DEEP IN THE HART

Welcome to Hartley Angus Ranch

This past weekend I headed south to Stephenville, Texas for the cow sale held at our ranch every 3-5 years. There was a LOT to be done to prepare for the 200 people coming to buy cows so I went to offer some help. I thought you'd enjoy some pictures and even a short video. If the video doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will. Have you ever been to a live cow auction? Well sit back and enjoy the show... this gives you an idea of what it's like!

We raise and sell only black Angus beef. The business run on the ranch is separate from our beef company (aka we don't slaughter cows on our ranch... i get this question a lot). Black Angus cows look like this....

This is what we call the ET barn, it's where all the veterinarian things (that shouldn't be discussed on blogs) go down

Here's the side of the show barn with our logo on it

My friends Haley and Andy drove from Dallas to say hi and see what this crazy sale was all about!

This is our cooker... it cooks up to 60 briskets at a time on a rotisserie. For the sale we cooked 20 and people came early to eat before the auction began.

Here's my plate of brisket, texas cavier (pinto beans with jalapenos, onions, and tomatos), potato salad, pickles and bread.... YUMMO

mi madre y mi padre

My brother and me getting ready for the auction to begin....

These are some of the cowboys that make sure the herds are exactly where they are supposed to be during the sale....

When it's time for the cow to go into the show ring they direct them right into the shoot...

And then up into the show ring which looks like this.....

Okay, here's the moment you've been waiting for.. the auction! Be sure your volume is on!

In other news on the ranch....

This horse just had a baby colt... I tried to get a picture but she wouldn't let me close enough.... VERY cute

This heifer was born before my eyes... during the sale. Needless to say her Mama got to skip out on going into the auction ring! This pic was when she was learning to stand up.

"Wiener" is still loving life in the country

The bluebonnets are in full bloom... the wildflowers this time of year are amazing

And the sunsets are still incredibly beautiful.....