Fresh Tomatoes + Basil + Balsamic Vinegar placed on cheese-melted toast = yummy Bruschetta. Follow the pics for the recipe.

Yummy home-grown tomatoes that were fed Grieb Ranch Plant Feed.

Mmmm . . . lovely Basil that was fed Grieb Ranch Plant Feed.

Chop up the tomatoes and basil. Pour in Balsamic Vinegar. Chopped garlic can be added to this mixture if desired. Mix together and chill if desired.

Sliced Ciabatta bread is ideal. Here we used slices of roasted garlic sourdough bread which was yummy too. Spread olive oil on the top of each slice and then place shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

Broil the bread under low flame until cheese melts and edges brown. Remove from oven. Keep your eye on the bread as it toasts - Don't walk away, it burns quicker than you think!

Place tomato, basil and vinegar mixture on top of melted cheese.

Eat . . . Eat . . . Eat!

Another Day In The Life at Grieb Ranch – Doctoring calves on the hills.

Stan and Connie went out to check the cow water up in the hills. As they were driving, they observed an older calf curled up by a tree with a runny nose and labored breathing. They turned back home to get vaccine, rope and syringes.

They returned to the calf and Connie tried to rope it but it moved just a little too quickly, The rope hit the thistles. That was not successful. Back at the vehicle, she realized that in the process the syringe had been lost and she was really glad she had not caught the calf.

The next day they went out together again and they did not find the calf in the hills, but they did see the mother cow. So they turned Pilgrim (their useful ranch dog) out to help them get the nervous mom to go to her calf and that worked. Since the cattle were disturbed the cattle started to take off toward the back of the ranch so they sent Pilgrim “way around” to stop them. That worked too; Pilgrim saved the day! Once the mother cow and calf were settled with Pilgrim holding the herd together, Stan and Connie were able to follow the cattle up through a tower of thistles – ouch! – where they came upon the stressed calf. They stopped and grabbed the cap-chur gun. (Say cap-chur several times fast – you will understand what the gun is). First they calculated the size of vaccine tube needed for the right dosage of vaccine. Second they calculated the right gun charge for the size of vaccine to be shot. Third they lubed the rubber plunger and put in the charge. Fourth they filled the vaccine tube. Fifth they added the drop off needle. Sixth they loaded the cap-chur gun with the vaccine tube and drop-off needle. Seventh they selected the correct power load for the distance to be shot. Meanwhile the calf was standing and panting, Pilgrim was holding the herd, and time was running out.

Ready, aim, Stan shot and missed. Ergh

Connie tried to find the tube of vaccine, but the thistle fluff was too thick and deep and no tube was to be found. Ergh again.

So they started all over with the seven steps of loading the cap-chur gun.

Second try . . . Ready, aim, Stan shot – the dart hit the calf, injected the vaccine and bounced off empty to the ground. Whoo Hoo! The now-empty dart was found. Back home to dinner they went.

Why do we use a Cap-chur gun?
If an animal is ill and out in the hills the stress of moving it to a secure and safe (for both of us) location to doctor them can often make the animal worse or kill it. Roping the animal is stressful for both animal and man (especially at our age) especially in an uncontrolled situation. So, by using the cap-chur gun the stressed calf can be doctored right were it is with LITTLE stress.

A few weeks have gone by and Grieb Ranch is happy to report that the vaccinated calf is doing very well and recovered from his stressed condition.

Fences . . . there is always something to do with the fences. A few weeks ago I had to move the cattle from one pasture to another because there was a short in the electrical tape. The cattle are used to this drill, as all I had to do was call them. I was on foot and the herd moved into the next pasture as I called them in. Fortunately, I keep the electric line tester handy in my purse which was with me in the truck. That way, it’s available to me when I come across a down fence while on my rounds on the ranch. Really, it is amazing how one little strand of electrical tape keeps in a whole herd of several hundred pound cattle!

Today there are more fences to fix on the ranch so I have loaded up the whole fencing kit – this one I can’t keep in my purse! Fence pliers, staples, clips, post pounder, some fence stakes all travel with me now as I make sure the fences are in good repair so that our cattle stay home and not stray away.

Spring means new chicks and lots of eggs. Chicken Coop Scoop Grieb Ranch Plant Feed is high in Nitrogen to green up your garden or lawn.

The raccoons are back. For weeks I took the eggs out at night and put them back in the nest so the hens would keep laying in the same place. I thought we trapped all the ‘coons so I started leaving all the eggs in the nest. Then, Bam! A family of coons must have come through and ate all the eggs. Ergh, she would have been setting by the end of the week.
The hen stopped laying in that spot now, soo……….I will have to find her new location.

Chicks will be here in 21 days as Grieb Ranch has set a hen with eggs to hatch! The last batch of eggs was eaten by a family of raccoons. To change that result we trapped and relocated 3 raccoons before the eggs stopped disappearing. Chicken Coop Scoop Plant Feed provides the highest level of Nitrogen to green up your plants. It is also enjoyed by acid-loving plants.

‘Tis the season for kidding goats . . . A day in the life of Connie Grieb of Grieb Ranch Plant Feed.

Another beautiful spring day gets underway as morning chores are done. The peacefulness of the day is broken with the ring of a phone and the sound of a screaming goat in the background. A favorite nanny goat was getting ready to kid, and the owner needed some help. I gave some suggestions, told the owner what to look for in the kidding process, then went back to my day. There were no more calls for awhile when again the day was interrupted not by one person calling but by two, at once. Call one, the favorite nanny goat was down and the uterus had prolapsed. My help was needed. Call two, on the other line, was the owner of the Surfin’ Goat, Goat-Tee. He was nervous as this was his first birthing experience, but he was describing a normal delivery. He was so excited, that I had to ask to speak to his brother so I could re-describe a normal birth.

After hanging up both phones, I got some vaccines together and headed out to the prolapsed goat. I got the vet books out and began reading to the owner, who is a former student of mine, now grown and married. The nanny had two live beautiful babies-a buck and a doe. She also a dead baby that must have died sometime sooner as it was smaller. The prolapsed uterus was about the size of 2 basketballs. As time pressed on, her owner and I worked and worked to get the uterus back in after we had cleaned it. The going was slow since we did not have a drug to stop her contractions. Afternoon turned into night when we finally had to send someone to get sugar to reduce the swelling and a flashlight. Finally we got the prolapsed uterus and the owner threaded the needle and started stitching up the vulva to keep the prolapsed uterus in.

When I finally I got home to dinner, the phone rang again. Wouldn’t you know . . . it was a friend asking about how long it takes for a goat to grow a baby, because his goat just bred. The answer: A goat’s gestational period is five months.

Update on the two mother goats: Goatee had a healthy baby boy who is named Pismo and has already had a try at surfing. Check out more info on Goatee here: http://flosoccerministry.com/goatee.html The prolapsed mother unfortunately did not pull though, but her babies are being hand fed and growing strong.

Say “HI” to Turbo the up-and-coming ranch dog for the Grieb Ranch. Turbo is 3 months and is a Border Collie/Kelpie cross. Turbo is 5th generation of the line of dogs raised on the Grieb Ranch. Turbo and her mom help gather and keep the animals of the Grieb Ranch Plant Feed safe.