Welcome to the Cowgirl Swank Blog!!

Welcome to the Cowgirl Swank Blog! Here you will find the insights and daily activities of a Business Owner, Designer, Cowgirl, Rancher, Wife, Mother, and any other job description I may have on any given day. I will share details of my daily cap/visor creations, occasional recipes, and other things associated with our daily ranch life. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!
~Cheyenne

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Overcast Day





Cap of the Day:  Black HOH Military Cap with 5 Cent Ranch Logo.
Hmmmm, it's really overcast today and my mood matches it. Not really sure why. I have a lot to be happy and thankful for. I think this is what happens to me when I am under stress......I have a large amount of caps on order (thanks to Downunder Horsemanship, Hill Quarter Horses, Northern Plains Indian Rodeo Association, etc.) and I'm not complaining. However......it's difficult how to deal with the reality of having 300+ caps on order, plus a ranch to help with, plus a household to run. I think that's where my frustration starts. I've never been Becky Homecky, but this is ridiculous!!!! I think it's best if I get done what I need to as soon as I can and tackle my house. My kitchen looks like a war zone.....and I'm not exaggerating!!
Just got a couple of tagged pics on Facebook from a friend/fan of Cowgirl Swank. VERY COOL!!! Definitely helped my day be a lot better!!! I just love my business and the people it puts me in touch with!! Thank goodness for FB!! Well, guess I'd better get off of here and get to cleaning.......Have a GREAT day! :)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Spring in South Dakota





Visor of the Day:  Brown HOH Visor custom made for the Matador Ranch in Matador, Texas, with their Flying V brand on it in aurora borealis crystals.
What a beautiful day! Got to start it right by gluing hide on 25 visors! Nothing like the smell of my leather glue to wake you up! :) Shane came home and we had breakfast. Calving season is kind of hard sometimes because Shane stays over at the bunkhouse at night, but Stone and I are both sleeping so it doesn't matter that much. It's tough on him though because he's up several times in the night, but he likes it that way. He wants to stay on top of what's going on with the heifers and that's the best way to do it. After breakfast, I headed out on my red "horse" to check the cows. This is a constant debate in my family. We all know that riding horses is better (for us and for the horses), but the size of our pasture and the limited time has us on four wheelers more than we should be. Anyway, what would probably take me 3 hours takes me a little over an hour on my red "horse". Everything looks great! I counted 41 calves. Shane says there is over 70, but I find that hard to believe. I realize that it's normal to miss a few, but 30+??? I don't think so.....Oh well, I don't argue.
Came home and finished boxing up some caps to take to Jami (she's the gal that helps me out with my caps). She is a godsend. I don't know what I'd do without her help. Talked to a customer this morning from Utah. She ordered 5 little girls' military caps in pink and one for her oldest granddaughter. I just love making custom caps. It makes it so much more personal knowing that I'm making them for specific people! I'm waiting on Downunder Horsemanship's order for their next tour. It's going to be much larger than the last order. I'm so glad that the caps have been selling so quickly at their tours! If somebody waits to buy one....they are generally out of luck. I'm anxious to get to work on their order.
Well, Shane just walked it....I have to go drive the pickup for him so he can rope a calf to graft onto a cow. Such is the life of a rancher........:)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Prolapsed Heifer





Cap of the Day:  Black HOH MC with Custom Brand (in this case, the Bar 16 is my cattle brand).
Today started out like any other day, but it changed quickly when Shane called. We have a heifer down.....and the dreaded words followed......"She's prolapsed and I need your help." Great.....
Around here going and helping Shane isn't like it used to be....throw on a coat and my boots and rush out the door. Now, Mom has to come over to watch Stone. So, she gets here quickly...I'm dressed and off I go. Surprisingly it's not as cold as it looks outside and the fresh air smells really good. I get in the white Dodge hydrabed pickup and head to the corrals....not sure of what I'd find.
Shane is prepped and ready to go. The heifer is laying down on a hill, which is what got her in trouble in the first place. Her calf is in the hot box and not doing well (think he went too long without oxygen). Shane lays a tarp out, ties her feet together and ties the rope to the grill guard so she doesn't try to get up or kick us. Time to get started. For those of you that don't know, a prolapse is a death sentence if not fixed quickly and properly. They are not fun to fix and rank right up there as one of my least favorite things about ranching. Anyway, Shane starts trying to push her "guts" back in with his hands. This usually doesn't work after awhile because a person's hands wear out. So, he takes off his boots and proceeds to push everything back in with his feet. Not a pretty site....may as well throw his socks in the garbage after this! This usually does the trick, but this is one of the worst prolapses we've seen. So.......off comes my coat and gloves and I get to join in the fun. What a sight!! Him with his feet in the back end of the heifer and me with my hands.....talk about sharing some quality time with my spouse!! After about 5 minutes of this, things finally get going in the right direction. Out come the hog rings and the orange baler twine. We get her stitched up and sitting upright again. I give her 60 ccs of Penicillin to help fight infection. Shane unties her legs and we leave her alone.
I give Shane a ride to the bunkhouse. He can barely walk as his feet are really cold. He undresses, warms up for a bit, and puts on his sweats and old tennis shoes. We check on the calf in the hot box and Shane decides to put him out of his misery. No sense in letting a baby calf suffer when he is barely breathing. I hate this part so I get to go to the bunkhouse and wash up the syringe and tools. Heifer is still up so we decide to take an hour and head in for coffee and breakfast. Somehow I don't feel like eating very much!
Now, I'm in the house finishing my blog. Time to get to work on the Matador Ranch's order. I hope to finish it tomorrow so I can get it in the mail on Thursday on our way to Montana. Mom, Stone, and I are going to visit my Gram and pick up a new older horse I bought. Hope the rest of our day is a bit more uneventful than the first few hours were!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Day at the Dentist

