#10 - Cattle Branding

This was the real deal - a no-holds (or horns) barred, cowboys, spurs and chaps cattle branding!  Where to begin?  Some neighbors go to church with a family who manages an 87,000 acre ranch about an hour southeast of our house, Chico Basin Ranch, http://www.chicobasinranch.com/ . We have been out to the ranch a few times, but this trip was above and beyond our usual adventures. 

I could go on and on in detail, and I probably will--even though it will be a long post. We arrived around noon, but the cowboys had been working since 4:00a.m. when they saddled up and headed out to round up the herds of cattle and drive them to the corral.  There were two brandings occurring that day. After the cattle were corralled, they began branding the older calves.  These were huge calves, some as old as 9 months. The kids and women didn't get involved in holding down these guys. It usually took about 4-5 men to tackle these cattle AFTER they had already been roped.  (However, two of the daughters of the staff did the branding and vaccinating. These girls were in 7th grade and 4th grade!) The branding consisted of giving a vaccination, branding the hide, cutting off the horns and cauterizing the resulting wound (that part disturbed me -- too much blood), clipping the ear and band-type castration. This means the there's no cutting of the family jewels. Instead a large rubber band is tightened around the base of them, and they will eventually wither up.   After the branding was completed, the calves were kept separated from the mommas, as they were attempting to wean them.  Here's Craig holding down one of the big guys after he (the calf, not Craig) was taken down.

There was one tragic casualty of the morning. One of the very anxious, jumpy calves broke his leg. We're not entirely sure how it happened, but he came into the branding area with a hind leg flopping around like a rag doll. It was really sad, and it meant they would have to put him down, which they did (and then proceeded to gut him and throw the carcus on the modern-day chuckwagon to be taken back to the kitchen and butchered--this is the real world!). I asked one of the cowboys if such an injury was common. He said he's been doing this for 10 years, and this is the first time he had seen that happen. 

After the larger calves were done, we broke for lunch.  A modern chuck-wagon (old dumpy pick up truck with a huge water tank on the back) had come out to the field a few hours earlier, and the cook set up kitchen over a campfire.  He had the biggest wok I've ever seen, and he fried chicken fajitas.  Everyone ate a rustic lunch and then we headed for round two. 

The afternoon branding was quite different from the morning session. We were dealing with calves so young that the umbilical cords were still drying up.  The mommas and the calves were all together in a large corral. The mommas had ear tags with numbers on them and BIG horns.  The momma and calves were all mixed together in a huge herd (well over 100). The cowboys rode their horses into the herd and would lasso a calf. It was imperative that momma was nearby, because they needed to record momma's tag number along with the tag of the calf  in order to keep track of offspring. These were breeding stock, so this type of information was important. The cowboy would then drag the calf through the herd to the branding area, hollering "Incoming," so that the crew would be prepared.  Momma usually came close behind, very nervous that her baby had been abducted. At the branding area, the tag numbers were recorded, the calf held down by two people and the rope removed, and then the calf received a vaccination, an ear tag (kinda bloody) and a brand (since there were breeding stock, no castration took place).  It took at least 4 people per calf: one to tag, two to hold down and one to vaccinate.  Keep in mind that there were 3 or 4 cowboys dragging out calves at any given time, so there we usually 2 or 3 simultaneous brandings occurring.  To call the whole process "controlled chaos" is probably too generous. I think it was pure chaos!   From this shot you can sort of see the size of the herd.  Look closely. That herd goes back quite a ways.

