Calving time

It's calving time on Hayden ranch! This is a busy time and a fun time. We ride through the herd each day looking for new born calves and checking cows that are about to calve. When the calf is born we ear tag it to match its mother then we keep track of the pairs checking on their health and any potential problems. Not a bad way to spend a morning out riding your favorite horse and watching little black calves run through the hills! Some rain would help but the heat of summer is leaving us now and we're looking forward to a beautiful fall and a good winter. This is also a good time for me to collect plants for my dye pots. It's always amazing to see the colors these plants will release; beautiful browns from the acorns and oak bark; reds , greens and purples from the lichen growing on rocks; deep reds and rusts from sycamore leaves. The possibilities are endless and they all work together to create new blankets.