Cap of the Day:  Tan HOH Military Cap with Crystal Horseshoes and Initials in Smoked Topaz and Fuschia.
Had a busy day today. Had to go see my dentist again today. I just spent $2,000 on a root canal and crown several weeks ago....Well, looks like I get to do it again! :(
Picked up a few groceries in town, water, and did a few other errands. Mailed some Cowgirl Swank packages in Oelrichs and fueled up (yikes!). Got home and helped Mom pair out some heifers.
Just finished copying some Cowgirl Swank pics to a disc for my website providers. I am beginning the transition from somebody else overseeing my website to me doing it. It's kind of scary to transition because I am already so busy with orders, but it's something that I must do. Growing pains, I guess!!
Now it's time to start supper and then I need to focus on finishing 35 caps and visors for the Matador Ranch in Texas. I love doing their brand. It's a flying V and fun to do. Guess I'd better get up and get going! :)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Downunder Horsemanship





Cap of the Day:  Kids' Black Military Cap with Brand in Aurora Borealis Crystals. $25

Happy 29th Birthday to my hubby today!! His birthday is right in the middle of calving season. Kinda tough to go and do something fun. The weather usually never cooperates either! We are just having supper tonight with Mom. I'm making him a special Lemon Cheesecake that we can eat on Atkins. He is really looking forward to it.....He just might eat the whole thing!! :)
Had GREAT news yesterday. Downunder Horsemanship started their second tour yesterday in Lexington, VA. This time they took 62 Military Caps with them (50 Adult and 12 Kids). They sold out in under half a day!!! I'm so excited. Amy Anderson said that they will want 100 military caps and at least 50 visors to take with them to Rancho Murieta, CA the first weekend of May. WOW!!! I'd better get cracking!!! I already have 130 caps on order so this will make close to 300!!!! That's the most I've ever had!! I'm overwhelmed with excitement!
This morning I need to go through our cows out in 719. This has become my daily chore. I actually enjoy it. Nothing as great as seeing frisky little calves running around. My heart sinks and I feel sick if I happen to find one that isn't.......Guess that's a part of ranching though.....You will lose some...
After I finish that, I will help Mom feed the heifers some cake. It's good exercise for me to shovel it off. Stone loves to go and help open gates! :)
Then I'll come home and start gluing hides. I need to figure out what needs gluing for each order. I have A LOT to do......this I know.
Need to make Shane's Lemon Cheesecake for supper tonight too. Guess I'd better get off of her and get to it! Have a great day everyone!!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

New Vacuum Cleaner!!

Cap of the day: a Black HOH Military Cap with Crystal Star. Busy day so far. I have a ton of caps to work on, but first I helped feed cake to the heifers and then I'll be helping pair out right after lunch. Ah, the life of a rancher! Tried out my new Eureka vacuum cleaner and fell in love!! It blows my old Kenmore away! I just can't believe how much dirt is in the canister!! Another perk of living in the country!  :)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hello!

Well, today is the my first post. It's a busy time of year here with calving under way. I have been busy helping with the daily ranch activities (checking cows, checking water, feeding, pairing out, etc.) as well as trying to maintain my household duties along with managing my business (Cowgirl Swank). I have over 140 caps and visors on order right now! It's no wonder that I feel completely worn out at night! :) I feel very fulfilled though and that's the important part. Our family is happy and healthy. Stone is getting bigger every day and has such a zest for life! I am loving the fact that every day brings warmer weather closer. I have 2 horses to ride this spring. I need to get them in shape and then see exactly how they will fit me in the rodeo arena. Only time will tell. I'd like to say that I will be posting on here every day (kind of like my diary), but I doubt I uphold that. I will say that I plan to post on here several times a week and who knows....maybe I will surprise myself and make it a daily "to-do". I hope you enjoy reading my posts as time rolls on here on the ranch.....PS. I will also be posting a "Cap of the Day" pic every day that I post beginning tomorrow. :)