The End Is Near

When I was a little kid (not that long ago) I would get so excited when our family was getting ready to go on a vacation. I would ask my mom, "How much longer?" and she would always put it into a perspective that I could really relate to. She would say that it would only be two more night nights or however many more days it was until we left. So I guess a lot of those long anticipated things in my life have been broken down into how many "night nights" are left until the event arrives. Well, it's only "two more night nights" until the 2008 Club Calf Paradise sale comes to a close. By 6:00 PM on Monday the bidders will all have spoken and made their decisions on what they will have in their show barns for the next show season. In two more "night nights" I won't have to set my alarm to wake me up at dark thirty. In two more "night nights" I will have to start planning for next years sale.

I have such a great time during this sale. Meeting new people is probably the highlight but seeing old friends is wonderful too. I truly enjoy the evenings in the bunkhouse when we fire up the grill and cook a vat of hashed browns smothered in onions, butter and garlic and throw a pile of beef on the grill. Many of the neighbors seem to stop by about that time...must be the good smell! LOL! I always hate when that fun draws to a close.

I just want everyone to know how much we appreciate your support and the fact that you take the time to stop and look at our cattle. We stand behind what we do because we know that you have lots of choices when going out to buy your next project. We just try to go the extra mile. Thank you to all of you for sticking with us.

It's just hard to believe that after five long months of preparing for this sale that we are finally down to just two more "night nights". Have a great year everyone and PLEASE keep in touch!! And remember, if you are driving by stop on in at the bunkhouse. You can probably find Brad and I sitting on the front porch with the dogs and enjoying a cup of java. You are always welcome and Club Calf Paradise.

RAIN

It finally rained again this morning. We were in dire need even though we still have very strong memories about the flooding this spring. We received almost two inches here in Denison and are supposed to get some storms this evening again. After that though we plan on a beautiful weekend!!

Ryan and I rinsed some calves today. I think Ryan shed a tear when he realized that we only had to rinse them one or two more times. LOL!! JUST KIDDING! This last weekend gets me so excited but at the same time I am a little sad that the long months of getting ready for this sale are quickly drawing to a close.

My brother left yesterday to return to Colorado. He was a huge asset and I hope that we can make this an annual occasion. Funny, I guess it rained then too. I think my eyes had a gully washer but I had to act tough and make Ryan think it was just the fly spray making them water.

Well, If you haven't been here yet there is still time to make it. I am very proud of the set of calves that we have grazing in the front pasture. Top to bottom they are sound and good. I think there is something here to work in anyones barn. We hope to see you all.

Make sure that you get your bids in before 6:00 on Monday. Remember, you can follow along on-line after the bid close to see how the calves are doing even if you haven't bid.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday if I don't get a chance to hop on and "blog" again. DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS...CORRECTLY!!!

NEWS FLASH!!

Steve Homerding called me this morning while Erik, my brother from Colorado...my only brother therefore my favorite, and I were rinsing steers. He told me that the full brother to the black baldie 001 calf that is on our sale just was named the overall Reserve Grand Champion Steer at the Michigan State Fair!!! OMG, that is so incredible!! I think that this steer is getting overlooked here and if I had some cute little grandchild that I would be all over this calf to put in my grandbabies hands. Not only is he dead broke but he is dead sexy and a potential rock star. CONGRATULATIONS STEVE!!!! Hey Steve, do you have any heifer-mates? Have your peeps call my peeps! LOL!

Cattle People

What a day at Club Calf Paradise. The people and families that visit us continue to amaze me. I can't even explain the feeling of gratitude I have for the people who are willing to travel the country to look for that next great calf and the fact that they stop at my farm sometimes overwhelms me. We get every walk of life at Club Calf Paradise and every year just reinforces the fact that this really is Paradise. I just love people - especially people who understand the life lessons to be learned by showing a calf. When I was nine years old I started showing my first 4H project - little did I know that project would lead to a life long ambition and passion. If you think Brad and I do this for the money - you would be dead wrong! Lord knows the money isn't that good - in fact sometimes it's not money at all! It's all about kids, calves and the love of cattle.

Oh...and maybe the love of good food too! Brad has been smoking an entire ribeye loin over applewood today. We are just getting ready to sit down over smoked ribeyes and ...heck...what more do you need?!!! Hope you all get a chance to stop by. You never know what might be cooking!

Family

I am having the time of my life today. My brother came all the way back from Colorado to help me for a week with the sale. Today we spent the morning doing ALL of the mowing! Now that's no small endeavor let me tell you. It's a bit cool and rainy here today so we geared up, donned our geeky mowing hats and mounted up on the Johnnies for a mowing rodeo circus. ZTR vs manual steering. We hammered this place out in less than four hours. I think it could possibly be an Olympic record. We had a blast.

