, and took her in and loaded her in the car, and Dad took her to town to the hospital. Turned out her nose was also broken, and the doctor recommended sending her to an oral surgeon right away. This meant a two-hour ambulance ride, since the car was acting up on the way in. Now I'm waiting to hear that the surgery's done and that they'll be ready to head back tomorrow.

So, in the morning, I'll be heading out to do everything that they normally do in the morning: feed the horses, make sure everything has water, feed the calves, then check for any sick critters in the fields. Ah, the glamorous life of a cowboy...