Oh, Canada... How I love thee!

Greetings from the epicenter of the Bakken Oil formation!

Summer has just flown by in the blink of an eye and although I have had plenty of material to blog about, the time to do so hadn't presented itself until tonight.  As the men in the house are attentively watching the Vikings and 49ers on this warm Sunday evening I have been moving my iPhone pictures to 'the cloud' and reminiscing on the wonderful summer we have had.

With lots of hay to make this summer (which was a huge blessing for us), there were several short trips out of McKenzie county, but only one out of the state which happened to be an international trip and one that saw Pete and Brad stay home to make hay.

Kim, Jaden, Mom, Kyle and I went to visit Dad's sister Becky Hovet - Neuman and her family in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada the middle of July.  Growing up less than 2 hours from the Canadian boarder, I have visited the country many times and enjoy many Canadian built products in my life from our house (which was built in Manitoba and moved on site) to our barn (which was built on site, but all Canadian products) to our portable cattle panels to many of the clothes hanging in my closet to my favorite pair of boots.  I LOVE Canadian built THINGS and Canadian PEOPLE... who I have found to be friendly, kind, sincere, easy going, realistic and sound in their determination of what is and is not important in life.  I often think that the people (and the politicians) of the United States could learn many things from Canada.

So, without getting too far off point here when we were invited up to Drum this summer to visit we hopped right on that.  In addition to visiting the Neuman's and all Drumheller: http://www.dinosaurvalley.com has to offer, we also snuck up to Calgary and took in the last day of the Calgary Stampede http://ag.calgarystampede.com!  It was a great time and the boys had a blast.

The road trip up to Calgary proved to be too much...

At the Calgary Stampede - a military helicopter presenting the Canadian colors prior to the start of the final go of the Heritage Derby - worth $100,000 to the winning driver.

The Heritage Derby (Chuck wagon races) at the 2013 Calgary Stampede.

Jaden and Kyle taking in a kids class, Fossil Casting, at the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com
Becky's husband Andy (currently the COOLEST PERSON in Jaden and Kyle's life) is the Executive Director of the museum and made darn sure those two had a WONDERFUL two day visit to the provincial complex. 

Kyle excavating 'dino' fossils during one of his 'kid classes' at the R.T. Museum. 

Kyle and Jaden at the R.T. Museum.

Kyle and Jaden telling uncle Andy about their recent fossil excavation class and showing him their 'passports to the past'! 

'Cool' Kyle in one of the Jurassic display rooms at the R.T. Museum.  

Kyle and Jaden - an outlook point at the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum complex.

Kyle, cousin Leah, Jaden and Kim at the community theater's production of Oklahoma! 

Cousin Eric (as Curly) with Kyle and Jaden after the opening night's production. 

Eric giving the boys a behind the scene's tour... Eric was the lead, Becky directed and Andy helped with the set and lighting.

 
Oh Canada, thank you!

My Favorite Florist

Mother Nature is my favorite florist and although her shop often times has no inventory, when it does the price is right.

Yesterday morning I awoke to Kyle's roosters 'cocka-doodle-dooing' (another topic for another time) and decided to take advantage of this beautiful, still morning and the fact that the 'U pick flower shop' was open for business.

Purple cone flowers are one of the many variety of July native flowers in western North Dakota.

The yucca are also impressive this year.

And the painted clay buttes are breathtaking on high moisture years.

This butte on a 'normal' year would bare very little to no vegetation. 

Catching the sun as it peaks over the horizon.

My very inexpensive, U-pick bouquet from Mother Nature's outdoor florist shop.

Adding a little down home feel to our already homey ranch house.

The second visit to the florist on the same day... brought the crew with this time.  They enjoyed their visit as well.

Now, on to Juneberry pickin'!

Because of them..

...we have our freedom.

Arnegard 4th of July parade 2012 - honored color guard member Kurt T. Hovet - veteran of the Vietnam War.

When I took this photo 366 days ago I was incredibly proud of so very many things for many, many reasons.  I was proud to have a parent that was a veteran of this country's military.  I was proud that that old ranch horse tolerated the 'city chaos' his first time to town.  I was proud to be celebrating independence day among family, friends and neighbors in a community that holds 100% of my roots.

I was proud to be an American!