AND...don't forget that we were sharing this corral with a huge herd of nervous, angry mommas with big horns. Some mommas were shooed away from the crews easily, but other were very stubborn and aggressive. The whole process required at least 3 - 4 people who were constantly eyeing the herd and shooing away any cows that were getting too close.  It didn't always work. When you have an angry, 1000lb horned animal coming at you, if she doesn't want to turn away, there's not much you can do to change her mind.  Our neighbor took a horn to the abdomen and is sporting quite a bruise today.  At some time during the afternoon almost all of us had a "too close for comfort" experience with a mad momma. When we encountered a really aggressive one, the cowboys stepped in to help keep us safe. They would ride between us and the cow and would swat the cow with rope.  Sometimes they would drag the calf back into the herd to lure the angry momma away. One momma got so aggressive that they had to drag the calf back into the herd, rope and contain momma, then drag the calf back out to the branding area while 3 cowboys contained a bucking momma at a safe distance. 

During this session, just about everyone had the chance to participate. I vaccinated for most of the afternoon, and then I played "shoo the mommas." Craig, Hunter and Josh held down cattle and shooed.  It is quite an experience. Before we knew it, we were all covered in dirt, blood and manure, we had all been kicked by squirming cattle, and we all thought it was about the coolest thing we had ever done.   Here are some snapshots of us hard at work (I'm giving the shot) and taking a breather after the branding was finsihed.

It was definitely an action packed day, and we were all exhausted when we finished at about 5:30.  It is really cool to think that, while this was an adventure for us, this is all in a day's work for some people. This is their reality--and it is a very physical, dangerous reality. It was also amazing to see the kids who grow up in this environment illustrate such responsibility at a young age. For heaven's sake, I had a 9 year old girl training me on how to vaccinate cattle and how to refill the gun with vaccine!  We were all amazed to watch a 7th grade girl brand cattle without flinching and, rather than crying with the calf broke his leg, she calmly asked her dad, "Are we gonna eat him, dad?"  It is such a different reality for these kids than what our sheltered, comfortable city kids experience.   It also occurred to me how incredibly dangerous this type of work is.  The potential for injury or death is unbelievably high.  Carpal tunnel is not of concern to them--getting gored is. One of the boys who lives on the ranch (about 13 years old) started his day by getting thrown from his horse.  My boys like to show us the bruises on their shins where they got kicked by calves, and as a mom I find myself so thankful that they only received bruises.  If you are an adrenaline junkie, I highly suggest cattle branding!

There's one final topic I must address. I stressed about it for a couple days -- all needlessly.  I thought I would have to make a tough decision on branding day as to whether or not I would also undertake New
Experience #11 ---- too eat or not to a Rocky Mountain Oyster (if you don't know what they are, you can Google it--but it has nothing to do with water, and if you read on, I'm sure you'll figure it out).  After all, it WOULD be a new experience--but not one I necessarily wanted to have!  For the couple days leading up to the branding and that morning, my family kept asking me if I was going to do it.  I didn't know if I had it in me. I felt that if, perhaps, others there did it first, that MAYBE I could get one down me.  Well, Praise the Lord, I did not have the opportunity.  Since the older calves were band castrated, and the younger calves simply weren't castrated, there was not a single Rocky Mountain oyster to be found!  If my luck holds out, I'll finish all 40 experiences without eating anything that "tastes like chicken, only tougher." 

We sure had a blast. Everyone on the ranch is so friendly and incredibly appreciative of the help. That's one aspect of this experience that was so cool--we all felt like we REALLY did contribute. I didn't feel like they were being nice to me by letting me play cowboy simply so that I could check off another adventure on my list of 40. This had the feel of an Amish barn raising - everybody pitching in to tackle a huge job.  We are welcome to come back for a future branding. There are about 10 more scheduled this spring.  I'd love to do it.  If they can assure me that there won't be any Rocky Mountain oysters, I think I'll be back for another round!

Here's the whole crew after the branding was finished.

 

#9 - Curling (yes, as in "that bizarre Olympic sport")

Anyone who argues that curling is not a sport hasn't tried it!  I guarantee you that I will be sore tomorrow.  I was invited to attend a Learn to Curl lesson by my friends Lee and Sheryl back in February.  Can you believe that all the sessions between then and now were already booked solid?!  Apparently a good number of folks got hooked on this crazy sport during the Olympics and wanted to try it.

