Jason & Nicole's Wedding

Saturday, July 26th we attended my nephew's, Jason Armstrong, wedding. He married the lovely Nicole Cochran. The wedding was held at the Targhee Ski resort in Afton, Wyoming. It was an awesome place to have a wedding and the weather was perfect. The wedding was held behind one of the lodges with about 75-100 people present. They were married by one of their mutual friends who got his Minister's license off the internet for this occasion. Afterwards there was a reception in a large white tent where a delicious dinner was served. We had fun visiting with Jason's and Nicole's friends and family. They also had a dance. It was nice seeing everyone enjoying themselves. Congratulations Jason and Nicole! I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon in Jamaica.

These were the best of the few pictures we took. We were trying to stay out of the wedding photographer's way.

This is a picture of the Tetons as we drove down the mountain from Targhee at Sunset. It was a beautiful day.

Clark Family Olympics 2008

The Clark Family Reunion was held July 17th to July 19th at the family ranch. The theme was "Clark Family Olympics 2008 or The Games Rednecks Play". The reunion included Roger's mother, his brother and sisters and their families. Out of 59 family members, 57 were present at one time or another over the three days. The exceptions being Adam, who is on a mission and Matt, a nephew who was graduating from BYU-I that weekend. They came from as far as Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Montana and of course Idaho. We spent the weekend visiting, eating, playing and eating some more. It was so nice to see everyone and see the new babies and how much the other children have grown. It was a great weekend.

Outhouse Renovation

A special thanks to my Dad who spent two days upgrading the outhouse for the Clark Reunion. He painted the inside and lined the door so no one could peek in. He added an inside lock and took off the outside lock so there wouldn't be anymore children traumatized by being locked in by prankster cousins. He also added a new toilet paper holder, a light and a nice new seat while leaving the outside still looking quaint and rustic. Thanks Dad.

Happy 15th Birthday Rachel!

FOURTH OF JULY!

We had all our traditionally awesome fun on the Fourth. Flag raising and breakfast at Grandma Clark's. At the Menan celebration,the Pop Toss Booth was a total success. Laura ran the booth to support the "Laura College Fund". We ate from the local food booths and watched the parade. The Menan fire works were fantastic as usual. The only thing wrong is I didn't have my camera. My card was full and I didn't have time to delete a few pictures. So for great pictures of what we did on the Fourth of July, check out my niece's blog at Matt and Michelle under family names. She was everywhere we were. There's even a great picture of my parents at the parade. Thanks Michelle. I hope everyone else had a great day too!

Cattle Drive

I was thinking the other day that all I have blogged about lately is farm and ranch topics. But then again that is who we are and what we do. So on with the next ranch related item. Our cattle have been grazing in our own private pasture since they were hauled to the ranch in May. Every year during the first week of July we move them to pasture on the national forest. We always try to make it a fun day with family and friends or anyone with a horse or four wheeler who wants to come. The more the merrier. This year our regular cowboys were, Roger, Alan, Laura and Lynn Rushton. Our Honda cowboys were Rachel, my dad, Dale Armstrong and my nephew Sean Gilman. Also joining us were Chris and Heather Campbell and four of their children on horses and Heather's mother, Joy Hancock who took turns with Chris in the pickup with their baby. Other four wheeler cowboys were Mark Boam and his son, Cody who run a few cattle with us. In the pickup or "Chuck Wagon" were myself, Grandma, Sara and baby Kailynn. It was a beautiful day. It seemed like the cattle wanted to run this year. That's why all the dust in the pictures. (No, it wasn't a stampede) After we got them where we wanted them, we had a picnic in the shade until they were all mother upped (calves and moms find each other). It was a great day for a cattle drive.

Haying Time

Clark Farms just finished up the first hay cutting of the summer. Weather permitting, we usually do three cuttings a summer. We cut the hay just before it blooms. That's when the protein content is the highest. The higher the protein, the better. It makes the hay worth more. Dairy's want the higher protein and if you can get the hay put up without rain that's an added bonus. I think this is the first crop we've put up without being rained on for a couple of years. Alan started cuttting the hay across from Grandma Clark's on June 7th. It took a week to cut all our hay.

After they cut the hay they let it dry for four or five days then they rake two windrows into one larger windrow. It also turns the hay over so it can dry some more. But the trick is to rake it early in the morning when it's dewier so all the leaves don't fall off the stems. Cow's don't like just stems and all the nutrients are in the leaves. Raking has been Laura's job this year. She's been a little trooper getting up between 4 and 5 a.m. taking off in her tractor until 10 or 11 a.m. She's been alone in the dark in some fields far from the main road let alone anywhere near the house. But she has seen some awesome sunrises and a lot of wild life; a moose, a few deer and a den of coyote pups running and playing through the field and she loves watching the Osprey and Eagles flying around when she's working near the river. She also likes to listen to a good book on tape while working.

Then after the hay is dry but not too dry, Roger comes in and bales it. Again there's the tricky timing of not too wet or to dry. He usually starts about 11 at night and has been baling until 2 or 3 in the morning until it's too dewy. He comes in and sleeps a few hours then heads back out about 9 a.m to check water and when the dew comes off he will bale again until it's too dry. He bales it in the 3 by 4 by 8 foot size bales. We have had larger bales or round bales, but this size is easier to truck and still works well for us to feed our own cattle with.

It took Roger about a week to bale 1,500 bales which was a record time for us. The no rain issue helped there. The little wagon on the back of the baler is an accumulator. It holds three bales as they come out of the baler then he can dump them at the end of the field making it so they don't have to drive all over the field when loading them on the trucks.

Then they load them on the trucks. I thought it was strange when they started using the semi for hauling hay out of the fields. But it sure beats the old little wagons we used to use. They can move a lot of hay with it.

They also use this trailer behind the flatbed pickup. It holds a fair amount of hay itself.

Roger used this trailer last week to pull the red tractor up to the ranch to do some work. It's not very often we take the tractor to the ranch. But it's nice to be able to when needed.

They then unload the hay in one of the many stack yards where it sits until it is needed or sold. The machine Alan is using here is called the Telehandler. I guess because the arm can telescope longer and shorter as needed. I wasn't sure this was a necessary piece of equipment when Roger brought it home but it has become indispensable to our farming operation. They use it all the time from loading hay, hauling manure and pushing snow. Roger even used it to lift Uncle Les up high to fix his yard light a couple of weeks ago.



They finished baling and hauling the last field June 30th. It's a good job to have done. Only two more times to go this summer.

Oh, I had to add this picture of Tanner. We like to start training the help while they're young.