Double Heart Ranch

Shooing heifers out of the way on Ranch Day. We all had a great time. Lots of babies, dogs, horses, etc. Pies from the Bluebonnet Cafe and lunch from Inman’s. Thanks to all. (thanks for the picture Scott)

Every now and then we see a brand new calf and we know immediately that it will be one of the best in the breed. This fancy new heifer is shown with it’s mom, Chocolate Chip. Sire is Coach.

You can already see the quality in her face structure. You see a calf like this and all the work and money and hours invested all seem worthwhile.

Work continues on rebuilding the road to the ranch headquarters. At this point we have hauled well over 100 loads of road base. The process requires spreading the base, wetting it down with a water truck and then rolling with a vibrating roller. All of this is in preparation for paving.

This is the dump truck we purchased to haul base.

We have spent a lot of time getting the angles right to be sure the water drains away from the road.

The Texas Hill Country in infested with a weed like tree we call “cedars.” They are actually Junipers. Regardless of the name, we hate them. They crowd out native trees and grass and gradually take over - consuming a disproportionate amount of groundwater.

You can see from this picture the density of cedar (almost all the green trees around the hay field). Mixed with the cedars are live oaks and cedar elms - both of which flourish when the cedar is removed.

We have developed a system for cedar removal that starts with clearing and piling the trees with our crawler loader. The trees are piled in areas with little or no grass. That’s our son, Sam Gaddis, driving. Thanks to David Bamberger for teaching us this method.

When conditions are right, we burn the piles. Proper conditions require no wind, recent moisture and high humidity. It the conditions are right, it is difficult to get the piles to start.

But once you do, then cedar burns like it has gasoline in it. The intensity of the fires and the rapid combustion of the piles are awesome to watch.

It is not uncommon for the flames to reach 40 to 50 feet.

Once the piles are burned we use a unique piece of equipment we purchased several years ago - a Vermeer Rock Picker. The picker is pulled behind our John Deere cab tractor and picks up all the rocks and sticks left in the cleared area. It will pick up almost anything larger than one inch. Once loaded, the picker has a lift that dumps into a truck or pile.

The result is a remarkably clean field with very little hand work. This is a field we planned in Tifton two years ago. Last year was very dry and the grass survived but did not cover. This year, with lots of rain, it looks like a golf course!

Here is our awesome bull, Superliner. He’s the sire of our two consignments to the Horn Showcase Sale in November. His dam is one of my all time favorite cows, Gravy’s Super Doll - textbook classic longhorn!

Sunday we took Gay’s dog, Joe David and both of the draft horses to Marble Falls for the Episcopal Church’s Blessing of the Pets.

May and Belle arrive just in time for the service.

Hardy and Gay with Joe David

Rev. Ann Normand blesses the horses.

Hardy and Ann.

After the summer rains, our road to the ranch was almost gone - so we decided to rebuilt. After about 110 loads of base (12 tons per load) we are almost finished. Next, final grading - water, rollers and then the paving equipment arrives.