Now he is out weed eating and cutting the water lines. Ooops! His bad. Luckily I have seen that done before and knew how to fix fairly rapidly. I hung some lighting in the north "facility" for ambiance and refilled the lanterns for this evening. We restocked the fridge and have checked the calves for the fourth or fifth time today. All are basking in the cool breeze and having a great day.

I think the best part of this sale is meeting everyone or seeing old friends again but I also enjoy how much my family supports what we do and how much they enjoy getting involved. My brother spent the entire day yesterday helping us wash and clip calves. Now that's a job for somebody that isn't used to it. He was exhausted last night but he was a trooper and dove right in to the job.

I also haven't said enough about Ryan Kunze. He's been working for us for the past month. I would be lost without him and he has been great great help. He is always willing to help me when I am in a pinch and he does great work in a manner to which my cattle have become accustomed. He is easy going and quiet and the calves disposition show that. Hey, if he can put up with me he must be alright! He just fits in here...like part of the family.

Well, if anyone reads this and happens to stop this weekend make sure to tell my brother, Erik, how nice the grass looks! He's in charge of public relations and guest hospitality. Just don't tell him that I was saying anything nice about him or he will get a big head!

My observations about online bidding

Well we finally got the online bidding system up and running. It's taken a while and I am sure there will be a few things to change as we go but so far it's working great and is really exciting. I think this is going to be a great way for people who can't make it to our sale to bid but most of all it will keep people up to date and in touch with what is going on with the bidding.

We are really looking forward to the next two weeks and the bidding with this new system. I think that you will have fun with it too. Everyone can follow along and see what EACH calf is doing. I am sure that everyone has a different bidding game plan. Some will bid right away and keep bidding. Some will wait until that last day or minute and then jump in. Some may even give the proxy bid system a try. If you are not familiar with the proxy bidding system it makes it possible for you to put in the amount that you are willing to spend and let the computer bid for you. It is completely private and nobody but you will know what your proxy bid is...except for your computer I guess! LOL! Anyway, that way you don't have to worry about doing any bidding after you enter a proxy bid. You just have to worry that your proxy bid was not enough to get your favorite calf. Of course you can always change your proxy bid if you desire.

I would like to say that if you are going to bid online and you are not able to make it to see the calves in person that I would encourage you do find somebody that you know and trust to take a look for you. I have great faith in the soundness and future of every one of these calves and that they are everything that is represented in the pictures and video but you really can't entirely judge a calf by a photo. I think there are calves here that are actually way better than their pictures!

So I hope that all of you bovine cyber-geeks will have a good time following this thing along. I know that I am having a blast watching the bids jump. Just don't think for a minute that your favorite calf may not be the crowd favorite because the price isn't changing. There may be ten people out there that want that calf but are not going to jump in immediately. I just think this makes it so much easier for everyone and more fair and understandable. I also hope that if anyone has any questions about any of this that you will feel free to ask questions.

And for you non cyber-geeks...I still have a cell phone and I would love to talk to you to take a phone bid. In the end we will contact all current bidders and let you know when the final bidding will take place on your calf. So enjoy...and GET TO BIDDING!!!

Sunday Morning at CCP

It must only be in the upper 60's this morning. The grass is dripping with dew and the calves look like they are bracing for a blizzard they are so fuzzy this morning. Most of them are laid out flat in the grass chewing their cud after finishing their "breakfast". The dogs are laying on the porch of the bunkhouse, sentinals, watching for any new visitors. The grasshoppers are singing in the background as I sit here at the bunkhouse computer sipping a steamy cup of coffee and contemplating lighting a fire in the fire ring. Now, most people know that I am not much of a church going person, but I have never felt that I needed to go to town to find what I needed or to offer my services in that department. On a morning like this it's easy to understand what this is all about and one can't help but thank something greater than ourselves for the opportunity to be here right now, at this moment, to enjoy this life. I bask in moments like these because they help us make up for the bad times. They give us the strength to stand strong for other people, friends and family that need to draw on our strength when they are having bad times. OK, sorry for the "babbling". What I am just trying to point out is that, no matter where you live or what you do, don't take anything for granted and don't forget to stop and smell the roses...literally! Every morning when you walk out the door don't forget to look around and enjoy the beautiful things that we take for granted every day. Right now I am going to cut some daisies to put in the bunkhouse. My neighbor has TONS of them growing and I always love to "steal" some cuttings for my vases. They just grow like they are wild and they just say "smile" every time I see them.

Take a moment today and make yourself smile...hey, you could stop by Club Calf Paradise. I guarantee a smile!!!