A salute to June, 2013

Greetings from the epicenter of the Bakken oil formation!

It has been six weeks since the last event I blogged about, branding.  In that time ALOT has happened and as they say, "It has been one he#* of a ride"!

Hours after we finished working calves on May 18th the rain started to fall and it fell for the next 4 weeks to an accumulation of ten inches for us.  This was too much rain for many, but ranchers can't get too much rain.  I have farming friends that were able to get only a portion of their crops in and construction friends that saw 1/4 of their North Dakota construction season slip away, but for ranchers in country that only gets an average of 14 inches of moisture (thats snow and rain moisture combined) annually, June has been magical.

It may possibly resemble Brazil in someways right now, however we will be worlds apart again come fall.  So, the ol' girl, Mother Nature has been kind to us in June, providing us with abundant grass and a beautiful hay crop.  In this country, we usually make 5 1/2 foot diameter bales.  Foreign to most, but it is how ranchers in the area determine the 'yield' of their hay crop as it seldom gets weighed.  A normal crop will be a bale to the acre on average.  We cover around 1,200 acres typically and on a normal year, need 900 to 1,000 bales to make it through the winter.  On really dry years, CRP is opened for haying to fill the gap needed to put up enough hay to sustain the cow herd.

So far this year on the first 300 acres we have been running nearly 3 bales to the acre.  Granted this will taper off for many reasons, one knowing the the best yielding hay is already up, but still this is huge for a ranching operation to bank surplus for a dry (not rainy) year (not day).

Below are a couple videos and photos that capture June, 2013's highlights and a few credit roles to the people and businesses that make it possible for us to be out here doing what we do.

This is a corner of three of our pastures and the Newfield location there.  Industry refers to it as an 'enviro' or 'eco' pad and it reduces the grids foot print greatly with far less total pad space, fewer roads and less pipeline infrastructure needed to move product.  The natural gas from these three wells is now online, but this site flared for over six months wasting ALOT of natural gas... NOTE - in Brazil, most of their vehicles run on natural gas.  Now there's an IDEA.  Make it valuable so its not a wasted byproduct that we might really wish we had back in the future!

Eva and I in the holding position while we were gathering cows for our annual June AI (artificial Insemination) and ET (embryo transfer) projects.

Bittersweet to see - Nabors drilling rig #680 being stacked out in mid-June.  The derrick went up on Easter Day evening and is a 'walker' meaning it can move latterly on site to drill numerous holes which greatly increases efficiency.  This rig drills for XTO (Exxon Mobile) who has the lease on the minerals under the ranch.  They were a great crew, many North Dakota boys working hard to make a living, many supporting families "back home" where ever that is for them.

Pushing out the last of the 'Rough Creek (pasture)' cows after AI was finished.

Hoss, Kyle and me rode on the way out to push the Rough Creek cows out.

Kim and Jaden rode on the way home from pushing the Rough Creek cows out... we need another Hoss.

This is Embryo Transfer Day.  Rocky Mountain Reproductive Services from Billings, MT does our work for us and has since 2004.  Our 10 year anniversary will be next year!  They are great and allow us to do things to improve the genetics in our herd much more quickly than we would be able to with out their services.

Brad the 'dude'... We get off the ranch once a week to play sand volleyball on Monday nights.  The first game of the first week Brad sprained his ankle.  We was assigned to the Honda for a couple weeks.

It's a wrap... we had just pushed the last of the cows out to summer grass to the Elkhorn pasture.  It is all in the bull's hands now!

What do ranch kids do when its hot out and their parents won't take them in to the Wild West Water Park?  They run through the sprinkler with goggles on and an umbrella over their head!

The hay crop this year is great!  Brad raking...

Kyle and I baling behind the rake.

Kyle with our new baling outfit.  This is a huge upgrade from what Dad ran and Kyle is very proud of 'Big Johnny' - a 7230 Premium IVT which came from RDO in Hazen.  Geodan and the service department there have been great.  Little Johnny spent a couple weeks there and is just like new again with the exception of 4,700 hours under the engine.

Kyle with the new baler from Anderson Vermeer in Alexander.  Ben and Janelle are great and the area is so very fortunate to have that dealership and service department close and handy!