Here is some curling trivia I learned tonight:

• The curling stones weigh 42 lbs. and are made of granite.
• The world's sole manufacturer of curling stones is on a small island off of Scotland. They mine the granite from under water, and it takes about a year to complete a stone.
• The Scots invented curling. The earliest known curling stone dates back to about 1510.
• The U.S. has a population of about 3 million people, 35,000 of which curl.  Canadians are the world's curling leaders. With a population of about 30 million, they boast over a million curlers.
• Their are actually curling shoes. Who knew?
• Curling is not played on smooth ice, but rather "pebbled" ice. The surface of the ice is sprinkled with water which freezes in little bumps on the surface. This minimizes the surface contact between the stone and the ice, thereby reducing friction.

There were roughly 40 people in attendance tonight. I quickly discovered that I was the only one of the 40 who was not an Olympic curling junkie.  While they all tossed around terms like "throwing the stone," and "the hack,"  and "in the house," I was still trying to figure out what the main objective of the game was. 

Fortunately, the basics of the sport are very easy to learn.  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, curling is sort of like shuffleboard on ice.  You try to "throw" (glide) your stones into a series of bulls-eye type circles. You can also bump out the other team's stones.

So, why is it a sport, you ask?  When "throwing your stone," you rest one foot in a something similar to track starting blocks, and you push off firmly. My thighs got quite a workout. Then there's the sweeping part.  The sweeping melts the pebbles ever so slightly, thereby producing a very thin layer of water which reduces friction between the stone and the ice. Simply keeping up with the moving stone in order to be able to sweep is a real challenge!  I wasn't skilled enough to really get any "power sweeping" going, as I was usually racing to just catch up with the stone. However, I could imagine that your arms would be quite sore after an intense game of sweeping.

It was really a fun experience. This is truly an opportunity I would have ever explored had it not been for my "40 new adventures" quest.  I just might go back for another session or two.  It was really a lot of fun.

#8 - The Thorn

We have been back in Colorado for 10 years, and for 10 years I've been saying, "We should go see 'The Thorn' this year."  So, sadly, once again I find myself pondering why human nature is to simply put off things we want to do.  This year when I saw the advertisments start to show up, I committed to attending it as one of my 40 new adventures.

I'm sure many of you non-Colorado Springs residents are asking, "What's 'The Thorn'?"  Essentially, it is an Easter drama. It seems a bit unfair to call it just "an Easter play," since it truly is more of a Broadway-style production.  It is quite "Cirque du Soleil-ish" at times and includes fire dancers, dancers twirling down from the ceiling on streamers and gymnasts tumbling across the stage. There are hundreds and hundreds of people involved in the cast and crew, not to mention the staff required for seating, ticketing, etc.   Since 1997 it has been an annual tradition of New Life Church, the largest church in the Springs.
 
What made this year's show doubly special for us was that we knew one of the ballerinas. She portrayed Eve (as in Adam and Eve). Yes, I know Eve isn't generally part of the Easter story, but this drama prettty much spans the whole Bible: the fall of Lucifer, Adam and Eve and original sin, the Jews' enslavement in and liberation from Egypt, and pretty much the entire New Testament.   

It was definitely a powerful drama. The flogging and crucifiction scenes were very graphic (remember, this show started long before Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ") and emotional.  Overall, I think it was a wonderful drama. My only complaint would be that for someone not already familiar with huge amounts of the Bible, many parts could have been confusing. By trying to condense so much into a short time span, a lot of explanation was left out. If one didn't know that Jesus starting flipping tables in the temple because the corrupt sellers had turned the house of God into a den of thieves, they would have been stumped during the play as to why Jesus' jubilent entry into Jerusalen suddenly turned into rage (there was very little dialogue, more music and narration). 

