This weekend I took a few days away from Remington to head north to John & Tracy Buckley’s Quarter Circle X Ranch, at Cochrane near Calgary, where they breed Beefboosters (hybrid bulls). This weekend was ‘Branding Time’ –a much cherished annual tradition! Around 60 family, friends & neighbours came together to partake in the event and branded over 600 calves. Each weekend around this time of year, the branding moves from ranch to ranch around the neighbouring area, combining work with a lot of fun and social activities. Some ranches use horses & roping, some tables, but at the Quarter Circle X Ranch we worked in teams of 2 catching and throwing the calves by hand and holding them down while a number of procedures were carried out – branding with hot irons; injections; horns debudded; & heifers got a ‘woddle’ (this is a nick in the flap of skin under their neck that is used for ID instead of an earmark – it leaves a permanent little flap which can easily be seen). I was one of the catchers – ended up absolutely filthy, but it was great fun to be part of the event! The forecast was for a wet and possibly snowy weekend but fortunately it stayed beautiful & sunny and the wet weather held off till Monday when it rained all the way back to Remington.