The yucca is amazing this year.  All it really needs to flourish is 10 inches of rain during its growing season.  To cows, these blossoms are the equivalent of cheesecake to the palette that loves 'rich and creamy'.  We will brave clay buttes and high, steep cliffs to get to them.   

In my personal opinion, the mountains have nothing on the Badlands.

A lost trucker and a beautifully green landscape.

When I speak in this clip about the companies operating here, what I mean is that I hope they understand and are sensitive to the fact that western North Dakota is home to many people that cherish things that oil impact is taking away from them.  I have met some of the most interesting people that would have never experienced wester North Dakota if it wasn't for the oil find.  I immediately connect with the ones that see it for more than a paycheck and I really thank them for 1) seeing how much our home means to 'us' and 2) for taking care of this land as if it were their own home.  We hope that someday it is their home... I also hope that people understand that after the 2013 ND legislative session, what came out of that had a negative impact on relationships between people living in impacted communities (who call them home) and the oil and gas companies doing business here.  A need for a grass roots movement by western North Dakota to change / fix this outcome is needed.  I hope we have the voice to stand up for our home!

This clip is just a reminder of how blessed we have been this year.  The first two weeks of May I was wanting a rewrite on 2013.  It has been a bittersweet year to date.  I know that ATTITUDE is everything and our words have power, so lets make them count... both of them.  I read lots of quotes and many move me so I will close with a quote (which I can not credit) - The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Again, here's to June, 2013 and hoping July, 2013 too wants to have a positive ATTITUDE!
 

Why we miss them

Greetings from the epicenter of the Bakken oil formation.

Time is slipping away quickly this spring and I realized this morning that it has been two and a half weeks since May 18th, the day we worked calves and branded.

This is the first time ever that we have not had our anchor present for this annual event.  Logistically, the day went perfect.  We had an excellent crew and we finished up hours before a four day rain set in.  Emotionally, the day was a mixed bag of sadness, somberness and an acute understanding of the rejuvenation and renewal of life we were witnessing.

For the first time Pete was managing the irons, a job that for the previous 44 years belonged to my dad, Kurt T Hovet.  In addition to missing his presence, we also missed having Blaine Schaible with us.  And so goes life's lesson on rejuvenation and renewal.  I mentioned that we had a great 2013 crew.  Below, a majority of them are pictured.  Those not pictured - Sue & Lyle Best (Pete's mom & dad), Carla Schaible (Blaine's widow), Gina Schaible (David's wife), Rita (my mom), Morgan (Dad's only grand-daughter), who at the time this picture was taken were all helping get food ready.

2013 Branding crew:  Oops (dad's gelding, now Kim's project), Jaden (dad's grandson), Kim,  Eva (my mare),  Tice (Blaine's middle grandson), Pete, Hoss (Kyle's gelding), Kyle, Brad, Dos (Brad's gelding), Spud (David's gelding), Jase (Blaine's oldest grandson), Lee, David Schaible( Blaine's son), Brae (Blaine's youngest grandson). 

Blaine and Kurt hunting with David several years back.

There are just very few words that do justice to the feeling that comes with facing daily activities alone when even if you have been prepared for it (through life long lessons), your not comfortable with it.  It causes us to miss them because they were and still are such an intrical part of who we are, what we do and why we do it.  They loved the land that we love, and we love it mostly because they showed us how to see the beauty in it and how to harness the clean, meaningful living that it provides us.

We miss them because they knew the best sermons were lived and not preached (and that's what they did every day on this earth).  We miss them because we know that they valued relationships above 'things'.  We miss them because they were cowboys through and through with hearts that were pure, honest and genuine.

We will always miss them and we will take comfort in knowing that they miss us too.  We know that someday when our branding day is not an earthly one, it will be as perfect as May 18, 2013.  Although our crew will look very different, it too will be an excellent one made up of loved ones that we have been missing since the day they left.

Happy Belated Earth Day!

Greetings from the epicenter of the Bakken oil formation!

I had every good intention of posting on Earth Day 2013.  Instead of finding time to carry out good intentions, life happened.

Business as usual and then some played out at the ranch. We had a couple SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) out to help us collect data for making decisions in settling Dad's affairs and we conducted a little hillbilly business as well.  A term you are not familiar with?  How about hillbilly bartering?  Doing business that doesn't involve cash where both parties walk away winners and where they are usually trading things that most folks would not find value in.