But, then again, my kids always tell me that I ruin movies all the time because I'm too picky.  Having said that, I'd give 'The Thorn' two thumbs up. The fact that it is pulled off using all volunteers makes this amazing performance ten times more amazing.

If you live in Colorado Springs and haven't ever seen 'The Thorn,' go out and see it this year.

#7 - Cake Boss, Cox-style

 While I don't watch much television, I must admit that I can sit mesmorized for hours by the Cake Boss and the Food Network Challenge when they spotlight cake decorating.  These folks are truly artists, not "just" cake decorators. Their medium just happens to be fondant.
  So, a while back the kids and I decided we should take advantage of Victoria's 16th birthday to attempt our own fondant masterpiece.  I was definitely a bit intimidated by this challenge, but after having a "Fondant 101" converstaion with my friend Paula, who has used fondant before, I felt convinced that we could tackle it. Thanks, Paula, for the pep talk and all the information!
   I didn't have a clue what fondant was even made of, and I bet many of you don't either. Here's the bad news: it is a combination of marshmallows and powdered sugar! One piece of fondant-covered cake gives you a month's worth of sugar. Oh well, sometimes even the staunchest nutritionist has to throw caution into the wind.
   We began our project on Friday and quickly learned it is a time-consuming process.  We made and colored the fondant Friday night, let it "age" overnight and tackled the decorating on Saturday.  The kids (well, minus Josh who really only wanted to eat the fondant) all got involved, and it was a fun family activity.  We were quite happy with the final result.  I can't yet tell you how it tastes, becasue we won't eat it until later today. We agreed we would postpone Victoria's birthday meal by a day, since we needed the fondant bow to set and harden overnight with supports in it so that it would hold its shape today. That's the one area where we could have definitely improved. When the supports are removed, the bow wilts a bit.  Guess our fondant should have been firmer. Oh well, if that's the worst of it, then we're all pretty happy with our first fondant undertaking. 
  Drumroll please.........below you have the first Cox Family Cake Boss Masterpiece.....ta dah!!  I may not be ready to quit my day job, but Hunter did tell me "Mom, you should become the neighborhood cake decorator." If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!

#6 - Paint Mines Regional Park

This adventure was suggested to me by a friend who has lived in Colorado less than two years. I, having lived here about 13 years, had never heard of the Paint Mines! How crazy is that? So thanks, Jesse, for the suggestion.

This past Saturday our family and some neighor boys took advantage of the gorgeous winter day and headed out to Paint Mines Interpretive Park (we're still not sure what exactly we were supposed to be interpretting). This park is about 45 minutes east of Colorado Springs in the plains and hosts some beautiful sherbet-colored rock formations resulting from wind and rain erosion.  http://adm.elpasoco.com/Parks/Paint+Mines+Park.htm It reminded me a bit of the Badlands in South Dakota, but on a much, much smaller scale. 

The "climax" of the hiking trails is a large area of formations which boast striations of pink, orange, beige and white. Their shapes make me envision God playing with play-doh and then "freezing" his creations as stone for us to enjoy. 

Archaeologists have found evidence of human inhabitants of this area dating back 9,000 years. Our resident archaeologist, Joshua, found evidence of more recent humans when he discovered a musket ball while looking for rocks!  Needless to say,  he was beyond thrilled, and he was the envy of all 5 boys in our party.

I was happy to have been introduced to this natural attraction right in our own back yard.  We all enjoyed some sun, exercise and a great family day. 

#5 - Thai Food

This one doesn't have nearly the "wow" factor of indoor skydiving, but I never said all 40 adventures have to be big adventures.  Last Thursday Craig and I joined our friends Bret and Laura for dinner at a Thai restaurant.  We specifically chose Thai food so our outing could count as one of my 40 new experiences. Colorado Springs is not exactly a culinary kaliedoscope like NYC or Georgetown.  So, the options for new foods was limited. Still, I'm glad our small town had something to offer in terms of international cuisine.

As I looked over all the exotic menu choices--sauces with coconut milk and pineapple, peanuts and bean sprouts, etc.--I wondered which of all these oh-so-Thai dishes would best represent its native country. I asked our Thai waiter which of the dishes was most traditionally Thai, and he said.....drumroll...."None of them. They're all Americanized."  Sigh.  Well, so much for experiencing a new culture. After prodding him a bit on which would be the closest thing to real Thai food, he recommended Pad Thai. I went with his suggestion. Pad Thai is a noodle dish with (in this case) shrimp and chicken and a sauce that had hints of peanut and spice. It was topped with bean sprouts.  It was.....OK.  I liked it, but it is not a flavor that would cause me to rush out for Thai food every weekend.  However, I did enjoy the experience of trying a new food, psuedo-Thai or not.

But, the bigger story here (at least for me) is that Craig and I had a great time visitng with good friends.  It again reminded me that without my "mission" of accomplishing 40 new things, we very likely would not have made the time to reconnect with such dear people. We would have simply succombed to our busy schedules and settled on the cliche "We have to get together some time." 

I'm 1/8  (or 12.5% - hey, I'm a math teacher) finished with my 40 new experiences already, and my year is only 1/12 (8.3%) over. I'm confident that I will meet my goal of 40 new adventures, and I am very much looking forward to what still awaits me!

#4 - Glass fusing class

Two years ago in April I was scheduled to take a glass fusing class with several friends. The day of the class we received a whopper of a blizzard, so the class was cancelled.  Believe it or not, I've allowed this much time to pass without managing to find the time to reschedule.  Again, I ask myself why we allow ourselves to do this? One of the best aspects of this 40 new experiences challenge is that I'm finding time to do things that I've just brushed off on the past.

So, today two of my good friends and I spent several hours learning different techniques for fusing glass cabochons.  What is a cabochon, you ask?  Well, I asked exactly the same question when I first saw that word. Technically a cabochon is " a highly polished, convex-cut, unfaceted gem."  More casually, a cabochon is a really cool looking chunk of glass. The finished project can be mounted as a necklace charm, earrings, a pin or turned into a magnet. 

The class was held at Full Spectrum Art Glass Supply and Gallery, http://fsartglass.com/index.htm . They teach all kinds of glass classes: stained glass, glass bowls, jewelry, etc.  I've encountered several people over the past few years wearing stunning jewelry that they made there. Much of the glasswork involves dichroic glass. You have likely seen dichroic glass without having any idea of the name. It is a type of glass that contains various metals, metal oxides and silica. The result is a variety of iridescent patterns in a wide array of colors. 

The process is pretty simple.  Students start with flat, rectangular pieces of base glass. Designs are added by selecting various pieces of glass to overlay. Creating the finished piece involves some glass cutting, arranging the cut pieces into a desired pattern and glueing them into place. The pieces must be fired in a kiln. There are different types of finishes.  We made about 8 pieces each, practicing several different techniques.  Only two pieces were fired today, so I only saw a sampling of my finished work. I can pick up the remaining pieces later this week.  Below are my first two pieces (which they accidentally over-fired--there should have been some texture to the overlaid pieces). I'm really excited to see my other pieces. I'll post pics of them when I pick them up.

I really enjoyed myself. I've always had a passion for artsy/crafty hobbies. I think I will likely take some additional classes.  I would love to try some stained glass courses. I've always had a real soft spot for stained glass. When I toured Germany in 1991, I was overwhelmed by the artistry of all the stained glass in the cathederals.  It is truly a lost art.

 In addition to being a creative outlet, today's class was a great opportunity to visit with friends with whom I rarely get to spend time. Reuniting with friends has definitely been another big benefit of my 40 new experiences.  I have lots of activities planned with different friends throughout the year, and I so look forward to reconnnecting with each one!

4 down, 36 to go. I'm right on track to finish all 40 in a year.