One of my absolute favorite commercial cows, #505 broke her leg three years ago.  Most cows would not have handled it well and would have had to be humanely put down shortly after an injury such as this (which due to the location of the break was not able to be casted).  505 on the other had was tough as nails and had survivor's instinct.  She continued to  maintain good flesh and served as a wonderful lawn mower the last two summers.  Pete had the brilliant idea a couple weeks ago that maybe we should see if Jeffery Kindle, a local carpenter and hunter could come out and give us a couple estimates on projects that need to be done out here, and well, since he would be out, see if he would want to harvest 505 for hamburger.  Both parties walked away winners and 505 served the purpose that she was destined to while as humans we made the most of a bad situation.

Although not glamorous, in a nut shell, the day was a good representation of what Earth Day means to me.  Its not about the environment movement, hugging trees or lobbying congress to put large tracts of land (natural resources) into preservation mode so members of the concrete jungle can retreat there on weekends and not have to step in cow poo (AKA - organic, all natural fertilizer).  In my view, it is about using our resources wisely and helping people understand that as our global population grows we need to adjust in a way that provides the most amount of sustainability possible considering the situation.

Brad sent me a really interesting link that was part of one of his senior seminar classes this semester.  I really enjoyed it and figured that it would be a nice share for our Earth Day celebration... a little belated, but still worth the watch.

How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change

Again, HAPPY BELATED EARTH DAY!

Angels among us... while we dust ourselves off and get back up in the saddle

HOME matters to me.  All four of my grandparents were children of homesteaders in McKenzie County.  I LOVE my home and all it represents... where my roots are, pursuit of dreams, truth to self, family and neighbors, commitment to future generations, love of God's creation, and devotion to stewardship of the vast resources found here.

We buried my father on April 5th after his unexpected death on Easter morning.  Devastating to say the least.  It rocked our family (which is huge in numbers and strength) to the core.  I found myself heartbroken, but at the same time wondering what it would be like going through this personal loss in any other community other than Watford City, McKenzie County, North Dakota, USA.  The outpouring of support, love and spiritual comfort was absolutely overwhelming and there are no words to explain how much that means.

Kurt T. Hovet was a quiet, strong, steady, gentle, kind, amazing person.  His presence made you a better person for knowing him and being around him with out you realizing it until his physical presence left us on Easter morning 2013.

On Monday, April 8th just when we were attempting to dust ourselves off and get back up in the saddle as he would do, I learned that the state legislature, the Senate specifically was busy removing needed funding for HIS home and the home of so many others.  I felt I had to drive down to Bismarck and explain why this wasn't OK.  I did and then I drew from the quiet, strong, steady, humble way of 'being' that made my father such an amazing man.

Below are the two news segments that were aired afterwards.  The KUMV segment used random footage shot out in oil country from 2012.  As a quick note, dad had been into the hospital twice in the last year.  Once last fall for an X-ray and then on February 25, 2013, his 69th birthday for his annual blood screening.

The KUMV random shots were of traffic on the roads and little children in schools and a man walking into the McKenzie County Hospital.  THAT MAN WAS KURT T HOVET walking into the hospital on one of those two occasions.  He is wearing the same shirt that we buried him in and the cap and boots that he had on when he reached the emergency room on Easter morning.  My mom and sister both asked if I had provided the footage or suggested it for the piece since dad was included in it.  I didn't even know it existed.  All I could think as I watched it today - that even in dad's afterlife, God kept all of those amazing characteristics... QUIET, STRONG, STEADY and HUMBLE... of the man and then made him perfect adding one more characteristic that his earthly self didn't exhibit.  TIMING.  For a man that was notoriously late all the time, even for his own wedding, his accidental timing in front of that camera back last fall or this past February and the resurrection of that footage for this piece...  AMAZING TIMING!

KUMV Bismack

KXMC Bismarck

Angels among us... Truly.

Whether you live in western North Dakota or not, contact the Senate Appropriates committee if any of the communities or resources in oil country have significant meaning to you.  It really does matter and being able to make things 'RIGHT' and 'TRUTHFUL' for home would make dad really proud.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/62-2011/committees/senate/appropriations